MS EXCEL

INTRODUCTION
Microsoft Excel is a commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. It has been a very widely applied spreadsheet for these platforms, especially since version 5 in 1993, and it has almost completely replaced Lotus 1-2-3 as the industry standard for spreadsheets. Excel forms part of Microsoft Office. The current versions are 2010 for Microsoft Windows and 2011 for Mac OS X. Microsoft Excel has the basic features of all spreadsheets,[1] using a grid of cells arranged in numbered rows and letter-named columns to organize data manipulations like arithmetic operations. It has a battery of supplied functions to answer statistical, engineering and financial needs. In addition, it can display data as line graphs, histograms and charts, and with a very limited three-dimensional graphical display. It allows sectioning of data to view its dependencies on various factors from different perspectives (using pivot tables and the scenario manager[2]). And it has a programming aspect, Visual Basic for Applications, allowing the user to employ a wide variety of numerical methods, for example, for solving differential equations of mathematical physics,[3][4] and then reporting the results back to the spreadsheet. Finally, it has a variety of interactive features allowing user interfaces that can completely hide the spreadsheet from the user, so the spreadsheet presents itself as a so-called application, or decision support system (DSS), via a custom-designed user interface, for example, a stock analyzer,[5] or in general, as a design tool that asks the user questions and provides answers and reports.[6][7][8] In a more elaborate realization, an Excel application can automatically poll external databases and measuring instruments using an update schedule,[9] analyze the results, make a Word report or Power Point slide show, and e-mail these presentations on a regular basis to a list of participants.

CELL FORMATTING
When you enter data into a cell in Excel, it is handled differently depending on what type of formatting you have assigned to the cell. For example, if you choose Currency formatting, Excel will automatically convert 3 into $3.00; if you choose Date formatting, Excel would convert 3/1 to March 1, 2002; and if you choose Percent formatting, Excel would change 0.3 to 30%. All of these choices are available when you highlight/select the cell(s) you want to format, then go to the Format menu and choose Cells, then click on the Number tab in the Format Cells dialog box. There is also a choice named Special and when you choose that, you can select formats like Social Security Number, Phone Number, etc. But, what if you want a format that is not included in Excel's pre-made formats? Well, you can make your own custom format, following the directions below.

1. Type the number 123456789 in an empty cell and hit Enter. Now click back onto that cell and

go to the Format Menu and select Cells. Click on the Number tab and select Custom from the list.

2. In the box on the right, see all the different custom formats Excel offers. There are formats in

here for most of the styles you would get if you chose one of the options for any of the choices in the list on the left. For example, in the list on the right, there is a custom format that is simply an @ symbol. If you choose this, it simply formats your cell as text. I recommend you look through the list and try some of them and see how they affect the number 123456789 that you have typed in your cell. Since there are so many, I can't possibly go through all of them with you. But, what I do want to do is teach you how to make some of your own. 3. Let's say you have parts numbers and some of them begin with zero. You will see that if you type the number 0123 in a cell, by default, Excel will remove the leading zero and your cell will just show 123. Try it and you will see.
4. Now click on the cell that has 123 in it and go to Format/Cells. Choose the Custom format

again and, in the box at the top right that says General, delete the word General and type four zeroes (0000) and click OK and you will see your number is converted to 0123. This is because you have told Excel that at least four digits will always appear in this cell so, if there are less than four, add a leading zero or zeroes to it to make it four digits long.
5. Click back into the cell and type 12 and you will see it is changed to 0012. Type 1 and it is

changed to 0001. But you will see that if you type 12345, no leading zeros are added since you only told Excel to fill to four digits. This format only works when you want all numbers to be filled with leading zeroes and be the same length, which is usually the case with something like parts numbers.

6. Let's try another one. Click back on the cell that now has 12345 in it and make the custom

format 00###. Now change the number in the cell to 123 and you will see Excel changes it to 00123. Now change it to 12 and you will see that Excel changes it to 0012, and if you change it to 1, Excel makes it 001, since this format says always add two zeroes before any number that is three digits or less.
7. What if you had parts numbers that always began with the letter A and had four numbers

following the A? Try A000#.

8. Now type 1 in the cell and hit Enter. You will see that Excel formats it as A0001. Type 25 and

Excel changes it to A0025 because it knows the number should always be five characters long, begin with an A and filled with zeroes.
9. Look through the list of Custom formats and try making some of your own. See that you can

add parentheses and colors. Try this: type [Blue](000) and click OK. Now type 5 and you will see it is changed to (005) in blue.

FILE HANDLE
When a cell is selected a plus(+) sign appears at the right end corner of the selected cell. This sign is known as a fill handle. It is used to copy the contents of a cell (it may be a formula or any other value). How to use the fill Handle. 1: to get the serial number starting from 1 to desired.. Eg: Steps: Type 1 & 2 Select both Use fill handle & drag it down as per your requirement 2: To get Week Type Monday Use fill handle till you get Sunday 3: To get Months Type January Use fill handle until you get December Note: Make sure that your spelling is correct

RANGE NAME
You can create Excel names that refer to cells, a range of cells, a constant value, or a formula. After you define the Excel names, you can use those names in formulas, to replace values or cell references. If Excel names refer to cells or a range of cells, you can use the names for navigation, to quickly select the Excel named range.

Name a Range - Excel Name Box

You can create an Excel named range quickly by typing in the Excel Name Box. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the cell(s) to be named Click in the Excel Name box, to the left of the formula bar Type a one-word name for the list, e.g. FruitList. Press the Enter key.

Use Excel Names

After creating Excel names that refer to a range, you can select an Excel name in the Name Box dropdown list, to se Excel named range on the worksheet. You can also use Excel names in formulas. For example, you could have a group of cells with sales amounts for the month of January. Name those cells JanSales, then use this formula to calculate the total amount: =SUM(JanSales) In the following example, the Excel names TotalSales and TaxRate have been defined. =TotalSales * TaxRate To view the steps in a short Excel Named Range video, click here.

Create a Dynamic Named Range

Another way to create Excel names is to use a dynamic formula to define an Excel named range. As new items are added, the range will automatically expand. Note: Dynamic named ranges will not appear in the Name Box dropdown list. However, you can type the Excel

names in the Name Box, to select the range on the worksheet. 1. Choose Insert>Name>Define
2. Type a name for the range, e.g. NameList

3. In the Refers To box, enter an Offset formula that defines the range size, based on the

number of items in the column, e.g.: =OFFSET(Sheet1!$A$1,0,0,COUNTA(Sheet1!$A:$A),1) In this example, the list is on Sheet1, starting in cell A1 The arguments used in this Offset function are: 1. Reference cell: Sheet1!$A$1 2. Rows to offset: 0 3. Columns to offset: 0 4. Number of Rows: COUNTA(Sheet1!$A:$A) 5. Number of Columns: 1 Note: for a dynamic number of columns, replace the 1 with: COUNTA(Sheet1!$1:$1) 4. Click OK

CHART
CHART Charts are graphical representation of numerical data. A set of numeric data, which is actually plotted, is called data series. Each value in the data series is a data point. Data series can be in rows or columns. TYPES OF CHARTS Depending on the appearance of chart, it can be classified into two different types, they are: Embedded chart Chart sheet Embedded chart is drawn on the worksheet where the data exist.

Chart sheet is a separate sheet containing only the chart in it. Steps to create a chart Select the data range. Open the insert menu. Click on chart, the chart wizard will appear. Select the chart type from the list box present below(the word cxart type. Select the sub-type of the chart from the list box present below"the word chart sub-type. Click on Next. Select Columns option. Click on Next. Type the title of the chart in the textbox present below the word chart title. Type the X-axis data heading in the textbox present below the word category (X) axis. Type the value heading in the textbox present below uhu word value([) axis. Click on Next. Select As new sheet option to"insert the chart as chart sheet or selekt As object in to insert a chart as embedded chart. Click on Finish.

BASIC PRINTING IN EXCEL

Excel Printing. The content of a Worksheet is far more important than using a great deal of formatting to pretty it up (although there are some basic fundamentals for efficient Excel Spreadsheet Design ). However, when it comes to printing a Worksheet it is worth spending a small amount of time on getting your printer settings correct, rather than wasting time and paper trying to do it quickly. DIFFERENT VIEWS When you are setting up your data, there are three different types of views in Excel that you can work in to help you see and adjust how the worksheet will look when you print it. You can switch between the different views to view your work in different modes and see the effects before you print it. The three views are found under the View button on your main menu. The three views available to you are: 1. Normal View - The view your see when you are normally working in Excel 2. Page Break Preview - Shows you where your pages Start and finish 3. Print Preview - Shows you how your printing looks on the page. Your toolbar changes when you are in Print Preview mode, giving more specific options. NOTE: It is ALWAYS a good idea to preview your printing via Print Preview before sending it to the printer.

BASIC PRINTING There are many ways that you can print from within Excel, the three most common ones are: Selecting File>Print Going via the menu system to use this option will allow you full use of the Print dialog box to change settings if required. Selecting Ctrl + P This option is the shortcut to the Print dialog box. Selecting the printer icon on your Standard Toolbar Using the printer icon will by-pass the Print dialog box and print straight to your printer using its current print settings. Use this option only when you are sure of your print settings. When you print, the type of print that you do can be varied via the print dialog box. Options you can change include; 1. 2. 3. 4. The printer you wish to print from (if you have access to more than one) The number of copies you would like to print How much of your document you want to print, all or only certain pages What you want to print; the active sheet (from the first cell containing data to the last cell containing data), by selection (what you have highlighted) or the entire workbook. 5. Whether to print in colour or black and white and if you would like a draft, normal or high quality output.

DATABASE

Tips for Setting Up a Database Be sure not to leave any blank rows in the middle of the database. Blank rows will cause only the part of the database above the empty portion to be selected when using the database analysis functions (e.g., dsum, dcount, and sort). Make sure you enter numeric data as numbers or all text. Numbers will be counted first when using the analysis functions. To enter a number as text, precede the number with an apostrophe or format the necessary cells as text. If a number is treated as "text," you cannot use the number in mathematical formulas (e.g., SUM and AVERAGE). For more information on entering values and text, refer to Getting Started with Excel. Creating a Database

Excel recognizes lists of information as a database when the database functions are used. These functions, such as finding, sorting, or subtotaling, can make organizing and analyzing your information easier. A worksheet is made up of columns, rows, and column labels. In a database, these are called fields, records, and field names, respectively.

Using Database Forms Entering a lot of database information to the worksheet can be time-consuming and inefficient. You often have to move the cursor around the page and thus lose valuable time. Excel has an easier way of entering data called the Forms feature. Forms allows you to switch from field to field in your record by pressing [Tab]. When a record is added, Excel automatically clears the form and is ready for you to enter the next information. The Forms feature is also helpful for searching for a record. The Find Next and Find Prev options make locating a specific record easier. Accessing the Form NOTE: You cannot start from a blank worksheet. The first row must be completed with the column labels (i.e., the field names). 1. Place the cell pointer within the database 2. From the Data menu, select Form... A dialog box displaying the sheet name appears.

Using Form Options Adding a New Record 1. Access the form 2. Click NEW The form will be cleared and ready for you to enter data. 3. In each field, type the desired information NOTE: To move between fields, press [Tab] WARNING: If you press [Enter] or [return] after you have typed the field information, the data will be added to your database and you will automatically go to a blank form to start a new record. 4. When you have entered the last record, click CLOSE The new records are added to the end of your database. Deleting a Record 1. Access the form 2. To select the existing record you want to delete, click and hold the scroll bar dragging up or down OR Click FIND PREV or FIND NEXT 3. Click DELETE A confirmation dialog box appears. 4. Click OK 5. Click CLOSE Searching for a Record To ensure that you search the entire database, move to either the first or last record of the database (use the scroll bar). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Access the form Click CRITERIA Within the appropriate field(s), type the desired search criteria Click FIND NEXT or FIND PREV Repeat steps 3-4 as necessary Click CLOSE

Using the Worksheet Window If you need to make a few minor changes to the information in your database, sometimes it is quicker to make them through the worksheet window. Adding a New Record 1. Scroll to the bottom of your database 2. Click the field in which you would like to start entering your data

3. Enter data accordingly 4. Press [Tab] OR Use the arrow keys to move to the next field of the record Deleting a Record WARNING: By deleting a row, the entire contents of the row will be deleted. 1. In your database, scroll to the record that you would like to delete 2. On the left-hand side of the record, click the record number 3. From the Edit menu, select Delete OR Windows: Right click Delete Macintosh: Press [control] + click the record number Delete The old record is deleted and rows beneath that row move up. Searching for a Record 1. From the Edit menu, select Find... Windows: The Find and Replace dialog box appears. Macintosh: The Find dialog box appears.

2. In the Find what text box, type the information that you are searching for 3. Click FIND NEXT The record will now be selected in the worksheet window. 4. When finished, click CLOSE NOTE: For more information on using the Find and Replace dialog box, refer to Using the Find & Replace Features.