EXCEL -TREE INVENTORY STATUS REPORT

1. Open the data file Tree_Inventory located on Canvas an save the workbook as
YourName_Tree_Inventory

View the labels related to the types of trees in inventory and the related data. The six labels include:
Quantity in Stock, Item #/Category, Tree Name, Retail Price, Light, and Landscape Use. This data can be
sorted and filtered a number of ways. However, a problem exists. The current layout does not allow the
data to be sorted by Category name because the category is connected with the Item # in the same cell.
The resolve this, two columns will be inserted to allow for greater functionality by using the Flash Fill
feature.

RECALL as an example: a cell range such as A1:G1 means to select the first cell i.e., A1 and select
through ( : ) the last cell reference G1. When done correctly, cells A1, B1, C1, D1, E1, F1, G1 will be
selected. The concept is true for selecting columns.

FLASH FILL
2. Select column headings C:D by putting mouse on column C heading, click, hold and drag across
to column D, right click on any area of the selected columns and select Insert.
Note: Two blank columns are inserted on the right of Column B.
3. Click cell C11 type 13129, click the Enter button on the Formula Bar to remain in C11.
4. While in cell C11, click Fill button in Editing Group, click Flash Fill.
Note: The range is populated with the first part of the content in Column B and the Flash Fill
Options button appears on the lower right corner of cell C11; click the Flash Fill Options button
to view the options that exist.

5. Click cell in D11, type Oak, click the Enter button on the formula bar.
6. While in D11, press Ctrl +E (shortcut for Flash Fill). If you are a Mac user, this may not work. You
can use the Flash Fill button.
Note: Flash Fill extracts the text from the Item#/Category column and inserts Category as a
label for the column. Item # and Category content are in two separate columns and now the
data can be sorted and filtered by both Item # and Category.
7. Column B is no longer needed. Select Column B, by putting mouse on Column B heading, right
click and click Delete.

Another way to delete a column: click in a cell of the column you want to
delete, click on the down arrow and select Delete Sheet Columns located
in the Cells group under the Home tab.

And still there is another way: Click on the column heading, click on the Delete button (not the
arrows) and the column will be deleted.
Excel identifies what is selected and provides options based on what is selected.
Excel Tree Inventory Status Report

MOVE A COLUMN
8. In cell B10 type Item # as a label and press Enter
9. Select Column C, click Cut in the Clipboard group OR use the shortcut Ctrl + X. Click cell H1. Click
the top part of the Paste button OR use the shortcut Ctrl + V to paste. The labels should be on
the same row.
10. Column C is now empty and is no longer needed. Select Column C, right click and select Delete
11. Select Columns A:G, click Format in the Cells group and click on AutoFit Column Width.

Another way to AutoFit Column Widths: Select columns, move pointer to the right of a selected
column heading border to display the double headed arrow as shown below and double click

12. Select range A1:H1, apply Merge & Center then apply Title cell style.
13. Select range A2:H2, apply Merge & Center then apply Heading 1 cell style.
14. Edit cell A2 by adding a comma and the current year after December 31. The label in A2 should
read December 31, current year (not the words CURRENT YEAR, but the current year we are
living in)

SUM, AVERAGE & MEDIAN FUNCTIONS

Functions are foundational to Excel. Functions and Formulas are graded heavier. if the values
are manually entered, points will not be awarded. Functions must exist in each cell as identified
in the steps below.
15. Click cell B4, click the AutoSum button (not the down arrow) located in the Editing group, select
range A11:A39, press Enter.
If done correctly, the result in B4 will be 3022.
16. Click cell B5, click the down arrow on the right of the AutoSum button, click AVERAGE, select
range D11:D39, press Enter.
If done correctly, the result in B5 will be 107.89
17. Click cell B6, click down arrow on the right of the AutoSum button, click More Functions type
MEDIAN in the Search for a function box, click Go. When the Median function is highlighted,
click OK. In the Median function dialog box, type D11:D39 in the Number 1 box, click OK.
If done correctly, the result in B6 will be 107.99

MIN AND MAX FUNCTIONS

18. Click cell B7 click down arrow on right of AutoSum button, click MIN, select range D11:D39 and
press Enter
If done correctly, the result in B7 will be 102.99
19. Click cell B8 click down arrow on right of AutoSum button, click MAX, select range D11:D39 and
press Enter
If done correctly, the result in B8 will be 117.98
20. Format cell B4 with Comma Style and click Decrease Decimal twice so no decimals show
21. Select range B5:B8 and apply Accounting Number Format

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MOVE DATA AND RESOLVE A ##### ERROR MESSAGE

22. Select Column E and change width to 4.78. Use the drag method OR use the Format Button in
the Cell group. Warning: This will look odd, but there is a purpose…move on

In the next step, you will move a range of cells. There are two ways to do this: 1: Select and use the
drag and drop feature 2: Select and us the cut and paste buttons in the Clipboard group. Either one is
fine to use.

23. Select range A4:B8. Point to the right edge to display a 4 headed arrow pointer; click, hold and
drag and drop the cell range to D4:E8.
The hashtags ###### mean the column is too narrow and does not accommodate the data that
is in the cell.
24. Select Columns D:E, double click the right boundary of Column E to AutoFit the columns to
accommodate the widest entry.
25. Select range D4:E8, apply 20%-Accent 1 Cell Style

ROTATE TEXT
26. In cell C6 type Tree Statistics and press Enter
27. Select range C4:C8 right click over selection, click Format Cells click Alignment tab. Under Text
control check Merge cells, under Orientation click in the Degrees box and type 30. Click OK.
When done correctly, it will look like the figure below.

28. While still in cell C6:

- change Font Size to 14
- apply Bold and Italic
- apply Font color Blue under Standard Colors
- apply Align Right
When done correctly, it will look like the figure below

In the next steps, you will insert multiple rows. There are a few ways to do this. The F4 key is the
repeat key that repeats the last action. This may be helpful in the event you did not select the

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correct number of rows or if you find it easier to push a button to perform the task. If you do not
have the F4 key functionality, you will need to use one of the long ways to insert rows.

29. Right click on Row Heading 9, click Insert to insert a blank row
30. Press the F4 key two times to repeat the last action and insert two additional blank rows.
A total of 4 blank rows should exist
Another way: select row headings 9:11, right click, click Insert (this inserts 3 blanks rows versus
one at a time)

Any time you insert a row adjacent to a row that is formatted, the format is automatically applied to the
new inserted rows. No Worries. Use the CLEAR ALL or CLEAR FORMAT feature to fix this. Use the
feature that is best for the task at hand when you are in the workplace.

31. Select Row Headings 9:11, in the Editing group, click Clear button then select Clear Formats to
remove the blue shade formatting
Observe the SUM function in cell E4. The range was adjusted and refers to the appropriate cell
range A14:A42. This is the benefit when moving a range of cells. This is NOT the case when
copying a range of cells.

COUNTIF FUNCTION
The COUNTIF function counts the number of items in a range that meets a specific criteria. The
COUNTIF function has 2 arguments. 1: the Range of cells to assess and 2: the Criteria or what to look
for to include in the count. The COUNTIF function may be typed directly in the cell or the fx button can
be used which opens the function dialog box to guide you step by step.

32. In cell A10 type Oak Trees and press Tab to go to cell B10
33. In cell B10 click on the fx button, type COUNTIF in the Search for a function box and click on GO
OR if the function is listed in the Select a function box, click on it and click OK
34. In the Range box, type G14:G42 OR use the collapse box to select the range as shown below.
This may be the better choice if you are not a good typist and make many typing errors. When
using the collapse box to select the range there is nothing to type, instead you visually select the
desired range.

35. Click in the Criteria box type Oak, Press the tab key. Notice the Quotation marks are placed
around the word Oak which is vital. When typing the function, these need to be typed in order
for the function to work. Click OK.
When done correctly, the result in cell B10 will be 13
Another way: Type =COUNTIF, when it appears in the formula menu, press the TAB key, select
the range G14:G42, type a comma, type “Oak”. Explore and try it without the quotes and see
the result 0

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36. While in B10, click the Align Left button in the Alignment group

IF FUNCTION
The IF function will perform a calculation, return a value, number or text based on a logical test. Logical
Tests use logical operators i.e., > >=, <, <=, < >. There are 3 arguments: 1. Logical Test, 2. Value If True,
3. Value if False. The syntax is as follows:

=IF(logical_test, [value if true], [value if false]

This can be typed directly in the cell or the fx function dialog box may be used

In this section you will create an IF function to show the word ORDER if the Quantity in Stock is less than
75. This may be helpful to know when to place an order to avoid running out of inventory or to alert of
a specific status. Businesses can then take the appropriate action to be proactive versus reactive. The IF
function will return the word OK if the Quantity in Stock is 75 or greater.

37. Click in cell H13, type Stock Level, press Enter

38. In cell H14 click on the fx button next to the formula bar, type IF in the Search for a function box
and click on GO OR if the function is listed in the Select a function box, click on IF and click OK or
double click on IF. The IF dialog box opens.
39. In the Logical Test box, type A14<75
Another way: Click on the collapse box as shown in the figure below,

click on cell A14, type <75, click the collapse button on the far right to reopen

40. Press Tab or click in the Value_if_true box, type Order, Press the Tab key. This applies the
needed quotation marks and moves the cursor to the next box.
41. In the Value_if_false box, type OK. Press the Tab key. Click OK
Another way: The entire formula can be typed in cell H14. =IF(A14<75,”Order”,”OK”)
42. While in H14, use the fill handle to copy the function down through cell H42.
The Fill Options Button appears. Click on it to see the options that exist.
Another way: while in H14, put mouse on fill handle and double click. This populates the
remaining cells without having to drag down. This is an excellent short cut in the event you have
200 or 1000 entries!

As with EVERY function you perform, either here or in the workplace, you should always check your
work. Look at the OK result in cell H18. Recall your criteria was less than 75 and not equal to 75. In
the workplace, be mindful of what you want i.e. less than < or less than or equal to <=

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CONDITIONAL FORMATTING
Conditional Formatting is special formatting that uses font, font color, background fill, and other
options that may be applied if cell values meet specific criteria which uses Logical Operators.

In this section you will apply a Conditional Formatting to a range of cells. The format applied can
be one of the pre-set formats that is available as shown in the figure below, or you can create your
own by selecting Custom Format. You will create a Custom Format.

43. Select range H14:H42

44. On the Home tab, Styles group, click Conditional Formatting button. Point to Highlight Cells
Rules then Text That Contains (observe all the other options)
45. In the Format cells that contain the text: box, type Order. In the background you see a preview
of what the results will look like. The default format displays Light Red Fill with Dark Red Text.
DO NOT select any of the pre-set formats.
46. In the with box, click the down arrow, click Custom Format

47. If needed, click the Font tab, under Font Style: click Bold Italic.
48. Under Color: click on the down arrow click Red. Click OK and OK again
When done correctly, only the word Order will be bold, italic with font color Red.

To test this, change A14 to 1 and observe how the result in H14 changes from OK to Order. Click
Undo button on the Quick Access Toolbar as shown in the figure below or press Ctrl + Z to return the
value back to 78

In the next steps you will apply a different type of Conditional Formatting: Data Bars.

49. Select range A14:A42. Click on Conditional Formatting

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50. Point to Data Bars, under Gradient Fill, click Red Data Bar

FIND AND REPLACE

The Find and Replace feature is helpful to make global changes very quickly. The Find feature can be
used independently to find a word or value. This feature works as well if you need to delete a word or
value globally. Leave the Replace With: box empty and Excel will replace the word or value with an
empty cell.

51. Select range F14:F42. In the Home Tab, under the Editing group click Find & Select, in the drop
menu click on Replace
52. Type Erosion in the Find what box.
53. Press Tab or click in the Replace with: box and type Erosion Control
54. Click Replace All, (13 replacements are made) Click OK, then click Close. Click in any cell to
deselect the selection

DATE & TIME FUNCTIONS

55. Click in the Name Box located on left of formula bar, type A44 and press Enter. The Name Box is
helpful when working with a large worksheet. Instead of scrolling, type the cell address in the
Name Box to immediately arrive at the desired cell.
56. On Formula tab, in Function Library group, click Date & Time. In the list, click NOW, click OK.
The current date and time is applied. Because this is a function, it will change based on when
the file is opened.
Another way: type =NOW, press Tab key to select the NOW function, type ) and press Enter
Another way: use keyboard shortcut Ctrl + ; press the space bar and press Ctrl Shift + ;

FREEZE PANES
Freeze Panes will freeze rows or columns based on the current location of the active cell. The rows
above the active cell are frozen and the columns on the left of the active cell are frozen. If you only
want rows frozen, then put the active cell in Column A. There is nothing to the left of Column A so only
rows will be frozen. This is very helpful when you have a large worksheet and need access to labels for
data entry or analysis.

57. Press Ctrl + Home to activate cell A1.

58. Click on Row Heading 14 OR Click in cell A14.
59. In the View tab, click Freeze Panes in the Window group; click Freeze Panes. A light grey border
appears above row 14. If you selected the row, click to unselect the row to view the border.
60. While in row 14, use the down arrow key on your keyboard to scroll down to view rows 1:13 are
frozen
61. Unfreeze the panes by clicking View, Freeze Panes and click Unfreeze Panes. The grey border is
removed.

CREATE A TABLE AND APPLY A TABLE STYLE

A table is an organized collection of rows and columns of similarly structured data on a worksheet. The
data related on each row is called a record and the individual data item that make up the record are
called fields.

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When you convert a range into a table or in other words, when you apply the Format as Table feature to
a range of cells you will be able to do the following: 1. Add and delete records which the format
automatically adjusts accordingly 2. Change values in the fields 3. Sort and filter data 4. Determine
subtotals for numeric fields 5. Display records that meet comparison criteria 6. Analyze data using
database function.

A few basic features will be explored in the next section.

62. Click in cell A13 (where the labels are located); click the Insert tab, click Table in the Tables
group.
63. Make sure My table has headers is checked. Click OK.

The default table format is Blue, Table Style Medium 2. A new tab appears: TABLE DESIGN
Click in any cell in the table to deselect the selection
Notice the drop-down arrows that appear next to each label to provide various sorts and filters
based on your needs. These are called filter buttons.

SORT TABLE (PRACTICE)

As you perform each sort, ask yourself, why would I need this sort? Or what benefit or value or
information could I obtain by performing each sort? When you are in the workplace you may need sort
and filter content based on a variety of needs.

64. Click the Retail Price arrow. Click Sort Smallest to Largest. After you apply this, look at the filter
button. It changes as shown below

65. Click the Category arrow then click Sort Z to A. Notice the sort from Retail Price is gone and
now the Category column is sorted. The filter button changes as shown below.

66. Click the Item # arrow, click Sort Smallest to Largest

Each time you sort, the data is rearranged to provide the sort you want for that one column. Using the
sort in this way allows you to sort only one column at a time.

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The advanced sort button allows you to sort multiple columns. You are welcome to explore this on your
own. Click on Data tab and click on the Sort button in the Sort and Filter group and observe the options
that are available.

FILTERING & DISPLAY A TOTAL ROW

67. Click the Category arrow. Click Select All to clear all the checkboxes. Click Maple, click OK.
Notice: 1. Rows are hidden that do not meet this criteria 2. the filter button changes to a funnel

symbol with a down arrow which means this is filtered (not sorted). Multiple columns
can be filtered.
68. Click any cell in the table. In the Table Design tab, check Total Row in the Table Style Options
group.
When done correctly, the word Total appears in A43 AND the value 6 appears in H43. This
means 6 values meet this criteria for this filter.
69. Click in cell A43. Notice a down arrow appears. Click on the down arrow and click Sum. The
Quantity in Stock for these 6 items is 571
70. In cell A11 type Maple Trees, press Tab.
71. In cell B11 type 6 (571 total items in stock) and press Enter
72. Select row 13 and apply Center alignment

WORKSHEET VIEW (PRACTICE)

These steps are to practice with the Zoom features. There will be times you need to zoom in or zoom
out on your worksheet

73. Press Ctrl + Home to return to A1

74. On the View tab, click Zoom in the Zoom group
75. Click 75%. Click OK
76. On the lower right corner of your worksheet, in the status bar, click the Zoom In until the
worksheet displays at 100%

CENTER HORIZONTALLY ON PAGE / HEADERS AND FOOTERS

77. Rename worksheet tab to Dec 2020 and apply any blue tab color
78. Center the worksheet horizontally on the page: Click Page Layout tab, click Margins in the Page
Setup group, click Custom Margins, check Horizontally

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79. While in the Page Setup dialog box, click the Header/Footer tab, click Custom Footer. Click in the
Left section, click the Insert File Name element as shown in the figure below.

80. Click in the Right section: and type your first and last name. Click OK twice.
81. Apply Landscape Orientation: Page Layout Tab, click Orientation button in the Page Setup group,
click Landscape
82. To Preview your worksheet, press Ctrl + F2 OR click on File then Print. In should be on 1 page as
shown below
83. Click Save and submit on Canvas

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