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Need to manipulate numbers, use formulas or make numerical comparisons? Then you may want to use a spreadsheet such as Excel. The power of a spreadsheet lies in the fact that you can change one number and your calculations are updated automatically. You can project ahead - what happens if this number changes. Below are some important items to know about Excel.
- Spreadsheet Layout
- Cell - a cell is the basic data entry area. Cells are formed at the instersection of rows and columns.
- Row - a worksheet contains 65,536 rows, labeled with numbers
- Column - a worksheet contains 256 columns, labeled with letters
- Worksheet - a workbook can contain more than one worksheet
- Workbook - an Excel file with extension .wbk
- Range - a group of continuous cells defined by the name of the upper-left cell and the name of the lower-right cell
- Editing Worksheet Data
- Enter information into a cell - Click the cell and start typing
- Editing a cell’s contents
- Method 1: Double-click the cell and use the arrow keys to move in the cell. If you click only once and type you will erase the current contents.
- Method 2: Click the cell. The click the Formula Bar on the toolbar and use the arrow keys to move in the formula. This method is helpful when editing formulas which are not displayed in the cell.
- Copying cells and ranges
- Click the cell you want to copy. From the menu bar select Edit > Copy. Click the cell you want to copy the information to, then from the menu bar select Edit > Paste.
- Highlight the range you want to copy. From the menu bar select Edit > Copy. Click the upper-left cell of the range you want to copy the information to, then from the menu bar select Edit > Paste.
- Deleting cells and rows
- Highlight a portion of the row(s) or columns(s) you want to delete. From the menu bar select Edit > Delete. Select the Entire Row or Entire Column button.
- Insert a Row or Column
- Select a cell where you want to insert a new row or column.
- From the menu bar select Insert > Row or Column.
- Rows are inserted above the cell. Columns are inserted to the left of the cell.
- Formatting Cells
- Click the cell or highlight a range of cells
- From the menu bar select Format > Cells
- In the Format Cells dialog box you can select format options for the number, alignment, font, border or protection of a cell or range.
- Order of Operations
- When entering a formula you must know the order in which the mathematical operations will be performed: exponentiation, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. Operations in parentheses take precedence.
- (Income - Expenses) * Tax Rate : Expenses are subtracted from Income. The result is multiplied by Tax Rate.
- Income - Expenses * Tax Rate : Expenses are multiplied by Tax Rate. The result is subtracted from Income.
- Formulas
- Manually entering formulas
- Begin the formula with an “=” sign
- Use cell addresses as a variable, such as D4
- Preface the cell address with an operator
- Use the AutoSum Tool
- Click a cell where you want a total
- Click the AutoSum icon on the toolbar
- Excel places a box around the cell it thinks you want to sum
- If this isn’t the range you want, highlight a new range
- Use Excel functions
- Click a cell where you want to enter a formula
- Begin the formula with an “=” sign
- Select a function in the Functions box
- Enter the arguments for the function
- Printing
- Click the Print icon on the toolbar to print the current worksheet. Default settings include
- prints one copy
- prints the entire worksheet
- prints in portrait mode; prints multiple pages for wide worksheets
- doesn’t print a header or footer
- To adjust print output, from the menu bar select File > Page Setup. Adjust the following features
- Page tab: Orientation - portrait or landscape; Paper Size
- Margins tab: top, left, bottom, right, alignment
- Header/Footer: page numbering, custom
- Sheet tab: print quality, page order
- Insert Page Breaks
- Click the row in column A that you want to begin the new page
- From the menu bar select Insert > Page Break
- Delete Page Breaks
- Click the first row beneath a page break
- From the menu bar select Insert > Remove Page Break
- Sorting
- Sorting rearranges the rows by the value of a particular column; determine the column that you want to order the data
- Highlight the range of cells you want to sort
- From the menu bar select Data > Sort
- In the dialog box select the column the data will be sorted by
- Select Ascending or Descending
- Find and Replace
- To locate a particular value or text
- From the menu bar select Edit > Find
- Complete the Find dialog box with the search criteria
- Wild card characters (*,?) can be used if you are not sure of the exact value or text
- To replace all occurrences of a value or text
- From the menu bar select Edit > Find
- Complete the Find dialog box with the search criteria and the replacement value
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