Microsoft Excel

The Basics

spreadsheet A type of application program which manipulates numerical and string data in rows and columns of cells. The value in a cell can be calculated from a formula which can involve other cells. A value is recalculated automatically whenever a value on which it depends changes. Different cells may be displayed with different formats.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, 1993-2003 Denis o!e

Workbook 1. A boo let containing problems and exercises that a student may wor directly on the pages. !. A manual containing operating instructions" as for an appliance or machine. #. A boo in which a record is ept of wor proposed or accomplished. Worksheet 1. A sheet of paper with multiple columns$ used by an accountant to assemble figures for financial statements. !. A piece of paper recording wor planned or done on a pro%ect.
http&''www.dictionary.com

The Basics

(pen Excel. By default" Excel will open a blan wor boo that contains three wor sheets )spreadsheets*. Each box" located in both a column and a row" is called a cell.

The Title Bar is located at the very top of the screen. (n the Title bar" Microsoft Excel displays the name of the wor boo you are currently using. At the top of your screen" you should see +Microsoft Excel , Boo 1+ or a similar name.

The Menu Bar is directly below the Title bar and displays the menu. The menu begins with the word -ile and continues with the following& Edit" .iew" /nsert" -ormat" Tools" Data" 0indow" and 1elp. 2ou use the menu to give instructions to the software. 3oint with your mouse to a menu option and clic the left mouse button. A drop,down menu will appear. 2ou can now use the left and right arrow eys on your eyboard to move left and right across the Menu bar options. 2ou can use the up and down arrow eys to move up and down the drop,down menu. To select an option" highlight the item on the drop,down menu and press Enter.

Toolbars

Microsoft Excel consists of wor sheets. Each wor sheet contains columns and rows. The columns are lettered A to /.$ the rows are numbered 1 to 455#4. The combination of column and row coordinates make up a cell address. -or example" the cell located in the upper left corner of the wor sheet is cell A1" meaning column A" row 1. 6ell E17 is located under column E on row 17. 2ou enter your data into the cells on the wor sheet.

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6ells can be formatted to help handle various types of data. 8ight clic on a single cell" or a group of cells" and select 9-ormat 6ells: from the drop down menu.

Brief descriptions of format types can be seen at the bottom of the dialog box. Ta e a moment to loo through the various formatting options. 6lic cancel when you=re done.

Type a number into cell 1A" right clic on the cell" and select 9-ormat 6ells.: >ote that a sample format is shown on the top right of the dialog box. 2ou can ad%ust the number of decimal places and any preceding symbols.

Excel 1elp

0or ing 0ith Data

? Data that is organi@ed in columns or rows can utili@e various formatting methods. ? Microsoft Excel can import these various types of data. ? Data can be separated usingA ? 6ommas ).csv* ? Tabs or spaces ).txt*

(pen the file called <taff.csv

8esi@e the columns so that you can see more of the dataA

<orting data is sometimes necessary. This data is currently in alphabetical order by last name. <ort it by city instead.

? 6lose all spreadsheets. ? (pen the file 9sample5yrBcast.csv.:

/nsert an additional wor sheet inside this wor boo . 6lic on /nsert'0or sheet.

2ou can rename the new sheet by right clic ing on its tab at the bottom" and selecting 98ename: from the menu.

1ighlight and copy the data from cell BC through E1D. 3aste it on the new sheet.

8ight clic on the new wor sheet" then select paste from the drop down menu.

The 9-ill: -eature

2ou can Euic ly fill in several types of data series by selecting cells and dragging the fill handle or by using the Series command )point to Fill on the Edit menu" and then clic Series*.

6harts and Fraphs

1ighlight the data you want to graphically represent. Then clic the chart wi@ard icon on your toolbar

2ou can also launch the 6hart 0i@ard by selecting /nsert'6hart.

>otice that the 6hart toolbar appears when you insert a chart. 2ou can edit the charts properties at any time.

-ormulas and -unctions

? -ormulas are eEuations that perform calculations on values in your wor sheet. A formula starts with an eEual sign )G*. -or example" the following formula multiplies ! by # and then adds 5 to the result. G5H!I# ? -unctions are predefined formulas that perform calculations by using specific values" called arguments" in a particular order" or structure. -unctions can be used to perform simple or complex calculations.

;oo ing at cell /1C" we can see that there are no special functions associated with the data. Jsing a simple function can help ma e regular updates to the data easier.

/n this case" you can simply clic on the Autosum button while cell /1C is selected" and Excel will identify the which cells to include when calculating a total revenue figure for -2!775. 1it enter to loc the sum in. >otice that the function reads& G<JM)/1!&/1D*

The same can be done using a formula" instead of a function. G/1!H/1#H/1BH/15H/14H/1KH/1D This long expression helps to show why functions are handy tools.

A variety of functions are available. /n cell ;!1" / can use the average function to determine a yearly average for forecasted revenue. fxGA.E8AFE)/1C&L1C* or fxGA.E8AFE)/1C" M1C" L1C* or fxG)/1CHM1CHL1C*'#

6lic on the small down arrow next to the function symbol )the epsilon*. <elect 9More -unctions.:

(ne more thing about formulas and functions& 2ou can utili@e data from other wor sheets in order to populate cells. The figure in cell c14 is the sum of /1C through 1C on wor sheet sample5yrBcast. G<JM)sample5yrBcastN/1C&L1C*

Page Setup dialog box. 6lic on -ile'3age <etup.

To see all printing options" ma e sure you select print from the file menu. 6lic ing on the printer icon on your toolbar will allow to print directly to your default printer with default options.