What is the meaning of the term 'automatic re-calculation' as it relates to spreadsheet theory?

Answer 1

The whole basis of a spreadsheet's usefulness is its ability to recalculate all its formulas every time a change is made to any cell on the spreadsheet. This keeps the spreadsheet up to date when new values are put in. On a paper-based spreadsheet, one figure being changed requires that the user manually recalculates everything in their spreadsheet. An electronic spreadsheet will do it automatically, which is what is meant by automatic recalculation.

There is an option to turn this off and have the spreadsheet only recalculate when the user hits a specified key, usually the F9 key. This enables the user to change a figure and then look at the existing figures before they are changed, to more easily note what changes occur when they recalculate. On an electronic spreadsheet manual calculation does not mean that the user has to do all the calculations themselves, as they would on paper, but just that they can tell the spreadsheet when to recalculate all formulas, rather than it being done every time they make a change to anything.