Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
These are ledgers meant to manipulate and analyses numerical data. These are two types of
spreadsheet: manual spreadsheet and electronic spreadsheet.
Manual involves use of book, a pencil, and a ruler and eraser etc. while electrical involve the
computerized program that would handle the numerical data these programs include:
Microsoft excel
Lotus 1-2-3
Visi calc
VP planner etc.
ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRONIC OVER MANUAL SPREADSHEETS
Large virtual storage of information within a limited space unlike in manual physical
storage where is cumbersome.
High chance of accuracy in calculation. It is very easy for humans to make errors when
manually doing calculation
Fast retrieval of stored information
Neat production and presentation of information unlike in manual where erased work
may look UN clean
Electronic spreadsheet bears or allows formulas and functions while manual lets the user
work out mentally
MICROSOFT EXCEL
Microsoft excel is an electronic spreadsheet; an application package that can be used to enter,
manage and presenting numerical data in Microsoft windows environment.
Application of spreadsheet
Entry analysis and keeping of data figures
Manipulation of accounts records
Statistical analysis and research
Processing student performance data
LOAD MS EXCEL
Method 1
Click start button
Point programs
Click Microsoft Office
Click Microsoft excel
Method 2
Click start button
Click search programs & files
Type excel
Press enter
CLOSE MS EXCEL
Method 1
Click Office button
Click exit
Method 2
Click the X at title bar
Method 3
Press alt+ F4 keys
SAVE A WORKBOOK
Method 1
Click office button
Click save
Type the file name
Indicate the location to save the wb
Click save
Method 2
Click office button
Click save as
Type the Office button
Indicate the location to save the wb
Click save
Method 3
Click save icon at the standard toolbar
Type the file name
Indicate the location to save the wb
Click save
Method 4
Press ctrl + s
Type the file name
Indicate the location to save the wb
Click save
Rename worksheet
Worksheet may be given different names to enable the user distinguish the data created in each
of them.
Method 1
Select the worksheet at sheet bar
Click home tab
Click format under cells group
Click rename sheet
Type the new name
Press enter key
Method2
Double click the WS at sheet bar
Type the new name
Press enter key
Method 3
Right click the WS at sheet bar
Click rename
Type the new name
Press enter key
Re- arrange worksheet
This enable the user to give some priority to the worksheet by ordering them.
Steps to re- arrange worksheets
Click worksheet to appear as the first
Press LMB and drag to position
Release the mouse
To delete a worksheet
Method 1
Select the worksheet at sheet bar
Click home tab
Click delete under the cells group
Click delete sheet
Click delete
Method 2
Right click the worksheet at sheet bar
Click delete
Click delete for confirmation
To insert a new column
Steps to insert a column
Method 1
Select the column to be preceded
Click home tab
Click insert under the cells group
Click insert sheet column
Method 2
Right click the column to be preceded
Click insert
Resizing columns
This is increasing or decreasing the width of the column
Steps to resize a column
Method1
Select the column
Click home tab
Click format under the cells group
Click width
Type measurement
Click ok
Method 2
Double click between column headers
Method 3
Point between column headers
Press and drag
To delete a column
Method 1
Select the column to delete
Click Home tab
Click delete under the cells group
Click delete column
Method 2
Right click the column to delete
Click delete
HIGHLIGHTING DATA
This is to select a range in worksheet before editing or formatting has been done. Range is any
group of cells selected for an aspect and to be treated a single block.
Steps to highlight data
Method 1
Click the first cell in range
Press LMB and drag to the end
Method 2
Click on the first cell of the range
Press down shift key
Click the last cell in the range
Method 3
Click the first cell in a range
Press down the shift key
Press arrow keys
Method 4
Highlight first range press down the ctrl key
Highlight the other ranges with mouse
FILTERING DATA
Filtering is sieving a specific data if the data meets a certain criteria. It is important for only
needed data can be viewed or analyzed.
Steps to filter data
Highlight the data to filter
Click home tab
Click sort and filtering under the cells group
Click filter button on desired column
Click custom top ten or an entry
Adjust appropriately
Click ok
AUTO FILLING SERIES
These are entries that would follow a certain systematic order or sequence e. g
Days of the week
Months in a year
Value like 1, 2, 3
Any label plus value as the user may instruct the MS excel e. g day 1…..week 1 etc.
To remove filtering
Click home tab
Click sort and filtering under the cells group
Click filter button
FREEZING PANES
This is anchoring the title for a particular data in order to keep the heading still while the rest of
the data is scrolled, for instance in long list of items and the user does not want to lose the main
headings after scrolling upwards. Also remember the screen cannot display 1000 entries at one
go.
Steps to freeze panes
Select the row or the column immediately after the row or column to freeze
Click window menu
Click freeze pane
Scroll the data to confirm
Operators specify the type of calculation that you want to perform on the elements of a formula.
There is a default order in which calculations occur (this follows general mathematical rules), but
you can change this order by using parentheses.
Types of operators
There are four different types of calculation operators: arithmetic, comparison, text
concatenation, and reference.
Arithmetic operators
To perform basic mathematical operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, or
division; combine numbers; and produce numeric results, use the following arithmetic operators.
Arithmetic operator Meaning Example
+ (plus sign) Addition 3+3
– (minus sign) Subtraction 3–1
Negation –1
* (asterisk) Multiplication 3*3
/ (forward slash) Division 3/3
% (percent sign) Percent 20%
^ (caret) Exponentiation 3^2
Comparison operators
You can compare two values with the following operators. When two values are compared by
using these operators, the result is a logical value—either TRUE or FALSE.
Use the ampersand (&) to concatenate (join) one or more text strings to produce a single piece of
text.
FUNCTIONS
Function are special built-in formulas within the spreadsheet designed to work out a specific
return. Function are categorized depending on their areas of application and the user chooses a
function that is conversant and appropriate. For instance there are financial, logical, text,
database, statistical, math and trig, date, time etc.
.
Components of function
Equal sign
Functional name
Argument
=SUM (A2:A6)
Equals sign (=)
The equal sign initiates a formula. It lets MS excel prepare for calculation. Lack of the equal sign
makes the formula statement remain as any other data.
Function name
This tells the user what kind of calculation the function will undergo. For instance, sum means
addition of the values will take place; average means arithmetic means will be worked out etc.
Argument
This is the range or group of cells with values to be worked out. The argument could be single or
multiple.
It should be enclosed in parenthesis (opening and closing brackets)
If a math function is being performed the math formula is surrounded in parentheses.
( Alternatively referred to as the a curved mark, open parenthesis and close parenthesis.
Parenthesis are an outward "(" or inward ")" curved line found on the "9" and "0" keys on a U.S.
keyboard.)
Using the colon (:) allows you to get a range of cells for a formula. For example, A1:A10 is cells
A1 through A10.
=
= will create a cell equal to another. For example, if you were to put =A1 in B1 what ever was in
A1 would automatically be put in B1. You could also create a formula that would make one cell
equal to more than one value. For example, if you have a first name in cell A1 and a last name in
cell B1, you could put in cell A2 =A1&" "&B1 which would put cell A1 in with B1 with a space
between. You can also use a concatenate formula to combine cell values.
AVERAGE
=AVERAGE(X:X)
Display the average amount between cells. For example, if you wanted to get the average for
cells A1 to A30, you would type: =AVERAGE(A1:A30).
COUNT
=COUNT(X:X)
Count the number of cells in a range that contain only numbers. For example, you could find
how many cells between A1 and A15 contain a numeric value by using the =COUNT(A1:A15).
If cell A1 and A5 only contained numbers the value of the cell that contains this function would
be equal to "2."
COUNTA
=COUNTA(X:X)
Count the number of cells in a range that contain text and are not empty. For example, you could
count the number of cells containing text in cells A1 through A20 by using the
=COUNTA(A1:A20). If seven cells were empty the number "13" would be returned.
COUNTIF
=COUNTIF(X:X,"*")
Count the cells that have a certain value. For example, if you have =COUNTIF(A1:A10,"TEST")
in cell A11, then any cell between A1 through A10 that has the word test will be counted as 1. So
if you have 5 cells in that range that contain the word test, A11 would say 5.
IF
=IF(*)
The syntax of the IF statement are =IF(CELL="VALUE" ,"PRINT OR DO THIS","ELSE
PRINT OR DO THIS"). So a good example of the syntax would be =IF(A1="","BLANK","NOT
BLANK"), this would make any cell besides cell A1 say "BLANK" if a1 had nothing within it,
and "NOT BLANK" if any information was within it. The if statement can, of course, become a
lot more complicated but can be reduced if following the above structure.
INDIRECT
=INDIRECT("A"&"2")
Returns a reference specified by a text string. In the above example, the formula would return the
value of the cell contained in A2.
=INDIRECT("A"&RANDBETWEEN(1,10))
Returns the value of a random cell between A1 and A2 using the indirect and randbetween
(explained below) functions.
MEDIAN
=MEDIAN(A1:A7)
MIN AND MAX
Find the median of the values of cells A1 through A7. For example, four is the median for 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
=MIN/MAX(X:X)
Min and Max represent the minimum or maximum amount in the cells. For example, if you
wanted to get the minimum value between cells A1 and A30 you would put =MIN(A1:A30) or if
you wanted to get the Maximum about =MAX(A1:A30).
PRODUCT
=PRODUCT(X:X
Multiples multiple cells together. For example =Product(A1:A30) would multiple all cells
together, so A1 * A2 * A3, etc.
RAND
=RAND( )
Generates a random number greater than zero but less than one, For example, "0.681359187"
could be a randomly generated number placed into the cell of the formula.
RANDBETWEEN
=RANDBETWEEN(1,100)
Generate a random number between two values. In the above example, the formula would create
a random whole number between 1 and 100.
SUM
=SUM(X:X)
The most commonly used function to add, subtract, multiple, or divide values in cells. Below are
some examples.
=SUM(X+X)
=SUM(A1+A2)
Add the cells A1 and A2.
=SUM(A1:A5)
Add cells A1 through A5.
=SUM(A1,A2,A5)
Adds cells A1, A2, and A5.
=SUM(A2-A1)
Subtract cell A1 from A2.
=SUM(A1*A2)
Multiply cells A1 and A2.
=SUM(A1/A2)
Divide cell A1 by A2.
SUMIF
=SUMIF(X:X,"*"X:X)
Perform the SUM function only if there is a specified value in the first selected cells. An
example of this would be =SUMIF(A1:A6,"TEST",B1:B6) which only adds the values B1:B6 if
the word "test" was put somewhere in between A1:A6. So if you put TEST (not case sensitive) in
A1, but had numbers in B1 through B6, it would only add the value in B1 because TEST is in
A1.
TODAY
=TODAY()
Would print out the current date in the cell entered. This value will change to reflect the current
date each time you open your spreadsheet. If you want to enter a date that doesn't change hold
down CTRL and ; to enter the date.
TREND
=TREND(X:X)
To find the common value of cell. For example, if cells A1 through A6 had 2,4,6,8,10,12 and
you entered formula =TREND(A1:A6) in a different cell, you would get the value of 2 because
each number is going up by 2.
VLOOKUP
=VLOOKUP(X,X:X,X,X)
The lookup, hlookup, or vlookup formula allows you to search and find related values for
returned results. See our lookup definition for a complete definition and full details on this
formula.
RANK Function
RANK Function Arguments. order: (optional) This argument tells Excel whether to rank the list in
ascending or descending order.
RANK Function Arguments
There are 3 arguments for the RANK function:
number: in the above example, the number to rank is in cell B2
ref: We want to compare the number to the list of numbers in cells $B$2:$B$11. Use an
absolute reference ($B$2:$B11), instead of a relative reference (B2:B11)so the
referenced range will stay the same when you copy the formula down to the cells below
order: (optional) This argument tells Excel whether to rank the list in ascending or
descending order.
Use zero, or leave this argument empty, to find the rank in the list in descending
order. In the example above, the order argument was left blank, to find the rank in
descending order.
=RANK(B2,$B$2:$B$11)
For ascending order, type a 1, or any other number except zero.
If you were comparing golf scores, you could type a 1, to rank in ascending order.
=RANK(B2,$B$2:$B$11,1)
IF FUNCTION
This is logical function that returns one value if a condition specified evaluates to true and
another value evaluates to false. It compares two value; that is if not true it is false.
Syntax
IF(logical_test, value_if_true, [value_if_false])
For example:
=IF(A2>B2,"Over Budget","OK")
Logical test
This is the value that is chosen to be evaluated to either true or false. It is the argument value.
Value if true
It is value that shall be returned if the logical test is true
Value if false
It is the value that shall be returned if the logical test is false
Here are some additional examples of formulas that you can enter in a worksheet.
AND FUNCTION
The AND Function returns TRUE if all conditions are true and returns FALSE if any of the
conditions are false.
1. Select cell D2 and enter the following formula.
The AND function returns FALSE because the value in cell B2 is not higher than 5. As a result
the IF function returns Incorrect.
OR FUNCTION
The OR function returns TRUE if any of the conditions are TRUE and returns FALSE if all
conditions are false.
1. Select cell E2 and enter the following formula.
The OR function returns TRUE because the value in cell A1 is higher than 10. As a result the IF
function returns Correct.
General note: the AND and OR function can check up to 255 conditions.
=SQRT(A1) Uses the SQRT function to return the square root of the value in A1.
To apply a function
To apply a function the user can enter/ insert one from a list or type the function direct at the
formula bar. Whether it is from a list or typing direct the cell for the returns first should be
selected.
Steps to enter function
Method1
Select the cell for return
Click Formulas tab
Click insert function under the function library
Select function category
Select function name
Click ok
Select the range/ argument
You may fill other details
Click ok
Press enter key
Click the green tick at the formula bar
Method 2
Select the cell for return
Click (fx) at the formula bar
Select function category
Select function name
Click ok
Select the range/ argument
You may fill other details
Click ok
Press enter key
Click the green tick at the formula bar
Steps to type a function direct
Select the cell for returns
Type equal sign
Type the function name
Type open bracket
Type the range/ argument
Type close bracket
Press enter key
Click the green tick at the formula bar
To cancel a calculation
Method 1
Select the cell of calculation
Click the red X at the formula bar
Method 2
Click cancel button if there is a dialog
Method 3
Select the cell of calculation
Press escape key
Method 4
Select the cell of calculation
Press delete key
DATA VALIDATION
It is a logical command that sets criteria on a particular cell or cells to control/ restrict the data
entered in the cell e. g if the user want to put a limit in an intake, or if one wants to put some age
limit for the retiring employees.
Steps to data validation
Highlight cells to validate
Click Data tab
Click data validation under the data tools group
Set the Settings, Input message and Error alert
Click ok
HYPERLINK
This is an address that is established to link two or more files especially if they have related
information.
COMMENTS
Comments are details hidden within a particular cell, telling more about the cell.
Steps to insert comments
Select the cell to comment on
Click review tab
Click new comment
Type the details
Click away
Steps to read a comment
Point the cell with the comment (this cell has a red triangle at its top right corner)
Steps to remove comments
Click the cell with the comment
Click review tab
Click clear comments
Each of the chart type also has various chart subtype, for instance the bar chart has following
Clustered column
100% sucked column
Stacked column
Steps to create a chart
Highlight the data
Click insert tab
Select chart type
Select chart subtype
Follow the wizard till the end
Click finish
VARIOUS PARTS OF CHAT
There are several parts that make a chart. These include the following:
Chart tittle
This tells one what the chart is all about
Chart area
The space occupied by all the components of the chart.
Plot area
The space in the chart area that holds the graph. Graph represents the data series.
Legend
The key or description of the grouped items represented by different colours
Axes
The outer lines that define or mark the graph
Series
The individual items either in labels or values containing data. They are usually in the cells.
Gridlines
The partitions of the chart walls. These are minor and major gridlines on both category axis and
value axis
Chart wall
The vertical space where the graph leans on