Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is an example of a spreadsheet program that will maintain records for you relating to finances, products, activities, events and services. It allows you to enter, organize, compare and print data including graphs. Spreadsheets are saved in documents called workbooks and each workbook is comprised of individual worksheets or sheets. Excel will also allow you to print detailed reports, charts and graphs What are the parts of an Excel document? Figure 1

Workbook title title bar m e nu bar Formatting Toolbar Status bar Vertical scroll box Scroll arrows Horizontal scroll box Active cell Active sheet

Formula Selected row Selected column Name box Displaying the Current cell reference Column headings Row headings Sheet tabs Standard Toolbar Workbook Title Title Bar M E Nu Bar Formatting Toolbar Status bar A cell is the most basic part of an Excel document. A cell is created at the intersection of a row and a column. The cell that is currently open and ready for editing is called the active cell. You will find a darker border around the active cell. he cell reference identifies the exact location of the current active cell. In the T Figure below, the active cell is A1. The column is always the first letter in a cell reference followed by the row number. Cell A1 is the cell located in column A and row 1. Each cell has a unique cell reference. The formula bar displays the contents of the active cell including any formulas. As you enter or edit data, the changes will appear in the formula bar. Columns (vertical) are labeled along their column heading A thru Z, AA thru AZ, up to column IV. Rows (horizontal) are labeled by their row headings from 1 thru 65,536. Excel cells are like many calculators arranged in a grid. Each cell is capable of making mathematical calculations. The calculation can be one such as 1 + 3 or a calculation using values in other cells in the spreadsheet. Referring to other cells requires knowing how Excel refers to cells. A spreadsheet is an address grid with the grid consisting of: Columns labeled by letters A, B, C, X, Y, Z, AA, AB, AC,AX, AY, AZ, BA, BB, IU, IV for 256 possible columns. Rows labeled by numbers 116384 (Office 97 allows more rows). Cells are specified by the intersection of the column letter and row number such as F9. Ranges which are a group of cells specified by the address of the upper left cell and lower right cell separated by a full colon.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Row 9 10 11 12 Column 13 Range 14 A11: A16 15 16

B C D E F G Field Name Field Name Field Name Field Name 1 Column E Column F Column G 2 3 4 Datum 1 Datum 2 Datum 3 Row Range B4:D4 Datum 4

Cell F9

Block range C11: E15

What is Function?
Predefine equation is called Function like =Sum, =Count, =Max, etc Three parts of any Function 1.Operand (Cell name is called operand like A1,B6,D3,G6) 2.Operator like =, +, -, :, space, ^, %, &) 3.Function name (Sum, Count, Max, min, etc)

SERIES OPTION
Used for creating series of number, date etc Edit * Fill* Series

Fill Series Custom List Option

Step 1 - Automatic Fill Series Dragging the Fill Handle down with a single cell selected and holding down the Ctrl key will either increment the values by 1. Entering the number 15 into cell "B2" and holding down the Ctrl key while dragging the Fill Handle will create the following series:

Dragging the Fill Handle with more than one cell selected will continue the sequence of values in the subsequent cells. The sequence of values can be controlled by the initial values entered in the two or more cells. This can be used to quickly enter an incrementing (or decrementing) series of numbers. Typing the values 15, 30 and 45 into the cells B2, B3 and B4 respectively and dragging the Fill Handle creates the following series:

Only simple series can be entered automatically using the Fill Handle. For more complicated series you can use the Fill Series dialog box. Step 2 - Fill Series dialog box You can fine tune your series after you have dragged the fill handle by displaying the Fill Series dialog box. This can be done by selecting (Edit > Fill > Series). The series always starts with the value in the selected cell or first cell when more than one cell is selected.

(Edit > Fill > Series) dialog box

Series in - Decides whether the series is to be filled across the page (across the selected columns) or down the page (across the selected rows). Trend - Calculates a best-fit line (for linear series) or geometric curve (for growth series). The step values for the trend are calculated from the existing values at the top or left of the selection. Any value in the Step value box is ignored if the Trend check box is selected. Excel will calculate the average change between the values already entered and uses that information to calculate a series to populate the remaining cells. Step Value - Enter a positive or negative number to indicate the amount by which you want a series to increase or decrease. The default value for any series is 1.

Stop Value - Enter a positive or negative number to indicate the value at which you want the series to end. If the selection is filled before the series reaches the stop value, the series stops at that point. If the selection is larger than needed to fill the series, the remaining cells of the selection are left blank. You do not need a value in the Stop value box to fill a series. Step 3 - Fill Types Linear Growth Date - Fills a series with dates. The Date unit options are only applicable when this type of series is selected. The type of date series that is incremented depends on the option selected under Date unit. This is covered in more detail on a subsequent page. AutoFill - Fills blank cells in a selection with a series based on data included in the selection. Selecting this option produces the same results as dragging the fill handle to fill a series. Any value in the Step value box and any selected Date unit option are ignored. Step 4 - Date Series Step 5 - AutoFill Series Entering one number increases by +1 Entering two numbers the difference is the increment (or decrement) and this value is then used to increase or decrease all the other numbers respectively. Enter 2 dates does the increment work ? Does it change if you drag up/down and left/right ? Enter 2 days weekdays, months, years - autofill options button not shortcut menu - is there a difference ? Step 6 - Things to Remember When you place the mouse over the Fill Handle the cursor changes to a small black cross to indicate that you can drag the cells with the mouse. Dragging the Fill Handle with a single cell highlighted will copy the value to all the subsequent cells. If you include any blank cells in your selection, then the blank cells will be included in the fill. Using the shortcut menu or the smart tag will create the same series.

PRINT MENU:

Printer

Name - Status, type, where, etc ?? Properties - Displays a dialog box containing any print driver specific options. Find Printer - Allows you to select a printer on your network that is not listed here. When you have selected the printer you want to use, click OK to return to this menu and print the document. Print to File - Allows you to send the output to a file instead of to a printer. This is not used much but can be useful if you want to print a file from a computer that does not have Excel installed. Print Range

All - All the pages in your worksheet will be printed. Page(s) - You can print just a selection of pages by changing the From and To boxes. Print What

Selection - Just the currently selected range of cells will be printed. This is the default when a range of cells is selected. Active sheet(s) - This is the default, when a single cell is selected.

Entire Workbook - Every worksheet in the active workbook will be printed. You can select multiple worksheets using either the Ctrl or Shift keys when selecting. Copies

Number of copies - It is possible to print more than one copy of a worksheet or selection. Collate - Whether to collate the sheets. Printing collated copies is more convenient although it may take slightly longer. Collate means to put together in order. Instead of printing all the copies of one page followed by all the copies of another page, collating means that you get a full copy or set of the pages at a time. If you have a several page printout and you have the collate checkbox not ticked then you will get all the copies of page one, followed by all the copies of page two, etc. The collating option is only available if are printing more than one page or you are printing more than one copy.

PAGE SETUP
Step 1 - Orientation Orientation refers to the direction that the data will be printed on the paper.

Portrait - When text is printed parallel to the shorter edge, like a letter (top to bottom). This is the default. Landscape - When text is printed parallel to the longer edge (side ways). Printing landscape allows you to fit more columns per page and is ideal when you have a wide worksheet. Step 2 - Scaling You can either print out your worksheets exactly as they are or you can reduce or enlarge them to fit better on the page or across a number of pages. You can use the scaling feature to increase and decrease the size of data on a printed page. Useful if you want the data to fit a specific number of pages.

Adjust to - Reduces or enlarges the printed worksheet by specifying a scaling factor. Select the Adjust to check box, and then enter a percentage number in the % normal size box. You can reduce the worksheet to 10 percent of normal size or enlarge it to 400 percent of normal size. This allows you to scale your output so it can be adjusted to maximise the use of space on your page. Fit to - Reduces the worksheet or selection when you print so that it fits on the specified number of pages. Select the Fit to check box, enter a number in the page(s) wide by box, and enter a number in the tall box. To fill the paper width and use as many pages as necessary, type 1 in the pages(s) wide by box and leave the tall box blank. This allows you to determine the number of pages you want to use to print your data on. This can be used to automatically scale your worksheets accordingly.

Step 3 - Other

Paper Size - Click Letter, Legal, or other size options to indicate the size you want your document or envelope printed. Excel will come will some pre-defined paper sizes. Obviously the most common sizes are A4 and Letter. Your printer driver could also affect the entries in this drop-down list. Print Quality - Click the resolution you want to specify print quality for the active worksheet. Resolution is the number of dots per linear inch (dpi) that appear on the printed page. Higher resolution produces better quality printing in printers that support high-resolution printing. First Page Number - Enter Auto to start numbering pages at "1" (if it is the first page of the print job) or at the next sequential number (if it is not the first page of the print job). This can be useful if you are printing from multiple workbooks and you want to combine the data. Step 4 - Things to Remember A percentage over 100 will increase the size of the printed data and a percentage under 100 will reduce the size of the printed data. Any scaling that is done is done in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The "Fit To" option is very useful if the last page of your worksheet contains a small amount of data and you want to squash all the data up slightly so it will fit

on the second to last page. If you use the print option "Fit to X pages wide by Y tall, don't try and set any manual page breaks as these will be ignored. You can have Excel "autoscale" the data to fit the paper width by entering "1" in the page(s) wide box and leaving the page(s) tall box empty. Margins Step 1 - Understanding Margins Each printer driver has a minimum margin size defined which is enforced regardless of what you enter into this dialog box. Margins determine the amount of space between your data and the edge of the paper. Step 2 - Default Margins Default margins are: left: 0.75, right 0.75, top: 1 and bottom: 1. All margin measurements are in inches. What are the default margin sizes in mm ? (1 inch = 25.4 mm) Adjusting the margins can be an effective way to fitting slightly more on a page.

This allows you to determine the amount of space between the edge of the paper and your data. The Preview box will give a good indication as to how the page will look when it is printed.

Top - The distance from the top of the paper to the start of the data. Header - The height of the header. Left - The distance from the left side of the data to the edge of the paper. Right - The distance from the right side of the data to the edge of the paper. Footer - The height of the footer. Bottom - The distance from the end of the data to the bottom of the paper. If you are using the headers and footers then make sure your top and bottom margins are larger than your header and footer margins. You can alternatively change the margins by dragging them visually in the Print Preview window. You can change the location of your headers and footers by using the "Margins" tab, and adjusting the "From Edge" value. Step 3 - Removing all margins Each printer driver has a minimum margin size defined which is enforced regardless of what you enter into this dialog box. Changing all the margins to zero is very confusing and does not mean that there are no margins. SS Margins will only be displayed in your print preview when these values are not zero - there are no black lines or boxes when these are zero SS The smallest margins are: left 0.6, right 0.6, header 0.6, footer 0.6, bottom 0.6. Step 4 - Center on page

Horizontal - Centres your data horizontally on the paper. Vertical - Centres your data vertically on the paper. Step 5 - Things to Remember All margin measurements entered on this dialog box are in inches. Header & Footer: Step 1 - Header and Footer Headers and footers are lines of text that you can print at the top and bottom of

every page. You can include the page number, filename, directory, date and time and even custom text in your headers and footers. It is possible to repeat rows and columns on every page. For more details please refer to the Page Setup - Sheet Tab page.

The area at the top and bottom of this dialog box displays a sample of the header and footer you have selected. This allows you to create a header and/or footer for your worksheet. Step 2 - Using a Built-In Header or Footer There are two drop-down list boxes containing some pre-defined headers and footers. If you are looking at the list of built-in headers or footers you can press the Home key to go to the first entry or the End key to go to the last entry. Sample Page 1 Page 1 of 3 Worksheet Name Workbook Name Folder Path Current Date Code Page &[Page] Page &[Page] of &[Pages] &[Tab] &[File] &[Path] &[Date]

Step 3 - Creating Custom Headers and Footers Selecting either the "Custom Header" or "Custom Footer" buttons will display the

following dialog box. This dialog box allows you to create custom headers and footers and looks identical in both cases. Using this dialog box will let you enter your own text and will also allow you to format it the way you want. There are three sections and each section can contain various codes to indicate what to display. The left section is automatically left aligned by default and the right section is right aligned by default.

Font - Changes the font, font size, and text style by displaying the (Format > Cells)(Font tab) dialog box. Page Number - Inserts the current page number. Total Pages - Inserts the total number of pages on the active worksheet. Date - Inserts the current date as a field. Time - Inserts the current time as a field. Path and File - Inserts the path and file name of the active workbook. FileName - Inserts the file name of the active workbook. Sheet Name - Inserts the name of the active worksheet. Insert Picture - Inserts a picture by displaying the (Insert > Picture > From File) dialog box. If you are replacing an existing picture pressing this button again may not display the browse dialog box. If this happens remove the old &Picture and press OK to close the dialog box. Select the custom header/footer and then press this button. Format Picture - Allows you to format the picture once it has been inserted by displaying the (Format > Picture) dialog box.

Step 4 - Adding a Picture When you have inserted a picture the &[Picture] code is added to the section. After you have inserted a picture from a file, select the Format Picture button to display the (Format > Picture) dialog box. This will allow you to specify the exact size, contrast etc and will also allow you to rotate scale and crop the picture. It is even possible to insert a picture or graphic into your header or footer. Step 5 - Things to Remember This dialog box can also be displayed by selecting (View > Header and Footer). You can see how your header or footer actually look like by using the Print Preview feature after you have closed this dialog box. It is possible to repeat rows and columns on every page. For more details please refer to the Page Setup - Sheet Tab page. Headers and Footers are only visible when you display your worksheet in Print Preview window. In Excel 2003 and 2002 you can include images in a header and footer. Excel will update the page numbers automatically when you add or delete data, or set page breaks. For a full list of all the Header and Footer codes please refer to the Header and Footer Codes page.

PRINT AREA:
Step 1 - Print Area

This lets you define the cell range that you would like to print and is exactly the same as using (File > Print Area > Set Print Area). Clicking in this box will allow you to drag the mouse over the desired cell range. The button on the far right of the text allows you to minimise and maximise the dialog box allowing you to see more of your worksheet.

Step 2 - Print Titles Print titles are rows or columns that you want to appear on every page. This lets you define any rows or columns that you would like to appear on every page Print titles will not be set for you automatically and must be set manually.

Rows to repeat at top - Allows you to repeat a group of rows across the top of each page.

Columns to repeat at the left - Allows you to repeat a group of columns down the left side of each page.

You only need to select one cell in each row or column containing the titles you want to repeat. The text selected can include any number or adjacent rows or columns or a combination ?? To remove any print titles make sure that both these boxes are empty. Step 3 - Print

Gridlines - If you want to include the gridlines when you print out a worksheet. Gridlines are not displayed by default and printing a large worksheet with gridlines may take slightly longer. If you want to display gridlines on part of your worksheet but not all of it you can apply a faint border to these cells and then remove printing gridlines. Black and White - This should be used when you don't want to print colour from your colour printer. It can also help to make coloured worksheets look better when printed on a black and white printer. Draft quality - This will print your worksheets with a reduced amount of formatting. Printing in draft is normally a lot quicker since gridlines and graphics are not included. Row and column headings - This will display the column letters and the row numbers on your page. Comments - The available options include "End of Sheet" which will insert another page at the end of the printout containing all the comments and the other option is "As Displayed on" which will print the comments exactly as they are displayed on the worksheet. Cell errors as - Select the worksheet with the error you don't want to print. , -- , or #N/A. Step 4 - Page Order

Down, the over - Click Down, then over or Over, then down to control the order in which data is numbered and printed when it does not fit on one page. The sample picture previews the direction your document will print when you choose one of these options. Over, then down Step 5 - Things to Remember Changing any of these options will not affect how the worksheet is displayed on the screen. You can see how the repeated titles will actually look like by using the Print

Preview feature.

Shortcut Keys (Ctrl + P) - Displays the (File > Print) dialog box. (Ctrl + Shift + F12) - Displays the (File > Print) dialog box. Options (View Tab, Page Breaks - Displays any page breaks as dotted lines on your worksheet.