Spreadsheet Basics
Senior 2 · ICT
Spreadsheet Basics
Lesson 3 of 5
16 min
Let's begin
The class teacher keeps marks for 45 students in 12 subjects, with one sheet for each term. When she scrolls down to the 40th student, the subject headings disappear off the top of the screen, and when she scrolls right, the names disappear off the left. This lesson shows how to organise several sheets and how to keep headings in view.
A new Calc file has one sheet, Sheet1. The sheet tabs at the bottom let you manage them. (Excel: right-click a tab for the same commands.)
| Task | How |
|---|---|
| Insert | Click the + button next to the tabs, or right-click a tab > Insert Sheet. |
| Rename | Double-click the tab, or right-click > Rename Sheet, then type the new name. |
| Delete | Right-click > Delete Sheet, and confirm. A file must keep at least one sheet. |
| Move | Drag the tab to a new position. |
| Copy | Hold Ctrl and drag the tab, or right-click > Duplicate Sheet. Right-click > Move or Copy Sheet can also copy a sheet into another file. |
| Colour the tab | Right-click > Tab Color. |
Sheet names cannot contain these characters: : \ / ? * [ ]. "Term1" and "Term 1" are fine; "Term1/Term2" is not.
Freezing keeps chosen rows at the top, or columns at the left, in view while you scroll the rest of the sheet.
Split Window (View > Split Window) is related: it divides the window into sections that scroll separately, so you can compare two distant parts of a sheet.
Row 1 holds the subject names and column A holds the student names. The teacher wants both always visible.
Now, when she scrolls to row 40 or to column M, the headings and names stay on screen.
Tip
Freeze from the corner below and to the right. Everything above and everything to the left of the cell you click will stay still.
Which cell should you click to freeze rows 1 to 3 and columns A and B?
Solution: C4: the row below row 3 is row 4, and the column to the right of B is C.
Which cell should you click to freeze rows 1 and 2 but no columns?
Solution: A3. There are no columns to the left of column A, so only the rows above row 3 freeze.
Habimana tries to name a sheet "Fees?2026". Why does Calc refuse?
Solution: The question mark is not allowed in sheet names. "Fees 2026" would work.
How can the teacher make an exact copy of the Term 1 sheet to start Term 2?
Solution: Right-click the Term 1 tab and choose Duplicate Sheet (or Ctrl+drag the tab), then rename the copy "Term 2".
Remember
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