When constructing a spreadsheet you often need to include a series of values, such as 10, 11, 12..., in a row or column. There are several ways you can do this in KSpread.

For a simple short series such as 5, 6, 7, 8... the “Drag and Copy ” method is the simplest. Enter the starting value into the starting cell and the next value of the series into an adjacent cell. Then select both cells and move the mouse pointer so that it is over the small square at the bottom right corner; the cursor will change to a diagonal double headed arrow. Then hold the left mouse button down while you drag the cells down or across as needed.

The step size is calculated as the difference between the two starting values that you have entered. For example if you enter 4 into cell A1 and 3.5 into A2 then select both cells and Drag and Copy them down, the step size will be the value in A2 minus the value in A1, -0.5 in this case so you will get the series 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2...

The “Drag and Copy” method will even cope with series where the step value is not a constant value but is itself a series. So that if you start with 1, 3, 4, 6 Drag and Copy will extend it to 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12..., the step value in this example being the series 2, 1, 2, 1...

KSpread also recognizes some special “series” such as the days of the week. Try entering Friday into a cell (note the capitalization) then Drag and Copy it down. To see what special series are available, and perhaps create your own, select Tools -> Custom Lists... .

If you select a cell and choose Series... from the Insert menu you will see the Series dialog box. This is useful for creating series that are too long to be conveniently constructed using the Drag and Copy method, or for creating geometric series such as 1, 1.5, 2.25, 3.375... where the step value, 1.5 in this case, is used as a multiplier.

If the type of series that you want is too complicated for any of the previous methods, consider using a formula and Drag and Copying that. For example to create a series with the values 2, 4, 16, 256... enter 2 into A1, =A1*A1 into A2, and Drag and Copy cell A2 down.