Most main XQuad functions have an effect on the sheet cells. Many functions alter selected cells and the active cell serves as entry point for new data. Frames and charts are displayed on top of the sheet cells as well.

Screen snap: Sheet cells.

Only two kind of selection can be done on the sheet: either area of cells or frames. Selecting frames allows you to modify these ones.

Selecting areas of cells put these ones in "inverse video". The active cell is always selected, and it's often the only one selected. The active cell is not in "inverse video", but it has a thick border. The attributes of the active cell have effect on the buttons state of the 'Miscellaneous icon bar', 'Font icon bar', 'Text icon bar', and the 'Ornament icon bar'. You can edit active cell's content in the Edit bar.

Moving active cell

At any moment, you can click on any cell of the sheet to make it active. You can also move it by the way of the arrow keys and the 'Page Up' and 'Page Down' keys. The sheet automatically scrolls when the active cell moves near of the viewable zone border.

Change of active cell deselects the previous selection, and then the active cell becomes the new selection.

If you validate the content of the Edit bar by the way of the 'Return' key, the active cell moves one step down. When there is a selection larger than one cell, the active cell moves vertically and then horizontally among selected cell.

You can select a cell by clicking on it, but you can also select a rectangular area of cell:

1. Click on the cell in a corner of the wanted area without releasing the mouse left button.
2. Drag the mouse pointer to the cell in the opposite corner of the wanted area (to cancel the selection, press the right mouse button).
3. Release the mouse button.

Selecting a new area deselects the previous one. To select several areas at the same time you have to keep the 'Ctrl' key pressed during area selection.

To widen or to shrink the selected area, you have to press the 'Shift' key and to either use the keyboard (arrows keys, 'Page Up' key, 'Page Down' key) or click with the mouse left button on a cell (the clicked cell will become a new corner of the area).

You can cut, copy and paste cells without using any pull-down menu. This only works if there is a single rectangular area of cell (neither of 'Ctrl' key use or whole column/row selections).

To cut and paste the current selection:

1. Select area border with mouse left button without releasing it.
2. Drag the mouse pointer to move the area of cells (to cancel the action, press the right mouse button).
3. Release the mouse button.

If you want to copy the selection instead of cutting the selection, then you have to keep the 'Shift' key pressed during all operations.

When using the mouse middle button instead of the mouse left button, you may click anywhere on the selection and you do not have to click on the area border.

You can avoid to type data from logical sequences thanks to the cell completing. For example, if you want to enter consecutive numbers in a column, you just have to enter the first two numbers and then extend the area to the whole column; numbers will be automatically completed and incremented.

Prior to an extend, you have to enter and to select the first two values of the sequence at least. Extending a single cell does nothing but copying the content of the selected cell to the cell of the extended area.

Sequences of numerical values, dates, times, days of the week, months can be arithmetically (constant increment) and geometrically (constant multiplier) extended. For geometrical cell extending, you need three starting values at least.

Multi-selections (with the 'Ctrl' key), whole column and line selections prevent XQuad from completing sequences. Extending an area can only be done either horizontally or vertically, but never both.

To extend the current selection:

1. Keep the 'Ctrl' key pressed.
2. Click on one of the selection borders, according to the extending direction (i.e. the left border for a left side extending, etc...) , without releasing the mouse left button.
3. Drag the mouse pointer to vertically or horizontally extend the sequence (to cancel the action, press the right mouse button).
4. Release the 'Ctrl' key and the mouse button.

Multi-selections (with the 'Ctrl' key), whole column and line selections prevent XQuad from inserting lines or columns from a selection.

It will insert lines only at the level of the selection lines, and columns only at the selection columns.

To insert lines or columns from the current selection:

1. Keep the 'Shift' key pressed.
2. Click on one of the selection borders, according to the insertion direction (i.e. the left border for a left side insertion, etc...) , without releasing the mouse left button.
3. Drag the mouse pointer horizontally to insert columns and vertically to insert lines (to cancel the action, press the right mouse button).
4. Release the 'Shift' key and the mouse button.