Empowerment Technologies

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Applied Productivity Tools

Applied Productivity Tools

In the previous chapters, we discussed how Information and

Communications Technology affects our everyday lives. We learned how ICT
has changed the way we learn, play, and communicate with one another.
Now, in this chapter, we are going to learn about more practical uses of ICT,
particularly how it can help us with the not so exciting task of paperwork.
Paperwork is something that we all have to deal with at least once in our
lives. Lists, letters, bookkeeping, accounting; these tasks may not be
considered enjoyable but someone has to do them and sometimes, that
someone happens to be you. Fortunately, today, we rarely have to these
things manually. For decades now, we’ve been using computers to do tasks
that would take a lot longer if done by hand. In this chapter we will be
learning how to do some of these tasks using programs called productivity
tools.
Productivity software or productivity tools are programs that are used to
create new information such as text documents, charts, graphs, tables and
presentations. Here are some of the most commonly used types of
productivity tools:
1. Word Processor
A word processor is a program that is used to create, view, edit, and print
documents. Think of it a digital version of a typewriter.
2. Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is an application tool that store, organize, and calculate data in
tables. They are used primarily used in recordkeeping tasks and accounting.
3. Presentation program
As the name implies, a presentation program is used to design presentations
in the form of slide shows.
4. Database management system (DBMS)
A DBMS is a software tool for creating, editing, and managing collections of
information called databases.
5. Graphics suite
A graphics suite is a group of programs that are used to view, manipulate,
and print computer graphics. Popular examples are Corel and Adobe, which
includes Photoshop.
 These productivity tools and others like them normally come in software
bundles called office productivity suites. The idea is to make the most
commonly used productivity tools available to the public as a single product
with uniform designs and controls so they are easier to purchase, learn and
use. Because they come in a suite, these productivity tools can be installed all
at once.

LibreOffice
In this chapter, we will be using LibreOffice, an open-source office
productivity suite. Open-source means it was developed through the
collaboration of a public community of developers and can be altered,
improved, and distributed by anyone. Open source programs like LibreOffice
are usually non-commercial and free to use.
Download and Installation
Source: www.libreoffice.org/get-help/install-howto/windows
To download LibreOffice, go to their official website in libreoffice.org and
look for the download link. For personal use, download LibreOffice Fresh, the
LibreOffice version that has the latest features.

Once the installer has been downloaded, double-click it to start the

installation process. During installation, you will be given options to
customize LibreOffice to fit your needs. You can choose which features you
want to install, what language the applications will use, etc. For a step-by
step guide, follow the instructions here: www.libreoffice.org/get-help/install-
howto/windows
Mail Merge
Now that you have LibreOffice installed and ready to use, it’s time to learn
some tasks that we can do with it. First off, we will learn about mail merge.
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Mail merge is the process of adding information from a database to a

document.
Mail merge can be used to create documents that have pretty much the same
content but have different specific details. For example, if you have to send
letters with the same message to different people, you can use mail merge to
collect the names of the recipients from a list and create a letter for each of
them. This is a lot easier then having to copy the letter over and over again
and typing the names one by one.
For this lesson, we will be using mail merge to create ID cards. Imagine that
your school org is organizing a convention, which will be attended by
hundreds students from different campuses. To avoid awkward introduction,
you’ve been tasked to create ID cards for each attendee. Each ID card will
have the person’s name, nickname, school, organization and position. Now
remember, we’re expecting hundreds of people so we can’t just type each ID
one by one.
The document
The first thing that we have to do is design the ID card. We will be doing this
using Writer, LibreOffice’s word processor application. To access Writer and
other LibreOffice productivity tools, open LibreOffice in your desktop or Start
Menu. You will see the home screen with a list of actions and tools on the left
side.

Click Writer Document. This will open a blank text document. Notice that it
looks a lot like Microsoft Word. The two office productivity suites have many
similar features so if you are familiar with MS Office, you won’t have a hard
time learning LibreOffice.
Feel free to use your imagination to come up with an interesting design. Just
remember to leave space for the information that we will be adding.

The Spreadsheet
The details that we will be adding to the ID’s will come from a database, to do
this, first we need a spreadsheet containing all the details. Create one using
Calc, which can also be accessed from the LibreOffice home screen. Calc is a
lot like Microsoft Excel and adding rows of information is practical and easy
to do. Once you’ve entered all the information, save your file, which should
look a lot like this:

The Database
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We will then use this spreadsheet to create a database. To do this, open

Database, which is also in the LibreOffice home screen. A Database Wizard
will open.

Follow these steps:

1. Click “Connect to an existing database” then click the list button and
select Spreadsheet. After that, click Next>>
2. Click Browse and look for the spreadsheet that you have created then
double-click it. Click Next>>
3. In the 3rd step, do not change any of the default settings. Simply click
Finish.
4. Name your database and click Save.
5. Once saved, the database will automatically open. To check if the
information was properly imported, double-click Sheet 1. A table that is
identical to your spreadsheet should open. You can close the database
after you have checked it.
Merging
Now that we have all the files that we need, we can proceed with the
merging. This is a little tricky so please follow these steps so you won’t get
confused:
1. In the text document, Click View then Datasources. This will open all the
registered databases.
2. In the list, double-click the name of our database. Double click Tables
then double-click Sheet1. This will open your table.
3. Click and drag each column into the space where you want them to be
displayed. Don’t forget to delete the placeholders that you used.

4. Once you’re satisfied with the design, click File and then Print. A message
saying “Your document contains address database fields. Do you want to
print a form letter?” will appear. Click Yes.
5. In the window that will appear, Click File under Output. Then click OK.

6. Name your file. If you want to open it using Microsoft Word, select
“Microsoft Word 2007-2013” in File Type. Once you’re done, click Save.
7. Go to the folder where you saved your file and open it. You may want to
make changes to your design. To save your changes, repeat steps 4 to 6
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Spreadsheet formulas
In this part of the lesson, we will learn how to use LibreOffice Calc in making
mathematical calculations. This is useful in bookkeeping and accounting
tasks.
Before we go ahead and make calculations, first, we have to get familiarized
with the parts of a spreadsheet program, particularly LibreOffice Calc.
Parts of a spreadsheet
Toolbars

The sets of icons on the top part of the page are called toolbars. You may
have noticed that these are present in most LibreOffice tools as well as tools
made by other companies like Microsoft Office. Each icon in the toolbars has
a different function such as changing font style and size, printing, saving your
document and zooming in and out. Toolbars can be moved in different areas
of the page but as beginners, it is advisable to leave them in their original
place to avoid confusion.
Formula Bar

The section below the toolbars is called the formula bar. The textbox in the
right side is called the Input Line. Later we will learn how it is integral to
adding formulas.
Cell - Each box in the table is called a cell. Each cell is named after the
combination of the Row and Column that they belong to. For example, the
upper-left-most cell is A1. The cell below it is A2 and the one beside is is B1.
Columns – The vertical groupings of cells marked by letters are called
columns. They are used to group different categories of data in a table. For
example, in the spreadsheet that we created on the first part of this lesson,
Name, Nickname, School, etc. are columns.
Rows – Each horizontal group of cells marked by a number is called a row.
Cells that belong in a row normally belong to a single entry in the
spreadsheet. In our previous activity, all the information that are included in
each ID that we created belongs to an individual row in the spreadsheet.

Formula
A formula is a mathematical equation that can be applied to one or multiple
cells. Formulas can use data from it’s own cell and other cells to come up
with a result. To add a formula to a cell, select the cell and type the formula in
the formula bar. Here re the most common formulas used in Calc:
Basic operations
Use these signs to perform basic operations:
 + for Addition
 - for subtraction
 * for multiplication
 / for division

In the following examples, the results of several formulas are displayed in

Cell C2

=A2+B2
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=B2/A2

=B2-20

=B2*A2+A3

In the last example, we used two different operations. You can make complex
formulas in Calc as long as you follow the proper composition.

=SUM(B2:B6)

This formula calculates the sum of cells B2 to B6. You can also calculate the
sum of multiple non-consequtive cells by adding a comma (,) between them
instead of a colon (:)
To learn more about Calc formulas, visit LibreOffice’s tutorial article here:
https://help.libreoffice.org/Calc/Calculating_With_Formulas
Spreadsheet Activity: Savings Tracker
In this activity, you will create a spreadsheet that will help you record and
calculate your weekly savings. We’ll call it the Savings Tracker.

Features:
 Lets you set a goal or how much you want to save
 Automatically computes total allowance, total savings, and total spending
for the year.
 Automatically displays your progress in percentage
Instructions:
1. Like the example above, create the following labels:
a. Goal for 2016 (A1)
b. Total Allowance (A2)
c. Total Spending (A3)
d. Total Savings (A4)
e. Balance (A5)
f. Progress (A6)
2. In the cell beside Goal for 2016, input how much money you want to save
for the year. Make it realistic.
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3. Select the rows right next to the first 5 labels (B1 to B5) then click the
dropdown button beside the Dollar sign on the uppermost toolbar. In the
list, look for and select the peso sign. This will format the cells as
currency.

4. In the 8th row, add the following labels:

a. Week (A8)
b. Start Date (B8)
c. Allowance (C8)
d. Savings (D8)
5. Right below Start Date, select B9 to B80

Right-click the selected cells and click Format Cells. In the Numbers tab,
select Date under Category. In Format, select a display style. Click OK once
you’re done.

6. Select the rows below Allowance and Savings (C9 to C80, D9 to D80) and
set their format as Peso currency, just like what you did in Step 2.
7. To add the formulas, select the cells beside the following labels and enter
the corresponding formulas:
a. Total Allowance
 Formula: =SUM(C9:C80)
Purpose: Displays the sum of the Allowance column
b. Total Savings
Formula: =SUM(D9:D80)
Purpose: Displays the sum of the Savings column
c. Total Spending
Formula: =B2-B3
Purpose: Displays the difference of Total allowance and Total
Savings
d. Balance
Formula: =B1-B3
Purpose: Displays the remainder of the Goal after Savings has been
subtracted
e. Progress
Formula: =B3/B1
Purpose: The percentage of the Total Savings divided by the Goal.
To change its format, select the cell and click the % icon beside the
Dollar sign in the toolbar.
8. Now, to check if you’ve set the formulas correctly, enter some data to
simulate a couple of weeks and check if the fields show correct results.