MICROSOFT EXCEL TUTORIAL
MicrosoftExcelisoneofthemostpopularspreadsheetapplicationsthathelpsyou managedata,createvisuallypersuasivecharts,andthoughtprovokinggraphs.Excel issupportedbybothMacandPCplatforms.MicrosoftExcelcanalsobeusedto balanceacheckbook,createanexpensereport,buildformulas,andeditthem.
GETTING STARTED
CREATING A NEW DOCUMENT
OPENING MICROSOFT EXCEL ON A PC
TobeginMicrosoftExcel,GotoStart>AllPrograms>Applications>Microsoft Office>MicrosoftExcel(Figure1).Whenopenedanewspreadsheetwillpopup onthescreen,ifthisdoesnothappenclickontheOfficeIcon >New.Fromhere adialogboxwithvariousdifferenttemplateswillappearonthescreenthatyoucan choosefrom.Onceatemplateischosen,clickCreate.
Figure1.NavigatetoMicrosoftExcelonaPC.
Figure2.Openinganewworkbook
Computerscrashanddocumentsarelostallthetime,soitisbesttosaveoften.
SAVING YOUR DOCUMENT
SAVING INITIALLY
Beforeyoubeginyoushouldsaveyourdocument.Todothis,clickonthefloppydisk locatedatthetopofthescreen .ThenMicrosoftExcelwillopenadialogbox (Figure3)whereyoucanspecifythenewfilesname,locationofwhereyouwantit saved,andformatofthedocument.Onceyouhavespecifiedaname,place,and formatforyournewfile,presstheSavebutton. Note:SpecifyingyourfileformatwillallowyoutoopenyourdocumentonaPCas wellasaMAC.TodothisyouusethedropdownmenunexttotheFormatoption. Also,whenyouarespecifyingafileextension(i.e..doc)makesureyouknowwhat youneedtouse.
Figure3.Savingdialogbox.
SAVING LATER
Afteryouhaveinitiallysavedyourblankdocumentunderanewname,youcan beginyourproject.However,youwillstillwanttoperiodicallysaveyourworkas insuranceagainstacomputerfreezeorapoweroutage.Tosave,justclickonthe floppydisk,orforashortcutpressCTRL+S.
InMicrosoftExcel2007foraPC,thetoolbarsareautomaticallyplacedastabsatthe topofthescreen.Withinthesetabsyouwillfindallofyouroptionstochangetext, data,pagelayout,andmore.Tobeableaccessallofthecertaintoolbarsyouneedto clickonacertaintabthatislocatedtowardsthetopofthescreen.
TOOLBARS
THREE COMMONLY USED TABS
TheHomeTab:(Figure4).ThisisoneofthemostcommontabsusedinExcel.You areabletoformatthetextinyourdocument,cut,copy,andpasteinformation. Changethealignmentofyourdata,insert,delete,andformatcells.TheHomeTab alsoallowsyoutochangethenumberofyourdata(i.e.currency,time,date).
Figure4.HomeTab. TheInsertTab:(Figure5).Thistabismainlyusedforinsertingvisualsandgraphics intoyourdocument.Therearevariousdifferentthingsthatcanbeinsertedfrom thistabsuchaspictures,clipart,charts,links,headersandfooters,andwordart.
Figure5.InsertTab. ThePageLayoutTab:(Figure6).Hereyouareabletoaddmargins,themestoyour document,changetheorientation,pagebreaks,andtitles.Thescalefitofyour documentisalsoincludedasafeaturewithinthistab,ifneeded.
Figure6.PageLayoutTab.
FORMATTING
WORKING WITH CELLS
CellsareanimportantpartofanyprojectbeingusedinMicrosoftExcel.Cellshold allofthedatathatisbeingusedtocreatethespreadsheetorworkbook.Toenter dataintoacellyousimplyclickonceinsideofthedesiredcell,ablackborderwill appeararoundthecell(Figure7).Thisborderindicatesthatitisaselectedcell.You maythenbegintypinginthedataforthatcell.
Figure7.EnteringData.
CHANGING AN ENTRY WITHIN A CELL
Youmaychangeanentrywithinacelltwodifferentways: Clickthecellonetimeandbegintyping.Thenewinformationwillreplace anyinformationthatwaspreviouslyentered. Doubleclickthecellandacursorwillappearinside.Thisallowsyoutoedit certainpiecesofinformationwithinthecellsinsteadofreplacingallofthe data.
CUT, COPY, AND PASTE
YoucanusetheCut,CopyandPastefeaturesofExceltochangethedatawithin yourspreadsheet,tomovedatafromotherspreadsheetsintonewspreadsheets,and tosaveyourselfthetimeofreenteringinformationinaspreadsheet.Cutwill actuallyremovetheselectionfromtheoriginallocationandallowittobeplaced somewhereelse.Copyallowsyoutoleavetheoriginalselectionwhereitisand insertacopyelsewhere.Pasteisusedtoinsertdatathathasbeencutorcopied. To Cut or Copy: Highlightthedataortextbyselectingthecellsthattheyareheldwithin. GototheHomeTab>Copy(CTRL+C)orHomeTab>Cut(CTRL+X). Clickthelocationwheretheinformationshouldbeplaced. GotoHomeTab>Paste(CTRL+V)tobeabletopasteyourinformation.
FORMATTING CELLS
Therearevariousdifferentoptionsthatcanbechangedtoformatthespreadsheets cellsdifferently.Whenchangingtheformatwithincellsyoumustselectthecells thatyouwishtoformat. TogettotheFormatCellsdialogboxselectthecellsyouwishtochangethengoto HomeTab>Format>FormatCells.Aboxwillappearonthescreenwithsix differenttaboptions(Figure8).Explanationsofthebasicoptionsintheformat dialogboxarebulletedbelow.
Figure8.FormattingCells
Number:Allowsyoutochangethemeasurementinwhichyourdataisused.(If yourdataisconcernedwithmoneythenumberthatyouwoulduseiscurrency) Alignment:Thisallowsyoutochangethehorizontalandverticalalignmentofyour textwithineachcell.Youcanalsochangetheorientationofthetextwithinthecells andthecontrolofthetextwithinthecellsaswell. Font:Givestheoptiontochangethesize,style,color,andeffects. Border:Givestheoptiontochangethedesignoftheborderaroundorthroughthe cells.
FORMATTING ROWS AND COLUMNS
Whenformattingrowsandcolumnsyoucanchangetheheight,chooseforyour informationtoautofittothecells,hideinformationwithinaroworcolumn,unhide theinformation.ToformataroworcolumngotoHomeTab>RowHeight(or ColumnHeight),thenchoosewhichheightyouaregoingtouse(Figure9).Thecell orcellsthataregoingtobeformattedneedtobeselectedbeforedoingthis.When
changingtheroworcolumnvisibility(hidden,unhidden)orautofit,youwillgoto theHomeTabandclickFormat.Thedropdownmenuwillshowtheseoptions
Figure9.FormattingRowsandColumnsHeight
ADDING ROWS AND COLUMNS
Whenaddingaroworcolumnyouareinsertingablankroworcolumnnexttoyour alreadyentereddata.BeforeyoucanaddaRowyouaregoingtohavetoselectthe rowthatyouwishforyournewrowtobeplaced.(Rowsareonthelefthandsideof thespreadsheet)oncetherowisselecteditisgoingtohighlighttheentirerowthat youchose.ToinserttherowyouhavetogotoHomeTab>Insert>InsertSheet Rows(Figure10).Therowwillautomaticallybeplacedonthespreadsheetandany datathatwasselectedintheoriginalrowwillbemoveddownbelowthenewrow.
Figure10.InsertingRows
BeforeyoucanaddaColumnyouaregoingtohavetoselectacolumnonthe spreadsheetthatislocatedintheareathatyouwanttoenterthenewcolumn. (Columnsareonthetoppartofthespreadsheet.)Oncethecolumnisselecteditis goingtohighlighttheentirerowthatyouchose.Toinsertacolumnyouhavetogo toHomeTab>Insert>InsertSheetColumn(Figure11).Thecolumnwill automaticallybeplaceonthespreadsheetandanydatatotherightofthenew columnwillbemovedmoretotheright.
Figure11.InsertingColumns
WORKING WITH CHARTS
Chartsareanimportantparttobeingabletocreateavisualforspreadsheetdata.In ordertocreateachartwithinExcelthedatathatisgoingtobeusedforitneedsto beenteredalreadyintothespreadsheetdocument.Oncethedataisentered,the cellsthataregoingtobeusedforthechartneedtobehighlightedsothatthe softwareknowswhattoinclude.Next,clickontheInsertTabthatislocatedatthe topofthescreen.(Figure12).
Figure12.ChartsTab Youmaychoosethechartthatisdesiredbyclickingthecategoryofthechartyou willuse.Oncethecategoryischosenthechartswillappearassmallgraphicswithin adropdownmenu.Tochooseaparticularchartjustclickonitsiconanditwillbe placedwithinthespreadsheetyouareworkingon.Tomovethecharttoapageofits own,selecttheborderofthechartandRightClick.Thiswillbringupadropdown menu,navigatetotheoptionthatsaysMoveChart.Thiswillbringupadialogbox thatsaysChartLocation.FromhereyouwillneedtoselectthecirclenexttoAsA NewSheetandnamethesheetthatwillholdyourchart.Thechartwillpopup largerinaseparatesheet(Figure13),butinthesameworkbookasyourentered data.
Figure13.Chartinnewsheet
CHART DESIGN Therearevariousdifferentfeaturesthatyoucanchangetomakeyourchartmore appealing.Tobeabletomakethesechangesyouwillneedtohavethechartselected orbeviewingthechartpagethatiswithinyourworkbook.Onceyouhavedonethat theDesignTabwillappearhighlightedwithvariousdifferentoptionstoformat yourgraphic(Figure14).
CHART OPTIONS: Titles:ToaddtitlestoachartofgraphicyouhavetoclickontheInsertTab.Once youhavedonethis,clickontheTextBoxIcon.Thiswillinsertatextboxthatyoucan typethetitleandplaceanywhereyouwishonthechart. ChangeChartType:Youcanchangeyourcharteasilybyselectingthisiconand navigatingtoamoredesirablechart.Thisfeatureisveryconvenientforsomeone whochosethewrongchartanddoesntwishtoreselectalltheirdataandgothrough theprocessasecondtime. FormatChartArea:Thisallowsforchangestobemadetothechardsborder,style, fill,shadows,andmore.Togetthisoptionyouwillneedtorightclickonthecharts borderandnavigatetotheFormatChartAreaoption.Oncethisisclickedadialog boxwillappear.
Figure14.DesignTabforchartdesign.
CHART STYLE: Hereyouareabletochangethecolorofthebarsthatarewithinyourchart.
INSERTING SMART ART GRAPHICS
PICTURES
ToinsertPictures: GototheInsertTab>Picture,adialogboxwillappearandthenyoucanselectthe desiredpicturefromthelocationthatisitstored(Figure15).Thepicturewillbe inserteddirectlyontoyourdocument,whereyoucanchangethesizeofitasdesired.
Figure15.Insertingapicture
InsertingClipart: ToinsertClipArtyouwillneedtogototheInsertTab>ClipArt.Anavigation panewillappearonthelefthandsideofthescreenwhereyoucansearchforwords thatpertaintothepictureyouarelookingfor.
Figure16.ClipArt
CREATING FUNCTIONS
WhencreatingafunctioninExcelyoumustfirsthavethedatathatyouwishto performthefunctionwithselected. Selectthecellthatyouwishforthecalculationtobeenteredin(i.e.:ifIwant toknowthesumofB1:B5IwillhighlightcellB6formysumtobeentered into)(Figure17). Figure17.Choosingcalculationcell OnceyouhavedonethisyouwillneedtoselecttheFormulasTablocatedat thetopofthescreen. AlistofMostRecentlyUsed,Financial,Logical,Text,DateandTime, MathandTrigformulaswillappear.Tochooseoneoftheformulasclickthe iconthatholdstheformulayouarelookingfor. Onceyouhaveclickedyourformulathiswilldisplayadialogboxonyour screen.(Figure18)
Inthisscreenitliststhecellsthatarebeingcalculated,thevalueswithinthecells, andtheendresult. ToacceptthatcalculationyoucanpressOKandtheresultwillshowupinthe selectedcell. Itisimportanttoalwayssaveyourdocumentbeforeyouprint!
Figure18.Firstcalculationdisplay
PRINTING
PRINTING
Toprintyourdocument,gototheOfficeIcon>Print,selectyourdesiredsettings, andthenclickOK.YoucanalsodothisbyusingtheshortcutCTRL+P
Tobeabletochangetheorientationofyourpageforprintingyoucanclickonthe PropertiesbuttonundertheoptiontoPrintthenclicktheLayoutTab(Figure19).
Figure19.PageSetupbuttonandprinting
OTHER HELPFUL FUNCTIONS
UNDO AND REDO
Inordertoundoanaction,youcanclickonthebluearrowiconthatispointingto theleftatthetopofthescreen.Toredoanaction,youcanclickonthebluearrow iconpointingtotheright.Itisimportanttonotethatnotallactionsareundoable, thusitisimportanttosavebeforeyoumakeanymajorchangesinyourdocumentso youcanrevertbacktoyoursaveddocument.
QUITTING
Beforeyouquit,it'sagoodideatosaveyourdocumentonefinaltime.Youwillneed tochoosetheOfficeIconandchooseExitExcel.Thisisbetterthanjustclosingthe window,asitinsuresyourdocumentquitscorrectly.
