INTRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEET APPLICATIONS General Knowledge of Spreadsheet Applications

Introduction What is spreadsheet? A spreadsheet is a table of values arranged in rows and columns. This lesson covers some basic spreadsheet concepts, but also will introduce you to the common screen elements (features in the Spreadsheet window) found in this application. The instructions given in this text apply to Excel XP for Windows and Excel X for Macintosh.

Introduction cont’d If you are using a different version of Excel or a different spreadsheet application, the screens and menus may vary. The following are some examples of spreadsheet applications: Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1 2 3, Quattro pro, Ability Spread, Xoom Office, Google Docs, EditGrid, Smartsheet Boeing Calc.

Some Important Terminologies Active Cell: The worksheet cell with a dark border; text or numbers you type appear in this cell and in the formula bar. Alignment: The placement of cell data in a cell. Auto Fill: A feature that enables you to fill in a series of numbers, dates, or other items automatically in a specified range.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Auto Sum: A feature that enables insertion of a formula to sums up a range of cells automatically. Bar Chart: Compares individual items. Categories are organized vertically, values horizontally to place more emphasis on comparing values than on time. Cell: The intersection of a row and column.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Cell Reference: identifies the location of a cell or group of cells in the spreadsheet. Absolute Reference: A cell reference that does not adjust when the formula is pasted to a new location. Those that adjust to reflect the current location in formula are called Relative Reference Chart: Graphic representation of worksheet data. Chart Title: Identifies the purpose of the chart.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Chart Wizard: A series of dialog boxes that lets you create a chart and customize it. Column Chart: Shows changes in data over a period of time or comparisons among items.   Data Label: Identifies specific points or series. Data Series: A group of related data points plotted in a chart that originates from rows or columns on a single worksheet.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Fill Handle: The small black square on the bottom right corner of a selected cell. Formula: A sequence of values, cell references and operators used to produce a new value from existing cells. Formula Bar: Displays the contents of the current or active cell, located above the worksheet column headings.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Function: built-in formulae that enable users perform common calculations on data without the need to write entire formulae from scratch. Gridlines: Optional lines on a chart. Insert Function: A button located on the formula bar that allows quick access to the Insert Function dialog box.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Legend: Key to the data represented by a chart.   Line Chart: Shows trends in data at equal intervals. Merge and Center: To combine adjacent, or contiguous, cells into one large cell and center the data. Operators: Addition (+), Subtraction (-), Multiplication (*), and Division (/), also the colon (:) that separates cells in a range.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Order of Precedence: The order in which excel processes operations in a formula with more than one operation.  Pie Chart: Shows the relationship of items that make up data series to the sum of the items.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Range: A range is a group of cells in a worksheet that have been highlighted or specified in a formula. In a formula, it is denoted by “colon” (:) usually placed between two cell references Sheet Tab: A means to access the different sheets in a workbook, located at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Spreadsheet: A table of values arranged in rows and columns. Task Pane: Provides a quick means to execute commands. Displays when you start Excel and enables you to create new workbooks or open and existing one.

Some Important Terminologies cont’d Templates: ready-made pages format, complete with margins, fonts, headers and footers, numbering, logos or any other kind of formatting the designer wants to appear on each page. Toolbars: A series of buttons and menus in an application, which allows the user to perform functions quickly using the mouse.

Workbook: An Excel file that contains one or more worksheets. Worksheet: A work area comprised of rows and columns, also known as a spreadsheet.  Value: The number resulting from the execution of a formula.

Types of Data and Their Uses Introduction Spreadsheet applications contain predefined data types for specific purposes. The type of data used depends on the type or the category (Financial, date & time, statistical, database etc) of document being processed. The following are some common predefined data types used in spreadsheet:

Types of Data and Their Uses cont’d Number – for documents in which there is the need to perform calculations using numerical figures Date – used for a field or cell that is supposed to contain date Text – Defined for a cells that is supposed to contain textual string data

Types of Data and Their Uses cont’d Currency – Defined for cells that are supposed to hold value for money Fraction – defined for fields that are supposed to hold fractional numbers Time – defined for cells that supposed to contain time values Integer – defined for fields that are supposed to hold whole numbers

Types of Data and Their Uses cont’d Float – defined for fields that are supposed to contain floating point (decimal) numbers Boolean – defined for cells containing true/false values

Some Popular Functions in Excel, their Application Click the ff. icon