Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Excel Basics

Lesson 1, 2

Objectives Define the terms used in the lesson. Identify the parts of the worksheet. Move the highlight in the worksheet. Select cells and enter data in the worksheet. Edit cells. Find and replace data. Zoom in and out in a worksheet. Save a worksheet. Print a worksheet.

What Is Excel? Excel is a spreadsheet application of the officexp

programs. A spreadsheet is a grid of rows and columns

containing numbers, text, and formulas. The purpose of a spreadsheet is to solve

problems that involve numbers. Ex) calculate a grade, prepare a budget.

In Excel, a worksheet is a computerized spreadsheet. A workbook is a collection of related worksheets.

Parts of the Worksheet Columns of the worksheet appear vertically and are

identified by letters at the top of the worksheet. Rows appear horizontally and are identified by numbers

on the left side of the worksheet. A cell is the intersection of a row and a column and is

identified by a cell reference (the column letter and row number) ex) C4, A1

The entry point is indicated by a highlight which appears as a dark border around a cell.

Parts of the Worksheets The cell that contains the highlight is the active

cell. The formula bar appears directly below the

toolbar in the worksheet and displays a formula when the cell of a worksheet contains a calculated value.

The name box or cell reference area, identifies the active cell.

A selected group of cells is called a range.

Identify the Parts of the Worksheet Title bar Menu bar Standard toolbar Formatting toolbar Formula bar Columns Rows Highlight Status box

Move the Highlight in the Worksheet

TO MOVE PRESS

Left one column Left arrow

Right one column Right arrow

Up one row Up arrow

Down one row Down arrow

To the first cell of a row Home

To cell A1 Ctrl+Home

To the last cell containing data

Ctrl+End

Up one window Page Up

Down one window Page Down

Move the Highlight in the Worksheet

The fastest way to move to an off-screen cell is to choose Go To on the Edit menu

Pressing the shortcut key F5 will also access the Go To dialog box.

Select Cells and Enter Data Enter data by keying text or numbers in a

cell and pressing Enter. If you choose not to enter the data you

have keyed, press Esc and the keyed data will not be entered.

Click the Undo button on the Standard toolbar to reverse the last entry.

Edit Cells

Data is edited in the Formula bar by pressing F2 and making changes at the insertion point.

To replace cell contents, key the new data, and press Enter.

To clear an active cell press Delete.

Find and Replace Data The Find command locates specific words

or numbers in a worksheet. Replace substitutes new data for data

found.

Zoom In and Out of a Worksheet The view of your worksheet may be

magnified or reduced by using the Zoom button on the Standard toolbar.

You may key your desired magnification percentage directly in the Zoom box.

Summary The purpose of a spreadsheet is to solve

problems involving numbers. A worksheet consists of columns and rows

intersecting to form cells, which are identified by cell references.

You can move to different cells of the worksheet by clicking on the cell with the mouse pointer, using a series of keystrokes, or by scrolling with the mouse.

Summary Both text and numerical data may be

entered in the worksheet. You can alter data by editing, replacing, or

deleting. You can search for specific characters in a

worksheet and replace data with other characters.

Summary The Zoom box enlarges or reduces the

view of a worksheet on the screen. Changes in a worksheet are saved using

the Save command on the File menu. A worksheet may be printed to provide a

hard copy.

Lesson 2 Objectives Change column width and row height. Position text within a cell by wrapping, rotating,

indenting, and aligning. Change the appearance of cells using fonts,

styles, colors, and borders. Designate the format of a cell to accommodate

different kinds of text and numerical data. Apply and paint formats.

Create and use styles. Find and replace cell formats.

Terms Used in This Lesson AutoFormat- A collection of fonts, patterns, and

alignments that can be applied to a range of data. Indented text- Can help distinguish categories or

set apart text. Rotated text- Allows you to display text at any

angle. Style- A combination of formatting characteristics

such as alignment, font, border, or pattern. Wrapped text- Begins a new line within the cell,

moves text to a new line when it is longer than the width of the cell.

Change Column Width and Row Height

When placing the mouse pointer on the right edge of a column or top of a row it will change to a double-headed arrow.

Widen a column or row by dragging the double-headed arrow.

Why Change Column Width?

A series of number signs is displayed (####)

Data is cut off (right portion is not displayed)

Data runs outside of the column Data is converted to a different numerical

form

Apply and Paint Formats

You may paint a format that exists

in another area of the worksheet. Select a cell with the desired format.

Click the Format Painter button

Highlight the cells that you want to apply the

format to.

Create and Use Styles

A style is a combination of formatting characteristics such as alignment, font, border, or pattern.

You may apply a style that has already been created in Excel.

Find and Replace Cell Formats

You may also find specific formats in a workbook and replace the format with another format.

For example, you may replace all italicized text with bolded text.

Summary Worksheet columns and rows may be

widened to accommodate data that is too large to fit in the cell.

You can wrap, rotate, indent, or align the position of text within the cells.

The appearance of cell data may be altered by changing the font, font size, and style (bolding, italicizing, and underlining), as well as adding color and borders.

Summary A cell may be changed to accommodate

data in a variety of numerical formats. Formatting characteristics such as

alignment, font, border, or pattern may be applied by using the Styles command.

Format painting copies the format of a worksheet cell without copying the contents of the cell.

Summary

Various collections of fonts, patterns, and alignments can be applied to a range of data by using the AutoFormat command.

The Find and Replace command may be used to change cell formats.