# ViewSheet > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/ViewSheet > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/ViewSheet.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ViewSheet > Source revision: 1267067373 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines for products and services. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. Find sources: "ViewSheet" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article contains instructions or advice. Wikipedia is not a guidebook; please help rewrite such content to be encyclopedic or move it to Wikiversity, Wikibooks, or Wikivoyage. (August 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) ViewSheet Original author Mark Colton Developer Acornsoft Release 1984 Platform BBC Micro, Acorn Electron Type Spreadsheet License Proprietary **ViewSheet** is a [spreadsheet](/source/Spreadsheet) program produced in the 1980s by [Acornsoft](/source/Acornsoft) for use with the [BBC Micro](/source/BBC_Micro) and [Acorn Electron](/source/Acorn_Electron) [microcomputers](/source/Microcomputer).[1] It was distributed as a pre-installed [ROM](/source/Read-only_memory) with some computer models, such as the [Master](/source/BBC_Master). ViewSheet was written by [Mark Colton](/source/Mark_Colton). ## Description ViewSheet supports spreadsheets of up to 255 by 255 cells in size. Each cell can contain a number, formula or text label. Cells are referred to as *slots* in the official Acornsoft documentation.[2] The program is supplied with a keyboard card listing the various commands, which on the BBC Micro is placed under the clear plastic strip above the function keys. The spreadsheet is entered by typing *SHEET. All BBC Micro screen modes are supported, and the background and foreground colours can be changed by use of Ctrl-S,n,n,0,0,0 key sequences.[1] The program supports user-defined windows that can display cells from various different parts of the spreadsheet within the same screen. This is useful in lieu of a [WIMP](/source/WIMP_(computing)) environment, as it saves the user the inconvenience of moving back and forth around the spreadsheet to view cells which are far apart from each other. ViewSheet supports saving of spreadsheets to both disk and [tape](/source/Cassette_tape) and printing to both [serial](/source/Serial_communication) and [parallel](/source/Parallel_communication) printers. These operations are performed in *command mode*, which also allows changing various options such as [VDU](/source/Video_display_unit) settings and screen resolution. The program also integrates with Acornsoft's *View* word processor, allowing mixing of spreadsheet data and word processor text within the same printout. There's also a built-in facility for generating character-based bar charts.[2] Cells can be left or right justified and formatted according to a user specified layout. Numeric values are stored internally as five-byte [floating point](/source/Floating_point) numbers. The ViewSheet file format is documented on page 128 of the supplied user guide,[2] which also contains an example [BBC BASIC](/source/BBC_BASIC) program to print out values from a saved spreadsheet. *ViewSheet* takes advantage of a second [6502](/source/MOS_6502) processor, which triples the amount of memory available for spreadsheets, assuming the default screen mode is used (mode 3).[2] ## Critical reception ViewSheet was reviewed by Gordon Taylor in the January 1985 edition of *A&B computing* [3] and a book *ViewSheet and Viewstore: A Dabhand Guide by Graham Bell* was published by *Dabs Press* in 1989.[4] David Brown, in his review for *The Micro User* states that ViewSheet "succeeds in providing all the basic spreadsheet functions in a well presented package". Although, he also cites several shortcomings of the program, writing "In conclusion, Viewsheet's major failing is to provide adequate facilities for textual labelling." and finishes by noting "Acornsoft is capable of producing better programs".[1] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-themicrouser-1_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-themicrouser-1_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-themicrouser-1_1-2) Brown, David. ["VIEWSHEET"](http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/themicrouser/reviews/rom/viewsheet.htm). [The Micro User](/source/The_Micro_User) (issue 02-03). Retrieved 2010-10-21. VIEWSHEET is a ROM based spreadsheet program marketed by Acornsoft and written in house, rather than commissioned from another software house. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bbcdocs-1_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bbcdocs-1_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-bbcdocs-1_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-bbcdocs-1_2-3) ["ViewSheet User Guide and Reference Card First Edition"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110716154248/http://www.bbcdocs.com/filebase/software/apps/VSheet.zip). [Acornsoft](/source/Acornsoft). 1984. Archived from [the original](http://www.bbcdocs.com/filebase/software/apps/VSheet.zip) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-10-21. To ask the computer for ViewSheet you should type: *SHEET and press RETURN. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-taylor1_3-0)** Taylor, Gordon (January 1985). ["ARTICLES ON COMPUTING BY GORDON TAYLOR"](http://www.thermal.demon.co.uk/articles.htm). A&B Computing. Retrieved 2010-10-21. Dynamic Duo - Acornsoft's ViewSheet with the Raven-20 Shadow RAM board. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-dabhand-1_4-0)** Bell, Graham (1989). ["ViewSheet and Viewstore: A Dabhand Guide by Graham Bell"](http://cowsarenotpurple.co.uk/bbccomputer/master512/m512ug-dabs/append-g.html). Dabs Press. Retrieved 2010-10-21. A complete tutorial and reference guide for the Acornsoft ViewSheet spreadsheet and the ViewStore database manager v t e Acornsoft Games Arcadians Aviator Business Games Castle of Riddles Countdown to Doom Elite Labyrinth Podd Revs Snapper Super Invaders Starship Command Applications LISP Logo ViewSheet --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [ViewSheet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ViewSheet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ViewSheet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.