1. Intro. to Spreadsheets Using Microsoft Excel

2. What is a Spreadsheet?
It is a software tool for entering, calculating, manipulating, and analyzing sets of numbers.
Practical uses of spreadsheets include:
Family budgets
Company payroll
Supply orders

3. Navigating in Excel Excel consists of:
Worksheets (an individual page or tab; made-up of a grid of rows/columns). It has:
16,384 Columns
1,048,576 Rows
Workbooks (collection of worksheets)
Has three default worksheets; Can add or delete as needed

4. Entering Data in a Worksheet
An Excel Spreadsheet can hold several types of data including:
Labels (text) - usually used for identifying row/column headings
Values - starts with a number or one of the following symbols (=, -, $, and +)
Dates
Formulas - used for doing arithmetic operations
Use the mouse or arrow keys to select the active cell you wish to enter data into
All cells have a cell address which is the column and row identifier for that cell.
Ex. – If you are working in a cell where column B intersects with row 3, that cell’s address is B3

5. Replacing Cell Content
You can edit or replace the contents of a cell.
To do this you can either:
Key the new data and press Enter or if a cell contains a long or complicated entry, you can edit it rather than rekeying the entire entry by:
Double-clicking the cell
Click the cell and press F2
Click the cell and then click anywhere in the formula bar

6. Modifying Column Width
Excel makes all columns 8.43 spaces wide
Many labels do not fit in a column this wide, so if the column on the right is empty, the label spills into the next cell.
However, if the column on the right is not empty, you need to widen the column so the label is not cut off.
You will also need to widen the column if a # symbol appears in the column after entering a formula, date, or number.
Ways to resize columns:
Drag a column or row border to a different size
Double-click a column’s right border to AutoFit the column

7. Selecting Cell Ranges
A range is a group of cells that form a rectangle on the screen.
When a range is active, it is highlighted on the screen.
A range address shows the upper left cell address and the lower right cell address, separated by a colon.

8. Formulas
Formulas are a series of instructions that perform a calculation and displays an answer.
A formula always begins with an = sign.
After the = sign, you enter the address of the cells you want to add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
Example: =B5+D5; =B5-D5; =B5*D5; =B5/D5

9. Functions
Functions are built-in mathematical formula included in Excel.
They perform many specialized calculations automatically.
Examples:
COUNT
SUM
MAX
MIN

10. Series A series is a sequence of numbers.
Examples
1,2,3
10/21/07, 10/22/07, 10/23/07
January, February, March
To enter a series, drag the fill handle, a small square in the lower-right corner of the active cell. The mouse pointer changes to a + as you draw over the range of cells you want to fill with the series.