Glossary

Adjust The name of the right mouse button.
Ampersand The ‘&’ sign used as an abbreviation for ‘and’.
This is used to represent the AND operator in formulae and conditions.
Anchor points The top left and bottom right cells of a range.
Anti-aliasing A technique used by your computer to simulate smooth edges on letters and images composed of square elements (pixels)
Array Set of numbers entered in a single cell, for example to represent a complex number or a matrix.
ASCII A standard format for storing text which enables it to be read by many programs and computers.
Autosum Facility to add a column, row or block of cells automatically.
Autowidth Facility to expand or reduce the width of a column to fit its contents perfectly.
Backdrop A picture which appears behind the text in your document, either just on the first page or on all pages. Backdrops are used for creating stationery.
Binding Fastening together pages to make a booklet. Needs to be considered in case an extra margin has to be left on the edge of the page which is to be bound.
Bold A heavier, blacker version of a typeface used to provide emphasis.
Border Area around the edge of window which shows row and column headings. Also the area around the inside edge of each cell.
Button An on-screen icon which, when clicked, acts on the selected object by applying a style to it or performing a task with it.
Caret Indicator used within Fireworkz to show where any new text you type will appear and to show where you are in the document.
Case Form of letter; can be either upper (capitals) or lower (small letters).
Cell A section of a worksheet formed by the intersection of a column and a row, whose heading labels give it a unique address within the worksheet, its cell reference.
Cell reference Unique address within a worksheet of a cell, formed by its column and row headings, e.g. A1, BC75.
Check box An icon within dialogue boxes which when clicked turns an option on or off.
Click Press and release a mouse button.
Clipboard Internal file in your computer where text or images which have been cut or copied are stored until you paste them back on to a page.
Close icon Icon on the edge of a window which closes it when clicked.
Column The vertical divisions of a worksheet, usually identified by letter.
Comma separated values Comma separated values (CSV) format is a standard interchange format used for exchanging data between different spreadsheet and database programs.
Condensed Typeface which has been squashed horizontally so that the letters are narrower than the standard version.
Constant Data which is typed into the cell (via the editing line) and which is not a result of a calculation.
Copy Make a copy of the selected object or area of text and store it on the clipboard so that it can be pasted back into the document.
Custom function A function beyond the set included in Fireworkz as standard, written by a user. It is used in a similar way to a standard function.
Cut Remove the selected object or area of text from the document and store it on the clipboard ready to be pasted back into a document.
Default A setting which is used automatically in a program unless you explicitly choose a different setting.
Dependent document A document which contains external references and therefore requires other documents to be kept open in order to maintain these references.
Dialogue box A special window into which you enter your preferences or instructions for Fireworkz to carry out.
Directory A named area of the disc or network server where files, further directories and programs can be stored.
Double-clicking Clicking a mouse button twice in quick succession to select an object (e.g. a file) and perform an action on it (e.g. loading it).
Drag Move an object across the screen or make a selection by pointing at it, pressing and holding down the left mouse button, and moving the pointer to the desired new position.
Draw file A structured graphics file produced by the RISC OS program !Draw, or saved so as to be compatible with it. A compatible application, OakDraw, is freely available for Windows.
Effects Sets of attributes applied to text. Effects and styles do exactly the same thing, the difference being that effects are not given names and so cannot be reapplied to different text or changed as easily.
Embed Save a picture or other file as part of the document into which it has been imported.
Expression Another word for formula.
External reference A reference to a cell contained in another worksheet. This is represented by prefixing the cell reference with the path and file name of the other document.
File A document which has been saved on a disc or network server.
Fill A special kind of copying which places a version of the original in the new cell. When formulae are copied, cell references are updated so that the formula contains references to cells in the same relative position, e.g. the formula SUM(A1:A3) in cell A4 would become SUM(B1:B3) when filled into cell B4, or SUM(B3:B5) when filled into cell B6.
Font A particular instance of a typeface, in a particular size and weight, e.g. 10 point Trinity Bold.
Font cache An area of your RISC OS computer's memory reserved for the images of letters your computer has generated from the stored outlines to display on the screen.
Footer Running text which appears on the bottom of the page.
Format A set of instructions applied to numbers, dates or times which ensure that they are displayed in the worksheet in a particular style, e.g. as currency, 12-hour clock, etc.
Formatting The application of styles and layout information to an area of text.
Formula A combination of data, operators and functions which produce a result which is displayed in the cell containing the formula.
Formula line The area at the top right of the Fireworkz window where you enter data and formulae.
Function A command which performs a specified operation on its parameters and when used as part of a formula produces a result which can be displayed in the worksheet.
Gallery The menu where you select chart types.
Greyed out Indicates an option which is currently unselectable, usually because it is inappropriate. For example, many operations work on selections and will be greyed out if there is no selection.
Grid The network of lines around each cell. The standard grid, the faint grid, which appears in all Fireworkz documents but doesn't print, can be supplemented by a grid in any colour or style which does print.
Header Running text which appears at the top of the page.
Highlight The way selections are shown, with the object or text being reversed out, i.e. white on black instead of black on white.
Icon A picture representing an object such as a document, file, program or disc drive.
Icon bar Area at the bottom of the RISC OS screen where icons representing discs, programs and system management tools appear.
Italic Form of a typeface used for emphasis; letters are usually slanted and some have a different, more handwritten, form like this.
Justification The alignment of text in relation to the margins, e.g. centred between them, or aligned with the left or right margin.
Kerning Technique for microscopically adjusting the spacing between letters so that they appear correctly spaced to the eye. Fireworkz supports the automatic kerning facility provided by RISC OS.
Landscape Paper orientation where the page is wider than it is long.
Leading The extra blank space added between lines of text to separate them and make them more readable. Usually expressed as the height of the type plus the extra space, so 10 point type with 2 points of leading would be described as 10 on 12 point.
Leafname The final part of a file name, not including any filing system (RISC OS), disc or directory names.
Left justify Only the left edge of the text/data is aligned with the margin; the right edge is jagged.
Legend The labels which describe the series of data in a chart.
Line spacing The depth of each line of text, from the bottom of the letters in one line to the bottom of the letters in the next line.
Margin The space between the edge of the printable area and the text.
Menu A list of commands or further sub-menus: which is displayed by pressing Menu (the middle mouse button) while the pointer is inside a program window.
Also: The name of the middle mouse button, with which you obtain menus.
Mouse The standard pointing device used by your computer.
Offset Measurement which is a distance from a fixed point. For example, the header offset is the distance between the header and the top ofthe printable area, and will stay the same when the top paper margin is changed.
Operator A symbol which performs a mathematical or Boolean (logical) operation on data when it is used as part of a formula.
Page break An instruction to the program to begin a new page at a particular point in the worksheet.
Page length A setting used by printers and printer drivers to calculate the length of pages to be printed.
Palette Set of colours used by the computer and defined in the Palette program at the right of the icon bar (RISC OS).
Parameter The data supplied to a spreadsheet function on which it will act.
Paste Insert the contents of the clipboard on to the page at the caret.
Pathname The full listing of filing system (RISC OS), disc, directory and leaf name details needed for to find a file which has been saved, and which appears in the title bar of saved document windows.
Pling–! Exclamation mark.
1. In a formula in a Fireworkz number cell, it represents the NOT operator.
2. A prefix conventially used by RISC OS to show that a directory or a file is a program which will be started if you double-click on it.
Point The basic unit by which type is traditionally measured. A point is fractionally under 1/72 of an inch.
Portrait Paper orientation where the page is taller than it is wide.
Printable area Most printers can't print over the entire area of the paper you feed through them, but need to leave a small margin around each edge. The printable area is the area on which a given printer can print.
Printer driver A program which enables your computer to talk to your printer and ensures that your files are printed correctly with all their formatting intact.
Proportional spacing Letters are allocated space along the line in proportion to their width, so that an ‘i’ takes up less space than a ‘w’.
Radio button Button which indicates that only one of a set of options in a dialogue box can be selected at once, so clicking on a new button automatically deselects the old choice.
Range A group of contiguous cells in one or more rows and columns which have been selected, e.g. to form the basis of a chart, or as a parameter to a function.
Reference The address of a cell within a worksheet; it usually takes the form xn, where x is the column letter and n is the row number.
Right justify Align text/data so that its right edge is flush with the right margin and the left edge is ragged.
Row The horizontal sections of a worksheet, usually identified by number.
Running text Text which runs throughout the document, appearing on more than one page, e.g. headers and footers.
Sans-serif Typeface where the letters have plain ends and do not have feet or brackets (e.g. Homerton on RISC OS; Arial on Windows).
Scrolling Moving around a document by clicking the arrow icons or moving the slider.
Select Click on an object so that when you next perform an action in the program, it will affect the object you have selected.
Select The name of the left mouse button, with which you select.
Serif Serif faces, such as Trinity (RISC OS) and Times New Roman (Windows), have small feet or brackets at the edges of letters. These lead the eye from letter to letter and make it easier for readers to find their way through solid pages of text.
Snapshot Removing a formula from a cell and replacing it with the current value. The cell will then stay fixed at that value from then on.
String A set of characters (which can be text or numerals) which are enclosed in quotation marks when entered in number cells.
Style A named set of attributes which govern the appearance of text and numbers displayed on your worksheet, including the format in which numbers and dates are displayed.
Subscript Small letters which appear slightly below the bottom of normal sized text.
Superscript Small letters which appear slightly above the baseline of normal sized text.
Supporting document A document which is referred to via an external reference, and hence is opened each time its dependent document is opened.
Template A special document which when opened, creates a new document with certain features or text already included.
Toggle size icon Icon in a window which swaps its size from its current or previous size to as large as possible on screen, or vice versa.
Toolbar The section at the top of the document window which contains tool buttons.
Transpose Exchange rows and columns.
Typeface A family of fonts with the same design, which can have many variants including italic and bold forms, as well as appearing in different sizes.
Vertical bar (solidus) The | character, used to represent the OR operator in formulae and conditions.
Weight The density of a font. Ordinary text is described as medium weight, while bold text is heavy.
Worksheet A spreadsheet document.