Comp11-Introduction to Computing

Microsoft Excel
Electronic Spreadsheet is a financial management program for microcomputers
containing worksheets organized into rows and columns.

MS Excel is a type of spreadsheet program which operates on windows environment; its

main components are worksheets, database and charts.

EXCEL PROGRAM WINDOW

Workbook is a collection of worksheets.

Worksheet is the basic unit of a workbook. It is a rectangular grid of columns
labeled from A through XFD for a total of 16, 384 columns and 1,048,576 rows
numbered down from 1 through 1,048,576 .
Cell is the intersection between a column and a row and considered as the basic unit of a
worksheet.
Cell Address or Cell Reference is the specific location or set of coordinates where data
is entered into a worksheet using the column and row grid.

Range is a rectangular block of cells. It could be a single cell, a row of cells, a column of
cells, or a block of cells. Ranges are specified by listing the upper left and lower
right addresses, separated by a colon.

Chart is a graphic representation of a worksheet data, Charts can make data interesting,
attractive, and easy to evaluate.

Spreadsheet Basics

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Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that you can use to organize, analyze
and attractively present data such as a budget or sales report. Each Excel file is a
workbook that can hold many worksheets. The worksheet is a grid of columns,
designated by letters, and rows, designated by numbers. The letters and numbers of the
columns and row called labels are displayed in gray buttons across the top and left side of
the worksheet. The intersection of a column and a row is called a cell. Each cell on the
spreadsheet has a cell address that is the column letter and the row number. Cells can
contain text, numbers, or mathematical formulas.

Name box – Displays the address (column and row number) of the active cell.
Formula bar – Displays the contents of the active cell, can also be used to edit data.
Cursor – Indicates the currently selected (or active) cell.
Column labels – Identifies each column and can be used to select columns (by clicking
on the labels).
Row labels – Identifies each row and can be used to select rows (by clicking on the
labels).
Sheet tabs – Use these to select each worksheet in the workbook.
Scrollbars – Use these to view sections that are not currently visible by clicking on the
arrows, or by moving the scroll box.
Status bar – Displays various messages as you use Excel.

Different Types of Data using Excel

Numbers – default alignment is right
Text – default alignment is left
Formulas – default alignment is right
Date – default alignment is right
Time – default alignment is right

Keys for Editing Data

PRESS TO
F2 Edit the active cell and position the insertion point at the
end of the line
= “equal sign” Start a formula
ALT + = (equal sign) Insert the AutoSum formula
CTRL + ; (semicolon) Enter the current date
CTRL + SHIFT + : (colon) Enter the current time

Keys for Formatting Data

PRESS TO
CTRL + 1 Display the Format Cells dialog box
CTRL + SHIFT + ! Apply the Number format with two decimal places,
thousands separator, and minus sign (-) for negative values

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CTRL + SHIFT + $ Apply the Currency format with two decimal places
(negative numbers appear in parentheses)
CTRL + SHIFT + % Apply the Percent format with no decimal places.

Formulas and Functions

The unique feature of a spreadsheet program such as Excel is that it allows you to create
mathematical formulas and execute functions. Otherwise, it is not much more than a large
table for displaying text.

Formula – A formula is an equation that performs operations on worksheet data.

Formulas can perform mathematical operations, such as addition and
multiplication, or they can compare worksheet values or join text. Formulas
can refer to other cells on the same worksheet, cells on other sheets in the
same workbook, or cells on sheets in other workbooks.
Syntax:
=FunctionName(Arguments)
The Function Name – such as SUM, AVERAGE or MAX , which indicates what the
function does.
The Arguments – such as B2:B12, which tells Excel what cell addresses or cell
references to apply to the function. Always starts and ends with
parenthesis.

Relative, Absolute, and Mixed Referencing

Calling cells by just their column and row labels (such as "A1") is called relative
referencing. When a formula contains relative referencing and it is copied from one cell
to another, Excel does not create an exact copy of the formula. It will change cell
addresses relative to the row and column they are moved to. For example, if a simple
addition formula in cell C1 "= (A1+B1)" is copied to cell C2, the formula would change
to "= (A2+B2)" to reflect the new row. To prevent this change, cells must be called by
absolute referencing and this is accomplished by placing dollar signs "$" within the cell
addresses in the formula. Continuing the previous example, the formula in cell C1 would
read "= ($A$1+$B$1)" if the value of cell C2 should be the sum of cells A1 and B1. Both
the column and row of both cells are absolute and will not change when copied. Mixed
referencing can also be used where only the row or column are fixed. For example, in
the formula "= (A$1+$B2)", the row of cell A1 is fixed and the column of cell B2 is
fixed.

Allowed Elements in a Formula

Arithmetic Operators
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
^ Exponentiation
& Concatenate (to combine text string)

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Comparison Operators
> Greater than
< Less than
= Equal to
<> Not equal to
>= Greater than or Equal to
<= Less than or Equal to

Basic Functions
Functions can be a more efficient way of performing mathematical operations than
formulas. For example, if you wanted to add the values of cells D1 through D10, you
would type the formula "=D1+D2+D3+D4+D5+D6+D7+D8+D9+D10". A shorter way
would be to use the SUM function and simply type "=SUM (D1:D10)". Several other
functions and examples are given in the table below.

Function Example Description

SUM =SUM(A1:A100) finds the sum of cells A1 through A100
AVERAGE =AVERAGE(B1:B10) finds the average of cells B1 through B10

MAX =MAX(C1:C100) returns the highest number from cells C1

through C100
MIN =MIN(D1:D100) returns the lowest number from cells D1
through D100
SQRT =SQRT(D10) finds the square root of the value in cell D10
TODAY =TODAY( ) returns the current date (leave the
parentheses
empty)

Function Wizard
You can view all functions available in Excel by using the Function Wizard.
1. Select the cell where the
function will be placed and
click the Insert Function
button next to the
Formula bar (or go to Insert >
Function).
2. From the Insert Function
dialog box, browse through the
functions and select a category
from the drop-down menu, and
select the function from the

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Select a Function choices

below. As each function name
is highlighted a description and
example is provided below the
two boxes.
3. Click OK to select a function.
4. The next window allows you to choose the cells that will be included in the
function. In the example below, cells A1, A2 and A3 were automatically selected
for the sum function by Excel. The cell values {1;2;3} are located to the right of the
Number 1 field where the cell addresses are listed. If another set of cells, such as
B1, B2 and B3,
needed to be
added to the
function, those
cells would be
added in the
format “B1:B3”
to the Number
2 field.
5. Click Ok when all the cells for the function have been selected.

What does this Error Mean?

##### When the cell contains a number, date or time that is wider than
the cell
#DIV/0! When your formula is trying to divide by zero
#VALUE! Indicate that a formula supplied isn’t the type of value that the
formula’s arguments expected
#NAME? Means that Excel thinks you’re referring to a name that doesn’t
exist
#N/A! Means that data needed to perform the calculation is not available
#REF Means that a cell reference is incorrect

Charts
Achart allows you to visually display your data. Chats help users compare data and
identify trends. Excel offers different chart types. This section explains how you can
create simple charts from the data selection you have on a worksheet.

Before you can create your chart you must enter data into a worksheet, and then highlight
the data tospecify to Excel which information to use as part of the chart, then do the
following:

1. Insert > Chart, the Chart Wizard appears

Or
2. Click the Chart Wizard button on the Standard toolbar, the Chart Wizard
appears
Or

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3. Press F11 on your keyboard. The chart will be created using the data you selected.

Chart Wizard
The Chart Wizard brings you through the process of creating a chart by displaying a
series of dialog boxes.
1. Enter the data into the worksheet and highlight
all cells that will be included in the chart including
headers.

2. Click the Chart Wizard button found on the Standard toolbar to view the Chart
Wizard dialog box.

3. In the Chart Type dialog box: Choose

the Chart type and Chart subtype if
necessary. Click Next.

4. In the Chart Source Data dialog box:

Select the data range in case different
from the area highlighted in step 1 and
click Next.

5. In the Chart Options dialog box: Enter

the title of the chart and titles for the X-

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and Y- axes. Other options for the Axes,

Gridlines, Legend, Data Labels, and
Data Table can be changed by clicking on
the tabs. Click Next to move the next set
of options.

 Chart title: is the title associated with the chart.

• Category (x) axis: is the axis (usually a vertical axis) that shows a scale of values
by which the data series are measured.

• Category (y) axis: is the axis (usually a horizontal axis) that displays a category
labels for all the data series.

• The Gridlines tab: You can add gridlines (both vertically and horizontally) to your
chart. This is important when you have a chart with values close to each other.

• The Legend tab: A color, text, or graphics “Key” identifying each series in the
chart.

• The Data Labels tab: Text or values displayed at Data Points (an individually
plotted value associated with a specific category).

• The Data Table tab: Enables you to place a table below the x-axis. This feature
aligns the numeric data under the corresponding category.

6. The Chart Location dialog box:

Click As New Sheet if the chart
should
be placed on a new worksheet or
select
As Object In if the chart should be
embedded in a n existing sheet and
select the worksheet from the drop-down menu.
7. Click Finish to create the chart.

Resizing a Chart

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To resize the chart, click on its border and drag any of the eight black handles to change
the size. Handles on the corners will resize the chart proportionally while handles along
the lines will stretch the chart.

• The two vertical middle handles can be used to change the height of the chart.

• The two horizontal middle handles can be used to change the width of the chart.

• The four handles at the corners can be used to change both the height and width of the
chart.

Moving a Chart
Select the border of the chart, hold down the left mouse button and drag the chart to a
new location. Elements within the chart such as the title and labels may also be moved
within the chart. Click on the element to activate it, and use the mouse to drag it.

Deleting a Chart
Click a blank area in the chart you want to delete. Handles appear around the chart. Press
the DELETE key on the keyboard to delete the chart.

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