Exploring Microsoft Excel 2003 Chapter 1 – Introduction to Excel: What is a Spreadsheet? Robert Grauer and Maryann Barber Committed to Shaping the Next Generation of IT Experts. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Objectives Describe potential spreadsheet applications Distinguish between a constant, a formula, and a function Distinguish between a workbook and a worksheet Explain how rows and columns are labeled Download the practice files Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Objectives (continued) Insert or delete rows and columns Print a worksheet to show displayed values or cell contents Distinguish between relative, absolute, and mixed references Copy and/or move cell formulas Format a worksheet Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Case Study: The Clark School The opening case study focuses on how to use a spreadsheet. It describes how a spreadsheet is used to track progress towards a fund-raising goal. Students are asked to create a formula to calculate total profits for each of several line items and to calculate total profits for the project. The finished worksheet will be presented to the school principal. Emphasize the use of absolute references and relative references. Students can memorize the distinction between the two easily enough, but the important point is knowing when to use each type. Many formulas will use both types. Since the worksheet will be presented to the principal, formatting will be very important. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Introduction to Spreadsheets Spreadsheet – a computerized ledger Divided into rows and columns Columns identified with alphabetic headings Rows identified with numeric headings Cell – the intersection of a row and a column Cell reference uniquely identifies a cell Consists of column letter and row number Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Rows, Columns, and Cells Cell referenced by column, then number Active cell surrounded by heavy border Column headings above each column. Columns designated with letters Row headings to the left of each row. Rows designated with numbers Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Types of Cell Entries Constant – an entry that does not change Can be a numeric value or descriptive text Function – a predefined computational task Formula – a combination of numeric constants, cell references, arithmetic operators, and functions Always begins with an equal sign Functions are predefined tasks; users cannot change them. Formulas often include functions, but all the logic is supplied by the user. The fewer constants a formula or function contains, the more flexibility the worksheet will have. Emphasize using worksheets as a general problem solving tool, rather than using them to solve a problem with a specific set of data. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Introduction to Microsoft Excel Common user interface with other Office applications Menus and toolbars are similar to Word and Power Point Workbook – contains one or more worksheets Worksheet – an Excel spreadsheet Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Toolbars Appear beneath the menu bar Contain buttons that perform commonly-used commands Standard toolbar – buttons correspond to most basic commands in Excel Examples include opening, closing, and saving a workbook Formatting toolbar – buttons correspond to common formatting operations Examples include boldface and cell alignment Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber The File Menu Contains most common commands related to Excel files Examples: New command creates a new workbook Open command opens an existing workbook Save command saves a workbook Save As command saves a copy of an existing workbook under a different name or file type Print command prints all or part of a worksheet Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber An Excel Workbook Menu bar gives lists of commands Formatting toolbar Spend time going over the Excel environment. Many people are so accustomed to using icons they get confused when you mention the menu bar. Title bar shows name of workbook Standard toolbar Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Opening a Workbook Use the Look In list box to specify the folder containing the file you want to open Double-click the file you want to open Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber The Save As Command Use the Save In list box to specify the folder/disk the file will be saved in If you give tests that require students to save a file to a diskette, spend a lot of time on this command. It will save you from having to retrieve someone’s test from a folder in your computer lab. The Save As command is used to save a file either: On a different folder (drive) With a different file name With a different file type Type the new file name Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

The Active Cell, Formula Bar, and Worksheet Tabs Formula bar displays contents of active cell Active cell is highlighted Click tabs to move to a different worksheet Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Using the Help System Click the Help menu Type a question and click Search Select one of the search results and it will appear in the Help pane Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Hands-on Exercise 1 Title of Exercise: Introduction to Microsoft Excel Objective: to start Microsoft Excel; to open, modify, and print an existing workbook Input file: Grade Book Output file: Grade Book Solution Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Modifying the Worksheet: The Insert Command Can be used to add rows, columns, or cells Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Modifying the Worksheet: The Delete Command If deleting a cell, specify whether to move other cells up or to the left Students will often press the Delete key. Pressing that key performs the Clear command, which removes the contents of the cell, but does not delete the cell from the worksheet. It is the best choice to simply erase data from a cell. Students need to check formulas after using either the Insert and Delete commands to ensure the formulas don’t rely on a cell that was deleted. Specify whether you’re deleting cell, row, or column Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Page Setup Margins tab is used to set top, bottom, left and right margins If students set margins, then change orientation, they need to review the margin settings. Page tab controls print orientation and scaling Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Page Setup (continued) Sheet tab is used to control repeating rows or columns or print gridlines These two tabs are very useful for printing large worksheets. If rows are too wide to print on one page, set up the row(s) containing the descriptive row labels to print on each page. If there are too many rows to print on one page vertically, set up the column(s) containing the descriptive column heading labels to print on each page. Headers and footers print at the top and bottom, respectively, of each printed page. Printing file names and directories, page numbers, and dates printed can be very helpful tools, especially with large worksheets. Header/Footer tab allows user to create headers and footers for each printed sheet Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Display the Cell Formulas Press the Ctrl key and the ~ to toggle between displaying cell values and formulas. Printing a sheet that displays the formulas and storing it in a safe location can help rebuild the worksheet, should it ever be lost or corrupted. It also provides a frame of reference, should modifications be needed in the future. As often as most businesses install new computers and servers, worksheet files are lost all the time. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

The Print Preview Command View and adjust margins by clicking the Margins button We work on a desktop with either a 21” monitor or a very high-resolution LCD display and are often lulled into a false sense of security about how much data will appear. Before printing a worksheet, users should use the Print Preview command. It saves lots of paper and many trips to the printer. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Hands-on Exercise 2 Title of Exercise: Modifying a Worksheet Objective: to open an existing workbook; to insert and delete rows and columns; to print cell formulas and displayed values; to use the Page Setup command Input File: Grade Book Solution Output File: Grade Book Solution Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Using Cell Ranges Range – a rectangular group of cells May be a single cell or the entire worksheet May consist of a row (or part of a row), a column (or part of a column) or multiple rows and/or columns To select a range: Click left mouse button at the beginning of the range Hold left mouse button as you drag the mouse Release left mouse button at the end of the range Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Copying and Moving Cells Copy command – duplicates the contents of a cell or range of cells Source range – the cell(s) you are copying from Destination range – the cell(s) you are copying to You can copy to more than one destination ranges Move operation – transfers the contents of a cell or range to another cell or range You must use both the Copy (or Cut) command and the Paste command Students should be familiar with the terms “copy and paste” and “cut and paste.” Use these terms to illustrate that the Copy (or Cut) command simply moves the cell(s) to the clipboard, while the Paste command is needed to retrieve the item from the clipboard and paste it into the destination cell. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Cell Referencing Absolute reference: remains constant when copied Specified with dollar signs before the column and row Relative reference: adjusts during a copy operation Specified without dollar signs, i.e. B4 Mixed reference: either the row or the column is absolute; the other is relative Specified with a dollar sign before the absolute part of the reference, i.e. B$4 You cannot overemphasize the distinction between these types of cell references. On tests, especially MOUS certification tests, students will need to be able to copy formulas. Learning the distinction between the types of references is easy, but unless students know which type to use, they will struggle. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Absolute and Relative References Absolute references are used to refer to the weight of each exam. These weights do not change for each student, so absolute references are needed to keep those references constant as the formula is copied Relative references are used to refer to each student’s exam scores. These scores do change for each student, so relative references are needed to make sure each student’s average reflects his/her scores Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Compute the Student Semester Averages Absolute and relative references used in formulas Again, stress why absolute and relative cells references are used. Create the formula in cell E4 and copy to other cells Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Isolating the Assumptions New student averages are automatically recalculated Assumptions (the exam weights) are isolated physically from the formulas. All formulas refer to the cells containing the exam weights (the assumptions), not the values of those weights. Building formulas in this way makes the worksheet more flexible and easier to use. If formulas referred to the exam weights, rather than the cells containing the weights, and you wanted to change the weights, you would have to change the formula, then copy the formula with the new weights to the other cells. Notice that the absolute references in the formulas refer to the assumptions. This is often the case. Enter new exam weights in row 13 Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Hands-on Exercise 3 Title of Exercise: Creating a Workbook Objective: to create a new workbook; to copy formulas containing relative and absolute references Input file: N/A Output file: Better Grade Book Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Formatting Cells Format Cells command – controls the formatting for numbers, alignment, fonts, borders, and patterns (color) Select-then-do Select the cells to which the formatting will apply Execute the Format Cells command Demonstrate how to use the Ctrl key to select a non-contiguous block of cells. Demonstrate how to use the Shift key to quickly select a large block of cells. Consider showing students the AutoFormat command. It supplies built-in formats for professional looking spreadsheets. It is useful to use on its own, or can be tweaked and customized. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

The Format Cells Command Number tab allows you to specify appearance of numbers Alignment tab specifies vertical and horizontal alignment Font tab allows you to specify font type and size One of the most important formatting decisions is the number of decimal places numbers should have. If a column contains any mixed numbers, all numbers in that column should contain the same number of decimal places. Numbers are right-aligned by default and should remain that way, so that decimal places line up. If the column is wide, change the alignment of the text label for that column to right; otherwise, when the worksheet is printed, the text label won’t look like it belongs to that column of numbers. Use borders and patterns sparingly and only for emphasis. If everything is emphasized, where is the emphasis? Borders and Patterns tabs allow you to create special effects Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

The Completed Worksheet Shading is used to identify labels and assumptions, and to show class averages. For shading, stick to light colors, such as yellow or light blue, and use a bold typeface. Dark shading with a white typeface often takes a long time to print. Notice consistent and meaningful formatting. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Printing Headers and Footers Use Page Setup dialog to create a Header Printing the date and time on the worksheet is a good habit to get into. Often, a worksheet will be printed many times by many different users. Having the date and time in the header or footer helps identify the most current version of the worksheet. Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Hands-on Exercise 4 Title of Exercise: Formatting a Worksheet Objective: to format a worksheet using boldface, italics, shading, and borders; to change the font and/or alignment of a selected entry Input file: Better Grade Book Output file: Better Grade Book Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Summary Spreadsheet - the computerized equivalent of an accountant’s ledger Divided into rows and columns Worksheet - an Excel spreadsheet Workbook - contains one or more worksheets Cells can contain either a formula or a constant Use the Insert and Delete commands to add or remove cells, rows, or columns The Page Setup command provides complete control over the printed page Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Summary (continued) Range - a cell or range of cells Formulas in a cell may be copied or moved to other cells Absolute reference remains the same when it is copied Relative reference adjusts when it is copied Cells can be formatted in a variety of ways Select cells, then apply formatting Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

End-of-chapter Exercises Multiple Choice Practice Exercises Exercise 1 – Isolate Assumptions Exercise 2 – Practice with Formatting Exercise 3 – The Calendar Exercise 4 - The Checkbook Exercise 5 - Judson Ford Realty Exercise 6 - The Solar System Exercise 7 - Student Budget Exercise 8 - Excel Templates Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

End-of-Chapter Exercises (continued) Mini Cases The Movies The Cost of Smoking Accuracy Counts The Housing Office Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber

Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber Questions? Exploring Office 2003 - Grauer and Barber