This section describes all of the PipeDream commands that are available in each menu. To understand this chapter, you should already be familiar with the basic concepts of using PipeDream described in Section Two - Using PipeDream.

All commands can be typed directly from the keyboard, as well as chosen from the appropriate menu. The keyboard equivalent for each command is shown to the right of the command name in the menu. For example, the Replicate command on the BLOCKS menu appears as

Replicate BRE

This means that you can give the Replicate command by typing the  key followed by the keys B R E. Note that the letters do not need to be in capitals:  b r e has the same effect. Also, you can hold down the  key while typing the letter keys if you prefer.

When, as in this example, the command equivalent is a sequence of two or three letters, the first letter will usually be the first letter of the menu name. For frequently-used commands, the key equivalent is a single letter with the  key (in a very few cases the  key). For example, the Mark Block command on the BLOCKS menu has the equivalent Z.

Note that in the following screen diagrams the highlighting bar has been omitted for clarity.

Setting the options

Some commands present you with a table of options which allow you to set up the command to your requirements.

To begin with, the cursor is positioned next to the first option; the cursor keys can be' used as normal to move up and down the list.

Many of the options have only two possible alternatives: Yes and No. You can change the value shown either by typing Y or N as appropriate, or by using the Next Option command, J, which alternates between the available values. In the case of options which take specific values, such as Page Length, Next Option restores the default value.

Expression slots

Any slot in a PipeDream document can be designated as an expression slot, in which case the expression you type into it will be evaluated, and the result will be displayed in the corresponding position in the document.

An expression is entered by giving the Edit Expression command on the EDIT menu, or by typing X. The cursor will then move to the editing line, at the top of the screen, until the expression is entered by typing 

Alternatively, if the Options Page Text/Numbers option is set to N, all entries are taken as expressions.

Expressions 

Expressions can consist of numbers, functions performing operations on other expressions, references to other slots, or a combination of these combined by mathematical operators. Expressions can give a numerical result, a date, or a string of text. Illegal expressions will give an error as their result.

Numbers 

Numbers can be expressed in normal notation, or scientific notation. For example,

1, -1.7632, 1.4e27, 0.001

All calculations are performed to an accuracy of nine decimal places and numbers may lie between 1e38 and 1e-38.

Strings 

Strings are entered between double quotes, and may contain spaces. A slot reference to a text slot returns a string.

Slot references

The form of a slot reference is

column-label row-number

separated by optional spaces, where

column-label designates one of the 64 columns, A to Z, followed by AA to BN, and

row-number is from 1 to 32768.

Slot references are normally 'relative'; the reference will be updated if the position of the slot containing the reference changes relative to other slots.

Each half of the slot reference may be 'fixed' by preceding the column letter or the row number by a dollar sign. The possibilities are:

The fixed part of a reference is not altered when copied with the Replicate or Copy commands on the BLOCKS menu, or when placed in a selection expression for the Save and Print commands on the FILES and PRINT menus respectively.

When a slot to which a slot reference refers is deleted, the slot reference is marked with a '%' sign to indicate that the reference is no longer valid. The expression containing the slot reference will display the Badslot error message.

Specifying a block of slots - Ranges

You can perform some functions on a block of slots, specified by the top left-hand corner of the block followed by the bottom right-hand corner of the block.

For example

A2 D8 

specifies all the slots in the block between columns A and D, and rows 2 and 8 inclusive.

In some cases the function only makes sense if the range is restricted to a single row (a 'row range') as in A1 D1, or a single column (a 'column range'), as in B8 B20.

Specifying several slots - Lists 

Functions are available to count, choose from, or find the maximum or minimum of a list of elements. The elements in a list are separated by commas and can be simple slot references, or ranges. Each slot in a range is considered as a separate list element. For example,

13, B1 B5, C7,

is a list containing the 7 elements 13, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, and C7.

Dates 

Dates are entered in the format

DD.MM.YYYY or MM.DD.YYYY

depending on whether the Panel date-format setting is European or American.

Dates can be sorted into chronological order, and the functions DAY, MONTH, and YEAR can be used to extract the values of the date's day, month, and year respectively.

Operators 

The following operators can be used within expressions

Arithmetic 

The arithmetic operators take two numbers as operands.

Also, '+' and '-' may be used on date values. For example

12.10.1987 + 127

will return the date 127 days after 12 October 87, or 16.2.88, assuming that European date format has been selected.

Relational

The relational operators can compare dates, strings, and numbers. Both operands must be of the same type, and the result is a logical value of FALSE=0 and TRUE=1.

When strings are being compared, the following wildcards (as in the Replace command) can be included in the second string:

Logical 

The logical operators operate on numeric or logical values. Boolean FALSE is taken as zero, TRUE as non-zero.

Functions 

ABS Absolute value 

ABS(number)

Returns the absolute positive value of the argument.

ACS Arc cosine 

ACS(number)

Returns the arc cosine of the argument, in radians.

ASN Arc sine 

ASN(number)

Returns the arc sine of the argument, in radians.

ATN Arc tangent

ATN(number)

Returns the arc tangent of the argument, in radians.

CHOOSE Choose element from list 

CHOOSE(list)

Returns an element from the list, using the value of the first element as an index into the remaining elements. For example, if B4 contains 17.2.1987

CHOOSE (MONTH(B4),"jan","feb","mar","apr")

gives the result feb.

COL Column 

COL

The value of the column in which it is evaluated. Column A is 1, column B is 2, etc.

COS Cosine

COS(radians)

Returns the cosine of the argument.

COUNT Count the number of elements

COUNT(list)

Returns the number of non-blank slots in the list.

DAY Day of date

DAY(date)

Returns the day number of a date argument.

For example, if slot A1 contains 17.3.1961, then DAY (A1) returns 17

DEG Degrees from radians

DEG(radians)

Converts the argument, taken in radians, into degrees.

EXP Exponent

EXP(number)

Returns the constant e (2.71828184..) raised to the specified power.

IF Conditional expression

IF(boolean,then,else)

If the value of the first argument is TRUE, ie non-zero, the function returns then; otherwise the function returns else.

For example, if slot A1 contains -23,

IF(A1 <0,"Debit","Credit")

would return Debit.

INDEX Index slot

INDEX(column,row)

Returns the evaluated expression or string found at coordinates column, row.

For example, if A2 contained IF(100,"Debit","Credit")

INDEX(1,2)

would return Credit.

INT Integer part

INT(number)

Returns the integer part of the argument.

LN Logarithm to base e 

LN(number)

Returns the natural logarithm, log_e of the argument.

LOG Logarithm to base 10

LOG(number)

Returns the logarithm to base 10 of the argument.

LOOKUP Look up value in a table

LOOKUP(key,range1,range2)

Returns the value in range2 corresponding to the position that key occurs in range1.

key must be a cell reference. For example, the following sheet would result if LOOKUP(A3,A1 F1,A2 F2) were placed at B4:

If an exact match is found in range1, the function returns the value of the slot the same number of slots from the beginning of the second range.

If key is not found in range1, the function returns the error

Lookup

Wildcards '^?' and '^#' may be included in key.

MAX Maximum value in list

MAX(list)

Returns the maximum value from the slots in the list.

MIN Minimum value in list

MIN(list)

Returns the minimum value from the slots in the list.

MONTH Month of date

MONTH(date)

Returns the month number of its date argument.

For example, if A1 contains 12.6.1987 then MONTH(A1) returns 6.

PI π

PI

Returns the value 3.141592653.

RAD Radians from degrees

RAD(degrees)

Returns the argument, taken as degrees, converted into radians.

ROW Row

ROW

The value of the row in which it is evaluated.

SGN Sign

SGN(number)

Returns -1, 0, or 1 depending on whether the argument is negative, zero, or positive respectively.

SIN Sine

SIN(radians)

Returns the sine of the argument, in radians.

SQR Square root

SQR(number)

Returns the positive square-root of its argument.

SUM Sum

SUM(list)

Returns the sum of the slots in the list.

TAN Tangent

TAN(radians)

Returns the tangent of the argument, in radians.

YEAR Year of date

Returns the year number of its date argument.

For example, if A1 contains 12.6.1987 then YEAR(A1) returns 87.

@ Fields

You can include the page number, the date, the file title from the Options Page, or the value of any expression slot within text in your document using the special PipeDream @-fields.

The following @ fields are available:

One or more '@' characters should be given after the identifier to determine the size of the @ field for formatting. For example,

@P@@@@ 

creates a field of four characters. Provided the value to be displayed is less than the size of the @-field, the line will be justified correctly.

The field:

@ref@@@@@ 

will reserve five characters for the value of the slot indicated by the reference.

If it is an expression slot, the value will be displayed in the same format as in the slot itself, with alignment ignored.

When the cursor is not on a text slot with an @ field in it, the slot shows the value of the @ field. When the cursor is moved onto the slot, the actual @ identifier is shown, for editing.