It is a spreadsheet program developed by Microsoft. Excel organizes data in columns and rows and allows you to do mathematical functions. It runs on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.
The first version was released in 1985 and has gone through several changes over the years. However, the main functionality mostly remains the same.
Excel is typically used for:
Analysis Data entry Data management Accounting Budgeting Data analysis Visuals and graphs Programming Financial modeling And much, much more!
Why Use Excel?
It is the most popular spreadsheet program in the world It is easy to learn and to get started. The skill ceiling is high, which means that you can do more advanced things as you become better It can be used with both work and in everyday life, such as to create a family budget It has a huge community support It is continuously supported by Microsoft Templates and frameworks can be reused by yourself and others, lowering creation costs
Office 365 The easiest way to get started with Excel, is to use Office 365.
Office 365 does not require downloading and installation of the program. It simply runs in your browser.
In our tutorial we will use Office 365, which can be accessed from www.office.com. Overview This chapter is about giving you an overview of Excel. Excel's structure is made of two pieces, the Ribbon and the Sheet.
Have a look at the picture below. The Ribbon is marked with a red rectangle and the Sheet is marked with a yellow rectangle:
The Ribbon explained
The Ribbon provides shortcuts to Excel commands. A command is an action that allows you to make something happen. This can for example be to: insert a table, change the font size, or to change the color of a cell.
The Ribbon may look crowded and hard to understand at first. Don't be scared, It will become easier to navigate and use as you learn more. Most of the time we tend to use the same functionalities over again.
The Ribbon is made up by the App launcher, Tabs, Groups and Commands. In this section we will explain the different parts of the Ribbon.
App launcher
The App launcher icon has nine dots and is called the Office 365 navigation bar. It allows you to access the different parts of the Office 365 suite, such as Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. App launcher can be used to switch seamlessly between the Office 365 applications.
Tabs
The tab is a menu with sub divisions sorted into groups. The tabs allow users to quickly navigate between options of menus which display different groups of functionality.
Groups
The groups are sets of related commands. The groups are separated by the thin vertical line break.
Commands
The commands are the buttons that you use to do actions.
Now, let's have a look at the Sheet. Soon you will be able to understand the relationship between the Ribbon and the Sheet, and you can make things happen. The Sheet explained The Sheet is a set of rows and columns. It forms the same pattern as we have in math exercise books, the rectangle boxes formed by the pattern are called cells.
Values can be typed to cells.
Values can be both numbers and letters:
Multiple Sheets You start with one Sheet by default when you create a new workbook. You can have many sheets in a workbook. New sheets can be added and removed. Sheets can be named to making it easier to work with data sets.
Syntax A formula in Excel is used to do mathematical calculations. Formulas always start with the equal sign = typed in the cell, followed by your calculation.
Creating formulas, step by step
Select a cell Type the equal sign (=) Select a cell or type value Enter an arithmetic operator Select another cell or type value Press enter
Ranges Range is an important part of Excel because it allows you to work with selections of cells.
There are four different operations for selection;
Selecting a cell Selecting multiple cells Selecting a column Selecting a row
Before having a look at the different operations for selection, we will introduce the Name Box. The Name Box The Name Box shows you the reference of which cell or range you have selected. It can also be used to select cells or ranges by typing their values.
Selecting a Cell Cells are selected by clicking them with the left mouse button or by navigating to them with the keyboard arrows.
It is easiest to use the mouse to select cells.
Selecting Multiple Cells
More than one cell can be selected by pressing and holding down CTRL or Command and left clicking the cells. Once finished with selecting, you can let go of CTRL or Command.
Selecting a Column Columns are selected by left clicking it. This will select all cells in the sheet related to the column.
Selecting a Row Rows are selected by left clicking it. This will select all the cells in the sheet related to that row.
Selection of Ranges Selection of cell ranges has many use areas and it is one of the most important concepts of Excel. Do not think too much about how it is used with values. You will learn about this in a later chapter. For now let's focus on how to select ranges.
There are two ways to select a range of cells
1. Name Box 2. Drag to mark a range.
The easiest way is drag and mark. Let's keep it simple and start there.
How to drag and mark a range, step-by-step:
1. Select a cell 2. Left click it and hold the mouse button down 3. Move your mouse pointer over the range that you want selected. The range that is marked will turn grey. 4. Let go of the mouse button when you have marked the range
Filling Filling makes your life easier and is used to fill ranges with values, so that you do not have to type manual entries.
Filling can be used for:
Copying Sequences Dates Functions (*)
Fill Copies Filling can be used for copying. It can be used for both numbers and words.
Fill Sequences Filling can be used to create sequences. A sequence is an order or a pattern. We can use the filling function to continue the order that has been set.
Sequences can for example be used on numbers and dates.
Undo The Undo function lets you reverse an action.
Undo is helpful if you regret an action and want to go back to how it was before.
Examples of use
Undo deleting a formula
Undo adding a column Undo removing a row
Redo The Redo function has the opposite effect as Undo, it reverses the Undo action. Redo is helpful if you regret using Undo. Formulas A formula in Excel is used to do mathematical calculations. Formulas always start with the equal sign (=) typed in the cell, followed by your calculation.
