Introduction

Excel is a computer program used to create electronic spreadsheets. Within Excel,

users can organize data, create charts, and perform calculations. Excel is a convenient
program because it allows the user to create large spreadsheets, reference information
from other spreadsheets, and it allows for better storage and modification of
information. Excel operates like other Microsoft (MS) Office programs and has many
of the same functions and shortcuts of other MS programs.

Starting Microsoft Excel

To use Microsoft Excel, there are various ways you can start it.
By Start Menu: The classic way users launch Microsoft Excel is from the Start menu
on the task bar. As a regular Microsoft Windows application, to use Microsoft Excel,

1. Click on the START button.

2. Click on PROGRAMS.
3. Click on MICROSOFT EXCEL.

By Using Shortcut: You can also start the application from a shortcut on the desktop.
There are many ways you can create a shortcut on your desktop. To create a Microsoft
Excel shortcut on the desktop, do one of the following:
Double click on the Microsoft Excel icon on the desktop.

• You can also create a shortcut on the desktop, in Windows Explorer, or in My

Computer. To create a shortcut, you can click Start -> Programs and hold your
right mouse on Microsoft Office Excel and drag (with the right mouse button)
to the desktop. On the menu that appears, click Create Shortcut Here.

• Another technique you can use consists of opening My Computer, expanding

the drive, the Program Files folder, the Microsoft Office folder, the Office
folder, right-clicking Excel, clicking Create Shortcut, right-clicking the new
shortcut and clicking Cut, right-click your desktop and click Paste.

By Accessing Program: If you are using My Computer or Windows Explorer, you

can open the Program Files folder, then Microsoft Office, then Office, and double-
click Excel

By Creating New Document: You can create an empty document on your desktop
and use it to launch Microsoft Excel. To do that, you would right-click an empty area
on the desktop, position the mouse on New -> Microsoft Office Excel Worksheet,
type a name for the document, such as Time Sheet, and press Enter twice

By Run Command: You can also start the application from a RUN command:
 1. Click on Start Button
2. Click on Run
3. Type EXCEL
4. Click ok

OVERVIEW OF EXCEL SCREEN

Microsoft Excel will automatically open with a blank spreadsheet spanning many
columns and rows. You will notice a number of toolbars with many more options
included.
The Title Bar

Title bar is located at the very top of the screen. On the Title bar, Microsoft Excel
displays the name of the workbook you are currently using. At the top of your screen,
you should see "Microsoft Excel - Book1" or a similar name.

The Menu Bar

The Menu bar is directly below the Title bar. The menu begins with the word File and
continues with Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools, Data, Window, and Help. You use a
menu to give instructions to the software. Point with your mouse to a menu option and
click the left mouse button. A drop-down menu opens. You can now use the left and
right arrow keys on your keyboard to move left and right across the Menu bar. You
can use the up and down arrow keys to move up and down the drop-down menu. To
choose an option, highlight the item on the drop-down menu and press Enter. An
ellipse after a menu item signifies additional options; if you choose that option, a
dialog box opens.

When using Microsoft Excel, you can set an option to tell Microsoft Excel to always
show full menus or to show only the most frequently and recently used options. All
the lessons in this tutorial assume you have your menus set to Always Show Full
Menus. To set your menu to display full menus:

Point to the word Tools, which is located on the menu bar.

1. Click your left mouse button.

2. Press the down arrow until customize is highlighted.
3. Press Enter.
4. Choose the Options Tab by clicking on it.
5. If Always Show Full Menus does not have a check mark in it, click in the
Always Show Full Menus box. Click Close to close the dialog box.

Toolbars provide shortcuts to menu commands. There are many different

toolbars and the user can choose which toolbars are shown on the screen. To enable
more toolbars go to “View” on the Menu bar, select Toolbars, then select which
toolbar you wish to add to the screen.

Standard Toolbar:
It provides shortcuts to the File Menu, as well as mathematical functions, chart
creation, and sorting.
1. New: Create a new, blank spreadsheet

2. Open: Open a previously saved spreadsheet

3. Save: Save your current spreadsheet

4. Permission: Prevent sensitive documents and e-mail messages from being

forwarded, edited or copied by unauthorized people.

5. Print: Prints the current document.

6. Print Preview: Preview the potential print of the current document.

7. Research: Microsoft has enabled Information Rights Management (IRM) within

the new version of Excel, which can help protect sensitive documents from being
copied or forwarded. Click this for more information and options.

8. Copy: Copies the current selection to the clipboard, which can then be pasted
elsewhere in the document.
9. Paste: Takes the current clipboard contents and inserts them.

10. Undo: Undoes the last action in the document, reverting “back” a step in time.

11. Insert Hyperlink: Inserts a hyperlink to an Internet location.

12. AutoSum: A drop-down menu of available mathematical operations to perform.

13. Sort Ascending: Sorts the current selection in ascending order.

14. Chart Wizard: Opens the “Chart Wizard,” which will walk you through the
creation of a chart or diagram using the currently selected information.

15. Microsoft Excel Help: Brings up the Excel Help window, which will allow you
to type in a key-word for more information, or click anything on screen to directly
bring up further information on that subject.

16. More Options: There are a variety of extra options you can call or add to the
toolbar, such as Spell Check, Sort Descending, Cut, Redo, etc. By clicking the
triangle, you can access these options; at the same time, you can drag this toolbar
outwards more to make more available space for these options directly on the toolbar.

Formatting Toolbar:
The Formatting Toolbar provides shortcuts to font formatting as well as mathematical
functions.

1. Font: Change the font of the selected cell(s)

2. Size: Change the font size of the selection

3. Bold: Put the selection in bold face

4. Italics: Italicize the selection

5. Underline: Underline the selection

6. Align Left: Align the current selection to the left

7. Center: Align the current selection to the center

8. Align Right: Align the current selection to the right

9. Merge & Center: Combine two selected cells into one new cell that spans the
width of both and center the contents of this new cell

10. Currency Style: Change the style in which currency is displayed

11. Percent Style: Change the style in which percents are displayed

12. Decrease Indent: Decrease the indent of a cell by approximately one character

13. Border: Add or alter the style of borders to format a cell with

14. Fill Color: Select a color to fill the background of a cell with

15. Font Color: Select a color to apply to a selection of text

The Formula Bar

Formula Bar
If the Formula bar is turned on, the cell address displays in the Name box on the left
side of the Formula bar. Cell entries display on the right side of the Formula bar.
Before proceeding, make sure the Formula bar is turned on.

1. Point to View, which is located on the Menu bar.

2. Click the left mouse button. A drop-down menu opens. On the drop-down
menu, if Formula Bar has a check mark next to it, the Formula bar is turned
on. Press the Esc key to close the drop-down menu.
3. If Formula Bar does not have a check mark next to it, press the down arrow
key until Formula Bar is highlighted; then presses Enter. The Formula bar
should now appear below the toolbars.
4. Note that the current cell address displays on the left side of the Formula bar.

The Status Bar

Status Bar

If the Status bar is turned on, it appears at the very bottom of the screen. Before
proceeding, make sure the Status bar is turned on.

1. Point to View, which is located on the Menu bar.

2. Click the left mouse button. A drop-down menu opens.
3. On the drop-down menu, if Status Bar has a check mark next to it, it is turned
on. Press the Esc key to close the drop-down menu.
4. If Status Bar does not have a check mark next to it, press the down arrow key
until Status Bar is highlighted then presses Enter. The Status bar should now
appear at the bottom of the screen.

Notice the word "Ready" on the Status bar at the lower left side of the screen. The
word "Ready" tell you that Excel is in the Ready mode and awaiting your next
command. Other indicators appear on the Status bar in the lower right corner of the
screen. Here are some examples:

The Num Lock key is a toggle key. Pressing it turns the numeric keypad on and off.
You can use the numeric keypad to enter numbers as if you were using a calculator.
The letters "NUM" on the Status bar in the lower right corner of the screen indicate
that the numeric keypad is on.

Pressing the key toggles the function between on and off.

Excel Menus:

Edit Menu:

o Among the many functions, the Edit Menu

allows you to make changes to any data

that was entered. You can:

o Undo mistakes made. Excel allows you to

undo up to the last 16 moves you made.

o Cut, copy, or paste information.

o Find information in an existing workbook

o Replace existing information.

Insert Menu

o The Insert Menu allows you to:

o Add new worksheets, rows, and columns to

an existing.

o You can also insert charts, pictures, and

objects onto your worksheet.

Format Menu

o You can change the colors, borders, sizes,

alignment, and font of a certain cell by
going to the “Cell” option in the Format
Menu.

o You can change row and column width and

height in the “Row” and “Column” options.

o You can rename worksheets and change

their order in the “Sheet” option.

o The “AutoFormat” option allows you to

apply pre-selected colors, fonts, and sizes to
entire worksheets
Help Menu and Office Assistant

o The Help Menu is used to answer

any questions you many have with
the program.
o You can also get online assistance if
it is needed.
o The Office Assistant is a shortcut to
the Help Menu. You can ask the
assistant a question and it will take
you directly to an index of topics

Worksheets

Different work sheets within Workbook

Microsoft Excel consists of worksheets. Each worksheet contains columns and rows.
The columns are lettered A to IV, the rows are numbered 1 to 65536. The
combination of a column coordinate and a row coordinate make up a cell address. For
example, the cell located in the upper left corner of the worksheet is cell A1, meaning
column A, and row 1. Cell E10 is located under column E on row 10. You enter your
data into the cells on the worksheet.

The tabs at the bottom of the screen represent different worksheets within a
workbook. You can use the scrolling buttons on the left to bring other worksheets
into view.

A Simple Spreadsheet:

This is what a basic spreadsheet may look like, keeping track of the grades for five
students. As you'll notice, numbers automatically align to the right, while text
automatically aligns to the left. Room has been allowed at the top and the left for
column and row headings, which have been placed in bold.

Simple Formulas:

"92.67" was not entered as the contents for cell "E2." The "formula bar" has the
following entered into it: =(B2+C2+D2)/3
By following the normal order of operations, the contents of the three cells in
parenthesis (B2, C2, and D2) are all added to each other, and then divided by 3. This
gives an average of the three grades, which is then shown in the cell "E2" (where the
formula was entered).

If you wanted to do the same for students 2 through 5, you would enter in similar
formulas for each cell from "E3" to "E6" replacing the column and row numbers
where appropriate.

An easy method to replicate formulas is to select the cell which contains the original
formula ("E2" in this case), click the bottom right corner of the selection box, and
drag down several rows (to "E6" in this example). The formula will be copied down
in each cell, and will change itself to reflect each new row.

Insert Rows & Columns:

You may find that you need to insert a new, blank row where there isn't a blank row
any more. To insert a new blank row, place your cursor directly below where you
would like a new row. Select Insert >> Rows. To insert a new column, place the
cursor in a cell directly to the right of where you would like the column. Select Insert
>> Columns.

Sorting:
One of Excel’s powerful features is its ability to sort, while still retaining the
relationships among information. For example, let’s take our student grade example
from above. What if we wanted to sort the grades in descending order? First, let’s
select the information we want to sort.

Now let’s select the “Sort” option from the “Data” menu.

A new window will appear asking how you would like to sort the information. Let’s
sort it by the average grade, which is in Column E; be sure to set by “Descending”
order. If there were other criteria you wished to sort by as secondary measures, you
could do so; let’s select “Then by” as “Grade 3” just for the practice of doing so
(“Descending” order, as well).
Excel will sort your information with the specifications you entered. The results
should look something like this:

Cell Formatting:
You may notice that, by default, Excel will leave as many decimal points as possible
within the cell’s width restraints; as you increase the cell’s width, the number of
decimal points increases.

Select “Cells” from the “Format” menu. A new window will appear with a wide
variety of ways in which to customize your spreadsheets.
For example, if we wanted to set the percentages fixed to only two decimal points,
you can make this selection under the “Number” category within the “Number” tab.
You can also set the formatting for things such as the date, time, currency, etc.

The “Font” tab will also allow you to change the default font used on the spreadsheet.
The other tabs provide even more ways to customize your spreadsheet and its
appearance; experiment with the settings to see what works best for you.

Creating Charts

Chart Wizard:
Excel allows you to create basic – to – intermediate charts based off of information and data
within your spreadsheets. Let’s create a column chart from the student grade data from
before. First, highlight the data.

Next, select “Chart” from the “Insert” menu.

A new window will appear asking which type of chart you would like to create. For this
example, let’s do a basic pie chart. Select “Column” from the “Chart Type” on the left side,
and pick the first sub-type on the right (a normal, 2D column chart).
Click “Next.” In this window, you’ll be asked to select your “data range”; this is the area of
your spreadsheet that you wish to generate a chart from. Since you’ve already selected the
area before, it should already be entered into the appropriate area. “Series in” allows you to
choose by which value you want to arrange the chart. Let’s arrange it by rows; this will break
it down by “Grade” (such as Test 1, Test 2, etc.) and comparing the student scores next to
each other.

Click “Next.” In step three you can give the chart a name (“Chart Title”), label the X and/or
Y axis, etc.
Click “Next.” The final step will ask whether you want the chart as an object in your current
spreadsheet or in a new one; generally, you will place it within the same spreadsheet.

Click “Finish,” and your chart will appear in your spreadsheet!

Chart in Spreadsheet
Printing Spreadsheet:
You are now going to print a "hard copy" of your spreadsheet. Unless you decide
otherwise, Excel will print on the page in the Portrait orientation

Portrait and Landscape page orientation

If your spreadsheet is too wide to fit on the 8.5 inch width of standard paper, you can
print the spreadsheet sideways (Landscape orientation).

From the File menu select Page Setup to bring up the dialog box

Page Setup Dialog Box

Click on the radio button next to Landscape, and then click on OK
In the Page Setup dialog box you can also tell Excel to print or not to print gridlines,
row and column headings and so forth. You can thus still make changes to the
appearance of your spreadsheet on the printed page.
Click on the Sheet tab in the Page Setup dialog box, then check to see if there is a
checkmark in the box next to Row and Column Headings (remove the check mark if
necessary) this is to tell Excel you do not want those headings in the printout.

Now click on the Print button to bring up the Print dialog box

Print Dialog Box

In the print dialog box, choose the number of copies you would like. As a rule, it is
best to have the computer print only one copy, if you have the option, select draft
quality the first time or two, so you don't waste ink (this is an option on dot matrix,
daisy wheel, or ink jet printers, though not on laser printers). Finally, select OK.
The printer will print your spreadsheet.
Microsoft Excel Shortcut Keys
Ctrl+A Select All None
Ctrl+B Bold Format, Cells, Font, Font
Style, Bold
Ctrl+C Copy Edit, Copy
Ctrl+D Fill Down Edit, Fill, Down
Ctrl+F Find Edit, Find
Ctrl+G Goto Edit, Goto
Ctrl+H Replace Edit, Replace
Ctrl+I Italic Format, Cells, Font, Font
Style, Italic
Ctrl+K Insert Hyperlink Insert, Hyperlink
Ctrl+N New Workbook File, New
Ctrl+O Open File, Open
Ctrl+P Print File, Print
Ctrl+R Fill Right Edit, Fill Right
Ctrl+S Save File, Save
Ctrl+U Underline Format, Cells, Font,
Underline, Single
Ctrl+V Paste Edit, Paste
Ctrl W Close File, Close
Ctrl+X Cut Edit, Cut
Ctrl+Y Repeat Edit, Repeat
Ctrl+Z Undo Edit, Undo
F1 Help Help, Contents and Index
F2 Edit None
F3 Paste Name Insert, Name, Paste
F4 Repeat last action Edit, Repeat. Works while
not in Edit mode.
F4 While typing a formula, None
switch between
absolute/relative refs
F5 Goto Edit, Goto
F6 Next Pane None
F7 Spell check Tools, Spelling
F8 Extend mode None

F9 Recalculate all workbooks Tools, Options,

Calculation, Calc,Now
F10 Activate Menubar N/A
F11 New Chart Insert, Chart
F12 Save As File, Save As
Ctrl+: Insert Current Time None
Ctrl+; Insert Current Date None
Ctrl+" Copy Value from Cell Edit, Paste Special, Value
Above
Ctrl+’ Copy Formula from Cell Edit, Copy
Above
Shift Hold down shift for none
additional functions in
Excel’s menu
Shift+F1 What’s This? Help, What’s This?
Shift+F2 Edit cell comment Insert, Edit Comments
Shift+F3 Paste function into Insert, Function
formula
Shift+F4 Find Next Edit, Find, Find Next
Shift+F5 Find Edit, Find, Find Next
Shift+F6 Previous Pane None
Shift+F8 Add to selection None
Shift+F9 Calculate active Calc Sheet
worksheet
Shift+F10 Display shortcut menu None
Shift+F11 New worksheet Insert, Worksheet
Shift+F12 Save File, Save
Ctrl+F3 Define name Insert, Names, Define
Ctrl+F4 Close File, Close
Ctrl+F5 XL, Restore window size Restore
Ctrl+F6 Next workbook window Window, ...
Shift+Ctrl+F6 Previous workbook Window, ...
window
Ctrl+F7 Move window XL, Move
Ctrl+F8 Resize window XL, Size
Ctrl+F9 Minimize workbook XL, Minimize
Ctrl+F10 Maximize or restore XL, Maximize
window
Ctrl+F11 Inset 4.0 Macro sheet None in Excel 97. In
versions prior to 97 -
Insert, Macro, 4.0 Macro
Ctrl+F12 File Open File, Open

Alt+F1 Insert Chart Insert, Chart...

Alt+F2 Save As File, Save As

Alt+F4 Exit File, Exit

Alt+F8 Macro dialog box Tools, Macro, Macros in
Excel 97 Tools,Macros -
in earlier versions
Alt+F11 Visual Basic Editor Tools, Macro, Visual Basic
Editor
Ctrl+Shift+F3 Create name by using Insert, Name, Create
names of row and column
labels
Ctrl+Shift+F6 Previous Window Window, ...
Ctrl+Shift+F12 Print File, Print
Alt+Shift+F1 New worksheet Insert, Worksheet
Alt+Shift+F2 Save File, Save
Alt+= AutoSum No direct equivalent
Ctrl+` Toggle Value/Formula Tools, Options, View,
display Formulas
Ctrl+Shift+A Insert argument names No direct equivalent
into formula
Alt+Down arrow Display AutoComplete list None
Alt+’ Format Style dialog box Format, Style
Ctrl+Shift+~ General format Format, Cells, Number,
Category, General
Ctrl+Shift+! Comma format Format, Cells, Number,
Category, Number
Ctrl+Shift+@ Time format Format, Cells, Number,
Category, Time
Ctrl+Shift+# Date format Format, Cells, Number,
Category, Date
Ctrl+Shift+$ Currency format Format, Cells, Number,
Category, Currency
Ctrl+Shift+% Percent format Format, Cells, Number,
Category, Percentage
Ctrl+Shift+^ Exponential format Format, Cells, Number,
Category,
Ctrl+Shift+& Place outline border Format, Cells, Border
around selected cells
Ctrl+Shift+_ Remove outline border Format, Cells, Border

Ctrl+Shift+* Select current region Edit, Goto, Special,

Current Region
Ctrl++ Insert Insert, (Rows, Columns,
or Cells) Depends on
selection

Ctrl+- Delete Delete, (Rows, Columns,

or Cells) Depends on
selection
Ctrl+1 Format cells dialog box Format, Cells
Ctrl+2 Bold Format, Cells, Font, Font
Style, Bold
Ctrl+3 Italic Format, Cells, Font, Font
Style, Italic
Ctrl+4 Underline Format, Cells, Font, Font
Style, Underline
Ctrl+5 Strikethrough Format, Cells, Font,
Effects, Strikethrough
Ctrl+6 Show/Hide objects Tools, Options, View,
Objects, Show All/Hide
Ctrl+7 Show/Hide Standard View, Toolbars, Standard
toolbar
Ctrl+8 Toggle Outline symbols None
Ctrl+9 Hide rows Format, Row, Hide
Ctrl+0 Hide columns Format, Column, Hide
Ctrl+Shift+( Unhide rows Format, Row, Unhide
Ctrl+Shift+) Unhide columns Format, Column, Unhide
Alt or F10 Activate the menu None
Ctrl+Tab In toolbar: next toolbar None
Shift+Ctrl+Tab In toolbar: previous None
toolbar
Ctrl+Tab In a workbook: activate None
next workbook
Shift+Ctrl+Tab In a workbook: activate None
previous workbook
Tab Next tool None
Shift+Tab Previous tool None
Enter Do the command None
Shift+Ctrl+F Font Drop Down List Format, Cells, Font
Shift+Ctrl+F+F Font tab of Format Cell Format, Cells, Font
Dialog box
Shift+Ctrl+P Point size Drop Down List Format, Cells, Font

Finishing Excel
You should always quit any computer program when you have finished your session.
Never switch off the computer without closing down Windows. Do not leave a
computer whilst you are still logged on to it as others may use your account and could
damage your files.

Select the File > Exit. Excel will prompt you to save your document before it lets you
quit. Click <Yes> to save the changes, <No> to quit without saving
the changes, or <Cancel> to return to the spreadsheet.
Quit Dialog Box