Lesson 3: Creating Excel Functions, Filling Cells, and

Printing
By using functions, you can quickly and easily make
many useful calculations, such as finding an average,
the highest number, the lowest number, and a count
of the number of items in a list. Microsoft Excel has
many functions that you can use.
Using Reference Operators
To use functions, you need to understand reference
operators. Reference operators refer to a cell or a
group of cells. There are two types of reference
operators: range andunion.
A range reference refers to all the cells between and
including the reference. A range reference consists of
two cell addresses separated by a colon. The
reference A1:A3 includes cells A1, A2, and A3. The
reference A1:C3 includes cells A1, A2, A3, B1, B2,
B3, C1, C2, and C3.
A union reference includes two or more references. A
union reference consists of two or more numbers,
range references, or cell addresses separated by a
comma. The reference A7,B8:B10,C9,10 refers to
cells A7, B8 to B10, C9 and the number 10.
Understanding Functions
Functions are prewritten formulas. Functions differ
from regular formulas in that you supply the value but
not the operators, such as +, -, *, or /. For example,
you can use the SUM function to add. When using a
function, remember the following:
Use an equal sign to begin a formula.
Specify the function name.
Enclose arguments within parentheses. Arguments
are values on which you want to perform the
calculation. For example, arguments specify the
numbers or cells you want to add.
Use a comma to separate arguments.
Here is an example of a function:
=SUM(2,13,A1,B2:C7)
In this function:
The equal sign begins the function.
SUM is the name of the function.
2, 13, A1, and B2:C7 are the arguments.
Parentheses enclose the arguments.
Commas separate the arguments.
After you type the first letter of a function name, the
AutoComplete list appears. You can double-click on
an item in the AutoComplete list to complete your
entry quickly. Excel will complete the function name
and enter the first parenthesis.
EXERCISE 1
Functions
The SUM function adds argument values.

1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. Type 12 in cell B1.
3. Press Enter.
4. Type 27 in cell B2.
5. Press Enter.
6. Type 24 in cell B3.
7. Press Enter.
8. Type =SUM(B1:B3) in cell A4.
9. Press Enter. The sum of cells B1 to B3, which is
63, appears.
Alternate Method: Enter a Function with the
Ribbon

1. Type 150 in cell C1.
2. Press Enter.
3. Type 85 in cell C2.
4. Press Enter.
5. Type 65 in cell C3.
6. Choose the Formulas tab.
7. Click the Insert Function button. The Insert
Function dialog box appears.
8. Choose Math & Trig in the Or Select A Category
box.
9. Click Sum in the Select A Function box.
10. Click OK. The Function Arguments dialog box
appears.

12. Type C1:C3 in the Number1 field, if it does
not automatically appear.
13. Click OK. The sum of cells C1 to C3, which is
300, appears.
Format worksheet

1. Move to cell A4.
2. Type the word Sum.
3. Select cells B4 to C4.
4. Choose the Home tab.
5. Click the down arrow next to the Borders
button .
6. Click Top and Double Bottom Border.
As you learned in Lesson 2, you can also calculate a
sum by using the AutoSum button .
Calculate an Average
You can use the AVERAGE function to calculate the
average of a series of numbers.

1. Move to cell A6.
2. Type Average. Press the right arrow key to move
to cell B6.
3. Type =AVERAGE(B1:B3).
4. Press Enter. The average of cells B1 to B3, which
is 21, appears.
Calculate an Average with the AutoSum Button
In Microsoft Excel, you can use the AutoSum
button to calculate an average.

1. Move to cell C6.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the down arrow next to the AutoSum
button .
4. Click Average.

5. Select cells C1 to C3.
6. Press Enter. The average of cells C1 to C3, which
is 100, appears.
Find the Lowest Number
You can use the MIN function to find the lowest
number in a series of numbers.

1. Move to cell A7.
2. Type Min.
3. Press the right arrow key to move to cell B7.
4. Type = MIN(B1:B3).
5. Press Enter. The lowest number in the series,
which is 12, appears.
Note: You can also use the drop-down button next to
the AutoSum button to calculate minimums,
maximums, and counts.
Find the Highest Number
You can use the MAX function to find the highest
number in a series of numbers.
.
1. Move to cell A8.
2. Type Max.
3. Press the right arrow key to move to cell B8.
4. Type = MAX(B1:B3).
5. Press Enter. The highest number in the series,
which is 27, appears.
Count the Numbers in a Series of Numbers
You can use the count function to count the number
of numbers in a series.

1. Move to cell A9.
2. Type Count.
3. Press the right arrow key to move to cell B9.
4. Choose the Home tab.
5. Click the down arrow next to the AutoSum
button .
6. Click Count Numbers. Excel places the count
function in cell C9 and takes a guess at which
cells you want to count. The guess is incorrect, so
you must select the proper cells.

7. Select B1 to B3.
8. Press Enter. The number of items in the series,
which is 3, appears.

Fill Cells Automatically
You can use Microsoft Excel to fill cells automatically
with a series. For example, you can have Excel
automatically fill your worksheet with days of the
week, months of the year, years, or other types of
series.
EXERCISE 2
Fill Cells Automatically
The following demonstrates filling the days of the
week:

1. Click the Sheet2 tab. Excel moves to Sheet2.
2. Move to cell A1.
3. Type Sun.
4. Move to cell B1.
5. Type Sunday.
6. Select cells A1 to B1.
7. Choose the Home tab.
8. Click the Bold button . Excel bolds cells A1 to
B1.
9. Find the small black square in the lower-right
corner of the selected area. The small black
square is called the fill handle.
10. Grab the fill handle and drag with your mouse
to fill cells A1 to B14. Note how the days of the
week fill the cells in a series. Also, note that the
Auto Fill Options button appears.

Copy Cells

1. Click the Auto Fill Options button. The Auto Fill
Options menu appears.
2. Choose the Copy Cells radio button. The entry in
cells A1 and B1 are copied to all the highlighted
cells.
3. Click the Auto Fill Options button again.
4. Choose the Fill Series radio button. The cells fill
as a series from Sunday to Saturday again.
5. Click the Auto Fill Options button again.
6. Choose the Fill Without Formatting radio button.
The cells fill as a series from Sunday to Saturday,
but the entries are not bolded.
7. Click the Auto Fill Options button again.
8. Choose the Fill Weekdays radio button. The cells
fill as a series from Monday to Friday.
Adjust Column Width
Some of the entries in column B are too long to fit in
the column. You can quickly adjust the column width
to fit the longest entry.
1. Move your mouse pointer over the line that
separates column B and C. The Width Indicator
appears.

2. Double-click. The Column adjusts to fit the
longest entry.
After you complete the remainder of the exercise,
your worksheet will look like the one shown here.

Fill Times
The following demonstrates filling time:
1. Type 1:00 into cell C1.
2. Grab the fill handle and drag with your mouse to
highlight cells C1 to C14. Note that each cell fills,
using military time.
3. Press Esc and then click anywhere on the
worksheet to remove the highlighting.
To change the format of the time:
1. Select cells C1 to C14.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the down arrow next to the number format
box . A menu appears.
4. Click Time. Excel changes the format of the time.
Fill Numbers
You can also fill numbers.
Type a 1 in cell D1.
1. Grab the fill handle and drag with your mouse to
highlight cells D1 to D14. The number 1 fills each
cell.
2. Click the Auto Fill Options button.
3. Choose the Fill Series radio button. The cells fill
as a series, starting with 1, 2, 3.
Here is another interesting fill feature.
1. Go to cell E1.
2. Type Lesson 1.
3. Grab the fill handle and drag with your mouse to
highlight cells E1 to E14. The cells fill in as a
series: Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3, and so on.
Create Headers and Footers
You can use the Header & Footer button on the Insert
tab to create headers and footers. A header is text
that appears at the top of every page of your printed
worksheet. A footer is text that appears at the bottom
of every page of your printed worksheet. When you
click the Header & Footer button, the Design context
tab appears and Excel changes to Page Layout view.
A context tab is a tab that only appears when you
need it. Page Layout view structures your worksheet
so that you can easily change the format of your
document. You usually work in Normal view.
You can type in your header or footer or you can use
predefined headers and footers. To find predefined
headers and footers, click the Header or Footer
button or use the Header & Footer Elements group's
buttons. When you choose a header or footer by
clicking the Header or Footer button, Excel centers
your choice. The table shown here describes each of
the Header & Footer Elements group button options.
Header & Footer Elements
Button Purpose
Page Number Inserts the page number.
Number of Pages
Inserts the number of pages
in the document.
Current Time Inserts the current time.
File Path
Inserts the path to the
document.
File Name Inserts the file name.
Sheet Name
Inserts the name of the
worksheet.
Picture
Enables you to insert a
picture.
Both the header and footer areas are divided into
three sections: left, right, and center. When you
choose a Header or Footer from the Header & Footer
Elements group, where you place your information
determines whether it appears on the left, right, or
center of the printed page. You use the Go To Header
and Go To Footer buttons on the Design tab to move
between the header and footer areas of your
worksheet.
EXERCISE 3
Insert Headers and Footers

1. Choose the Insert tab.
2. Click the Header & Footer button in the Text
group. Your worksheet changes to Page Layout
view and the Design context tab appears. Note
that your cursor is located in the center section of
the header area.

3. Click the right side of the header area.
4. Click Page Number in the Header & Footer
Elements group. When you print your document,
Excel will place the page number in the upper-
right corner.
5. Click the left side of the Header area.
6. Type your name. When you print your document,
Excel will place your name in the upper-left
corner.
7. Click the Go To Footer button. Excel moves to the
footer area.

8. Click the Footer button. A menu appears.
9. Click the path to your document. Excel will place
the path to your document at the bottom of every
printed page.
Return to Normal View
To return to Normal view:
1. Choose the View tab.
2. Click the Normal button in the Workbook Views
group.
Set Print Options
There are many print options. You set print options on
the Page Layout tab. Among other things, you can set
your margins, set your page orientation, and select
your paper size.
Margins define the amount of white space that
appears on the top, bottom, left, and right edges of
your document. The Margin option on the Page
Layout tab provides several standard margin sizes
from which you can choose.
There are two page orientations: portrait and
landscape. Paper, such as paper sized 8 1/2 by 11, is
longer on one edge than it is on the other. If you print
in Portrait, the shortest edge of the paper becomes
the top of the page. Portrait is the default option. If
you print in Landscape, the longest edge of the paper
becomes the top of the page.
Portrait

Landscape
Paper comes in a variety of sizes. Most business
correspondence uses 8 1/2 by 11 paper, which is the
default page size in Excel. If you are not using 8 1/2
by 11 paper, you can use the Size option on the Page
Layout tab to change the Size setting.
EXERCISE 4
Set the Page Layout

1. Choose the Page Layout tab.
2. Click Margins in the Page Setup group. A menu
appears.
3. Click Wide. Word sets your margins to the Wide
settings.
Set the Page Orientation

1. Choose the Page Layout tab.
2. Click Orientation in the Page Setup group. A
menu appears.
3. Click Landscape. Excel sets your page orientation
to landscape.
Set the Paper Size

1. Choose the Page Layout tab.
2. Click Size in the Page Setup group. A menu
appears.
3. Click the paper size you are using. Excel sets
your page size.
Print
The simplest way to print is to click the Office button,
highlight Print on the menu that appears, and then
click Quick Print in the Preview and Print the
Document pane. Dotted lines appear on your screen,
and your document prints. The dotted lines indicate
the right, left, top, and bottom edges of your printed
pages.
You can also use the Print Preview option to print.
When using Print Preview, you can see onscreen how
your printed document will look when you print it. If
you click the Page Setup button while in Print Preview
mode, you can set page settings such as centering
your data on the page.
If your document is several pages long, you can use
the Next Page and Previous Page buttons to move
forward and backward through your document. If you
check the Show Margins check box, you will see
margin lines on your document. You can click and
drag the margin markers to increase or decrease the
size of your margins. To return to Excel, click the
Close Print Preview button.
You click the Print button when you are ready to print.
The Print dialog box appears. You can choose to print
the entire worksheet or specific pages. If you want to
print specific pages, enter the page numbers in the
From and To fields. You can enter the number of
copies you want to print in the Number of Copies field.
EXERCISE 5
Open Print Preview

1. Click the Office button. A menu appears.
2. Highlight Print. The Preview and Print The
Document pane appears.
3. Click Print Preview. The Print Preview window
appears, with your document in the center.
Center Your Document

1. Click the Page Setup button in the Print group.
The Page Setup dialog box appears.
2. Choose the Margins tab.
3. Click the Horizontally check box. Excel centers
your data horizontally.
4. Click the Vertically check box. Excel centers your
data vertically.
5. Click OK. The Page Setup dialog box closes.
Print

1. Click the Print button. The Print dialog box
appears.
2. Click the down arrow next to the name field and
select the printer to which you want to print.
3. Click OK. Excel sends your worksheet to the
printer.
This is the end of Lesson 3. You can save and close
your file.