INTRODUCTION

TO EXCEL FOR
DATA ANALYTICS
TOPIC: FUNDAMENTALS OF EXCEL
Indexes

Introduction 3

Range 5

Ribbons 14

Workbooks 17

Worksheets 20

Find & Select 28

Replace 30

Go to Special 32
Introduction
Microsoft Excel was created in 1985, Microsoft Excel is a
spreadsheet program that can be used to organize information
and data into rows and columns. Similar to database
management systems, Excel can be used for inputting data and
presenting it in simple ways. Excel can be used for mathematical
and statistical analyses, as well as the creation of charts and
graphs that visualize the data being stored within a spreadsheet.
Offering multiple functions and formulas, and learning how to
use Excel can make the process of managing information and
data easier and more efficient for whoever uses it.

Although Microsoft Excel has grown out of favor with some data
science students and professionals, this spreadsheet software is
still quite commonly used for performing statistical analyses,
data storage, and organization within the realms of business and
finance. Below are the primary reasons why Microsoft Excel
remains a popular data science tool within many industries, as
well as the reasons why it should continue to be used by data
scientists.

5 Reasons Data Scientists use Excel

When we hear or see the words “data science”, in addition to the
standard definition of the term, there are also a variety of
assumptions and beliefs that are also caught up in that
understanding. At the level of denotation, data science can be
defined as the use of analytical tools, software, and programs to
better understand information and data. Generally, data science
uses statistical analysis, algorithms, and machine learning in
order to uncover patterns and trends within a dataset.
With that being said, there are several connotations or
contextual meanings, beliefs, and assumptions that are
commonly associated with “data science.” Metaphorically
speaking, a word association cloud or network analysis of the
term data science could also connect it with other terms, such as
big data, artificial intelligence, and even specific programming
languages and analyses. Thinking comparatively, while there are
many things that we associate with data science, there are also
several things that we do not commonly associate with it.

Especially when thinking about the recent move towards

distinguishing the field of data analytics from data science, the
connotations or beliefs around data science also means that
while data science has come to be associated with advanced
statistical analyses, programming languages, and complex code,
many of the ways that data was analyzed in the past have become
less popular. Over time, spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft
Excel and other early data analysis tools, are becoming less
commonly associated with doing data science.

However, Microsoft Excel has many capabilities which make it a

useful tool for data scientists. Even with all of the new data
analysis tools that have been produced since the creation of
Excel, this widely used spreadsheet software has also updated
and changed over time. Instead of promoting an either/or
understanding of data science and the tools that can be used to
complete data science projects, this article offers five reasons
why data scientists should use Excel. And, by reading this list,
perhaps you will begin to think differently about what programs
and tools should be associated with this constantly evolving field
and industry.
Most Popular uses of Microsoft Excel
1. Basic Calculation and Analysis
2. Communicating Findings to Diverse Audiences
3. Visual Approach to Data Organization and Management
4. Inference and Exploratory Analysis
5. Scenario Management
6. What If Analysis and Optimizations
7. Financial and Statistical Analysis
8. Forecasting and Regression Analysis

Range
A range in Excel is a collection of two or more cells. This chapter
gives an overview of some essential range operations.

Cell, Row, Column

Let's start by selecting a cell, row, and column.

1. To select cell C3, click on the box at the intersection of column

C and row 3.
2. To select column C, click on the column C header.

3. To select row 3, click on the row 3 header.

Range Examples

1. To select the range B2:C4, click on cell B2 and drag it to cell C4.
2. To select a range of individual cells, hold down CTRL and click
on each cell that you want to include in the range.

Fill a Range
If you want to fill a range of cells with a formula, you can use the
fill command or you can simply use the Excel Drag.

To fill a range, execute the following steps.

1a. Enter the value 2 into cell B2.

1b. Select cell B2, click on the lower right corner of cell B2, and
drag it down to cell B8.

Result

This dragging technique is very important and you will use it

very often in Excel. Here's another example.
2a. Enter the value 2 into cell B2 and the value 4 into cell B3.

2b. Select cell B2 and cell B3, click on the lower right corner of
this range, and drag it down.

Excel automatically fills the range based on the pattern of the

first two values.

That's pretty cool huh!?

Let's take another example to get better understanding of

Ranges.
3a. Enter the date 6/13/2016 into cell B2 and the date 6/16/2016
into cell B3.

3b. Select cell B2 and cell B3, click on the lower right corner of
this range, and drag it down.

Excel automatically fills the range by incrementing the values

by looking at the pattern based on the first two rows.

It's great that we got to know about the Ranges, But there's more
to it, Let's get to know how to move a Range in Excel.
Move a Range
To move a range, execute the following steps.

1. Select a range and click on the border of the range.

2. Drag the range to its new location.

Copy/Paste a Range
To copy and paste a range, execute the following steps.

1. Select the range, right-click, and then click Copy (or press
CTRL + C)

2. Select the cell where you want the first cell of the range to
appear, right-click, and then click Paste under 'Paste Options:' (or
press CTRL + v).
Insert Row/Column

To insert a row between the values 20 and 40 below, execute the

following steps.

1. Select row 3.

2. Right-click, and then click Insert.

Final Result.
Ribbons

Excel selects the ribbon's Home tab when you open it. Learn how
to use the ribbon. Tabs on the ribbon are File, Home, Insert, Page
Layout, Formulas, Data, Review, View, and Help. The Home tab
contains the most frequently used commands in Excel.

Groups on the Tab

Each tab contains groups of related commands. For example, the
Page Layout tab contains the Themes group, the Page Setup
group, etc.
Use the Ribbon
Let's use the ribbon to create a table. Tables allow you to analyze
your data in Excel quickly and easily.

1. Open data-set.xlsx.

2. Click any single cell inside the data set.

3. On the Insert tab, in the Tables group, click Table.

The Create Table dialog box

appears.

4. Excel automatically selects

the data for you. Check 'My
table has headers' and click
on OK.
Result. Excel creates a nicely formatted table for you.

Note: use the drop-down arrows to quickly sort and filter.

Collapse the Ribbon

You can collapse the ribbon to get extra space on the screen.
Right-click anywhere on the ribbon, and then click Collapse the
Ribbon (or press CTRL + F1).
Result.

Workbooks
A workbook is another word for your Excel file. When you start
Excel, click Blank workbook to create an Excel workbook from
scratch.

Open an Existing Workbook

To open a workbook you've created in the past, execute the
following steps.

1. On the File tab, click Open.

2. Recent shows you a list of your recently used workbooks. You

can quickly open a workbook from here.

3. Click Browse to open a workbook that is not on the list.

Closing the Workbook

To close a workbook (and Excel), click the upper right X. If you
have multiple workbooks open, clicking the upper right X
closes the active workbook.
Create a New Workbook
Sometimes you want to start all over again. To create a new
workbook, execute the following steps.

1. On the File tab, click New.

2. Click Blank workbook.

Turn off the Start screen

When you start Excel, it shows a start screen that lists recently
used Excel files and templates. To skip the start screen always
start with a blank workbook, execute the following steps.

1. On the File tab, click Options.

2. Under Start up options, uncheck 'Show the Start screen when

this application starts'.
3. Click on the "OK" Button.

After clicking on the "OK" Button, you can see that the start
screen has turned off.
Worksheets
A worksheet is a collection of cells where you keep and
manipulate the data. Each Excel workbook can contain multiple
worksheets.

Select a Worksheet
When you open an Excel workbook, Excel automatically selects
Sheet 1 for you. The name of the worksheet appears on its sheet
tab at the bottom of the document window.

Insert a Worksheet
You can insert as many worksheets as you want. To quickly
insert a new sheet, click the plus sign at the bottom of the
document window.
Result.

Rename a Worksheet
To give a worksheet a more specific name, execute the
following steps.

1. Right-click on the sheet tab of Sheet 1.

2. Choose Rename.

3. For example, type Sales 2016.

Move a Worksheet
To move a worksheet, click on the sheet tab of the worksheet
you want to move and drag it into the new position.

1. For example, click on the sheet tab of Sheet 2 and drag it

before Sales 2016.

Delete a Worksheet
To delete a worksheet, right-click on a sheet tab and choose
Delete. For example, delete Sheet 2.
Copy a Worksheet
Imagine, you have got the sales for 2016 ready and want to
create the exact same sheet for 2017, but with different data. You
can recreate the worksheet, but this is time-consuming. It's a lot
easier to copy the entire worksheet and only change the
numbers.

1. Right-click on the sheet tab of Sales 2016.

2. Choose Move or Copy, The 'Move or Copy' dialog box appears.

3. Select (move to end) and check to Create a copy.

Note: you can even copy a

worksheet to another Excel
workbook by selecting the
specific workbook from the
drop-down list (see the dialog
box shown earlier).
Sheets Function
To count the total number of worksheets in a workbook, use the
SHEETS function in Excel (without any argument).

1. For example, select cell A1.

2. Type =SHEETS() and press Enter.

Format Cells
When we format cells in Excel, we change the appearance of a
number without changing the number itself. We can apply a
number format (0.8, $0.80, 80%, etc) or other formatting
(alignment, font, border, etc).

1. Enter the value 0.8 into cell B2.

By default, Excel uses the General format (no specific number
format) for numbers. To apply a number format, use the 'Format
Cells' dialog box.

2. Select cell B2.

3. Right click, and then click Format Cells (or press CTRL + 1).

The 'Format Cells' dialog box appears.

4. For example, select Currency

Note: Excel gives you a live preview of how the number will be formatted
(under Sample).

5. Click OK.
Cell B2 still contains the number 0.8. We only changed the
appearance of this number. The most frequently used
formatting commands are available on the Home tab.

6. On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the percentage

symbol to apply a Percentage format.
Find & Select
You can use Excel's Find and Replace feature to quickly find
specific text and replace it with other text. You can use Excel's
Go To Special feature to quickly select all cells with formulas,
notes, conditional formatting, constants, data validation, etc.

Find
To quickly find specific text, execute the following steps.
1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find & Select, and
then Click on Find.

2. Type the text you want to find. For example, type Ferrari, and
Click 'Find Next'.
Excel selects the first occurrence.

3. Click 'Find Next' to select the second occurrence.

4. To get a list of all the occurrences, click 'Find All'.

Replace
To quickly find specific text and replace it with other text,
execute the following steps.

1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find & Select, and
Click on "Replace".
The 'Find and Replace' dialog box appears (with the Replace tab
selected).

3. Type the text you want to find (Veneno) and replace it with
(Diablo).

4. Click 'Find Next'.

Excel selects the first occurrence. No replacement has been

made yet.
5. Click 'Replace' to make a single replacement.

Note: use 'Replace All' to replace all occurrences.

Go to Special
You can use Excel's Go To Special feature to quickly select all
cells with formulas, notes, conditional formatting, constants,
data validation, etc. For example, to select all cells with formulas,
execute the following steps.

1. Select a single cell.

2. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find & Select
3. Click on Go To Special.

Note: Formulas, Notes, Conditional formatting, Constants and

Data Validation are shortcuts. They can also be found under Go
To Special.

4. Select Formulas and click OK.

Note: you can search for cells with formulas that return
Numbers, Text, Logicals (TRUE and FALSE), and Errors. These
checkboxes are also available if you select Constants.

Excel selects all cells with formulas.

General note: If you select a single cell before you click Find,
Replace, or Go To Special, Excel searches the entire worksheet.
To search a range of cells, first, select a range of cells.

It is not possible to name a worksheet

“History” in Excel.