Writer Guide

The cursor keys move to the next cell only if there is no text in the way.
For example, pressing the right cursor key will move the cursor to the
right within the text in the current cell, then to the next cell.
The Tab key moves directly to the next cell and, if the cursor is in the
last cell in the table, creates a new row. Pressing Shift+Tab moves the
cursor back a cell.
Tip
To enter a Tab character as part of the text of the cell, press the
Control and Tab keys at the same time.
Sorting data in a table
Just as in a spreadsheet, Writer allows data in a table to be sorted. Up
to three levels of sorting can be specified (for example, sort first by age
numerically, then alphabetically by name within each age).
To sort data in a table:
• Select the table (or part of the table) to be sorted.
• From the menu bar, select Table > Sort.
In the Sort dialog box:
– Decide whether you want to sort in the direction of rows or
columns. The default sorting direction is by rows, which
results in sorting the data in a column.
– Select up to three keys to sort on, in the correct order.
– For each key, select which column or row to sort on, whether
the sort is Numeric or Alphanumeric and whether it is
Ascending or Descending.
– Click OK to perform the sort.
Note
You have to select all cells that might be affected by the sorting.
For example, if you select only the cells of one column, the sort
affects that column only, while the others remain unchanged. In
such a case, you risk mixing the data of the rows.
Using spreadsheet functions in a table
In a table in a Writer document, you can use some of the mathematical
functions that are normally implemented by OpenOffice.org Calc. For
many simple functions, Writer tables can be used as basic
spreadsheets.
Just as in a spreadsheet, each table cell is identified by a letter (for the
column) and a number (for the row). For example, cell C4 is the cell in
316 OpenOffice.org 3 Writer Guide