1.1 Glossary
This document uses the following terms:
3-D Phong shading: A shading algorithm that is used to apply shading to 3-D charts. The algorithm interpolates color between points on the surface of a chart to give a smooth 3-D appearance.
active cell: The cell that is currently selected in a worksheet.
active selection: The current selection of cells, rows, or columns that includes the active cell in a datasheet.
anchor: A set of qualifiers and quantifiers that specifies the location of an element or object within a document. These values are typically relative to another element or known location in the document, such as the edge of a page or margin.
Augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF): A modified version of Backus-Naur Form (BNF), commonly used by Internet specifications. ABNF notation balances compactness and simplicity with reasonable representational power. ABNF differs from standard BNF in its definitions and uses of naming rules, repetition, alternatives, order-independence, and value ranges. For more information, see [RFC5234].
background color: A color against which characters, patterns, and graphics are displayed. See also foreground color.
beta: A pre-released version of a product that is sent to customers and partners for evaluation and feedback.
big-endian: Multiple-byte values that are byte-ordered with the most significant byte stored in the memory location with the lowest address.
Binary Interchange File Format (BIFF): The binary file formats that are used to save Excel workbooks.
border: A line that can be applied to the outer edge of a cell, shape, object, or chart element. A border can be variously formatted for style, color, and thickness.
bounding rectangle: A frame that encompasses an object. A bounding rectangle is not rotated and, therefore, always aligns along the x and y axes.
bubble size: A value that represents the diameter of a bubble in a bubble chart.
build identifier: An integer that identifies a build.
category: A subdivision of items into useful groups such as geographical regions. For example, categories that represent geographical regions could be North, South, East, and West.
cell: A box that is formed by the intersection of a row and a column in a worksheet or a table. A cell can contain numbers, strings, and formulas, and various formats can be applied to that data.
character set: A mapping between the characters of a written language and the values that are used to represent those characters to a computer.
chart area: A region in a chart object that is used to position chart elements, render axes, and plot data.
chart sheet: A single logical container that is used to create and store charts in a workbook.
chart window: A separate window that is used to display a chart.
code page: An ordered set of characters of a specific script in which a numerical index (code-point value) is associated with each character. Code pages are a means of providing support for character sets and keyboard layouts used in different countries. Devices such as the display and keyboard can be configured to use a specific code page and to switch from one code page (such as the United States) to another (such as Portugal) at the user's request.
color palette: A collection of colors that is available to format text, shapes, cells, and chart elements.
data label: A label that provides detailed information about a data point on a chart.
data marker: A customizable symbol or shape that identifies a data point on a line, scatter, or radar chart. A data marker can be formatted with various sizes and colors.
datasheet: A worksheet window that contains the source data for a Microsoft Graph chart object.
date system: A method of calculating calendar dates and times.
display units: An axis-formatting option that determines how numeric units are displayed on a value axis.
distributed alignment: A formatting setting that spreads text evenly, both vertically and horizontally, between the edges of a cell, object, or page. Distributed alignment is used primarily with East Asian languages. See also justify distributed.
down bar: See up-down bar.
drawing object: A shape, curve, line, WordArt, or other type of graphical object that can be inserted into a document.
drop lines: A set of supplemental lines on an area chart or a line chart. Drop lines increase the legibility of a chart by connecting each data point in a series to the category axis.
fill: A color, pattern, or other attribute that is used to format the background of a cell, shape, or chart element. See also fill color and fill pattern.
fill pattern: A repetitive design that users can add to the background of a cell, shape, or chart element.
floating-point number: A number that is represented by a mantissa and an exponent according to a given base. The mantissa is typically a value between "0" and "1". To find the value of a floating-point number, the base is raised to the power of the exponent, and the mantissa is multiplied by the result.
floor: An extension of the horizontal axis, or the area created by the inclusion of the z axis, in a 3-D chart to create a three-dimensional effect. See also wall.
font: An object that defines the graphic design, or formatting, of a collection of numbers, symbols, and letters. A font specifies the style (such as bold and strikeout), size, family (a typeface such as Times New Roman), and other qualities to describe how the collection is drawn.
font scaling: A process of resizing a proportionally-spaced font.
forecast: The process of projecting values forward or backward in a series, based on trends in existing data.
foreground color: A color that is used to display text, patterns, and other objects that appear in front of or on top of the background color.
format string: A string that contains the number formatting information to apply to data, such as decimal position, percentage indicator, or currency symbol.
formatting run: A set of formatting properties that are applied to a text run.
formula: A logical equation or function that produces a result in a spreadsheet application.
graph object: An object that represents a chart and the datasheet that contains the data for that chart.
high-low lines: Supplemental lines that are added to a line chart and connect the maximum data points of one series with the minimum data points of another series for each category. High-low lines are typically used on stock charts.
horizontal alignment: A formatting setting that specifies how content is positioned within the horizontal space of a cell, object, or page. Content can be aligned along the left or right edge, or distributed evenly across the horizontal space.
justify distributed: A special, distributed-alignment setting that evenly distributes the last line of text in a cell. The setting is primarily used for East Asian languages. See also distributed alignment.
leader line: A line that connects a data label to its corresponding data point. The primary purpose of a leader line is to increase legibility.
left-to-right: A reading order in which characters in words are read from left to right, and words are read from left to right in sentences.
legend entry: An item in a chart legend that identifies a single series or category.
legend key: A symbol that is associated with a legend entry.
little-endian: Multiple-byte values that are byte-ordered with the least significant byte stored in the memory location with the lowest address.
major gridline: A horizontal or vertical line that is in the plot area of a chart and corresponds to the major scaling unit on an axis.
major tick mark: A tick mark that corresponds to a major scaling unit on an axis.
metafile: A file that stores an image as graphical objects, such as lines, circles, and polygons, instead of pixels. A metafile preserves an image more accurately than pixels when an image is resized.
minor gridline: A horizontal or vertical line that is in the plot area of a chart and corresponds to the minor scaling unit on an axis.
minor tick mark: A tick mark that corresponds to a minor scaling unit on an axis.
moving average: A type of trendline that is calculated based on the most recent period of data points in a series.
number format: A property of a cell or other type of object that determines how numerical data is displayed or interpreted. For example, a currency number format affixes the proper currency symbol to the number.
OLE compound file: A form of structured storage, as described in [MS-CFB]. A compound file allows independent storages and streams to exist within a single file.
OLE server: An application or DLL that supplies a linked or embedded OLE object to another application.
outline: A nested grouping of rows or columns that are in a worksheet.
outline effect: A formatting effect in which a line is placed around the edge of a shape or around each character in a text string.
out-of-memory: A state of a computer or application when it halts because all of the available volatile memory has been allocated and none is currently available for reallocation.
plot area: A portion of a chart area that contains the plotted data and axes.
point: A unit of measurement for fonts and spacing. A point is equal to 1/72 of an inch.
primary pie: The main chart in a bar of pie or pie of pie chart. A primary pie chart has one pie slice (data point) that is a grouping of data points.
range: An addressable region that is in a workbook. A range typically consists of zero or more cells and represents a single, contiguous rectangle of cells on a single sheet.
reading order: The positioning of characters in words and the positioning of words in sentences. This can be left-to-right or right-to-left.
right-to-left: A reading and display order that is optimized for right-to-left languages.
secondary bar/pie: A secondary chart in a bar of pie or pie of pie chart that displays the detailed data of the grouped data point in the primary pie chart. The secondary bar/pie chart takes the form of a stacked bar chart or a pie chart that is connected to the primary pie chart with series lines.
selected: The condition of a set of items that has focus in a workbook.
selection: An item or set of items, such as cells, shapes, objects, and chart elements, that has focus in a document.
series line: A supplemental line on a stacked column, stacked bar, pie of pie, or bar of pie chart that connects each data point in a series with the next data point to increase legibility.
shadow effect: A formatting effect that makes a font or object appear to be elevated from the page or screen surface, and therefore casts a shadow.
sheet: A part of an Excel workbook. There are four types of sheets: worksheet, macro sheet, dialog sheet, and chart sheet. Multiple sheets are stored together within a workbook.
strikethrough formatting: A formatting option in which characters are crossed out by horizontal line.
system palette: An itemization of all of the colors that can be displayed by the operating system for a device.
text run: A string of characters that represents a discrete span of text with the same formatting properties.
tick mark: A small line of measurement, similar to a division line on a ruler, that intersects an axis in a chart.
trendline: A line that is added to a chart to show the trend of multiple data points in a series. A trendline is used to facilitate regression analysis.
twip: A unit of measurement that is used in typesetting and desktop publishing. It equals one-twentieth of a printer's point, or 1/1440 of an inch.
Unicode: A character encoding standard developed by the Unicode Consortium that represents almost all of the written languages of the world. The Unicode standard [UNICODE5.0.0/2007] provides three forms (UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32) and seven schemes (UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-16 BE, UTF-16 LE, UTF-32, UTF-32 LE, and UTF-32 BE).
up bar: See up-down bar.
up-down bar: A vertical bar that highlights the difference between data points in a line chart that contains more than one data series.
vertical alignment: A formatting setting that specifies how content is positioned within the vertical space of a cell, object, or page. Content can be aligned along the top or bottom edge, or distributed evenly across the vertical space.
wall: An extension of the background of a 3-D chart to create a three-dimensional effect. See also floor.
workbook: A container for a collection of sheets.
zoom level: The degree to which a portion of an image, document, or other screen object is made to appear closer or farther away relative to its default appearance. This value is usually expressed as a percentage of the default appearance.
z-order: The rendering order of an object on a z axis.
MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.