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content/blog/librecalctips.md

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+---
+title: "LibreOffice Calc Tips"
+date: 2021-02-20T12:37:48-05:00
+draft: false
+tags: []
+---
+
+I've been working with LibreOffice Calc (or Excel) spreadsheets recently and wanted to share some of the things I've learned.
+
+**Absolute vs Relative Cell References**
+
+The main difference between referencing a cell relatively vs absolute is that the absolute reference includes a `$` in the front. This is important if you want to drag a formula across multiple cells.
+
+```excel
+$A:$B
+```
+
+**Referring to a sheet name**
+
+To refer to cells in another sheet, first begin the reference with the sheet name, then a period, follow by the cells you wish to reference in that sheet. If the sheet name has spaces in it, then you need to wrap it in quotes.
+
+```excel
+'Another Sheet'.A:B
+```
+
+**Referring to a column**
+
+To refer to a single column, you need to repeat the column name separated by a colon.
+
+```excel
+B:B
+```
+
+**Get row that matches a query**
+
+For this we'll use the `MATCH` function. It takes three parameters:
+
+1. The value to match
+2. The range of cells to query over
+3. Which comparison function to use. Use `0` for equality.
+
+It will then return the first row number that matches the query.
+
+```excel
+MATCH("Bob", B:B, 0)
+```
+
+**Query a value based on another from that row.**
+
+To do this, we will need to combine both the `INDEX` function and the `MATCH` function. The `INDEX` function takes three parameters:
+
+1. The range of cells to reference
+2. The row number
+3. The column number
+
+Use the `MATCH` function as the second argument, and you can reference another column of a row based on a query.
+
+```excel
+INDEX(A:B, MATCH("Bob", B:B, 0), 1)
+```
+
+**Refer to a value in a nearby cell**
+
+With the `OFFSET` function you can refer to a cell relative to another. Its three parameters are:
+
+1. Reference Cell
+2. Row Offset
+3. Column Offset
+4. Height
+5. Width
+
+```excel
+# To see the value in the row above A5 (A4)
+OFFSET(A5, -1, 0, 1, 1)
+```
+
+**Concatenate Strings**
+
+Strings separated by `&` are concatenated together.
+
+```excel
+"Hello " & "World."
+```
+