Excel Basics
Excel Basics
Excel Basics
TRAINING
Microsoft Excel is a software tool that allows you to create spreadsheets, charts and simple databases. Spreadsheets, also known as worksheets, are organized columns and rows of data. Charts are graphic representations of the data. Databases are typically lists of people or products.
This handout will introduce you to a number of skills you will use when creating a simple spreadsheet or chart using Excel. The instructions in this guide were created using Excel 2007 but the procedures are similar in several versions of Excel.
Skill list: Getting to Know Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Open Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Working with Excel menus and toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Entering Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Saving a Workbook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Copying and pasting data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Cutting and pasting data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Deleting the contents of a cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Undoing an action .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Creating a formula. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Copy a formula to adjacent cells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Using the AutoSum button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Formatting cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Aligning text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 formatting numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 widen a column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 adjusting decimal places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Creating a 3-D Column chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Printing a chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Microsoft Excel can also be used to create charts. A chart is a graphic representation of the spreadsheet data. We will going to learn about charts in coming slides.
IN THIS LESSON YOU WILL: Open the Microsoft Excel application View some of the items that appear on the computer screen when you are using Microsoft Excel Type words and numbers into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet Save a workbook
Open Excel
1. Click the Start button on the computers desktop. 2. Select All Programs
3. Locate Excel and select it. It may be listed as an option once you select Microsoft Office. 4. Once Excel is open on your computer screen, your screen may look like this
Menus contain lists of commands of things you may do in Excel. Buttons are organized on toolbars and each button also performs a command such as Print or Save. 4
Entering Data
The most important element on the Microsoft Excel screen is the cell. Cells are the individual boxes you see and they hold the information you will type. Cells may contain letters, numbers or even both at the same time. Each cell is an intersection of a column and row. That intersection gives the cell a name. For example, in the previous image, the selected cell is A1, because it is in column A, row number 1. You must select a cell before you may type into it. You may use the mouse to select a cell by pointing to the cell with the mouse pointer and clicking the left mouse button. Youll now select a cell and enter information into it. Now you try:
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Your Turn: Complete this spreadsheet by referring to the picture below by clicking in the cells and typing the numbers or words indicated. REMEMBER: Press the Enter key after each entry.
Spreadsheet with Words and Numbers Entered Your spreadsheet should now appear as pictured above. Before you do anything further with this spreadsheet, you should give it a name and save it on your computer. Once you have saved a spreadsheet, you will be able to close it and then open it again whenever you wish to view or change it. Excel organizes spreadsheets as individual sheets in a workbook. The designation of Book appears on the title bar of your screen as Microsoft Excel Book1. That name will change to the name you assign when you save the workbook. Youll save your current workbook into the My Documents folder on your computer. Now you try: 1. Click the Save button on the Standard Toolbar at the top of your screen. The Save As dialog box will appear as pictured below. SAVE
The Save As dialog box allows you to name and save your workbook. Type a name in the File name: box and then click Save. TIP: Save your workbook often as you work on it.
2. 3.
Type a name for your workbook. Click the Save button on the dialog box. 6
IN THIS LESSON YOU WILL: Copy and Paste Data from one cell into another Cut and Paste Data from one cell into another Undo an action you have performed previously
Data can be duplicated or copied and then pasted elsewhere in the spreadsheet. There are a number of ways to do this. Youll now try one method. You will copy the word April from cell B3 and paste it into cell A1. Now you try:
1. Click cell B3. The cell now appears with a heavy black border surrounding it. 2. Click the Copy button on the Standard Toolbar. Copy
When you click the Copy button, a moving marquee appears around the selected cell. 3. Click cell A1. 4. Click the Paste button on the Standard Toolbar. Paste The moving marquee remains around cell B3 and a copy of the word April appears in cell A1. 5. Press the Esc key (Escape) on your keyboard to complete the paste operation. The word April now appears in both cell B3 and cell A1.
Deleting Data
Data can be removed completely from a cell when you do not need it at all. Youll now delete the word April from cell C1. Now you try: 1. Click cell C1 if it is not already selected. 2. Press the Delete key on the keyboard. When you press the Delete key, the word April is removed from cell C1. 7
Undoing an Action
It is very common to make a mistake or change your mind about something you do in Excel. For example, you might cut and paste the contents of a cell and then realize you do not like the outcome of that action. The Undo button or Undo command allows you to remove the last action you performed. To demonstrate you will now enter text into a cell and then Undo the entry. Now you try:
1. 2. 3. 4.
Click cell D1. Type the word Excel. Press the Enter key on the keyboard. The word Excel now appears in cell D1. Click the Undo button on the Standard Toolbar. Undo The word Excel is removed from the cell.
IN THIS LESSON YOU WILL: Create a simple formula to add the contents of cells Use the AutoSum button
Creating a Formula
Formulas are mathematical procedures that are created to generate a result. 2+2 is a simple addition formula. When you use Excel to create a formula, there is a specific sequence you must use to get accurate results. A formula in Excel will contain cell references. A cell reference is a cells address on the spreadsheet. In the picture below, the cell address of the selected cell would be B4. If you were to write a formula to add the contents of cell B4 and the contents of cell B5, the formula would be typed =B4+B5. You would NOT type 400+90. The reason that you reference the cell address in the formula and NOT the number in the cell is that you might change the contents of your cell. If you construct your formula properly - =B4+B5, that formula will still return an accurate total even if you change the number in cell B4. You will now construct a formula to add cells B4, B5 and B6. These cells contain the costs of rent, food and gas for the month of April. Now you try: 1. Click cell B7. 2. Type: =B4+B5+B6.
3. 4. 5. 6.
Press the Enter key on the keyboard. The result 602 appears in cell B7. Test the formula by changing the contents of cell B4. Click in cell B4. Type 500 Press the Enter key on the keyboard. Notice that cell B7 now displays the new total 702. 8
Your Turn: Complete this spreadsheet by entering the correct formula in the total row for column C: 1. In cell C7, type the formula =C4+C5+C6 2. Enter the formula. 3. Save the workbook by clicking the Save button.
SAVE NOTE: You are not prompted to give the workbook a name when you save this time because you assigned it a name previously.
4. Release the mouse button. The formula is copied from column C to column D and the correct result appears in cell D7. 5. You may verify the correct formula appears in column D by selecting cell D7 and observing the formula that appears in the formula bar at the top of your screen. 9
AutoSum
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IN THIS LESSON YOU WILL: Assign the bold quality to text Assign the italic quality to text Assign the quality of horizontally centering text Assign a currency format to numbers Increase or decrease decimal places of numbers Close a workbook
Formatting Text
Entering text, numbers and formulas into cells are the most essential elements of using the Excel application. Once you have entered and saved all of your spreadsheet data, you may want to modify its appearance. There are a number of methods you may use to change to appearance of text and numbers on a spreadsheet. We will be using various buttons on the Formatting toolbar to change the current format of the cells in this spreadsheet. For example, to make the contents of a cell bold, you would select the cell by clicking on it and then click the Bold button. Now you try: Bold 1. 2. 3. 4. Click cell B3 to select it. Click the Bold button. The word April is now bolded. Click cell C3 to select it. Click the Bold button. The word May is now bolded.
You apply the look of italics using a similar method. You select the cell and then click the Italics button on the Formatting toolbar. Now you try: Italic 1. Click cell A4 to select it. 2. Click the Italic button. The word Rent is now italicized.
Now use the Italic and Bold buttons to complete the formatting as it appears in the image below. Once completed, save your spreadsheet.
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Aligning Text
You may change the appearance of text and you may also change its position in the cell. The default position of text in a cell is aligned to the left. Numbers automatically align to the right. You may use the Alignment buttons on the Formatting toolbar to change the alignment of a cells contents. Alignment buttons You will use the Center alignment button Now you try: 1. 2. 3. 4. Click cell B3 to select it. Click the Center button. Click cell C3 to select it. Click the Center button. to center the months of the year.
The word April is now centered. The word May is now centered.
You may also select more than one cell at a time. You do this by clicking on a cell to select it and then dragging the heavy white plus sign to the right or down to select additional cells. Now you try: 1. Click cell D3 to select it and drag the selection border around cell E3. 2. Click the Center button. centered. The words June and July are now
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Currency Format
You may change the appearance of numbers in Excel. You may want to apply the look of currency with a dollar sign and decimal places - $21.00 or even make a number appear as a percent 21%. These qualities may be assigned using buttons on the Formatting toolbar. In this exercise, you will assign the currency format using the Currency button on the formatting toolbar. Now you try: 1. Click cell B7 to select it. 2. Click the Currency button. places appear in cell B7.
NOTE: If you do not see the number as pictured here and instead see then the column is not wide enough to display the number. Follow these directions to widen the column: 1. Position the mouse pointer on the line between the letters B & C as pictured here. The mouse pointer changes from a heavy white plus sign to a double-headed arrow. 2. Double-click the mouse to widen the column.
Try formatting cell C7 as currency. 1. Click cell C7 to select it. 2. Click the Currency button. places appear in cell C7.
two times.
The number in cell B7 appears as pictured here: 3. Save the workbook. 4. Select File, Close to close the workbook. 13
IN THIS LESSON YOU WILL: Select data to create a chart Use the ChartWizard tool to create a 3D column chart Use the ChartWizard tool to create a pie chart
Charts are created by selecting the appropriate data from your spreadsheet and then using Excels Chart Wizard tool. The Chart Wizard is a 4 step process that prompts you to respond to options as you create your chart. The greatest challenge when creating a chart in Excel is selecting the correct data. It is important that you select the data and the labels for the data. You do not usually select any totals from your data. You will now create a new spreadsheet and then create a three-dimensional chart using the data in the new spreadsheet. Now you try: 1. Click the New button on the Standard toolbar. A new, blank spreadsheet appears. 2. Enter the data as it appears in the image pictured here.
3. Save the spreadsheet by clicking the Save button Candy Colors. 4. Click Save to complete the operation.
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Creating a Chart
You have data that you are ready to chart. It is important that you select both the numbers and the associated labels. If you do not select the labels, the chart will display but you will have no way of knowing what all those numbers mean. Now you try: 1. Select cells A1 through F7. You may do this by clicking on cell A1 holding down the left mouse button and dragging the mouse down and to the right to select all the cells including F7.
The dialog box is displaying step 1 of a 4 step process. In step 1, you select what type and subtype of chart you would like to create. 3. Click the 3D Clustered Column Chart subtype. NOTE: To view a sample of your data presented using this chart type click and hold the Press and Hold to View Sample button. 4. Click the Next button to go on to the next step.
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5. Step 2 of the Chart Wizard dialog box is displayed and a moving marquee appears around your data. Click the Next button.
6. Step 3 of the Chart Wizard dialog box is displayed. Create a title for your chart. Click in the Chart title box. 7. Type Candy Colors for 685 8. Click the Next button.
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9. Step 4 of the Chart Wizard dialog box is displayed inquiring where you want your chart to be located. Click the Finish button to have the chart displayed on the same spreadsheet as the data. Chart title Your chart may look like the one pictured here. Note the appearance of the chart title and a chart legend. The Chart toolbar may also appear. Chart legend Chart toolbar
NOTE: To move the Chart toolbar so that it does not cover any of your chart, point to the top bar of the toolbar and drag the toolbar to a new position.
Print a Chart
You may print the entire spreadsheet and it will print both the data and the chart. You may also choose to print only the chart by selecting it before you choose the Print command. You select a chart by clicking on it once to ensure that it displays selection handles. Then you may click the Print button on the Standard toolbar. Now you try: Selection handles 1. 2. Ensure that the chart is selected. If it is not, click on it once to select it. Click the Print button on the Standard toolbar. The chart will print as a full size 8 by 11 document. 17
Print a Spreadsheet
You may print a spreadsheet at any time. If you have placed a chart on the spreadsheet, the chart will print also. Now you try:
1. Make sure your Excel spreadsheet is visible on your screen. Click the Print button. A single copy of the spreadsheet prints.
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Youll now use data from the Candy Colors spreadsheet to create a 3D Pie chart. The chart will display all of the results for the color green. Now you try: 1. Make sure your Excel spreadsheet Candy Colors is visible on your screen. 2. Select cells A1 through F1. These cells contain the names of the respondents along with a single blank cell (A1).
Now you will select the data for the color green. Since the cells containing the data from the color green are not next to the cells containing the names of the respondents, you will need to use a new selection method. 3. Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and select cells A6 through F6.
Holding down the Ctrl or Control key while selecting allows you to select noncontiguous or non-touching cells. If you make a mistake when trying to select the cells pictured here, click somewhere else on the spreadsheet to deselect the cells and then start again, holding down the Ctrl key.
5. Select Pie as the Chart type and 3D as the Chart sub-type. 6. Click the Next button.
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7. Step 2 shows you a sample of what your 3D pie chart may look like. Click Next. 8. Click the Next button.
9. Step 3 allows you to enter a title for your chart. The default name currently assigned is green. Click in the Chart Title box and delete the word green.
10. Type the words: Number of Green Candies 11. Click Next.
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12. Youll create this chart as a new sheet in the Candy Colors workbook. Click the As new sheet radio button. 13. Click Finish.
The chart appears in the workbook on its own sheet, called Chart1. To view your original data, click the Sheet1 tab at the bottom of your Excel screen.
Exit Excel
When you have completed your spreadsheet, or if would like to close the workbook and complete it at a later time, you may select File, Exit. This procedure will close both the workbook and the entire Excel application. Now you try: 1. Select File, Exit. If you have not saved your most recent changes to the spreadsheet, you will be prompted to do so. 2. If prompted to save changes, click the Yes button. Excel saves any changes and exits.
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