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Lecture notes of 33 pages for the course Computer Literacy Advanced at boston (notes)
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Unit OneMICROSOFT EXCEL
Working with Cells
What is Excel?
Microsoft Excel 2016 is the leading electronic spreadsheet application. An electronic
spreadsheet is a program that performs mathematical calculations. It is used to perform
complex numerical and text manipulation of data. Excel can also create charts to
present your data visually. The advanced tools allow you to manage data stored in a
spreadsheet as if it were a database.
Excel contains extensive methods of communicating and saving files on the Cloud.
How to start Microsoft Excel 2016:
1. From the windows start menu
2. Select all apps
3. Click Excel 2016
4. Select “Blank workbook”
The Excel Application window:
• The Title Bar – The title bar displays the name of the application and the active
presentation. It holds the Minimise, Restore/Maximise and Close buttons on the
far right.
• File menu – The file menu can be used to access several commonly used functions
such as saving a document, creating a new document or printing a document.
• Quick access toolbar – The changeable quick access toolbar allows for quick access
to common Excel functions like Print Preview.
• The ribbon - The ribbon contains all of the Tabs, which in turn contains all of the
buttons needed for creating a workbook.
• Ribbon tabs – The ribbon tabs from the Ribbon. Every tab will provide access to a
specific group of related functions like, Home, Insert and Page Layout.
• Dialogue Box Launchers – displays the dialogue boxes relating to the group that it
is located on.
• Name Box – displays names. A name can be defined to refer to a cell, group of
cells, a value or a formula. The name box can be used to access available names.
• Formula Box – displays the contents of the active cell.
• Workbook – a file in which you work and store data. A workbook contains as
many worksheets as memory allows. Additional workbooks can be added by
clicking the + button.
• Worksheet Window – each page in a workbook is called a worksheet. A worksheet
is a grid of 16,384 columns by 1,048,576 rows. Columns are vertical and begin with
A. Rows are horizontal and begin with 1.
, • Cells – the intersection of a row and a column is called a cell. Cells are the basic
building blocks of Excel and are typically referred to by their column and row
location. Each cell is unique and the active cell is distinguished by a thick, dark
boarder, known as the cell pointer. When data is entered, it is entered in the
active cell.
• Gridlines – show the boundaries of rows, columns and cells. By default, gridlines
do not print.
• Navigation buttons – used to scroll through the sheets.
• Sheet tabs – click on sheet tabs to move from one sheet to another.
• Status bar – displays information about current selections, commands or
operations.
• Scroll bars – used to change the view of the worksheet. When you drag the vertical
scroll box, a screen tip indicates which row will be the top row when you release
the mouse. When you drag the horizontal scroll box, a screen tip indicates which
column will be displayed on the left when you release the mouse.
• Zoom slider – provides easy access to zooming into or out of a page.
• Tell me – is used to search content to recommendations on searching for a certain
task, function or question for which help is being asked about.
Entering data:
Data is entered in the active cell. Excel differentiates between different types of data.
A cell can contain up to 32 000 characters. You get:
- Text or Labels
- Numbers or Values
- Formulas
Text can include any combination of letters, numbers and keyboard symbols. Text is
left-aligned by default.
Numbers are right-aligned by default. Dates and times are numbers with special
formatting.
Formulas are calculations. Formulas start with an = sign. The formula is displayed in
the formula bar and the result is displayed in the cell.
,The formula bar:
The data displays in the formula bar and the Cancel and Enter buttons become available.
Click the ‘enter’ button to confirm your entry. Click the ‘cancel’ button to cancel your
entry.
The data must be accepted once it has been typed in the cell. There are several ways to
accomplish this. After typing the data:
• Press enter on the keyboard, or
• Click the enter button in the formula bar, or
• Press one of the arrow keys on the keyboard. (remember, this will not work for
accepting formulas)
If the cell is not wide enough to accommodate the data that you enter, the surplus data
spills into the cell/s to the right. These cells are, however, still empty. It only appears
that there is data in them. You can always check to see which cells contain the data by
observing the formula bar.
When creating a spreadsheet, consider the following:
1. Think of what your objective is and how you want the data displayed. For
example, do you want the months displayed down a column or across a row?
2. Type the text information, i.e. the headings that describe the values.
3. Type the numbers or values.
4. Add formulas, where necessary, to calculate results.
5. Format the spreadsheet to make it easy to ready and understand.
6. Save your work.
Save a workbook:
Saving your work is extremely important. The work does not exist in permanent form
until it is saved. When saving a workbook, a filename should indicate the workbook’s
contents.
There are two types of save operations – Save As or Save. For a workbook that has not
been saved previously, both options work the same way.
After a workbook has been given a name and saved, the options work differently.
The save button, from the File Menu, saves your file but you will not see anything
happen. Use Save As when you want to give your workbook a new name or you want to
save it in a different location or folder.
, Autofill:
Autofill is an Excel feature that allows you to generate data automatically based on the
data in the original cell. Filling is a kind of copying.
The mouse pointer changes to resemble a thin black cross when you point to the Fill
Handle.
Smart Tags:
When various commands are executed in Excel a Smart Tag appears next to the
information affected, which provides you with a number of options relating to the
action. Click on the down arrow on the Smart Tag to view the options.
The Auto Fill Options button appears just below your filled selection after you fill text or
data in a worksheet. When you click the button, a list appears to give you options for
how to fill the text or data.
The available options depend on the context you are filling, the program you are filling
from, and the format of the text or data you are filling.
Edit cell content:
You can edit the data entered into a cell either in the cell or in the formula bar.
Cell Formula Bar
Click the cell and type the new contents. Click the cell, click the formula bar and
This replaces the entire contents of the make desired changes.
cell.
Click the cell, press F2 and make desired
changes.
Double-click the cell and make desired
changes.
Selecting:
To select is to choose one or more cells. The active cell is always selected. Once cells are
selected, they can be moved, copied, formatted, deleted, aligned or resized.
A group of cells is called a range. It is often more efficient to select a range of cells and
then perform an operation, or apply formatting, rather than repeat this procedure on
each cell individually.
There are different ways to select a range of cells:
Do this: To select:
Press Ctrl+A Entire worksheet
Click a row number An entire row
Click a column letter An entire column
Hold the Shift key down and use the arrow To select adjacent (contiguous) cells or
keys extend a selection
Hold the Ctrl key down and use the mouse To select non-adjacent (non-contiguous)
to click desired calls cells
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