CHAPTER - 3

In this chapter you will learn about

3.1 Using Number Formats

3.2 Using Font Formats
3.3 Adding Borders and Colors to Cells
3.4 Cell Alignment
3.5 Sorting Data
3.6 Filtering Data
3.7 Adding Headers and Footers
3.8 Conditional Formatting
Using Number Formats
Applying number formatting changes how values are
displayed—it doesn’t change the actual
information. Excel is often smart enough to apply
some number formatting automatically. For Format values using
example, if you use a dollar sign to indicate Accounting format with and the commands in the
currency, such as $548.67, Excel will automatically without dollar symbols. Number group.
apply the currency number format for you
1. Click the cell(s) with the value(s) you want to
format.
2. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon and click a
formatting button in the Number group.
The values are formatted. See the table below for more
information on buttons in the Number group.
Other Ways to Format Values:
Right-click the cell(s) you want to format. Click a
formatting button on the Mini Toolbar. Or, right-
click the cell(s) you want to format and select
Format Cells from the contextual menu or click the
Number group’s Dialog Box Launcher. Select
formatting options on the Number tab in the
Format Cells dialog box.
Using Font Formats
You can emphasize text in a
worksheet by making the
text darker and heavier
(bold), slanted (italics), or in
a different typeface (font).
The Font group on the
Home tab makes it easy to
apply character formatting.
1. Click the cell(s) with the
label you want to format.
2. Click the Home tab on the
Ribbon and click a
formatting button in the
Font group.
The text is formatted.
Adding Borders and Colors to Cells

Add a cell border

Borders are lines that you can add to the top, bottom, left, or right of cells.
1. Select the cell(s) you want to add the border to.
2. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon and click the Border list arrow in the Font
group.
A list of borders you can add to the selected cell(s) appears. Use the examples
shown next to each border option to guide your decision.
If the border configuration you want doesn’t appear in the list, add one border
at a time.
3. Select a border type.
The border is applied.
Tip: To remove a border, click the Border list arrow in the Font group and
select No Border.
Cell Alignment

By default, the contents of a cell

appear at the bottom of the
cell, with values (numbers)
aligned to the right and
labels (text) aligned to the
left. This lesson explains how
to control the alignment of
data in a cell.
1. Select the cell(s) you want to
align.
2. Click the Home tab on the
Ribbon and click an
alignment button in the
Alignment group.
The cell contents are realigned.
Sorting Data
In Excel you can take ranges of data and sort them into
different orders. For example, you can sort text
alphabetically, numbers by size, dates and times
chronologically, cells or fonts by color or icon, or
you can create a custom sort. Usually you sort by Before sorting…
column (or field), but you can also sort by row (or
record).
1. Select the range of data or select a cell in the
column you want to sort by.
2. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon and click the Sort
& Filter button in the Editing group.
A list of sorting options appears, which change according
to the type of data you are sorting:
 Text options: Sort A to Z or Sort Z to A.
 Number options: Sort Smallest to Largest or Sort After sorting from A to Z by the Last column…
Largest to Smallest.
 Date options: Sort Oldest to Newest or Sort Newest
to Oldest.
3. Select a sort option.
The column is sorted based on the values in the left-most
column in the selected range. All the fields within
each record move together. For example, if you sort
a list of first and last names by last name, the first
names still correspond to the last names after
sorting.
Filtering Data
When you filter data, Excel displays only the records
that meet the criteria you specify—other records
are hidden. You can also filter by multiple
columns; each time you filter by an additional
column, the data is further reduced
You can filter by values such as text, numbers, or dates.
1. Select the range of data you want to filter or
select a cell within the range.
2. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon, click the Sort &
Filter button in the Editing group, and click Filter.
3. Click the filter button for the column you want to
filter.
A list of filter options appears at the bottom of the list.
There is an option for every entry in the field.
4. Checkmark the check boxes of values that you
want to display. Remove the checkmarks from
check boxes of values that you want to hide.
The data is filtered so that records that do not meet
the criteria are hidden
5. (Optional) Click another column’s filter button and
apply more filter criteria.
6. Click OK.
The data is further reduced.
Adding Headers and Footers

You can use a header to include the same

information at the top of every printed page or
a footer to include information at the bottom
of every page. You can enter your own
headers or footers, insert built-in ones, or
insert specific elements such as pictures or
page numbers.
1. Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon and click the
Header & Footer button in the Text group.
The workbook automatically switches to Page
Layout View and the cursor appears in the
header area.
The header and footer areas are split into three
sections—left, right, and center. Click any of
the sections to enter text in that section.
2. Enter header text, then click away from the
header area.
When you are finished working with the header
and footer, you can return to Normal view.
Conditional Formatting
You can highlight specific cells in a range using a comparison operator; only cells that
meet the specified criteria will be formatted. For example, you can highlight
cells with values that are greater than a certain value.
1. Select the cell range you want to format.
2. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon and click the Conditional Formatting button
in the Styles group.
A menu appears. Here you have several conditional formatting rules to choose from:
Highlight Cells Rules: These conditions focus on general analysis. Preset conditions
include: Greater Than; Less Than; Between; Equal To; Text That Contains; Date
Occurring; Duplicate Values.
Top/Bottom Rules: These conditions focus on the high and low values in the
worksheet. Preset conditions include: Top 10 Items; Top 10%; Bottom 10
Items; Bottom 10%; Above Average; Below Average.
3. Point to Highlight Cells Rules or Top/Bottom Rules and select a conditional
formatting rule.
A dialog box appears, allowing you to specify the details relating to the rule.
For example, if you selected the Greater Than rule, in the “Format cells that are
GREATER THAN:” box you can enter a value or click a cell to enter a cell
reference. Then you can click the list arrow and select the formatting you want
to apply to cells that fit the criteria you set—in this example, cells that are
greater than the value you entered.
4. Complete the dialog box to define the condition.
5. Click OK.
The conditional formatting is applied to the cells.
CHAPTER 3- SUMMARY
In this chapter you learnt the following:
• Using Number Formats: integers , decimals, 1000 separator,
negative numbers
• Using Font Formats: font size, font color, bold, italics , underline ,
increase/reduce fonts
• Adding Borders and Colors to Cells
• Cell Alignment : The orientation of values within a cell: centre , left ,
right,
• Sorting Data : arranging data in descending or ascending alphabetic
or numerical order
• Filtering Data: streamlining your data to view only specific sections
• Adding Headers and Footers
• Conditional Formatting : predicate / condition based formatting