Microsoft Excel

 MS Excel is a powerful spreadsheet program included with Microsoft

Office and is mainly used to record data in tables. It consists of several
rows and columns, which can be used to enter data. The program is
considered helpful for various tasks, such as calculating weekly expenses,
making payslips, accounting, and interactively sorting/filtering data by
various criteria.

Features of MS Excel
In starting days, Excel played a crucial role in performing various financial operations
for the enterprises, including bookkeeping and record-maintaining. However, it has
received several updates over time, which typically helped in making excel a must-
have software for business processes. The latest version of Excel comes with a wide
range of features.

Some of the essential features of Microsoft Excel include the followings:

Header and Footer: Like Word documents, we can also use a header/ footer in our
excel documents. It is located on the top and the bottom of each page of a
spreadsheet document.

Find and Replace: MS Excel allows us to find the desired data, such as text or
numbers, using the Find feature in the worksheet. Besides, we can also replace the
existing data with custom updated data.

Password Protection: By using the password, we can protect our excel workbook
from unauthorized access. This feature ultimately helps us to keep our data secured.

Data Filtering: Data filtering is a faster way to find and continue work with a subset
of data in a selected range. The data filtering feature is handy and comes with
AutoFilter and Advanced Filter options.

Data Sorting: Using the data sorting feature, we can arrange the data of excel
worksheets in some logical orders. Excel typically allows us to sort data in various
ways, including the ascending or descending order.
Inbuilt Formulae: MS Excel contains a wide range of formulae that we can use for
performing easy to complex calculations. Some basic formulae include the sum,
subtract, multiply, divide, average, minimum, etc.

Real-time Data Update: In excel, we apply different functions to calculate values

and get the desired results. If we replace some existing values with the new ones,
Excel automatically updates the results in the corresponding cells.

Insertion of Charts: One of the prominent features of Excel is the availability of

various charts, such as pie charts, bar graph charts, line charts, and more. These
charts can sometimes make a huge difference in the analysis and comparison of data.

In addition to standard spreadsheet features, Excel also provides programming

support through Microsoft's Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), the ability to access
data from external sources via Microsoft's Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE).

Uses of MS Excel
MS Excel is widely used to organize data and perform easy to complex calculations
for getting outputs for financial analysis. It is preferred in almost all business sectors
and at companies from small to large scale.

Some of the essential uses of MS Excel are listed below:

o Data Entry
o Data Management
o Financial Analysis
o Financial Modeling
o Accounting
o Time Management
o Task Management
o Programming (VBA)
o Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
o Charting, Graphing, and Reporting
The Excel Interface
The interface of excel is simple and can be understood easily. This is important to
understand the primary interface to start working on it.

The following image displays all the major sections of Excel, including the formula
bar, row, column, cell, worksheet tab, etc.

Let us briefly discuss all the terms displayed in the above image:

o Cell: The intersection point of a row and column is referred to as a cell. Excel

contains several cells in a worksheet. Each cell is identified by a unique
address formed by combining two characters, such as the letter of a column
and the number of a row.
o Row: A row is a horizontal space in a table used to record data. Excel contains
several rows in a worksheet. Each row has a unique number, starting from 1.
o Column: A column is a vertical space in a table used to record data. Excel
contains several columns in a worksheet. Each column has a unique address
represented by a letter, starting from letter A.
o Worksheet: An excel worksheet refers to the area of rows and columns, which
jointly form a table. We can add desired charts, shapes, and other supported
objects to the worksheet. It is also referred to as a spreadsheet or sheet.
o Workbook: An excel workbook refers to the main file that includes
worksheet(s) and related objects.
Opening an MS Excel
Opening MS Excel is the first thing that we must know to work on it. There can be
different ways to open an MS Excel, such as:

o We can open it by double-clicking its icon directly from the desktop if installed using
the default settings.
o We can open it by double-clicking its name from the Start menu, given inside the MS
Office folder.
o We can use the 'Windows Search' feature and enter the text 'Excel'. It will display all
the files and programs with this name located on the computer. Thus, we can double-
click on its name under the programs to open it.

Working with the Ribbon

The ribbon is referred to as the central control panel for Excel. This powerful tool is
located on the top of the window after we open excel.

A ribbon contains several tabs, such as Home, Insert, Page Layout, and more, and
each tab consists of the number of buttons to process different commands in excel.
The best thing about these buttons is that if we place a mouse cursor on any button,
it tells us what task it will do.
Managing the Worksheets
Another excellent feature of Excel is that the Excel workbooks can have multiple
worksheets. We can manage different worksheets of the workbook directly from the
bottom of the window. In a default 'blank workbook', we can see a single sheet with
the name 'Sheet1'.
To insert more worksheets, we can use a plus (+) sign, which is given next to the
sheet name. Furthermore, we can right-click on its name to display the number of
other options related to sheets. We can click on these options to manage the
worksheets accordingly.

Entering the Data

Entering the data in Excel is one of the basic steps. While it is the initial step that we
need to perform in Excel to start working with data, it is quite easy and almost
effortless.

To enter the data, we can select the specific cell and start pressing the button from
the keyboard accordingly. Despite this, we can also copy, cut, and paste data in
Excel from other programs. In addition to this, we can also import the data from
other files.
Performing Calculations
It is another great feature of Excel that we can perform various calculations on our
data. Performing basic calculations in Excel is so easy.

We can use mathematical signs between the data, and the results will be provided
automatically. For example, if we input =4+5 in any of the cells and press the Enter
button, the cell will display the value 9, which is the sum of 4 and 5. Besides, if we
select a particular cell, the original formula (whatever we have given in that cell) is
displayed on the formula bar.

In another way, we can also use the cell references and insert the mathematical
operations between them. This will also derive the corresponding result. For example,
suppose we enter 4 in cell A1 and 5 in cell B1. Next, we enter =A1+B1 in cell C1. By
doing this, cell C1 displays the sum of values given in cells A1 and B1.
Using Functions
Getting results using the excel functions is one of the essential tasks, and it can
reduce the time of the working process to some extent.

In particular, most functions/ formulas take sets of numbers as inputs and provide
the corresponding results. Let us discuss this with a simple example:

Suppose we enter 4 in cell A1 and 5 in cell B1. Next, we enter =SUM(A1,B2) in cell

C1. By doing this, cell C1 displays the sum of values given in cells A1 and B1.

Excel has a wide range of valuable functions. To view different functions, we can
navigate to the 'Formulas' tab and select the specific category from there. Excel
displays all the supported functions of that particular category.
Once we get familiar with functions, we can enter equal sign (=) within the cell and
write starting any function into it. Then, Excel automatically displays the
corresponding functions and their syntax. We can select the function and proceed
further as per the syntax.

Saving our Work

Once we have done our work, we must save it to a file. If we close the Excel without
saving it, we will lose our work. The easiest way to save an excel file to a computer is
to press a keyboard shortcut 'Ctrl +S'. Once we press this shortcut, excel will ask us
to choose a file name and the location to save it.

We can also click on the 'Save' button located on the 'Quick Access Toolbar'. This

button also helps us to save the temporary data to an existing file.
Important Points to Remember
There are many crucial things that we must know before we start working on excel.
Some of the most important things to remember are listed below:

o Excel allows us to use a wide range of keyboard shortcuts to make our

working process faster. We must utilize excel shortcut keys and increase the
productivity of our work process.
o When we want to share an excel file with someone, and there is no need for
further editing, we must save a file in a pdf format. This format is not easy to
edit, making the data secure from unauthorized inputs. Furthermore, the pdf
format is also best known for printing purposes.
o Excel allows us to utilize different file extensions. However, each extension has
its uses. In particular, the XLSX extension is the default format for excel files
when there are no VBA macros inside it.
o If the excel file has vast amounts of data (usually more than 10 MB), we must
use the XLSB extension. It is faster and compatible with all functions,
formatting, and even VBA macros. However, this format may not be supported
in other spreadsheet programs.
o Since excel supports VBA programming, we must not open an excel file
received from untrusted sources because it may contain some vulnerable
codes.
o When saving an excel file using the 'Save As' command, we must be cautious;
otherwise, we may end up mistakenly replace the file with the original one.
That way, we may sometimes lose essential data.