1SC(1) General Commands Manual SC(1)
2
6 sc - spreadsheet calculator
7
9 sc [-a] [-c] [-e] [-m] [-n] [-o] [-q] [-r] [-v] [-x] [-C] [-R] [-P
10 range[/address] | /address] [-W range] [file...]
11
13 The spreadsheet calculator sc is based on rectangular tables much like
14 a financial spreadsheet. When invoked, it first looks for a file in
15 the user's home directory called .scrc and if found, reads that file
16 into memory. If that file contains the command ``set scrc'', sc looks
17 for a file called .scrc in the current directory, and if found, reads
18 that file into memory, too. Next, it reads the options from the com‐
19 mand line, and finally, it reads in the file or files specified on the
20 command line and presents the data in a table organized as rows and
21 columns of cells. If invoked without a file argument, the table is
22 initially empty, unless it is running in a pipeline, in which case it
23 will read its data from the standard input. If more than one file is
24 specified, all files except the first one will be merged. The default
25 filename for saving a file with the Put command will be the same as the
26 first file specified, and the other files will be treated as macros.
27 If you want to use advanced macros from the command line, the ``|''
28 must be quoted to prevent it from being expanded by the shell.
29 Options begin with -. However, an argument of a single - will be
31 interpreted to mean that spreadsheet data will be taken from the stan‐
32 dard input. This is useful for including sc in a pipeline if the sys‐
33 tem supports pipes. However, if standard input is not a terminal, the
34 - is only necessary if there are multiple files and standard input is
35 not the last to be read, since standard input is automatically read in
36 after all other files in such cases if it is not specified explicitly,
37 or if there are no other filenames on the command line. If sc is
38 included in a pipeline, and a filename of ``-'' is not specified, the
39 standard input will be merged in after all of the other named files
40 have been processed.
41 The first argument not beginning with a -, or a single - by itself, and
43 any subsequent arguments will all be interpreted as filenames (a file‐
44 name of - meaning standard input as noted above). In addition, an
45 argument of -- may be used to signify that all subsequent arguments
46 should be treated as filenames even if they begin with a -, but unlike
47 -, -- won't be treated as a filename itself.
48 Each cell may have associated with it a numeric value, a label string,
50 and/or an expression (formula) which evaluates to a numeric value or
51 label string, often based on other cell values.
52 For an online tutorial, type the command:
54 sc /usr/share/doc/sc/tutorial.sc
56 To print a quick reference card, type the command:
58 scqref | [your_printer_commmand]
60
62 -a Do not run the autorun macro, if one is specified in the file.
63 -c Start the program with the recalculation being done in column
65 order.
66 -e Start the program with round-to-even (banker's rounding)
68 enabled.
69 -m Start the program with automatic recalculation disabled. The
71 spreadsheet will be recalculated only when the ``@'' command is
72 used.
73 -n Start the program in quick numeric entry mode (see below).
75 -o Start the program with automatic optimization of expressions
77 enabled.
78 -q Quit after loading all files, but before becoming interactive.
80 This is useful in shell scripts for getting information from a
81 file, for example, or using sc as a non-interactive calculator
82 using the eval command.
83 -r Start the program with the recalculation being done in row order
85 (default option).
86 -v When piping data out using the -P option (below), change all
88 expressions to values. The -v option must precede the -P option
89 to have an effect. If the -P option is used more than once,
90 there must be a separate -v option for each instance of the -P
91 option.
92 -x Cause the Get and Put commands (see below) to encrypt and
94 decrypt data files.
95 -C Start the program with automatic newline action set to increment
97 the column (see below).
98 -P range[/address]
100 -P /address
101 Pipe a range to standard output. The output is similar to that
102 of the Put command (below), except that only cell data and for‐
103 matting information for cells in the range are output, without
104 all of the colors, range definitions, column formatting, etc.
105 The optional /address is used to adjust all addresses in the
106 range to a new starting point. This is useful for copying data
107 from one file to another, especially when used in conjunction
108 with the -v option (above), using something like merge "|sc -v
109 -Prange/address filename" (note the pipe symbol). This option
110 may be used more than once to specify multiple ranges. Note,
111 however, that the -v option must precede the -P option on the
112 command line, and there must be a separate -v option for each
113 instance of the -P option. Any instance of -P not preceded by
114 its own -v option will output unevaluated expressions.
115 A range of ``%'' may be used to refer to the entire spreadsheet.
117 If the range is left out, as shown in the second form above, sc
118 will be started interactively in navigate mode, allowing you to
119 navigate the spreadsheet and highlight the range you want to
120 output. Pressing ESC, ^G, or q will terminate without out‐
121 putting any data.
122 -R Start the program with automatic newline action set to increment
124 the row (see below).
125 -W Pipe a range to standard output. The output is identical to
127 that of the Write command (below). This option may be used more
128 than once to specify multiple ranges. A range of ``%'' may be
129 used to refer to the entire spreadsheet.
130 All of these options can be changed with the ^T and S commands (see
132 below) while sc is running. Options specified when sc is invoked over‐
133 ride options saved in the data file.
134 Personal Initialization File
136 When sc first starts, it looks for a file in the user's home directory
137 called .scrc and if found, loads it into memory. The format of this
138 file is the same as any other sc file, but should be reserved for set‐
139 ting certain defaults. Any options set which have equivalent command
140 line options may be overridden by the command line. If that file con‐
141 tains the command ``set scrc'', sc will then look for a file called
142 .scrc in the current directory, and if found, load that file into mem‐
143 ory, too (this is analogous to the ``set exrc'' command used by vi/ex).
144 These ``dotfiles'' may be created by any text editor. Several commands
145 exist specifically for setting default file name extensions in the
146 .scrc file, although they may also be used from macros, ordinary
147 spreadsheet files, or from within sc at the command line. They will
148 not, however, be saved along with the file. The extensions should be
149 quoted, and should not include the preceding `.' (e.g., scext "sc" will
150 add the extension .sc ). These commands are:
151 scext This is the default extension for normal sc files (those created
153 with the Put command). If this command is not used, all sc
154 files will be saved without an extension, and any existing
155 extension will not be removed. Setting this option causes all
156 sc files to be saved with the specified extension added, unless
157 it is already present. If the file name already has an exten‐
158 sion of .sc, it will first be removed. Any other extension will
159 not be removed.
160 ascext This is the default extension for plain text files created with
162 the Write command. The file name will first be checked to see
163 if it already has an extension of either .sc or the extension
164 specified with scext above, and if either one exists, it will
165 first be removed before adding the new extension. If this
166 option is not set, a default of .asc will be used.
167 tbl0ext
169 This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
170 command if tblstyle is set to 0 (default). The file name will
171 first be checked to see if it already has an extension of either
172 .sc or the extension specified with scext above, and if either
173 one exists, it will first be removed before adding the new
174 extension. If this option is not set, a default of .cln will be
175 used.
176 tblext This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
178 command if tblstyle is set to tbl. The file name will first be
179 checked to see if it already has an extension of either .sc or
180 the extension specified with scext above, and if either one
181 exists, it will first be removed before adding the new exten‐
182 sion. If this option is not set, a default of .tbl will be
183 used.
184 latexext
186 This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
187 command if tblstyle is set to latex. The file name will first
188 be checked to see if it already has an extension of either .sc
189 or the extension specified with scext above, and if either one
190 exists, it will first be removed before adding the new exten‐
191 sion. If this option is not set, a default of .lat will be
192 used.
193 slatexext
195 This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
196 command if tblstyle is set to slatex. The file name will first
197 be checked to see if it already has an extension of either .sc
198 or the extension specified with scext above, and if either one
199 exists, it will first be removed before adding the new exten‐
200 sion. If this option is not set, a default of .stx will be
201 used.
202 texext This is the default extension for files created with the Tbl
204 command if tblstyle is set to tex. The file name will first be
205 checked to see if it already has an extension of either .sc or
206 the extension specified with scext above, and if either one
207 exists, it will first be removed before adding the new exten‐
208 sion. If this option is not set, a default of .tex will be
209 used.
210 General Information
212 The screen is divided into four regions. The top line is for entering
213 commands and displaying cell values. The second line is for messages
214 from sc. The third line and the first four columns show the column and
215 row numbers, from which are derived cell addresses, e.g. A0 for the
216 cell in column A, row 0. Note that column names are case-insensitive:
217 you can enter A0 or a0.
218 The rest of the screen forms a window looking at a portion of the ta‐
220 ble. The total number of display rows and columns available, hence the
221 number of table rows and columns displayed, is set by curses(3) and may
222 be overridden by setting the LINES and COLUMNS environment variables,
223 respectively.
224 The screen has two cursors: a cell cursor, indicated by either a high‐
226 lighted cell or a ``<'' on the screen, and a character cursor, indi‐
227 cated by the terminal's hardware cursor.
228 If a cell's numeric value is wider than the column width (see the f
230 command), the cell is filled with asterisks. If a cell's label string
231 is wider than the column width, it is truncated at the start of the
232 next non-blank cell in the row, if any.
233 Cursor control commands and row and column commands can be prefixed by
235 a numeric argument which indicates how many times the command is to be
236 executed. You can type ^U before a repeat count if quick numeric entry
237 mode is enabled.
238 Changing Options
240 ^To Toggle options. This command allows you to switch the state of
242 one option selected by o. A small menu lists the choices for o
243 when you type ^T. Unless otherwise noted, the options selected
244 are saved when the data and formulas are saved so that you will
245 have the same setup next time you enter the spreadsheet.
246 a Automatic Recalculation. When set, each change in the
248 spreadsheet causes the entire spreadsheet be recalcu‐
249 lated. Normally this is not noticeable, but for very
250 large spreadsheets, it may be faster to clear automatic
251 recalculation mode and update the spreadsheet via
252 explicit ``@'' commands. Default is automatic recalcula‐
253 tion on.
254 b Braille enhancement mode. See the braille section under
256 the Set command below for a complete description of how
257 to use this mode. This option is not saved when saving a
258 file, to allow blind and sighted users to easily share
259 files. It is intended for use in a user's .scrc file.
260 c Current cell highlighting. If enabled, the current cell
262 is highlighted (using the terminal's standout mode, if
263 available) and the cell pointer ``<'' is turned off.
264 This is enabled by default.
265 e External function execution. When disabled, external
267 functions (see @ext() below) are not called. This saves
268 a lot of time at each screen update. External functions
269 are disabled by default. If disabled, and external func‐
270 tions are used anywhere, a warning is printed each time
271 the screen is updated, and the result of @ext() is the
272 value from the previous call, if any, or a null string.
273 i Automatic insertion of rows/columns. If this is enabled
275 and craction is set to move the cell cursor either down
276 or to the right after entering data into a cell, and the
277 last cell in a row/column in the scrolling portion of a
278 framed range was just filled, causing the cell cursor to
279 move outside of this range, a new column/row will be
280 inserted, thus enlarging the range and allowing you to
281 continue entering data into the row/column without over‐
282 writing the frame (which may contain expressions of some
283 sort, such as totals). If autowrap is also enabled, it
284 will take precedence, and a new row/column will only be
285 inserted after entering data in the very last cell (bot‐
286 tom right corner) of the scrolling range. The default is
287 no automatic insertion.
288 w Automatic wrap to next row/column. If this is enabled
290 and craction is set to move the cell cursor either down
291 or to the right after entering data into a cell, and the
292 last cell in a row/column in the scrolling portion of a
293 framed range was just filled, causing the cell cursor to
294 move outside of this range, the cell cursor will move to
295 the first cell in the next row/column in this range. If
296 this would also take the cursor out of the scrolling por‐
297 tion of the range, the cursor will remain in last edited
298 cell instead, unless autoinsert is also enabled, in which
299 case a new row/column will be added so that the cursor
300 can wrap. The default is no autowrap.
301 l Autolabeling. If enabled, using the define command (rd)
303 causes a label to be automatically generated in the cell
304 to the left of the defined cell. This is only done if
305 the cell to the left is empty. Default is enabled.
306 n Quick numeric entry. If enabled, a typed digit is
308 assumed to be the start of a numeric value for the cur‐
309 rent cell, not a repeat count, unless preceded by ^U.
310 Also, the `+' and `-' keys will enter insert mode and
311 append a `+' or `-' to the existing contents of the cell,
312 allowing the user to easily add to or subtract from the
313 current numeric contents of the cell. The cursor con‐
314 trols (^P, ^N, or any of the arrow keys) in this mode
315 will end a numeric entry if the entry was started by
316 pressing `+', `-', or a digit. Switching from insert
317 mode to edit mode will cause the cursor controls to
318 revert to their normal functions.
319 o Automatic optimization of expressions. If this is
321 enabled, expressions which evaluate to a constant are
322 automatically optimized upon entry. For example, if you
323 enter @pow(2,32) into a cell, the value 4294967296 will
324 be stored in that cell, whereas if optimization is turned
325 off, the calculated value will be displayed, but the
326 actual expression will be stored in the cell instead.
327 This allows you to edit the expression instead of re-
328 entering it from scratch when you just want to make a
329 minor change. Default is automatic optimization off.
330 t Top line display. If enabled, the name and value of the
332 current cell is displayed on the top line. If there is
333 an associated label string, the first character of the
334 string value is ``|'' for a centered string, ``<'' for a
335 leftstring or ``>'' for a rightstring (see below), fol‐
336 lowed by "string" for a constant string or {expr} for a
337 string expression. A constant string may be preceeded
338 with a backslash (`\'). In this case the constant string
339 will be used as a ``wheel'' to fill a column, e.g. "\-"
340 for a line in a column, and "\Yeh " for "Yeh Yeh Ye". If
341 the cell has a numeric value, it follows as [value],
342 which may be a constant or expression.
343 $ Dollar prescale. If enabled, all numeric constants (not
345 expressions) which you enter are multipled by 0.01 so you
346 don't have to keep typing the decimal point if you enter
347 lots of dollar figures.
348 r Newline action. This is a 3-way toggle which determines
350 which direction to move after pressing the RETURN key to
351 enter data into a cell. It has the same effect as using
352 the set (S) command to set the value of craction. After
353 selecting this option, you will be prompted for the
354 direction you want to move. Valid directions are down
355 (craction=1) and to the right (craction=2). Pressing j,
356 ^N, or the cursor-down key will cause the cursor to move
357 down a cell each time you press the RETURN key and press‐
358 ing l, the cursor-right key, or the space bar will cause
359 the cursor to move one cell to the right. Pressing the
360 RETURN key at the prompt selects no action (craction=0,
361 which means that the cursor will remain in the current
362 cell). No action is the default unless sc is started
363 with either the -R or -C option. This option is ignored
364 if the cell into which data is being entered is not the
365 current cell.
366 s Enable/disable color slop. If a cell's label string is
368 wider than the column width, it will slop over into the
369 next cell to the right if that cell is empty. However,
370 if that cell is in a different color range than the
371 first, this slopover will be disabled, regardless of
372 whether the colors assigned to the two ranges are differ‐
373 ent or not. If cslop is enabled, strings may slop over
374 even if the next cell is in a different color range, car‐
375 rying their color with them, which may cause a ragged
376 boundary between the ranges, but may allow the strings to
377 be seen in their entirety. Cslop is disabled by default.
378 x Encryption. See the -x option.
380 z Set newline action limits. This option sets limits to
382 the newline action option above. When this option is
383 invoked, the row and column of the current cell are
384 remembered. If a later newline action would take the
385 current cell to the right of the remembered column, then
386 the current cell is instead moved to the first column of
387 the next row. If a newline action would take the current
388 cell below the remembered row, then the current cell is
389 instead moved to the top row of the next column.
390 C Color. This option enables color, and must be set before
392 any other color options, such as colorneg (color negative
393 numbers) or colorerr (color cells with errors), will have
394 an effect. On a slow connection, turning off color can
395 noticeably speed up screen updates.
396 E Color cells with errors. Setting this option will cause
398 all cells with expressions which evaluate to ERROR or
399 INVALID to be set to color 3. Color must be enabled for
400 this option to take effect.
401 N Color negative numbers. When this option is set, all
403 cells containing negative numbers will have their color
404 number incremented by one. Cells with color 8 will cycle
405 back to color 1. Color must be enabled for this option
406 to take effect.
407 The quick numeric entry, newline action and set newline action
409 limits options can be combined to allow very quick entry of
410 large amounts of data. If all the data to be entered is in a
411 single row or column then setting the quick numeric entry and
412 the appropriate newline action will allow the numbers to be
413 entered without any explicit commands to position the current
414 cell or enter a number.
415 If the data entry involves several entries in each row for many
417 rows, then setting the quick numeric entry option, setting the
418 newline action to move right after each entry and setting the
419 newline action limits on the last column on which data should be
420 entered will allow the data to entered quickly. An alternative
421 to setting newline action limits is to enclose the range for
422 entry in a frame (see "Framed Ranges" below), and setting the
423 autowrap option. Setting autoinsert will insert new rows as
424 needed if the frame includes data at the bottom. If necessary,
425 columns which do not need data to be entered can be hidden with
426 the z command. Similar arrangements can be made for entering
427 several rows of data in each column.
428 S Set options. This command allows you to set various options. A
430 small menu lists the options that cannot be changed through ^T
431 above.
432 byrows/bycols
434 Specify the order cell evaluation when updating. These
435 options also affect the order in which cells are filled
436 (see rf) and whether a row or column is cleared by an x
437 command.
438 iterations=n
440 Set the maximum number of recalculations before the
441 screen is displayed again. Iterations is set to 10 by
442 default.
443 tblstyle=s
445 Control the output of the T command. s can be: 0
446 (default) to give colon delimited fields, with no tbl
447 control lines; tbl to give colon delimited fields, with
448 tbl(1) control lines; latex to give a LaTeX tabular envi‐
449 ronment; slatex to give a SLaTeX (Scandinavian LaTeX)
450 tabular environment; tex to give a TeX simple tabbed
451 alignment with ampersands as delimiters; and frame to
452 give a tblstyle output for FrameMaker.
453 pagesize=n
455 Set the page size for the PageUp, PageDown, J, and K com‐
456 mands. If set to 0, the default is to move up or down
457 half the number of rows displayed on the screen, or if
458 the current cell is in a framed range, half the number of
459 displayed rows in the scrolling region of that range.
460 Other Set options are normally used only in sc data files since
462 they are available through ^T. You can also use them interac‐
463 tively.
464 autocalc/!autocalc
466 Set/clear auto recalculation mode.
467 autoinsert/!autoinsert
469 Set/clear automatic insertion mode.
470 autowrap/!autowrap
472 Set/clear autowrap mode.
473 optimize/!optimize
475 Set/clear auto optimize mode.
476 numeric/!numeric
478 Set/clear numeric mode.
479 prescale/!prescale
481 Set/clear numeric prescale mode.
482 extfun/!extfun
484 Enable/disable external functions.
485 toprow/!toprow
487 Set/clear top row display mode.
488 rndtoeven/!rndtoeven
490 Default: *.5 will be rounded up to the next integer;
491 doing a 'set rndtoeven' will cause it to be rounded to
492 the closest even number instead (aka banker's rounding).
493 Round-to-even has advantages over the default rounding
494 for some applications. For example, if X+Y is an inte‐
495 ger, then X+Y = rnd(X)+rnd(Y) with round-to-even, but not
496 always with the defaulting rounding method. This could
497 be an advantage, for example, when trying to split an odd
498 amount of money evenly between two people (it would
499 determine who gets the extra penny). Note: rndtoeven
500 only effects the @rnd and @round functions. It has no
501 effect on how a number is rounded to fit the display for‐
502 mat of a cell.
503 craction=n
505 Set the newline action. n can be: 0 (default) to give no
506 action; 1 to move down after each entry; or 2 to move
507 right after each entry.
508 rowlimit=n
510 Set the remembered limit for the maximum row below which
511 the current cell will be moved to the top of the next
512 column if the newline action is set to move the current
513 cell down. n can be -1 (default) to disable this facil‐
514 ity.
515 collimit=n
517 Set the remembered limit for the maximum column to the
518 right of which the current cell will be moved to the left
519 of the next row if the newline action is set to move the
520 current cell right. n can be -1 (default) to disable
521 this facility.
522 color/!color
524 Enable color. This option must be set for any other
525 color options, such as colorneg or colorerr, to take
526 effect. On a slow connection, turning off color can
527 noticeably speed up screen updates.
528 colorneg/!colorneg
530 Color negative numbers. When this option is set, all
531 cells containing negative numbers will have their color
532 number increased by one. Cells with color 8 will cycle
533 back to color 1. Color must be enabled for this option
534 to take effect.
535 colorerr/!colorerr
537 Color cells with errors. Setting this option will cause
538 all cells with expressions which evaluate to ERROR or
539 INVALID to be set to color 3. Color must be enabled for
540 this option to take effect.
541 cslop/!cslop
543 Enable color slop. If a cell's label string is wider
544 than the column width, it will slop over into the next
545 cell to the right if that cell is empty. However, if
546 that cell is in a different color range than the first,
547 this slop over will be disabled, regardless of whether
548 the colors assigned to the two ranges are different or
549 not. If cslop is enabled, strings may slop over even if
550 the next cell is in a different color range, carrying
551 their color with them, which may cause a ragged boundary
552 between the ranges, but may allow the strings to be seen
553 in their entirety. Cslop is disabled by default.
554 The following Set options are considered personal preferences,
556 or are terminal dependent, and are therefore not saved when sav‐
557 ing a file, but are instead intended for use in a user's .scrc
558 file.
559 braille/!braille
561 Set/clear braille enhancement mode. When braille
562 enhancement mode is set, the cursor behaves in a manner
563 that makes the use of sc much easier when using a braille
564 display. In spite of its name, this mode also works well
565 with screen readers such as SpeakUp, and can even be used
566 by sighted users to make cutting and pasting using the
567 screen program much easier.
568 There are actually two different braille modes. When the
570 braille option is set, the C command, which is normally
571 used to set colors, will instead change from one braille
572 mode to the other. If it is desired to set/change colors
573 so you can share files with others not using a braille
574 display, braille mode will have to be switched off tempo‐
575 rarily, and then switched back on after the color opera‐
576 tion is done.
577 When the braille option is set, the default braille mode
579 will cause the cursor to be positioned at the left edge
580 of the current cell, while the alternate braille mode
581 will cause the cursor to be placed at the beginning of
582 the top line, which will contain information such as the
583 current cell address, contents of the cell, and column
584 formatting information. The column names will also be
585 moved to the left edge of their respective columns in
586 order to remain aligned with the cursor as it moves up
587 and down the column.
588 In either mode, the cursor will be placed in the top line
590 when editing a line, except when switching to navigate
591 mode, in which case the cursor will be placed in either
592 the current cell (default braille mode) or the second
593 line, where the cell address or default range will be
594 displayed (alternate braille mode).
595 Whenever a message is displayed on the second line, such
597 as an error message or prompt for further information,
598 both modes will cause the cursor to be placed at the
599 beginning of that message. After this message goes away,
600 the cursor will revert to its former behavior. The easi‐
601 est way to make this message go away without effecting
602 anything, except in the cases where it is asking the user
603 for more information, is to press CC, which effectively
604 changes modes twice, with a net effect of leaving sc in
605 the original mode.
606 locale/!locale
608 If locale support is compiled into sc, this option will
609 cause certain locale-dependent behaviors, such as the
610 display of numbers and the determination of word bound‐
611 aries for some operations in edit mode. Note that if
612 this option is set and the environment variable LC_ALL is
613 unrecognized, unset, or set to either ``POSIX'' or ``C'',
614 commas in format commands will be ignored.
615 cellcur/!cellcur
617 Set/clear current cell highlighting mode. This option is
618 included here because it is likely to be terminal depen‐
619 dent and/or a user preference, and therefore is not saved
620 when saving a file.
621 scrc It tells sc to also read the file .scrc in the current
623 directory when starting. Settings in this file will
624 override those in $HOME/.scrc but may themselves be over‐
625 ridden by command line options. Setting this could be a
626 potential security risk, since starting sc with an
627 unknown .scrc could potentially execute arbitrary com‐
628 mands. This risk is probably very slight, since a
629 spreadsheet program is not likely to be run in just any
630 directory, and should never be run as root.
631 Cursor Control Commands
633 ^A Go to cell A0 (same as HOME).
635 ^P Move the cell cursor up to the previous row.
637 ^N Move the cell cursor down to the next row.
639 ^H Move the cell cursor backward one column.
641 SPACE Move the cell cursor forward one column. When in navigate mode,
643 if a range is highlighted, insert the highlighted range into the
644 command line, followed by a space, while remaining in navigate
645 mode. This is useful when entering copy, move, or frame com‐
646 mands, for example, which accept more than one range argument.
647 h, j, k, l
649 These are alternate, vi-compatible cell cursor controls (left,
650 down, up, right). Space is just like l (right).
651 H, J, K, L
653 These move the cursor by half pages (left, down, up, right). If
654 pagesize is nonzero, up/down paging will be by pagesize rows,
655 instead.
656 ^F, ^B Same as J and K above.
658 PAGE-DOWN PAGE-UP
660 Same as J and K above.
661 TAB If the character cursor is on the top line, TAB tries to com‐
663 plete a range name if the character immediately preceding it is
664 alphanumeric or ``_'', and starts a range if not (see below).
665 Otherwise, move the cell cursor forward one column.
666 HOME Go to cell A0.
668 END Same as ^E (see below).
670 Arrow Keys
672 The terminal's arrow keys provide another alternate set of cell
673 cursor controls if they exist and are supported in the appropri‐
674 ate termcap entry. Some terminals have arrow keys which con‐
675 flict with other control key codes. For example, a terminal
676 might send ^H when the back arrow key is pressed. In these
677 cases, the conflicting arrow key performs the same function as
678 the key combination it mimics.
679 ^ Move the cell cursor up to row 0 of the current column.
681 # Move the cell cursor down to the last valid row of the current
683 column.
684 0 Move the cell cursor backward to column A of the current row.
686 This command must be prefixed with ^U if quick numeric entry
687 mode is enabled.
688 $ Move the cell cursor forward to the last valid column of the
690 current row.
691 b Scan the cursor backward (left and up) to the previous valid
693 cell.
694 w Scan the cursor forward (right and down) to the next valid cell.
696 g Go to a cell. sc prompts for a cell's name, a regular expres‐
698 sion surrounded by quotes, or a number. If a cell's name such
699 as ae122 or the name of a defined range is given, the cell cur‐
700 sor goes directly to that cell. If a quoted regular expression
701 such as " Tax Table " or " ^Jan [0-9]*$ " is given, sc searches
702 for a cell containing a string matching the regular expression.
703 See regex(3) or ed(1) for more details on the form of regular
704 expressions.
705 You can also search formatted numbers or expressions using regu‐
707 lar expressions by preceding the opening quotes of the regular
708 expression with a ``#'' (for formatted numbers) or a ``%'' (for
709 expressions). These are handy for searching for dates within a
710 specified range or cells which reference a given cell, for exam‐
711 ple, although they are somewhat slower than searching through
712 ordinary strings, since all numbers must be formatted or expres‐
713 sions decompiled on the fly during the search.
714 If a number is given, sc will search for a cell containing that
716 number. Searches for either strings or numbers proceed forward
717 from the current cell, wrapping back to a0 at the end of the ta‐
718 ble, and terminate at the current cell if the string or number
719 is not found. You may also go to a cell with an ERROR (divide
720 by zero, etc. in this cell) or INVALID (references a cell con‐
721 taining an ERROR). g error will take you to the next ERROR,
722 while g invalid take you to the next INVALID. The last g com‐
723 mand is saved, and can be re-issued by entering g<return>. You
724 can also repeat the last search by pressing n.
725 An optional second argument is available whose meaning depends
727 on whether you're doing a search or jumping to a specific cell.
728 When doing a search, the second argument specifies a range to
729 search. When jumping to a specific cell, the second argument
730 specifies which cell should be in the upper lefthand corner of
731 the screen, if possible, which allows you to position the desti‐
732 nation cell where you want it on the screen.
733 ^Ed Go to end of range. Follow ^E by a direction indicator such as
735 ^P or j. If the cell cursor starts on a non-blank cell, it goes
736 in the indicated direction until the last non-blank adjacent
737 cell. If the cell cursor starts on a blank cell, it goes in the
738 indicated direction until the first non-blank cell. This com‐
739 mand is useful when specifying ranges of adjacent cells (see
740 below), especially when the range is bigger than the visible
741 window.
742 If ^E is pressed twice in succession, or if it is pressed after
744 another ^E or a ^Y, it will cause the screen to scroll up with‐
745 out moving the cell cursor, unless the cell cursor is already at
746 the top of the screen, in which case, it will remain at the top
747 of the visible screen.
748 ^Y Causes the screen to scroll down without moving the cell cursor,
750 unless the cell cursor is already at the bottom of the screen,
751 in which case, it will remain at the bottom of the visible
752 screen.
753 mx Mark the current cell. sc will prompt for a lowercase letter to
755 be used as a mark specifier. Marked cells may be used as the
756 source for the c (copy a marked cell) command, or as the target
757 of a ` or ' (go to marked cell) command. In addition to cells
758 marked with lowercase letters, sc also automatically marks the
759 last nine cells that have been edited with the numbers 1-9, and
760 the current cell being edited with the number 0. When not edit‐
761 ing a cell, marks 0 and 1 usually refer to the same cell, unless
762 the last edit was begun in one cell, but the cell address was
763 changed before pressing the RETURN key, or the last edit was
764 aborted prematurely.
765 `x Jump to a previously marked cell. If the target cell is cur‐
767 rently on the screen, sc will simply jump to the target cell,
768 making it current. Otherwise, sc will attempt to center the
769 cell on the screen, if possible. As a special case, following
770 the ` with another ` will return you to the cell you were in
771 before the last g, ', `, *, or ^E (or END key) was used to jump
772 to another cell.
773 'x Jump to a previously marked cell. ' works just like ` , except
775 that ' will attempt to restore the marked cell to the same posi‐
776 tion on the screen as when it was marked. It does this by
777 remembering which cell was in the upper left hand corner of the
778 screen at the time the mark was set, and restoring that cell to
779 its original position. As a special case, following the ' with
780 another ' will return you to the cell you were in before the
781 last g, ', `, *, or ^E (or END key) was used to jump to another
782 cell, and will also try to position that cell on the screen in
783 the same position as when you left it.
784 z<RETURN>
786 Move the current row to the top of the screen. If the current
787 row is in a framed range, move the current row to the top of the
788 scrolling region.
789 z. Move the current row to the center of the screen.
791 z| Move the current column to the center of the screen.
793 zc Center the current cell both horizontally and vertically.
795 Cell Entry and Editing Commands
797 Cells can contain both a numeric value and a string value. Either
798 value can be the result of an expression, but not both at once, i.e.
799 each cell can have only one expression associated with it. Entering a
800 valid numeric expression alters the cell's previous numeric value, if
801 any, and replaces the cell's previous string expression, if any, leav‐
802 ing only the previously computed constant label string. Likewise,
803 entering a valid string expression alters the cell's the previous label
804 string, if any, and replaces the cell's previous numeric expression, if
805 any, leaving only the previously computed constant numeric value.
806 = Enter a numeric constant or expression into the current cell.
808 sc prompts for the expression on the top line. The usual way to
809 enter a number into a cell is to type ``='', then enter the num‐
810 ber in response to the prompt on the top line. The quick
811 numeric entry option, enabled through the -n option or ^T com‐
812 mand, shows the prompt when you enter the first digit of a num‐
813 ber (you can skip typing ``=''). If you want to begin entering
814 an expression in the current cell, but you want to start out in
815 navigate mode (e.g. to enter cell addresses, or sums of ranges
816 using ``@sum''), use the ``+'' command instead (see below).
817 < Enter a label string into the current cell to be flushed left
819 against the left edge of the cell.
820 \ Enter a label string into the current cell to be centered in the
822 column.
823 > Enter a label string into the current cell to be flushed right
825 against the right edge of the cell.
826 { Left justify the string in the current cell.
828 | Center the string in the current cell.
830 } Right justify the string in the current cell.
832 F Enter a format string into the current cell. This format string
834 overrides the precision specified with the f command unless & is
835 present in the fractional part of the format string (see below).
836 The format only applies to numeric values. There are two types
837 of format strings allowed: standard numeric and date. (Note:
838 these format strings may also be used with the f command to cre‐
839 ate user-defined format types.) The following characters can be
840 used to build a standard numeric format string:
841 # Digit placeholder. If the number has fewer digits on
843 either side of the decimal point than there are `#' char‐
844 acters in the format, the extra `#' characters are
845 ignored. The number is rounded to the number of digit
846 placeholders as there are to the right of the decimal
847 point. If there are more digits in the number than there
848 are digit placeholders on the left side of the decimal
849 point, then those digits are displayed.
850 0 Digit placeholder. Same as for `#' except that the num‐
852 ber is padded with zeroes on either side of the decimal
853 point. The number of zeroes used in padding is deter‐
854 mined by the number of digit placeholders after the `0'
855 for digits on the left side of the decimal point and by
856 the number of digit placeholders before the `0' for dig‐
857 its on the right side of the decimal point.
858 . Decimal point. Determines how many digits are placed on
860 the right and left sides of the decimal point in the num‐
861 ber. If locale is set, the decimal point for the user's
862 current locale will be used when formatting a number.
863 Note that numbers smaller than 1 will begin with a deci‐
864 mal point if the left side of the decimal point contains
865 only a `#' digit placeholder. Use a `0' placeholder to
866 get a leading zero in decimal formats.
867 % Percentage. For each `%' character in the format, the
869 actual number gets multiplied by 100 (only for purposes
870 of formatting -- the original number is left unmodified)
871 and the `%' character is placed in the same position as
872 it is in the format.
873 , Thousands separator. The presence of a `,' in the format
875 (multiple commas are treated as one) will cause the num‐
876 ber to be formatted with a `,' separating each set of
877 three digits in the integer part of the number with num‐
878 bering beginning from the right end of the integer. If
879 locale is set, the thousands separator for the user's
880 current locale will be used in place of the comma. If
881 the environment variable LC_ALL is unset, unrecognized,
882 or is set to ``POSIX'' or ``C'', any commas in the for‐
883 mat string will be ignored.
884 & Precision. When this character is present in the frac‐
886 tional part of the number, it is equivalent to a number
887 of 0's equal to the precision specified in the column
888 format command. For example, if the precision is 3, `&'
889 is equivalent to `000'.
890 \ Quote. This character causes the next character to be
892 inserted into the formatted string directly with no spe‐
893 cial interpretation.
894 E- E+ e- e+
896 Scientific format. Causes the number to be formatted in
897 scientific notation. The case of the `E' or `e' given is
898 preserved. If the format uses a `+', then the sign is
899 always given for the exponent value. If the format uses
900 a `-', then the sign is only given when the exponent
901 value is negative. Note that if there is no digit place‐
902 holder following the `+' or `-', then that part of the
903 formatted number is left out. In general, there should
904 be one or more digit placeholders after the `+' or `-'.
905 ; Format selector. Use this character to separate the for‐
907 mat into two distinct formats. The format to the left of
908 the `;' character will be used if the number given is
909 zero or positive. The format to the right of the `;'
910 character is used if the number given is negative.
911 Some example formats are integer (``0'' or ``#''), fixed
913 (``0.00''), percentage (``0%'' or ``0.00%''), scientific
914 (``0.00E+00''), and currency (``$#,0.00;($#,0.00)'').
915 Date format strings are identified by the presence of a ^D in
917 the first postition. If this is present, the remainder of the
918 string is passed to the strftime() function, and therefore uses
919 the same conversion specifiers as strftime(). For more informa‐
920 tion on conversion specifiers for date format strings, see the
921 man page for strftime(3).
922 Strings you enter must start with ". You can leave off the trailing "
924 and sc will add it for you. You can also enter a string expression by
925 backspacing over the opening " in the prompt.
926 e Edit the value associated with the current cell. This is iden‐
928 tical to ``='' except that the command line starts out contain‐
929 ing the old numeric value or expression associated with the
930 cell. The editing in this mode is vi-like.
931 ^H Move back a character
933 ^V, v Enter navigate mode. This mode allows you to navigate
935 the spreadsheet while editing a command. When in navi‐
936 gate mode, v will insert the numeric value of the current
937 cell, if any, into the command line, instead, while ^V
938 will return to the previous mode (like the ESCAPE key).
939 ^W Insert the expression attached to the current cell into
941 the command line. If there is none, the result is ``?''.
942 This only works while in navigate mode.
943 ^A In navigate mode, go to cell A0. When not in navigate
945 mode, jump to the beginning of the line instead.
946 ^E Jump to the end of the line. Unlike ``$'' (below), this
948 can also be used from insert mode.
949 TAB If the character immediately preceding the cursor is
951 alphanumeric or ``_'', TAB tries to find a match in the
952 list of range names, and if one is found, the name will
953 be completed on the command line. If there are multiple
954 matches, pressing TAB repeatedly without any other inter‐
955 vening keys will cycle through all of the valid matches.
956 If the character immediately preceding the cursor is not
957 alphanumeric or ``_'', TAB defines a range of cells via
958 the cursor control commands or the arrow keys. Pressing
959 TAB automatically switches sc to navigate mode if you
960 haven't already done so using the ^V command, and the
961 range is highlighted, starting at the cell where you
962 typed TAB, and continuing through the current cell.
963 Pressing TAB again causes the highlighted range to be
964 inserted into the command line, the highlighting to be
965 turned off, and the previous mode to be restored. This
966 is most useful for defining ranges to functions such as
967 @sum(). Pressing ``)'' acts just like typing the TAB key
968 the second time and adds the closing ``)''. Note that
969 when you give a range command, if the first argument to
970 the command is a range, you don't need to press the first
971 TAB to begin defining a range starting with the current
972 cell.
973 : Synonym for TAB, when in navigate mode.
975 ` ' In navigate mode, go to marked cell.
977 * In navigate mode, go to note linked to current cell.
979 + Forward through history (same as j)
981 - Backward through history (same as k)
983 ESC Done editing
985 CR Save. When in navigate mode, insert the name of the cur‐
987 rent cell (the one at the cell cursor) into the command
988 line. This is useful when entering expressions which
989 refer to other cells in the table.
990 $ Goto last column
992 % Goto matching parenthesis
994 . Insert current dot buffer. When in navigate mode, this
996 is a synonym for : or TAB.
997 ; Repeat the last f, F, t, or T command.
999 , Repeat the last f, F, t, or T command, but in the reverse
1001 direction.
1002 ~ Change the case of the character under the cursor.
1004 / Search backwards for a string in the history
1006 ESC edit the string you typed
1007 CR search
1008 ^H backspace
1009 ? Search forward for a string in the history (see ``/''
1011 above)
1012 0 Goto column 0
1014 B Move back a word. Like b, except words are space delim‐
1016 ited only.
1017 C Change to end of line (delete first, then enter insert
1019 mode)
1020 D Delete to end of line
1022 F Find the next char typed, moving backwards in the line
1024 G Go to the end of history, i.e., to the line being cur‐
1026 rently entered
1027 I Insert at column 0; ESC revert back to edit mode
1029 N Repeat the last search in the opposite direction
1031 P Insert the most recently deleted text before the cursor
1033 R Replace mode; ESC revert back to edit mode
1035 T Goto a char, moving backwards in the line
1037 W Forward a word. Like w, except words are space delimited
1039 only.
1040 X Delete the char to the left
1042 a Append after cursor; ESC revert back to edit mode
1044 b Move back a word
1046 c Change mode; ESC revert back to edit mode. In navigate
1048 mode, insert color range which includes the current cell.
1049 d Delete ...
1051 0 delete to beginning of line
1052 $ delete to end of line
1053 b back word
1054 e delete to end of word
1055 f forward (right)
1056 h back char
1057 l forward
1058 t delete forward up to a given char (next char typed)
1059 w delete next word forward
1060 e Forward to next end-of-word
1062 f Find the next char typed. In navigate mode, insert the
1064 outer frame range which includes the current cell.
1065 g In navigate mode, allows you to `goto' a cell or range,
1067 just like the regular goto command. Ignored in edit,
1068 insert or replace modes.
1069 h Move left a char
1071 i Insert before cursor; ESC revert back to edit mode
1073 j Forward through history (same as +)
1075 k Backward through history (same as -)
1077 l Move right a char
1079 n Repeat the last search (find the next match)
1081 o When highlighting a range in navigate mode, move to the
1083 opposite corner of the highlighted range.
1084 p Insert the most recently deleted text after the cursor
1086 q Stop editing
1088 r Replace char. In navigate mode, insert the inner frame
1090 range which includes the current cell.
1091 s Delete current char and enter insert mode (stands for
1093 substitute)
1094 t Goto a char
1096 u Undo
1098 w Forward a word
1100 x Delete the current char (moving to the right)
1102 y Copies to the delete buffer without deleting. Use like d
1104 (above).
1105 E Edit the string associated with the current cell. This is iden‐
1107 tical to ``<'', ``\'', or ``>'' except that the command line
1108 starts out containing the old string value or expression associ‐
1109 ated with the cell. SEE e ABOVE.
1110 To enter and edit a cell's number part, use the ``='', ``+'', and e
1112 commands. To enter and edit a cell's string part, use the ``<'',
1113 ``\'', ``>'', and E commands. See the sections below on numeric and
1114 string expressions for more information.
1115 Note that the descriptions of the ``+'' and ``-'' commands below may
1117 seem very confusing at first, but once they're understood, they can
1118 facilitate the rapid entry of expressions which add and subtract large
1119 numbers of cells and sums of ranges of cells, so read them over care‐
1120 fully several times until you understand them.
1121 " Specify a named buffer for the next yank/delete/pull command.
1123 Buffers are named with a single character. Buffers ``a''
1124 through ``z'' are general purpose buffers, buffers ``1'' through
1125 ``9'' hold the last nine deletions, with buffer ``1'' being the
1126 most recent, and buffer ``0'' holds the last cell or range
1127 yanked. Buffer ``"'' is the default buffer, which holds the
1128 last cell or range that was deleted or yanked.
1129 x Clear the current cell. Deletes the numeric value, label
1131 string, and/or numeric or string expression. You can prefix
1132 this command with a count of the number of cells on the current
1133 row to clear. The current column is used if column recalcula‐
1134 tion order is set. Cells cleared with this command may be
1135 recalled with any of the pull commands (see below).
1136 mx Mark the current cell. sc will prompt for a lowercase letter to
1138 be used as a mark specifier. Marked cells may be used as the
1139 source for the copy command, or as the target of a ` or ' (go to
1140 marked cell) command.
1141 cx Copy a marked cell to the current cell, adjusting row and column
1143 references in its numeric or string expression, if any. sc will
1144 prompt for the name of the cell to be copied, which may be a
1145 lowercase letter specified previously with the m command, a
1146 digit 1-9 to reference one of the last nine edited cells (0 will
1147 reference the last cell in which an edit was begun, regardless
1148 of whether the edit was completed or not), or ``.'' to refer‐
1149 ence the current cell, which, as a special case, is to be used
1150 as a source rather than a destination, and is to be copied into
1151 a range which includes the current cell. When ``.'' is speci‐
1152 fied, the current cell is set as the default source range for
1153 the range copy (rc) command, and then the copy command is
1154 entered into the command line and sc switches to navigate mode.
1155 Moving the cell cursor will then highlight the destination
1156 range. After the desired range is highlighted, press RETURN to
1157 execute the copy.
1158 + If not in numeric mode, add the current numeric argument
1160 (default 1) to the value of the current cell. The current value
1161 of the cell must not be an expression. In numeric mode, +
1162 switches to insert mode and appends a ``+'' to the current
1163 expression or value, if any, which makes it easy to add to
1164 existing data.
1165 In navigate mode, + inserts the current cell address into the
1167 line, followed by another +, and sc remains in navigate mode,
1168 unless a range is highlighted. If a range is highlighted and
1169 the character immediately preceding the cursor is a ``+'' or
1170 ``-'', or the cursor is at the beginning of an empty ``let''
1171 expression, the string ``@sum('' will be inserted, followed by
1172 the highlighted range, followed by ``)+''. If a range is high‐
1173 lighted and the character immediately preceding the cursor is
1174 not a ``+'' or ``-'', and the cursor is not at the beginning of
1175 an empty ``let'' expression, the highlighted range will be
1176 inserted, followed by ``)+''.
1177 - If not in numeric mode, subtract the current numeric argument
1179 (default 1) from the value of the current cell. The current
1180 value of the cell must not be an expression. In numeric mode, -
1181 switches to insert mode and appends a ``-'' to the current
1182 expression or value, if any, which makes it easy to subtract
1183 from existing data.
1184 In navigate mode, - inserts the current cell address into the
1186 line, followed by another -, and sc remains in navigate mode,
1187 unless a range is highlighted. If a range if highlighted and
1188 the character immediately preceding the cursor is a ``+'' or
1189 ``-'', or the cursor is at the beginning of an empty ``let''
1190 expression, the string ``@sum('' will be inserted, followed by
1191 the highlighted range, followed by ``)-''. If a range is high‐
1192 lighted and the character immediately preceding the cursor is
1193 not a ``+'' or ``-'', and the cursor is not at the beginning of
1194 an empty ``let'' expression, the highlighted range will be
1195 inserted, followed by ``)-''.
1196 RETURN If you are not editing a cell (top line is empty), pressing
1198 RETURN will make sc enter insert mode. At this point you may
1199 type any valid command or press ESC once to edit.
1200 File Commands
1202 G Get a new database from a file. If encryption is enabled, the
1204 file is decrypted before it is loaded into the spreadsheet.
1205 P Put the current database into a file. If encryption is enabled,
1207 the file is encrypted before it is saved.
1208 ZZ Save the current database into a file if it has been modified,
1210 and then quit. This is like the P command followed by the q
1211 command, except that the default filename will be used instead
1212 of prompting you for one, and the file will only be saved if it
1213 was modified. If there is no default filename, an error message
1214 will be displayed, and no action taken.
1215 W Write a listing of the current database into a file in a form
1217 that matches its appearance on the screen. This differs from
1218 the Put command in that its files are intended to be reloaded
1219 with Get, while Write produces a file for people to look at.
1220 Hidden rows or columns are not shown when the data is printed.
1221 T Write a listing of the current database to a file, but include
1223 delimiters suitable for processing by the tbl, LaTeX, or TeX ta‐
1224 ble processors. The delimiters are controlled by the tblstyle
1225 option. See Set above. The delimiters are a colon (:) for
1226 style 0 or tbl and an ampersand (&) for style latex or tex.
1227 With the Put, Write, and Table commands, the optional range argument
1229 writes a subset of the spreadsheet to the output file.
1230 With the Write and Table commands, if you try to write to the last file
1232 used with the Get or Put commands, or the file specified on the command
1233 line when sc was invoked, you are asked to confirm that the (poten‐
1234 tially) dangerous operation is really what you want.
1235 The three output commands, Put, Write, and Table, can pipe their (unen‐
1237 crypted only) output to a program. To use this feature, enter ``| pro‐
1238 gram'' to the prompt asking for a filename. For example, to redirect
1239 the output of the Write command to the printer, you might enter ``| lpr
1240 -p''.
1241 M Merge the database from the named file into the current data‐
1243 base. Values and expressions defined in the named file are read
1244 into the current spreadsheet overwriting the existing entries at
1245 matching cell locations.
1246 R Run macros. There are two different kinds of macros that can be
1248 used with sc: simple macros, which are stored in plain text
1249 files, and advanced macros, which are executable files, and
1250 which can be written in the language of your choice. Advanced
1251 macros are only available on systems that support pipes.
1252 Simple macros are interpreted by sc's internal parser, and use
1254 the same commands used to enter data and perform other opera‐
1255 tions (the single key commands are shortcuts which switch to
1256 input mode after first entering the beginning of the full com‐
1257 mand for you). These are also the same commands found in sc
1258 files created with the Put command. Since sc files are saved as
1259 ASCII files, it is possible to use them as primitive macro defi‐
1260 nition files. The Run command makes this easier. It's like the
1261 Merge command, but prints a saved path name as the start of the
1262 filename to merge in. The string to use is set with the Define
1263 command. To write macros, you must be familiar with the file
1264 format written by the Put command.
1265 Advanced macros use executable files that are started by sc as a
1267 child process with stdin and stdout redirected back to sc for
1268 bidirectional communication. Special commands are available for
1269 requesting information such as cell contents, formatting infor‐
1270 mation, or the current location of the cell cursor. Commands
1271 are written to stdout, and responses are read from stdin. To
1272 use advanced macros, the filename must be preceded by a | (the
1273 pipe symbol), and the file must be executable. If the pathname
1274 set with the Define command begins with a |, all files in that
1275 path will be executed as advanced macros. It is also possible
1276 to include a filename as part of the path when using advanced
1277 macros, which allows you to put multiple macros in a single
1278 file, and use the Run command to add command line arguments or
1279 options to determine which macro should be run. Advanced macros
1280 are relatively new, and documentation is still incomplete. This
1281 feature will probably be enhanced in future releases.
1282 A Specify a macro to be automatically run whenever the current
1284 sheet is reloaded from a file.
1285 D Define a path for the Run command to use (see above).
1287 All file operations take a filename as the first argument to the prompt
1289 on the top line. The prompt supplies a " to aid in typing in the file‐
1290 name. The filename can also be obtained from a cell's label string or
1291 string expression. In this case, delete the leading " with the
1292 backspace key and enter a cell name such as a22 instead. If the
1293 resulting string starts with ``|'', the rest of the string is inter‐
1294 preted as a UNIX command, as above.
1295 Row and Column Commands
1297 These are two-letter commands which can be used on either rows or col‐
1298 umns. The exceptions are the f command, which only works on columns,
1299 and therefore doesn't require a second letter, and the p command which,
1300 in addition to operating on rows or columns, has several other options
1301 for merging the data in directly, without opening up a new row or col‐
1302 umn. There are also a few special cases where pressing the same letter
1303 twice will affect only the current cell instead of a row or column
1304 (except for ZZ, which is a special case all its own).
1305 In all of the remaining cases, the second letter of the command will be
1307 either r or c, depending on whether the operation should be performed
1308 on rows or columns, respectively (additional options for the p command
1309 and the double letter cases are listed below). A small menu lists the
1310 choices for the second letter when you type the first letter of one of
1311 these commands.
1312 Alternatively, you may define a range of rows or columns by moving the
1314 cell cursor, either a cell at a time, or by pages (roughly 1/2 screen,
1315 unless the pagesize option has been set), but this only works for the
1316 d, y, and Z commands. Vertical cursor movement will begin highlighting
1317 rows, and horizontal movement will highlight columns. Pressing the
1318 RETURN key will then perform the chosen operation on the specified
1319 rows/columns.
1320 Commands which copy cells also modify the row and column references in
1322 affected cell expressions. The references may be frozen by using the
1323 @fixed operator or using the $ character in the reference to the cell
1324 (see below). Commands which create new rows or columns will include
1325 all newly created cells in the same ranges (named, framed, color, or
1326 those used in expressions) as their counterparts in the current row or
1327 column. This can sometimes be a significant factor when deciding
1328 whether to use ir/ic or or/oc.
1329 ir, ic Insert a new row (column) by moving the row (column) containing
1331 the cell cursor, and all following rows (columns), down (right)
1332 one row (column). The new row (column) is empty. Inserting
1333 rows while the cell cursor is in a framed range will only effect
1334 rows in that range, leaving all rows to the left and right
1335 untouched.
1336 or, oc Open a new row (column). These commands work like the ir and ic
1338 commands, except that the new row (column) will be inserted
1339 after the current row (column) instead of before it.
1340 ar, ac Append a new row (column) immediately following the current row
1342 (column). It is initialized as a copy of the current one.
1343 Appending rows while the cell cursor is in a framed range will
1344 only effect rows in that range, leaving all rows to the left and
1345 right untouched.
1346 dr, dc, dd
1348 Delete the current row (column). dd deletes the current cell
1349 (i.e., it is a synonym for x). Deleting rows while the cell
1350 cursor is in a framed range will only effect rows in that range,
1351 leaving all rows to the left and right untouched.
1352 yr, yc, yy
1354 Yank a copy of the current row (column) into the delete buffer
1355 without actually deleting it. yy yanks the current cell (simi‐
1356 lar to x, but without actually deleting the contents of the
1357 cell). Yanking rows while the cell cursor is in a framed range
1358 will only copy the portion of each row contained in that range,
1359 while ignoring everything outside the range.
1360 pr, pc, pp, pm, px, pt, pC, p.
1362 Pull deleted rows/columns/cells back into the spreadsheet. The
1363 last set of cells that was deleted or yanked is put back into
1364 the spreadsheet at the current location. pr inserts enough rows
1365 to hold the data. pc inserts enough columns to hold the data.
1366 pp (paste) does not insert rows or columns; it overwrites the
1367 cells beginning at the current cell cursor location. pm (merge)
1368 merges the cells in at the current cell cursor location, but
1369 does not erase the destination range first like pp. The differ‐
1370 ence between pp and pm is similar to the difference between the
1371 Get and Merge commands. pf (format) works like pm except that
1372 only cell formatting information is merged in, leaving the
1373 actual data untouched. This makes it easy to copy cell formats
1374 from one part of the spreadsheet to another, such as when
1375 expanding an existing spreadsheet file. px (exchange) copies
1376 the contents of the delete buffer into the range beginning at
1377 the current cell cursor location, while simultaneously copying
1378 the contents of this range back into the delete buffer, replac‐
1379 ing its current contents. pt (transpose) overwrites the cells
1380 beginning at the current cell cursor location like pp, but
1381 transposes rows for columns and vice versa. pC (copy) works
1382 like pp, except that all cell references are adjusted in the
1383 same way that they are for the copy command. p. is the same as
1384 pC, except that it switches to navigate mode and allows you to
1385 define the destination range to be used. This works like the
1386 copy command in that if the source range (the contents of the
1387 delete buffer) is a single row, column, or cell, multiple copies
1388 may be made.
1389 vr, vc, vv
1391 Remove expressions from the affected rows (columns), leaving
1392 only the values which were in the cells before the command was
1393 executed. When used in a framed range, vr only affects the por‐
1394 tion of the the row inside the range, leaving the rest of the
1395 row unchanged. vv only affects the contents of the current
1396 cell.
1397 Zr, Zc, ZZ
1399 Hide (``zap'') the current row (column). This keeps a row (col‐
1400 umn) from being displayed but keeps it in the data base. The
1401 status of the rows and columns is saved with the data base so
1402 hidden rows and columns will still be hidden when you reload the
1403 spreadsheet. Hidden rows or columns are not printed by the W
1404 command. The ZZ command is a special case. It does not hide
1405 anything. Instead, the file will be saved, if modified, and sc
1406 will exit. See ZZ above, under File Commands.
1407 sr, sc Show hidden rows (columns). Enter a range of rows (columns) to
1409 be revealed. The default is the first range of rows (columns)
1410 currently hidden. This command ignores the repeat count, if
1411 any.
1412 f Set the output format to be used for printing the numeric values
1414 in each cell in the current column. This command has only a
1415 column version (no second letter). You may change the column
1416 width by pressing the h, <, or cursor left key to reduce it, or
1417 the l, >, or cursor right key to increase it. Likewise, you may
1418 change the precision (the number of digits to follow decimal
1419 points) by pressing the j, -, or cursor down key to reduce it,
1420 or the k, +, or cursor up key to increase it. You may also
1421 change the format type for the column by pressing any digit. If
1422 the f command is preceded by a numeric argument, that argument
1423 will determine how many columns should be changed, beginning
1424 with the current column, and in the case of incrementing or
1425 decrementing the width or precision of the columns, each column
1426 will be incremented or decremented separately, regardless of its
1427 initial values. Several formatting operations may be performed
1428 in sequence. To leave the formatting command, simply press ESC,
1429 ^G, q, or RETURN .
1430 Alternatively, you may press SPACE to get the format command in
1432 the top line and enter all three values directly. In order,
1433 these are: the total width in characters of the column, the pre‐
1434 cision, and the format type. Format types are 0 for fixed
1435 point, 1 for scientific notation, 2 for engineering notation, 3
1436 for dates with a two digit year, and 4 for dates with a four
1437 digit year. Values are rounded off to the least significant
1438 digit displayed. The total column width affects displays of
1439 strings as well as numbers. A preceding count can be used to
1440 affect more than one column.
1441 You can also create your own format types by pressing = after
1443 the f command, followed by any digit (see the F command above
1444 under Cell Entry and Editing Commands for a description of how
1445 to build a format string). Format numbers 0 through 4 will
1446 supersede the built-in format types, while numbers 5 through 9
1447 will supplement them. User defined format types may be used in
1448 the same way as the built-in types. For example, the command
1449 format 5 = "#,0.& ;(#,0.&)"
1451 will define a currency format which may then be assigned to col‐
1453 umn C, for example, with the command
1454 format C 10 2 5
1456 @myrow, @mycol
1458 Are functions that return the row or column of the current cell
1459 respectively. ex: The cell directly above a cell in the D col‐
1460 umn could then be accessed by @nval("d",@myrow-1). NOTE: @myrow
1461 and @mycol can't be used in specifying ranges.
1462 @lastrow, @lastcol
1464 These return the last row and column of the spreadsheet, respec‐
1465 tively. They are useful for macros designed to default to the
1466 whole spreadsheet.
1467 Range Commands
1469 Range operations affect a rectangular region on the screen defined by
1470 the upper left and lower right cells in the region. All of the com‐
1471 mands in this class begin with ``r''; the second letter of the command
1472 indicates which command. A small menu lists the choices for the second
1473 letter when you type ``r''. sc prompts for needed parameters for each
1474 command. Phrases surrounded by square brackets in the prompt are
1475 informational only and may be erased with the backspace key.
1476 Prompts requesting variable names may be satisfied with either an
1478 explicit variable name, such as A10, or with a variable name previously
1479 defined in a rd command (see below). Range name prompts require either
1480 an explicit range such as A10:B20, or a range name previously defined
1481 with a rd command. A default range shown in the second line is used if
1482 you omit the range from the command or press the TAB key (see below).
1483 The default range can be changed by moving the cell cursor via the con‐
1484 trol commands (^P or ^N) or the arrow keys. The cells in the default
1485 range are highlighted (using the terminal's standout mode, if avail‐
1486 able).
1487 rx Clear a range. Cells cleared with this command will be saved in
1489 the delete buffer, and may be recalled with any of the pull com‐
1490 mands.
1491 ry Yank a range. Like rx, cells yanked with this command will be
1493 saved in the delete buffer, and may be recalled with any of the
1494 pull commands. This command differs from rx, however, in that
1495 the original cells will not be cleared. Although this command
1496 may be used to copy a range of cells, it treats all references
1497 as fixed. Use rc if you want references to be relative to the
1498 cell which contains them unless specified otherwise, either with
1499 the @fixed operator or using the $ character in the reference to
1500 the cell.
1501 rc Copy a source range to a destination range. The source and des‐
1503 tination may be different sizes. The result is always one or
1504 more full copies of the source. Copying a row to a row yields a
1505 row. Copying a column to a column yields a column. Copying a
1506 range to anything yields a range. Copying a row to a column or
1507 a column to a row yields a range with as many copies of the
1508 source as there are cells in the destination. This command can
1509 be used to duplicate a cell through an arbitrary range by making
1510 the source a single cell range such as b20:b20.
1511 If the source range is omitted (second argument), the source
1513 range from the last copy command will be used, unless a range is
1514 currently highlighted, in which case the highlighted range will
1515 be copied instead. If both the source range and destination
1516 range are omitted, the current cell will be used as the destina‐
1517 tion, unless a range is currently highlighted, in which case the
1518 highlighted range will serve as the destination, and the source
1519 range from the last copy command will be copied into that desti‐
1520 nation.
1521 rm Move a source range to a destination range. This differs from
1523 deleting a range with rx and pulling it back in with pm in that
1524 any expressions that reference a cell in the range to be moved
1525 will reference the cell at its new address after the move.
1526 Unlike the rc command, the destination of a move is a single
1527 cell, which will be the upper lefthand corner of the source
1528 range after the move.
1529 rv Values only. This command removes the expressions from a range
1531 of cells, leaving just the values of the expressions.
1532 rs Sort a range. The rows in the specified range will be sorted
1534 according to criteria given in the form of a string of charac‐
1535 ters. This string, enclosed in double quotes, may comprise a
1536 single criterion or multiple criteria in decreasing order of
1537 precedence. Each criterion has three parts, all of which are
1538 mandatory. The first part is a single character, which must be
1539 either + or -, which specifies whether the sort should be done
1540 in ascending or descending order, respectively. The second
1541 part, which is also a single character, must be either # or $,
1542 and is used to specify whether the sort should be based on the
1543 numeric portion or the string portion, respectively, of the
1544 cells being used for the comparison. The third part may be
1545 either one or two characters, and must be alphabetic (case
1546 insensitive), and specifies the column to be used when making
1547 the comparisons. This column must be in the range being sorted.
1548 Any number of criteria may be concatenated, and will be used in
1549 the order specified. If no criteria are specified, the default
1550 behavior is to sort in ascending order, first by string and then
1551 by number, using the leftmost column of the range being sorted.
1552 This is equivalent to specifying the sort criteria to be "
1553 +$a+#a ", where both a's are replaced by the name of the left‐
1554 most column of the range being sorted.
1555 rf Fill a range with constant values starting with a given value
1557 and increasing by a given increment. Each row is filled before
1558 moving on to the next row if row order recalculation is set.
1559 Column order fills each column in the range before moving on to
1560 the next column. The start and increment numbers may be posi‐
1561 tive or negative. To fill all cells with the same value, give
1562 an increment of zero.
1563 r{ Left justify all strings in the specified range.
1565 r} Right justify all strings in the specified range.
1567 r| Center all strings in the specified range.
1569 rd Use this command to assign a symbolic name to a single cell or a
1571 rectangular range of cells on the screen. The parameters are
1572 the name, surrounded by "", and either a single cell name such
1573 as A10 or a range such as a1:b20. Names defined in this fashion
1574 are used by the program in future prompts, may be entered in
1575 response to prompts requesting a cell or range name, and are
1576 saved when the spreadsheet is saved with the Put command. Names
1577 defined may be any combination of alphanumeric characters and
1578 `_' as long as the name isn't a valid cell address. Thus, x,
1579 H2SO4, and 3rdDay are all valid names, but H2 is not.
1580 rl Use this command to lock the current cell or a range of cells,
1582 i.e. make them immune to any type of editing. A locked cell
1583 can't be changed in any way until it is unlocked.
1584 rU This command is the opposite of the rl command and thus unlocks
1586 a locked cell and makes it editable.
1587 rS This command shows lists of the currently defined range names,
1589 framed ranges, and color definitions and ranges, one after the
1590 other. The output of this command will be piped to less. If
1591 the environment variable PAGER is set, its value is used in
1592 place of less.
1593 ru Use this command to undefine a previously defined range name.
1595 rF Use this command to assign a value format string (see the ``F''
1597 cell entry command) to a range of cells.
1598 rr This command is used for creating, modifying, and deleting
1600 framed ranges. A framed range, is one which has a number of
1601 rows or columns specified at the top, bottom, left, and/or right
1602 (the frame) which must remain onscreen whenever the cell cursor
1603 is within that range. In other words, a frame consists of an
1604 outer range and an inner range, where the inner range is allowed
1605 to scroll within the outer range. Once a frame is defined, the
1606 inner range may be resized, but the outer range remains fixed
1607 unless rows or columns are added or deleted within the range.
1608 When this command is invoked, you will be prompted for the type
1610 of frame-related action you would like to perform. You may
1611 select an option from the list by typing its first letter.
1612 The options are top, bottom, left, right, all, and unframe. If
1614 you choose top, bottom, left, or right, you will be prompted for
1615 a range and number of rows/columns. The range may be omitted if
1616 the cell cursor is in a previously defined framed range, in
1617 which case that range's outer range will be used instead. The
1618 number of rows/columns will set or adjust the width of the cor‐
1619 responding side of the frame. If all of these widths are set to
1620 zero, the frame will be undefined (same as the unframe command).
1621 If you choose all, you will be prompted for an outer range and
1623 an inner range, in which case the inner range will scroll within
1624 the outer range, and any rows or columns outside of the inner
1625 range, but inside the outer range will be part of the ``frame''
1626 that is to remain onscreen. The outer range may be omitted if
1627 the cell cursor is in a previously defined framed range, in
1628 which case the previously defined outer range will be used.
1629 However, if a single range is specified on the command line,
1630 while another range wholly contained within this range is high‐
1631 lighted, the specified range will be used as the outer range,
1632 and the highlighted range will be used as the inner range. If
1633 no range is specified on the command line, but a range is high‐
1634 lighted, and the highlighted range is wholly contained within a
1635 previously defined framed range, the highlighted range will be
1636 used as the inner range, and the previously defined outer range
1637 will be used as the outer range.
1638 If you choose unframe, you will be prompted for a range, and if
1640 the range is found in the list of frames, the frame will be
1641 deleted, and the framing will no longer be active (the specified
1642 range must be the outer range of the previously defined frame to
1643 be deleted). The range may be omitted if the cell cursor is in
1644 a previously defined framed range, in which case that range will
1645 be used by default.
1646 Framed ranges may not be nested or overlapping. If you try to
1648 define a range that contains any cells in common with a previ‐
1649 ously defined framed range, an error message will be issued, and
1650 the frame will not be created.
1651 rC This command defines a color range, and specifies a fore‐
1653 ground/background pair to be used for that range. See "Color
1654 Commands" below for more information.
1655 Note Commands
1657 A note is a cell or range of cells that can be jumped to quickly from
1658 another cell by creating a special link in that cell. The note may
1659 contain text explaining the contents of the cell containing the link,
1660 similar to a footnote, or it may simply be another part of the spread‐
1661 sheet that is related to the cell in some way. When you press the `n'
1662 key, you will get a short prompt asking you whether you want to add or
1663 delete a note, or to ``show'' (by highlighting) which cells on the
1664 screen have attached notes.
1665 If a cell with an attached note contains numeric data, it will be pre‐
1667 ceded with an ``*''. If color is available and turned on, the ``*''
1668 will be displayed with color 4. Also, the note address will be dis‐
1669 played in curly braces on the top line, preceded by an ``*'', when the
1670 cell is current (e.g. {*AC30:AE43} or {*note1} for a named range).
1671 You may also use the *s (Note/Show) command to highlight all cells on
1672 the current screen with attached notes.
1673 *a Add a note. This will bring up the addnote command in the top
1675 line, followed by the target address of the cell where you want
1676 the note added. You must then enter the cell or range where the
1677 note resides to add the note. If you omit the note address or
1678 range, the currently highlighted range, if any, will be used.
1679 Otherwise, the current cell will be used (you would, of course,
1680 want to move away from the cell in which the addnote command was
1681 invoked in the latter case).
1682 *d Delete a note. If there is a note attached to the current cell,
1684 the link will be removed (deleted). The note itself will not be
1685 removed from the spreadsheet. If it is no longer needed, it
1686 must be deleted in a separate step.
1687 *s Show all notes on the current screen. If there are any cells on
1689 the visible portion of the spreadsheet which contain attached
1690 notes, they will be highlighted until the next screen change, no
1691 matter how minor. Simply moving to a new cell will be enough to
1692 turn off the highlighting.
1693 ** Jump to a note. If there is a note attached to the current
1695 cell, you will be immediately transported to that cell. You may
1696 return from the note to where you were by pressing ` twice.
1697 Color Commands
1699 Color may be enabled by setting the color option (``set color''), or by
1700 toggling it with ^TC (control-T followed by an uppercase C). If color
1701 is enabled, you may define up to eight color pairs, each consisting of
1702 a foreground color and a background color. Each of these colors may be
1703 defined by an expression which is evaluated at the same time the rest
1704 of the spreadsheet is evaluated. Color expressions may be simple,
1705 specifying only a foreground color and a background color, or they may
1706 be arbitrarily complex, causing the colors to change based upon other
1707 data in the spreadsheet, for example. Color ranges may then be defined
1708 using the rC command, with a color number (1-8) assigned to the range
1709 (see below).
1710 Some of the color numbers may have special meaning under certain cir‐
1712 cumstances, but may also be used explicitly at the same time. For
1713 example, color 1 is the default color pair if color is enabled but no
1714 color has been defined for a given cell. It is also the color used for
1715 the column and row labels and the top two lines of the display, which
1716 are used for prompts, input, error messages, etc. Color 2, while not
1717 explicitly used for all negative numbers, will be used for negative
1718 numbers in cells which have no other color defined when colorneg is
1719 turned on (``set colorneg'' or ^TN). This is because colorneg causes
1720 all cells with negative numbers to have their color number incremented
1721 by one (cycling back to color 1 if the cell is defined as using color
1722 8). Color 3 is used for all cells with errors (ERROR or INVALID), if
1723 colorerr is set (``set colorerr'' or ^TE), regardless of which color
1724 they have been defined to use, or whether they have been defined to use
1725 any color at all. Color 4 is used to highlight the ``*'' which signi‐
1726 fies that a cell has a note attached.
1727 If two color ranges are nested or overlapping, any cell that is common
1729 to both will be displayed using the color of the most recently defined
1730 color range. You can list all color definitions and color ranges with
1731 the rS (show) command (see below).
1732 C This command first prompts you for the color number you would
1734 like to define (or redefine). After selecting a number (1-8),
1735 you may enter an expression which defines the foreground and
1736 background colors. If the chosen color has previously been
1737 defined, the old definition will be presented for editing. The
1738 syntax of the color command is:
1739 color number = expression
1741 where number is the number of the color pair you want to define,
1743 and expression is the definition. If the expression is missing,
1744 the specified color number will be unset (it will revert to its
1745 default start-up colors). Unlike setting it explicitly to its
1746 original value, this will not cause the expression to be written
1747 to the file when saved. See below for an explanation of the
1748 format of a color expression.
1749 rC This command defines a color range, and specifies a fore‐
1751 ground/background pair to be used for that range. Although this
1752 command also uses the color command, the syntax is different
1753 from that used for defining a color pair. This syntax is:
1754 color range number
1756 rS This command shows lists of the currently defined range names,
1758 framed ranges, and color definitions and ranges, one after the
1759 other. The output of this command will be piped to less. If
1760 the environment variable PAGER is set, its value is used in
1761 place of less.
1762 Color expressions are exactly like any other numeric expression, and
1764 may contain any function or operator that is valid in any other numeric
1765 expression. There are, however special functions designed specifically
1766 for defining colors. These functions are:
1767 @black
1769 @red
1770 @green
1771 @yellow
1772 @blue
1773 @magenta
1774 @cyan
1775 @white
1776 Although these function names are intended to reflect the color they
1778 produce, and use the same names as the curses colors, @yellow may
1779 appear as brown on many displays, especially those based on the VGA
1780 standard.
1781 In addition to special functions for specifying colors, there is also a
1783 special operator for combining two such colors into a single number
1784 which specifies both a foreground and a background color. This opera‐
1785 tor is the semicolon (;). For example, the command
1786 color 1 = @white;@green
1788 will set the foreground color to white and the background color to
1790 green for any cell or range of cells defined to use color 1, or which
1791 have no color defined. If the semicolon operator is not used, and only
1792 one color is specified, that color will be used for the foreground, and
1793 the background will default to black.
1794 Although the above example is the easiest way to specify foreground and
1796 background colors, and will probably meet most people's needs, sc
1797 allows much more power and flexibility, should the need arise, due to
1798 the fact that any color can be specified by an expression. For exam‐
1799 ple,
1800 color 5 = B23<E75?(@black;@cyan):(@white;@magenta)
1802 will cause all cells defined with color 5 to be displayed as black text
1804 on a cyan background if the numeric value in cell B23 is less than the
1805 numeric value in cell E75; otherwise, they will be displayed as white
1806 text on a magenta background. If you prefer to have the foreground and
1807 background colors dependent on different criteria, you could do some‐
1808 thing like this:
1809 color 5 = (B23<E75?@white:@cyan);(D5%2?@red:@blue)
1811 This will cause the text color for color 5 to be either white or cyan,
1813 depending on the numeric values in cells B23 and E75, as in the previ‐
1814 ous example, and the background color to be either red or blue, depend‐
1815 ing on whether the numeric value in cell D5 is odd or even.
1816 Note that although a color expression may contain any function which is
1818 valid in any other numeric expression, the @myrow and @mycol functions
1819 will always evaluate to 0. This is because a color expression is not
1820 tied to any particular cell, but is instead evaluated once, and the
1821 result used for all cells defined to use that color.
1822 Also note that if a color expression results in an error, the color
1824 will default to black text on a black background. If color 1 results
1825 in an error, color will be disabled so that you can see the input line
1826 to correct the error, after which color will need to be reenabled manu‐
1827 ally.
1828 Default colors are in effect for all colors until defined otherwise.
1830 These default colors are as follows:
1831 color 1 = @white;@blue
1833 color 2 = @red;@blue
1834 color 3 = @white;@red
1835 color 4 = @black;@yellow
1836 color 5 = @black;@cyan
1837 color 6 = @red;@cyan
1838 color 7 = @white;@black
1839 color 8 = @red;@black
1840 Miscellaneous Commands
1842 Q
1844 q
1845 ^C Exit from sc. If you made any changes since the last Get or
1846 Put, sc asks about saving your data before exiting.
1847 ^G
1849 ESC Abort entry of the current command.
1850 ? Enter an interactive help facility. Lets you look up brief sum‐
1852 maries of the main features of the program. The help facility
1853 is structured like this manual page so it is easy to find more
1854 information on a particular topic, although it may not be com‐
1855 pletely up-to-date.
1856 ! Shell escape. sc prompts for a shell command to run. End the
1858 command line with the RETURN key. If the environment variable
1859 SHELL is defined, that shell is run. If not, /bin/sh is used.
1860 Giving a null command line starts the shell in interactive mode.
1861 A second ``!'' repeats the previous command.
1862 ~ Abbreviations. You may set abbreviations to speed up the entry
1864 of repetitive data. Abbreviations work much like abbreviations
1865 in vi, except that when defining an abbreviation, both the
1866 abbreviation and the expanded text must be contained within
1867 quotes, separated by a single space. If more than one space
1868 separates the abbreviation from the expanded text, it will be
1869 included as part of the expanded text.
1870 There are three types of abbreviations available in sc. In the
1872 first type, all characters must be either alphanumeric or ``_''.
1873 In the second type, the last character must be alphanumeric or
1874 ``_'', but all other characters must not be alphanumeric or
1875 ``_''. Neither type may contain spaces. The third type of
1876 abbreviation is a single character, and must be alphanumeric or
1877 ``_''.
1878 When using abbreviations, the first type must be at the begin‐
1880 ning of the line, or must be preceded by any character which is
1881 not alphanumeric or ``_''. The second type must be at the
1882 beginning of the line, or must be preceded either by an alphanu‐
1883 meric character, ``_'', or a space. Single character abbrevia‐
1884 tions must be at the beginning of the line or preceded by a
1885 space.
1886 Abbreviations will be automatically expanded as soon as the
1888 space bar or return key is pressed, or when pressing the ESC key
1889 at the end of the abbreviation to switch to edit mode. You can
1890 also force an abbreviation to be expanded by following it with a
1891 ^], which won't be inserted into the line. If you don't want an
1892 abbreviation to be expanded, you must either press ^V twice or
1893 switch to edit mode and back again somewhere within the abbrevi‐
1894 ation (pressing ^V twice also has the effect of switching to
1895 navigate mode and back again).
1896 If the string in the abbreviation command contains no spaces,
1898 the entire string will be looked up in the list of abbrevia‐
1899 tions, and if found, the definition will be displayed in the
1900 form of the original abbreviation command used to define it.
1901 When looking up an abbreviation in this manner, be sure to dis‐
1902 able abbreviation expansion, as described above, or the results
1903 may not be what you expect.
1904 If the string is empty, a list of all abbreviations and their
1906 corresponding expanded text will be output to your pager. Note
1907 that abbreviations are not saved with the file. This allows
1908 each user to create his own file of abbreviations and either
1909 merge them in or include them in his own .scrc file, rather than
1910 force all users who access a file to use the same list of abbre‐
1911 viations.
1912 ^L Redraw the screen.
1914 ^R Redraw the screen with special highlighting of cells to be
1916 filled in. This is useful for finding values you need to pro‐
1917 vide or update in a form with which you aren't familiar or of
1918 which you have forgotten the details.
1919 It's also useful for checking a form you are creating. All
1921 cells which contain constant numeric values (not the result of a
1922 numeric expression) are highlighted temporarily, until the next
1923 screen change, however minor. To avoid ambiguity, the current
1924 range (if any) and current cell are not highlighted.
1925 ^X This command is similar to ^R, but highlights cells which have
1927 expressions. It also displays the expressions in the high‐
1928 lighted cells as left-flushed strings, instead of the numeric
1929 values and/or label strings of those cells. This command makes
1930 it easier to check expressions, at least when they fit in their
1931 cells or the following cell(s) are blank so the expressions can
1932 slop over (like label strings). In the latter case, the slop
1933 over is not cleared on the next screen update, so you may want
1934 to type ^L after the ^X in order to clean up the screen.
1935 @ Recalculates the spreadsheet.
1937 Variable Names
1939 Normally, a variable name is just the name of a cell, such as K20. The
1940 value is the numeric or string value of the cell, according to context.
1941 When a cell's expression (formula) is copied to another location via
1943 copy or range-copy, variable references are by default offset by the
1944 amount the formula moved. This allows the new formula to work on new
1945 data. If cell references are not to change, you can either use the
1946 @fixed operator (see below), or one of the following variations on the
1947 cell name.
1948 K20 References cell K20; the reference changes when the formula is
1950 copied.
1951 $K$20 Always refers to cell K20; the reference stays fixed when the
1953 formula is copied.
1954 $K20 Keeps the column fixed at column K; the row is free to vary.
1956 K$20 Similarly, this fixes the row and allows the column to vary.
1958 These conventions also hold on defined ranges. Range references vary
1960 when formulas containing them are copied. If the range is defined with
1961 fixed variable references, the references do not change.
1962 @fixed To make a variable not change automatically when a cell moves,
1964 put the word @fixed in front of the reference, for example: B1 ∗
1965 @fixed C3.
1966 Numeric Expressions
1968 Numeric expressions used with the ``='' and e commands have a fairly
1969 conventional syntax. Terms may be constants, variable names, parenthe‐
1970 sized expressions, and negated terms. Ranges may be operated upon with
1971 range functions such as sum (@sum()) and average (@avg()). Terms may
1972 be combined using binary operators.
1973 -e Negation.
1975 e+e Addition.
1977 e-e Subtraction.
1979 e∗e Multiplication.
1981 e/e Division.
1983 e1%e2 e1 mod e2.
1985 e^e Exponentiation.
1987 e<e
1989 e<=e
1990 e=e
1991 e!=e
1992 e>=e
1993 e>e Relationals: true (1) if and only if the indicated relation
1994 holds, else false (0). Note that ``<='', ``!='', and ``>='' are
1995 converted to their ``!()'' equivalents.
1996 ~e Boolean operator NOT.
1998 e&e Boolean operator AND.
2000 e|e Boolean operator OR.
2002 @if(e,e,e)
2004 e?e:e Conditional: If the first expression is true then the value of
2005 the second is returned, otherwise the value of the third.
2006 Operator precedence from highest to lowest is:
2008 -, ~, !
2010 ^
2011 ∗, /
2012 +, -
2013 <, <=, =, !=, >=, >
2014 &
2015 |
2016 ?:
2017 Built-in Range Functions
2019 These functions return numeric values. The @sum, @prod, @avg, @count,
2020 @max, @min, and @stddev functions may take an optional second argument
2021 which is an expression that is to be evaluated for each cell in the
2022 specified range to determine which cells to include in the function.
2023 Only those cells for which the expression evaluates to true (non-zero)
2024 will be used in calculating the value of the function. Before evalua‐
2025 tion for each cell, the expression is first converted as if it was
2026 being copied from the cell in the upper left-hand corner of the range
2027 into the cell under consideration, with all cell references adjusted
2028 accordingly. Because the parts of the expression that should remain
2029 fixed during the evaluation of the function may not necessarily be the
2030 same as those which should remain fixed during an actual copy opera‐
2031 tion, the rules for adjusting cell references during a copy operation
2032 are slightly different than normal. In particular, these rules differ
2033 in two different ways.
2034 The first difference is that the @fixed operator is ignored during a
2036 copy operation unless it is enclosed in parentheses. This is so that
2037 selected cells whose addresses should remain fixed during any given
2038 evaluation of a range function can be adjusted relative to the cell
2039 containing the range function when copied (the $ prefix is still hon‐
2040 ored for these cells when copying). Enclosing the @fixed operator in
2041 parentheses will have the opposite effect. That is, it will cause cell
2042 references to be fixed while copying, while allowing them to be
2043 adjusted when the function is being evaluated, subject to any $ pre‐
2044 fixes present. Note that only the @fixed operator itself should be
2045 enclosed in parentheses for this to work properly.
2046 The second difference is that any references in the expression that
2048 refer to cells in the range in the first argument of the range function
2049 will have any $ prefixes ignored, and the references will be treated
2050 instead as if they had the same $ prefixes as the left side of the
2051 range argument. For example, if the left side of the range argument
2052 (the cell address on the left side of the colon) has a fixed row, but
2053 does not have a fixed column, any cell references that refer to cells
2054 in that range will also have a fixed row, but will not have a fixed
2055 column. This is so that if the range reference moves when copying,
2056 references to any cells in that range will also move accordingly.
2057 Note that the test expression will be evaluated once for every cell in
2059 the range, which means that excessive use of these functions with the
2060 optional test expression, or the use of overly complex test expressions
2061 or with very large ranges can greatly slow down the recalculation of a
2062 spreadsheet, and may require turning off autocalc for speed, and then
2063 manually recalculating with the @ command.
2064 @sum(r)
2066 @sum(r,e) Sum all valid (nonblank) entries in the region whose
2067 two corners are defined by the two variable names
2068 (e.g. c5:e14) or the range name specified. The
2069 optional second argument is an expression which can
2070 be used to determine which cells in the range to sum
2071 (see above).
2072 @prod(r)
2074 @prod(r,e) Multiply together all valid (nonblank) entries in the
2075 specified region. The optional second argument is an
2076 expression which can be used to determine which cells
2077 in the range to multiply (see above).
2078 @avg(r)
2080 @avg(r,e) Average all valid (nonblank) entries in the specified
2081 region. The optional second argument is an expres‐
2082 sion which can be used to determine which cells in
2083 the range to average (see above).
2084 @count(r)
2086 @count(r,e) Count all valid (nonblank) entries in the specified
2087 region. The optional second argument is an expres‐
2088 sion which can be used to determine which cells in
2089 the range to count (see above).
2090 @max(r)
2092 @max(r,e) Return the maximum value in the specified region.
2093 The optional second argument is an expression which
2094 can be used to exclude specific cells in the range
2095 when determining this maximum value (see above). See
2096 also the multi argument version of @max below.
2097 @min(r)
2099 @min(r,e) Return the minimum value in the specified region.
2100 The optional second argument is an expression which
2101 can be used to exclude specific cells in the range
2102 when determining this minimum value (see above). See
2103 also the multi argument version of @min below.
2104 @stddev(r)
2106 @stddev(r,e) Return the sample standard deviation of the cells in
2107 the specified region. The optional second argument
2108 is an expression which can be used to exclude spe‐
2109 cific cells in the range when calculating the stan‐
2110 dard deviation (see above).
2111 @rows(r) Return the number of rows in the specified range.
2113 @cols(r) Return the number of columns in the specified range.
2115 @lookup(e,r)
2117 @lookup(r,e)
2118 @lookup(se,r)
2119 @lookup(r,se) Evaluates the expression then searches through the
2120 range r for a matching value. The range should be
2121 either a single row or a single column. The expres‐
2122 sion can be either a string expression or a numeric
2123 expression. If it is a numeric expression, the range
2124 is searched for the the last value less than or equal
2125 to e. If the expression is a string expression, the
2126 string portions of the cells in the range are
2127 searched for an exact string match. The value
2128 returned is the numeric value from the next row and
2129 the same column as the match, if the range was a sin‐
2130 gle row, or the value from the next column and the
2131 same row as the match if the range was a single col‐
2132 umn.
2133 @hlookup(e,r,n)
2135 @hlookup(r,e,n)
2136 @hlookup(se,r,n)
2137 @hlookup(r,se,n) Evaluates the expression then searches through the
2138 first row in the range r for a matching value. The
2139 expression can be either a string expression or a
2140 numeric expression. If it is a numeric expression,
2141 the row is searched for the the last value less than
2142 or equal to e. If the expression is a string expres‐
2143 sion, the string portions of the cells in the row are
2144 searched for an exact string match. The value
2145 returned is the numeric value from the same column n
2146 rows below the match.
2147 @vlookup(e,r,n)
2149 @vlookup(r,e,n)
2150 @vlookup(se,r,n)
2151 @vlookup(r,se,n) Evaluates the expression then searches through the
2152 first column in the range r for a matching value.
2153 The expression can be either a string expression or a
2154 numeric expression. If it is a numeric expression,
2155 the column is searched for the the last value less
2156 than or equal to e. If the expression is a string
2157 expression, the string portions of the cells in the
2158 column are searched for an exact string match. The
2159 value returned is the numeric value from the same row
2160 n columns to the right of the match.
2161 @index(e1,r)
2163 @index(r,e1)
2164 @index(r,e1,e2) Use the values of expressions e1 and (optionally) e2
2165 to index into the range r. The numeric value at that
2166 position is returned. With two arguments, the range
2167 should be either a single row or a single column. An
2168 expression with the value 1 selects the first item in
2169 the range, 2 selects the second item, etc. With
2170 three arguments, the range must come first, and the
2171 second and third arguments will then be interpreted
2172 as row and column, respectively, for indexing into a
2173 two-dimensional table.
2174 @stindex(e1,r)
2176 @stindex(r,e1)
2177 @stindex(r,e1,e2) Use the values of expressions e1 and (optionally) e2
2178 to index into the range r. The string value at that
2179 position is returned. With two arguments, the range
2180 should be either a single row or a single column. An
2181 expression with the value 1 selects the first item in
2182 the range, 2 selects the second item, etc. With
2183 three arguments, the range must come first, and the
2184 second and third arguments will then be interpreted
2185 as row and column, respectively, for indexing into a
2186 two-dimensional table.
2187 Built-in Numeric Functions
2189 All of these functions operate on floating point numbers (doubles) and
2190 return numeric values. Most of them are standard system functions more
2191 fully described in math(3). The trig functions operate with angles in
2192 radians.
2193 @sqrt(e) Return the square root of e.
2195 @exp(e) Return the exponential function of e.
2197 @ln(e) Return the natural logarithm of e.
2199 @log(e) Return the base 10 logarithm of e.
2201 @floor(e) Return the largest integer not greater than e.
2203 @ceil(e) Return the smallest integer not less than e.
2205 @rnd(e) Round e to the nearest integer. default: *.5 will be
2207 rounded up to the next integer; doing a 'set rndto‐
2208 even' will cause it to be rounded to the closest even
2209 number instead (aka banker's round). Round-to-even
2210 has advantages over the default rounding for some
2211 applications. For example, if X+Y is an integer,
2212 then X+Y = rnd(X)+rnd(Y) with round-to-even, but not
2213 always with the defaulting rounding method. This
2214 could be an advantage, for example, when trying to
2215 split an odd amount of money evenly between two peo‐
2216 ple (it would determine who gets the extra penny).
2217 @round(e,n) Round e to n decimal places. n may be positive to
2219 round off the right side of the decimal or negative
2220 to round off the left side. See @rnd(e) above for
2221 rounding types.
2222 @abs(e)
2224 @fabs(e) Return the absolute value of e.
2225 @pow(e1,e2) Return e1 raised to the power of e2.
2227 @hypot(e1,e2) Return sqrt(e1∗e1+e2∗e2), taking precautions against
2229 unwarranted overflows.
2230 @pi A constant quite close to pi.
2232 @dtr(e) Convert e in degrees to radians.
2234 @rtd(e) Convert e in radians to degrees.
2236 @sin(e)
2238 @cos(e)
2239 @tan(e) Return trigonometric functions of radian arguments.
2240 The magnitude of the arguments are not checked to
2241 assure meaningful results.
2242 @asin(e) Return the arc sine of e in the range -pi/2 to pi/2.
2244 @acos(e) Return the arc cosine of e in the range 0 to pi.
2246 @atan(e) Return the arc tangent of e in the range -pi/2 to
2248 pi/2.
2249 @atan2(e1,e2) Returns the arc tangent of e1/e2 in the range -pi to
2251 pi.
2252 @max(e1,e2,...) Return the maximum of the values of the expressions.
2254 Two or more expressions may be specified. See also
2255 the range version of @max above.
2256 @min(e1,e2,...) Return the minimum of the values of the expressions.
2258 Two or more expressions may be specified. See also
2259 the range version of @min above.
2260 @ston(se) Convert string expression se to a numeric value.
2262 @eqs(se1,se2) Return 1 if string expression se1 has the same value
2264 as string expression se2, 0 otherwise.
2265 @nval(se,e) Return the numeric value of a cell selected by name.
2267 String expression se must evaluate to a column name
2268 (``A''-``AE'') and e must evaluate to a row number
2269 (0-199). If se or e is out of bounds, or the cell
2270 has no numeric value, the result is 0. You can use
2271 this for simple table lookups. Be sure the table
2272 doesn't move unexpectedly! See also @sval() below.
2273 @err Force an error. This will force the expression which
2275 contains it to result in an error.
2276 String Expressions
2278 String expressions are made up of constant strings (characters sur‐
2279 rounded by double quotation marks), variables (cell names, which refer
2280 to the cells's label strings or expressions), and string functions.
2281 Note that string expressions are only allowed when entering a cell's
2282 label string, not its numeric part. Also note that string expression
2283 results may be left or right flushed or centered, according to the type
2284 of the cell's string label.
2285 # Concatenate strings. For example, the string expression
2287 A0 # "zy dog"
2289 displays the string ``the lazy dog'' in the cell if the value of
2291 A0's string is ``the la''.
2292 Built-in String Functions
2294 @filename(e) Return the current default filename, as specified
2296 when the file was first loaded or created, or during
2297 the last save, with the Put command. If e is 0, only
2298 the actual filename will be returned, with any path
2299 removed. If non-zero, the full path specified on the
2300 command line or in the last Get or Put command will
2301 be returned. If the path begins with ``~'', it will
2302 be expanded to the appropriate users home directory.
2303 @substr(se,e1,e2) Extract and return from string expression se the sub‐
2305 string indexed by character number e1 through charac‐
2306 ter number e2 (defaults to the size of se if beyond
2307 the end of it). If e1 is less than 1 or greater than
2308 e2, the result is the null string. For example,
2309 @substr ("Nice jacket", 4, 8)
2311 returns the string ``e jac''.
2313 @fmt(se,e) Convert a number to a string. The argument se must
2315 be a valid printf(3) format string. e is converted
2316 according to the standard rules. For example, the
2317 expression
2318 @fmt ("∗∗%6.3f∗∗", 10.5)
2320 yields the string ``∗∗10.500∗∗''. e is a double, so
2322 applicable formats are e, E, f, g, and G. Try ``%g''
2323 as a starting point.
2324 @sval(se,e) Return the string value of a cell selected by name.
2326 String expression se must evaluate to a column name
2327 (``A''-``AE'') and e must evaluate to a row number
2328 (0-199). If se or e is out of bounds, or the cell
2329 has no string value, the result is the null string.
2330 You can use this for simple table lookups. Be sure
2331 the table doesn't move unexpectedly!
2332 @upper(se)
2334 @lower(se) will case the string expression to upper or lower.
2335 @capital(se) will convert the first letter of words in a string
2337 into upper case and other letters to lower case (the
2338 latter if all letters of the string are upper case).
2339 @ext(se,e) Call an external function (program or script). The
2341 purpose is to allow arbitrary functions on values,
2342 e.g. table lookups and interpolations. String
2343 expression se is a command or command line to call
2344 with popen(3). The value of e is converted to a
2345 string and appended to the command line as an argu‐
2346 ment. The result of @ext() is a string: the first
2347 line printed to standard output by the command. The
2348 command should emit exactly one output line. Addi‐
2349 tional output, or output to standard error, messes up
2350 the screen. @ext() returns a null string and prints
2351 an appropriate warning if external functions are dis‐
2352 abled, se is null, or the attempt to run the command
2353 fails.
2354 External functions can be slow to run, and if enabled
2356 are called at each screen update, so they are dis‐
2357 abled by default. You can enable them with ^T when
2358 you really want them called.
2359 A simple example:
2361 @ext ("echo", a1)
2363 You can use @ston() to convert the @ext() result back
2365 to a number. For example:
2366 @ston (@ext ("form.sc.ext", a9 + b9))
2368 Note that you can build a command line (including
2370 more argument values) from a string expression with
2371 concatenation. You can also "hide" the second argu‐
2372 ment by ending the command line (first argument) with
2373 `` #'' (shell comment).
2374 @coltoa(e) Returns a string name for a column from the numeric
2376 argument. For example:
2377 @coltoa(@mycol-1) @nval(coltoa(@mycol-1),
2379 @myrow+1)
2380 Built-in Financial Functions
2384 Financial functions compute the mortgage (or loan) payment, future
2385 value, and the present value functions. Each accepts three arguments,
2386 an amount, a rate of interest (per period), and the number of periods.
2387 These functions are the same as those commonly found in other spread‐
2388 sheets and financial calculators
2389 @pmt(e1,e2,e3) @pmt(60000,.01,360) computes the monthly payments for
2391 a $60000 mortgage at 12% annual interest (.01 per
2392 month) for 30 years (360 months).
2393 @fv(e1,e2,e3) @fv(100,.005,36) computes the future value for 36
2395 monthly payments of $100 at 6% interest (.005 per
2396 month). It answers the question: "How much will I
2397 have in 36 months if I deposit $100 per month in a
2398 savings account paying 6% interest compounded
2399 monthly?"
2400 @pv(e1,e2,e3) @pv(1000,.015,36) computes the present value of an
2402 ordinary annuity of 36 monthly payments of $1000 at
2403 18% annual interest. It answers the question: "How
2404 much can I borrow at 18% for 3 years if I pay $1000
2405 per month?"
2406 Built-in Date and Time Functions
2408 Time for sc follows the system standard: the number of seconds since
2409 the beginning of 1970. All date and time functions except @date()
2410 return numbers, not strings.
2411 @now Return the current time encoded as the number of sec‐
2413 onds since the beginning of the epoch (December 31,
2414 1969, midnight, GMT).
2415 @dts(e1,e2,e3) Convert a date to the number of seconds from the
2417 epoch to the first second of the specified date,
2418 local time. Dates may be specified in either (m,d,y)
2419 or (y,m,d) format, although the latter is preferred,
2420 since it's more universally recognized (m,d,y is only
2421 used in America). If e2 > 12 or e3 > 31, then
2422 (m,d,y) is assumed. Otherwise, (y,m,d) is assumed.
2423 For example, @date(@dts(1976,12,14)) yields
2424 Tue Dec 14 00:00:00 1976
2426 The month should range from 1 to 12; the day should
2428 range from 1 to the number of days in the specified
2429 month; and the year should include the century (e.g.
2430 1999 instead of 99). Any date capable of being han‐
2431 dled by the system is valid, typically 14 Dec 1901 to
2432 18 Jan 2038 on a system that uses a 32 bit time_t.
2433 Invalid dates or dates outside of this range will
2434 return ERROR. For rapid entry of dates using only
2435 the numeric keypad, sc provides the alternate syntax
2436 y.m.d or m.d.y, which is automatically converted to
2437 the @dts(...) format above. The year, month, and day
2438 must be entered numerically in the alternate syntax;
2439 formulas are not allowed.
2440 @tts(e1,e2,e3) @tts(8,20,45) converts the time 8:40:45 to the number
2442 of seconds since midnight, the night before. The
2443 hour should range from 0 to 23; the minutes and sec‐
2444 onds should range from 0 to 59.
2445 The following functions take the time in seconds (e.g. from @now) as an
2447 argument and return the specified value. The functions all convert
2448 from GMT to local time.
2449 @date(e)
2451 @date(e,se) Convert the time in seconds to a date string. With a
2452 single numeric argument, the date will be 24 charac‐
2453 ters long in the following form:
2454 Sun Sep 16 01:03:52 1973
2456 Note that you can extract parts of this fixed-format
2458 string with @substr(). A format string compatible
2459 with the strftime() function may optionally be given
2460 as a second argument to override the default format.
2461 See the strftime(3) man page for details.
2462 @year(e) Return the year. Valid years begin with 1970,
2464 although many systems will return years prior to 1970
2465 if e is negative. The last legal year is system
2466 dependent.
2467 @month(e) Return the month, encoded as 1 (January) to 12
2469 (December).
2470 @day(e) Return the day of the month, encoded as 1 to 31.
2472 @hour(e) Return the number of hours since midnight, encoded as
2474 0 to 23.
2475 @minute(e) Return the number of minutes since the last full
2477 hour, encoded as 0 to 59.
2478 @second(e) Return the number of seconds since the last full
2480 minute, encoded as 0 to 59.
2481 Spreadsheet Update
2483 Re-evaluation of spreadsheet expressions is done by row or by column
2484 depending on the selected calculation order. Evaluation is repeated up
2485 to iterations times for each update if necessary, so forward references
2486 usually work as expected. See set above. If stability is not reached
2487 after ten iterations, a warning is printed. This is usually due to a
2488 long series of forward references, or to unstable cyclic references
2489 (for example, set A0's expression to ``A0+1'').
2490 @numiter Returns the number of iterations performed so far.
2492 Programmable Function Keys
2494 Function keys can be used in sc if your terminal supports them, and
2495 they are programmable. To program the function keys, you use the fkey
2496 command. This command may be used in a .scrc file or a macro file, or
2497 it may be entered directly into sc's command line. Defined function
2498 keys will be saved with the file. There is no shortcut, as there is
2499 with most commands, so the full command must be typed in. Pressing
2500 enter when not editing a line will start you off with a blank line for
2501 this purpose. The format of the fkey command is:
2502 fkey n = "command"
2504 where n is the function key number (n = 1 for F1, n = 2 for F2, etc.),
2506 and command is the command to be run. For example,
2507 fkey 2 = "merge \"|~/scmacros/macro1\""
2509 will run the macro called macro1 located in a subdirectory of your home
2511 directory called scmacros when the F2 key is pressed. Note that embed‐
2512 ded quotes must be escaped by a backslash. If you want to include the
2513 cell address of the current cell in the command line, you may do so by
2514 entering ``$$'' in its place in the command. For example,
2515 fkey 5 = "fmt $$ \"^D%A\""
2517 will cause the F5 key to format the current cell to display the full
2519 weekday name of the numeric date value stored there. The ^D is a CTRL-
2520 D character, which denotes a date format.
2521 Although it may be overridden by the fkey command, the F1 key is prede‐
2523 fined by default to execute man sc. Unlike the user-defined function
2524 keys, this definition will also work in edit, insert, replace, and nav‐
2525 igate modes.
2526 To undefine a function key, merely define it as the empty string ("").
2528 Undefining the F1 key will restore the default behavior.
2529 Plugins
2531 There are three ways in which external programs can be used as plugins
2532 with sc. First, they can be used as external commands. When used as
2533 an external command, any command not recognized by sc will be searched
2534 for first in $HOME/.sc/plugins, and then in /usr/share/doc/sc/plugins.
2535 If found, it will be run with its standard input and standard output
2536 redirected back to sc. These are used to send commands to, and receive
2537 responses back from sc in the same way that advanced macros do.
2538 The second and third ways that programs can be used as plugins with sc
2540 are to automatically convert files to and from sc format based on their
2541 extensions. In order to use them in this way, you must first associate
2542 a given extension to a corresponding plugin (for reading) or plugout
2543 (for writing) using the plugin and plugout commands. These commands
2544 should be placed in your .scrc file, and have the following syntax:
2545 plugin "ext" = "programname"
2547 or
2549 plugout "ext" = "programname"
2551 where ext is the extension and programname is the name of the plugin
2553 program to be used for filenames with that extension. For input, the
2554 plugin merely reads the specified file, performs whatever conversion is
2555 necessary, and writes the resulting data to standard output. For out‐
2556 put, the plugin writes sc commands to standard output and reads the
2557 replies from standard input in the same way that an advanced macro
2558 would, and then converts the data to the appropriate format and writes
2559 it to a file with the specified filename.
2560
2562 /usr/share/doc/sc/tutorial.sc Tutorial spreadsheet.
2563 $HOME/.scrc Initialization commands.
2565 ./.scrc More initialization commands.
2567
2569 bc(1), dc(1), crypt(1), psc(1)
2570
2572 Top-to-bottom, left-to-right evaluation of expressions is silly. A
2573 proper following of the dependency graph with (perhaps) recourse to
2574 relaxation should be implemented.
2575 On some systems, if the cell cursor is in column 0 with topline enabled
2577 (so the current cell is highlighted), or if any cell in column 0 is
2578 highlighted, the corresponding row number gets displayed and then
2579 blanked during a screen refresh. This looks like a bug in curses.
2580 Many commands give no indication (a message or beep) if they have null
2582 effect. Some should give confirmation of their action, but they don't.
2583
2585 This is a much modified version of a public domain spread sheet origi‐
2586 nally authored by James Gosling, and subsequently modified and posted
2587 to USENET by Mark Weiser under the name vc. The program was subse‐
2588 quently renamed sc, and further modified by numerous contributors, Jeff
2589 Buhrt of Proslink, Inc. and Robert Bond of Sequent, prominent among
2590 them. The current maintainer is Chuck Martin (nrocinu@myrealbox.com).
2591 Other contributors include: Tom Anderson, Glenn T. Barry, Gregory Bond,
2593 Stephen (Steve) M. Brooks, Peter Brower, John Campbell, Lawrence Cipri‐
2594 ani, Jim Clausing, Dave Close, Chris Cole, Jonathan Crompron, David I.
2595 Dalva, Glen Ditchfield, Sam Drake, James P. Dugal, Paul Eggert, Andy
2596 Fyfe, Jack Goral, Piercarlo "Peter" Grandi, Henk Hesselink, Jeffrey C
2597 Honig, Kurt Horton, Jonathan I. Kamens, Peter King, Tom Kloos, Michael
2598 Lapsley, Casey Leedom, Jay Lepreau, Dave Lewis, Rick Linck, Soren
2599 Lundsgaard, Tad Mannes, Rob McMahon, Chris Metcalf, Mark Nagel, Ulf
2600 Noren, Marius Olafsson, Gene H. Olson, Henk P. Penning, Rick Perry,
2601 Larry Philps, Eric Putz, Jim Richardson, Michael Richardson, R. P. C.
2602 Rodgers, Kim Sanders, Mike Schwartz, Alan Silverstein, Lowell Skoog,
2603 Herr Soeryantono, Tim Theisen, Tom Tkacik, Andy Valencia, Adri Verhoef,
2604 Rick Walker, Petri Wessman, and Tim Wilson.
2605SC 7.16 19 September 2002 SC(1)