Excel
A Brief Overview
What is a Spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet is a document that is
entirely made up of rows and columns.
It is used to list and analyze data.
Editing and formatting Excel works much
like the tables in MS Word
Creating Charts and Graphs You can create
colorful charts and graphs from the data in
your worksheet. Excel will automatically update
the chart to display any changes you make in
your data.
Formulas and functions Excel
allows you to perform calculations
and analyze data. Common
calculations include: finding the
sum, average or total number of
items in a list
=sum(B6:B23)
10
=AVERAGE(F4:F8)
8
6
4
=count(B2:B25)
2
0
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
The Excel Window
Active
Cell
F3
Fill handle
Menu bar
Tool bar
Formula Bar
Column
labels
ROW 3
Row labels
COLUMN
gridlines
Worksheet
tabs
The Active Cell
The worksheet is a grid of columns (designated by letters) and rows (designated by
numbers). The letters and numbers of the columns and rows (called labels) are
displayed in gray buttons across the top and left side of the worksheet. The
intersection of a column and a row is called a cell. Each cell on the spreadsheet has a
cell address that is the column letter and the row number. Cells can contain either
text, numbers, or mathematical formulas.
The active cell is indicated by a dark outline,
and the column letter and row number in the headers are raised.
Entering Data
When you enter data, the characters appear simultaneously in the Formula
Bar and cell. The characters do not actually go into the cell until you press
Enter or Tab.
When working
with cells,
your mouse
pointer
becomes a
plus icon
To enter data into a cell, first click the cell in which you
want to enter your information. Then type the data in either
the cell or Formula Bar and press Enter or Tab.
Pressing Enter moves you to the next cell down, while
pressing Tab moves you to the next cell to the right.
Resize a Column
In a cell, text can be any combination of
numbers, spaces, and non-numeric
characters.
If the entered text exceeds the column
width it will overlap the boundary into the
next column when that column is blank. If
the next column already contains data, text
that does not fit in the cell is hidden.
Clicking the cell, however, reveals its entire
contents in the Formula Bar.
To increase column width, drag the right
side of the column header with the doubleheaded pointer.
To make the column width fit the contents
of its widest cell, double-click the boundary
on the right side of the column
Insert/delete a row or column
To insert:
Select a column to the right of where you
want to insert a new one.
Or select a row beneath where you want
to insert a new one.
From the INSERT menu choose row or
column. If you want to insert more than
one, select more than one column or row.
To delete:
Select either the row or column
you wish to delete and press the
del key or choose delete from
the EDIT menu.
You can also access
all of these
commands from the
context menu -RIGHT
CLICK!!
Move or Copy Data
Drag and drop to move selected data
Grab any edge
with your cursor
and drag
You can copy and paste by selecting cells right click to cut or copy
Select either the exact number of cells to paste into or just the very first
one
right click to paste
Format Your Worksheet
Formatting your spreadsheet is very similar to formatting in Word.
Many of the same commands work in both.
Remember that before you do any formatting, you must SELECT (highlight) the items to be
formatted.
To select individual cells, just click on them
To select adjacent cells. Click and drag to include them
To select several cells which are not adjacent, hold down the Ctrl key and click on each
cell to include.
Select a
column
Select a
row
To select the entire
worksheet click upper
left corner
Formatting Dialog Box
This dialog box is
very similar to what
you learned about
in MS Word. You
should be able to
experiment with the
tools found on each
of the tabs.
Change Number Format
One of the tabs in the format dialog
box is new. It is the FORMAT
NUMBER tab.
Because Excel is all about numbers
and calculations, this section makes
it easy to use the right type of
number for the job!
Remember to select the cells,
columns, rows or entire spreadsheet
before you choose the format for you
numbers or dates.
Clearing Cells
Cells can be cleared of just the contents or just the formatting or
both.
Choose
Edit Clear
If you select a cell and press the delete key, the
contents only will be deleted.
Fill down, across, series
ACTIVE CELL
In the lower right hand corner of the active cell is Excels fill handle.
When you hold your mouse over the top of it, your cursor will turn to a
crosshair.
If you have just one cell selected, if you click and drag to fill down a
column or across a row, it will copy that number or text to each of the
other cells.
If you have two cells selected, Excel will fill in a SERIES. It will complete
the pattern. For example, if you
FILL HANDLE
Put 4 and 8 in two cells
Select them
Click and drag the fill handle
Excel will continue the pattern with 12,16,20.etc.
Excel can also auto- fill series of dates, times, days of the week, months
Formulas
Formulas are entered in the worksheet cell and must begin with an
equal sign "=". The formula then includes the addresses of the cells
whose values will be manipulated with appropriate operands placed in
between. After the formula is typed into the cell, the calculation
executes immediately and the formula itself is visible in the formula
bar. See the example below to view the formula for calculating the sub
total for a number of textbooks. The formula multiplies the quantity
and price of each textbook and adds the subtotal for each book.
Formula Operators
There are four basic Mathematical Operators when writing a formula. These operators
are used to tell the formula what action to perform. The following table lists the
operators, its symbol.
Symbo
Operation
Symbol Name
l
Addition
Plus Sign
Subtraction
Dash or hyphen
Multiplication
Asterisk
Division
Forward slash
The next table lists the order of operation for each mathematical operator. As you begin
to write your formulas, keep in mind that information in parenthesis ( ) is always
performed first while everything outside the parenthesis is performed left to right.
Operator
AND, OR, NOT
+ or ^
* or /
+&
=
<>
<=
>=
Operation
Logic Test: AND, OR, NOT
Positive or Negative Value
Exponentiation
Multiplication or Division
Addition or Subtraction
Text Concatenation
Logic Test
Equal to
Not Equal To
Less than or Equal to
Greater than or Equal to
Order of Calculation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7
7
7
7
Functions
Built-in Excel Functions can be a faster way of doing mathematical operations
than formulas.
Example- if you wanted to add the values of cells D1 through D10, you could
type the formula "=D1+D2+D3+D4+D5+D6+D7+D8+D9+D10".
A shorter way would be to use the SUM function and simply type
"=SUM(D1:D10)".
Function
Example
Description
SUM
=SUM(A1:A100)
finds the sum of cells A1 through A100
AVERAGE
=AVERAGE(B1:B10)
finds the average of cells B1 through B10
MAX
=MAX(C1:C100)
returns the highest number from cells C1 through C100
MIN
=MIN(D1:D100)
returns the lowest number from cells D1 through D100
SQRT
=SQRT(D10)
finds the square root of the value in cell D10
TODAY
=TODAY()
returns the current date (leave the parentheses empty)
SUM( ) function
The SUM( ) function is probably the most common function in Excel. It adds a range of numbers. To
build a SUM( ) function, begin by typing the = sign; all functions begin with the = sign. Next type
the word SUM followed by an open parenthesis. You must now tell Excel which cells to sum. Using
the mouse, click and drag over the range of cells you wish to add. A dotted outline will appear
around the cells and the cell range will be displayed in the formula bar. When you have the correct
cells selected, release the mouse button, type a closing parenthesis and press the <Enter> key.
If you do not want to use the mouse, type in the references of the cells you want to sum. For
example, to add cells B3 through B5, type =SUM(B3:B5). Excel interprets B3:B5 as the range of
cells from B3 to B5.
Insert Function
Excel has hundreds of prewritten formulas which make it easy to do
complex procedures with numbers, dates, times, text, and more.
Type a brief description of what you want to
do in the Search for a function box. In this
example, you could type "mortgage
payment" or some other keywords.
Click Go.
Tips
You can also select a function category in the
Or select a category box. This action will
display a list of related functions, which you
can then browse through.
Click the Insert Function button on the formula bar.
The Insert Function dialog box opens
In the Search for a function box, type a
description of what you want to do.
If you'd like help on how to enter the
arguments, you could type the function name
in the Search for a function box and click
OK.
AutoSum
AutoSum button
In Excel, the standard toolbar has a button that simplifies adding a column or row of
numbers. The AutoSum button, which resembles the Greek letter Sigma (shown above),
automatically creates a SUM( ) function. When you click the AutoSum button Excel
creates a sum function for the column of numbers directly above or the row of numbers
to the left. Excel pastes the SUM( ) function and the range to sum into the formula bar. If
the range is not correct, simply select the proper range with your mouse on the
worksheet. When you have the correct range entered, press the <Enter> key to complete
the function.
Autofilling Functions
Autofill can also be used to copy functions. In the example below, column A and column B each
contain lists of numbers and column C contains the sums of columns A and B for each row. The
function in cell C2 would be "=SUM(A2:B2)". This function can then be copied to the remaining
cells of column C by activating cell C2 and dragging the handle down to fill in the remaining
cells. The autofill feature will automatically update the row numbers as shown below if the cells
are reference relatively
Cell Reference
There are two basic types of cell references in Excel: relative and absolute. The
difference between absolute and relative cell references becomes apparent when you
copy formulas from one cell to another. When you copy a formula containing relative
references, the references are adjusted to reflect the new location. Absolute references
always refer to the same cell, regardless of where the formula is copied. Relative
references are the default.
To create an absolute reference, type $ before each part of the cell address.
Relative / Absolute
Relative
Absolute
This shows the formulas used
to create the order form
below.
We used the fill handle
which usually gives us the
relative reference.
For the sales tax
calculation we needed to
use the absolute reference
in cell C9
To toggle between seeing the
formulas and seeing the results, hold
down the Ctrl key and press the tilde
~
Merge cells
A shortcut to merge cells and center data is the icon on the formatting toolbar.
Select the cells you want to merge and click the icon on the toolbar
The Auto Calculate Space
Select any cells with numbers in
them, the sum of those numbers
automatically display in the auto
Calc space.
Printing Tips
To only print a small part of your
spreadsheet
Highlight the area you want to print
From the FILE menu
choose PRINT AREA
Set print area
Page Set Up Tips
Two handy items in the PAGE SETUP dialog box (under the FILE menu)
Fit to ___ pages
Excel will fit your document into the number of pages
you specify. If you are working on a chart or diagram that
is just a bit over the size for a page, checking the fit to
button will shrink your document proportionally to fit.
Print your document without those pesky grey
gridlines by unchecking the button on the Sheet
tab of the page setup dialog box.
Charts
A chart is a graphic representation of data. Charts are often used to make large quantities of data
more easily understandable, and recognizable on first view. Charts represent data in different ways
depending on the type of data that is presented.
Buffalo Seminary / School Districts
70
60
50
Buffalo Seminary / School Districts
40
70
30
60
20
50
10
40
0
Amherst
Buffalo
Clarence
Aurora
Kenton
Orchard Park
Buffalo
Seminary
/ East
School
Districts
Williamsville
other
30
70
20
60
10
50
0
Amherst
Buffalo
Clarence
East Aurora
Kenton
Orchard Park
Williamsville
other
Buffalo Seminary / School Districts
40
30
Amherst
20
Buffalo
10
0
Amherst
Clarence
East Aurora
Buffalo
Clarence
East Aurora
Kenton
Orchard Park
Williamsville
other
Kenton
Orchard Park
Williamsville
other
Sem girls come from all over
Western New York
Chart Wizard
Select all the cells containing the data you want to chart.
Click the Chart Wizard button on the Standard toolbar.
The Chart Wizard will present a
selection of chart types, each of
which includes several subtypes. If
none of these options suits your
needs, you can click the Custom
Types tab to access a list of
specialized chart types.
Click Next, and the Chart Wizard will
present a screen verifying the range
of data you want to include in your
chart. You can change the range if
necessaryjust click in your
worksheet and drag to select the
appropriate cells.
Click Next again, and the Chart
Wizard will present options that
govern which elements are included
in your chart. For instance, you can
click the Titles tab and enter a title
for the chart and for the chart axes.
Click Next once more to advance
to the Chart Wizards final screen.
Here you can specify whether to
insert the chart on its own chart
sheet or embed it on a
worksheet. If you select the first
option, type a new sheet name in
the As New Sheet: text box. If you
select the second option, just use
the As Object In: drop-down list to
choose the sheet where you want
the chart to appear. (The current
sheet is the default.) After you
make a selection, click Finish.
Excel will create your new chart.
Average Temperatures
90
80
70
farenheit
60
Buffalo
New York City
50
40
30
20
10
0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
month
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
After youve created a chart, you can still modify any specification made while running the
Chart Wizard. The Chart menu and the Chart toolbar, which appear whenever a chart or
chart sheet is selected, include options that correspond to the choices the Wizard offers.
You can also click the Chart Wizard button to run the wizard again and revise their
original choices.
Average Temperatures
90
You can right click to
format any item on
your chart. The
format dialog box
should be familiar to
you by now!
80
70
farenheit
60
Buffalo
New York City
50
40
30
20
10
0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
month
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
