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Excel Basics

• Excel is a primarily a spreadsheet program
• The file you create in Excel is called a workbook
• A workbook is made up of several worksheets, which are the pages that look like an accountant's ledger sheets
• The "boxes" on the spreadsheet are called cells, and are identified by their corresponding letter and number (e.g. A1, G8)

Moving around a Worksheet

There are several ways to move from cell to cell in an Excel worksheet. One way is to use the mouse to click on the cell where you want to enter data. The following keys on the keyboard will also help you move around the spreadsheet:

• Arrow Keys Moves the cell pointer one cell in the direction of the arrow.
• [PgUp] Moves up an entire window.
• [PgDn] Moves down an entire window.
• [Tab] Moves one cell to the right.
• [Shift + Tab] Moves one cell to the left.
• [Enter/Return] Moves one cell down to the row below.
• [Shift + Enter/Return] Moves one cell up to the row above.
• [Ctrl + Home] Moves the cell pointer to the upper left corner of the worksheet (cell A1).
• [Alt + Page Up] Moves one window to the left.
• [Alt + Page Down] Moves one window to the right.

Inserting or Deleting a Worksheet

By default, an Excel workbook opens with three sheets. If you need additional sheets, go to the Insert menu, then choose Worksheet. The new worksheet will be placed before the selected sheet. To delete a worksheet, go to the Edit menu and choose Delete Sheet. You can also insert or delete a worksheet by right-clicking on a worksheet tab and choosing Insert or Delete.

Changing the Name of a Worksheet

To rename a worksheet, double-click on the tab of the worksheet you want changed. Type the new name. You can also rename the worksheet by right-clicking on the tab, choosing Rename, and typing the new name.

Adjusting the Column Width and Row Height

To change the width of a column, click on the line between the column labels (letter names). The cursor will turn into a double-headed arrow with a vertical bar through the center of it. Dragging the line between column labels to the left or right makes the column width smaller or larger. To change the height of a row, click on the line between two numeric labels and drag the line up or down.

Highlighting a Column or Row

To highlight a column, click somewhere in the gray box that contains the letter above the column you want to highlight. This will highlight the entire column. To highlight a row, click on the gray box that contains the row number. This will highlight the entire row.

Highlighting a Cell Range

To highlight a range of cells, click in the first cell you want to select, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the mouse over the other cells you want to select. Or, you can click in the first cell of the range, hold down the [Shift] key, and click in the last cell you want to select. This will highlight all the cells between the first and last cell selected.

Highlighting the Entire Worksheet

To select the entire worksheet, click on the gray box in the upper left corner of the spreadsheet.

Highlighting Several Non-adjacent Cells

To select cells that are not immediately next to each other, click on the first cell. Hold down the [Ctrl] key and click in each of the other cells you want highlighted.

Adding a Column or Row

To add a column, highlight the column to the right of the one you would like to insert. Click the Insert menu, then click Columns. This will insert a column to the left of the highlighted column. To add a row, highlight the row below the one you would like to insert. Click the Insert menu, then click Rows. This will add a row above the highlighted row.

Deleting a Column or Row

To delete a column or row, highlight the column or row you want to delete. Click the Edit menu, then click Delete, or click on the Delete key on your keyboard.

Copying and Pasting a Column or Row

To copy data from one column or row to another, highlight the column or row, click on the Edit menu, then click Copy. Highlight the column or row you would like the data in, click on the Edit menu, then click Paste.

Types of Cell Data:

• numbers
• words
• equations, formulas or functions
• fill color

Formatting Data

Once information is entered into a cell, you can change the way it looks by using the tools in the Format menu. Highlight the cell(s) you want to format. Select Format, then Cells (or right-click on the cell you want to format, and choose Format Cells) to bring up the Format Cells dialogue box.

Editing or Deleting Entered Data

If you want to change the information entered in a cell, click on the cell and enter the correct information. You don't need to highlight or delete - typing replaces what was in the cell. If you want to make a change to information entered in a cell without deleting it, click on the cell. Then, edit the information within the Formula Bar (the Formula Bar is located above the row of column labels, to the right of the equal sign). To delete information entered in a cell, click on the cell, and press the [Delete] key.

Using the AutoFill Feature

The Excel AutoFill feature allows you to automatically fill in data based on the data in adjacent cells. Using AutoFill you can enter a series of text, or can copy values or formulas to adjacent cells. Excel 2000 automatically allows you to enter a sequence of days of the week and months of the year, using the spelling of the entire name or the abbreviation.

To enter a series of data using AutoFill, click on the first cell of the range of cells you want to fill. Type the first value of the series. Position the mouse on the lower right corner of the selected cell. The pointer changes to the fill handle (a black plus sign). Drag the handle over the range of cells in which you want the series completed. (You can drag the handle vertically or horizontally.) The other items in the series will automatically be entered in the range of cells selected.

To create your own list to use with the AutoFill feature, select Tools, Options, then choose the Custom Lists tab. In the Custom Lists section, click on the Add button. Enter each item of your list, followed by the Enter key. Click on the Add button again, and your list will appear in the Custom Lists section. Click OK. Note: Items in your list cannot begin with a number.

You can create a custom AutoFill list using data already entered into a spreadsheet. Select Tools, Options, then choose the Custom Lists tab. Click on the icon in the Import list from cells box. This will bring you back to the spreadsheet. Highlight the range of cells that contain the list you want to add. Click on the icon in the Options - Import list from cells dialogue box. (The cell references of the highlighted cells will appear in the box.) This brings you back to the Options window. Click the Import button. Your list will appear in the Custom Lists section. Click OK. Note: Items in your list cannot begin with a number.

Using the AutoSum Feature

Excel's AutoSum feature allows you to quickly add up a column or row of numbers. To use the AutoSum feature, click on the cell where you want to display the calculated total. Click on the AutoSum button on the toolbar. The marquee (moving dotted line) will appear around the cell range to be totaled. If the highlighted cells are not the cells you want totaled, you can manually choose the correct cells by clicking and dragging on the cells you want added up. Click the [Enter/Return] key to get the calculated total.

Entering a Formula or Equation

To enter a formula, click on the cell where you want the result of the formula displayed. Type "=" (an equal sign). Excel will not calculate any formula that does not begin with an equal sign. Enter the first argument - an argument can be a number or a cell reference (e.g. A3, C7). If it is a cell reference, you can either type the reference or click the cell on the worksheet. Enter an arithmetic operator. Enter the next argument. Enter arithmetic operators and arguments until the formula is complete. Click [Enter/Return] to get the calculated total. (Example of a formula: =C5+B6+F8-G2) Excel calculates formulas containing more than one operator according to the rules of the Order of Operations (exponentiation first, multiplication and division next, addition and subtraction last), and calculates operations in parentheses first.

Using the Average Function

To find the average of set of numbers in a range of cells, you can use the Average function. Click the cell where you want the average displayed. Type "=" (an equal sign), type the word "AVERAGE", then type "(" (an opening parenthesis). Type the cell references of the numbers you want averaged, or click on the cells. Click the [Enter/Return] key. Excel will automatically add the closing parenthesis to complete the function. (Example: =AVERAGE(C12:C45))

Using Excel to Create a Graph

Enter the data to be graphed. The first row of the cell range from which you will create the graph should contain the label units on the x-axis. The first column should contain the labels for the categories plotted on the y-axis. These will be used to label the graph legend. Enter the data in the appropriate cells.

To create a graph from this data, highlight the cell range, click on the Insert menu, and choose Chart. This will bring up the Chart Wizard window. In the first window, choose the type of graph you want by clicking on the name under Chart Type. To see what the graph will look like, hold the mouse pointer down on the Press and Hold to View Sample button. Once you've found a graph that you like, choose Next. The second window verifies the range of data being used for the graph. If the range shown is correct, click on the Next button. In the third window, you can add a title to your graph, make changes to the legend, or make changes to the data labels. Once you have your title and labels correct, click on the Next button. In the final window, you can choose to insert the graph in the sheet you're working on or in a new sheet. Click on the Finish button to view your graph.

You can change the look of the graph by changing font styles and sizes, line weights, colors, and backgrounds. To edit the graph, double-click on the part of the graph that needs to be altered. A Format window will appear, from which you can make the changes. You can move the graph by clicking on it and dragging it to a different location. The graph can be resized by using the resizing handles.

Copying and Pasting a Graph Into Another Office Application

You can copy and paste a graph from Excel into other Office applications (Word, Publisher, PowerPoint). To do this, select the graph in Excel, click on the Edit menu and choose Copy. Open the other application, click on the Edit menu and choose Paste. If you want to be able to update the graph when the original data changes in Excel, choose Paste Special instead of Paste. In the Paste Special window, choose the Display as link option, then click OK. Any changes made to the original data in Excel will be reflected in the pasted graph.

Using Print Preview and Page Break Preview to Preview the Worksheet

To preview the worksheet before printing, click on File then on Print Preview. From the Print Preview view, you can change the page breaks by clicking on the Page Break Preview button. In this view, the page breaks are represented by a solid blue line. You can move the page breaks by clicking on the lines and dragging them to a different location. To return to the normal view, click on View, then on Normal.