The spreadsheet calculator sc is based on rectangular
tables much like a financial spreadsheet. When invoked, it first looks for a
file in the user's home directory called .scrc and if found, reads that file
into memory. If that file contains the command ``set scrc'',
sc looks for a file called .scrc in the current directory, and if
found, reads that file into memory, too. Next, it reads the options from the
command line, and finally, it reads in the file or files specified on the
command line and presents the data in a table organized as rows and columns
of cells. If invoked without a file argument, the table is initially
empty, unless it is running in a pipeline, in which case it will read its
data from the standard input. If more than one file is specified, all files
except the first one will be merged. The default filename for saving a file
with the Put command will be the same as the first file specified,
and the other files will be treated as macros. If you want to use advanced
macros from the command line, the ``|'' must be quoted to prevent it from
being expanded by the shell.
Options begin with -. However, an argument of a single - will be
interpreted to mean that spreadsheet data will be taken from the standard
input. This is useful for including sc in a pipeline if the system
supports pipes. However, if standard input is not a terminal, the - is only
necessary if there are multiple files and standard input is not the last to
be read, since standard input is automatically read in after all other files
in such cases if it is not specified explicitly, or if there are no other
filenames on the command line. If sc is included in a pipeline, and a
filename of ``-'' is not specified, the standard input will be merged in
after all of the other named files have been processed.
The first argument not beginning with a -, or a single - by
itself, and any subsequent arguments will all be interpreted as filenames (a
filename of - meaning standard input as noted above). In addition, an
argument of -- may be used to signify that all subsequent arguments should
be treated as filenames even if they begin with a -, but unlike -, -- won't
be treated as a filename itself.
Each cell may have associated with it a numeric value, a label
string, and/or an expression (formula) which evaluates to a numeric value or
label string, often based on other cell values.
For an online tutorial, type the command:
- sc /usr/share/doc/sc/tutorial.sc
To print a quick reference card, type the command:
- scqref | [your_printer_commmand]
- -a
- Do not run the autorun macro, if one is specified in the file.
- -c
- Start the program with the recalculation being done in column order.
- -e
- Start the program with round-to-even (banker's rounding) enabled.
- -m
- Start the program with automatic recalculation disabled. The spreadsheet
will be recalculated only when the ``@'' command is used.
- -n
- Start the program in quick numeric entry mode (see below).
- -o
- Start the program with automatic optimization of expressions enabled.
- -q
- Quit after loading all files, but before becoming interactive. This is
useful in shell scripts for getting information from a file, for example,
or using sc as a non-interactive calculator using the eval
command.
- -r
- Start the program with the recalculation being done in row order (default
option).
- -v
- When piping data out using the -P option (below), change all
expressions to values. The -v option must precede the -P
option to have an effect. If the -P option is used more than once,
there must be a separate -v option for each instance of the
-P option.
- -x
- Cause the Get and Put commands (see below) to encrypt and
decrypt data files.
- -C
- Start the program with automatic newline action set to increment the
column (see below).
- -P
range[/address]
- -P
/address
- Pipe a range to standard output. The output is similar to that of the
Put command (below), except that only cell data and formatting
information for cells in the range are output, without all of the colors,
range definitions, column formatting, etc. The optional /address is
used to adjust all addresses in the range to a new starting point. This is
useful for copying data from one file to another, especially when used in
conjunction with the -v option (above), using something like
merge "|sc -v -Prange/address filename" (note the pipe
symbol). This option may be used more than once to specify multiple
ranges. Note, however, that the -v option must precede the
-P option on the command line, and there must be a separate
-v option for each instance of the -P option. Any instance
of -P not preceded by its own -v option will output
unevaluated expressions.
A range of ``%'' may be used to refer to the entire
spreadsheet. If the range is left out, as shown in the second form
above, sc will be started interactively in navigate mode,
allowing you to navigate the spreadsheet and highlight the range you
want to output. Pressing ESC, ^G, or q will terminate without outputting
any data.
- -R
- Start the program with automatic newline action set to increment the row
(see below).
- -W
- Pipe a range to standard output. The output is identical to that of the
Write command (below). This option may be used more than once to
specify multiple ranges. A range of ``%'' may be used to refer to
the entire spreadsheet.
All of these options can be changed with the ^T and
S commands (see below) while sc is running. Options specified
when sc is invoked override options saved in the data file.
When sc first starts, it looks for a file in the user's
home directory called .scrc and if found, loads it into memory. The format
of this file is the same as any other sc file, but should be reserved
for setting certain defaults. Any options set which have equivalent command
line options may be overridden by the command line. If that file contains
the command ``set scrc'', sc will then look for a file
called .scrc in the current directory, and if found, load that file into
memory, too (this is analogous to the ``set exrc'' command used by vi/ex).
These ``dotfiles'' may be created by any text editor. Several commands exist
specifically for setting default file name extensions in the .scrc file,
although they may also be used from macros, ordinary spreadsheet files, or
from within sc at the command line. They will not, however, be saved
along with the file. The extensions should be quoted, and should not include
the preceding `.' (e.g., scext "sc" will add the
extension .sc ). These commands are:
- scext
- This is the default extension for normal sc files (those created
with the Put command). If this command is not used, all sc
files will be saved without an extension, and any existing extension will
not be removed. Setting this option causes all sc files to be saved
with the specified extension added, unless it is already present. If the
file name already has an extension of .sc, it will first be
removed. Any other extension will not be removed.
- ascext
- This is the default extension for plain text files created with the
Write command. The file name will first be checked to see if it
already has an extension of either .sc or the extension specified
with scext above, and if either one exists, it will first be
removed before adding the new extension. If this option is not set, a
default of .asc will be used.
- tbl0ext
- This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
command if tblstyle is set to 0 (default). The file name will first be
checked to see if it already has an extension of either .sc or the
extension specified with scext above, and if either one exists, it
will first be removed before adding the new extension. If this option is
not set, a default of .cln will be used.
- tblext
- This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
command if tblstyle is set to tbl. The file name will first be checked to
see if it already has an extension of either .sc or the extension
specified with scext above, and if either one exists, it will first
be removed before adding the new extension. If this option is not set, a
default of .tbl will be used.
- latexext
- This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
command if tblstyle is set to latex. The file name will first be checked
to see if it already has an extension of either .sc or the
extension specified with scext above, and if either one exists, it
will first be removed before adding the new extension. If this option is
not set, a default of .lat will be used.
- slatexext
- This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
command if tblstyle is set to slatex. The file name will first be checked
to see if it already has an extension of either .sc or the
extension specified with scext above, and if either one exists, it
will first be removed before adding the new extension. If this option is
not set, a default of .stx will be used.
- texext
- This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
command if tblstyle is set to tex. The file name will first be checked to
see if it already has an extension of either .sc or the extension
specified with scext above, and if either one exists, it will first
be removed before adding the new extension. If this option is not set, a
default of .tex will be used.
The screen is divided into four regions. The top line is for
entering commands and displaying cell values. The second line is for
messages from sc. The third line and the first four columns show the
column and row numbers, from which are derived cell addresses, e.g.
A0 for the cell in column A, row 0. Note that column names are
case-insensitive: you can enter A0 or a0.
The rest of the screen forms a window looking at a portion of the
table. The total number of display rows and columns available, hence the
number of table rows and columns displayed, is set by curses(3) and
may be overridden by setting the LINES and
COLUMNS environment variables, respectively.
The screen has two cursors: a cell cursor, indicated by either a
highlighted cell or a ``<'' on the screen, and a character cursor,
indicated by the terminal's hardware cursor.
If a cell's numeric value is wider than the column width (see the
f command), the cell is filled with asterisks. If a cell's label
string is wider than the column width, it is truncated at the start of the
next non-blank cell in the row, if any.
Cursor control commands and row and column commands can be
prefixed by a numeric argument which indicates how many times the command is
to be executed. You can type ^U before a repeat count if quick
numeric entry mode is enabled.
- ^To
- Toggle options. This command allows you to switch the state of one option
selected by o. A small menu lists the choices for o when you
type ^T. Unless otherwise noted, the options selected are saved
when the data and formulas are saved so that you will have the same setup
next time you enter the spreadsheet.
- a
- Automatic Recalculation. When set, each change in the spreadsheet causes
the entire spreadsheet be recalculated. Normally this is not noticeable,
but for very large spreadsheets, it may be faster to clear automatic
recalculation mode and update the spreadsheet via explicit ``@'' commands.
Default is automatic recalculation on.
- b
- Braille enhancement mode. See the braille section under the Set
command below for a complete description of how to use this mode. This
option is not saved when saving a file, to allow blind and sighted users
to easily share files. It is intended for use in a user's .scrc
file.
- c
- Current cell highlighting. If enabled, the current cell is highlighted
(using the terminal's standout mode, if available) and the cell pointer
``<'' is turned off. This is enabled by default.
- e
- External function execution. When disabled, external functions (see
@ext() below) are not called. This saves a lot of time at each
screen update. External functions are disabled by default. If disabled,
and external functions are used anywhere, a warning is printed each time
the screen is updated, and the result of @ext() is the value from
the previous call, if any, or a null string.
- i
- Automatic insertion of rows/columns. If this is enabled and craction is
set to move the cell cursor either down or to the right after entering
data into a cell, and the last cell in a row/column in the scrolling
portion of a framed range was just filled, causing the cell cursor to move
outside of this range, a new column/row will be inserted, thus enlarging
the range and allowing you to continue entering data into the row/column
without overwriting the frame (which may contain expressions of some sort,
such as totals). If autowrap is also enabled, it will take precedence, and
a new row/column will only be inserted after entering data in the very
last cell (bottom right corner) of the scrolling range. The default is no
automatic insertion.
- w
- Automatic wrap to next row/column. If this is enabled and craction is set
to move the cell cursor either down or to the right after entering data
into a cell, and the last cell in a row/column in the scrolling portion of
a framed range was just filled, causing the cell cursor to move outside of
this range, the cell cursor will move to the first cell in the next
row/column in this range. If this would also take the cursor out of the
scrolling portion of the range, the cursor will remain in last edited cell
instead, unless autoinsert is also enabled, in which case a new row/column
will be added so that the cursor can wrap. The default is no
autowrap.
- l
- Autolabeling. If enabled, using the define command (rd) causes a label to
be automatically generated in the cell to the left of the defined cell.
This is only done if the cell to the left is empty. Default is
enabled.
- n
- Quick numeric entry. If enabled, a typed digit is assumed to be the start
of a numeric value for the current cell, not a repeat count, unless
preceded by ^U. Also, the `+' and `-' keys will enter insert mode
and append a `+' or `-' to the existing contents of the cell, allowing the
user to easily add to or subtract from the current numeric contents of the
cell. The cursor controls (^P, ^N, or any of the arrow keys)
in this mode will end a numeric entry if the entry was started by pressing
`+', `-', or a digit. Switching from insert mode to edit mode will cause
the cursor controls to revert to their normal functions.
- o
- Automatic optimization of expressions. If this is enabled, expressions
which evaluate to a constant are automatically optimized upon entry. For
example, if you enter @pow(2,32) into a cell, the value 4294967296 will be
stored in that cell, whereas if optimization is turned off, the calculated
value will be displayed, but the actual expression will be stored in the
cell instead. This allows you to edit the expression instead of
re-entering it from scratch when you just want to make a minor change.
Default is automatic optimization off.
- t
- Top line display. If enabled, the name and value of the current cell is
displayed on the top line. If there is an associated label string, the
first character of the string value is ``|'' for a centered string,
``<'' for a leftstring or ``>'' for a rightstring (see below),
followed by "string" for a constant string or
{expr} for a string expression. A constant string may be preceeded
with a backslash (`\'). In this case the constant string will be used as a
``wheel'' to fill a column, e.g. "\-" for a line in a column,
and "\Yeh " for "Yeh Yeh Ye". If
the cell has a numeric value, it follows as [value], which may be a
constant or expression.
- $
- Dollar prescale. If enabled, all numeric constants (not
expressions) which you enter are multipled by 0.01 so you don't have to
keep typing the decimal point if you enter lots of dollar figures.
- r
- Newline action. This is a 3-way toggle which determines which direction to
move after pressing the RETURN key to enter data into a
cell. It has the same effect as using the set (S) command to set
the value of craction. After selecting this option, you will be prompted
for the direction you want to move. Valid directions are down (craction=1)
and to the right (craction=2). Pressing j, ^N, or the cursor-down key will
cause the cursor to move down a cell each time you press the
RETURN key and pressing l, the cursor-right key, or the
space bar will cause the cursor to move one cell to the right. Pressing
the RETURN key at the prompt selects no action (craction=0,
which means that the cursor will remain in the current cell). No action is
the default unless sc is started with either the -R or -C option.
This option is ignored if the cell into which data is being entered is not
the current cell.
- s
- Enable/disable color slop. If a cell's label string is wider than the
column width, it will slop over into the next cell to the right if that
cell is empty. However, if that cell is in a different color range than
the first, this slopover will be disabled, regardless of whether the
colors assigned to the two ranges are different or not. If cslop is
enabled, strings may slop over even if the next cell is in a different
color range, carrying their color with them, which may cause a ragged
boundary between the ranges, but may allow the strings to be seen in their
entirety. Cslop is disabled by default.
- x
- Encryption. See the -x option.
- z
- Set newline action limits. This option sets limits to the newline action
option above. When this option is invoked, the row and column of the
current cell are remembered. If a later newline action would take the
current cell to the right of the remembered column, then the current cell
is instead moved to the first column of the next row. If a newline action
would take the current cell below the remembered row, then the current
cell is instead moved to the top row of the next column.
- C
- Color. This option enables color, and must be set before any other color
options, such as colorneg (color negative numbers) or colorerr (color
cells with errors), will have an effect. On a slow connection, turning off
color can noticeably speed up screen updates.
- E
- Color cells with errors. Setting this option will cause all cells with
expressions which evaluate to ERROR or INVALID to be set to color 3. Color
must be enabled for this option to take effect.
- N
- Color negative numbers. When this option is set, all cells containing
negative numbers will have their color number incremented by one. Cells
with color 8 will cycle back to color 1. Color must be enabled for this
option to take effect.
The quick numeric entry, newline action and set newline action
limits options can be combined to allow very quick entry of large amounts of
data. If all the data to be entered is in a single row or column then
setting the quick numeric entry and the appropriate newline action will
allow the numbers to be entered without any explicit commands to position
the current cell or enter a number.
If the data entry involves several entries in each row for many
rows, then setting the quick numeric entry option, setting the newline
action to move right after each entry and setting the newline action limits
on the last column on which data should be entered will allow the data to
entered quickly. An alternative to setting newline action limits is to
enclose the range for entry in a frame (see "Framed Ranges"
below), and setting the autowrap option. Setting autoinsert will insert new
rows as needed if the frame includes data at the bottom. If necessary,
columns which do not need data to be entered can be hidden with the z
command. Similar arrangements can be made for entering several rows of data
in each column.
- S
- Set options. This command allows you to set various options. A small menu
lists the options that cannot be changed through ^T above.
- byrows/bycols
- Specify the order cell evaluation when updating. These options also affect
the order in which cells are filled (see rf) and whether a row or
column is cleared by an x command.
- iterations=n
- Set the maximum number of recalculations before the screen is displayed
again. Iterations is set to 10 by default.
- tblstyle=s
- Control the output of the T command. s can be: 0
(default) to give colon delimited fields, with no tbl control
lines; tbl to give colon delimited fields, with tbl(1)
control lines; latex to give a LaTeX tabular environment;
slatex to give a SLaTeX (Scandinavian LaTeX) tabular
environment; tex to give a TeX simple tabbed alignment with
ampersands as delimiters; and frame to give a tblstyle output for
FrameMaker.
- pagesize=n
- Set the page size for the PageUp, PageDown, J, and K commands. If set to
0, the default is to move up or down half the number of rows displayed on
the screen, or if the current cell is in a framed range, half the number
of displayed rows in the scrolling region of that range.
Other Set options are normally used only in sc data
files since they are available through ^T. You can also use them
interactively.
- autocalc/!autocalc
- Set/clear auto recalculation mode.
- autoinsert/!autoinsert
- Set/clear automatic insertion mode.
- autowrap/!autowrap
- Set/clear autowrap mode.
- optimize/!optimize
- Set/clear auto optimize mode.
- numeric/!numeric
- Set/clear numeric mode.
- prescale/!prescale
- Set/clear numeric prescale mode.
- extfun/!extfun
- Enable/disable external functions.
- toprow/!toprow
- Set/clear top row display mode.
- rndtoeven/!rndtoeven
- Default: *.5 will be rounded up to the next integer; doing a 'set
rndtoeven' will cause it to be rounded to the closest even number instead
(aka banker's rounding). Round-to-even has advantages over the default
rounding for some applications. For example, if X+Y is an integer, then
X+Y = rnd(X)+rnd(Y) with round-to-even, but not always with the defaulting
rounding method. This could be an advantage, for example, when trying to
split an odd amount of money evenly between two people (it would determine
who gets the extra penny). Note: rndtoeven only effects the @rnd and
@round functions. It has no effect on how a number is rounded to fit the
display format of a cell.
- craction=n
- Set the newline action. n can be: 0 (default) to give no
action; 1 to move down after each entry; or 2 to move right
after each entry.
- rowlimit=n
- Set the remembered limit for the maximum row below which the current cell
will be moved to the top of the next column if the newline action is set
to move the current cell down. n can be -1 (default) to
disable this facility.
- collimit=n
- Set the remembered limit for the maximum column to the right of which the
current cell will be moved to the left of the next row if the newline
action is set to move the current cell right. n can be -1
(default) to disable this facility.
- color/!color
- Enable color. This option must be set for any other color options, such as
colorneg or colorerr, to take effect. On a slow connection, turning off
color can noticeably speed up screen updates.
- colorneg/!colorneg
- Color negative numbers. When this option is set, all cells containing
negative numbers will have their color number increased by one. Cells with
color 8 will cycle back to color 1. Color must be enabled for this option
to take effect.
- colorerr/!colorerr
- Color cells with errors. Setting this option will cause all cells with
expressions which evaluate to ERROR or INVALID to be set to color 3. Color
must be enabled for this option to take effect.
- cslop/!cslop
- Enable color slop. If a cell's label string is wider than the column
width, it will slop over into the next cell to the right if that cell is
empty. However, if that cell is in a different color range than the first,
this slop over will be disabled, regardless of whether the colors assigned
to the two ranges are different or not. If cslop is enabled, strings may
slop over even if the next cell is in a different color range, carrying
their color with them, which may cause a ragged boundary between the
ranges, but may allow the strings to be seen in their entirety. Cslop is
disabled by default.
The following Set options are considered personal
preferences, or are terminal dependent, and are therefore not saved when
saving a file, but are instead intended for use in a user's .scrc file.
- braille/!braille
- Set/clear braille enhancement mode. When braille enhancement mode is set,
the cursor behaves in a manner that makes the use of sc much easier
when using a braille display. In spite of its name, this mode also works
well with screen readers such as SpeakUp, and can even be used by sighted
users to make cutting and pasting using the screen program much
easier.
There are actually two different braille modes. When the
braille option is set, the C command, which is normally used to
set colors, will instead change from one braille mode to the other. If
it is desired to set/change colors so you can share files with others
not using a braille display, braille mode will have to be switched off
temporarily, and then switched back on after the color operation is
done.
When the braille option is set, the default braille mode will
cause the cursor to be positioned at the left edge of the current cell,
while the alternate braille mode will cause the cursor to be placed at
the beginning of the top line, which will contain information such as
the current cell address, contents of the cell, and column formatting
information. The column names will also be moved to the left edge of
their respective columns in order to remain aligned with the cursor as
it moves up and down the column.
In either mode, the cursor will be placed in the top line when
editing a line, except when switching to navigate mode, in which case
the cursor will be placed in either the current cell (default braille
mode) or the second line, where the cell address or default range will
be displayed (alternate braille mode).
Whenever a message is displayed on the second line, such as an
error message or prompt for further information, both modes will cause
the cursor to be placed at the beginning of that message. After this
message goes away, the cursor will revert to its former behavior. The
easiest way to make this message go away without effecting anything,
except in the cases where it is asking the user for more information, is
to press CC, which effectively changes modes twice, with a net
effect of leaving sc in the original mode.
- locale/!locale
- If locale support is compiled into sc, this option will cause
certain locale-dependent behaviors, such as the display of numbers and the
determination of word boundaries for some operations in edit mode. Note
that if this option is set and the environment variable LC_ALL is
unrecognized, unset, or set to either ``POSIX'' or ``C'', commas in format
commands will be ignored.
- cellcur/!cellcur
- Set/clear current cell highlighting mode. This option is included here
because it is likely to be terminal dependent and/or a user preference,
and therefore is not saved when saving a file.
- scrc
- It tells sc to also read the file .scrc in the current directory
when starting. Settings in this file will override those in $HOME/.scrc
but may themselves be overridden by command line options. Setting this
could be a potential security risk, since starting sc with an
unknown .scrc could potentially execute arbitrary commands. This risk is
probably very slight, since a spreadsheet program is not likely to be run
in just any directory, and should never be run as root.
- ^A
- Go to cell A0 (same as HOME).
- ^P
- Move the cell cursor up to the previous row.
- ^N
- Move the cell cursor down to the next row.
- ^H
- Move the cell cursor backward one column.
- SPACE
- Move the cell cursor forward one column. When in navigate mode, if a range
is highlighted, insert the highlighted range into the command line,
followed by a space, while remaining in navigate mode. This is useful when
entering copy, move, or frame commands, for example, which accept more
than one range argument.
- h, j, k, l
- These are alternate, vi-compatible cell cursor controls (left,
down, up, right). Space is just like l (right).
- H, J, K, L
- These move the cursor by half pages (left, down, up, right). If
pagesize is nonzero, up/down paging will be by pagesize
rows, instead.
- ^F, ^B
- Same as J and K above.
- PAGE-DOWN
PAGE-UP
- Same as J and K above.
- TAB
- If the character cursor is on the top line, TAB tries to
complete a range name if the character immediately preceding it is
alphanumeric or ``_'', and starts a range if not (see below). Otherwise,
move the cell cursor forward one column.
- HOME
- Go to cell A0.
- END
- Same as ^E (see below).
- Arrow Keys
- The terminal's arrow keys provide another alternate set of cell cursor
controls if they exist and are supported in the appropriate termcap
entry. Some terminals have arrow keys which conflict with other control
key codes. For example, a terminal might send ^H when the back
arrow key is pressed. In these cases, the conflicting arrow key performs
the same function as the key combination it mimics.
- ^
- Move the cell cursor up to row 0 of the current column.
- #
- Move the cell cursor down to the last valid row of the current
column.
- 0
- Move the cell cursor backward to column A of the current row. This command
must be prefixed with ^U if quick numeric entry mode is
enabled.
- $
- Move the cell cursor forward to the last valid column of the current
row.
- b
- Scan the cursor backward (left and up) to the previous valid cell.
- w
- Scan the cursor forward (right and down) to the next valid cell.
- g
- Go to a cell. sc prompts for a cell's name, a regular expression
surrounded by quotes, or a number. If a cell's name such as ae122
or the name of a defined range is given, the cell cursor goes directly to
that cell. If a quoted regular expression such as " Tax Table
" or " ^Jan [0-9]*$ " is given, sc searches
for a cell containing a string matching the regular expression. See
regex(3) or ed(1) for more details on the form of regular
expressions.
- You can also search formatted numbers or expressions using regular
expressions by preceding the opening quotes of the regular expression with
a ``#'' (for formatted numbers) or a ``%'' (for expressions). These are
handy for searching for dates within a specified range or cells which
reference a given cell, for example, although they are somewhat slower
than searching through ordinary strings, since all numbers must be
formatted or expressions decompiled on the fly during the search.
- If a number is given, sc will search for a cell containing that
number. Searches for either strings or numbers proceed forward from the
current cell, wrapping back to a0 at the end of the table, and terminate
at the current cell if the string or number is not found. You may also go
to a cell with an ERROR (divide by zero, etc. in this cell) or INVALID
(references a cell containing an ERROR). g error will take
you to the next ERROR, while g invalid take you to the next
INVALID. The last g command is saved, and can be re-issued by
entering g<return>. You can also repeat the last search by
pressing n.
- An optional second argument is available whose meaning depends on whether
you're doing a search or jumping to a specific cell. When doing a search,
the second argument specifies a range to search. When jumping to a
specific cell, the second argument specifies which cell should be in the
upper lefthand corner of the screen, if possible, which allows you to
position the destination cell where you want it on the screen.
- ^Ed
- Go to end of range. Follow ^E by a direction indicator such as
^P or j. If the cell cursor starts on a non-blank cell, it
goes in the indicated direction until the last non-blank adjacent cell. If
the cell cursor starts on a blank cell, it goes in the indicated direction
until the first non-blank cell. This command is useful when specifying
ranges of adjacent cells (see below), especially when the range is bigger
than the visible window.
- If ^E is pressed twice in succession, or if it is pressed after
another ^E or a ^Y, it will cause the screen to scroll up
without moving the cell cursor, unless the cell cursor is already at the
top of the screen, in which case, it will remain at the top of the visible
screen.
- ^Y
- Causes the screen to scroll down without moving the cell cursor, unless
the cell cursor is already at the bottom of the screen, in which case, it
will remain at the bottom of the visible screen.
- mx
- Mark the current cell. sc will prompt for a lowercase letter to be
used as a mark specifier. Marked cells may be used as the source for the
c (copy a marked cell) command, or as the target of a ` or
' (go to marked cell) command. In addition to cells marked with
lowercase letters, sc also automatically marks the last nine cells
that have been edited with the numbers 1-9, and the current cell being
edited with the number 0. When not editing a cell, marks 0 and 1 usually
refer to the same cell, unless the last edit was begun in one cell, but
the cell address was changed before pressing the RETURN
key, or the last edit was aborted prematurely.
- `x
- Jump to a previously marked cell. If the target cell is currently on the
screen, sc will simply jump to the target cell, making it current.
Otherwise, sc will attempt to center the cell on the screen, if
possible. As a special case, following the ` with another ` will return
you to the cell you were in before the last g, ', `, *, or ^E (or END key)
was used to jump to another cell.
- 'x
- Jump to a previously marked cell. ' works just like ` ,
except that ' will attempt to restore the marked cell to the same
position on the screen as when it was marked. It does this by remembering
which cell was in the upper left hand corner of the screen at the time the
mark was set, and restoring that cell to its original position. As a
special case, following the ' with another ' will return you to the cell
you were in before the last g, ', `, *, or ^E (or END key) was used to
jump to another cell, and will also try to position that cell on the
screen in the same position as when you left it.
- z<RETURN>
- Move the current row to the top of the screen. If the current row is in a
framed range, move the current row to the top of the scrolling
region.
- z.
- Move the current row to the center of the screen.
- z|
- Move the current column to the center of the screen.
- zc
- Center the current cell both horizontally and vertically.
Cells can contain both a numeric value and a string value. Either
value can be the result of an expression, but not both at once, i.e. each
cell can have only one expression associated with it. Entering a valid
numeric expression alters the cell's previous numeric value, if any, and
replaces the cell's previous string expression, if any, leaving only the
previously computed constant label string. Likewise, entering a valid string
expression alters the cell's the previous label string, if any, and replaces
the cell's previous numeric expression, if any, leaving only the previously
computed constant numeric value.
- =
- Enter a numeric constant or expression into the current cell. sc
prompts for the expression on the top line. The usual way to enter a
number into a cell is to type ``='', then enter the number in response to
the prompt on the top line. The quick numeric entry option, enabled
through the -n option or ^T command, shows the prompt when
you enter the first digit of a number (you can skip typing ``=''). If you
want to begin entering an expression in the current cell, but you want to
start out in navigate mode (e.g. to enter cell addresses, or sums of
ranges using ``@sum''), use the ``+'' command instead (see below).
- <
- Enter a label string into the current cell to be flushed left against the
left edge of the cell.
- \
- Enter a label string into the current cell to be centered in the
column.
- >
- Enter a label string into the current cell to be flushed right against the
right edge of the cell.
- {
- Left justify the string in the current cell.
- |
- Center the string in the current cell.
- }
- Right justify the string in the current cell.
- F
- Enter a format string into the current cell. This format string overrides
the precision specified with the f command unless & is
present in the fractional part of the format string (see below). The
format only applies to numeric values. There are two types of format
strings allowed: standard numeric and date. (Note: these format strings
may also be used with the f command to create user-defined format
types.) The following characters can be used to build a standard numeric
format string:
- #
- Digit placeholder. If the number has fewer digits on either side of the
decimal point than there are `#' characters in the format, the extra `#'
characters are ignored. The number is rounded to the number of digit
placeholders as there are to the right of the decimal point. If there are
more digits in the number than there are digit placeholders on the left
side of the decimal point, then those digits are displayed.
- 0
- Digit placeholder. Same as for `#' except that the number is padded with
zeroes on either side of the decimal point. The number of zeroes used in
padding is determined by the number of digit placeholders after the `0'
for digits on the left side of the decimal point and by the number of
digit placeholders before the `0' for digits on the right side of the
decimal point.
- .
- Decimal point. Determines how many digits are placed on the right and left
sides of the decimal point in the number. If locale is set, the
decimal point for the user's current locale will be used when formatting a
number. Note that numbers smaller than 1 will begin with a decimal point
if the left side of the decimal point contains only a `#' digit
placeholder. Use a `0' placeholder to get a leading zero in decimal
formats.
- %
- Percentage. For each `%' character in the format, the actual number gets
multiplied by 100 (only for purposes of formatting -- the original number
is left unmodified) and the `%' character is placed in the same position
as it is in the format.
- ,
- Thousands separator. The presence of a `,' in the format (multiple commas
are treated as one) will cause the number to be formatted with a `,'
separating each set of three digits in the integer part of the number with
numbering beginning from the right end of the integer. If locale is
set, the thousands separator for the user's current locale will be used in
place of the comma. If the environment variable LC_ALL is unset,
unrecognized, or is set to ``POSIX'' or ``C'', any commas in the format
string will be ignored.
- &
- Precision. When this character is present in the fractional part of the
number, it is equivalent to a number of 0's equal to the precision
specified in the column format command. For example, if the precision is
3, `&' is equivalent to `000'.
- \
- Quote. This character causes the next character to be inserted into the
formatted string directly with no special interpretation.
- E- E+ e- e+
- Scientific format. Causes the number to be formatted in scientific
notation. The case of the `E' or `e' given is preserved. If the format
uses a `+', then the sign is always given for the exponent value. If the
format uses a `-', then the sign is only given when the exponent value is
negative. Note that if there is no digit placeholder following the `+' or
`-', then that part of the formatted number is left out. In general, there
should be one or more digit placeholders after the `+' or `-'.
- ;
- Format selector. Use this character to separate the format into two
distinct formats. The format to the left of the `;' character will be used
if the number given is zero or positive. The format to the right of the
`;' character is used if the number given is negative.
- Some example formats are integer (``0'' or ``#''), fixed (``0.00''),
percentage (``0%'' or ``0.00%''), scientific (``0.00E+00''), and currency
(``$#,0.00;($#,0.00)'').
- Date format strings are identified by the presence of a ^D in the first
postition. If this is present, the remainder of the string is passed to
the strftime() function, and therefore uses the same conversion specifiers
as strftime(). For more information on conversion specifiers for date
format strings, see the man page for strftime(3).
Strings you enter must start with ". You can leave off the
trailing " and sc will add it for you. You can also enter a
string expression by backspacing over the opening " in the prompt.
- e
- Edit the value associated with the current cell. This is identical to
``='' except that the command line starts out containing the old numeric
value or expression associated with the cell. The editing in this mode is
vi-like.
- ^H
- Move back a character
- ^V, v
- Enter navigate mode. This mode allows you to navigate the spreadsheet
while editing a command. When in navigate mode, v will insert the
numeric value of the current cell, if any, into the command line, instead,
while ^V will return to the previous mode (like the ESCAPE
key).
- ^W
- Insert the expression attached to the current cell into the command line.
If there is none, the result is ``?''. This only works while in navigate
mode.
- ^A
- In navigate mode, go to cell A0. When not in navigate mode, jump to
the beginning of the line instead.
- ^E
- Jump to the end of the line. Unlike ``$'' (below), this can also be used
from insert mode.
- TAB
- If the character immediately preceding the cursor is alphanumeric or
``_'', TAB tries to find a match in the list of range
names, and if one is found, the name will be completed on the command
line. If there are multiple matches, pressing TAB
repeatedly without any other intervening keys will cycle through all of
the valid matches. If the character immediately preceding the cursor is
not alphanumeric or ``_'', TAB defines a range of cells via
the cursor control commands or the arrow keys. Pressing TAB
automatically switches sc to navigate mode if you haven't already
done so using the ^V command, and the range is highlighted,
starting at the cell where you typed TAB, and continuing
through the current cell. Pressing TAB again causes the
highlighted range to be inserted into the command line, the highlighting
to be turned off, and the previous mode to be restored. This is most
useful for defining ranges to functions such as @sum(). Pressing
``)'' acts just like typing the TAB key the second time and
adds the closing ``)''. Note that when you give a range command, if the
first argument to the command is a range, you don't need to press the
first TAB to begin defining a range starting with the
current cell.
- :
- Synonym for TAB, when in navigate mode.
- ` '
- In navigate mode, go to marked cell.
- *
- In navigate mode, go to note linked to current cell.
- +
- Forward through history (same as j)
- -
- Backward through history (same as k)
- ESC
- Done editing
- CR
- Save. When in navigate mode, insert the name of the current cell (the one
at the cell cursor) into the command line. This is useful when entering
expressions which refer to other cells in the table.
- $
- Goto last column
- %
- Goto matching parenthesis
- .
- Insert current dot buffer. When in navigate mode, this is a synonym for :
or TAB.
- ;
- Repeat the last f, F, t, or T command.
- ,
- Repeat the last f, F, t, or T command, but in the reverse direction.
- ~
- Change the case of the character under the cursor.
- /
- Search backwards for a string in the history
ESC edit the string you typed
CR search
^H backspace
- ?
- Search forward for a string in the history (see ``/'' above)
- 0
- Goto column 0
- B
- Move back a word. Like b, except words are space delimited
only.
- C
- Change to end of line (delete first, then enter insert mode)
- D
- Delete to end of line
- F
- Find the next char typed, moving backwards in the line
- G
- Go to the end of history, i.e., to the line being currently entered
- I
- Insert at column 0; ESC revert back to edit mode
- N
- Repeat the last search in the opposite direction
- P
- Insert the most recently deleted text before the cursor
- R
- Replace mode; ESC revert back to edit mode
- T
- Goto a char, moving backwards in the line
- W
- Forward a word. Like w, except words are space delimited only.
- X
- Delete the char to the left
- a
- Append after cursor; ESC revert back to edit mode
- b
- Move back a word
- c
- Change mode; ESC revert back to edit mode. In navigate mode, insert color
range which includes the current cell.
- d
- Delete ...
0 delete to beginning of line
$ delete to end of line
b back word
e delete to end of word
f forward (right)
h back char
l forward
t delete forward up to a given char (next char typed)
w delete next word forward
- e
- Forward to next end-of-word
- f
- Find the next char typed. In navigate mode, insert the outer frame range
which includes the current cell.
- g
- In navigate mode, allows you to `goto' a cell or range, just like the
regular goto command. Ignored in edit, insert or replace
modes.
- h
- Move left a char
- i
- Insert before cursor; ESC revert back to edit mode
- j
- Forward through history (same as +)
- k
- Backward through history (same as -)
- l
- Move right a char
- n
- Repeat the last search (find the next match)
- o
- When highlighting a range in navigate mode, move to the opposite corner of
the highlighted range.
- p
- Insert the most recently deleted text after the cursor
- q
- Stop editing
- r
- Replace char. In navigate mode, insert the inner frame range which
includes the current cell.
- s
- Delete current char and enter insert mode (stands for substitute)
- t
- Goto a char
- u
- Undo
- w
- Forward a word
- x
- Delete the current char (moving to the right)
- y
- Copies to the delete buffer without deleting. Use like d (above).
- E
- Edit the string associated with the current cell. This is identical to
``<'', ``\'', or ``>'' except that the command line starts out
containing the old string value or expression associated with the cell.
SEE e ABOVE.
To enter and edit a cell's number part, use the ``='', ``+'', and
e commands. To enter and edit a cell's string part, use the ``<'',
``\'', ``>'', and E commands. See the sections below on numeric
and string expressions for more information.
Note that the descriptions of the ``+'' and ``-'' commands below
may seem very confusing at first, but once they're understood, they can
facilitate the rapid entry of expressions which add and subtract large
numbers of cells and sums of ranges of cells, so read them over carefully
several times until you understand them.
- "
- Specify a named buffer for the next yank/delete/pull command. Buffers are
named with a single character. Buffers ``a'' through ``z''
are general purpose buffers, buffers ``1'' through ``9''
hold the last nine deletions, with buffer ``1'' being the most
recent, and buffer ``0'' holds the last cell or range yanked.
Buffer ``"'' is the default buffer, which holds the last cell
or range that was deleted or yanked.
- x
- Clear the current cell. Deletes the numeric value, label string, and/or
numeric or string expression. You can prefix this command with a count of
the number of cells on the current row to clear. The current column is
used if column recalculation order is set. Cells cleared with this command
may be recalled with any of the pull commands (see below).
- mx
- Mark the current cell. sc will prompt for a lowercase letter to be
used as a mark specifier. Marked cells may be used as the source for the
copy command, or as the target of a ` or ' (go to
marked cell) command.
- cx
- Copy a marked cell to the current cell, adjusting row and column
references in its numeric or string expression, if any. sc will
prompt for the name of the cell to be copied, which may be a lowercase
letter specified previously with the m command, a digit 1-9 to
reference one of the last nine edited cells (0 will reference the last
cell in which an edit was begun, regardless of whether the edit was
completed or not), or ``.'' to reference the current cell, which,
as a special case, is to be used as a source rather than a destination,
and is to be copied into a range which includes the current cell. When
``.'' is specified, the current cell is set as the default source
range for the range copy (rc) command, and then the copy
command is entered into the command line and sc switches to
navigate mode. Moving the cell cursor will then highlight the destination
range. After the desired range is highlighted, press RETURN
to execute the copy.
- +
- If not in numeric mode, add the current numeric argument (default 1) to
the value of the current cell. The current value of the cell must not be
an expression. In numeric mode, + switches to insert mode and
appends a ``+'' to the current expression or value, if any, which makes it
easy to add to existing data.
In navigate mode, + inserts the current cell address
into the line, followed by another +, and sc remains in
navigate mode, unless a range is highlighted. If a range is highlighted
and the character immediately preceding the cursor is a ``+'' or ``-'',
or the cursor is at the beginning of an empty ``let'' expression, the
string ``@sum('' will be inserted, followed by the highlighted range,
followed by ``)+''. If a range is highlighted and the character
immediately preceding the cursor is not a ``+'' or ``-'', and the cursor
is not at the beginning of an empty ``let'' expression, the highlighted
range will be inserted, followed by ``)+''.
- -
- If not in numeric mode, subtract the current numeric argument (default 1)
from the value of the current cell. The current value of the cell must not
be an expression. In numeric mode, - switches to insert mode and
appends a ``-'' to the current expression or value, if any, which makes it
easy to subtract from existing data.
In navigate mode, - inserts the current cell address
into the line, followed by another -, and sc remains in
navigate mode, unless a range is highlighted. If a range if highlighted
and the character immediately preceding the cursor is a ``+'' or ``-'',
or the cursor is at the beginning of an empty ``let'' expression, the
string ``@sum('' will be inserted, followed by the highlighted range,
followed by ``)-''. If a range is highlighted and the character
immediately preceding the cursor is not a ``+'' or ``-'', and the cursor
is not at the beginning of an empty ``let'' expression, the highlighted
range will be inserted, followed by ``)-''.
- RETURN
- If you are not editing a cell (top line is empty), pressing
RETURN will make sc enter insert mode. At this point
you may type any valid command or press ESC once to edit.
- G
- Get a new database from a file. If encryption is enabled, the file is
decrypted before it is loaded into the spreadsheet.
- P
- Put the current database into a file. If encryption is enabled, the file
is encrypted before it is saved.
- ZZ
- Save the current database into a file if it has been modified, and then
quit. This is like the P command followed by the q command,
except that the default filename will be used instead of prompting you for
one, and the file will only be saved if it was modified. If there is no
default filename, an error message will be displayed, and no action
taken.
- W
- Write a listing of the current database into a file in a form that matches
its appearance on the screen. This differs from the Put command in
that its files are intended to be reloaded with Get, while
Write produces a file for people to look at. Hidden rows or columns
are not shown when the data is printed.
- T
- Write a listing of the current database to a file, but include delimiters
suitable for processing by the tbl, LaTeX, or TeX
table processors. The delimiters are controlled by the tblstyle
option. See Set above. The delimiters are a colon (:) for
style 0 or tbl and an ampersand (&) for style
latex or tex.
With the Put, Write, and Table commands, the
optional range argument writes a subset of the spreadsheet to the output
file.
With the Write and Table commands, if you try to
write to the last file used with the Get or Put commands, or
the file specified on the command line when sc was invoked, you are
asked to confirm that the (potentially) dangerous operation is really what
you want.
The three output commands, Put, Write, and
Table, can pipe their (unencrypted only) output to a program. To use
this feature, enter ``| program'' to the prompt asking for a filename. For
example, to redirect the output of the Write command to the printer,
you might enter ``| lpr -p''.
- M
- Merge the database from the named file into the current database. Values
and expressions defined in the named file are read into the current
spreadsheet overwriting the existing entries at matching cell
locations.
- R
- Run macros. There are two different kinds of macros that can be used with
sc: simple macros, which are stored in plain text files, and
advanced macros, which are executable files, and which can be written in
the language of your choice. Advanced macros are only available on systems
that support pipes.
Simple macros are interpreted by sc's internal parser,
and use the same commands used to enter data and perform other
operations (the single key commands are shortcuts which switch to input
mode after first entering the beginning of the full command for you).
These are also the same commands found in sc files created with
the Put command. Since sc files are saved as ASCII files, it is
possible to use them as primitive macro definition files. The Run
command makes this easier. It's like the Merge command, but
prints a saved path name as the start of the filename to merge in. The
string to use is set with the Define command. To write macros,
you must be familiar with the file format written by the Put
command.
Advanced macros use executable files that are started by
sc as a child process with stdin and stdout redirected back to
sc for bidirectional communication. Special commands are
available for requesting information such as cell contents, formatting
information, or the current location of the cell cursor. Commands are
written to stdout, and responses are read from stdin. To use advanced
macros, the filename must be preceded by a | (the pipe symbol), and the
file must be executable. If the pathname set with the Define
command begins with a |, all files in that path will be executed as
advanced macros. It is also possible to include a filename as part of
the path when using advanced macros, which allows you to put multiple
macros in a single file, and use the Run command to add command
line arguments or options to determine which macro should be run.
Advanced macros are relatively new, and documentation is still
incomplete. This feature will probably be enhanced in future
releases.
- A
- Specify a macro to be automatically run whenever the current sheet is
reloaded from a file.
- D
- Define a path for the Run command to use (see above).
All file operations take a filename as the first argument to the
prompt on the top line. The prompt supplies a " to aid in typing in the
filename. The filename can also be obtained from a cell's label string or
string expression. In this case, delete the leading " with the
backspace key and enter a cell name such as a22 instead. If the
resulting string starts with ``|'', the rest of the string is interpreted as
a UNIX command, as above.
These are two-letter commands which can be used on either rows or
columns. The exceptions are the f command, which only works on
columns, and therefore doesn't require a second letter, and the p
command which, in addition to operating on rows or columns, has several
other options for merging the data in directly, without opening up a new row
or column. There are also a few special cases where pressing the same letter
twice will affect only the current cell instead of a row or column (except
for ZZ, which is a special case all its own).
In all of the remaining cases, the second letter of the command
will be either r or c, depending on whether the operation
should be performed on rows or columns, respectively (additional options for
the p command and the double letter cases are listed below). A small
menu lists the choices for the second letter when you type the first letter
of one of these commands.
Alternatively, you may define a range of rows or columns by moving
the cell cursor, either a cell at a time, or by pages (roughly 1/2 screen,
unless the pagesize option has been set), but this only works for the
d, y, and Z commands. Vertical cursor movement will
begin highlighting rows, and horizontal movement will highlight columns.
Pressing the RETURN key will then perform the chosen
operation on the specified rows/columns.
Commands which copy cells also modify the row and column
references in affected cell expressions. The references may be frozen by
using the @fixed operator or using the $ character in the
reference to the cell (see below). Commands which create new rows or columns
will include all newly created cells in the same ranges (named, framed,
color, or those used in expressions) as their counterparts in the current
row or column. This can sometimes be a significant factor when deciding
whether to use ir/ic or or/oc.
- ir, ic
- Insert a new row (column) by moving the row (column) containing the cell
cursor, and all following rows (columns), down (right) one row (column).
The new row (column) is empty. Inserting rows while the cell cursor is in
a framed range will only effect rows in that range, leaving all rows to
the left and right untouched.
- or, oc
- Open a new row (column). These commands work like the ir and
ic commands, except that the new row (column) will be inserted
after the current row (column) instead of before it.
- ar, ac
- Append a new row (column) immediately following the current row (column).
It is initialized as a copy of the current one. Appending rows while the
cell cursor is in a framed range will only effect rows in that range,
leaving all rows to the left and right untouched.
- dr, dc, dd
- Delete the current row (column). dd deletes the current cell (i.e.,
it is a synonym for x). Deleting rows while the cell cursor is in a
framed range will only effect rows in that range, leaving all rows to the
left and right untouched.
- yr, yc, yy
- Yank a copy of the current row (column) into the delete buffer without
actually deleting it. yy yanks the current cell (similar to
x, but without actually deleting the contents of the cell). Yanking
rows while the cell cursor is in a framed range will only copy the portion
of each row contained in that range, while ignoring everything outside the
range.
- pr, pc, pp, pm, px, pt, pC,
p.
- Pull deleted rows/columns/cells back into the spreadsheet. The last set of
cells that was deleted or yanked is put back into the spreadsheet at the
current location. pr inserts enough rows to hold the data.
pc inserts enough columns to hold the data. pp (paste) does
not insert rows or columns; it overwrites the cells beginning at the
current cell cursor location. pm (merge) merges the cells in at the
current cell cursor location, but does not erase the destination range
first like pp. The difference between pp and pm is
similar to the difference between the Get and Merge
commands. pf (format) works like pm except that only cell
formatting information is merged in, leaving the actual data untouched.
This makes it easy to copy cell formats from one part of the spreadsheet
to another, such as when expanding an existing spreadsheet file. px
(exchange) copies the contents of the delete buffer into the range
beginning at the current cell cursor location, while simultaneously
copying the contents of this range back into the delete buffer, replacing
its current contents. pt (transpose) overwrites the cells beginning
at the current cell cursor location like pp, but transposes rows
for columns and vice versa. pC (copy) works like pp, except
that all cell references are adjusted in the same way that they are for
the copy command. p. is the same as pC, except that
it switches to navigate mode and allows you to define the destination
range to be used. This works like the copy command in that if the
source range (the contents of the delete buffer) is a single row, column,
or cell, multiple copies may be made.
- vr, vc, vv
- Remove expressions from the affected rows (columns), leaving only the
values which were in the cells before the command was executed. When used
in a framed range, vr only affects the portion of the the row
inside the range, leaving the rest of the row unchanged. vv only
affects the contents of the current cell.
- Zr, Zc, ZZ
- Hide (``zap'') the current row (column). This keeps a row (column) from
being displayed but keeps it in the data base. The status of the rows and
columns is saved with the data base so hidden rows and columns will still
be hidden when you reload the spreadsheet. Hidden rows or columns are not
printed by the W command. The ZZ command is a special case.
It does not hide anything. Instead, the file will be saved, if modified,
and sc will exit. See ZZ above, under File
Commands.
- sr, sc
- Show hidden rows (columns). Enter a range of rows (columns) to be
revealed. The default is the first range of rows (columns) currently
hidden. This command ignores the repeat count, if any.
- f
- Set the output format to be used for printing the numeric values in each
cell in the current column. This command has only a column version (no
second letter). You may change the column width by pressing the h,
<, or cursor left key to reduce it, or the l,
>, or cursor right key to increase it. Likewise, you may change
the precision (the number of digits to follow decimal points) by pressing
the j, -, or cursor down key to reduce it, or the k,
+, or cursor up key to increase it. You may also change the format
type for the column by pressing any digit. If the f command is
preceded by a numeric argument, that argument will determine how many
columns should be changed, beginning with the current column, and in the
case of incrementing or decrementing the width or precision of the
columns, each column will be incremented or decremented separately,
regardless of its initial values. Several formatting operations may be
performed in sequence. To leave the formatting command, simply press
ESC, ^G, q, or RETURN .
- Alternatively, you may press SPACE to get the format command
in the top line and enter all three values directly. In order, these are:
the total width in characters of the column, the precision, and the format
type. Format types are 0 for fixed point, 1 for scientific notation, 2 for
engineering notation, 3 for dates with a two digit year, and 4 for dates
with a four digit year. Values are rounded off to the least significant
digit displayed. The total column width affects displays of strings as
well as numbers. A preceding count can be used to affect more than one
column.
- You can also create your own format types by pressing = after the
f command, followed by any digit (see the F command above
under Cell Entry and Editing Commands for a description of how to
build a format string). Format numbers 0 through 4 will supersede the
built-in format types, while numbers 5 through 9 will supplement them.
User defined format types may be used in the same way as the built-in
types. For example, the command
- format 5 = "#,0.& ;(#,0.&)"
- will define a currency format which may then be assigned to column C, for
example, with the command
- @myrow, @mycol
- Are functions that return the row or column of the current cell
respectively. ex: The cell directly above a cell in the D column could
then be accessed by @nval("d",@myrow-1). NOTE: @myrow and @mycol
can't be used in specifying ranges.
- @lastrow, @lastcol
- These return the last row and column of the spreadsheet, respectively.
They are useful for macros designed to default to the whole
spreadsheet.
Range operations affect a rectangular region on the screen defined
by the upper left and lower right cells in the region. All of the commands
in this class begin with ``r''; the second letter of the command indicates
which command. A small menu lists the choices for the second letter when you
type ``r''. sc prompts for needed parameters for each command.
Phrases surrounded by square brackets in the prompt are informational only
and may be erased with the backspace key.
Prompts requesting variable names may be satisfied with either an
explicit variable name, such as A10, or with a variable name
previously defined in a rd command (see below). Range name prompts
require either an explicit range such as A10:B20, or a range name
previously defined with a rd command. A default range shown in the
second line is used if you omit the range from the command or press the
TAB key (see below). The default range can be changed by
moving the cell cursor via the control commands (^P or ^N) or
the arrow keys. The cells in the default range are highlighted (using the
terminal's standout mode, if available).
- rx
- Clear a range. Cells cleared with this command will be saved in the delete
buffer, and may be recalled with any of the pull commands.
- ry
- Yank a range. Like rx, cells yanked with this command will be saved
in the delete buffer, and may be recalled with any of the pull
commands. This command differs from rx, however, in that the
original cells will not be cleared. Although this command may be used to
copy a range of cells, it treats all references as fixed. Use rc if
you want references to be relative to the cell which contains them unless
specified otherwise, either with the @fixed operator or using the
$ character in the reference to the cell.
- rc
- Copy a source range to a destination range. The source and destination may
be different sizes. The result is always one or more full copies of the
source. Copying a row to a row yields a row. Copying a column to a column
yields a column. Copying a range to anything yields a range. Copying a row
to a column or a column to a row yields a range with as many copies of the
source as there are cells in the destination. This command can be used to
duplicate a cell through an arbitrary range by making the source a single
cell range such as b20:b20.
If the source range is omitted (second argument), the source
range from the last copy command will be used, unless a range is
currently highlighted, in which case the highlighted range will be
copied instead. If both the source range and destination range are
omitted, the current cell will be used as the destination, unless a
range is currently highlighted, in which case the highlighted range will
serve as the destination, and the source range from the last copy
command will be copied into that destination.
- rm
- Move a source range to a destination range. This differs from deleting a
range with rx and pulling it back in with pm in that any
expressions that reference a cell in the range to be moved will reference
the cell at its new address after the move. Unlike the rc command,
the destination of a move is a single cell, which will be the upper
lefthand corner of the source range after the move.
- rv
- Values only. This command removes the expressions from a range of cells,
leaving just the values of the expressions.
- rs
- Sort a range. The rows in the specified range will be sorted according to
criteria given in the form of a string of characters. This string,
enclosed in double quotes, may comprise a single criterion or multiple
criteria in decreasing order of precedence. Each criterion has three
parts, all of which are mandatory. The first part is a single character,
which must be either + or -, which specifies whether the
sort should be done in ascending or descending order, respectively. The
second part, which is also a single character, must be either # or
$, and is used to specify whether the sort should be based on the
numeric portion or the string portion, respectively, of the cells being
used for the comparison. The third part may be either one or two
characters, and must be alphabetic (case insensitive), and specifies the
column to be used when making the comparisons. This column must be in the
range being sorted. Any number of criteria may be concatenated, and will
be used in the order specified. If no criteria are specified, the default
behavior is to sort in ascending order, first by string and then by
number, using the leftmost column of the range being sorted. This is
equivalent to specifying the sort criteria to be " +$a+#a
", where both a's are replaced by the name of the
leftmost column of the range being sorted.
- rf
- Fill a range with constant values starting with a given value and
increasing by a given increment. Each row is filled before moving on to
the next row if row order recalculation is set. Column order fills each
column in the range before moving on to the next column. The start and
increment numbers may be positive or negative. To fill all cells with the
same value, give an increment of zero.
- r{
- Left justify all strings in the specified range.
- r}
- Right justify all strings in the specified range.
- r|
- Center all strings in the specified range.
- rd
- Use this command to assign a symbolic name to a single cell or a
rectangular range of cells on the screen. The parameters are the name,
surrounded by "", and either a single cell name such as
A10 or a range such as a1:b20. Names defined in this fashion
are used by the program in future prompts, may be entered in response to
prompts requesting a cell or range name, and are saved when the
spreadsheet is saved with the Put command. Names defined may be any
combination of alphanumeric characters and `_' as long as the name
isn't a valid cell address. Thus, x, H2SO4, and
3rdDay are all valid names, but H2 is not.
- rl
- Use this command to lock the current cell or a range of cells, i.e. make
them immune to any type of editing. A locked cell can't be changed in any
way until it is unlocked.
- rU
- This command is the opposite of the rl command and thus unlocks a
locked cell and makes it editable.
- rS
- This command shows lists of the currently defined range names, framed
ranges, and color definitions and ranges, one after the other. The output
of this command will be piped to less. If the environment variable
PAGER is set, its value is used in place of less.
- ru
- Use this command to undefine a previously defined range name.
- rF
- Use this command to assign a value format string (see the ``F'' cell entry
command) to a range of cells.
- rr
- This command is used for creating, modifying, and deleting framed ranges.
A framed range, is one which has a number of rows or columns specified at
the top, bottom, left, and/or right (the frame) which must remain onscreen
whenever the cell cursor is within that range. In other words, a frame
consists of an outer range and an inner range, where the inner range is
allowed to scroll within the outer range. Once a frame is defined, the
inner range may be resized, but the outer range remains fixed unless rows
or columns are added or deleted within the range.
When this command is invoked, you will be prompted for the
type of frame-related action you would like to perform. You may select
an option from the list by typing its first letter.
The options are top, bottom, left,
right, all, and unframe. If you choose top,
bottom, left, or right, you will be prompted for a
range and number of rows/columns. The range may be omitted if the cell
cursor is in a previously defined framed range, in which case that
range's outer range will be used instead. The number of rows/columns
will set or adjust the width of the corresponding side of the frame. If
all of these widths are set to zero, the frame will be undefined (same
as the unframe command).
If you choose all, you will be prompted for an outer
range and an inner range, in which case the inner range will scroll
within the outer range, and any rows or columns outside of the inner
range, but inside the outer range will be part of the ``frame'' that is
to remain onscreen. The outer range may be omitted if the cell cursor is
in a previously defined framed range, in which case the previously
defined outer range will be used. However, if a single range is
specified on the command line, while another range wholly contained
within this range is highlighted, the specified range will be used as
the outer range, and the highlighted range will be used as the inner
range. If no range is specified on the command line, but a range is
highlighted, and the highlighted range is wholly contained within a
previously defined framed range, the highlighted range will be used as
the inner range, and the previously defined outer range will be used as
the outer range.
If you choose unframe, you will be prompted for a
range, and if the range is found in the list of frames, the frame will
be deleted, and the framing will no longer be active (the specified
range must be the outer range of the previously defined frame to be
deleted). The range may be omitted if the cell cursor is in a previously
defined framed range, in which case that range will be used by
default.
Framed ranges may not be nested or overlapping. If you try to
define a range that contains any cells in common with a previously
defined framed range, an error message will be issued, and the frame
will not be created.
- rC
- This command defines a color range, and specifies a foreground/background
pair to be used for that range. See "Color Commands" below for
more information.
A note is a cell or range of cells that can be jumped to quickly
from another cell by creating a special link in that cell. The note may
contain text explaining the contents of the cell containing the link,
similar to a footnote, or it may simply be another part of the spreadsheet
that is related to the cell in some way. When you press the `n' key, you
will get a short prompt asking you whether you want to add or delete a note,
or to ``show'' (by highlighting) which cells on the screen have attached
notes.
If a cell with an attached note contains numeric data, it will be
preceded with an ``*''. If color is available and turned on, the ``*'' will
be displayed with color 4. Also, the note address will be displayed in curly
braces on the top line, preceded by an ``*'', when the cell is current (e.g.
{*AC30:AE43} or {*note1} for a named range). You may also use
the *s (Note/Show) command to highlight all cells on the current
screen with attached notes.
- *a
- Add a note. This will bring up the addnote command in the top line,
followed by the target address of the cell where you want the note added.
You must then enter the cell or range where the note resides to add the
note. If you omit the note address or range, the currently highlighted
range, if any, will be used. Otherwise, the current cell will be used (you
would, of course, want to move away from the cell in which the addnote
command was invoked in the latter case).
- *d
- Delete a note. If there is a note attached to the current cell, the link
will be removed (deleted). The note itself will not be removed from the
spreadsheet. If it is no longer needed, it must be deleted in a separate
step.
- *s
- Show all notes on the current screen. If there are any cells on the
visible portion of the spreadsheet which contain attached notes, they will
be highlighted until the next screen change, no matter how minor. Simply
moving to a new cell will be enough to turn off the highlighting.
- **
- Jump to a note. If there is a note attached to the current cell, you will
be immediately transported to that cell. You may return from the note to
where you were by pressing ` twice.
Color may be enabled by setting the color option (``set color''),
or by toggling it with ^TC (control-T followed by an uppercase C). If color
is enabled, you may define up to eight color pairs, each consisting of a
foreground color and a background color. Each of these colors may be defined
by an expression which is evaluated at the same time the rest of the
spreadsheet is evaluated. Color expressions may be simple, specifying only a
foreground color and a background color, or they may be arbitrarily complex,
causing the colors to change based upon other data in the spreadsheet, for
example. Color ranges may then be defined using the rC command, with
a color number (1-8) assigned to the range (see below).
Some of the color numbers may have special meaning under certain
circumstances, but may also be used explicitly at the same time. For
example, color 1 is the default color pair if color is enabled but no color
has been defined for a given cell. It is also the color used for the column
and row labels and the top two lines of the display, which are used for
prompts, input, error messages, etc. Color 2, while not explicitly used for
all negative numbers, will be used for negative numbers in cells which have
no other color defined when colorneg is turned on (``set colorneg'' or ^TN).
This is because colorneg causes all cells with negative numbers to have
their color number incremented by one (cycling back to color 1 if the cell
is defined as using color 8). Color 3 is used for all cells with errors
(ERROR or INVALID), if colorerr is set (``set colorerr'' or ^TE), regardless
of which color they have been defined to use, or whether they have been
defined to use any color at all. Color 4 is used to highlight the ``*''
which signifies that a cell has a note attached.
If two color ranges are nested or overlapping, any cell that is
common to both will be displayed using the color of the most recently
defined color range. You can list all color definitions and color ranges
with the rS (show) command (see below).
- C
- This command first prompts you for the color number you would like to
define (or redefine). After selecting a number (1-8), you may enter an
expression which defines the foreground and background colors. If the
chosen color has previously been defined, the old definition will be
presented for editing. The syntax of the color command is:
- color number = expression
- where number is the number of the color pair you want to define,
and expression is the definition. If the expression is missing, the
specified color number will be unset (it will revert to its default
start-up colors). Unlike setting it explicitly to its original value, this
will not cause the expression to be written to the file when saved. See
below for an explanation of the format of a color expression.
- rC
- This command defines a color range, and specifies a foreground/background
pair to be used for that range. Although this command also uses the
color command, the syntax is different from that used for defining
a color pair. This syntax is:
- rS
- This command shows lists of the currently defined range names, framed
ranges, and color definitions and ranges, one after the other. The output
of this command will be piped to less. If the environment variable
PAGER is set, its value is used in place of less.
Color expressions are exactly like any other numeric expression,
and may contain any function or operator that is valid in any other numeric
expression. There are, however special functions designed specifically for
defining colors. These functions are:
-
@black
@red
@green
@yellow
@blue
@magenta
@cyan
@white
Although these function names are intended to reflect the color
they produce, and use the same names as the curses colors, @yellow may
appear as brown on many displays, especially those based on the VGA
standard.
In addition to special functions for specifying colors, there is
also a special operator for combining two such colors into a single number
which specifies both a foreground and a background color. This operator is
the semicolon (;). For example, the command
- color 1 = @white;@green
will set the foreground color to white and the background color to
green for any cell or range of cells defined to use color 1, or which have
no color defined. If the semicolon operator is not used, and only one color
is specified, that color will be used for the foreground, and the background
will default to black.
Although the above example is the easiest way to specify
foreground and background colors, and will probably meet most people's
needs, sc allows much more power and flexibility, should the need
arise, due to the fact that any color can be specified by an expression. For
example,
- color 5 = B23<E75?(@black;@cyan):(@white;@magenta)
will cause all cells defined with color 5 to be displayed as black
text on a cyan background if the numeric value in cell B23 is less than the
numeric value in cell E75; otherwise, they will be displayed as white text
on a magenta background. If you prefer to have the foreground and background
colors dependent on different criteria, you could do something like
this:
- color 5 = (B23<E75?@white:@cyan);(D5%2?@red:@blue)
This will cause the text color for color 5 to be either white or
cyan, depending on the numeric values in cells B23 and E75, as in the
previous example, and the background color to be either red or blue,
depending on whether the numeric value in cell D5 is odd or even.
Note that although a color expression may contain any function
which is valid in any other numeric expression, the @myrow and @mycol
functions will always evaluate to 0. This is because a color expression is
not tied to any particular cell, but is instead evaluated once, and the
result used for all cells defined to use that color.
Also note that if a color expression results in an error, the
color will default to black text on a black background. If color 1 results
in an error, color will be disabled so that you can see the input line to
correct the error, after which color will need to be reenabled manually.
Default colors are in effect for all colors until defined
otherwise. These default colors are as follows:
-
color 1 = @white;@blue
color 2 = @red;@blue
color 3 = @white;@red
color 4 = @black;@yellow
color 5 = @black;@cyan
color 6 = @red;@cyan
color 7 = @white;@black
color 8 = @red;@black
- Q
- q
- ^C
- Exit from sc. If you made any changes since the last Get or
Put, sc asks about saving your data before exiting.
- ^G
- ESC
- Abort entry of the current command.
- ?
- Enter an interactive help facility. Lets you look up brief summaries of
the main features of the program. The help facility is structured like
this manual page so it is easy to find more information on a particular
topic, although it may not be completely up-to-date.
- !
- Shell escape. sc prompts for a shell command to run. End the
command line with the RETURN key. If the environment
variable SHELL is defined, that shell is run. If not,
/bin/sh is used. Giving a null command line starts the shell in
interactive mode. A second ``!'' repeats the previous command.
- ~
- Abbreviations. You may set abbreviations to speed up the entry of
repetitive data. Abbreviations work much like abbreviations in vi, except
that when defining an abbreviation, both the abbreviation and the expanded
text must be contained within quotes, separated by a single space. If more
than one space separates the abbreviation from the expanded text, it will
be included as part of the expanded text.
There are three types of abbreviations available in sc. In the
first type, all characters must be either alphanumeric or ``_''. In the
second type, the last character must be alphanumeric or ``_'', but all
other characters must not be alphanumeric or ``_''. Neither type may
contain spaces. The third type of abbreviation is a single character,
and must be alphanumeric or ``_''.
When using abbreviations, the first type must be at the
beginning of the line, or must be preceded by any character which is not
alphanumeric or ``_''. The second type must be at the beginning of the
line, or must be preceded either by an alphanumeric character, ``_'', or
a space. Single character abbreviations must be at the beginning of the
line or preceded by a space.
Abbreviations will be automatically expanded as soon as the
space bar or return key is pressed, or when pressing the ESC key at the
end of the abbreviation to switch to edit mode. You can also force an
abbreviation to be expanded by following it with a ^], which
won't be inserted into the line. If you don't want an abbreviation to be
expanded, you must either press ^V twice or switch to edit mode
and back again somewhere within the abbreviation (pressing ^V
twice also has the effect of switching to navigate mode and back
again).
If the string in the abbreviation command contains no spaces,
the entire string will be looked up in the list of abbreviations, and if
found, the definition will be displayed in the form of the original
abbreviation command used to define it. When looking up an
abbreviation in this manner, be sure to disable abbreviation expansion,
as described above, or the results may not be what you expect.
If the string is empty, a list of all abbreviations and their
corresponding expanded text will be output to your pager. Note that
abbreviations are not saved with the file. This allows each user to
create his own file of abbreviations and either merge them in or include
them in his own .scrc file, rather than force all users who access a
file to use the same list of abbreviations.
- ^L
- Redraw the screen.
- ^R
- Redraw the screen with special highlighting of cells to be filled in. This
is useful for finding values you need to provide or update in a form with
which you aren't familiar or of which you have forgotten the details.
It's also useful for checking a form you are creating. All
cells which contain constant numeric values (not the result of a numeric
expression) are highlighted temporarily, until the next screen change,
however minor. To avoid ambiguity, the current range (if any) and
current cell are not highlighted.
- ^X
- This command is similar to ^R, but highlights cells which have
expressions. It also displays the expressions in the highlighted cells as
left-flushed strings, instead of the numeric values and/or label strings
of those cells. This command makes it easier to check expressions, at
least when they fit in their cells or the following cell(s) are blank so
the expressions can slop over (like label strings). In the latter case,
the slop over is not cleared on the next screen update, so you may want to
type ^L after the ^X in order to clean up the screen.
- @
- Recalculates the spreadsheet.
Normally, a variable name is just the name of a cell, such as
K20. The value is the numeric or string value of the cell, according
to context.
When a cell's expression (formula) is copied to another location
via copy or range-copy, variable references are by default
offset by the amount the formula moved. This allows the new formula to work
on new data. If cell references are not to change, you can either use the
@fixed operator (see below), or one of the following variations on
the cell name.
- K20
- References cell K20; the reference changes when the formula is
copied.
- $K$20
- Always refers to cell K20; the reference stays fixed when the
formula is copied.
- $K20
- Keeps the column fixed at column K; the row is free to vary.
- K$20
- Similarly, this fixes the row and allows the column to vary.
These conventions also hold on defined ranges. Range references
vary when formulas containing them are copied. If the range is defined with
fixed variable references, the references do not change.
- @fixed
- To make a variable not change automatically when a cell moves, put the
word @fixed in front of the reference, for example: B1 ∗
@fixed C3.
Numeric expressions used with the ``='' and e commands have
a fairly conventional syntax. Terms may be constants, variable names,
parenthesized expressions, and negated terms. Ranges may be operated upon
with range functions such as sum (@sum()) and average
(@avg()). Terms may be combined using binary operators.
- -e
- Negation.
- e+e
- Addition.
- e-e
- Subtraction.
- e∗e
- Multiplication.
- e/e
- Division.
- e1%e2
- e1 mod e2.
- e^e
- Exponentiation.
- e<e
- e<=e
- e=e
- e!=e
- e>=e
- e>e
- Relationals: true (1) if and only if the indicated relation holds, else
false (0). Note that ``<='', ``!='', and ``>='' are converted to
their ``!()'' equivalents.
- ~e
- Boolean operator NOT.
- e&e
- Boolean operator AND.
- e|e
- Boolean operator OR.
- @if(e,e,e)
- e?e:e
- Conditional: If the first expression is true then the value of the second
is returned, otherwise the value of the third.
Operator precedence from highest to lowest is:
-, ~, !
^
∗, /
+, -
<, <=, =, !=, >=, >
&
|
?:
These functions return numeric values. The @sum, @prod, @avg,
@count, @max, @min, and @stddev functions may take an optional second
argument which is an expression that is to be evaluated for each cell in the
specified range to determine which cells to include in the function. Only
those cells for which the expression evaluates to true (non-zero) will be
used in calculating the value of the function. Before evaluation for each
cell, the expression is first converted as if it was being copied from the
cell in the upper left-hand corner of the range into the cell under
consideration, with all cell references adjusted accordingly. Because the
parts of the expression that should remain fixed during the evaluation of
the function may not necessarily be the same as those which should remain
fixed during an actual copy operation, the rules for adjusting cell
references during a copy operation are slightly different than normal. In
particular, these rules differ in two different ways.
The first difference is that the @fixed operator is ignored
during a copy operation unless it is enclosed in parentheses. This is so
that selected cells whose addresses should remain fixed during any given
evaluation of a range function can be adjusted relative to the cell
containing the range function when copied (the $ prefix is still
honored for these cells when copying). Enclosing the @fixed operator
in parentheses will have the opposite effect. That is, it will cause cell
references to be fixed while copying, while allowing them to be adjusted
when the function is being evaluated, subject to any $ prefixes
present. Note that only the @fixed operator itself should be enclosed
in parentheses for this to work properly.
The second difference is that any references in the expression
that refer to cells in the range in the first argument of the range function
will have any $ prefixes ignored, and the references will be treated
instead as if they had the same $ prefixes as the left side of the
range argument. For example, if the left side of the range argument (the
cell address on the left side of the colon) has a fixed row, but does not
have a fixed column, any cell references that refer to cells in that range
will also have a fixed row, but will not have a fixed column. This is so
that if the range reference moves when copying, references to any cells in
that range will also move accordingly.
Note that the test expression will be evaluated once for every
cell in the range, which means that excessive use of these functions with
the optional test expression, or the use of overly complex test expressions
or with very large ranges can greatly slow down the recalculation of a
spreadsheet, and may require turning off autocalc for speed, and then
manually recalculating with the @ command.
- @sum(r)
- @sum(r,e)
- Sum all valid (nonblank) entries in the region whose two corners are
defined by the two variable names (e.g. c5:e14) or the range name
specified. The optional second argument is an expression which can be used
to determine which cells in the range to sum (see above).
- @prod(r)
- @prod(r,e)
- Multiply together all valid (nonblank) entries in the specified region.
The optional second argument is an expression which can be used to
determine which cells in the range to multiply (see above).
- @avg(r)
- @avg(r,e)
- Average all valid (nonblank) entries in the specified region. The optional
second argument is an expression which can be used to determine which
cells in the range to average (see above).
- @count(r)
- @count(r,e)
- Count all valid (nonblank) entries in the specified region. The optional
second argument is an expression which can be used to determine which
cells in the range to count (see above).
- @max(r)
- @max(r,e)
- Return the maximum value in the specified region. The optional second
argument is an expression which can be used to exclude specific cells in
the range when determining this maximum value (see above). See also the
multi argument version of @max below.
- @min(r)
- @min(r,e)
- Return the minimum value in the specified region. The optional second
argument is an expression which can be used to exclude specific cells in
the range when determining this minimum value (see above). See also the
multi argument version of @min below.
- @stddev(r)
- @stddev(r,e)
- Return the sample standard deviation of the cells in the specified region.
The optional second argument is an expression which can be used to exclude
specific cells in the range when calculating the standard deviation (see
above).
- @rows(r)
- Return the number of rows in the specified range.
- @cols(r)
- Return the number of columns in the specified range.
- @lookup(e,r)
- @lookup(r,e)
- @lookup(se,r)
- @lookup(r,se)
- Evaluates the expression then searches through the range r for a
matching value. The range should be either a single row or a single
column. The expression can be either a string expression or a numeric
expression. If it is a numeric expression, the range is searched for the
the last value less than or equal to e. If the expression is a
string expression, the string portions of the cells in the range are
searched for an exact string match. The value returned is the numeric
value from the next row and the same column as the match, if the range was
a single row, or the value from the next column and the same row as the
match if the range was a single column.
- @hlookup(e,r,n)
- @hlookup(r,e,n)
- @hlookup(se,r,n)
- @hlookup(r,se,n)
- Evaluates the expression then searches through the first row in the range
r for a matching value. The expression can be either a string
expression or a numeric expression. If it is a numeric expression, the row
is searched for the the last value less than or equal to e. If the
expression is a string expression, the string portions of the cells in the
row are searched for an exact string match. The value returned is the
numeric value from the same column n rows below the match.
- @vlookup(e,r,n)
- @vlookup(r,e,n)
- @vlookup(se,r,n)
- @vlookup(r,se,n)
- Evaluates the expression then searches through the first column in the
range r for a matching value. The expression can be either a string
expression or a numeric expression. If it is a numeric expression, the
column is searched for the the last value less than or equal to e.
If the expression is a string expression, the string portions of the cells
in the column are searched for an exact string match. The value returned
is the numeric value from the same row n columns to the right of
the match.
- @index(e1,r)
- @index(r,e1)
- @index(r,e1,e2)
- Use the values of expressions e1 and (optionally) e2 to
index into the range r. The numeric value at that position is
returned. With two arguments, the range should be either a single row or a
single column. An expression with the value 1 selects the first item in
the range, 2 selects the second item, etc. With three arguments, the range
must come first, and the second and third arguments will then be
interpreted as row and column, respectively, for indexing into a
two-dimensional table.
- @stindex(e1,r)
- @stindex(r,e1)
- @stindex(r,e1,e2)
- Use the values of expressions e1 and (optionally) e2 to
index into the range r. The string value at that position is
returned. With two arguments, the range should be either a single row or a
single column. An expression with the value 1 selects the first item in
the range, 2 selects the second item, etc. With three arguments, the range
must come first, and the second and third arguments will then be
interpreted as row and column, respectively, for indexing into a
two-dimensional table.
All of these functions operate on floating point numbers (doubles)
and return numeric values. Most of them are standard system functions more
fully described in math(3). The trig functions operate with angles in
radians.
- @sqrt(e)
- Return the square root of e.
- @exp(e)
- Return the exponential function of e.
- @ln(e)
- Return the natural logarithm of e.
- @log(e)
- Return the base 10 logarithm of e.
- @floor(e)
- Return the largest integer not greater than e.
- @ceil(e)
- Return the smallest integer not less than e.
- @rnd(e)
- Round e to the nearest integer. default: *.5 will be rounded up to
the next integer; doing a 'set rndtoeven' will cause it to be rounded to
the closest even number instead (aka banker's round). Round-to-even has
advantages over the default rounding for some applications. For example,
if X+Y is an integer, then X+Y = rnd(X)+rnd(Y) with round-to-even, but not
always with the defaulting rounding method. This could be an advantage,
for example, when trying to split an odd amount of money evenly between
two people (it would determine who gets the extra penny).
- @round(e,n)
- Round e to n decimal places. n may be positive to
round off the right side of the decimal or negative to round off the left
side. See @rnd(e) above for rounding types.
- @abs(e)
- @fabs(e)
- Return the absolute value of e.
- @pow(e1,e2)
- Return e1 raised to the power of e2.
- @hypot(e1,e2)
- Return sqrt(e1∗e1+e2∗e2), taking precautions against
unwarranted overflows.
- @pi
- A constant quite close to pi.
- @dtr(e)
- Convert e in degrees to radians.
- @rtd(e)
- Convert e in radians to degrees.
- @sin(e)
- @cos(e)
- @tan(e)
- Return trigonometric functions of radian arguments. The magnitude of the
arguments are not checked to assure meaningful results.
- @asin(e)
- Return the arc sine of e in the range -pi/2 to pi/2.
- @acos(e)
- Return the arc cosine of e in the range 0 to pi.
- @atan(e)
- Return the arc tangent of e in the range -pi/2 to pi/2.
- @atan2(e1,e2)
- Returns the arc tangent of e1/e2 in the range -pi to
pi.
- @max(e1,e2,...)
- Return the maximum of the values of the expressions. Two or more
expressions may be specified. See also the range version of @max
above.
- @min(e1,e2,...)
- Return the minimum of the values of the expressions. Two or more
expressions may be specified. See also the range version of @min
above.
- @ston(se)
- Convert string expression se to a numeric value.
- @eqs(se1,se2)
- Return 1 if string expression se1 has the same value as string
expression se2, 0 otherwise.
- @nval(se,e)
- Return the numeric value of a cell selected by name. String expression
se must evaluate to a column name (``A''-``AE'') and e must
evaluate to a row number (0-199). If se or e is out of
bounds, or the cell has no numeric value, the result is 0. You can use
this for simple table lookups. Be sure the table doesn't move
unexpectedly! See also @sval() below.
- @err
- Force an error. This will force the expression which contains it to result
in an error.
String expressions are made up of constant strings (characters
surrounded by double quotation marks), variables (cell names, which refer to
the cells's label strings or expressions), and string functions. Note that
string expressions are only allowed when entering a cell's label string, not
its numeric part. Also note that string expression results may be left or
right flushed or centered, according to the type of the cell's string
label.
- #
- Concatenate strings. For example, the string expression
-
- A0 # "zy dog"
-
- displays the string ``the lazy dog'' in the cell if the value of
A0's string is ``the la''.
- @filename(e)
- Return the current default filename, as specified when the file was first
loaded or created, or during the last save, with the Put command.
If e is 0, only the actual filename will be returned, with any path
removed. If non-zero, the full path specified on the command line or in
the last Get or Put command will be returned. If the path
begins with ``~'', it will be expanded to the appropriate users home
directory.
- @substr(se,e1,e2)
- Extract and return from string expression se the substring indexed
by character number e1 through character number e2 (defaults
to the size of se if beyond the end of it). If e1 is less
than 1 or greater than e2, the result is the null string. For
example,
-
- @substr ("Nice jacket", 4, 8)
-
- returns the string ``e jac''.
- @fmt(se,e)
- Convert a number to a string. The argument se must be a valid
printf(3) format string. e is converted according to the
standard rules. For example, the expression
-
- @fmt ("∗∗%6.3f∗∗", 10.5)
-
- yields the string ``∗∗10.500∗∗''. e is
a double, so applicable formats are e, E, f, g, and G. Try ``%g'' as a
starting point.
- @sval(se,e)
- Return the string value of a cell selected by name. String expression
se must evaluate to a column name (``A''-``AE'') and e must
evaluate to a row number (0-199). If se or e is out of
bounds, or the cell has no string value, the result is the null string.
You can use this for simple table lookups. Be sure the table doesn't move
unexpectedly!
- @upper(se)
- @lower(se)
- will case the string expression to upper or lower.
- @capital(se)
- will convert the first letter of words in a string into upper case and
other letters to lower case (the latter if all letters of the string are
upper case).
- @ext(se,e)
- Call an external function (program or script). The purpose is to allow
arbitrary functions on values, e.g. table lookups and interpolations.
String expression se is a command or command line to call with
popen(3). The value of e is converted to a string and
appended to the command line as an argument. The result of @ext()
is a string: the first line printed to standard output by the command. The
command should emit exactly one output line. Additional output, or output
to standard error, messes up the screen. @ext() returns a null
string and prints an appropriate warning if external functions are
disabled, se is null, or the attempt to run the command fails.
-
- External functions can be slow to run, and if enabled are called at each
screen update, so they are disabled by default. You can enable them with
^T when you really want them called.
-
- A simple example:
-
- @ext ("echo", a1)
-
- You can use @ston() to convert the @ext() result back to a
number. For example:
-
- @ston (@ext ("form.sc.ext", a9 + b9))
-
- Note that you can build a command line (including more argument values)
from a string expression with concatenation. You can also "hide"
the second argument by ending the command line (first argument) with ``
#'' (shell comment).
- @coltoa(e)
- Returns a string name for a column from the numeric argument. For
example:
-
- @coltoa(@mycol-1) @nval(coltoa(@mycol-1), @myrow+1)
-
Financial functions compute the mortgage (or loan) payment, future
value, and the present value functions. Each accepts three arguments, an
amount, a rate of interest (per period), and the number of periods. These
functions are the same as those commonly found in other spreadsheets and
financial calculators
- @pmt(e1,e2,e3)
- @pmt(60000,.01,360) computes the monthly payments for a $60000
mortgage at 12% annual interest (.01 per month) for 30 years (360
months).
- @fv(e1,e2,e3)
- @fv(100,.005,36) computes the future value for 36 monthly payments
of $100 at 6% interest (.005 per month). It answers the question:
"How much will I have in 36 months if I deposit $100 per month in a
savings account paying 6% interest compounded monthly?"
- @pv(e1,e2,e3)
- @pv(1000,.015,36) computes the present value of an ordinary annuity
of 36 monthly payments of $1000 at 18% annual interest. It answers the
question: "How much can I borrow at 18% for 3 years if I pay $1000
per month?"
Time for sc follows the system standard: the number of
seconds since the beginning of 1970. All date and time functions except
@date() return numbers, not strings.
- @now
- Return the current time encoded as the number of seconds since the
beginning of the epoch (December 31, 1969, midnight, GMT).
- @dts(e1,e2,e3)
- Convert a date to the number of seconds from the epoch to the first second
of the specified date, local time. Dates may be specified in either
(m,d,y) or (y,m,d) format, although the latter is preferred, since it's
more universally recognized (m,d,y is only used in America). If e2 > 12
or e3 > 31, then (m,d,y) is assumed. Otherwise, (y,m,d) is assumed. For
example, @date(@dts(1976,12,14)) yields
-
- Tue Dec 14 00:00:00 1976
-
- The month should range from 1 to 12; the day should range from 1 to the
number of days in the specified month; and the year should include the
century (e.g. 1999 instead of 99). Any date capable of being handled by
the system is valid, typically 14 Dec 1901 to 18 Jan 2038 on a system that
uses a 32 bit time_t. Invalid dates or dates outside of this range will
return ERROR. For rapid entry of dates using only the numeric keypad,
sc provides the alternate syntax y.m.d or m.d.y,
which is automatically converted to the @dts(...) format above. The year,
month, and day must be entered numerically in the alternate syntax;
formulas are not allowed.
- @tts(e1,e2,e3)
- @tts(8,20,45) converts the time 8:40:45 to the number of seconds
since midnight, the night before. The hour should range from 0 to 23; the
minutes and seconds should range from 0 to 59.
The following functions take the time in seconds (e.g. from
@now) as an argument and return the specified value. The functions
all convert from GMT to local time.
- @date(e)
- @date(e,se)
- Convert the time in seconds to a date string. With a single numeric
argument, the date will be 24 characters long in the following form:
-
- Sun Sep 16 01:03:52 1973
-
- Note that you can extract parts of this fixed-format string with
@substr(). A format string compatible with the strftime() function
may optionally be given as a second argument to override the default
format. See the strftime(3) man page for details.
- @year(e)
- Return the year. Valid years begin with 1970, although many systems will
return years prior to 1970 if e is negative. The last legal year is
system dependent.
- @month(e)
- Return the month, encoded as 1 (January) to 12 (December).
- @day(e)
- Return the day of the month, encoded as 1 to 31.
- @hour(e)
- Return the number of hours since midnight, encoded as 0 to 23.
- @minute(e)
- Return the number of minutes since the last full hour, encoded as 0 to
59.
- @second(e)
- Return the number of seconds since the last full minute, encoded as 0 to
59.
Re-evaluation of spreadsheet expressions is done by row or by
column depending on the selected calculation order. Evaluation is repeated
up to iterations times for each update if necessary, so forward
references usually work as expected. See set above. If stability is
not reached after ten iterations, a warning is printed. This is usually due
to a long series of forward references, or to unstable cyclic references
(for example, set A0's expression to ``A0+1'').
- @numiter
- Returns the number of iterations performed so far.
Function keys can be used in sc if your terminal supports
them, and they are programmable. To program the function keys, you use the
fkey command. This command may be used in a .scrc file or a
macro file, or it may be entered directly into sc's command line.
Defined function keys will be saved with the file. There is no shortcut, as
there is with most commands, so the full command must be typed in. Pressing
enter when not editing a line will start you off with a blank line for this
purpose. The format of the fkey command is:
- fkey n = "command"
where n is the function key number (n = 1 for F1, n = 2 for
F2, etc.), and command is the command to be run. For example,
- fkey 2 = "merge \"|~/scmacros/macro1\""
will run the macro called macro1 located in a subdirectory
of your home directory called scmacros when the F2 key is pressed.
Note that embedded quotes must be escaped by a backslash. If you want to
include the cell address of the current cell in the command line, you may do
so by entering ``$$'' in its place in the command. For example,
- fkey 5 = "fmt $$ \"^D%A\""
will cause the F5 key to format the current cell to display the
full weekday name of the numeric date value stored there. The ^D is a CTRL-D
character, which denotes a date format.
Although it may be overridden by the fkey command, the F1
key is predefined by default to execute man sc. Unlike the
user-defined function keys, this definition will also work in edit, insert,
replace, and navigate modes.
To undefine a function key, merely define it as the empty string
(""). Undefining the F1 key will restore the default behavior.
There are three ways in which external programs can be used as
plugins with sc. First, they can be used as external commands. When
used as an external command, any command not recognized by sc will be
searched for first in $HOME/.sc/plugins, and then in
/usr/share/doc/sc/plugins. If found, it will be run with its standard input
and standard output redirected back to sc. These are used to send
commands to, and receive responses back from sc in the same way that
advanced macros do.
The second and third ways that programs can be used as plugins
with sc are to automatically convert files to and from sc
format based on their extensions. In order to use them in this way, you must
first associate a given extension to a corresponding plugin (for reading) or
plugout (for writing) using the plugin and plugout commands.
These commands should be placed in your .scrc file, and have the
following syntax:
- plugin "ext" = "programname"
or
- plugout "ext" =
"programname"
where ext is the extension and programname is the
name of the plugin program to be used for filenames with that extension. For
input, the plugin merely reads the specified file, performs whatever
conversion is necessary, and writes the resulting data to standard output.
For output, the plugin writes sc commands to standard output and
reads the replies from standard input in the same way that an advanced macro
would, and then converts the data to the appropriate format and writes it to
a file with the specified filename.
This is a much modified version of a public domain spread sheet
originally authored by James Gosling, and subsequently modified and posted
to USENET by Mark Weiser under the name vc. The program was
subsequently renamed sc, and further modified by numerous
contributors, Jeff Buhrt of Proslink, Inc. and Robert Bond of Sequent,
prominent among them. The current maintainer is Chuck Martin
(nrocinu@myrealbox.com).
Other contributors include: Tom Anderson, Glenn T. Barry, Gregory
Bond, Stephen (Steve) M. Brooks, Peter Brower, John Campbell, Lawrence
Cipriani, Jim Clausing, Dave Close, Chris Cole, Jonathan Crompron, David I.
Dalva, Glen Ditchfield, Sam Drake, James P. Dugal, Paul Eggert, Andy Fyfe,
Jack Goral, Piercarlo "Peter" Grandi, Henk Hesselink, Jeffrey C
Honig, Kurt Horton, Jonathan I. Kamens, Peter King, Tom Kloos, Michael
Lapsley, Casey Leedom, Jay Lepreau, Dave Lewis, Rick Linck, Soren
Lundsgaard, Tad Mannes, Rob McMahon, Chris Metcalf, Mark Nagel, Ulf Noren,
Marius Olafsson, Gene H. Olson, Henk P. Penning, Rick Perry, Larry Philps,
Eric Putz, Jim Richardson, Michael Richardson, R. P. C. Rodgers, Kim
Sanders, Mike Schwartz, Alan Silverstein, Lowell Skoog, Herr Soeryantono,
Tim Theisen, Tom Tkacik, Andy Valencia, Adri Verhoef, Rick Walker, Petri
Wessman, and Tim Wilson.