Microsoft Excel is an electronic spreadsheet program. http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/excel/8.html http://homepage.cs.uri.edu/tutorials/csc101/pc/excel97/excel.html#excel

Microsoft Excel is an electronic spreadsheet program. You may have heard the terms "spreadsheet" and "worksheet". People generally use them interchangeably. To remain consistent with Microsoft and other publishers the term worksheet refers to the row-and-column matrix sheet on which you work upon and the term spreadsheet refers to this type of computer application. In addition, the term workbook will refer to the book of pages that is the standard Excel document. The workbook can contain worksheets, chart sheets, or macro modules.

Spreadsheet A spreadsheet is the computer equivalent of a paper ledger sheet. It consists of a grid made from columns and rows. It is an environment that can make number manipulation easy and somewhat painless.

Spreadsheets are made up of columns rows and their intersections are called cells In each cell there may be the following types of data text (labels) number data (constants) formulas (mathematical equations that do all the work)

Columns In a spreadsheet the COLUMN is defined as the vertical space that is going up and down the window. Letters are used to designate each COLUMN'S location In the above diagram the COLUMN labeled C is highlighted.

Rows In a spreadsheet the ROW is defined as the horizontal space that is going across the window. Numbers are used to designate each ROW'S location. In the above diagram the ROW labeled 4 is highlighted.

Cells In a spreadsheet the CELL is defined as the space where a specified row and column intersect. Each CELL is assigned a name according to its COLUMN letter and ROW number (the cell reference) In the above diagram the CELL labeled B6 is highlighted. When referencing a cell, you should put the column first and the row second.

Types of Data In a spreadsheet there are three basic types of data that can be entered: labels - (text with no numerical value) constants - (just a number -- constant value) formulas* - (a mathematical equation used to calculate) Data types Examples Descriptions Label Name or Wage or Days anything that is just text Constant 5 or 3.75 or -7.4 any number Formula =5+3 or = 8*5+3 math equation ALL formulas MUST begin with an equal sign (=).

Labels Labels are text entries. They do not have a value associated with them. We typically use labels to identify what we are talking about. The labels are NOT for the computer but rather for US so we can clarify what we are doing. In our first example: the labels were computer ledger car loan interest # of payments

Constants Constants are entries that have a specific fixed value. If someone asks you how old you are, you would answer with a specific answer. Sure, other people will have different answers, but it is a fixed value for each person. In our first example: the constants were $12,000 9.6% 60

As you can see from these examples there may be different types of numbers. Sometimes constants are referring to dollars, sometimes referring to percentages, and other times referring to a number of items (in this case 60 months). These are typed into the computer with just the numbers and are changed to display their type of number by formatting (we will talk about this later). Again, we use constants to enter FIXED number data.

Formulas Formulas are entries that have an equation that calculates the value to display. We DO NOT type in the numbers we are looking for; we type in the equation. This equation will be updated upon the change or entry of any data that is referenced in the equation.

Parts of the Excel Screen The Main Screen Parts

Parts of the Excel Screen Active Cell In a worksheet, the cell with the black outline. Data is always entered into the active cell. Column Letter Columns run vertically on a worksheet and each one is identified by a letter in the column header. Formula Bar Located above the worksheet, this area displays the contents of the active cell. It can also be used for entering or editing data and formulas. Name Box Located next to the formula bar, the Name Box displays the cell reference or the name of the active cell. Row Number Rows run horizontally in an Excel worksheet and are identified by a number in the row header. Sheet Tab Switching between worksheets in a Microsoft Excel file is done by clicking on the sheet tab at the bottom of the screen..

Entering Data in Excel Points to consider: Plan your spreadsheet - Before you start to type. Before you begin entering data into a spreadsheet it is a good idea to do a bit of planning before you begin to type. Points to consider: What is the purpose of the spreadsheet? What information needs to be included? What headings are needed to explain the information in the spreadsheet? What is the best layout for the information? in rows or columns?

How to Enter Data into a Spreadsheet Entering your data into a spreadsheet is always a three step process. These steps are: Click on the cell where you want the data to go. Type your data into the cell. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard or click on another cell with the mouse.

Speeding up data entry Many people use the mouse when moving around their spreadsheet. Using the mouse, though, is the slow way of doing anything on a computer. It's fine if you have only a small amount of data to enter or if you're not in a hurry. To speed up your data entry use the keyboard. Below is a list of keys that you can use when you want to quickly enter your data. Enter key: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight down to the next cell in the current column. Tab key: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next cell in the current row. Arrow keys: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next cell in the direction of the specific arrow key pressed. For example, if the up arrow is pressed, the active cell highlight moves up to the next cell in the current column. Esc key: cancels the current data entry.

Entering Text and Constants Text is displayed in two areas. Text is displayed in the active cell within the workbook and it is also displayed in the formula bar. The formula bar is activated as soon as you begin typing in a cell. At the far left is the reference section, which will show the reference of the active cell.

In the example below, the highlighted numbers 5 and 6 in the formula bar can be removed by hitting the DELETE key on the keyboard and replaced with different numbers.

Editing Cells in Excel Change Complete Cell Contents Click on the cell, type over the existing entry, and press the ENTER key on the keyboard. Change Part of the Cell Contents Method 1 Click on the cell to make it the active cell. Click on the data in the formula bar. Delete the part to be changed and type in the new data. Press the ENTER key. Method 2 Double click on the cell. Edit the part of the cell you want to change.

Moving around the spreadsheet Home key: moves the active cell highlight to column A without changing rows. Ctrl + Home keys: moves the active cell highlight to cell A1. Ctrl + End keys: moves the active cell highlight to the last cell of the spreadsheet containing data. Ctrl + Down Arrow keys: moves the active cell highlight to the last row of the spreadsheet without changing columns. Ctrl + Up Arrow keys: moves the active cell highlight to the first row of the spreadsheet without changing columns. Ctrl + Page Down keys: moves the active cell highlight to the next sheet of the spreadsheet. Ctrl + Page Up keys: moves the active cell highlight to the previous sheet of the spreadsheet.

Formatting Three areas of formatting are available in Microsoft Excel: number formatting - using percent, comma, date, and currency formatting cell formatting text formatting

Excel Math Adding Numbers in Excel To add two or more numbers in Excel you need to create a formula. Two important points to remember about Excel formulas: formulas in Excel always begin with the equal sign ( = ) the equal sign always goes in the cell where you want the answer to go

Use Cell References in Formulas Even though you can use numbers directly in a formula, it is much better to use the references or addresses of the cells containing the numbers you want to add. If you use the cell references rather than the actual data, later, if you need to change the data in either cell, the results of the formula will update automatically without you having to rewrite the formula.

Setting Up the Addition Formula As an example, lets create a formula in cell C1 that will add the contents of cell B1 from cell A1. Our formula: =A1 + B1 Our data: place the number 20 in cell A1 place the number 10 in cell B1 Formula Steps To add 10 to 20 and have the answer appear in cell C1: Type an equal sign in cell C1. Click on cell A1 with the mouse pointer. Type the plus sign ( ) in cell C1. Click on cell B1 with the mouse pointer. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard. The answer 30 should be present in cell C1. Even though you see the answer in cell C1, if you click on that cell you will see our formula in the formula bar above the work area.

Subtracting Numbers in Excel To subtract two or more numbers in Excel you need to create a formula. Two important points to remember about Excel formulas: formulas in Excel always begin with the equal sign ( = ) the equal sign always goes in the cell where you want the answer to go

Setting Up the Subtraction Formula As an example, lets create a formula in cell C1 that will subtract the contents of cell B1 from cell A1. Our formula: =A1 - B1 Our data: add the number 20 in cell A1 add the number 10 in cell B1 Formula Steps To subtract 10 from 20 and have the answer appear in cell C1: Type an equal sign in cell C1. Click on cell A1 with the mouse pointer. Type a minus sign ( - ) in cell C1. Click on cell B1 with the mouse pointer. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard. The answer 10 should be present in cell C1. Even though you see the answer in cell C1, if you click on that cell you will see our formula in the formula bar above the work area.

Multiplying Numbers in Excel To multiply two or more numbers in Excel you need to create a formula. Important points to remember about Excel formulas: formulas in Excel always begin with the equal sign ( = ) the equal sign always goes in the cell where you want the answer to go the multiplication sign in Excel is the asterisk ( * ) Use Cell References in Formulas Even though you can use numbers directly in a formula, it is much better to use the references or addresses of the cells containing the numbers you want to add. If you use the cell references rather than the actual data, later, if you need to change the data in either cell, the results of the formula will update automatically without you having to rewrite the formula.

Setting Up the Multiplication Formula As an example, lets create a formula in cell C1 that will multiply the contents of cell B1 from cell A1. Our formula: =A1 * B1 Our data: place the number 20 in cell A1 place the number 10 in cell B1 Formula Steps To multiply 10 to 20 and have the answer appear in cell C1: Type an equal sign in cell C1. Click on cell A1 with the mouse pointer. Type an asterisk sign ( * ) in cell C1. Click on cell B1 with the mouse pointer. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard. The answer 200 should be present in cell C1. Even though you see the answer in cell C1, if you click on that cell you will see our formula in the formula bar above the work area.

Excel Division the division symbol is the forward slash ( / ) As an example, lets create a formula in cell E1 that will divide the contents of cell C1 by cell D1. Our formula: =C1 / D1

Setting Up the Division Formula Division Formula Steps To divide 20 by 10 and have the answer appear in cell E1: Type an equal sign in cell E1. Click on cell C1 with the mouse pointer. Type the division sign ( / ) in cell E1. Click on cell D1 with the mouse pointer. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard. The answer 2 should be present in cell E1. Even though you see the answer in cell E1, if you click on that cell you will see our formula in the formula bar above the work area.

To use the AutoSUM button Click on the cell where you want the answer to appear. Click on the AutoSUM button. The function will auto select the closest range of data cells. The selected cells are surrounded by the marching ants. Check to make sure that the selected range for the function is correct. If it is correct, press Enter on the keyboard. If it is incorrect, drag select with the mouse the correct range and then press Enter on the keyboard. AutoSUM The AutoSUM button, located on the Standard Toolbar in Excel 2003, is a shortcut provided for using the SUM function. When you click on the AutoSUM button, the SUM function is entered into the active cell.

Excel Printing Printing in Excel is a bit different than printing in some other programs, such as a word processor. One of the main differences is that Excel has five locations in the program that contain print-related options. The first, the Print button, is located on the standard toolbar. The other four of these are listed under the File menu: Print Preview Page Setup Print Area Print

Excel Printing using the Print button If you want to quickly print out the worksheet that is open in the Excel screen, you can do so by using the Print button on the standard toolbar. Clicking on this button sends the active worksheet directly to the printer, using the current print settings. Use this button when you want to print a single copy of a workbook. Just realize that, unless you have previously set a Print Area, you are going to get all the sheets in the workbook that contains data, not just the sheet that is on the screen.

Excel Printing Using Print Preview Before printing all or part or an Excel spreadsheet, it might be a good idea to have a look at what is going to get printed – just in case it’s not what you expect – or really want. Print Preview displays the current worksheet in the preview window. It shows you how the worksheet will look when it is printed. Print preview toolbar Some of the more commonly used options on this toolbar are: Next and Previous buttons – Show you all the pages that will be printed. Zoom – Allows you to zoom in on specific parts of the worksheet. Setup – Opens the Page Setup dialog box, Print – Opens the Print dialog box.

Excel Page Setup Dialog Box Page Tab The page tab in the Page Setup Dialog Box has three areas of printing options. Orientation – Allows you to print sheets sideways (Landscape view). Very useful for spreadsheets that are just a bit too wide to print using the default portrait view. Scaling – Allows you to adjust the size of the worksheet you are printing. Most often used for shrinking an Excel worksheet to fit on fewer sheets or magnifying a small worksheet to make it easier to read. Paper Size and Print Quality Paper size – is adjusted most often to accommodate larger worksheets such as changing from the default letter size (8 ½ X 11 inches) to legal size (8 ½ X 14 inches). Print quality – has to do with the number of dots per inch (dpi) of ink that are used in printing a page. The higher the dpi number, the higher the quality the print job will be.

Excel Printing - Using the Page Setup Dialog Box (con't) Print- The most commonly used options are - Draft quality – Prints a quick, low quality draft copy. Gridlines – For printing the worksheet gridlines – making it easier to read data on larger worksheets. Row and column headings – Prints the row numbers and the column letters down the side and across the top of a each worksheet. Print Area – Select a range of cells on the spreadsheet to print. Very useful if you are interested only in printing a small section of the worksheet. Print Titles – Used for printing certain rows and columns on every page - usually headings or titles. Page order – Changes the order for printing pages on a multiple page spreadsheet. Normally Excel prints down the worksheet. If you change the option, it will print across.

Setting and Clearing a Print Area By default, Excel prints the entire worksheet. One way to stop this is to set a print area, which specifies the exact range of cells to print.

To set a print area – Drag select the group of cells you want included in the print range. Choose File > Print Area > Set Print Area from the menu. Choose File > Print Preview from the menu to check that the print area is set correctly. To remove a print area Choose File > Print Area > Clear Print Area from the menu. Choose File > Print Preview from the menu to check that the print area has been clear

Excel Printing - The Print dialog box The four main option areas in the Print dialog box are: Printer – Allows you to choose which printer to print from. To change printers, click on the down arrow at the end of the Name box and chose from the printers listed in the drop down menu. Print range All – The default setting – refers only to pages in the workbook containing data. Pages – List the start and end page numbers for those pages to be printed. Print what? Active Sheet – The default setting - prints the worksheet page that was on screen when the Print dialog box was opened. Selection – Prints a selected a range on the active page. Workbook – Prints pages in the workbook containing data.