Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet is a computer application that is designed to add, display, analyze, organize,

and manipulate data arranged in rows and columns. It is the most popular application for
accounting, analytics, data presentation, etc. Or in other words, spreadsheets are scalable
grid-based files that are used to organize data and perform calculations. People all across the
world use spreadsheets to create tables for personal and business usage. You can also use the
tool’s features and formulas to help you make sense of your data. You could, for example,
track data in a spreadsheet and see sums, differences, multiplication, division, and fill dates
automatically, among other things. Microsoft Excel, Google sheets, Apache open office,
LibreOffice, etc are some spreadsheet software. Among all these software, Microsoft Excel
is the most commonly used spreadsheet tool and it is available for Windows, macOS,
Android, etc.
A collection of spreadsheets is known as a workbook. Every Excel file is called a workbook.
Every time when you start a new project in Excel, you’ll need to create a new workbook.
There are several methods for getting started with an Excel workbook. To create a new
worksheet or access an existing one, you can either start from scratch or utilize a pre-designed
template.
A single Excel worksheet is a tabular spreadsheet that consists of a matrix of rectangular cells
grouped in rows and columns. It has a total of 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns, resulting
in 17,179,869,184 cells on a single page of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet where you may
write, modify, and manage your data.
In the same way as a file or a book is made up of one or more worksheets that contain various
types of related data, an Excel workbook is made up of one or more worksheets. You can
also create and save an endless number of worksheets. The major purpose is to collect all
relevant data in one place, but in many categories (worksheet).

Feature of spreadsheet

As we know that there are so many spreadsheet applications available in the market. So these
applications provide the following basic features:
1. Rows and columns: Rows and columns are two distinct features in a spreadsheet that
come together to make a cell, a range, or a table. In general, columns are the vertical portion
of an excel worksheet, and there can be 256 of them in a worksheet, whereas rows are the
horizontal portion, and there can be 1048576 of them.
The color light green is used to highlight Row 3 while the color green is used to highlight
Column B. Each column has 1048576 rows and each row has 256 columns.
2. Formulas: In spreadsheets, formulas process data automatically. It takes data from the
specified area of the spreadsheet as input then processes that data, and then displays the
output into the new area of the spreadsheet according to where the formula is written. In
Excel, we can use formulas simply by typing “=Formula Name(Arguments)” to use
predefined Excel formulas. When you write the first few characters of any formula, Excel
displays a drop-down menu of formulas that match that character sequence. Some of the
commonly used formulas are:
• =SUM(Arg1: Arg2): It is used to find the sum of all the numeric data specified in the
given range of numbers.
• =COUNT(Arg1: Arg2): It is used to count all the number of cells(it will count only
number) specified in the given range of numbers.
• =MAX(Arg1: Arg2): It is used to find the maximum number from the given range of
numbers.
• =MIN(Arg1: Arg2): It is used to find the minimum number from the given range of
numbers.
• =TODAY(): It is used to find today’s date.
• =SQRT(Arg1): It is used to find the square root of the specified cell.
For example, you can use the formula to find the average of the integers in column C from
row 2 to row 7:
= AVERAGE(D2:D7)
The range of values on which you want to average is defined by D2:D6. The formula is
located near the name field on the formula tab.
We wrote =AVERAGE(D2:D6) in cell D9, therefore the average becomes (2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6
+ 7)/6 = 27/6 = 4.5. So you can quickly create a workbook, work on it, browse through it,
and save it in this manner.
3. Function: In spreadsheets, the function uses a specified formula on the input and generates
output. Or in other words, functions are created to perform complicated math problems in
spreadsheets without using actual formulas. For example, you want to find the total of the
numeric data present in the column then use the SUM function instead of adding all the values
present in the column.
4. Text Manipulation: The spreadsheet provides various types of commands to manipulate
the data present in it.
5. Pivot Tables: It is the most commonly used feature of the spreadsheet. Using this table
users can organize, group, total, or sort data using the toolbar. Or in other words, pivot tables
are used to summarize lots of data. It converts tons of data into a few rows and columns.

Use of Spreadsheets

The use of Spreadsheets is endless. It is generally used with anything that contains numbers.
Some of the common use of spreadsheets are:
• Finance: Spreadsheets are used for financial data like it is used for checking account
information, taxes, transaction, billing, budgets, etc.
• Forms: Spreadsheet is used to create form templates to manage performance review,
timesheets, surveys, etc.
• School and colleges: Spreadsheets are most commonly used in schools and colleges to
manage student’s data like their attendance, grades, etc.
• Lists: Spreadsheets are also used to create lists like grocery lists, to-do lists, contact
detail, etc.
• Hotels: Spreadsheets are also used in hotels to manage the data of their customers like
their personal information, room numbers, check-in date, check-out date, etc.
Components of Spreadsheets

The basic components of spreadsheets are:

1. TitleBar: The title bar displays the name of the spreadsheet and application.
2. Toolbar: It displays all the options or commands available in Excel for use.
3. NameBox: It displays the address of the current or active cell.
4. Formula Bar: It is used to display the data entered by us in the active cell. Also, this bar
is used to apply formulas to the data of the spreadsheet.
5. Column Headings: Every excel spreadsheet contains 256 columns and each column
present in the spreadsheet is named by letters or a combination of letters.
6. Row Headings: Every excel spreadsheet contains 65,536 rows and each row present in
the spreadsheet is named by a number.
7. Cell: In a spreadsheet, everything like a numeric value, functions, expressions, etc., is
recorded in the cell. Or we can say that an intersection of rows and columns is known as a
cell. Every cell has its own name or address according to its column and rows and when the
cursor is present on the first cell then that cell is known as an active cell.
8. Cell referring: A cell reference, also known as a cell address, is a way for describing a
cell on a worksheet that combines a column letter and a row number. We can refer to any cell
on the worksheet using cell references (in excel formulae). As shown in the above image the
cell in column A and row 1 is referred to as A1. Such notations can be used in any formula
or to duplicate the value of one cell to another (by using = A1).
9. Navigation buttons: A spreadsheet contains first, previous, next, and last navigation
buttons. These buttons are used to move from one worksheet to another workbook.
10. Sheet tabs: As we know that a workbook is a collection of worksheets. So this tab
contains all the worksheets present in the workbook, by default it contains three worksheets
but you can add more according to your requirement.

Create a new Spreadsheet or Workbook

To create a new spreadsheet follow the following steps:

Step 1: Click on the top-left, Microsoft office button and a drop-down menu appear.
Step 2: Now select New from the menu.
Step 3: After selecting the New option a New Workbook dialogue box will appear and then
in Create tab, click on the blank Document.

A new blank worksheet is created and is shown on your screen.

Note: When you open MS Excel on your computer, it creates a new Workbook for you.

Saving The Workbook

In Excel we can save a workbook using the following steps:

Step 1: Click on the top-left, Microsoft office button and we get a drop-down menu:
Step 2: Now Save or Save As are the options to save the workbook, so choose one.
• Save As: To name the spreadsheet and then save it to a specific location. Select Save
As if you wish to save the file for the first time, or if you want to save it with a new name.
• Save: To save your work, select Save/ click ctrl + S if the file has already been named.
So this is how you can save a workbook in Excel.

Inserting text in Spreadsheet

Excel consists of many rows and columns, each rectangular box in a row or column is referred
to as a Cell. So, the combination of a column letter and a row number can be used to find a
cell address on a worksheet or spreadsheet. We can refer to any cell in the worksheet using
these addresses (in excel formulas). The name box on the top left(below the Home tab)
displays the cell’s address whenever you click the cell.
To insert the data into the cell follow the following steps:
Step 1: Go to a cell and click on it
Step 2: By typing something on the keyboard, you can insert your data (In that selected cell).

Whatever text you type displays in the formula bar as well (for that cell).

Edit/ Delete Cell Contents in the Spreadsheet

To delete cell content follow the following steps:

Step 1: To alter or delete the text in a cell, first select it.
 Step 2: Press the Backspace key on your keyboard to delete and correct text. Alternatively,
hit the Delete key to delete the whole contents of a cell. You can also edit and delete text
using the formula bar. Simply select the cell and move the pointer to the formula bar.

VLOOKUP:

There are four pieces of information that you will need in order to build the VLOOKUP
syntax:

1. The value you want to look up, also called the lookup value.
2. The range where the lookup value is located. Remember that the lookup value should always
be in the first column in the range for VLOOKUP to work correctly. For example, if your
lookup value is in cell C2 then your range should start with C.
3. The column number in the range that contains the return value. For example, if you specify
B2:D11 as the range, you should count B as the first column, C as the second, and so on.
4. Optionally, you can specify TRUE if you want an approximate match or FALSE if you want
an exact match of the return value. If you don't specify anything, the default value will
always be TRUE or approximate match.

Now put all of the above together as follows:

=VLOOKUP(lookup value, range containing the lookup value, the column number in the
range containing the return value, Approximate match (TRUE) or Exact match (FALSE)).

There are four pieces of information that you will need in order to build the VLOOKUP
syntax:

1. The value you want to look up, also called the lookup value.
2. The range where the lookup value is located. Remember that the lookup value should always
be in the first column in the range for VLOOKUP to work correctly. For example, if your
lookup value is in cell C2 then your range should start with C.
3. The column number in the range that contains the return value. For example, if you specify
B2:D11 as the range, you should count B as the first column, C as the second, and so on.
4. Optionally, you can specify TRUE if you want an approximate match or FALSE if you want
an exact match of the return value. If you don't specify anything, the default value will
always be TRUE or approximate match.

Now put all of the above together as follows:

=VLOOKUP(lookup value, range containing the lookup value, the column number in the
range containing the return value, Approximate match (TRUE) or Exact match (FALSE)).
HLOOKUP function

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Tip: Try using the new XLOOKUP function, an improved version of HLOOKUP that works
in any direction and returns exact matches by default, making it easier and more convenient
to use than its predecessor.

This article describes the formula syntax and usage of the HLOOKUP function in Microsoft
Excel.

Description

Searches for a value in the top row of a table or an array of values, and then returns a value in
the same column from a row you specify in the table or array. Use HLOOKUP when your
comparison values are located in a row across the top of a table of data, and you want to look
down a specified number of rows. Use VLOOKUP when your comparison values are located
in a column to the left of the data you want to find.

The H in HLOOKUP stands for "Horizontal."

Syntax

HLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, row_index_num, [range_lookup])

The HLOOKUP function syntax has the following arguments:

▪ Lookup_value Required. The value to be found in the first row of the table.
Lookup_value can be a value, a reference, or a text string.
▪ Table_array Required. A table of information in which data is looked up. Use a
reference to a range or a range name.
▪ The values in the first row of table_array can be text, numbers, or logical values.
▪ If range_lookup is TRUE, the values in the first row of table_array must be placed in
ascending order: ...-2, -1, 0, 1, 2,... , A-Z, FALSE, TRUE; otherwise, HLOOKUP may
not give the correct value. If range_lookup is FALSE, table_array does not need to be
sorted.
▪ Uppercase and lowercase text are equivalent.
▪ Sort the values in ascending order, left to right. For more information, see Sort data in a
range or table.
▪ Row_index_num Required. The row number in table_array from which the matching
value will be returned. A row_index_num of 1 returns the first row value in table_array,
a row_index_num of 2 returns the second row value in table_array, and so on. If
row_index_num is less than 1, HLOOKUP returns the #VALUE! error value; if
row_index_num is greater than the number of rows on table_array, HLOOKUP returns
the #REF! error value.
▪ Range_lookup Optional. A logical value that specifies whether you want HLOOKUP
to find an exact match or an approximate match. If TRUE or omitted, an approximate
match is returned. In other words, if an exact match is not found, the next largest value
that is less than lookup_value is returned. If FALSE, HLOOKUP will find an exact
match. If one is not found, the error value #N/A is returned.
Remark

▪ If HLOOKUP can't find lookup_value, and range_lookup is TRUE, it uses the largest
value that is less than lookup_value.
▪ If lookup_value is smaller than the smallest value in the first row of table_array,
HLOOKUP returns the #N/A error value.
▪ If range_lookup is FALSE and lookup_value is text, you can use the wildcard characters,
question mark (?) and asterisk (*), in lookup_value. A question mark matches any single
character; an asterisk matches any sequence of characters. If you want to find an actual
question mark or asterisk, type a tilde (~) before the character.