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Beginners: How To Make Tables With ClarisWorks (AppleWorks) In response to a readers request this week's column will explain how to make tables using a standard ClarisWorks word processing program. Tables are handy for a number of different projects from keeping up with a gift list to making an important presentation, and it can be really frustrating when you know exactly what you want, but don't know how to make the computer give it to you. After all, the theory is that the computer is supposed to meet your needs, rather than the other way around. Speaking of which, I got a really funny letter from a reader after last weeks column in which I said that you should talk back to your computer. He told me how to make the computer talk back to you and even tell you jokes. I will include his technique at the end of this column. Meanwhile, our table will be made with ClarisWorks 5.0. Remember that ClarisWorks 5.0 is the same as AppleWorks 5.0. The premise is that you are a member of the board of your homeowner association and you have been charged with determining what repairs need to be made to the complex and how much they will cost. (That will teach you to miss meetings!) You know you have a maximum amount of $12,000 of reserve funds that you can use, but that many owners will not want to spend it all. The best way to present the different options will be in a table. Start out by opening a new, blank document in ClarisWorks. You can do that by simply clicking on the icon that opens a new page. This table will be easier to read if we make the paper sideways instead of so up/down, go up to the File pull-down menu and click on Page Set Up.
When it comes up all you have to do is click on the picture that shows the paper going in what direction you prefer. In this case, click on the landscape option. You can do this step at any time during the creation process and can change it as many times as you want.
The first step will be to put in a centered title. At the top of your page there should be a ruler and a set of small boxes above it. If you don't see them, go under the Window pulldown menu and click on Show Rulers and they will appear. There are four little boxes on the left side that allow you to have the text left aligned, centered, right aligned, or justified. Click on the centering box and your cursor will immediately move to the center of your page. Type in your title. If you decide that you want it to be a bigger of different style font then just hold down your mouse and drag the cursor over the words. They will be highlighted and you can use your font, size, and color pulldown menus to make it look like you want. Hit your return key a couple of time. Your table is going to begin at the location of your cursor. After you get your title set up you can start your table. Click on the Help icon at the top right hand corner of your screen.
When the cell pops open you will see the Select Assistant dialog box. Make sure General is selected as the category in the top pulldown menu and click on Make Table and then click OK.
You will be asked to make a series of decisions concerning your table. First you will decide if you want a standard table based on days or months, etc. One choice is custom. Click on the button to the left of custom and click on next. You follow this same procedure to the next box and decide if you want it in a column or row style, how you want the lines to look, and how many columns and rows you want. I choose a row format with three rows and 7 columns. Hit next and you will choose your type font, size, etc. Be sure that there is an X in the wrap text cell. If there is not, you will only be able to put one line of text in each cell. After making your choices hit create.
You will get something like this on your page. To change the wording in the cells all you have to do is click on that cell and a new button bar appears at the top of your page. Simply start typing. Your type will appear in that button bar rather than the actual table. When you hit tab it will appear in your table. Keep tabbing and typing until you have all your information entered. If you need to make changes or additions you can do that too. I don't know about your homeowners association, but mine would expect to see dollar amounts. To add them in, just click on the cell you want to change, put your cursor up at the top where the type appears and make any changes you want. If you decide that you want to change the look of any cell, column, row, or table just hold down the cursor until it changes into a cross and drag over what you want to change. Once it is highlighted you can make any changes you wish. Since I wanted to change my type font to emphasize the money amounts I followed that procedure and changed the type size to 18.
Now I don't think the cells are big enough. I can change that by clicking on one of the cells that I want to change, holding down the mouse until the cross appears and dragging it over the cells I want to change. Then I go to the Format pulldown menu and selecting the Change Height or Change Width and making them any size I want. And my last change is the number of columns I need. I originally chose seven, but I don't need the last two. I can eliminate them by clicking somewhere within the table until I see a small black box in the lower right hand corner. I can drag that to the left and instantly take away the unused columns. I can also add or delete cells so long as I have chosen those cells by going to the Calculate pulldown menu and adding or deleting. The Calculate pulldown menu will not show up unless you have selected at least one cell.
My finished product looks like this. But I really want to impress the board so I am going to do one more thing to my table - add color. To do this I need the tools bar open. I can open that by clicking on it under the Window menu. At the bottom of that menu is the option cell for lines and for fills. I once again get the cross and drag across the cells I want to change. Then I go to the fills block for color and choose the color I want by clicking on it. I repeated it for each row.
One last caution though. Don't do such a great job that you get all the upcoming assignments! Now to our reader's comments on talking computers. John Konopka wrote about getting his computer to talk, using different voices, and even tell him knock-knock jokes. I asked John how to do it and he readily shared the following steps. My system is not advanced enough to test this out, but if you have all the latest stuff you should be able to do this and have fun with it.
Thanks John. Other Mac Observer staff members told me that this doesn't work as well as it should and you also need an Apple Plain Talk microphone. Apple was once a leader in speech and speech recognition, but dropped the ball long ago. Fortunately at this week's WWDC, Apple announced they had worked with Dragon Systems to bring Dragon's state-of-the-art speech recognition to the Mac. It should be here sometime before the end of the year. If you have any tips, hints, or thoughts on these topics, make sure you write me so that I can share your thoughts with other readers. |
