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><H1
><A
NAME="EDITING"
>Chapter 1. Entering data.</A
></H1
><DIV
CLASS="TOC"
><DL
><DT
><B
>Table of Contents</B
></DT
><DT
><A
HREF="editing.html#AEN28"
>Strings and numbers</A
></DT
><DT
><A
HREF="formulas.html"
>Formulas</A
></DT
><DT
><A
HREF="cell-referencing.html"
>Cell Referencing</A
></DT
><DT
><A
HREF="x176.html"
>Selecting Cells While Entering Formulas.</A
></DT
><DT
><A
HREF="x222.html"
>Copying and moving cells</A
></DT
><DT
><A
HREF="editing-selections.html"
>Editing cells using the selection</A
></DT
><DT
><A
HREF="autofill.html"
>Autofill</A
></DT
></DL
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT1"
><H1
CLASS="SECT1"
><A
NAME="AEN28"
>Strings and numbers</A
></H1
><P
>The basic forms of data that can be entered into a cell include
    strings, numbers, formulas, and cell references. </P
><P
>The simplest of these types are strings and numbers. They are
    just constant values that are stored in a cell. There is  no special
    syntax for this kind of data. The only limitation is that strings and
    numbers cannot contain newlines or begin with a '='. The '=' is
    used to denote cells that contain formulas or cell references.</P
><P
>See <A
HREF="editing.html#STRINGNUMBER"
>Figure 1-1</A
> for an example of entering
      a string.</P
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="STRINGNUMBER"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-1. Entering strings and numbers.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/editing-1.jpg"></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="ENTERING-DATES-AND-NUMBERS"
>Dates and Numbers</A
></H2
><P
>Dates and numbers are a special case of strings that are automatically
    converted to numerical types. If a string entered matches one of the formats
    for dates or times, the string is converted into a serial number (representative
    of the time in the string) and the cell format is set to that of the
    original string.</P
><P
>To make use of this feature, the user just needs to enter in a number in
    a recognizable format. Gnumeric will automatically convert it into an appropriate serial
    number. Because of this, it is possible to enter a date or time in a human readable 
    format, and have it stored in a numerical format inside of Gnumeric.</P
><P
>The interesting part of this is that a user entered string, can be autofilled (see 
    <A
HREF="autofill.html"
>the section called <I
>Autofill</I
></A
>) properly. </P
><P
>See <A
HREF="x683.html#NUMBER-FORMAT-DATE-TIME-EXAMPLES"
>Example 3-3</A
> for some examples of 
      the many date and time formats that are accepted by Gnumeric.</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN46"
>Editing of cells.</A
></H2
><DIV
CLASS="PROCEDURE"
><P
><B
>Entering data in a cell</B
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>Activate the cell by clicking on it with the white-cross cursor.
	  This will make the cell become the active cell (see <A
HREF="editing-selections.html#ACTIVECELL"
>Figure 1-4</A
>).
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Type in the data or formula.</P
></LI
></OL
></DIV
><P
>See <A
HREF="formulas.html"
>the section called <I
>Formulas</I
></A
> for more detail on entering formulas into cells.</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN57"
>Editing commands</A
></H2
><P
>After selecting the cell and initially entering the data, the user is in
      a limited editing mode, designed to aid in entering data which may contain
      cell references. The main keys for editing mistakes in this mode is the backspace
      key.</P
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="AEN60"
>Advanced Editing mode</A
></H3
><P
>For a more complete set of editing options, especially for
	longer entries, there is an advanced editing mode. </P
><P
>This mode is accessed by pressing <B
CLASS="KEYCAP"
>F2</B
>. This shifts the
	focus from the current cell to the editing region in the worksheet. This
	allows more complete control over the text and data in the cell. This includes
	the use of the cursor keys to position the cursor within the data in the cell.
        See <A
HREF="worksheet.html#WORKSHEET-DATA-ENTRY"
>the section called <I
>Data entry area.</I
> in Chapter 4</A
> For more info on the data entry area.</P
><P
></P
><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
><B
CLASS="KEYCAP"
>Backspace</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>Delete the character to the left of the cursor.</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="KEYCAP"
>Cursor keys</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>Move the cursor appropriately.</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="KEYCAP"
>Ctrl+K</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>Delete to the end of the line</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="TIP"
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="TIP"
><P
><B
>Tip: </B
>All the normal key bindings for Gnome application entry boxes
	  also apply here.</P
></BLOCKQUOTE
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="AEN84"
>Error Messages</A
></H3
><P
>If the user enters a formula or set of data that is not acceptable,
	Gnumeric will display an error message in the cell.</P
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