Computer Basics Handout
Computer Basics Handout
Computer Basics
1. Introduction to computers
1.1 What is computer?
A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data, and
provides output in a useful format.
a. Characterstics of Computer
a) Speed: A computer is a very fast device. It can perform in few seconds, the amount of work that a human being
can do in an entire year. The speed of a computer measure in microseconds(10-6), nanoseconds(10-9) and
picoseconds(10-12). A powerful computer is capable of performing several billion arithmetic operation per second.
b) Accuracy: Computer is very accurate device. The accuracy of a computer is principle high. The degree of
accuracy of a particular computer depends upon it’s design. Computer done very calculation with same accuracy.
Errors can occur in a computer, However, these problem are mainly due to human rather than technological
weaknesses.
c) Automatic(Automation): A machine is no sooner than done to be automatic if it, works by itself without human
intervention. Computer are automatic machines, because one started on a job, they carry on, until the job is finished,
without any human assistance. However, computer being machines can not start them selves. They cannot go out
find their own problems and solutions. They have to be instructed.
d) Diligence: Computer has unlike human beings. A computer is free from dullness and lack of concentration. It can
continuously work for hours without creating any error human beings in doing regular types of jobs, which requires
great accuracy. Computer can perform the number of calculation with exactly the same accuracy and speed as the
first one.
e) Versatility: Versatility is a most important characteristic of computer. It means the capacity to perform completely
different type of work. You may use your computer to prepare payroll slips. Next moment you may use it for inventory
management or to prepare electric bills. A computer is capable of performing almost any task, if the task can be
reduced to series of logical steps.
f) Memory(Power of Remembering): Computer has a brain, but unlike human (Man) beings. A computer can store
data and information. And recalled as long as you require it, for any numbers of years. Because of it’s secondary
storage capability. A data and information can be retrieved as long as desired by the user and can be recalled, as
when required. The information recalled would be as accurate as on the day when it was fed to the computer.
g) No. I.Q.(Intelligence Quotient) : A computer is not a magical device. It is no intelligence of it’s own. User can
determine, what tasks will the computer perform. So a computer cannot take its own decision as you can. (A
computer can not take it own decision in this regard.).
h) No Feelings: Computer has no feelings. They have no emotions, because they are machine. Computer is not like
human heart and soul. Computer cannot make such judgments on their own. Their judgment is based on the
instructions given to them in the from of programs, that are written by us.
The dawn of the new age - The Computer Era - glows before us with the promise of new and improved ways of thinking, living and
working. The amount of information in the world is said to be doubling every six to seven years. The only way to keep up with these
increased amounts of data and information is to understand how computers work and the ability to control them for a particular
purpose.
A computer can be defined as an electronic data processing device, capable of accepting data, applying a prescribed set of
instructions to the data, and displaying in some manner or form. Any configuration of the devices that are interconnected and are
programmed to operate as a computer system. The computer is said to have literally revolutionized the way one person does his job
or a whole multinational organization operates their businesses. Together with this reason and many more, computers are
considered more than just an essential piece of fancy equipment. Whether or not people know anything about it, they invoke
computers in everyday lives when they make a bank withdrawal, buy groceries at the supermarket and even when they drive a car.
Today, millions of people are purchasing fully functional personal computers for individual reasons. In There are so many
applications of computers, that it is impractical to mention all of them. This is the Computer Age and these machines are beginning
to affect out lives in many ways. Computers are now becoming faster, more reliable, effective and whole lot cheaper than they had
been ever before.
Computer is used everywhere in the world in every field of life. There are many applications of computer for example.
Computer can perform any kind of calculations in no time; where as a human being would take months and years to do the same
calculations. Now a day's computer is used in almost every day application of life E.g. in
The following is a list of the most common hardware found on office and home computers.
The Monitor is the display screen, similar to a television screen.
The CPU (Centeral Processing Unit), tower or case is the heart of the system.
This is a box that contains all the parts that make the computer work.
The Mouse is the small hand held device that attaches to the computer. It may have two
or three buttons. The mouse is used to move the cursor (pointer) on the computer screen.
The Printer is a device that puts what you have created on to paper.
The Scanner similar to a color photocopier is a device that captures pictures or documents,
so that they can be seen or used on the computer.
The Laptop also known as a notebook computer is a small personal computer designed for mobile
use. A laptop integrates all of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a
keyboard, a pointing device (a touchpad, also known as a track pad, or a pointing stick) and a
battery into a single portable unit.
A Hard drive is a device that holds all the information that is stored on a computer. Unlike a
floppy disk the hard disk cannot be removed from the computer but stores much more
information.
A USB Flash Drive (sometimes just called a “flash drive”) looks like a plastic tube that can be
put into a slot in the front of the modern computer. Older computers will require you to insert it in
a slot in the back or you may not be able to use the drive at all depending on the age of the
computer. These disks hold information and can be used to exchange information between
computers.
A Floppy Disk (sometimes just called a “disk”) looks like a plastic card that can be put into a slot in
the front of the computer. These disks hold information and can be used to exchange information
between computers. This type of data storage is archaic and obsolete.
A CD-ROM is very similar to a stereo’s CD player. It not only plays music but can also retrieve
information stored on CD's. It is also available in other formats such as DVD-ROM.
Term used to describe computer programs, procedures and documentation that perform some tasks on your computer. Computer
software is divided into three basic types.
System software
Operating System is the base program on a computer is considered system software. It tells the
computer how to work or operate. The operating system also allows you to load other programs that do
specialized tasks on to your computer. (ex. Windows XP and Vista)
Application software
Application software allows you to accomplish one or more specific (non-computer related) tasks.
Such as computer games for entertainment or Microsoft Word for typing.
Programming software
c. Computer Memory
When you think about it, it's amazing how many different types of electronic memory
you encounter in daily life. Many of them have become an integral part of our
vocabulary:
RAM
ROM
Cache
Dynamic RAM
Static RAM
Flash memory
Memory sticks
Volatile memory
Virtual memory
Video memory
BIOS
You already know that the computer has memory. What you may not know is that most of the electronic items you use every day
have some form of memory also. Here are just a few examples of the many items that use memory:
Computers
Cell phones
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)
Game consoles
VCRs
TVs
Each of these devices uses different types of memory in different ways!
As you can see in the diagram above, the CPU accesses memory according to a distinct hierarchy. Whether it comes from
permanent storage (the hard drive) or input (the keyboard), most data goes in random access memory (RAM) first. The CPU then
stores pieces of data it will need to access often in a cache and maintains certain special instructions in the register.
All of the components in your computer, such as the CPU, the hard drive and the operating system, work together as a team, and
memory is one of the most essential parts of this team. From the moment you turn your computer on until the time you shut it down,
your CPU is constantly using memory. Let's take a look at a typical scenario:
In the list above, every time something is loaded or opened, it is placed into RAM. This simply means that it has been put in the computer's
temporary storage area so that the CPU can access that information more easily. The CPU requests the data it needs from RAM, processes it and
writes new data back to RAM in a continuous cycle. This shuffling of data between the CPU and RAM happens millions of times every second.
When an application is closed, it and any accompanying files are usually deleted from RAM to make room for new data.
Fast powerful CPUs need quick and easy access to large amounts of data in order to maximize their performance. If the CPU
cannot get to the data it needs, it literally stops and waits for it. Modern CPUs running at speeds like 1 gigahertz can consume
massive amounts of data potentially billions of bytes per second. The problem that computer designers face is that memory that can
keep up with a 1 gigahertz CPU is extremely expensive much more expensive than anyone can afford in large quantities. Computer
designers have solved the cost problem by "tiering" memory, using expensive memory in small quantities and then backing it up
with larger quantities of less expensive memory.
The cheapest form of read/write memory in wide use today is the hard disk. Hard disks provide large quantities of inexpensive, permanent
storage. But it can take a good bit of time to read a megabyte off a hard disk. It forms the final stage of a CPUs memory hierarchy, called virtual
memory.
The next level of the hierarchy is RAM. Several points about RAM are important here.
The bit size of a CPU tells you how many bytes of information it can access from RAM at the same time. For example, a 16-bit CPU can process
2 bytes at a time (1 byte = 8 bits) and a 64-bit CPU can process 8 bytes at a time.
A computer's system RAM alone is not fast enough to match the speed of the CPU. That is why you need a cache. However, the faster RAM is,
the better. Most chips today operate with a cycle rate of 50 to 70 nanoseconds. The read/write speed is typically a function of the type of RAM
used, such as DRAM, SDRAM, and RAMBUS.
System RAM speed is controlled by Bus width and bus speed. Bus width refers to the number of bits that can be sent to the CPU
simultaneously, and bus speed refers to the number of times a group of bits can be sent each second. A bus cycle occurs every
time data travels from memory to the CPU. For example, a 100 MHz 32-bit bus is theoretically capable of sending 4 bytes of data to
the CPU one hundred million times per second.
In reality, RAM doesn't usually operate at optimum speed; latency changes the equation radically. Latency refers to the number of
clock cycles needed to read a bit of information. For example, RAM rated at 100 MHz is capable of sending a bit in .
00000001/second but may take .00000005/second to start the read process for the first bit. To compensate for latency, CPUs uses
a special technique called burst mode.
Burst mode depends on the expectation that data requested by the CPU will be stored in sequential memory cells. The memory
controller anticipates that whatever the CPU is working on will continue to come from this same series of memory addresses, so it
reads several consecutive bits of data together. This means that only the first bit is subject to the full effect of latency; reading
successive bits takes significantly less time.
Burst mode is often used in conjunction with pipelining, another means of minimizing the effects of latency. Pipelining organizes data retrieval
into a sort of assembly line process. The memory controller simultaneously reads one or more words from memory, sends the current word or
words to the CPU and writes one or more words to memory cells. Used together, burst mode and pipelining can dramatically reduce the lag
caused by latency.
So why wouldn't you buy the fastest, widest memory you can get? The speed and width of the memory's bus must match the
system's bus. You can't use memory designed to work at 100 MHz in a 66 MHz system or 32-bit memory with a 16-bit CPU.
The SRAM in the cache can be asynchronous or synchronous. Synchronous SRAM is designed to exactly match the speed of the
CPU while asynchronous is not. That little bit of timing makes a difference in performance. Matching the CPU's clock speed is a
good thing, so always look for synchronized SRAM.
The final step in memory is the registers. These are memory cells built right into the CPU that contain specific data needed by the
CPU, particularly the arithmetic and logic unit (ALU). An integral part of the CPU itself, they are controlled directly by the compiler
that sends information for the CPU to process.
Types of Memory
Memory can be split into two main categories: volatile and nonvolatile. Volatile memory loses any data as soon as the system is
turned off; it requires constant power to remain viable. Most types of RAM fall into this category.
Nonvolatile memory does not lose its data when the system or device is turned off. A number of types of memory fall into this
category. The most familiar is ROM]
around 1880
2. Computer generations
TYPES OF COMPUTERS;
Past, Present, Future
COLOSSUS COMPUTER
The Colossus was a giant computer build by British Secret Service during World War II. It was
build by an engineer called Tommy Flowers, and used vacuum tubes to perform the calculations. Colossus computers were used by the
British to break the German codes. They were the world’s first programmable, digital, electronic, computing devices.
Z3 COMPUTERS
The Z3 computer was build by Konrad Zuse, between 1936 and 1941, in Germany. It was first reliable, freely programmable, working
computer in the world, and was completely constructed from 2000 relays. The Z3 contained almost all of the features of modern computer. The
success of Zuse’s Z3is often attributed to its use of the simple binary system – that is, all the data is stored in the form of just 2 numbers, 0 and 1.
HARVARD MARK - I
12/8/2021 Computer Basics 8
KSHITIJ INFOWEB
Many consider that the modern computer era commenced with the first large - scale automatic digital
computer, which was developed between 1939 and 1944. This device, the brain child of Harvard graduate Howard. H. Aiken, was commonly
referred to as the Harvard Mark – I was constructed out of switches, relays, rotating shafts, and clutches, and was described as sounding like a
‘roomful of ladies knitting.’ The machine contained more than 750,000 components, was 15 meter long, 2.4 meter tall, and weighed
approximately 5 tons.
The Atanasoff – Berry Computer was the world’s first electronic digital computer. It was build by John Vincent
Atanasoff and Clifford Berry at lova state university during 1937 – 42. It incorporated several major innovations in computing.
The machine was capable of solving up to 29 simultaneous linear equations. The machine was, however, the implement three
critical ideas that are still part of every modern computer. It used binary digits, it performed all calculations using electronics
rather than wheels or mechanical switches, and it organized
MICRO COMPUTERS
Micro computers have a micro processor as their central processing unit, and are therefore relatively
small in size. When they have a key board and monitor, they are used as personal computers, which is type of computer that you have in your
home.
A lap top computer or note book computer is a small lightweight computer that you can carry around
easily. It can perform all the functions of a regular computer, and has build in key board, pointing devise and a lightweight, non – bulky screen.
Lap top computers can run both on batteries and from an external adaptor that charges the battery while supping power. If you have a lap top
computer, you can work on it while traveling or even you are outdoors.
DESKTOP COMPUTERS
A desktop computer is a small computer that you can use from a fixed power source. It gets its name from a fact
that it is small enough to fit on a table or desk. Desktop computers have separate key boards and screens, and come in a variety of styles and
models.
POCKET PC
A pocket PC is a scaled down version of a full sized computer that you use in home or office. Although they are the size of a
small diary, pocket PCs are proper computers. They have many of capabilities of full size computers, and can run sophisticated software
applications. They are compact enough to fit in your shirt pocket… hence the clever name.
TABLET PC
A tablet PC is cross between a note book PC, and a handheld computer. It is a flat – panel portable PC in
a form of a slate. You can enter information by typing the screen with a stylus, or electronic pen. You can use the pen directly on the
screen just as you would a mouse to do things like select, drag, and open files. You can also use it a place of a key board to hand write
notes and communications. Unlike a touch screen, the tablet PC screen only receives information from this special pen.
HANDHELD COMPUTER
A handheld computer is a portable computer that is small enough to be held one hand. They are about the size of spectacle
case, and a capable of storing thousands of address, appointment and memos. So, they are also called Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs.
Handheld computers have extremely small screens and key boards. Today, the key board has been replaced with an electronic pen in some
handheld computers. You can connect a handheld computer to a desk top computer to exchange information between the two.
ULTRA MOBILE PC
The ultra - mobile PC or UMPC is a small, mobile computer that runs on the Windows Vista operating
system. The UMPC goes anywhere, and can be used any time, just like a mobile PC. The UMPC has many advantages. It is smaller and
lighter than traditional lap top computers and has multiple input methods like tough screen, tablet pen, the USB key board and others. It can
also operate on different systems.
The fastest and most powerful computers available at a particular time are called super computers.
Super computers are very expensive and employed for specialized tasks that required immense amount of mathematical calculations. The New
York World, referring to tabulators manufactured by IBM, coined the term super computer in 1929. To modern computer users, these tabulators
would probably appear awkward and slow. In the constantly changing the world of computing, it should come as no surprise to learn that most
super computers are considered to be ‘super’ only few years, in fact, today’s super computer will become tomorrow’s ordinary computer!
BIOLOGICAL COMPUTER
Biological computers are special types of micro computers that are specifically
designed to be used for medical applications. The biological computer is planted inside the body and is mainly used for
tasks like monitoring the body’s activities, or diagnosing and treating diseases. Biological computers are important
because they enable a doctor to focus on, find a treat only damaged or diseased cells.
QUANTUM COMPUTERS
DNA COMPUTERS
DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid molecules, material our genes are made of, have the
potential to perform calculations many times faster than the world’s most powerful human built computers. A computer
that uses DNA to store information and perform complex calculations is called a DNA computer. It was in 1994 that
University of Southern California computer scientist Leonard Adelman suggested that DNA could be used to solve
complex mathematical problems. While still in their infancy, DNA computers will be capable of storing billons of times
more data than your personal computer.
OPTICAL COMPUTER
CHEMICAL COMPUTERS
NANO COMPUTER
WETWARE COMPUTERS
SHOE COMPUTERS
A. Data
The word "data" is the plural of datum, which means fact, observation, assumption or occurrence. More precisely, data are
representations of facts pertaining to people, things, ideas and events. Data are represented by symbols such as letters of the alphabets,
B. Information
Information, thus can be defined as “data that has been transformed into a meaningful and useful form for specific purposes”. In some cases data
may not require any processing before constituting information. However, generally, data is not useful unless it is subjected to a process through
which it is manipulated and organised, its contents analyzed and evaluated. Only then data becomes information.
There is no hard and fast rule for determining when data becomes information. A set of letters and numbers may be meaningful to one person, but
may have no meaning to another. Information is identified and defined by its users.
For example, when you purchase something in a departmental store, a number of data items are put together, such as your name, address articles
you bought, the number of items purchased, the price, the tax and the amount you paid. Separately, these are all data items but if you put these
Data Processing
Data processing is the act of handling or manipulating data in some fashion. Regardless of the activities involved in it, processing tries to assign
meaning to data. Thus, the ultimate goal of processing is to transform data into information.
Data processing is the process through which facts and figures are collected, assigned meaning, communicated to others and retained for future
use. Hence we can define data processing as a series of actions or operations that converts data into useful information. We use the term 'data
processing system' to include the resources that are used to accomplish the processing of data.
2. INTODUCTION TO WINDOWS
2.1 What is an operating system and basics of Windows
An operating system is the most important software that runs on a computer. You might be thinking, “OK, but what is software?” Software is
any set of instructions that performs some task on a computer. The operating system performs many essential tasks for your computer.
It controls the memory needed for computer processes, manages disk space, controls peripheral devices, and allows you to communicate with the
computer without knowing exactly how a computer works. Without an operating system, a computer is useless.
You've probably heard the phrase boot your computer, but do you know what that means? Booting is the process that
occurs when you press the power button to turn your computer on. At the end of at process, the operating system
loads.
From this point, the operating system begins to do its job of controlling the way in which the computer functions.
The operating system is responsible for managing the computer's hardware and software resources.
Basically, the operating system serves as the boss, or manager, and makes sure all the various parts of the computer get
what they need.
Mac OS Loading When you use your personal computer, you may work on a Word document, print an email, and have
your Internet browser open for web surfing, all at the same time. These three programs need attention from the central
processing unit (CPU) to do whatever task that you, the user, are telling it to do.
These programs need memory and storage, and need to be able to send messages to devices such as the mouse and the
printer to accomplish these tasks.
The operating system is responsible for handling these areas, as well as processor and network management.
The operating system provides a consistent way for software applications to work on various computers without
needing to know specific details about each computer's hardware. It doesn't matter that each computer may have a
different amount of memory or processor speed.
You've probably heard the phrase boot your computer, but do you know what that means? Booting is the process that
occurs when you press the power button to turn your computer on. At the end of at process, the operating system
loads.
From this point, the operating system begins to do its job of controlling the way in which the computer functions.
The operating system is responsible for managing the computer's hardware and software resources.
Basically, the operating system serves as the boss, or manager, and makes sure all the various parts of the computer get
what they need.
Mac OS Loading When you use your personal computer, you may work on a Word document, print an email, and have
your Internet browser open for web surfing, all at the same time. These three programs need attention from the central
processing unit (CPU) to do whatever task that you, the user, are telling it to do.
These programs need memory and storage, and need to be able to send messages to devices such as the mouse and the
printer to accomplish these tasks.
The operating system is responsible for handling these areas, as well as processor and network management.
The three most common operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and
Linux.
Start Menu on Windows GUI Each of these operating systems uses a graphical user interface (GUI), which allows
the user to interact with the computer. Instead typing a command that tell the computer what to do, you can use
For example, if you want your computer to open the browser, Internet Explorer, simply double-click the Internet
Explorer icon on the desktop, or select it from the Start menu.
Many users associate the operating system with the GUI because this is the part of the operating system that the user
interacts with on a daily basis.
Let's take a look at the graphical user interfaces of three popular operating systems.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft created the operating system, Windows, in the mid-1980s. They have a version of the operating system that is designed for the
home user, and a professional version, which is intended for businesses. The versions differ in the depth of networking, security, and
multimedia support.
Windows is a proprietary software, which means that Microsoft has placed restrictions on how people can use or copy the software.
Windows comes preloaded on most of the PCs sold today, and can also be purchased separately Various versions of the software are priced
from $79 to $399 for home users.
Apple Mac OS
Mac OS is a line of operating systems created by Apple Inc. The Mac operating system is proprietary software that comes preloaded on all
new Macintosh computers, or Macs. The most recent version of the operating system is called Mac OS X (pronounced Mac O-S Ten). Like
Microsoft, Apple offers a professional version of the operating system that is intended for use on servers and a version of the operating
system that is developed for home users.
Mac OS X Desktop
According to web analyst Net Solutions, Mac OS users account for almost 7.5% percent of the operating systems market as of March 2008.
Although the percentage of users is low, especially in comparison to Windows users, Mac operating systems have seen a dramatic jump in
growth in 2007. Mac computers are sleek and modern looking, which has started to appeal to many home users.
Two of the common version names of Mac OS X are Leopard and Tiger.
To learn more about the Macintosh computers visit the Apple Inc. website, and explore the Mac computers available, as well as the Support
center for information about the Mac OS.
Linux
Linux is an open source, or free, operating system. Unlike Windows and Mac OS, Linux is not proprietary software and all the computer
code that is part of the operating system can be used and modified by any user. Linux was started in the 1990s when Linus Torvalds, a person
interested in creating a free operating system, developed the Linux (pronounce lynn-ux) kernal, which is computer code that is a central part
of an operating system.
As an open source software, any individual or company can take the Linux kernal and modify and add to it. Hundreds of companies and
individuals have taken the Linux kernal and added additional computer programs to create various versions of the Linux operating system.
These versions are known as distributions and are available to download for free.
Linux is extremely popular in businesses, especially for servers, because it is adaptable. According to Net Application statistics, Linux
represents under 1% of the market share for home users, but it does offer an alternative to commercial operating systems.
Despite being used in many businesses for servers, you do not have need to have special programming skills to download and use Linux. In
fact, if you want to try Linux, you don't have to actually install it on your computer. Several versions of the operating system can be
downloaded and burned to a CD.
Two popular distributions of the software are Ubuntu and Red Hat. Ubuntu is completely free and is available in a version geared
specifically for home users. Red Hat is a company that offers technical and training support for businesses that use its version of the operating
system, Red Hat Linux.
To learn more about Linux and how this open source software works, visit Linux Online.
How to start?
b. Power Up
c. Desktop
d. Icons
i. On the desktop
screen you will see
several small
pictures. These
pictures are called
"Icons." Double
clicking the left “Icons”
mouse button on an
Icon will start the
programs it
represents. Another
way to start programs
is by using the
“Start” button.
e. “Start”
“Start”
f. Menus
i. Moving the mouse over a menu item marked with an arrow as shown below will open another list
with more options.
ii. To see all the programs available
for you to use on your computer
click on the Start button and in the
menu that appears, highlight the
item named “Programs.” A new
list will appear that holds more
“Programs” List
selections. Explore these lists to
see all the programs available to
you. When you have found the
program that you want to use click
on its icon.
h. Taskbar
“Taskbar”
i. What is a “Window”?
i. A Window is one of many basic feature of the Microsoft Windows Operating System Software.
Windows allow you perform multiple tasks by running multiple programs simultaneously.
a. Click and hold down the mouse button on the colored bar at the top of any
program window. While holding down the mouse button drag the window to
where you would like it on the screen. This cannot be done when a window is
open to full screen.
“Colored Bar”
b. close -- Click on the button marked with an “x.” Clicking on this button stops
the program you are using.
3. MS-DOS Basics
This tutorial gives you an opportunity to try basic MS-DOS commands. By following the procedures in this section, you
will learn to:
When you first turn on your computer, you will see some cryptic information flash by. MS-DOS displays this information
to let you know how it is configuring your computer. You can ignore it for now. When the information stops scrolling past,
you'll see the following:
C:\>
If your command prompt looks like the sample command prompt above, skip to the following section, "Typing a
Command."
If your command prompt does not look like the example, type the following at the command prompt, and then press
ENTER:
cd \
Note that the slash leans backward, not forward. You will learn more about the cd command later in the tutorial. If your
command prompt still doesn't look like the example, type the following at the command prompt, and then press ENTER:
prompt $p$g
Typing a Command
This section explains how to type a command at the command prompt and demonstrates the "Bad command or file name"
message.
a. Type the following at the command prompt (you can type the command in either uppercase or lowercase letters):
nul
If you make a typing mistake, press the BACKSPACE key to erase the mistake, and then try again.
a. Press ENTER.
The "Bad command or file name" message appears when you type something that MS-DOS does not recognize. Because
nul is not a valid MS-DOS command, MS-DOS displays the "Bad command or file name" message.
ver
Continue to the next section, where you will use the dir command to view the contents of a directory.
In this section, you will view the contents of a directory by using the dir command. The dir command stands for
"directory."
dir
This is called a directory list. A directory list is a list of all the files and subdirectories that a directory contains.
In this case, you see all the files and directories in the main or root directory of your drive. All the files and
directories on your drive are stored in the root directory.
Changing Directories
Look at the list on your screen. All the names that have <DIR> beside them are directories. You can see a list of
the files in another directory by changing to that directory, and then using the dir command again. In this case,
you will change to the DOS directory.
Before you begin this section, make sure you have a directory named DOS by carrying out the following
procedure.
1. Look through the directory list on your screen for a line that looks similar to the following:
2. If you see a line like this, you have a directory named DOS. Skip to the next procedure, "To change from the
root directory to the DOS directory."
If you do not see a line in the directory list indicating that you have a directory named DOS, type the following
at the command prompt:
dir /s memmaker.exe
You will see a message that includes a line such as the following:
Directory of C:\DIRNAME
If the name that appears in place of DIRNAME is DOS, you have a DOS directory. Skip to the next procedure.
If the name that appears in place of DIRNAME is not DOS, substitute the name that appears for DOS
throughout this tutorial. For example, if the name that appears in place of DIRNAME is MSDOS, type msdos
whenever you are instructed to type dos.
cd dos
The command prompt changes. It should now look like the following:
C:\DOS>
The command prompt shows which directory you are in. In this case, you know you successfully changed to the DOS
directory because the command prompt displays the directory's name. Now the current directory is DOS.
Next, you will use the dir command to view a list of the files in the DOS directory.
dir
A list of the files in the DOS directory appears, but scrolls by too quickly to read. You can modify the dir command so that
it displays only one screen of information at a time.
dir /p
One screen of information appears. At the bottom of the screen, you will see the following message:
2. To view the next screen of information, press any key on your keyboard. Repeat this step until the command
prompt appears at the bottom of your screen.
When you typed the dir command this time, you included the /p switch after the command. A switch modifies the way
MS-DOS carries out a command. Generally, a switch consists of a forward slash (/) that is followed by one or more letters
or numbers. When you used the /p switch with the dir command, you specified that MS-DOS should pause after it displays
each screen of directory list information. The p actually stands for "page"
Another helpful switch you can use with the dir command is the /w switch. The /w switch indicates that MS-DOS should
show a wide version of the directory list.
dir /w
The directory list appears, with the filenames listed in wide format. Note that only filenames are listed. No information
about the files' size or date and time of creation appears.
b. If the directory contains more files than will fit on one screen, you can combine the /p and /w switches as follows:
dir /w /p
Next, you will change from the DOS directory to the root directory. The root directory is the directory you were
in before you changed to the DOS directory. Before you begin this section, make sure your command prompt
looks like the following:
C:\DOS>
cd \
Note that the slash you type in this command is a backslash (\), not a forward slash (/).
No matter which directory you are in, this command always returns you to the root directory of a drive. The root
directory does not have a name. It is simply referred to by a backslash (\).
C:\>
When your command prompt appears similar to this---that is, when it does not contain the name of a
directory---you are in the root directory.
Creating a Directory
In this section, you will create two directories. Creating a directory is helpful if you want to organize related
files into groups to make them easy to find. Before you begin this section, make sure the command prompt
looks like the following:
C:\>
To create a directory, you will use the md command. The md command stands for "make directory."
md fruit
You have now created a directory named FRUIT. You won't see the new FRUIT directory until you carry out
the dir command in the next step.
b. . To confirm that you successfully created the FRUIT directory, type the following at the command prompt:
dir
or
dir /p
Look through the directory list. A new entry somewhere in the list should look similar to the following:
c. To change to the new FRUIT directory, type the following at the command prompt:
C:\FRUIT>
You will now create a directory within the FRUIT directory, named GRAPES.
md grapes
You will not see the new GRAPES directory until you carry out the dir command in the next step.
b. To confirm that you successfully created the GRAPES directory, type the following at the command prompt:
dir
Note that there are three entries in the FRUIT directory. One is the GRAPES directory that you just created. There are two
other entries---one looks like a single period (.) and the other looks like a double period (..). These directory entries are
important to MS-DOS, but you can ignore them. They appear in every directory and contain information relation to the
directory structure.
The GRAPES directory is a subdirectory of the FRUIT directory. A subdirectory is a directory within another directory.
Subdirectories are useful if you want to further subdivide information.
c. To change to the GRAPES directory, type the following at the command prompt:
cd grapes
C:\FRUIT\GRAPES>
cd ..
C:\FRUIT>
When the cd command is followed by two periods (..), MS-DOS moves up one level in the directory structure.
In this case, you moved up one level from the GRAPES directory to the FRUIT directory.
If you no longer use a particular directory, you may want to delete it to simplify your directory structure.
Deleting a directory is also useful if you type the wrong name when you are creating a directory and you want
to delete the incorrect directory before creating a new one.
In this section, you will delete the GRAPES directory. Before you begin this section, make sure the command
prompt looks like the following:
C:\FRUIT>
To delete a directory, use the rd command. The rd command stands for "remove directory."
rd grapes
b. To confirm that you successfully deleted the GRAPES directory, type the following at the command prompt:
dir
Note You cannot delete a directory if you are in it. Before you can delete a directory, you must make the
directory that is one level higher the current directory. To do this, type cd.. at the command prompt.
Changing Drives
This section describes how to change drives. Changing drives is useful if you want to work with files that are on
a different drive.
So far, you have been working with drive C. You have other drives you can use to store information. For
example, drive A is your first floppy disk drive. The files and directories on drive A are located on the floppy
disk in the drive. (You might also have a drive B, which contains the files and directories stored on the floppy
disk in that drive.)
Before you begin this section, make sure your command prompt looks like the following:
C:\FRUIT>
1. Insert a 3.5" floppy disk in drive A label- side up. Make sure the disk clicks into the drive.
a:
A:\>
If you see this message, the disk may not be inserted properly. Place the disk label-side up in the disk drive, and make sure
the disk clicks into the disk drive. Then, type r for Retry. If this message appears again, press F for Fail, and then type b: at
the command prompt. If you no longer see this message, type b: instead of a: throughout the rest of the tutorial.
There must be a floppy disk in the drive that you want to change to.
b. To view a list of the files on the floppy disk in drive A, type the following at the command prompt:
dir
c:
C:\FRUIT>
When you type a drive letter followed by a colon, you change to that drive. The drive letter that appears in the command
prompt shows which drive is the current drive. Unless you specify otherwise, any commands you type are carried out on
the current drive and in the current directory.
So far, all the commands you typed were carried out on the current drive and in the current directory. You can also carry
out a command on a drive that isn't current. For example, you can view the files on a disk in drive A without switching to
drive A by following this procedure.
dir a:
A list of the files on the floppy disk in drive A appears, even though your command prompt indicates that drive
C is current.
By specifying a: after the dir command, you are giving MS-DOS additional information. You are indicating that you want
the dir command to show the list of files and directories on drive A instead of drive C. The a: you typed after the dir
command is called a parameter. A parameter specifies what a command should act on. In the previous example, the
parameter you used indicated which directory list you want to view.
dir c:\dos
A list of the files in the DOS directory on drive C should scroll past on your screen.
The c:\dos parameter specifies that you want MS-DOS to display the contents of the DOS directory on drive C, even
though your command prompt indicates that the FRUIT directory is current.
Copying Files
To copy a file, you will use the copy command. When you use the copy command, you must include two parameters. The
first is the location and name of the file you want to copy, or the source. The second is the location to which you want to
copy the file, or the destination. You separate the source and destination with a space. The copy command follows this
pattern:
In this section, you will copy the EDIT.HLP and EDIT.COM files from the DOS directory to the FRUIT directory. You will specify
the source and destination of these files in two different ways. The difference between the two methods is explained at the end of this
section.
Before you begin this section, make sure the command prompt looks like the following:
C:\FRUIT>
To copy the EDIT.HLP and EDIT.COM files from the DOS directory to the FRUIT directory
a. Return to the root directory by typing the following at the command prompt:
cd\
C:\>
Change to the DOS directory by typing the following at the command prompt:
cd dos
C:\DOS>
b. Make sure the file you are going to copy, EDIT.COM, is located in the DOS directory by using the dir command followed by a
filename. To see if the EDIT.COM file is in the DOS directory, type the following at the command prompt:
dir edit.com
Directory of C:\DOS
c. To copy the EDIT.COM file from the DOS directory to the FRUIT directory, type the following at the command prompt:
1 file(s) copied
The command you just typed copied the file from its source to its destination. By specifying C:\DOS\EDIT.COM as the source, you
indicated that MS-DOS would find the source file EDIT.COM on drive C in the DOS directory. By specifying C:\FRUIT as the
destination, you indicated that MS-DOS should place the copy of EDIT.COM on drive C in the FRUIT directory.
d. Next, you will copy the EDIT.HLP file to the FRUIT directory. To confirm that the EDIT.HLP file is in the DOS directory, type the
following at the command prompt:
dir edit.hlp
e. To copy the EDIT.HLP file from the DOS directory to the FRUIT directory, type the following at the command prompt:
1 file(s) copied
If you forgot to leave a space before typing fruit, the following message will appear:
Access denied
If this message appears, type the command again and leave a space before fruit.
f. To confirm that you copied the files successfully, view the contents of the FRUIT directory by typing the following at the command
prompt:
dir \fruit
You should see the two files listed in the FRUIT directory.
Note that you specified the source and destination in the two copy commands differently. In the command you typed in step 4, you specified the
source file as C:\DOS\EDIT.COM and the destination directory as C:\FRUIT. Both C:\DOS\EDIT.COM and C:\FRUIT are called full paths
because you specified the drive and directory where these files are located. Specifying the full path is the safest way to copy files, because you
provide all the information about which file you want to copy and which directory you want to copy it to.
In the copy command you typed in step 6, you specified EDIT.HLP for the source file and FRUIT for the destination directory. These are relative
paths. A relative path specifies only the difference between the current drive and directory and the destination of the files you are copying. The
following illustration shows how the DOS directory and the FRUIT directory are related:
When you typed the second copy command, you specified the source filename as EDIT.HLP instead of C:\DOS\EDIT.HLP. This is because drive
C is the current drive, so you did not have to repeat C: in the path. The DOS directory is the current directory, so you did not have to repeat DOS
in the path. You had to specify only the filename.
For the destination directory, you specified the relative path as FRUIT instead of C:\FRUIT. Again, you did not need to specify drive C, because
drive C is current. However, the FRUIT directory is not current. To access the FRUIT directory from the current directory, DOS, MS-DOS must
first return to the root directory (), and then switch to the FRUIT directory, before copying the file to its new location. Therefore, you typed the
path MS-DOS must take to switch between the current directory and the FRUIT directory, or \FRUIT.
In this section, you will use wildcards to copy a group of files from the DOS directory to the FRUIT directory. In a card game, a wildcard
matches any card in the deck. In MS-DOS, the asterisk (*) wildcard matches any character in that position and all the other positions that follow
it. If you want to copy a group of files with similar names, using wildcards is easier than copying each file individually.
In this section, you will first view a group of files by using wildcards, and then copy the files using wildcards. Before you begin this section,
make sure your command prompt looks like the following:
C:\DOS>
To list all files ending with the extension TXT and copy them from the DOS directory to the FRUIT directory by using wildcards
a. View all the files in the DOS directory that end with the extension TXT by typing the following at the command prompt:
dir *.txt
Note that there is a space before the asterisk (*), but not after it.
This command directs MS-DOS to list all files and subdirectories in the current directory that end with the extension JXT. The asterisk
matches the first character of the filename and all other characters that follow it, up to the period () that separates the name from the
TXT extension. A list similar to the following appears:
Next, you will copy all the files with a TXT extension to the FRUIT directory by using wildcards.
b. To copy the files with a TXT extension to the FRUIT directory, type the following at the command prompt:
This command copies all the files that have the TXT extension from the current directory (DOS) to the FRUIT directory.
Xcopy:
This will copy all files that have the extension .doc, (MS word documents), from the a drive to the C drive in the folder
temp\myfiles.
Format:
Xcopy from to
From: The location where the file or folder you want copy is located
To: The location where you want to copy it to. If the to or from fields are wrong then it will not copy the files and
folders
/s: - this extension tells xcopy to also copy the sub folders
c. To confirm that you copied the files successfully, change to the FRUIT directory by typing the following at the command prompt:
cd \fruit
d. To view a list of all the files in the FRUIT directory, type the following at the command prompt:
dir
The EDIT.COM and EDIT.HLP files are the files you copied by following the procedure in the previous section. The files with TXT extensions
are the ones you just copied by using wildcards.
Renaming Files
This section explains how to rename files. You may want to rename a file if the information in it changes or if you decide you prefer another
name.
To rename a file, you will use the ren command. The ren command stands for "rename." When you use the ren command, you must include two
parameters.
The first is the file you want to rename, and the second is the new name for the file. You separate the two names with a space. The ren command
follows this pattern:
Renaming a File
Before you begin this section, make sure your command prompt looks like the following:
C:\FRUIT>
a. To rename the README.TXT file to PEACH.TXT, type the following at the command prompt:
b. To confirm that you renamed the file successfully, type the following at the command prompt:
dir
The name PEACH.TXT should appear instead of the name README.TXT. It is the same file, but now has a different name.
You also can use wildcards to rename a group of files. If you want to rename a group of files that have similar names, using wildcards is easier
than renaming the files individually. In this section, you will rename a group of files by using wildcards.
Before beginning this section, make sure your command prompt looks like the following:
C:\FRUIT>
To rename the files whose names begin with EDIT by using wildcards
a. List the files in the FRUIT directory that begin with EDIT by typing the following at the command prompt:
dir edit.*
A list of the files in the FRUIT directory that begin with EDIT appears.
This command specifies that all the files that begin with EDIT should be renamed PEAR, but should keep their original extensions.
c. To confirm that you renamed the files successfully, type the following at the command prompt:
dir pear.*
When the files were renamed, their extensions remained the same. For example, EDIT.COM became PEAR.COM, and EDIT.HLP
became PEAR.HLP.
You can also rename extensions this way. For example, suppose you want to indicate that a group of files ending with a TXT
extension are old. You can use wildcards to rename the files so they have the extension OLD.
To rename all the files in the current directory whose names end with the extension.TXT
a. View a list of all the files in the current directory with the extension TXT by typing the following command:
dir *.txt
b. To rename all files in the current directory that end with the extension TXT to end with the extension OLD, type the following
command:
c. To confirm that you renamed the files successfully, type the following at the command prompt:
dir
The files that had the extension TXT now have the extension OLD.
Deleting Files
This section explains how to delete, or remove, a file that you no longer want on your disk. If you don’t have very much disk space, deleting files
you no longer use is essential.
To delete a file, you will use the del command. The del command stands for "delete."
Deleting a File
In this section, you will delete two files using the del command.
Before you begin, make sure your command prompt looks like the following:
C:\FRUIT>
a. Delete the PEAR.COM file by typing the following at the command prompt:
del pear.com
b. Delete the PEAR.HLP file by typing the following at the command prompt:
del pear.hlp
dir
The PEAR.COM and PEAR.HLP files should no longer appear in the list.
Before you begin this section, make sure your command prompt looks like the following:
C:\FRUIT>
To delete files in the current directory that end with the extension OLD by using wildcards
a. View all files that end with the extension OLD by typing the following at the command prompt:
dir *.old
A list of all the files that end with the extension OLD appears. Make sure that these are the files you want to delete. When you are
deleting files by using wildcards, this step is very important. It will prevent you from deleting files accidentally.
b. Delete all files ending with OLD by typing the following at the command prompt:
del *.old
c. To confirm that all the files with the extension OLD have been deleted, type the following at the command prompt:
dir
Now that the FRUIT directory is empty, you can delete it by using the rd (remove directory) command that you learned to use in "Deleting a
Directory" earlier in this chapter.
a. Return to the root directory by typing the following at the command prompt:
cd \
b. You can see the FRUIT directory in the directory list by typing the following at the command prompt:
dir or dir /p
c. Remove the FRUIT directory by typing the following at the command prompt:
rd fruit
d. To verify that the FRUIT directory has been removed, type the following at the command prompt:
dir or dir /p
Caution The data on the disk you format will be erased, so make sure you select a disk that does not contain information you may need later.
format a:
This command specifies that you want to format the disk in drive A. When you press ENTER, the following message appears:
b. Insert the disk you want to format in drive A label-side up. Then close the drive door or make sure the disk clicks into the
drive. When you are ready, press ENTER. The following message appears:
As it formats the disk, MS-DOS displays the percentage of the disk that has been formatted. When the format is complete, the
following message appears:
c. . A volume label is a name for your disk. You can give your disk any name you like, as long as it has 11 or fewer characters.
For this exercise, type practice and then press ENTER. Information similar to the following appears:
Summary
This concludes the MS-DOS tutorial. During this tutorial, you learned how to:
Xcopy is the as copy. Except that Xcopy can also copy sub directories and their contents.
4. MICROSOFT WORD-2007
Introduction
Word 2007 is the word processing software in the Microsoft 2007 Office Suite. It allows you to easily create a variety of professional-looking
documents using features such as themes, styles, SmartArt, and more.
Before you begin creating documents in Word, you may want to set up your Word environment and become familiar with a few
key tasks such as how to minimize and maximize the Ribbon, configure the Quick Access toolbar, display the ruler, and use the
Word Count and Zoom tools.
The check mark beside Minimize the Ribbon indicates the feature is active.
The new, tabbed Ribbon system replaces traditional menus in Word 2007. It is designed to be responsive to your
current task and easy to use; however, you can choose to minimize the Ribbon if you would prefer to use different
menus or keyboard shortcuts.
To Add Commands to the Quick Access Toolbar:
Click the arrow to the right of the Quick Access toolbar.
Select the command you wish to add from the drop-down list. It will appear in the Quick Access toolbar.
The Save, Undo, and Redo commands appear by default in the Quick Access toolbar. You may wish to add other
commands to make using specific Word features more convenient for you.
The View Ruler icon works as a toggle button to turn the ruler on and off.
Challenge!
Open Word 2007 on your computer. A new blank document will appear on the screen.
Make sure your Ribbon is maximized.
Display the Ruler.
Add any commands you wish to the Quick Access toolbar.
Close Word without saving the document.
To Insert Text:
Move your mouse to the location you wish text to appear in the document.
Left-click the mouse. The insertion point appears.
Type the text you wish to appear.
To Delete Text:
Place your cursor next to the text you wish to delete.
Press the Backspace key on your keyboard to delete text to the left of the cursor.
Press the Delete key on your keyboard to delete text to the right of the cursor.
To Select Text:
Place the insertion point next to the text you wish to select.
Left-click your mouse and while holding it down, drag your mouse over the text to select it.
Release the mouse button. You have selected the text. A highlighted box will appear over the selected text.
When you select text or images in Word, a hover toolbar with formatting options appears. This makes formatting commands
easily accessible, which may save you time.
Challenge!
Use the Cover Letter or any other Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Open an existing Word document.
Select a sentence.
Copy and paste the sentence from one location in the document to another.
Select another sentence.
Drag and drop it to another location in the document.
Select the entire document.
Change the font style, size, and color.
Are you downloading the document? Saving it for the first time? Saving it as another name? Sharing it with someone
that does not have Word 2007? All of these things will affect how you save your Word documents. In this lesson you
will learn how to use the save and save as commands, how to save as a Word 97-2003 compatible document, and how
to save as a PDF.
How to Save Documents
To Use the Save As Command:
Click the Microsoft Office Button.
Select the location you wish to save the document using the drop-down menu.
Enter a name for the document.
Select the location you wish to save the document using the drop-down menu.
Enter a name for the document.
Click the Save button.
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KSHITIJ INFOWEB
To Download the PDF Extension:
Click the Microsoft Office Button.
Select Save As Find add-ins for other file formats. This will open your web browser to the Microsoft site.
Follow the instructions on the Microsoft site for downloading the extension.
To Save As a PDF:
Click the Microsoft Office Button.
Select the location you wish to save the document using the drop-down menu.
Enter a name for the document.
Click the Publish button.
Challenge!
Use the Cover Letter or any other Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Open an existing Word document.
Save the document with the file name trial.
Save the same document as a PDF file.
Close the document.
Open another existing Word document.
Save the document so that it is compatible with Word 2003.
Close the document.
Worried about making mistakes when you type? Don't be. Word provides you
with several proofing features that will help you produce professional, error-free documents. In this lesson you will learn about
the various proofing features, including the Spelling and Grammar tool.
You can choose to Ignore an underlined word, add it to the dictionary, or go to the Spelling dialog box.
You can also choose to Ignore an underlined word, go to the Grammar dialog box, or find out more information about the word
and its usage.
You can also wait and run the spelling and grammar check after completing the document. Click the Spelling & Grammar
command on the Review tab.
Challenge!
Use the Cover Letter or any other Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Open an existing Word document.
Type the following sentences at the beginning of the document:
Ever noticed the active links on web pages that allow you to jump from one page to another? You just used one to
open this lesson. These are hyperlinks. You can use these in electronic versions of your Word documents just like you
do in web pages. In this lesson you will learn the basics of working with hyperlinks, including how to insert and
remove them in your Word document.
Hyperlinks
To Insert a Hyperlink:
Select the text or image you would like to make a hyperlink.
Select the Insert tab.
Click Hyperlink in the Links group. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears. If you selected text, the words
will appear in the Text to display: field at the top.
Type the address you would like to link to in the Address: field.
Click OK. The text or image you selected will now be a hyperlink.
Challenge!
Use the Cover Letter or any other Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Open an existing Word document.
Type the following sentence:
o For great computer training, visit GCF today!
Select GCF.
Insert a hyperlink that connects to www.GCFLearnFree.org.
Remove the hyperlink.
Lesson 6 - Printing
Printing Documents
Once you complete your document, you may want to print it for
various reasons. This lesson covers the three basic features of printing in Word including Print Preview, Quick Print,
and traditional Print.
Printing
Select Print Print Preview. The document opens in Print Preview format.
Click Print to print the document or Close Print Preview to exit the preview format and make changes to the
document.
In Print Preview format, you can do many tasks including:
Modify the margins
Change page orientation
Change the page size
Zoom in and out to view various parts of the document
View multiple pages
Access Word Options to change many Word settings
And more
To Print:
Click OK.
To Print via Quick Print:
Click the Microsoft Office Button.
In this lesson you will learn how to create new documents including templates and blank documents via the Microsoft
Office Button.
New Documents
To create and design effective documents, you need to know how to format text. In
addition to making your document more appealing, formatted text can draw the reader's attention to specific parts of the document
and help communicate your message.
In this lesson you will learn to format the font size, style, and color; and use the Bold, Italic, Underline, and Change Case commands.
Format Text
To Format Font Size:
Select the text you wish to modify.
Left-click the drop-down arrow next to the font size box on the Home tab. The font size drop-down menu
appears.
Move your cursor over the various font sizes. A live preview of the font size will appear in the document.
Left-click the font size you wish to use. The font size will change in the document.
To Format Font Style:
Select the text you wish to modify.
Left-click the font style you wish to use. The font style will change in the document.
Left-click the font color you wish to use. The font color will change in the document.
Your color choices aren't limited to the drop-down menu that appears. Select More Colors at the bottom of the list to
access the Colors dialog box. Choose the color that you want and click OK.
To Use the Bold, Italic, and Underline Commands:
Select the text you wish to modify.
Click the Bold, Italic, or Underline command in the Font group on the Home tab.
Challenge!
Create a new, blank Word document.
Insert text into the document.
Change the font size of some text.
Change the font style of some text.
Change the font color of some text.
Try various cases using the Change Case command.
Try the 4 alignment commands.
Save the document if you wish.
You may want to insert a text box into your document to draw attention to specific
text or so that you have the ability to easily move text around within a document.
In this lesson you will learn how to insert a text box and how to format it in various ways including resizing and moving it, and
changing the text box shape, color, and outline.
Text Boxes
To Insert a Text box:
Select the Insert tab on the Ribbon.
Click the Text Box command in the Text group.
Select a Built-in text box or Draw Text Box from the menu.
If you select Built-in text box, left-click the text box you wish to use and it will appear in the document.
OR
If you select Draw Text Box, a crosshair cursor will appear. Left-click your mouse and while holding it down,
drag your mouse until the text box is the desired size.
Move your cursor over the styles and Live Preview will preview the style in your document.
Left-click a style to select it.
To Change Shape Fill:
Select the text box. A new Format tab appears with Text Box Tools.
Select a color from the list, choose No Outline, or choose one of the other options.
To Change the Text Box Shape:
Select the text box. A new Format tab appears with Text Box Tools.
Click the Change Shape command to display a drop-down list.
You may want to insert various types of illustrations into your documents to make
them more visually appealing. Illustrations include ClipArt, Pictures, SmartArt, Charts, and more.
In this lesson you will learn how to search for and locate clip art, and insert it into your documents.
Working with ClipArt
To Locate Clip Art:
Select the Insert tab.
Click the Clip Art command in the Illustrations group.
The Clip Art options appear in the task pane on the right.
Enter keywords in the Search for: field that are related to the image you wish to insert.
Click the drop-down arrow next to the Search in: field.
Select Everywhere to ensure that Word searches your computer and its online resources for an image that
meets your criteria.
Click the drop-down arrow in the Results should be: field.
Deselect any types of images you do not wish to see.
Click Go.
To Insert Clip Art:
Review the results from a clip art search.
Place your insertion point in the document where you wish to insert the clip art.
Left-click an image in the task pane. It will appear in the document.
OR
Challenge!
Use the Flyer or any other Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Open an existing Word document.
Insert a clip art image from Office Online.
You can add a variety of shapes to your document including arrows, callouts, squares,
stars, flowchart symbols and more. Want to off-set your name and address from the rest of your resume? Use a line. Need to show the
progress of a document through your office? Use a flow chart. While you may not need shapes in every document you create, they can
add visual appeal and clarity to many documents.
In this lesson you will learn how to insert a shape and format it by changing its fill color, outline color, shape style, and shadow
effects. Additionally, you will learn to apply 3-D effects to shapes that have this option.
Using Shapes
Click the More drop-down arrow in the Shapes Style group to display more style options.
Move your cursor over the styles and Live Preview will preview the style in your document.
Left-click a style to select it.
To Change the Shape Fill Color:
Select the shape. A new Format tab appears with Drawing Tools.
Click the Shape Fill command to display a drop-down list.
Select a color from the list, choose No Fill, or choose one of the other options.
To Change the Shape Outline:
Select the shape. A new Format tab appears with Drawing Tools.
Click the Shape Outline command to display a drop-down list.
Select a color from the list, choose No Outline, or choose one of the other options.
To Change to a Different Shape:
Select the shape. A new Format tab appears with Drawing Tools.
Click the Change Shape command to display a drop-down list.
To Change 3D Effects:
You cannot add a 3D effect to all shapes.
Select the Format tab.
Left-click the 3-D Effects command.
Move your mouse over the menu options. Live Preview displays how it will appear in your document.
A template is a pre-designed document that you can use to create new documents with
the same formatting. With a template, many of the big document design decisions such as margin size, font style and size, and
spacing are predetermined.
In this lesson, you will learn how to create a new document with a template and insert text, as well as basic information about how
templates work in Word 2007.
Create a New Document with a Template
To Insert a Template:
Click the Microsoft Office Button.
Select New. The New Document dialog box appears.
Select Installed Templates to choose a template on your computer.
You can select any of the categories in the Microsoft Office Online section of the New Document Dialog box. This will display
templates that are available online free of charge. Your computer must have Internet access to download these templates.
Information about Using Templates
Templates include placeholder text that is surrounded by brackets. Often, this placeholder text includes information
regarding the content for a specific area.
Additionally, some information is prefilled in the template. You can modify your Word Options and change the
prefilled information that appears.
Word templates may include separate Quick Parts sections that give you various options for the template.
Click OK.
Challenge!
Create a new document using a template.
Note: Choose the Origins Resume template to follow along with the video.
Enter text into the template.
Modify the user name and initials for your version of Word if you are using a home computer.
Note: If you are using a public computer such as one at a library, you do not need to change these settings.
Save the document.
Working with Lists
Bulleted and numbered lists can be used in your documents to arrange and format
text to draw emphasis. In this lesson, you will learn how to modify existing bullets, insert new bulleted and numbered lists, and select
symbols as bullets.
Left-click the bullet or numbering style you would like to use. It will appear in the document.
Position your cursor at the end of a list item and press the Enter key to add an item to the list.
To remove numbers or bullets from a list, select the list and click the Bullets or Numbering commands.
An important part of creating effective documents lies in the document design. As part
of designing the document and making formatting decisions, you will need to know how to modify the spacing. In this lesson, you
will learn how to modify the line and paragraph spacing in various ways.
Modifying Spacing
To Format Line Spacing:
Select the text you want to format.
Click the Line spacing command in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.
Select a spacing option.
OR
Select Line Spacing Options. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
OR
Select Line Spacing Options. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
Change the Before and After points in the Paragraph section.
Click OK.
You may find that the default page layout settings in Word are not
sufficient for the document you wish to create, in which case you will want to modify those settings. In addition, you
may want to change the page formatting depending on the document you are creating.
In this lesson, you will learn how to change the page orientation, paper size, and page margins, and insert a break.
Left-click a size option to select it. The page size of the document changes.
To Format Page Margins:
Select the Page Layout tab.
Click the Margins command. A menu of options appears. Normal is selected by default.
Left-click the predefined margin size you want.
OR
Select Custom Margins from the menu. The Page Setup dialog box appears.
To Insert a Break:
Place your insertion point where you want the break to appear.
Select the Page Layout tab.
Click the Breaks command. A menu appears.
Left-click a break option to select it. The break will appear in the document.
Why would you need to use a break? Each type of break serves a different purpose and will affect the document in
different ways. Page breaks move text to a new page before reaching the end of a page, while section breaks create a
barrier between parts of the document for formatting purposes. Column breaks split text in columns at a specific point.
Practice using the various break styles to see how they affect the document.
Challenge!
Use the Newsletter or any Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Change the page orientation.
Change the paper size.
Modify at least one margin.
Insert a section break.
In this lesson, you will learn how to insert a picture from your computer, change the picture style and shape, add a border, crop and
compress pictures, and more.
To Insert a Picture:
Place your insertion point where you want the image to appear.
Select the Insert tab.
Click the Picture command in the Illustrations group. The Insert Picture dialog box appears.
To Compress a Picture:
Select the picture.
Select the Format tab.
Click the Compress Pictures command in the Adjust group. A dialog box appears.
Click the Options button to access the Compression Setting dialog box.
OR
Select Weight from the menu and choose a line weight.
Challenge!
Use the Newsletter or any Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Insert a picture into a document.
Two useful formatting features in Word are the columns and ordering commands.
Columns are used in many types of documents, but are most commonly used in newspapers, magazines, academic journals, and
newsletters. Ordering is the process of layering two or more shapes so that they appear in a certain way. For example, if you have two
shapes that overlap and want one shape to appear on top, you will have to order the shapes.
In this lesson you will learn how to insert columns into a document and order an image and a shape.
Select a menu option that will arrange the item in the desired way. In this example, select Send Behind Text.
The text and image are now displayed layered on top of the shape.
Use the Newsletter or any Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Select text you want to format into columns.
Format the selected text into two columns.
Insert a picture and a shape.
Practice ordering using the picture and shape.
You can make your document look professional and polished by utilizing the header and footer sections. The header is a section of
the document that appears in the top margin, while the footer is a section of the document that appears in the bottom margin.
Headers and footers generally contain information such as page number, date, document name, etc.
In this lesson, you will learn how to insert built-in and blank headers and footers.
Headers and Footers
To Insert a Header or Footer:
Select the Insert tab.
Click either the Header or Footer command. A menu appears with a list of built-in options you can use.
Left-click one of the built-in options and it will appear in the document. OR
Left-click Blank to select it.
Use the Newsletter or any Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Add your name in the header of a document.
Right-align the text in the header.
Select a built-in footer with page number.
A table is a grid of cells arranged in rows and columns. Tables can be customized and
are useful for various tasks such as presenting text information and numerical data.
In this lesson, you will learn how to convert text to a table, apply table styles, format tables, and create blank tables.
Choose one of the options in the Separate text at: section. This is how Word knows what text to put in each
column.
You can also add rows below the insertion point. Follow the same steps, but select Insert Rows Below from the menu.
To Add a Column:
Place the insertion point in a column adjacent to the location you wish the new column to appear.
Right-click the mouse. A menu appears.
Select Insert Insert Columns to the Left or Insert Columns to the Right. A new column appears.
To Delete a Row or Column:
Select the row or column.
Right-click your mouse and a menu appears.
Select Delete Columns or Delete Rows.
To Apply a Table Style:
Select the table. A Table Tools Design tab now appears on the Ribbon.
Select the Design tab to access all the Table Styles and Options.
You can modify which table styles are displayed. In the Table Styles Options you can select and deselect various table
options. For example, you can select Banded Rows and only tables with banded rows will appear in the Tables Styles
section.
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Want to have a little more creative freedom when it comes to formatting your tables? You can manually change the
table border or shading, change line weight, or erase part of the table.
To Insert a Blank Table:
Place your insertion point in the document where you want the table to appear.
Select the Insert tab.
Click the Table command.
Drag your mouse over the diagram squares to select the number of columns and rows in the table.
Use the Report or any Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Convert text into a table.
Apply a table style.
Delete a row from the table.
Insert a blank table with five rows and four columns.
SmartArt allows you to visually communicate information rather than simply using
text. Illustrations can really make an impact in your document and SmartArt makes using graphics especially easy.
In this lesson, you will learn how to insert a SmartArt graphic, change the color and effects of the illustration, and modify it in
numerous ways.
SmartArt Graphics
Select a category on the left of the dialog box and review the SmartArt graphics that appear in the center.
Left-click a graphic to select it.
Click OK.
To see more details about a graphic, left-click any image, and a larger version of the graphic and additional text
details will appear on the right side of the dialog box.
OR
Click X to close the task pane.
Enter text into the first text box in the graphic.
Continue to enter text in the text box graphics.
Notice the text you enter automatically resizes to fit inside the box.
The Promote and Demote commands allow you to move shapes and really customize the graphic, rather than having to
use the predefined default illustration.
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To Change the Graphic Style:
Select the graphic. The SmartArt Tools Design and Format tabs appear on the Ribbon.
Select the Design tab.
Left-click a style to select it.
Click the More arrow to see all the style options. Hover over each to display a Live Preview of the style in your
document.
A great way to draw attention to specific text is to indent it. There are several ways in
Word that you can indent text; however, it’s important to use these tools appropriately and indent correctly each time. This can save
time and make the editing process go smoothly.
In this lesson, you will learn how to use the tab selector and the horizontal ruler to set tabs and indents, and how to use the Increase
and Decrease Indent commands.
Indents and Tabs
Hanging Indent : Inserts the hanging indent marker and indents all lines other than the first line.
Press the Enter key to start a new paragraph and your insertion point will automatically indent to that point. I
To move a tab stop once you have inserted it, left-click and drag the tab stop back and forth on the ruler.
You can set the Hanging Indent the the same way; however this tab stop changes all the other lines in a paragraph.
Enter text in the Find field that you wish to locate in your document.
Enter text in the Replace field that will replace the text in the Find box.
Styles and themes are powerful tools in Word that can help you create professional
looking documents easily. A style is a predefined combination of font style, color, and size of text that can be applied to selected
text. A theme is a set of formatting choices that can be applied to an entire document and includes theme colors, fonts, and effects.
In this lesson you will learn how to apply, modify and create a style, use style sets, apply a document theme, and create a custom
theme.
Styles and Themes
To Select a Style:
Select the text to format. In this example, the title is selected.
In the Style group on the Home tab, hover over each style to see a live preview in the document. Click the
More drop-down arrow to see additional styles.
Left-click a style to select it. Now the selected text appears formatted in the style.
To Modify a Style:
Select the text in the style you want to change. In this example, we are changing AdWorks Agency, which has
the Title style applied.
Locate the style in the Styles group.
Right-click the style and a menu appears.
Left-click Modify and the Modify Style dialog box appears.
Click the New Style button at the bottom and a dialog box appears.
Enter a name for the style and make all the formatting decisions.
Left-click a style set to select it. The change is reflected in the entire document.
Style sets include a combination of title, heading, and paragraph styles. Style sets allow you to format all the elements
of your document at once, rather than formatting your title and headings separately.
For quick changes, you can modify the colors and fonts of a style set from the Change Styles command; however, the
themes feature is more comprehensive and easy-to-use.
To Apply a Theme:
Select the Page Layout tab.
Click the Themes command.
Use the drop-down menus to change the colors for each part of the document.
Use the drop-down menus to change the fonts in the dialog box.
Enter a name for theme font.
Click Save.
Click the Effects command and select an option from the drop-down menu.
Click the Themes command.
Select Save Current Theme. A dialog box appears.
Enter a theme name and click Save. Now the theme is available to use with other documents.
You can not apply a Theme to a document without applying styles first. Themes look for and replace the formats of
each of the styles.
Challenge!
Use the Report or any Word document you choose to complete this challenge.
Apply a style to one section of your document.
Apply a style set to your entire document.
Modify an existing style.
Apply a theme.
Advance word
LESSON 23 - Using Mail Merge
Mail merge is a useful tool that will allow you to easily produce
multiple letters, labels, envelopes and more using information stored in a list, database, or spreadsheet. In this lesson,
you will learn how to use the mail merge wizard to create a data source and a form letter, and explore other wizard
features. Additionally, you will learn how to use the Ribbon commands to access the mail merge tools outside of the
wizard.
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Mail Merge
Steps 1-3
Choose the type of document you wish to create. In this example, select Letters.
Click Next:Starting document to move to Step 2.
Select Use the current document.
Click Next:Select recipients to move to Step 3.
Select the Type a new list button.
Click Create to create a data source. The New Address List dialog box appears.
Enter the necessary data in the New Address List dialog box.
Click New Entry to enter another record.
Click Close when you have entered all your data records.
Enter the file name you wish to save the data list as.
Choose the location you wish to save the file.
Click Save. The Mail Merge Recipients dialog box appears and displays all the data records in the list.
Confirm the data list is correct and click OK.
Click Next:Write your letter to move to Step 4.
Steps 4-6
Write a letter in the current Word document, or use an open, existing document.
To Insert Recipient Data from the List:
o Place the insertion point in the document where you wish the information to appear.
o Select Address block, Greeting line, or Electronic postage from the task pane. A dialog box with options
will appear based on your selection.
OR
o Select More Items. The Insert Merge Field dialog box will appear.
o Select the field you would like to insert in the document.
o Click Insert. Notice that a placeholder appears where information from the data record will eventually
appear.
o Repeat these steps each time you need to enter information from your data record.
MS-Excel 2007
Excel 2007 is the spreadsheet software in the Microsoft 2007 Office Suite. It allows you to store, organize, and analyze numerical and
text data.
Before you begin creating spreadsheets in Excel, you may want to set up your
Excel environment and become familiar with a few key tasks and features such as how to minimize and maximize the Ribbon,
configure the Quick Access toolbar, switch page views, and access your Excel options.
Exploring and Setting Up Your Excel Environment
The tabbed Ribbon menu system is how you navigate through Excel and access the various Excel commands. If you
have used previous versions of Excel, the Ribbon system replaces the traditional menus. Above the Ribbon in the
upper-left corner is the Microsoft Office Button. From here, you can access important options such as New, Save,
Save As, and Print. By default the Quick Access Toolbar is pinned next to the Microsoft Office Button, and includes
commands such as Undo and Redo.
At the bottom, left area of the spreadsheet, you will find worksheet tabs. By default, three worksheet tabs appear each
time you create a new workbook. On the bottom, right area of the spreadsheet you will find page view commands, the
zoom tool, and the horizontal scrolling bar.
OR
Select More Commands from the menu and a dialog box appears.
Select the command you wish to add.
Click the Add button.
Click OK.
The Save, Undo, and Redo commands appear by default in the Quick Access toolbar. You may wish to add other
commands to make using specific Excel features more convenient for you.
You can also minimize and maximize the Ribbon by right-clicking anywhere in the main menu and selecting Minimize
the Ribbon in the menu that appears.
The new, tabbed Ribbon system replaces traditional menus in Excel 2007. It is designed to be responsive to your
current task and easy to use; however, you can choose to minimize the Ribbon if you would prefer to use different
menus or keyboard shortcuts.
You will need to know how to insert text and numbers into Excel workbooks to be
able to use it to calculate, analyze, and organize data. In this lesson, you will learn how to create a new workbook, insert and delete
text, navigate a worksheet, and save an Excel workbook.
When you first open Excel, the software opens to a new, blank workbook.
To Insert Text:
Left-click a cell to select it. Each rectangle in the worksheet is called a cell. As you select a cell, the cell
address appears in the Name Box.
Enter text into the cell using your keyboard. The text appears in the cell and in the formula bar.
Each cell has a name, or a cell address based on the column and row it is in. For example, this cell is C3 since it is
where column C and row 3 intersect.
You can save a workbook in many ways, but the two most common are as an Excel Workbook, which saves it with a
2007 file extension, and as an Excel 97-2003 Workbook, which saves the file in a compatible format so people who
have earlier versions of Excel can open the file.
Challenge!
Open Excel.
Create a new, blank workbook.
Practice entering text into cells.
Practice deleting text using the Backspace and Delete keys.
Navigate through the sheet using the Tab key.
Save the spreadsheet.
Modifying Columns, Rows, and Cells
When you open a new, blank workbook, the cells, columns, and rows are set to a
default size. You do have the ability to change the size of each, and to insert new columns, rows, and cells, as needed. In this lesson,
you will learn various methods to modify the column width and row height, in addition to how to insert new columns, rows, and cells.
Left-click the mouse and drag the cursor to the right to increase the column width or to the left to decrease the column
width.
Release the mouse button.
OR
Left-click the column heading of a column you'd like to modify. The entire column will appear highlighted.
Click the Format command in the Cells group on the Home tab. A menu will appear.
Left-click the mouse and drag the cursor upward to decrease the row height or downward to increase the row height.
Release the mouse button.
OR
Click the Format command in the Cells group on the Home tab. A menu will appear.
To Insert Columns:
Select the column to the right of where you want the column to appear.
Click the Insert command in the Cells group on the Home tab. The column will appear.
The new column always appears to the left of the selected column. For example, if you want to insert a column
between September and October, select the October column and click the Insert command.
Make sure that you select the entire column to the right of where you want the new column to appear and not just the
cell. If you select just the cell and then click Insert, only a new cell will appear.
Once you have entered information into a spreadsheet, you will need to be able to
format it. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the bold, italic, and underline commands; modify the font style, size, and color; and
apply borders and fill colors.
Formatting Cells
You can select entire columns and rows, or specific cells. To select the entire column, just left-click the column
heading and the entire column will appear as selected. To select specific cells, just left-click a cell and drag your mouse
to select the other cells. Then, release the mouse button.
As you move over the font list, the Live Preview feature previews the font for you in the spreadsheet.
OR
OR
Select More Colors. A dialog box will appear.
Select a color.
Click OK.
You can use the fill color feature to format columns and rows, and format a worksheet so that it is easier to read.
By default, the numbers appear in the General category, which means there is no special formatting.
In the Number group, you have some other options. For example, you can change the U.S. dollar sign to another
currency format, numbers to percents, add commas, and change the decimal location.
Challenge!
Use the Budget or any Excel workbook you choose to complete this challenge.
Select a cell and format the text or numbers in it so that they appear bolded.
Select two or more cells and format the text or numbers so that they appear in italics.
Change fill color of two or more cells.
Add a border to a row.
Creating Simple Formulas
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Excel can be used to calculate and analyze numerical information; however, you will
need to know how to write formulas to maximize Excel's capabilities. A formula is an equation that performs a calculation using
values in the worksheet. In this lesson you will learn how to create simple formulas using mathematical operators such as the
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division signs.
To Create a Simple Formula that Adds Two Numbers:
Click the cell where the formula will be defined (C5, for example).
Type the equal sign (=) to let Excel know a formula is being defined.
Type the first number to be added (e.g., 1500)
Type the addition sign (+) to let Excel know that an add operation is to be performed.
Type the second number to be added (e.g., 200)
Press Enter or click the Enter button on the Formula bar to complete the formula.
Press Enter or click the Enter button on the Formula bar to complete the formula.
The following example uses actual numbers in the formula in C5.
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When a cell address is used as part of a formula, this is called a cell reference. It is called a cell reference because instead of entering
specific numbers into a formula, the cell address refers to a specific cell. The following example uses cell references in the formula in
C30.
Challenge!
Use the Budget or any Excel workbook you choose to complete this challenge.
Write a simple addition formula.
Write a simple subtraction formula using the point and click method.
Write a simple multiplication formula using cell references.
Write a simple division formula.
Working with Cells
It is important to know how to move information from one cell to another in Excel.
Learning the various ways will save you time and make working with Excel easier. Certain methods are more appropriate depending
on how much information you need to move and where it will reside on the spreadsheet. In this lesson you will learn how to cut, copy,
and paste, as well as drag and drop information.
Working with Cells
Select the cell or cells where you want to paste the information.
Click the Paste command. The copied information will now appear in the new cells.
To select more than one adjoining cell, left-click one of the cells, drag the cursor until all the cells are selected, and release the mouse
button.
The copied cell will stay selected until you perform your next task, or you can double-click the cell to deselect it.
Select the cell or cells where you want to paste the information.
Click the Paste command. The cut information will be removed from the original cells and now appear in the new cells.
The keyboard shortcut for Paste is the Control Key and the V key.
Left-click and hold the mouse button and drag the cells to the new location.
Release the mouse button and the information appears in the new location.
Left-click your mouse and drag it until all the cells you want to fill are highlighted.
Release the mouse button and all the selected cells are filled with the information from the original cell.
The fill handle doesn't always copy information from one cell directly into another cell. Depending on the data entered in the cell,
it may fill the data in other ways. For example, if I have the formula =A1+B1 in cell C1, and I use the fill handle to fill the formula
into cell C2, the formula doesn't appear the same in C2 as it does in C1. Instead of =A1+B1, you will see =A2+B2.
You can use the fill handle to fill cells horizontally or vertically.
Challenge!
Use the Budget or any Excel workbook you choose to complete this challenge.
Copy and paste information from one cell to another cell.
In Excel, there are many things you can do to prepare your workbook for printing.
Many of these tasks make it easier to format the spreadsheet for the printed page.
In this lesson you will learn how to view the spreadsheet in print preview, modify margins, change the page orientation, use the scale
to fit feature, use the Print Titles command, insert breaks, and more.
Preparing to Print and Printing
To View the Spreadsheet in Print Preview:
Left-click the Microsoft Office Button.
Select Print.
Select Print Preview. The spreadsheet will appear in Print Preview view.
Click the Close Print Preview button to return to the Normal View.
To make previewing your spreadsheet easier, add the Print Preview command to the Quick Access toolbar.
Left-click and drag the marker to the desired location. The change will be reflected in the spreadsheet.
To Modify Margins:
Select the Page Layout tab.
Portrait orients the page vertically, while Landscape orients the page horizontally.
Now, only the selected cells will print. You can confirm this by viewing the spreadsheet in Print Preview.
To return to the default setting, which is the entire worksheet, click the Print Area command and select Clear Print Area.
To Insert a Break:
Select a cell below where you want the break to appear.
Select the Breaks command.
Select Insert Break.
Click Print Preview to confirm the break appears in the correct place in your spreadsheet.
Select the first row in the spreadsheet that you want to appear on each printed page.
Select a printer if you wish to use a printer other than the default setting.
Click Properties to change any necessary settings.
Choose whether you want to print specific pages, all of the worksheet, a selected area, the active sheet, or the entire
workbook.
Select the number of copies you'd like to print.
Click OK.
You can select Quick Print to bypass the Print dialog box.
Challenge!
Use the Budget or any Excel workbook you choose to complete this challenge.
View the spreadsheet in Print Preview.
Change a column width in Print Preview.
Insert a break.
Excel Basics
In this lesson, we’ll discuss complex formulas that use multiple mathematical operators, and that use absolute and
relative references.
Complex Formulas
Complex Formulas Defined
Simple formulas have one mathematical operation. Complex formulas involve more than one mathematical operation.
Simple Formula: =2+2
Complex Formula: =2+2*8
To calculate complex formulas correctly, you must perform certain operations before others. This is defined in the order of
operations.
Example 1
Using this order, let us see how the formula 20/(8-4)*8-2 is calculated in the following breakdown:
Example 2
3+3*2=?
Is the answer 12 or 9? Well, if you calculated in the order in which the numbers appear, 3+3*2, you'd get the wrong answer, 12.
You must follow the order of operations to get the correct answer.
Type the next mathematical operator, or the division symbol (/) to let Excel know that a division operation is to
be performed.
Type an open parenthesis, or (
Click on the third cell to be included in the formula (D6, for example).
Type the addition sign (+) to let Excel know that an add operation is to be performed.
Click on the fourth cell to be included in formula. (D7, for example).
Type a close parentheses ).
Very Important: Press Enter or click the Enter button on the Formula bar. This step ends the formula.
To show fewer decimal places, you can just click the Decrease Decimal place command on the Home tab.
Challenge!
Use the Inventory or any Excel workbook you choose to complete this challenge.
Create at least one complex formula that uses the addition and division operations.
Create at least one complex formula that uses parentheses and a multiplication operation.
Create a formula that uses an absolute reference.
Working with Basic Functions
One of the key benefits of functions is that they can save you time since you do not have to write the formula yourself. For example,
you could use an Excel function called Average to quickly find the average of a range of numbers or the Sum function to find the sum
of a cell range.
In this lesson, you will learn how to use basic functions such as SUM and AVG, use functions with more than one argument, and how
to access the other Excel 2007 functions.
Basic Functions
The Parts of a Function:
Each function has a specific order, called syntax, which must be strictly followed for the function to work correctly.
Syntax Order:
1. All functions begin with the = sign.
2. After the = sign define the function name (e.g., Sum).
3. Then there will be an argument. An argument is the cell range or cell references that are enclosed by
parentheses. If there is more than one argument, separate each by a comma.
An example of a function with one argument that adds a range of cells, A3 through A9:
An example of a function with more than one argument that calculates the sum of two cell ranges:
Excel literally has hundreds of different functions to assist with your calculations. Building formulas can be difficult
and time-consuming. Excel's functions can save you a lot of time and headaches.
Excel's Different Functions
There are many different functions in Excel 2007. Some of the more common functions include:
Statistical Functions:
SUM - summation adds a range of cells together.
AVERAGE - average calculates the average of a range of cells.
COUNT - counts the number of chosen data in a range of cells.
MAX - identifies the largest number in a range of cells.
MIN - identifies the smallest number in a range of cells.
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Financial Functions:
Interest Rates
Loan Payments
Depreciation Amounts
Date and Time functions:
DATE - Converts a serial number to a day of the month
Day of Week
DAYS360 - Calculates the number of days between two dates based on a 360-day year
TIME - Returns the serial number of a particular time
HOUR - Converts a serial number to an hour
MINUTE - Converts a serial number to a minute
TODAY - Returns the serial number of today's date
MONTH - Converts a serial number to a month
YEAR - Converts a serial number to a year
You don't have to memorize the functions but should have an idea of what each can do for you.
To Calculate the Sum of a Range of Data Using AutoSum:
Select the Formulas tab.
Locate the Function Library group. From here, you can access all the available functions.
Select the cell where you want the function to appear. In this example, select G42.
Select the drop-down arrow next to the AutoSum command.
Select Sum. A formula will appear in the selected cell, G42.
o This formula, =SUM(G2:G41), is called a function. AutoSum command automatically selects the
range of cells from G2 to G41, based on where you inserted the function. You can alter the cell
range, if necessary.
Click OK and the Function Arguments dialog box appears so that you can enter the range of cells for the function.
Insert the cursor in the Number 1 field.
In the spreadsheet, select the first range of cells. In this example, G21 through G26. The argument appears in the Number
1 field.
o To select the cells, left-click cell G21 and drag the cursor to G26, and then release the mouse button.
Click OK in the dialog box and the sum of the two ranges is calculated.
To Calculate the Average of a Range of Data:
Select the cell where you want the function to appear.
Click the drop-down arrow next to the AutoSum command.
Select Average.
Click on the first cell (in this example, C8) to be included in the formula.
Left-click and drag the mouse to define a cell range (C8 through cell C20, in this example).
Click the Enter icon to calculate the average.
Accessing Excel 2007 Functions
To Access Other Functions in Excel:
Using the point-click-drag method, select a cell range to be included in the formula.
On the Formulas tab, click on the drop-down part of the AutoSum button.
If you don't see the function you want to use (Sum, Average, Count, Max, Min), display additional functions by
selecting More Functions.
The Insert Function dialog box opens.
There are three ways to locate a function in the Insert Function dialog box:
You can type a question in the Search for a function box and click GO, or
You can scroll through the alphabetical list of functions in the Select a function field, or
You can select a function category in the Select a category drop-down list and review the corresponding function
names in the Select a function field.
Select the function you want to use and then click the OK button.
Challenge!
Use the Inventory workbook or any workbook you choose to complete this challenge.
Use a SUM function to calculate the sum of one argument.
Use the AVG function to calculate the sum of a range of cells.
Explore the other Excel 2007 functions.
Sorting, Grouping, and Filtering Cells
A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet can contain a great deal of information. With more
rows and columns than previous versions, Excel 2007 gives you the ability to analyze and work with an enormous amount of data.
To most effectively use this data, you may need to manipulate this data in different ways.
In this lesson, you will learn how to sort, group, and filter data in various ways that will enable you to most effectively and
efficiently use spreadsheets to locate and analyze information.
Sorting, Grouping, and Filtering
A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet can contain a great deal of information. Sometimes you may find that you need to reorder or sort
that information, create groups, or filter information to be able to use it most effectively.
Sorting
Sorting lists is a common spreadsheet task that allows you to easily reorder your data. The most common type of sorting is
alphabetical ordering, which you can do in ascending or descending order.
You can search in reverse alphabetical order by choosing Sort Z to A in the list.
Click the drop-down arrow in the Column Sort by field, and choose one of the options. In this example, Category.
Choose what to sort on. In this example, we'll leave the default as Value.
Choose how to order the results. Leave it as A to Z so it is organized alphabetically.
Click Add Level to add another item to sort by.
Select an option in the Column Then by field. In this example, we chose Unit Cost.
Choose what to sort on. In this example, we'll leave the default as Value.
Choose how to order the results. Leave it as smallest to largest.
Click OK.
The spreadsheet has been sorted. All the categories are organized in alphabetical order, and within each category, the unit cost is
arranged from smallest to largest.
Remember all of the information and data is still here. It's just in a different order.
Grouping Cells Using the Subtotal Command
Grouping is a really useful Excel feature that gives you control over how the information is displayed. You must sort
before you can group. In this section we will learn how to create groups using the Subtotal command.
Decide how you want things grouped. In this example, we will organize by Category.
Select a function. In this example, we will leave the SUM function selected.
Select the column you want the Subtotal to appear. In this example, Total Cost is selected by default.
Filtering Cells
Filtering, or temporarily hiding, data in a spreadsheet very easy. This allows you to focus on specific spreadsheet
entries.
To Filter Data:
Click the Filter command on the Data tab. Drop-down arrows will appear beside each column heading.
Click the drop-down arrow next to the heading you would like to filter. For example, if you would like to only
view data regarding Flavors, click the drop-down arrow next to Category.
Once you have entered information into a spreadsheet, you may want to format it.
Formatting your spreadsheet can not only make it look nicer, but make it easier to use. In a previous lesson we discussed many manual
formatting options such as bold and italics. In this lesson, you will learn how to use the predefined tables styles in Excel 2007 and
some of the Table Tools on the Design tab.
You can:
Select a different table in the Table Styles Options group. Click the More drop-down arrow to see more table
styles.
Delete or add a Header Row in the Table Styles Options group.
Insert a Total Row in the Table Styles Options group.
Remove or add banded rows or columns.
Make the first and last columns bold.
Name your table in the Properties group.
Change the cells that make up the table by clicking Resize Table.
When you apply a table style, filtering arrows automatically appear. To turn off filtering, select the Home tab, click
the Sort & Filter command, and select Filter from the list.
Challenge!
Use the Inventory workbook or any workbook you choose to complete this challenge.
Format the information in a worksheet as a table.
Format the first column in bold.
Name the table.
Change the table style.
Practice using the other features discussed in this lesson to modify the table in various ways.
Aligning Text
Worksheets that have not been formatted are often very difficult to read. Fortunately,
Excel gives you many tools that allow you to format text and tables in various ways. One of the ways you can format your worksheet
so that it is easier to work with is to apply different types of alignment to text.
In this lesson, you will learn how to left, center, and right align text, merge and center cells, vertically align text, and apply different
types of text control.
Formatting Cells
Aligning Text
Excel 2007 left-aligns text (labels) and right-aligns numbers (values). This makes data easier to read, but you do not
have to use these defaults. Text and numbers can be defined as left-aligned, right-aligned or centered in Excel.
To Align Text or Numbers in a Cell:
Select a cell or range of cells
Click on either the Align Left, Center or Align Right commands on the Home tab.
The text or numbers in the cell(s) take on the selected alignment treatment.
Left-click a column label to select the entire column, or a row label to select an entire row.
Changing Vertical Cell Alignment
You can also define vertical alignment in a cell. In Vertical alignment, information in a cell can be located at the top
of the cell, middle of the cell or bottom of the cell. The default is bottom.
Merge Cells can also be applied by using the Merge and Center button on the Home tab.
If you change your mind, click the drop-down arrow next to the command, and choose Unmerge cells.
Challenge!
Use the Inventory workbook or any workbook you choose to complete this challenge.
Insert a row and center-align the text.
Insert a column and left-align the text.
Use the merge and center command to add a title row.
Apply the wrapped text command to the entire table.
To Name a Worksheet:
Right-click the sheet tab to select it.
Choose Rename from the menu that appears. The text is highlighted by a black box.
Click off the tab. The worksheet now assumes the descriptive name defined.
OR
Click the Format command in the Cells group on the Home tab.
OR
OR
Make any changes to one sheet and the changes will appear in all the grouped sheets.
To Ungroup Worksheets:
Right-click one of the sheets.
Select Ungroup from the list.
Freezing Worksheet Panes
The ability to freeze, or lock, specific rows or columns in your spreadsheet is a really useful feature in Excel. It is
called freezing panes. When you freeze panes, you select rows or columns that will remain visible all the time, even as
you are scrolling. This is particularly useful when working with large spreadsheets.
To Freeze a Row:
Select the row below the one that you want frozen. For example, if you want row 1 & 2 to appear at the top
even as you scroll, then select row 3.
Choose Freeze Panes. A thin, black line appears below everything that is frozen in place.
To Freeze a Column:
Select the column to the right of the column(s) you want frozen. For example, if you want columns A & B to
always appear on the left, just select column C.
Click the View tab.
Using Templates
In Excel 2007, you have many templates that can save you a lot of time.
A template is a pre-designed spreadsheet that you can use to create new spreadsheets with the same formatting and
predefined formulas. With templates, you don't need to know how to do the math, or even how to write formulas --
these are already integrated into the spreadsheet.
In this lesson, you will learn how to create a new workbook with a template, as well as basic information about how
templates work in Excel 2007.
Templates
Excel allows you to create new workbooks using templates, or a predefined pattern. Several templates are preloaded
in Excel and others are located on Microsoft Office Online.
To Create New Workbooks Using Templates On Your Computer:
Open Excel.
Click the Microsoft Office Button.
Select New. The New Workbook Dialog Box appears.
Click Installed Templates. Thumbnail images of the templates that are installed on your computer appear in
the center of the dialog box.
Select a template from the center area of the dialog box. A slightly larger image of the template appears on the
right side of the dialog box.
Click Create. The template will appear in the Excel window.
To Create New Workbooks Using Templates on Office Online:
Open Excel.
Click Microsoft Office Button.
Select New. The New Workbook Dialog Box appears.
Select a template. A slightly larger image of the template appears on the right side of the dialog box.
Click Download. The download process will begin.
Challenge!
Open Excel.
View the templates on your computer.
View several of the template categories on Microsoft Office Online.
Select a template.
Download the template.
Enter your data into the template.
Save and close the workbook.
Using What-if Analysis
The real power in Excel comes in its ability to perform multiple mathematical
calculations for you. One of the tools in Excel that you can use to perform these calculations is a Data tool called What-If Analysis.
What-If analysis allows you to see the effect that different values have in formulas. Have you ever thought, "What interest rate do I
need to qualify for to have a car payment of $400 on the car I want?" This question can be answered using What-If Analysis.
In this lesson, you will learn how to use a What-If Analysis tool called Goal Seek.
What-if Analysis
Example
You need a loan to buy a new car. You know how much money you want to borrow, how long of a period you want to
take to pay off the loan (the term), and what payment you can afford to make each month. But, what you need to
know is what interest rate you to qualify for to make the payment $400 a month. In the image below, you can see that if
you didn’t have interest and just divided this $20,000 into 60 monthly payments, you would pay $333.33 a month. The
What-If Analysis tool will allow you to easily calculate the interest rate.
Goal seek is useful if you know the needed result, but need to find the input value that will give you the desired
result. In this example, we know the desired result (a $400 monthly payment), and are seeking the input value (the
interest rate).
Goal Seek
To Use Goal Seek to Determine an Interest Rate:
Select the Data tab.
Locate the Data Tools group.
Click the What-If Analysis command. A list of three options appears.
Click OK.
Then, click OK again. The interest rate appears in the cell. This indicates that a 7% interest rate will give us a
$400 a month payment on a $20,000 loan that is paid off over 5 years, or 60 months.
Challenge!
Use the Car Loan workbook to complete this challenge.
Use Goal Seek to solve the problem described in the text and video lessons.
Create a problem of your own that you might use Goal Seek to solve. Try it.
A chart is a tool you can use in Excel to communicate your data graphically. Charts
allow your audience to more easily see the meaning behind the numbers in the spreadsheet, and make showing comparisons and trends
a lot easier. In this lesson, you will learn how to insert and modify Excel charts and see how they can be an effective tool for
communicating information.
Charts
Creating a Chart
Charts can be a useful way to communicate data. When you insert a chart in Excel, it appears in the selected worksheet
with the source data, by default.
To Create a Chart:
Select the worksheet you want to work with. In this example, we use the Summary worksheet.
Select the cells that you want to chart, including the column titles and the row labels.
Click the Insert tab.
Hover over each Chart option in the Charts group to learn more about it.
Select one of the Chart options. In this example, we use the Columns command.
Select a type of chart from the list that appears. For this example, we use a 2-D Clustered Column. The chart
appears in the worksheet.
Source Data
The range of cells that make up a chart. The chart is updated automatically whenever the information in these cells
change.
Title
The title of the chart.
Legend
The chart key, which identifies each color on the chart represents.
Axis
The vertical and horizontal parts of a chart. The vertical axis is often referred to as the Y axis, and the horizontal axis is
referred to as the X axis.
Challenge!
Imagine you have a spreadsheet with thousands of rows of data. It would be extremely
difficult to see patterns and trends just from examining the raw data. Excel gives us several tools that will make this task easier. One of
these tools is called conditional formatting. With conditional formatting, you can apply formatting to one or more cells based on the
value of the cell. You can highlight interesting or unusual cell values, and visualize the data using formatting such as data bars.
In this lesson, you will learn how to apply, modify, and delete conditional formatting rules.
Conditional Formatting
Top/Bottom Rules: This conditional formatting option highlights cell values that meet specific criteria, such as
top or bottom 10%, above average, and below average. If you choose this option, a dialog box will appear, and
you will have to specify the cells to highlight, and the color you would like to highlight the cells.
Data Bars: This is an interesting option that formats the selected cells with colored bars. The length of the data
bar represents the value in the cell. The longer the bar, the higher the value.
Color Scales: This option applies a two or three color gradient to the cells. Different shades and colors
represent specific values.
Select one of the options to apply it to the selected cells. A cascading menu will appear.
An additional dialog box may appear, depending on the option you choose.
If so, make the necessary choices, and click OK.
From here you can edit a rule, delete a rule, or change the order of rules.
Challenge!
Use the Company Sales workbook to complete this challenge.
Apply conditional formatting to a range of cells with numerical values.
Apply a second conditional formatting rule to the same set of cells.
Apply a conditional formatting rule to a range of cells with text.
Explore the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager dialog box.
Clear all conditional formatting rules from the worksheet.
Creating Pivot Tables
Pivot table reports, or pivot tables as they are often called, can help you answer
questions about your spreadsheet by analyzing the numerical information in various ways. If you work with spreadsheets with a lot of
data, pivot tables can be an extremely useful tool. Pivot table reports give you power because you can quickly find the answer to
many different questions, and manipulate your data in many different ways.
In this lesson, you will learn the basics of inserting and working with pivot table reports.
Click Existing Worksheet and select a worksheet, if you do not want the pivot table to appear in a new
worksheet.
Click OK.
Creating a Pivot Table Report
If you use the sample spreadsheet to create a pivot table, you can see that the column headings are salesperson, region,
account, order amount, and month. When you create a pivot table, each column label in your data becomes a field
that can be used in the report. The Field List appears on the right side of the report, while the layout area appears on
the left.
Release the mouse button to drop the field in the new area. In this example, we move Region from Report
Filter to Column Label. The pivot table report will change.
OR
Right-click one of the rows. A menu will appear.
Select Move and then select a move option.
To Create a PivotChart
Select the Pivot Chart command from the Options tab. The Insert Chart dialog box appears.