MS Excel Tutorial
MS Excel Tutorial
Reference Operators
Functions
Typing a Function
Calculating an Average
Calculating Min
Calculating Max
Calculating Count
Filling Cells Automatically
Printing
Print Preview
Saving Your File
Closing Microsoft Excel
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Lesson 1: Entering Text and Numbers
The Microsoft Excel Window
This tutorial teaches Microsoft Excel basics. Although knowledge of how to navigate in a
Windows environment is helpful, this tutorial was created for the computer novice. To
begin, open Microsoft Excel. Then, if necessary, click the in the upper right corner of
the task pane to close the task pane.
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.
Do the following exercise, which demonstrates using the Microsoft Excel menu bar.
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:
Toolbars
The Standard Toolbar
Toolbars provide shortcuts to menu commands. Toolbars are generally located just below
the Menu bar. Before proceeding with this lesson, make sure the toolbars you will use --
Standard and Formatting -- are available. Follow the steps outlined here:
Worksheets
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, row 1.
Cell E10 is located under column E on row 10. You enter your data into the cells on the
worksheet.
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.
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.
Notice the word "Ready" on the Status bar at the lower left side of the screen. The word
"Ready" tells 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.
Press the Num Lock key several times and note how the indicator located on the
Status bar changes.
The Caps Lock key is also a toggle key. Pressing it turns the caps function on and off.
When the caps function is on, your entry appears in capital letters.
Press the Cap Lock key several times and note how the indicator located on the
Status bar changes.
Other functions that appear on the Status bar are Scroll Lock and End. Scroll Lock and
End are also toggle keys. Pressing the key toggles the function between on and off. Scroll
Lock causes the movement keys to move the window without moving the cell pointer.
End lets you jump around the screen. We will discuss both of these later in more detail.
Make sure the Scroll Lock and End indicators are off and complete the following
exercises.
You can use the down arrow key to move downward one cell at a time.
You can use the Up Arrow key to move upward one cell at a time.
You can use the Tab key to move across the page to the right, one cell at a time.
You can use the right and left arrow keys to move right or left one cell at a time.
The Page Up and Page Down keys move the cursor up and down one page at a time.
The End key, used in conjunction with the arrow keys, causes the cursor to move to the
far end of the spreadsheet in the direction of the arrow.
Note: If you have entered data into the worksheet, the End key moves you to the end of
the data area.
The Home Key
The Home key, used in conjunction with the End key, moves you to cell A1 -- or to the
beginning of the data area if you have entered data.
The following are shortcuts for moving quickly from one cell to a cell in a different part
of the worksheet.
Go to -- F5
The F5 function key is the "Go To" key. If you press the F5 key while in the Ready
mode, you are prompted for the cell to which you wish to go. Enter the cell address, and
the cursor jumps to that cell.
Go to -- Ctrl-G
1. Hold down the Ctrl key while you press "g" (Ctrl-g). The Go To dialog box
opens.
2. Type C4.
3. Press Enter. You should now be in cell C4.
Name Box
Scroll Lock
Scroll Lock moves the window, but not the cell pointer.
Selecting Cells
If you wish to perform a function on a group of cells, you must first select those cells by
highlighting them. To highlight cells A1 to E1:
You can also highlight an area by holding down the left mouse button and dragging the
mouse over the area. In addition, you can select noncontiguous areas of the worksheet by
doing the following:
Entering Data
In this lesson, you are going to learn how to enter data into your worksheet. First, you
place the cursor in the cell in which you would like to enter data. Then you type the data
and press Enter.
Editing a Cell
After you enter data into a cell, you can edit it by pressing F2 while you are in the cell
you wish to edit.
You can also edit the cell by using the Formula bar. You can change "Jones" to "Joker"
as follows:
3. Use the backspace key to erase the "s," "e," and "n."
4. Type ker.
5. Press Enter.
Typing in a cell while you are in the Ready mode replaces the old cell entry with the new
information you type.
Wrapping Text
When you enter text that is too long to fit in a cell into a cell, it overlaps the next cell. If
you do not want it to overlap the next cell you can wrap the text.
To delete an entry in a cell or a group of cells, you place the cursor in the cell or highlight
the group of cells and press Delete.
In Microsoft Excel, you can enter numbers as labels or as values. Labels are alphabetic,
alphanumeric, or numeric text on which you do not perform mathematical calculations.
Values are numeric text on which you perform mathematical calculations. If you have a
numeric entry, such as an employee number, on which you do not perform mathematical
calculations, enter it as a label by typing a single quotation mark first.
Enter a number:
The number 100 appears in cell B1 as a numeric value. You can perform mathematical
calculations using this cell entry. Note that by default the number is right-aligned.
Enter a value:
The number 100 appears in cell C1 as a label. Note that by default the cell entry is left-
aligned and a green triangle appears in the upper left corner of the cell.
Smart Tags
When you make an entry that Microsoft Excel believes you may want to change, a smart
tag appears. Smart tags give you the opportunity to make changes easily. Cells with smart
tag in them appear with a green triangle in the upper left corner. When you place your
cursor in the cell, the Trace Error icon appears. Click the Trace Error icon and options
appear. When you made your entry in cell C1 in the previous section, a smart tag should
have appeared.
Saving a File
Microsoft Excel enables you to choose a default font. The default font is the style of
typeface that Excel will use unless you specify a different style. For the exercises in this
lesson, you want your font to be set to Arial, Regular, and Size 10. To set your font to
Arial, Regular, and Size 10:
When you open Microsoft Excel, the width of each cell is set to a default width. This
width is called the standard column width. You need to change the standard column
width to complete your exercises. To make the change, follow these steps:
1. Choose Format > Column > Standard Width from the menu. The Standard
Width dialog box opens.
2. Type 25 in the Standard Column Width field. Click OK. The width of every cell
on the worksheet should now be set to 25.
3. Move to cell A1.
4. Type Cathy.
5. Press Enter.
Cell Alignment
The name "Cathy" is aligned with the left side of the cell. You can change the cell
alignment.
Using the Formatting toolbar, you can quickly perform tasks. You can use the Formatting
toolbar to change alignment.
You can bold, underline, or italicize text in Microsoft Excel. You can also combine these
features -- in other words, you can bold, underline, and italicize a single piece of text.
In the exercises that follow, you will learn three different methods for bolding, italicizing,
or underlining text in Microsoft Excel. You will learn to bold, italicize, and underline by
using the menu, the icons, and the shortcut keys.
3. Choose Format > Cells from the menu. The Format Cells dialog box opens.
4. Choose the Font tab.
Single Underline
Double Underline
Single Accounting
Double Accounting
1. Highlight cells A2 to B2. Place your cursor in cell B2. Press the F8 key. Press the
right arrow key once.
2. Choose Format > Cells from the menu. The Format Cells dialog box opens.
3. Click Regular in the Font style box.
4. Click OK. Cell A2 is no longer be bolded. Cell B2 is no longer italized.
Alternate Method: Adding Bold, Underline, and Italic by Using Shortcut Keys
You can change the Font, Font Size, and Font Color of the data you enter.
Changing the Font
4. Click to open the drop-down menu associated with the color field.
5. Click Blue.
6. Click OK. The font color changes to blue.
Alternate Method: Changing the Font Color by Using the Icon
Whenever you type text that is too long to fit into a cell, Microsoft Excel attempts to
display all the text. It left-aligns the text regardless of the alignment that has been
assigned to it, and it borrows space from the blank cells to the right. However, a long text
entry will never write over cells that already contain entries -- instead, the cells that
contain entries cuts off the long text. Do the following exercise to see how this works.
Earlier you increased the column width of every column on the worksheet. You can also
increase individual column widths. If you increase the column width, you will be able to
see the long text.
Column A is set to a width of 55. You should now be able to see all of the text.
You can also change the column width with the cursor.
1. Place the cursor on the line between the B and C column headings. The cursor
should look like the one displayed here, with two arrows.
2. Move your mouse to the right while holding down the left mouse button. The
width indicator appears on the screen.
3. Release the left mouse button when the width indicator shows approximately 40.
1. Choose Tools > Options from the menu. The Options dialog box opens.
2. Choose the Edit tab.
3. Make sure there is a check mark in the "Move Selection after Enter" box.
4. If Down is not selected, click to open the Direction drop-down box. Click Down.
5. Click OK.
In Microsoft Excel, you can enter numbers and mathematical formulas into cells. When a
number is entered into a cell, you can perform mathematical calculations such as
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. When entering a mathematical
formula, precede the formula with an equal sign. Use the following to indicate the type of
calculation you wish to perform:
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
^ Exponential
Addition
Subtraction
Multiplication
1. Hold down the Ctrl key while you press "g" (Ctrl-g). The Go To dialog box
opens.
2. Type C1 in the Reference field.
3. Press Enter. You should now be in cell C1.
4. Type 2 in cell C1.
5. Press Enter.
6. Type 3 in cell C2.
7. Press Enter.
8. Type =C1*C2 in cell C3.
9. Press Enter. Cell C1 is multiplied by cell C2 and the result is displayed in cell C3.
Division
1. Press F5.
2. Type D1 in the Reference field.
3. Press Enter. You should now be in cell D1.
4. Type 6 in cell D1.
5. Press Enter.
6. Type 3 in cell D2.
7. Press Enter.
8. Type =D1/D2 in cell D3.
9. Press Enter. Cell D1 is divided by cell D2 and the result is displayed in cell D3.
The AutoSum icon on the Standard toolbar automatically adds a column of numbers. The
following illustrates the SUM function:
1. Go to cell F1.
2. Type 3. Press Enter.
3. Type 3. Press Enter.
4. Type 3. Press Enter.
5. Click the AutoSum button, which is located on the Standard toolbar.
Automatic Calculation
If you have automatic calculation turned on, Microsoft Excel recalculates the worksheet
as you change cell entries. You can check to make sure automatic calculation is turned
on.
Make the changes outlined below and note how Microsoft Excel automatically
recalculates.
Formatting Numbers
You can format the numbers you enter into Microsoft Excel. You can add commas to
separate thousands, specify the number of decimal places, place a dollar sign in front of
the number, or display the number as a percent in addition to several other options.
Before formatting
After formatting
1. Move to a new worksheet by clicking on Sheet3 in the lower left corner of the
screen.
2. Go to cell A1.
3. Type =3+3+12/2*4.
4. Press Enter.
Note: Microsoft Excel divided 12 by 2, multiplied the answer by 4, added 3, and then
added another 3. The answer, 30, displays in cell A1.
To change the order of calculation, use parentheses. Microsoft Excel calculates the
information in parentheses first.
Note: Microsoft Excel added 3 plus 3 plus 12, divided the answer by 2, and multiplied
the result by 4. The answer, 36, displays in cell A1.
Cell Addressing
Microsoft Excel records cell addresses in formulas in three different ways, called
absolute, relative, and mixed. The way a formula is recorded is important when you copy
it.
With relative cell addressing, when you copy a formula from one area of the worksheet to
another, Microsoft Excel records the position of the cell relative to the cell that originally
contained the formula. The following exercises demonstrate:
1. Go to cell A7.
2. Type 1. Press Enter.
3. Type 1. Press Enter.
4. Type 1. Press Enter.
5. Go to cell B7.
6. Type 2. Press Enter.
7. Type 2. Press Enter.
8. Type 2. Press Enter.
9. Go to cell A10.
In addition to typing a formula, as you did in Lesson 1, you can also enter formulas by
using Point mode. When you are in Point mode, you can enter a formula either by
clicking on a cell with your mouse or by using the arrow keys.
Compare the formula in cell A10 with the formula in cell B10 (while in the respective
cell, look at the Formula bar). The formulas are the same except that the formula in cell
A10 sums the entries in column A and the formula in cell B10 sums the entries in column
B. The formula was copied in a relative fashion.
Before proceeding with the next exercise, you must copy the information in cells A7 to
B9 to cells C7 to D9. This time you will copy by using the Formatting toolbar.
1. Highlight cells A7 to B9. Place the cursor in cell A7. Press F8. Press the down
arrow key twice. Press the right arrow key once. A7 to B9 should be highlighted.
An absolute cell address refers to the same cell, no matter where you copy the formula.
You make a cell address an absolute cell address by placing a dollar sign in front of both
the row and column identifiers. You can do this automatically by using the F4 key. To
illustrate:
Now copy the formula from C10 to D10. This time, you will copy by using the keyboard
shortcut.
Compare the formula in cell C10 with the formula in cell D10. They are the same. The
formula was copied in an absolute fashion. Both formulas sum column C.
You use mixed cell addressing to reference a cell that is part absolute and part relative.
You can use the F4 key.
Deleting Columns
You can delete columns from your spreadsheet. To delete columns C and D:
Deleting Rows
You can delete rows from your spreadsheet. To delete rows 1 through 4:
Inserting Columns
There will be times when you will need to insert a column or columns into your
spreadsheet. To insert a column:
Inserting Rows
Creating Borders
You can use borders to make entries on your spreadsheet stand out. Accountants usually
place a single underline above a final number and a double underline below. The
following illustrates:
1. Go to cell B7.
2. Choose Format > Cells from the menu.
3. Choose the Border tab.
1. Go to cell C7. Click the down arrow beside the Borders icon.
2. Select the Top and Double Bottom Border. Cell C7 now has borders.
Merge and Center
You will sometimes want to center a piece of text over several columns. The following
example shows you how.
1. Go to cell B1.
2. Type Sample Spreadsheet.
3. Click the check mark on the Formula bar.
4. Select columns B1 to D1.
5. Click the Merge and Center icon on the formatting toolbar. Cells B1, C1, and
D1 are merged and centered.
1. Go to cell B1.
2. Choose Format > Cells from the menu.
3. Choose the Patterns tab.
You can format your data manually or you can use one of Microsoft Excel's many
AutoFormats.
Reference Operators
Reference operators refer to a cell or a group of cells. There are two types of reference
operators, range and union.
A range reference refers to all the cells between and including the reference. A range
reference consists of two cell addresses separated by a colon. The reference A1:A3
includes cells A1, A2, and A3. The reference A1:C3 includes A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3,
C1, C2, and C3.
A union reference includes two or more references. A union reference consists of two or
more cell addresses separated by a comma. The reference A7,B8,C9 refers to cells A7,
B8, and C9.
Functions
Microsoft Excel has a set of prewritten formulas called functions. Functions differ from
regular formulas in that you supply the value but not the operators, such as +, -, *, or /.
For example, you can use the SUM function to add. When using a function, remember
the following:
=SUM(2,13,A1,B27)
In this function:
The SUM function adds the arguments together. In the exercises that follow, we will look
at various functions.
Typing a Function
As you learned in Lesson 2, you can also calculate a sum by using the Sum icon.
Calculating an Average
You can use the AVERAGE function to calculate the average of a series of numbers.
In Microsoft Excel XP, you can use the Sum icon to calculate an average.
Calculating Min
You can use the MIN function to find the lowest number in a series of numbers.
Calculating Max
You can use the MAX function to find the highest number in a series of numbers.
Note: You can also use the drop-down menu next to the Sum icon to calculate minimums
and maximums.
Calculating Count
You can use the count function to count the number of items in a series.
You can use Microsoft Excel to fill cells automatically with a series. For example, you
can have Excel automatically fill in times, the days of the week or months of the year,
years, and other types of series. Days of the week and months of the year fill in a similar
fashion. The following demonstrates filling the days of the week:
1. Move to Sheet2.
2. Move to cell A1.
3. Type Sun.
4. Move to cell B1.
5. Type Sunday.
6. Highlight cells A1 to B1.
7. Bold cells A1 to B1.
8. Find the small black square in the lower right corner of the highlighted area. This
is called the Fill Handle.
9. Grab the Fill Handle and drag with your mouse to fill cell A1 to B24. Note how
the days of the week fill the cells in a series. Also, note that the Auto Fill Options
icon appears.
Some of the entries in column B are too long to fit in the column. You can quickly adjust
the column width to fit the longest entry.
1. Move your cursor over the line that separates column B and C. The Width
Indicator appears.
2. Double-click. The Column adjusts to fit the longest entry.
1. Grab the Fill Handle and drag with your mouse to highlight cells D1 to D24. The
number 1 fills each cell.
2. Click the Auto Fill Options icon.
3. Choose the Fill Series radio button. The cells fill as a series starting with 1, 2, 3.
1. Go to cell E1.
2. Type Lesson 1.
3. Grab the Fill Handle and drag with your mouse to highlight cells E1 to E24.
4. The cells fill in as a series: Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3, and so on.
Printing
The simplest way to print is to click the Print icon located on the Standard toolbar. Dotted
lines will appear on your screen after you click the print icon. The dotted lines indicate
the right, left, top, and bottom edges of your printed pages.
Print Preview
There are many print options. You can select print options options in Page Setup or in
Print Preview. In Print Preview, you can see the results of your selections onscreen. You
can use print options to:
Set the size of your margins including your header and footer margins.
Center your spreadsheet horizontally and/or vertically on the page.
If you choose the Header/Footer tab, you can select headers and footers. A header is text
that appears at the top of every page. A footer is text that appears at the bottom of every
page. You can use headers and footers to insert page numbers, dates, and other
information.
To choose a header:
To choose a footer:
Click the Custom Header or Custom Footer button to customize your headers and footers.
Use the Left Section to place your options on the left side of the page, the Center Section
to place your options in the center of the page, and the Right Section to place your
optionds 9on the right side of the page.
The Sheet tab has options that allow you to choose which rows and columns will repeat at
the left and the top of the page. It also has options that allows you to determine whether
gridlines and/or row column headings print
To create the column chart shown above, start by creating the spreadsheet below exactly
as shown.
After you have created the spreadsheet, you are ready to create your chart.
1. Highlight cells A3 to D6. You must highlight all the cells containing the data you
want in your chart. You should also include the data labels.
2. Choose Insert > Chart from the menu.
3. Click Column to select the type of chart you want to create.
4. In the Chart Sub-type box, choose the Clustered Column icon to select the chart
sub-type.
7. Click Next.
8. To place the product names on the x-axis, select the Columns radio button.
9. Click Next.
10. Type Toy Sales in the Chart Title field. Toy Sales will appear as the title of your
chart.
11. Type Products in the Category (X) Axis field. Products will appear as your x-axis
title.
12. Type Units Sold in the Value (Y) Axis field. Units Sold will appear as your y-axis
title.
13. Choose the Data Labels tab.
14. Select Value in the Labels Contain Frame to display the data labels as values.
15. Choose the Data Table tab.
16. Select Show Data Table. The data table will appear below your chart.
17. Click Next.
18. Choose As Object In Sheet1 to make your chart an embedded object and part of
the worksheet.
19. Click Finish
20. Your chart will appear on the spreadsheet.
When you select a chart, handles appear on the right and left sides, the top and bottom,
and the corners of the chart. You can drag the handles on the top and bottom of the chart
to increase or decrease the height of the chart. You can drag the handles on the left and
right sides of the chart to increase or decrease the width of the chart. You can drag the
handles on the corners of the chart to increase or decrease the size of the chart
proportionally.
You can change the position of a chart by clicking on the chart and dragging
You can modify your chart by using the Chart toolbar. If the Chart toolbar is not already
available, choose View > Toolbars > Chart from the menu.
Chart Toolbar
1. Click the down arrow on the Chart toolbar. A drop-down menu opens.
2. Choose Data Table from the drop-down menu.
3. Click the Options icon . Choose the Font tab.
4. In the Size box, type 8.
5. Click OK. Your font size is now 8.
1. Click the down arrow on the Chart toolbar. A drop-down menu opens.
2. Choose "Region 1" Data Labels from the drop-down menu.
3. Click the Angle Counter Clockwise icon . The Region 1 Data Labels are
angled counter-clockwise.
4. Repeat this process for Regions 2 and 3.
1. Click the down arrow on the Chart toolbar. A drop-down menu opens.
2. Choose "Region 1" Data Labels from the drop-down menu.
3. Click the Options icon. Choose the Font tab.
4. In the Size box, type 6.
5. Click OK. Your font size is now 6.
6. Repeat this process for Region 2 and 3.
You can also make changes by double-clicking on the item you want to change.