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data-format.xml
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<sect1 id="sect-data-format">
<title>Formating Cells</title>
<para>
Cell formats allow you to change the way cell data appears in the
spreadsheet. It is important to keep in mind that it only alters
the way the data is presented, and does not change the value of
the data.
</para>
<para>
The formatting options allows for monetary units, scientific
options, dates, times, fractions,and more. Positive and negative
values can have different colors and formats for aiding in keeping
track of values. There are also a large variety of date and time
formats for virtually any time and date format one can think
of. Formatting also allows you to set font, background color, and
borders for selected cells.
</para>
<para>
Finally, advanced formatting options allow you to lock some of the
cells so that their values cannot be changed, or restrict the
range of values that can be entered in the selected cells.
</para>
<para>
To change the formatting of a cell or a selection, you can either
use the <guilabel>Format Cells</guilabel> dialog which holds all
of the formatting options or use specific formatting elements
available as buttons on the <guilabel>Format Toolbar</guilabel>.
</para>
<para>
This dialog, shown in <xref linkend="fig-number-format-dialog"
/>, gives you access to all formatting options.
</para>
<figure id="fig-number-format-dialog">
<title>Format Cells Dialog</title>
<screenshot>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="figures/number-format-dialog.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>An image of the cell format dialog opened to the "Number" tab.
</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<para>
To launch this dialog, select the cell or range of cells you want
to format (see <xref linkend="sect-data-selections" /> for details
on selecting cells) and then use one of the following methods:
</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Use keyboard shortcut <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
<keycap>1</keycap></keycombo> (this is number one, not
letter <keycap>l</keycap>).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Format</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Cells...</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice>
in the menubar.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Click with the right mouse button on the cell grid area and
choose <guimenuitem>Format Cells...</guimenuitem> from the
context menu.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>
The <guilabel>Format Cells</guilabel> dialog contains tabs
<guilabel>Number</guilabel>, <guilabel>Alignment</guilabel>,
<guilabel>Font</guilabel>, <guilabel>Border</guilabel>,
<guilabel>Background</guilabel>,
<guilabel>Protection</guilabel>, and
<guilabel>Validation</guilabel>. These tabs are described in
detail in the subsequent sections.
</para>
<para>
To set one of formatting options, select the corresponding tab,
choose the options you need, and click
<guibutton>OK</guibutton>. This will apply the options you
selected (in all tabs) and close <guilabel>Format
Cells</guilabel> dialog. You can also click on
<guibutton>Apply</guibutton> to apply the and keep the dialog
open, or on <guibutton>Close</guibutton> to close the dialog
without applying changes.
</para>
<para>
Some of the most commonly used formatting options, such as
font, background, and alignment, can also be accessed by using
the buttons in the <guilabel>Format Toolbar</guilabel>. This
toolbar is described in detail in <xref
linkend="fmt-toolbar" />,
</para>
<!-- ******************************************* -->
<sect2 id="number-formatting-overview">
<title>Number Formatting Tab</title>
<para>
This tab allows you to select the format for the cell's
contents. You can select one of the many preset formatting styles
which should be be more than adequate for the vast majority of cases. If none
of these meet the needs of the user, it is possible to create your own
formats. </para>
<para>To use one of the preset formats, select the format category
(such as <guilabel>Number</guilabel> or <guilabel>Date</guilabel>) by
clicking on the corresponding radiobutton in the left
side of the dialog. The right side of the dialog will show you how
the selected cell would look with this format and give more options
for the selected format. </para>
<para>
The following is a list of all available format categories:
</para>
<variablelist>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>General</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para> A swiss army knife of a format. It will attempt
to display a value it the 'best' way possible.
The choice of format depends on the size of the cell
and <application>Gnumeric</application>
guess of what 'type' of value is
being displayed (number, date, time ...).
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Number</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>Displays numbers with 0-30 digits after the decimal
place. Negatives can be displayed normally, within
parentheses, or in red color. Optionally a delimiter
can be added every third order of magnitude (thousand,
million, ...). Both the decimal point and the
thousands separator have internationalization support.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Currency</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>Similar to <guilabel>Number</guilabel>, with the addition of a
currency symbol. Currently known symbols
include <literal>$</literal>,
<literal>¥</literal>,
<literal>£</literal>,
<literal>¤</literal>
and the three letter abbreviations of all major
currencies. By default, <application>Gnumeric</application>
will use currency symbol and placement (before or after the
number) appropriate for your locale.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Accounting</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>A specialization of
<guilabel>Currency</guilabel> which pays more attention
to the alignment of negative numbers. It ensures that
a small amount of space is prepended to positive
numbers so that they align with negatives.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Date</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>This category contains various formats for
presenting dates. By default,
<application>Gnumeric</application> will use date format
appropriate for your locale (country and language setting). You
can also choose one of many
possible date formats shown in the list in the right side of
the dialog. The following is an explanation of codes used in
these formats:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>d</guilabel>: day of month (one or two
digits). Example: 9.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>dd</guilabel>: day of month (two
digits). Example: 09.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>ddd</guilabel>: day of week. Example: Wed.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>m</guilabel>: month (number, one or two
digits). Example: 3.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>mm</guilabel>: month (number, two
digits). Example: 03.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>mmm</guilabel>: month (abbreviated
name). Example: Mar.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>mmmm</guilabel>: month (full
name). Example: March.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>mmmmm</guilabel>: month (first letter). Example: M.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>yyyy</guilabel>: year (four digits). Example: 1967.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>yy</guilabel>: last two digits of year. Example: 67.
</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
Some date formats also include time using the codes
explained below. Examples of date formatting are shown in <xref
linkend="number-format-date-examples" />.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel> Time</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para> This category contains various formats for
presenting time of day. You can choose one of many
possible time formats shown in the list in the right side of
the dialog. The following is an explanation of codes used in
these formats:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>h</guilabel>: hours.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>mm</guilabel>: minutes.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guilabel>ss</guilabel>: seconds.
</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
Sometimes it is necessary to display more than 24 hours, or
more that 60 minutes/seconds without the values incrementing
the display unit of the next larger measure (e.g., 25 hours
instead of 1 day + 1 hour). To achieve this, use codes
'[h]', '[mm]', and '[ss]'. Examples of time formatting are shown in <xref
linkend="number-format-time-examples" />.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Percentage</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>Multiplies a value by 100 and appends a percent.
Can be used with 0-30 digits after the decimal place.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Fractions</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>Approximate the value with a rational number with either
a specific denominator or with a maximum number of digits
in the denominator.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Scientific</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>Formats the value using scientific notation,
e.g. <literal>5.334 E 6</literal> for
<literal>5,334,000</literal>. Allows up to 30
digits after the decimal place. No provision
for controlling the exponent are provided at this time.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Text</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>Treats numeric values as text. This will show a
number with as much precision as available and will
lose knowledge of whether it represented a date, or
time.
</para>
<tip>
<title>TIP</title>
<para>If your workbook contains serial numbers, ID numbers or
other similar entries, choose
<guilabel>Text</guilabel> format for them. If you choose
<guilabel>General</guilabel> or <guilabel>Number</guilabel>
format, <application>Gnumeric</application> will remove leading
zeros, so that <literal>01124</literal> will be shown as
<literal>1124</literal>. </para>
</tip>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ************* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Custom</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
This category allows you to define your own
format. This is only recommended for advanced users as
it requires understanding of the codes internally used
by <application>Gnumeric</application> for describing
formats. To make it easier, this category provides a
list of codes for all predefined formats so you can
create our own format by modifying one of them rather
than starting from scratch.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<!-- ****************** Table: date examples ******************* -->
<table id="number-format-date-examples">
<title>Examples of Date Formats</title>
<tgroup cols="4" align="left" colsep="1" rowsep="1">
<colspec colname="Format1" />
<colspec colname="Format2" />
<colspec colname="Sample1" />
<colspec colname="Sample2" />
<spanspec spanname="Format" namest="Format1"
nameend="Format2" />
<spanspec spanname="Sample" namest="Sample1"
nameend="Sample2" />
<thead>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">Format</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">Sample</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">General</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">36068.755</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>m/d/yy</entry>
<entry>d/m/yy</entry>
<entry>9/30/98</entry>
<entry>30/9/98</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>m/d/yyyy</entry>
<entry>d/m/yyyy</entry>
<entry>9/30/1998</entry>
<entry>30/9/1998</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>d-mmm-yy</entry>
<entry>mmm-d-yy</entry>
<entry>30-Sep-98</entry>
<entry>Sep-30-98</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>d-mmm-yyyy</entry>
<entry>mmm-d-yyyy</entry>
<entry>30-Sep-199</entry>
<entry>Sep-30-9198</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>d-mmm</entry>
<entry>mmm-d</entry>
<entry>30-Sep</entry>
<entry>Sep-30</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>d-mm</entry>
<entry>mm-d</entry>
<entry>30-09</entry>
<entry>09-30</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mmm/d</entry>
<entry>d/mmm</entry>
<entry>Sep/30</entry>
<entry>30/Sep</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mm/d </entry>
<entry>d/mm</entry>
<entry>09/30</entry>
<entry>30/09</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mm/dd/yy</entry>
<entry>dd/mm/yy</entry>
<entry>09/30/98</entry>
<entry>30/09/98</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mm/dd/yyyy</entry>
<entry>dd/mm/yyyy</entry>
<entry>09/30/1998</entry>
<entry>30/09/1998</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mmm/dd/yy </entry>
<entry>dd/mmm/yy</entry>
<entry>Sep/30/98</entry>
<entry>30/Sep/98</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mmm/dd/yyyy</entry>
<entry>dd/mmm/yyyy</entry>
<entry>Sep/30/1998</entry>
<entry>30/Sep/1998</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mmm/ddd/yy</entry>
<entry>ddd/mmm/yy</entry>
<entry>Sep/Wed/98</entry>
<entry>Wed/Sep/98</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mmm/ddd/yyyy</entry>
<entry>ddd/mmm/yyyy</entry>
<entry>Sep/Wed/1998</entry>
<entry>Wed/Sep/1998</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mm/ddd/yy</entry>
<entry>ddd/mm/yy</entry>
<entry>09/Wed/98</entry>
<entry>Wed/09/98</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>mm/ddd/yyyy</entry>
<entry>ddd/mm/yyyy</entry>
<entry>09/Wed/1998</entry>
<entry>Wed/09/1998</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">mmm-yy</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">Sep-98</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">mmm-yyyy</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">Sep-1998</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">mmmm-yy</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">September-98</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">mmmm-yyyy</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">September-1998 </entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>d/m/yy h:mm</entry>
<entry>m/d/yy h:mm</entry>
<entry>9/30/98 18:07</entry>
<entry>30/9/98 187:07</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>d/m/yyyy h:mm</entry>
<entry>m/d/yyyy h:mm</entry>
<entry>9/30/1998 18:07</entry>
<entry>30/9/1998 187:07</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">yyyy/mm/d</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">1998/09/30</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">yyyy/mmm/d</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">1998/Sep/30</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">yyyy/mm/dd</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">1998/09/30</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format"> yyyy/mmm/dd</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">1998/Sep/30</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">yyyy-mm-d</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">1998-09-30</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">yyyy-mmm-d</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">1998-Sep-3</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">yyyy-mm-dd</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">1998-09-30</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">yyyy-mmm-d</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">1998-Sep-30</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">yy</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">98</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry spanname="Format">yyyy</entry>
<entry spanname="Sample">1998</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<!-- ****************** Table: date examples ******************* -->
<table id="number-format-time-examples">
<title>Examples of Time Formats</title>
<tgroup cols="2" align="left" colsep="1" rowsep="1">
<colspec colname="Format1" />
<colspec colname="Sample1" />
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Format</entry>
<entry>Sample</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>General</entry>
<entry>36068.755</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>h:mm AM/PM</entry>
<entry>6:07 PM</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>h:mm:ss AM/PM</entry>
<entry>6:07:12 PM</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>h:mm</entry>
<entry>18:07</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry> h:mm:ss</entry>
<entry>18:07:12</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>m/d/yy h:mm</entry>
<entry>9/30/98 18:07</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>d/m/yy h:mm</entry>
<entry>30/9/98 18:07</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry> mm:ss</entry>
<entry>07:12</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>[h]:mm:ss</entry>
<entry>865650:07:12</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>[h]:mm</entry>
<entry>865650:07</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>[mm]:ss</entry>
<entry>51939007:12</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>[ss]</entry>
<entry>3116340432</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
</sect2>
<!-- ******************************************* -->
<sect2 id="alignmentandothertabs">
<title>Alignment, Font, Border, and Background Tabs</title>
<sect3 id="alignment">
<title>Alignment Tab</title>
<para>
This tab allows you to set horizontal and vertical alignment
and justification options.
</para>
<figure id="number-format-justification-dialog">
<title>Alignment Tab</title>
<screenshot>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata
fileref="figures/number-format-justification-dialog-2.png"
format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>An image of the cell format dialog opened to the
"Alignment" tab.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<variablelist>
<title>Horizontal justification options.</title>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>General</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>The standard default justification. Use
right justification for numbers and formulas, and left
justification for text strings.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Left</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>Left justify all cell contents.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Center</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>Center all cell contents.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Right</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>Right justify all cell contents.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Fill</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>Fill the cell with the contents. This will repeat
the cell's contents as necessary to fill the width of
the cell.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Justify</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>For text, wrap long lines of text and left
justify. For other formats, same as
<guilabel>Left</guilabel>. </para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Center across selection</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Centers the cell's contents so the middle of each line is
aligned with the middle of other lines. This only works
with multiple cells.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>
<guilabel>Left</guilabel> and <guilabel>Right</guilabel>
justification options also allow you to specify indent from left
(respectively, right) side of the cell. Indent is measured in
multiples of the current font size: for font size 10, indent 4
means 40 pts.
</para>
<variablelist>
<title>Vertical Justification Options</title>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Top</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>Align the top of the cells contents with the top of
the cell.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Center</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>Center the cells contents vertically. Equally space
between the top and bottom.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Bottom</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>Align the contents of the cell with the bottom of
the cell.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********** -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Justify</guibutton></term>
<listitem><para>For text, wrap long lines and spread lines
of text evenly to fill the cell. For other formats (or if
the text contains no long lines), same as
<guilabel>Bottom</guilabel> justification.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3> <!-- ****** alignment tab ******** -->
<!-- ************************************** -->
<sect3 id="font">
<title>Font Tab</title>
<para>This tab allows you to change the font used for cells
content.
<figure id="number-format-font-dialog">
<title>The Font Tab</title>
<screenshot>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="figures/number-format-font-dialog.png"
format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>An image of the cell format dialog opened to the
"Font" tab.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
To change cells font, select font family (such as
<guilabel>Times</guilabel>, <guilabel>Helvetica</guilabel>,
etc), style (<guilabel>Normal</guilabel>,
<guilabel>Bold</guilabel>, ...) and size in points. You can
also select font color and special effects such as underlining
or strikethrough.
</para>
<para>
<application>Gnumeric</application> allows you to use any of the
fonts known to GNOME printing system,
<application>gnome-print</application>. The same fonts are used
for screen display and for printing, assuring that the printed
document will look identical to the one you see on
screen. Advanced users can refer to documentation for
<application>gnome-print</application> package to find out more about
adding fonts and font management in GNOME.
</para>
<tip>
<title>TIP</title>
<para>
A quicker way to change the selected cells' font is to use
<link linkend="fmt-toolbar">Format Toolbar</link>.
</para>
</tip>
</sect3>
<!-- ************************************** -->
<sect3 id="border">
<title>Border Tab</title>
<para>
This tab allows you to choose the border for the selected
cells. You can select one of many border styles (none, single
line, double line,...) and colors. You can also have different
borders on different sides of the cell.
<figure id="number-format-border-dialog">
<title>Border Tab</title>
<screenshot>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="figures/number-format-border-dialog.png"
format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>An image of the cell format dialog open to the
"Border" tab.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
To choose a border for a cell or a selection, select border
style and color in the right side of the tab and click on the
buttons corresponding to the sides of the cells in the left side
of the tab. In addition to the buttons for left, right, top, and
bottom sides, you also have buttons for drawing diagonal and
reverse diagonal of the cell. (Strictly speaking, these cannot
be called borders, but it is natural to put them in this tab.)
The lowest row of buttons contains buttons
<guibutton>None</guibutton> and
<guibutton>Outline</guibutton>. Clicking on
<guibutton>None</guibutton> removes all borders from the cell;
clicking on <guibutton>Outline</guibutton> puts border on all
sides of the cell or selection.
</para>
<para>
Please note that for a selection of cells, the buttons will put
borders on one of the sides of selection, not of individual
cells. For example, clicking on <guibutton>Bottom</guibutton>
button will put the border along the bottom of the selection, so
only the cells in the bottom row will be affected. In addition
for selections you have three more buttons in the bottom row:
<guibutton>Inside vertical</guibutton>,
<guibutton>Inside</guibutton>, and <guibutton>Inside
horizontal</guibutton>. <guibutton>Inside vertical</guibutton>
puts borders on all inside vertical borders in the selection;
<guibutton>Inside horizontal</guibutton> puts borders on all
inside horizontal borders in the selection, and
<guibutton>Inside</guibutton> puts borders on all inside
borders in the selection, both vertical and horizontal.
</para>
<para>
To remove an existing border from one of the sides of a cell or
selection, click on the corresponding button again.
</para>
</sect3>
<!-- ************************************** -->
<sect3 id="background">
<title>Background Tab</title>
<para>
This tab allows you to change the background of selected
cells. You can choose solid color or patterned background. A
preview of the selected background will be shown in the right
part of the tab.
</para>
<figure id="number-format-color-dialog">
<title>Background Tab</title>
<screenshot>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="figures/number-format-color-dialog.png"
format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>An image of the cell format dialog open to the
"Background" tab.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<para>
To select a solid color background, select the color from
<guilabel>Background Color</guilabel> drop-down box. You can use
of the standard colors or define your own color by clicking on
<guibutton>Custom Color</guibutton> button.
</para>
<para>
To select a patterned background, choose the background color in
<guilabel>Background Color</guilabel> section. After this,
choose the pattern color and type in
<guilabel>Pattern</guilabel> section. Please note that the
pattern type buttons use black pattern on white background,
regardless of the colors you have chosen.
</para>
<para>
To remove pattern, choose <guilabel>Solid</guilabel> pattern
type (top left button, looking like a white square).
</para>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<!-- ******************************************* -->
<sect2 id="sect-data-format-protectionandvalidation">
<title>Protection and Validation Tabs</title>
<para>
These two tabs are used to control user's access to cells and
restrict values of data allowed in a cell. Unlike other
formatting options, these two tabs have no effect on a cells
appearance. These options are mostly used for writing templates
and forms to be filled by others.
</para>
<sect3 id="protection">
<title>Protection Tab</title>
<para>
<figure id="format-protection">
<title>Protection Tab</title>
<screenshot>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="figures/number-format-protection.png"
format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>An image of the cell format dialog open to the
"Protection" tab.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
This tab allows you to see and
change cell protection in imported Excel
workbooks. Cell protection has no effect in
<application>Gnumeric</application>: you can edit cells whether
or not they are marked as protected. However,
<application>Gnumeric</application> keeps the protection setting
of imported Excel workbooks. If you later save your workbook in
Excel format, <application>Gnumeric</application> will save the
protection information too. For more information about cell
protection in <application>Excel</application>, please refer to
<application>Excel</application> documentation.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="sect-data-format-validation">
<title>Validation Tab</title>
<para>This tab allows you to set restrictions on allowed values of
data in the cells. If you (or someone else) attempts to enter a
data that does not meet the set criteria, a warning (or an error
message, depending on the options set in this tab) will be shown.
</para>
<figure id="fig-format-dialog-validation-tab">
<title>Validation Tab</title>
<screenshot>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="figures/number-format-validation.png"
format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>An image of the cell format dialog open to the
"Validation" tab.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<para>
This tab consists of two part. The first part,
<guilabel>Criteria</guilabel> is used to set the criteria for
the cell values. The second part, <guilabel>Error
Alert</guilabel>, is used to choose the action when data
entered does not meet the criteria.
</para>
<para>
To set the criteria for cell values, follow these steps:
</para>
<procedure>
<step>
<para>
Choose the type of data contained in the cells, using the
<guilabel>Allow</guilabel> drop-down list.
</para>
</step>
<step>
<para>
Choose a condition that must be satisfied by the cells
value, using <guilabel>Condition</guilabel> drop-down
list. In these conditions, <literal>val</literal> stands
for the cells value (for text, <literal>val</literal>
stands for the length of text string) and
<literal>min</literal>, <literal>max</literal>, and
<literal>bound</literal> are constants that you need to
specify.
</para>
</step>
<step>
<para>
Enter the values of constants used in condition. For
example, if you chose condition
<literal><![CDATA[ min<=val<=max ]]></literal>, you need to enter values
of constants <literal>min</literal> and
<literal>max</literal>.
</para>
</step>
</procedure>
<para>
After specifying the criteria, you need to specify how
<application>Gnumeric</application> should respond to incorrect
cell value. You can choose one of four possible actions from
<guilabel>Action</guilabel> drop-down list:
<variablelist>
<!-- ********* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>None</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Accept invalid value without any warning. Equivalent to
having no validation.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Stop</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Do not accept the invalid value. Show the user an error
message which you need to specify (see below).
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Warning</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Show the user a warning dialog, giving him a choice
whether to accept or reject the invalid value. You need
to specify the message to use in the warning dialog (see
below).
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- ********* -->
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Information</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Accept invalid values but show the user a warning
dialog. You need to specify the the message to use in
the warning dialog (see below).
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
If you choose one of the options <guilabel>Stop</guilabel>,
<guilabel>Warning</guilabel>, or
<guilabel>Information</guilabel>, you must enter the message
that will be show to the user in the error or warning
dialog. Otherwise, the dialog will be empty so it will be
completely useless. You need to enter the title (which will be
used as the window title for the dialog window) and the message
itself. For example, the values shown in <xref
linkend="sect-data-format-validation" /> will
produce the dialog shown in <xref
linkend="fig-format-validation-warning" />.
</para>
<figure id="fig-format-validation-warning">
<title>Warning dialog in response to invalid input</title>
<screenshot>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="figures/number-format-validation-warning.png"
format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>An image of the validation error notification
box.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
</sect3>
</sect2>
</sect1>