The Cell Grid

Most of the work done on a spreadsheet is done to the main Cell area, the large grid like part of the worksheet. This is where all the formulas and data are entered, and is the center of activity for the spreadsheet.

Figure 4-40 The Cell Grid area, with cells of different sizes.

Figure 4-40 shows the the cell grid area, the column and row headers on the top and left, the scrollbars on the right and bottom and the tab list at the very bottom.

The figure has a few and shows that cell B3 as being selected. In this figure, the columns and rows have been resized and therefore look uneven.

Each cell in this area is delimited by a light grey line by default. The current selection is indicated by a rectangular box with a little box on the lower right, this case cell J12. The view in this figure shows the middle portion of a worksheet which is evident in two ways. Firstly, the column and row headers do not start at column A and row 1. Secondly, the scroll thumbs are not at the top and left. The thumbs are the boxes within the scroll bars that are used to scroll. Note also that cell D19 has a comment within it which is shown by the little red triangle at the top right corner.

The size of a cell is determined by the width of the column and height of the row that the cell is in. The columns and rows can be resized by acting on the header relevant to the cell. The user must move the mouse pointer to the edge of the header which is either to the right or below the cell. With the mouse pointer in this position, the pointer will change to a set of opposite pointing arrows. The user must then drag this edge away from the top left corner. This takes a little practice.

The cell area is the core of Gnumeric. Therefore the manual explains the use of cells in much greater detail in a separate section. Interested users should read Chapter 5 ― Working with Data.