The PipeDream Window

When PipeDream is running in the computer, you will see the blue PipeDream icon (a large white 4 on a dark blue background, with a column of coloured dots) installed on the icon bar.

If you do not have the PipeDream icon on the icon bar, find the !PipeDream icon on your disc or network server and double-click on it.

To create a new empty PipeDream document window:

  1. Click the PipeDream icon on the icon bar;
  2. Click the Text option in the New document dialogue box.
  3. Click the OK button or press Return↵.

Your screen will look something like this:

PipeDream document window

The PipeDream document window is divided into two parts.

At the top of the window is the toolbar area. This contains a set of buttons that can be clicked on to execute useful functions and a formula editing line.

Below the toolbar area is the cell area in which a document's data is displayed. This in turn is divided into columns (referred to by A, B, C etc. going from left to right) and rows (numbered from 1 at the top, increasing going down the document). When you first create an empty PipeDream document window based on the Text template, only row 1 is displayed. Many more rows are displayed if you create a document based on the Numbers template.

The part of a document lying at the intersection of one row and one column is called a cell and can be referred to by its joint column and row coordinates, for example B1.

Columns

A PipeDream document is made up of cells of two types: text cells and number cells. Text in a text cell is allowed to overlap any blank cells to its right up to the right margin position. However, number cells are not allowed to overlap other columns. It is this very simple distinction between text and numbers which is at the heart of PipeDream.

It can be helpful to think of each column as being a transparent sheet of paper overlaying the columns to its left.

Moving the pointer into a cell and clicking Select positions the caret in the cell, unless there is anything in a text cell to the left which could overlap the cell containing the pointer. Remember that number cells cannot overlap cells to the right of them.

Consider the following case:

A B    C       D  ↓
1 caret                         
2 This text in column A overlaps cell B2.
3 Text just in column A.
4 Text in column B.
5 123.45
6 97.30

If you move the pointer into cell C1 and click, the caret will be positioned in cell C1 because there is nothing to the left of cell C1 which could overlap it.

If you move the pointer into cell C2 and click, the caret will be positioned in cell A2 because cell A2 contains text and could overlap cell C2.

If you move the pointer into cell C3 and click, the caret will be positioned in cell A3 because cell A3 contains text and could overlap cell C3.

If you move the pointer into cell C4 and click, the caret will be positioned in cell B4 because cell B4 contains text and could overlap cell C4

If you position the pointer in cell C5 and click, the caret will be positioned in cell C5. Because cell B5 is a number cell, it cannot overlap cell C5.

If you position the pointer in cell C6 and click, the caret will be positioned in cell C6. Although cell A6 has contents, it is a number cell and so cannot overlap cell C6.

Clicking Ctrl-Select always positions the caret in the cell containing the pointer. So, in all the above cases, clicking Ctrl-Select would position the caret in the relevant cell in column C.

Interactive Help

You can request interactive help at any point during your use of PipeDream by running the Help application from your RISC OS Apps directory. A window appears which provides information about the part of the RISC OS desktop or PipeDream document window at which you are pointing. For further details about the RISC OS interactive help system, see your RISC OS User Guide.