Excel Spreadsheet basics
Excel Sheets and Books Spreadsheet: tool to analyze, chart and manage data for personal, business and financial use Worksheet: individual sheet within a workbook, default name Sheet1, default total 3 sheets Workbook: spreadsheet file, default name Book1, extension.xls
Interface The spreadsheet is laid out as a grid of rows and columns. Columns are vertical and are labeled with letters. Rows are horizontal and are labeled with numbers. Cells are the intersection of columns and rows.
The Excel Window The name box The active cell The formula bar Sheet tabs
The cell The basic unit of a spreadsheet is a cell, it is rectangular shaped. Cells are used as containers. A cell is referenced by letter/number, such as: A3, K908 Numbers, text or formulas can be stored in a cell.
Entering data into a cell Data is entered into the active cell by typing or pasting it. The data appears both in the cell and in the formula bar Pressing Enter, Tab or an arrow key completes the entry. No other work can be done until the entry of data into a cell is completed. Editing cells Changing the data stored in a cell go to the active cell, double click in cell, or hit F2 or go to the formula bar
Data types Excel determines if the data entered is numeric, text or formula. If the data entered is only numbers (in correct form) the data is numeric. If the data contains any non number characters the data is treated as text. If the data entry starts with an “=“ the data is a formula.
Formula Data A formula is a math expression the spreadsheet calculates and show the result of in the cell where the formula is stored. All formulas begin with an “=“ sign. The math operators are: Multiplication * Division / Addition + Subtraction –
Formula example Start a formula with the equal sign Use cell references to add the cells If you use the cell reference instead of the number in the cell you can change the number and the answer will change Note that Excel color codes the cells involved.