European Computer Driving Licence Module 4 – Spreadsheets Chapter 4.8 – Cell Referencing

Relative cell referencing ZThis is the default setting in Excel ZExcel actually remembers the formula as =the cell 3 above and one to the left ZWhen you replicate a formula Excel will automatically adjust the formula

Absolute cell referencing ZAbsolute cell referencing is used when you want to refer to the same cell ZThe Car Imports project will take you through this step by step

Entering a formula ZClick where you want the result of the calculation to appear (in this case cell D7) ZTo convert from Euros to Pounds, you need to divide the Euro amount by the exchange rate ZThe formula required is =C7/B2 ZUse the Fill handle to replicate the formula and see what happens!

Making a relative cell reference absolute ZIf you click on each cell below D7, you will see the formula in the formula bar, Notice how the second part of the formula points to one cell below the previous one? ZTo correct this, click on cell D7 ZTo stop the second cell reference changing, type a $ sign before the column letter and row number (your formula should now read =C7/$B$2) and press Enter ZReplicate this formula and you should now get the correct results

Entering the other formulae ZTo calculate the £saving click in cell E7 ZUse the formula =UK Price in pounds – Imported Price in Pounds ZCopy the formula down using the Fill Handle ZIf all has gone well, your formula should look like this

Calculating a percentage ZTo calculate the % Saving, click in cell F7 and enter the calculation required: =£Saving / UK Price in Pounds ZUse the Increase Decimal and/or Decrease Decimal icon to display the cell to 2 decimal places ZCopy the formula down for all the cars Increase decimal Decrease decimal

Formatting percentages ZSelect the cells to be formatted (ie cells F7 to F13) ZOn the Formatting toolbar, click on the % icon

The currency format ZSelect the cells you want to format (in this case B7 to B13, hold down the control key and select D7 to E13) ZRight-click anywhere within the selected cells and select Format Cells from the shortcut menu ZOn the Number tab, select Currency and set the decimal places to 0 ZClick OK

Formatting to Euro currency ZHighlight the cells to be formatted (in this case cells C7 to C13) ZRight-click and select Format Cells ZClick in the symbol box and select the Euro symbol € ZEnsure decimal places are set to 2 ZClick OK

Merge and centre cell contents ZIt is useful to merge and centre titles to improve the look ZSelect the cells to be merged (in this case C5 and D5) ZOn the formatting toolbar, click on the Merge and centre icon ZThe text will be centred within the selected cells

Inserting a date field ZThe quickest way to do this is press Ctrl and ; ZOr type the date in using slashes or dashes (eg 01/06/04 or ) ZTo format the date, right-click the cell and select Format Cells from the shortcut menu ZClick on the Number tab ZSelect the format you require then click OK ZYou can widen the column to show the date in full

Wrapping cell content ZSometimes a row label can be too long – it looks better if it runs onto two lines rather than having a column that is too wide ZSelect the cell (in this case A12) ZRight-click and select Format Cells ZClick the Alignment tab ZUnder the Text Control section click the checkbox next to Wrap text

Wrapping cell content ZResize column A so that it is just the right width for Currency exchange rate: ZYou will find that not all the text displays ZIncrease the row height by clicking and dragging between row headers 12 and 13 ZWrap the text in cell A7 ZYou can also do this with the column headings Price in Euros and Price in pounds

Adding borders ZYou can add different borders to improve the appearance of your worksheet ZSelect cells A2 to F2 ZClick on the down arrow on the Border icon ZSelect Outside Borders ZAn outside border will appear around the selected cells

Other border options ZIf you wanted to delete a border, select the cells, click the down arrow on the Border icon and select No borders ZTo draw a heavy border around a range of cells, select the cells then click on the down-arrow on the Border icon and select the Thick Box Border icon

Find and Replace ZTo find a value, click Edit, Find from the menu ZType the value you want to search for (eg VW) then click Find Next ZExcel makes the cell containing VW the active cell ZClick on Find Next to find the next cell containing VW

Replacing a word or value ZTo replace VW with Volkswagen, click on Edit, Replace from the menu ZClick inside the Search box and type VW ZClick inside the Replace with box and type Volkswagen ZClick on Replace All ZA message appears telling you how many replacements have been made, click OK ZVW has now become Volkswagen – click on Close

Adding Headers and Footers ZUseful for automatically adding current date and page numbers on larger documents ZSelect View, Header and Footer from the menu ZClick the Custom Header button ZYou can type text into one of the text boxes or add a field

Formatting a custom header ZTo format a header, click inside the text box and click the Format icon ZThe Font dialogue box appears ZSelect your options (eg size 12, bold) then click on OK ZClick OK to exit the Custom Header dialogue box

Adding fields to a custom footer ZClick the Custom Footer button ZClick inside the left section – click the file name icon, type a comma and space then click the sheet name icon ZClick inside the centre section – click the Page Number icon ZClick inside the Right Section – click the Date button, type a comma and space then click the Time button ZClick OK Format No of Time File Insert Pages Name Picture Page Date File Sheet No Location Name

Previewing your headers and footers ZYou will not be able to see your headers and footers in Normal view ZClick on Print Preview to see the results ZClick on Print to print a copy ZClose and save your spreadsheet