Worksheet Techniques

An Excel workbook is made up of one of more worksheets. The ability to have a number of
worksheets in a workbook allows you to separate your data according to use and purpose. For
example, different worksheets can be used for raw data, calculations, summaries and charts.
To be able to create and manage a workbook effectively, you need to master a number of
worksheet techniques.

In this session you will:

 learn how to insert and delete worksheets

 learn how to copy a worksheet
 learn how to rename a worksheet
 learn how to move a worksheet
 learn how to hide a worksheet
 learn how to unhide a worksheet
 learn how to copy a worksheet to another workbook
 learn how to move a worksheet to another workbook
 learn how to change worksheet tab colour
 learn how to group worksheets
 learn how to hide rows and columns
 learn how to restore rows and columns that have been hidden
 learn how to freeze rows and columns

Inserting and Deleting Worksheets

There are several ways to create a new, blank worksheet, including:
 Click on the button to the right of the current tab(s) to place a new worksheet tab just to
the right of the selected one.
 Press Shift & F11 to place a new worksheet tab just to the left of the selected one.

 Click on the lower part of the button and select ‘Insert Sheet’ to place a new
worksheet tab just to the left of the selected one.

There are also a few ways to delete worksheet tabs (note, if the worksheet contains any data,
Excel will confirm you want to delete it, if it’s empty, Excel will just delete the sheet), including:
 Right click on the tab you want to delete and select Delete.

 Click on the lower part of the button and select ‘Delete Sheet’.
Try this yourself:
 Open the file Level 2 Results.
 Add a new, blank worksheet before Sheet1.
 Add a new, blank worksheet after Sheet2.
 Delete Sheet4.
 Delete Sheet5.
 Save your changes.

Moving and Copying Worksheets

There are a few ways to move a worksheet, including:
 Drag the worksheet tab to where you want it.
 To move a sheet to another file, right click on the tab, select ‘Move or Copy’, select the file
where you want to put it (and the sheet you want to place it before) and click on OK.

There are a few useful ways to copy a worksheet, including:

 Hold down the Ctrl key and drag the tab to where you want it.
 To copy a sheet to another file, right click on the tab, select ‘Move or Copy’, place a tick by
Create a copy, select the file where you want to put it and click on OK.

Try this yourself:

 Open the file Level 2 Results (if not already open).
 Move the tab for Sheet3 to the right of Sheet2.
 Make a copy of Sheet1, placing the copy between Sheets 2 and 3.
 Make a copy of Sheet1, putting the copy into a new file.
 Save the new file as Backup copy and close the file.
 Save the changes to Level 2 Results & keep the file open.

Working with Worksheet Tabs

Renaming a Worksheet
Double-click on the tab and type in the new name.

Try this yourself:

 Continue with the file from above.
 Double click on the tab for Sheet1 (2) and rename it Copy
 Change the name of tab Sheet1 to Original.
 Save the changes to Level 2 Results & keep the file open.

Hiding and Un-hiding Worksheets

To hide a sheet, right click on its tab and select ‘Hide’.
To unhide a hidden sheet, right click on any tab, select Unhide, select the one you want to reveal
and click on OK:

Try this yourself:

 Continue with the file from above.
 Hide the sheet Sheet3.
 Unhide Sheet3.

Changing a Tab’s Colour

Right click on the tab you want to change, select Tab Color and make your choice:

Try this yourself:

 Continue with the file from above.
 Right click on the Original tab and change its colour to red.
 Change the tab for Copy to a colour of your choice.
 Save the changes to Level 2 Results & keep the file open.
Selecting More than One Worksheet
Beware: if you select more than one sheet, anything you write into a cell will be written into the
same cell on all selected worksheets (ideal, if that’s what you want to do, but Excel check first
before replacing previous contents).
To select a block of worksheets, click on the tab for the first one you want to select, hold down the
Shift key and click on the last one you want – both of the tabs (and all those in between) will
change to white.
If you want to select any other tabs in addition to those already selected or deselect one of the
cells that is selected, hold down the Ctrl key and click on each tab.

Try this yourself:

 Continue with the file from above.
 Click on the Original tab, hold down the Shift key and click on the Copy tab.
 Select row 13 and insert a new row.
 Type your name in cell A13 and B13 and some scores (out of 50) in cells I13 to M13.
 Copy down the formulae for Total, Target and % (i.e. copy down the contents of N12, O12
and P12 to row 13). Copy the contents of cell D12 to D13.
 Click on the tab for Sheet3 to deselect the other 3, then look at the Copy sheet to see that
the same cells on row 13 have been completed. Look at Sheet2 to see that the same cells
have been completed – but this time it doesn’t work!! With only the Sheet2 tab selected,
copy cells A12 to M12 down to row 13 to correct it.
 Save the file and keep it open.
Working with Columns & Rows
Hiding & Unhiding Rows & Columns
Rows and columns can be hidden from view in a worksheet. You might find this useful to hide
some working cells and show just totals or protect some cell contents from being accidentally
deleted.

To hide columns, select the whole column(s), right click on the column header and select Hide. To
hide rows, select them, right click on the row number and select Hide.

To unhide columns, select the columns either side of the hidden ones, right click on the header
and select Unhide. With rows, select the rows above & below the hidden ones, right click on the
row number and select Unhide.

Try this yourself:

 Continue with the file from above.
 Select the Original worksheet and hide column F.
 Select cell E13 and press Ctrl & D to copy the date from the cell above (or use another
process to copy it down, if you prefer).
 Press the right arrow or Tab key to move to the next cell and copy down the formula from
the cell above – start age of 115 seems a bit high!!
 Unhide column F and enter a date of birth (true or otherwise – whatever you prefer) to
correct the number in G13.
 Save the changes and keep the file open.

Freezing Rows & Columns

‘Freezing’ keeps the top row(s) and/or left-hand column(s) in view when you scroll down/along the
worksheet. It’s most commonly used to keep the headings in view, even if you’re working on row
500.

You can quickly freeze the top row by clicking on the button (View ribbon) and selecting
Freeze Top Row.
To quickly freeze column A, click on and select Freeze First Column.

Note: either of the above options will switch off the other one.

If you want to freeze more than 1 column/row or want to freeze the top row(s) and left-hand
column(s) together, select the first cell that can disappear when you scroll down (i.e. keep

everything above and to the left of here in view), click on and select Freeze Panes.

To switch the option off (or remove a previous setting before freezing panes), click on and
select Unfreeze Panes.

Try this yourself:

 Continue with the file from above.
 Select the Original worksheet (if not already selected) and click in cell C3.
 Click on the View tab (if not already selected) and select Freeze Panes.
 Scroll down to the bottom of the list – you can still see the column headings.
 Change the zoom to around 175% and scroll along to look at the total scores – you can still
see the first & surnames. Press the Ctrl & Home keys – normally goes to cell A1, but now
goes to C3 (the 1st unfrozen cell). The up and left arrows will navigate to the cells above/to
the left.
 Select the Copy tab and scroll down 1 row, so row 2 is the top one in view. Scroll along
until Column D is the 1st in view. Select cell E3 and freeze panes. Scroll down, right, up &
left – row 2 is always at the top & column D is always to the left. Ctrl & Home will take you
back to cell E3. The up and left arrows will navigate to the cells above/to the left (but you
still will not see Row 1 or columns A to C).
 Select Freeze Panes, Freeze Top Row – scroll down/along, it freezes row 2 at the top, but
column D now goes out of view. Unfreeze the panes in the Copy worksheet to return to
normal.
 Click on the Original tab and change the zoom back to 100%, but leave the frozen pane
on.
 Save and close the file.