INTRODUCTION TO EXCEL

1 INTRODUCTION

Anyone who has used a computer for more than just playing games will be aware of spreadsheets. A
spreadsheet is a versatile computer program (package) that enables you to do a wide range of calculations
dynamically, and create high quality graphs and charts. Microsoft Excel is the most widely used spreadsheet,
and is available within the Microsoft Office suite of programs.

As you work through this introduction to Excel, it is a good idea to be at a computer so that you can try out
various things as they are described. To get into Excel, simply double click on the Microsoft Excel icon if there
is one on the computer desktop. Alternatively, click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen,
move the cursor to Programs to open up the programs menu, and then click on Microsoft Excel. Your computer
should display the basic Excel screen shown in Figure 1. You are now ready to use Excel.

Figure 1 Basic Excel Screen

The bulk of the screen is devoted to displaying a spreadsheet, which is one of many similar sheets that make
up an Excel workbook. By default, the workbook is set up with 3 sheets, but this can be extended by creating
additional sheets as required. In simple examples, you will often be able to organise your work on a single
sheet, but for more complicated problems it may be more convenient to use several sheets. Different sheets are
accessed by clicking on the appropriate Tab at the bottom of the screen. It is also possible to give the sheets
more meaningful names, rather than the default names Sheet1, Sheet2, Sheet3 etc. Simply right click on the Tab
to open up a menu allowing you to (among other things) Insert, Delete or Rename the worksheet.

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 Across the top of the screen is a title bar that displays the name of the program followed by the name of the
workbook (“Book1” is the default name, which will change when you save your data under some other, more
meaningful, name). On the right of the title bar are the usual buttons to minimise, maximise and close a
window. Below the title bar is the main menu bar that contains a series of pull-down menus, organised as with
most applications, into related groups of tasks. Selecting from the menu bar either opens up a sub-menu, or
causes Excel to execute some task.

Below the menu bar are two rows of toolbars that contain buttons (also called icons) for easy access to the
more frequently used tasks. They allow you to execute the task by simply clicking on the appropriate button,
rather than opening up a series of menus. Most of these buttons, such as cut or paste, are standard across many
applications and work in exactly the same way as in, for example, Microsoft Word. You can also access some
of these more common tasks by right-clicking on any part of the spreadsheet. Note, however, that the part of the
spreadsheet where you right-click, for instance a cell or a row or column header, will show a slightly different
set of tasks that are appropriate to that element of the spreadsheet.

2 AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET

A spreadsheet works by laying out your data in a rectangular grid of rows and columns, in the same way that
you would do if you were using a sheet of paper. For example, suppose you have collected quarterly data on
home and export sales in the years 2003 and 2004. A natural way of displaying the data would be as shown in
Figure 2.
A B C D E F G
1 Quarter 2003 2004
2 Home Export Total Home Export Total
3 Spring 23 16 39 25 18 43
4 Summer 28 17 45 31 19 50
5 Autumn 21 11 32 24 12 36
6 Winter 20 13 33 21 15 36

Figure 2 Quarterly Sales Data

The data are laid out in 7 columns and 6 rows, including row and column headings. As you can see in
Figure 1, in an Excel spreadsheet the rows are numbered from 1 upwards, and the columns are referred to by
letters in alphabetical order. After the 26th column, they are labelled AA, AB, AC, … then BA, BB, BC, … etc.
When you have entered the data into Excel, what you see on the computer screen will look almost exactly like
Figure 2, apart from some blank columns after G, and blank rows below 6.

Any cell in the spreadsheet is identified by its column and row position. For example, the top left cell
containing the word “Quarter” is cell A1, and the home sales in autumn 2004 (the value 24) is in cell E5. We
often need to refer to a range of cells, which is a rectangular block of consecutive rows and columns. For
example, the 2003 data is contained in rows 3, 4, 5 and 6 of columns B, C and D. In Excel, any range such as
this is specified by the top left corner cell and the bottom right corner cell, separated by a colon. The 2003 data

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are therefore in the range B3:D6. Similarly, the 2004 export sales are in the range F3:F6, and all the sales data
for 2004 are in the range E3:G6.

3 ENTERING AND EDITING DATA

The cells of a spreadsheet can contain either numbers, as in cell B3, or characters (letters and other symbols), as
in cell A1. To enter data into the spreadsheet, click on the appropriate cell and type in the required contents and
then press Enter. Immediately above the column headings of the spreadsheet, there is a Formula bar that shows
the active cell address, and the contents of that cell. In Figure 1, the cursor is initially positioned on cell A1, and
this cell address appears on the left of the formula bar. As you type an entry into any cell, the contents will
appear after the symbol fx on the formula bar. In Figure 1, cell A1 is initially empty, so no contents are shown
on the formula bar.

Try entering some data by setting up the spreadsheet exactly as shown in Figure 2. As you enter data, you will
see that when you press the Enter key the cursor automatically moves down to the cell below. You can
change this automatic transition so that the cursor moves up, down, left or right (or not at all) after each data
entry. To do this, click on the Tools menu, select Options and then click the Edit tab where you will see a
setting Move selection after Enter. You can alter the direction of movement by changing Direction.
Unchecking the box causes the cursor to remain in the current cell after entry.

It is easy to change (edit) the contents of any cell. Click on the cell to be edited and then either:

• delete the entire contents of a cell by pressing the Delete key

• type a new cell entry (there is no need to first delete the old entry as this will happen automatically)

• modify the existing contents by positioning the cursor in the formula bar. Highlight the section to be
changed, or click at the point where an insertion is to be made, and type in the new characters/data.

Practice these various editing operations by amending some of the cells in your spreadsheet. For example,

1. click on cell A7 and enter the word “Tootal” (notice the cursor moves to cell A8 when you press Enter).

2. click on A7 again, highlight one of the o’s in the formula bar and delete it (then press Enter).

To enter the same data repeatedly into a number of cells, we can use the copy and paste facility as follows.

• Enter the data into the first cell(s)

• Highlight these cells and press the copy button

• Highlight the cells where the contents are to be copied, and press the paste button

Practice this by first deleting the contents of cells E2 to G2 (E2:G2), and then copy into these cells the
contents of cells B2 to D2 (B2:D2).

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4 ENTERING FORMULAE

If a spreadsheet were only able to hold input data, as on a sheet of paper, it would not be very useful. The power
of a spreadsheet comes from the ability to enter formulae into the cells of the spreadsheet so that results can be
calculated automatically. This allows the contents of any cell that contains a formula to be determined
automatically from the contents of other cells. Furthermore, the calculation is dynamic in the sense that the
result of the formula changes automatically whenever the values that the formula uses are changed.

For example, if the spreadsheet in Figure 2 has appropriate formulae in the cells of columns D and G, the
totals can be determined automatically from the sales data in cells B3:C6 and E3:F6. In particular, the total
sales in the spring of 1998 is simply the sum of cells B3 and C3, so rather than enter the actual total (39) in cell
D3, we can enter the formula

= B3 + C3

The = sign is necessary at the start of any formula so that Excel can distinguish a formula from a general text
entry. After all, we might have wanted to put the characters “B3 + C3” into cell D3 as data.

All the other cells in column D contain similar formulae to that in cell D3, for example

(D4) = B4 + C4
When entering these formulae, the cell reference in brackets on the left
(D5) = B5 + C5 is not required, as the cursor will be positioned on the cell concerned.

(D6) = B6 + C6

Input these formulae into the appropriate cells. Notice that the formula appears on the formula bar as you type
it in. Notice also that you do not see the formula in the cell itself, only the result of the formula. The
spreadsheet therefore appears no different from how it did before, but the contents of column D are now
dynamically linked to those of columns B and C.

It can be time consuming to type in every formula individually, but the process can be made much simpler.
When essentially the same formula is being put in each cell, it can be copied from one cell to another using copy
and paste, just as data can be copied. The formula that we have just entered into column D is simply the sum of
the two cells immediately to the left. If the formula in cell D3 were therefore copied and pasted to cell D4, the
original reference to cells B3 and C3 will be automatically updated to refer to cells B4 and C4. Copying a
formula across or down the spreadsheet will automatically update the row and column references within the
formula. So, for example, if the formula in cell D3 is copied to cell G3, the formula will become

= E3 + F3

Likewise, if copied to cell G7, it will become

= E7 + F7

As the formulae that we require in column G are essentially the same as in column D (i.e. the sum of the two
cells immediately to the left), any one of the formulae in column D can be copied and pasted to cells G3:G6 in
one operation.

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 Try this for yourself.

Click on (say) cell D3 and press the Copy button

Highlight cells G3:G6 and press the Paste button

Finally, decide what formula is required to give a column total in cell B7 and enter this formula into cell B7.
As essentially the same formula will be used in each of cells B7:H7, the formula in B7 can copied and pasted
to cells C7:G7.

5 ABSOLUTE CELL REFERENCES

When copying a formula, we usually want the cell references within the formula to be automatically updated for
different rows and/or columns. However, there are occasions when we do not want this to happen. For
example, we might want a reference to cell D7 to remain as that no matter where the formula occurs. We can
prevent cell references from being updated by inserting a $ symbol before either a row number or a column
letter within a cell reference. For example, if a cell is referred to as $D7, then copying a formula containing this
cell reference will fix the column at D, which will not be changed when the formula is copied to different
columns. The row reference, however, will be updated as the formula is copied to different rows. Similarly,
referring to a cell as D$7 will fix the row reference (i.e. it will always be copied as row 7), but allow the column
to be updated. Fixing both row and column references, e.g. $D$7, causes the formula to refer to cell D7, no
matter where it is copied.

A quick way of fixing a row or a column or both is to type in the required cell reference (without the dollar
signs) and use the F4 key repeatedly to “toggle” through the different $ combinations. For example, having
typed D7, pressing the F4 key once changes this to $D$7; successive presses of the F4 key produce D$7, $D7,
D7 etc.

To see an example of this, suppose we wish to work out what percentage of each year’s sales were home and
export; for example the Home percentage in 2003 would be 92×100/149 = 61.7%. Suppose we wish to calculate
these percentages in row 8. To avoid having to type the same formula repeatedly, we can enter it once in cell
B8 and then copy to cells C8:D8. The formula we use in cell B8 would be:

= B7*100/$D7 [= B7*100/$D$7 would produce the same effect]

Can we copy this same formula into cells E8:G8 to give the 2004 percentages? If not, what formula do we
need in cell E8, which can then be copied to cells F8:G8?

Enter the correct formulae into cells B8 and E8, then copy and paste to complete row 8 in Figure 3.

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 A B C D E F G
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .

7 Total 92 57 149 101 64 165

Figure 3 Calculation of Percent Row

6 INSERTING ROWS AND COLUMNS & FORMATTING CELLS

As a final exercise, suppose we wish to calculate the quarterly percentage breakdown in total annual sales for
each year. We could perform these calculations to the right of the data, in columns H and I. However, it would
be better to put the 2003 percentages beside the 2003 data (i.e. between columns D and E) and the 2004
percentages after column G. We need, therefore, to insert a new blank column after column D. To do this first
position the cursor in the column immediately to the right of where the new column will be, and then click on
Insert on the top menu bar, and choose Columns. A blank column will appear to the left of the cursor, and the
columns to the right will be re-labelled. Rows can be inserted by a similar procedure.

Insert the blank column, which will now be column E, and calculate the percentage quarterly breakdown by
entering and copying the appropriate formula. Notice that the formulae in both columns are essentially the
same so if the correct formula is entered in cell E3, it can be copied to E4:E7 and I3:I7. Finally, type in the
heading “Percent” in cell A8, and copy it to cells E2 and I2.

You will see that the percentage figures that you have calculated are given (by default) to 5 decimal places.
In reality, this is unnecessary accuracy, and probably 1 decimal place is more than adequate. The contents of
any cell can be displayed in a wide variety of ways to suit the purpose of the spreadsheet. The format of cells is
adjusted by selecting Format from the top menu bar, and choosing Cells. This allows you to change features
such as alignment (left, right or centred), font and decimal places.

More directly, you can set the alignment within any cell using the usual alignment buttons and

increase/decrease the number of decimal places by clicking on the following buttons.

If you centre all the cells (apart from column A), and reduce the percentage figures to 1 decimal place, your
spreadsheet should now look like that in Figure 4.

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 Figure 4 Final Spreadsheet

7 STANDARD FUNCTIONS

Suppose we need to enter a formula that calculates the total of 10 values entered in cells A1:A10. It would be
very tedious to have to type in the following formula:

= A1 + A2 + A3 + A4 + A5 + A6 + A7 + A8 + A9 + A10

Fortunately, there is a shortcut. We can use a standard function for the sum of a range of cells. In the above
case we could abbreviate the formula to

= SUM(A1:A10)

The cells we wish to sum do not have to be in a single row or column; they could cover a number of adjacent
rows and columns. For example, the total 2003 sales in cell D7 of Figure 2 could be written as

= SUM(B3:C6)

Similarly, a number of distinct ranges could be included within the SUM function. For example, a formula for
the overall sales for the two years could be written as

= SUM(B3:C6, E3:F6)

SUM is just one of over two hundred standard functions, the majority of which you will probably have no
need to use. The more commonly used functions are:
SUM Sum of a range of cells
MAX Maximum of a range of cells
MIN Minimum of a range of cells
SQRT Square root of a cell or value
AVERAGE Average (arithmetic mean) of a range of cells
STDEV Standard deviation of a range of cells
MEDIAN Median of a range of cells
Other, more specialised, functions will be introduced as they are required in relevant chapters of the book.

All functions that you will use require 1 or more arguments in brackets following the function name. These
arguments almost always specify the cell or range of cells to which the calculation applies. If you know what

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arguments a particular function requires, you can simply type in the function name and its arguments as we did
with the SUM function above. A simpler way, however, is to use the Insert menu and select Function as shown
in Figure 5. This brings up the Paste Function dialogue window from which you select the required function
from the relevant category, for instance the basic mathematical functions are in the Math & Trig category,
whereas the basic statistical functions (such as average and standard deviation) are in the Statistical category.
This then opens a dialogue box for the selected function which prompts you for the required arguments. The
dialogue box for the SUM function is shown in Figure 6. An alternative to selecting function from the Insert
menu is to click the function button .

Figure 5 Selecting a Function

Figure 6 SUM Function Dialogue Box

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8 EXCEL ADD-INS

Most of the basic statistical calculations, such as an average or standard deviation, are available as functions in
Excel. However, advanced statistical analyses that involve more complex calculations are provided in a Data
Analysis tool-pack that is available in the Tools section of the menu. However, along with other more advanced
features of Excel, Data Analysis is not present in the basic Tools menu, and must be installed if required. These
are the so-called Excel Add-Ins. Once a particular Add-In has been installed, it remains in the Tools menu until
it is removed, so it only needs to be installed once.

To install Data Analysis (or any other Add-In) open the Tools menu and select Add-Ins. From the list of
available Add-Ins, check the Analysis ToolPak box and click on OK as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7 Installing Data Analysis

When you have added-in the Analysis ToolPak, Data Analysis will then appear in the Tools menu. Clicking
on Data Analysis will open the window shown in Figure 8. You can then select on any of the available analysis
tools and pressing OK will open up a further dialogue box specific to the analysis required.

Another Add-In that you will find useful is STiBstat, which we have developed for certain basic graphs and
procedures that are not otherwise available within Excel, for example drawing stem-and-leaf plots and box plots.
A copy of STiBstat is provided on the CD-ROM and should be copied to your computer’s hard disk drive so that
it will be automatically loaded whenever you run Excel. To load the STiBstat Add-In for the first time, click on
the Browse button when you open up the Add-Ins window (see Figure 7) and go to the directory where you have
saved the copy of STiBstat. Double clicking on the STiBstat icon will cause it to appear on the menu bar just
after the Tools item. Thereafter, whenever you open the Add-Ins window, there will be a checked item called

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Basic statistics for STiB as shown in Figure 7. Within STiBstat there are four individual routines, the uses of
which are described in chapters 3 and 4.

Figure 8 Data Analysis Selection Window

9 GRAPHS AND CHARTS

Excel can be used to create a wide range of high quality graphs and charts from data contained in a spreadsheet.
The simplest way to do this is to use the Chart Wizard, which takes you step by step through the process of
creating a chart of the type that you want. The best way to fully appreciate the many graphs and chart drawing
facilities within Excel is to experiment with a simple set of data. To get you started, however, we will go
through the various stages that you follow when using the chart wizard.

First, select the Chart Wizard by clicking the button. This will take you through a 4-step process to

build a chart of the form you want. We will illustrate below each of the 4 steps, along with the relevant dialogue
box.

From the list on the left in Figure 9, choose one of the standard chart types. As you click on a particular type
the various options within that chart type are displayed in pictorial form on the right. When you have decided
on a chart type and a particular form of that chart, click on the relevant picture to the right.

Suppose you want a vertical (i.e. column) bar chart. There are 7 options of that type. The 3 styles on the top
row have clustered, stacked and percentage bars with no depth. On the second row are the same 3 forms but
with 3-dimensional bars. On the third row is a chart with the bars in 3-dimensional space. As you click on any
picture, a brief description is given, and if you have highlighted some data before selecting the chart wizard, you
can get a preview of how your chart will look by pressing and holding the View Sample button. Having chosen
the graph type, click the Next button.

If you have not highlighted your data before entering chart wizard, you now specify the Data range in Figure
10 by highlighting it on the spreadsheet. When you do this a picture of your data will appear in the area at the top.
Try this yourself by highlighting the range A2:C6 of the sales spreadsheet in Figure 4.

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Figure 9 Step 1: Specify the Chart Type

Figure 10 Step 2: Specify the Source Data

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 We have included the titles (row 2 and column A) in the data range, so these appear on the graph as labels on
the x-axis and the graph legend. See what happens to the graph if you click the Rows radio button to specify
that the data are organised by rows rather than columns. In practice, the choice of data in rows or columns will
depend on which feature of the data you wish to emphasise in the graph. Having specified the source data, click
the Next button, or go Back to the first step to change the graph type.

In step 3, shown in Figure 11, you modify the display features of the graph, and add any titles. The dialogue
window contains a number of tabs that you choose to set the various graph characteristics. For example, the graph
titles are incorporated by clicking on each title box in turn and typing in the required text. After a short delay, the titles
appear on the graph itself as shown. By default, the graph is drawn with horizontal (Y-axis) gridlines. Using the
gridlines tab, these can be removed and, if required, vertical (X-axis) gridlines may be added. The legend tab allows
the legend box (specifying the meaning of the various colours used for the bars) to be included or not, and if included,
where it is positioned. Clicking on Next takes you to the final step, or Back to step 2.

Figure 11 Step 3: Specify the Chart Options

The final dialogue box, shown in Figure 12, simply controls the location of the graph. It can be included in
the workbook as a complete sheet in its own right, or as an object within a specified sheet. Check the
appropriate radio button and if it is to be a new sheet, enter an appropriate name by replacing the default name
Chart1.

10 PRINTING AND SAVING A WORKBOOK

Once a spreadsheet has been created, including any graphs, it can be printed and/or saved using the appropriate
selections from the File menu. When saving, the entire workbook will be saved.

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 When printing, you may print a selection of a sheet (i.e. a highlighted range), a chart, a whole sheet or an
entire workbook. When printing a chart, first click on the chart in question before entering the print menu. You
will then just print the selected chart rather than the spreadsheet itself.

Figure 12 Step 4: Specify the Chart Location

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