spread sheet basics.doc

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LESSON NO.1 C2/B

SPREADSHEET BASICS

LESSON OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, the trainee will be able to learn

Create Workbooks and Worksheets

Recognise the Worksheet Components

Enter and Edit Data

Work with Numbers

Create and Edit Formulae

Format Numbers

Modify the Worksheet Layout

Column Width & Row Height

Insert and Delete Columns, Rows & Cells

Move & Copy Cell Contents

Print from Worksheets

Preview the Layout

Change Page & Sheet Settings

Print Settings

1.1 Introduction

In our daily life, many transactions take place and it is humanly not possible to remember all of themHence we record them in a systematic manner for future reference. To assist us in this recording, thecomputer world has given us an electronic Spreadsheet. Spreadsheet application is designed primarily

to perform mathematical calculations. The spreadsheet as the name suggests is like a large sheetconsisting of several rows and columns. In appearance it looks like a maths notebook that you wouldhave used in your junior school days to enter numbers and make arithmetic calculations.

Besides being used for making calculations, spreadsheets can be used for working with data[information]. The latest versions of spreadsheet programs can serve as powerful data managementtools. Using a spreadsheet program you can not only store lot of data in the worksheets but also makeuse different functions to arrange and analyse the data in any way you require.

Spreadsheet applications also come with powerful Graph utilities. These utilities help us inrepresenting our data in a picture format, to achieve this task these utilities make use of different

charts and graphs that. has been given along with the spreadsheet application.

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Excel 2000 is one of the best spreadsheet applications available; possessing several enhancedspreadsheet features. You can use Excel 2000 to make quick and easy financial analysis. You can alsoanalyse data and create presentations with charts. Excel allows you to retrieve data from external datasources and use it in your worksheets. Excel 2000 can be used to create web pages with ease and alsorun queries on data available on the web.

In this chapter, we will be discussing the concepts of worksheets, ways of populating a worksheet,

application of formulae and data formatting options.

Later in the chapter you will understand how you can change the layout of your worksheet. You willbe able to adjust the size of your columns and rows to suit the size of your text and also delete cellsand cell contents. Finally you will look at printing and the options Excel offers to print a spreadsheetdocument.

1.2 Creating Workbooks and Worksheets

An Excel file is called a workbook. On start up, Excel always provides a fresh workbook with thedefault name Book1A workbook contains a number of worksheets. A worksheet is just another name

for a spreadsheet. To understand this better, we'll use an analogy. Just as a bookhas number of pages,an Excel workbook has a number of worksheets. Initially there are only 1 worksheets in an Excel 2000Workbook, as you proceed with your work you can insert any number of sheets in your workbook onthe basis of your requirement.

Figure 1

Excel identifies the worksheet with a unique name. The default names Of these worksheets are Sheet1,Sheet2 and so on. You can also rename a worksheet. This feature helps us in giving each sheet the

2

Name Box

Formula Bar

Sheet tabs

Worksheet Window

Sheet navigation buttons


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relevant name on the basis Of the information that is stored in that Page so that even people who havenot created the file will be able to find information they require.

Worksheets

Worksheets can be used to list and analyse data. You can enter and edit data on several worksheetsat the same time. Calculations can be made based on data from multiple worksheets. You can alsocreate Charts and place them on a worksheet.

Each worksheet has a sheet tab. To activate a particular sheet, you can click on its respective tab. Thedesired page is then displayed in the active worksheet window and its sheet tab is highlighted. Eachworkbook has sheet navigation buttons. You will find a need for these navigation tools only whenyou have a number of sheets in Your workbook or, when Your sheet names are so long that all sheettabs are not visible in the window. You can view the invisible sheet tabs by using any of the fournavigation buttons and then open their respective sheets in the workbook if you want. Figure 2 showsthe sheet navigation buttons.

Fig.2

1.2.1 Worksheet Components

You have been introduced to the idea of tables while you were learning about arranging data in atabular format in Word. You saw that a table has columns, rows and cells. In appearance, a worksheetlooks much like a table - a very large one at that! The tabular structure of the worksheet is readymade;you need not create it like you create a table in a Word document. The design of the spreadsheet isintended to enable you to make calculations and arrange data in a tabular format.

The columns and rows of a worksheet are clearly marked by gridlines. The gridlines run through theentire worksheet from top to bottom and left to right. The top to bottom lines makes the columns ofthe spreadsheet while the left to right gridlines produce the rows of the spreadsheet.

Just as workbooks and worksheets are named to facilitate identification, each column and row of aworksheet has a unique name. Each column carries a letter of the alphabet for its name while each rowis numbered. For instance, the first column is labelled 'A' and the letter A appears as the columnheading. The first row is labelled 1' and the number 1 appears in the row title at the far left of the

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Move to Last

Move one sheet right

Moveonesheetleft

Move to First

Active Cell


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Fig.3

The naming of sheets, columns and rows is the very basis of a spreadsheet application. Namingfacilitates referencing. Since every column and row is labelled it is possible to reference any particularcell from any other cell, even if not in the same worksheet. This makes the spreadsheet applicationvery useful, as it is possible to work with a lot of data and use it in several places without re -creating itover and over again.

Columns and Rows

There are 256 columns in a single worksheet. Since the English alphabets are used to labelcolumns, the label for the 27th column is AA, while the 511d column is BA and so on till the25611 column is 1V.

There are 65,516 rows in a worksheet. The first row is labelled 1 while the last row is 65516.

A cell is the intersection of a row and column. Each cell also has a unique address. The address of anycell is the combination of its column label and row title. For instance the address of the cell carryingthe name of the company Trojan Corp is A1 that is to say that the particular cell is created by theintersection of Column A and Row 1. The active cell in Figure 1 is B1 2; distinguished by a dark box

called the cell pointer. B12 is displayed in the Name Box in the top left of the worksheet window. Youcan see that the row and column labels having the active cell are also highlighted.

You can move around in the worksheet using the up, down, left and right keys. Every time you pressone of these keys you can move a single cell. Of course, you can make any cell the active cell byclicking the mouse pointer in that cell. You can also move around in a sheet using the scroll arrows.But by using the scroll arrows you can only view other parts of a spreadsheet, you cannot change thelocation of the active cell.

Important Keystrokes to navigate in a worksheet

Page Up To move One Window screen up

Page Down To move One Window screen down

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Home To move to Column A in the given row

Ctrl Home To move to Cell A1 in the worksheet

1.2.2 Entering and Editing Data

Now that you are familiar with the Excel application window, you would need to know how to use itto enter data. You may need the spreadsheet to enter a lot of numerical data. But you would alsohave to enter text to show what those numbers represent. Similarly, it is not enough if you enter along list of numbers, you should be able to analyse it. So you would need calculation tools to workon the data.

Excel allows you to enter text, numbers and formulae's in any of the cells in a worksheet. You canenter data only in a active cell. So if you want to write the name of a company in cell Al, make cellA1 the active cell and then start entering the text in it. On keying in data, the data can be viewed notonly in the active cell but also in the formula bar at the top of the worksheet.

Fig.4

The formula bar buttons also become visible. These buttons can be used to accept the contents enteredinto a cell or to discard it. If you click on the cross, the entry is rejected, if you click on the green tickmark, it is accepted.

When you are entering data, it is more efficient to use the keyboard keys to accept or cancel an entryThis is because you would avoid switching between the keyboard and the mouse every time you makean entry. You can use the Enter key to accept an entry and the Esc key to cancel it. When you acceptan entry with the Enter key, the cell pointer moves one cell down in the column. This feature isespecially useful when you are entering columns of data as it saves the trouble of an extra keystroke ofmoving the cell pointer down with the arrow keys.

You can also complete an entry and move to another cell by using the arrow keys. Excel alwayscompletes an entry before moving on to another cell.

Excel 2000 offers a new and useful feature to enter data in columns ~ the AutoComplete feature. Youcan make use of this feature when you are repeatedly entering the same text in a column. Instead of

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Formula Bar Buttons


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keying in the same text over and over again, Excel automatically fills a cell with the text that appearsin the cell above it if the first letter in the new entry matches the first letter of the previous one.

For example it your previous entry in a column is 'Windows N7, then in the next cell of the column,the moment you type the letter 'W' Excel fills it with 'Windows N7. If it is the entry you require youcan accept it by using the Enter key. If you want to have some other data, you can ignore thesuggestion and continue typing. Figure 5 shows an AutoComplete entry made by Excel in cell A9.

Fig.5

It is not always that you would have similar entries occurring in a column one below the other Youmight have five entries in a column that get repeated in the column as you fill it with data. Excel 2000gives you the option to select from a list of entries already in the column. To display this list, you haveto press Aft +Down Arrow and then move down the list to choose the appropriate entry. Figure 6shows you the list that Excel can automatically enter in cell A11.

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Fig.6

A Note on AutoComplete

Excel 2000 completes only those entries that contain text or a combination of text and numbers. If anentry contains only numbers or dates then the entries are not completed automatically.

Excel displays its AutoComplete feature only if the data column is continuous. If there is a blank cellin the previous row of the column then AutoComplete does not offer any suggestion.

After you make entries in cells you would sometimes want to revise the data in some cells. You mightwant to make minor changes or delete an entry completely. To correct data entry mistakes in a cell,the easiest way is to place the cell pointer in the cell that needs to be edited and press the F2 Key. Thecursor will immediately appear in the cell and you can move to any point in the entry to make changesusing the arrow keys. You can also double click in a cell and make changes in an entry.

It you want to delete the contents of a cell completely, you can press the Delete key. However, if youwant to make a fresh entry in a cell that already contains some data, you can take the cell pointer tothat cell and start typing in the new data. The old entry will automatically be replaced.

1.3 Working with Numbers

A spreadsheet program is essentially designed to be a number crunching application. Using Excel, youcan perform financial calculations without knowing much of Maths. Even if you are not very

pro-efficient with numbers, you can easily perform totals, percentages, averages and such othercalculations on your data using the formulae provided by Excel. Excel has built in formula featuresintended for different types of number analysis.

Formula

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A formula is an equation that performs operations on a worksheet data. Formulae's can performmathematical operations; they can compare worksheet values or join text. Formulae's can refer tocells on the same worksheet, cells on other sheets in the same workbook, or cells on sheets in otherworkbooks.

Excel uses the standard operators to perform calculations. An operator specifies the type ofcalculation that you intend to perform on the elements of a formula. Excel offers three main types of

operators - arithmetic, comparison and reference.

Arithmetic operators are used to perform basic mathematical operations such as add, subtract, ormultiply and produce numeric results. Comparison or logical operators can be used to compare twovalues. Reference operators are used to combine ranges of cells for calculations.

Table 1 shows some of the commonly used operators while working in Excel.

OPERATION OPERATORS EXAMPLE

ARITHMATIC

Addition + 1+1Subtraction - 1-1

Negation - -1Multiplication * 1*1Division / 1/1

Percent % 1%Exponentiation ^ 1^2(same as 1*1)

COMPARISON OPERATORS EXAMPLE

Equal to = A1=A2

Greater than > A1>A2

Less than < A1= A1>=A2Less than or equal to


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A cell or range reference A label A name A worksheet function

The operations in a formula are performed from left to right - following the order of operatorprecedence. Just as you can change the order of precedence of operators by using parentheses ( when

you write a formula, Excel allows you to do the same to group operations that should be performedfirst.

For example, in the following formula, Excel produces the result 14 because it calculatesmultiplication before addition. That is to say, the formula multiplies 1 by 1 and then adds 5 to theresult

=5+3*3

Now in contrast, if you placed 5 and 1 in parentheses to change the syntax, Excel would first add 5and 1 and then multiply the result by 1 to produce 24 as the result

=(5+3) *3 .

You can create a formula in Excel by first placing an equal sign in the cell that is to hold the resultand then pointing and clicking those cells that contain the operands for your calculation. You canemploy the operators that are needed in your formula.

You can also create a formula by writing the cell addresses of cells that you want to use for yourcalculation in your result cell. Using this approach, you are liable to make mistakes because you mayread a cell address wrongly and so include the contents of a cell you did not intend to include.

Excel introduced a third way of creating formulas called the natural language formulas. Using thismethod, you can use the column headings in a formula instead of writing out the cell addresses orclicking on the cells that contain the elements for your formula. For instance you have Number andPrice as the titles of Column C and Column D in your worksheet. You want to obtain the Sales bymultiplying the contents of these two columns. You could move to Column E and enter the followingformula

= Number * Price

Excel will automatically pick up the contents of Number and Price data in the adjacent cells andmultiply them. Figure 7 shows how the natural language formula is written in Excel.

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Fig.7

To activate this feature in Excel 2000, you have to select Options from the Tools menu, and open theOptions dialog box. You can click on the Calculations page and enable theFormulas check box.

After you create a working formula, for example the Sales figure for Microsoft Office2000 using the

Number * Price equation, the formula for the Sale figures of all other products is the same. You neednot write the same formula in each of the other rows in Column E. You can just fill the formula in theother cells. Filling is like copying. You can either use the mouse or the keyboard to fill the cells inColumn E. With your cell pointer in E7, you can press Ctrl + C [the copy command]. Then you canmove down the column, to all the cells that require the Sales figure and press Ctrl +V [the pastecommand]. It you want to fill three rows in that column, you can make E8 the active cell and thenholding the shift key move two cells down using the down arrow key as shown in Figure 8. After youhave selected the range, you can press Enter. The formula is immediately copied in the desired threecells.

Fig.8

Besides filling formulae manually, you can use Excel's enhanced Fill features to fill cells withoutactually entering numbers, dates and formulas. The Fill feature can be accessed from the Edit menu.

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Fig.9

You will find the Fill feature very useful when you have to enter data in a range. Assuming theformula is in Cell E7. To fill the other three cells below with the same formula, you can select theentire range from E7 to E10 using Ctrl + Down arrow. After the range is selected you can go 10 Fill

and click down. The entire range now carries the formula in E7.

You can also copy a number from one cell to its adjacent by selecting the range to be filled and choosethe required AutoFill option. You can even increment numbers in other cells in a range using theSeries option in Fill. This is a new feature in Excel 2000 that allows you greater scope for filling datain worksheets. The Series dialog box in Figure 10 shows the options for Fills.

Fig.10

You now know the broad guidelines for creating formulas in Excel. Just as you need to edit and revisetext, you would often need to edit formulas. You would want to do this either because you entered awrong formula or because you have added new data and would like to change the formula to includethe new data as well.

You can make changes to a formula by going to the cell that contains the formula and thenoverwriting on it. You can also double click in the formula or use F2 key to open the formula forediting. After opening the formula, you can change the formula reference to another cell either withthe keyboard or use the Range Finderwith the mouse.

You can also use the Formula palette to enter and edit your formulas. When you create a formula thatcontains a function, the Formula Palette helps you enter and edit the worksheet functions. TheFormula Palette displays the name of the function, its arguments, and also gives a description of thefunction and each argument. It provides the current result of the function, and the current result of theentire formula. When you make changes to cell references, you can use the Formula palette to viewhow the changes will affect the formula result.

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Fig.11

1.1.2 Formatting Numbers

You learnt about formatting text in Word. Formatting of text in Word is done essentially to enhancethe look of your document. When we speak of formatting numbers in Excel it has more than aestheticimportance. Excel does offer you formatting features for enhancing the look of your worksheet, whichwe will look at later.

We use numbers to represent a wide variety of things. You count your money in Dollars or Poundsbut all the same it is numbers that represent them. When you get your marks for an Exam, they arecalculated as a percentage, even though it is again numbers that represent the marks. Similarly when

you make financial calculations, you obtain some numerical results that may contain fractions. Ifaccuracy were of great importance you would want the result to display with 1 or 4 decimal placesafter the whole number. Yet again dates also contain numbers but they have to be written in quite adifferent format.

If you were writing on a paper, you would automatically add a sign at the start of a number or at theend of a number to distinguish it as currency or percentage. Similarly in your calculations, you will adda decimal point to a number and give it the needed accuracy.

In Excel you cannot quite do the same thing. You will have to format the cell to tell the spreadsheetthat the particular cell contains a simple number, is currency of a particular type, is a percentage or a

date and so on. Excel will then recognise the cell contents of a cell to be such. When a cell with aparticular format is used in a formula, Excel will produce the correct result based on the formattinginformation it has regarding the cell. Similarly if the result cell is formatted, Excel will display theresult in the desired format.

To format a cell in Excel, use the Number tab in the Format Cells dialog box of Format menu.

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Fig.12

Excel provides a long format category list for numbers. Within a category, Excel offers a variety ofways in which a format can be displayed. For example you may want to use a date format in your cell.The date can be displayed in several different ways as seen in the type list box. Once you select thetype, Excel applies that format type to the cell or range of cells.

You can also format cells using the Formatting tool bar but the options that it offers are not as broadas those available in the Format Dialog box.

1.4 Modifying the Worksheet Layout

Excel allows you to modify the worksheet to enhance the way data is presented and viewed. You canadjust the column width and row height, delete some cells and insert new ones, or introduce bordersand shading in your worksheet area.

1.4.1 Column Width and Row Height

You would have noticed that in all the Figures of the worksheet presented in this chapter, so far, allthe columns and rows are of equal size. When we enter data that is longer than the column width, thedata spills over in to the adjacent cell or cells as shown in Figure 11.

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/Fig.13

Supposing you have data in a column that spans three columns and you wish to increase the columnwidth so that all the data fails within a single column. You can change the column width by draggingthe boundary on the right side of the column heading until the column is the width you want. You canalso use the AutoFit feature to make a column fit the length of the text. If you select several rows, theAutoFit feature will adjust the column width to the length of the longest text in the range.

Fig.14

Sometimes you might have a title at the top of the first column that is several characters long as seenin Figure 11. The other data rows in Column A do not require so much space. If you were to includeA1 in the range for AutoFit Selection, then the entire column would be as wide as is needed to fit thecontents of A1. The data in the other rows of the column would appear almost lost. Besides some ofthe columns to the right go out of the screen view. Figure 15 shows a sample worksheet with the sizeof Column A adjusted to the text in A1.

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Fig.15

Often it is the text that occupies the maximum width in a cell and as a resultant disarrays the completeformat of the worksheet [refer Figure 15]. To overcome this problem Excel comes with a featurecalledMerge Cells. ITO make use of this feature, you have to select the range of cells that you wantto merge or combine, then open the Alignment page tab from the Format cells dialog box, and check

the Merge Cells check box.

Fig.16

In the above example, you could merge the cells right of A1. This way only one cell of the column willbe widened leaving all other cells below it unaffected. You can then AutoFit the width of the othercells in your data table. Figure 17 shows how the cell A1 has been merged with the cells right of it.AutoFit selection has then been applied to the Columns A to E.

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Fig.17

You can also manually set the column width by selecting Column width from Format menu, and thenentering a number in the text box. You can also copy the width of one column to another, by selectinga cell in the column and then clicking Copy. You should then select the target column and click PasteSpecial in the Edit menu and then click Column widths.

Sometimes you may want to increase the height of a row. Though you are likely to change the columnwidth more often than the row height, you may find it necessary when you are applying certain specialformatting features for your text. Row height can be adjusted by dragging the boundary below the rowheading until the row is the height you want. You can use the AutoFit feature to adjust the row heightto the size of the text. You can also manually set the height of a row using the Row Height dialog box.

Fig.18Suppose you have the name of a person in one column and in the next his address. The address may bewritten over four rows but the name requires only one cell space. You may then decide to merge thecells vertically in the name column. Excel allows you to merge two cells vertically. You can select therange of cells that you want to merge or combine, open the Alignment page of the Format cells dialog

box, and check the Merge Cells cheek box. The other cells in the merged cell rows will remainunaffected.

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List of children taking part in

Independence Day Parade

School Name

St.Francis JamesJohn

ThomasHoly Cross Samantha

EmilyJonathanOliverSandra

Fig.19

1.4.2 Insert and Delete Columns, Rows and Cells

While modifying the data in your worksheet, you may be required to insert some additionalinformation or you may want to remove some information. This information may be in a cell, row orcolumn. To workout this problem, Excel allows you to insert or delete new columns, rows and cellswhile it automatically adjusts the other columns and rows in the workbook.

If you want to insert a column between Column C and Column D, you should place the cell pointer inColumn D. Then select Insert menu and click on Column.

Fig.20

Excel inserts a column that takes the label Column D while the original Column D becomes Column Eand all other columns to the right also move and change their label accordingly.

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Fig.21

You can also insert multiple columns in a similar fashion. Rows can also be inserted the same way.Supposing you want to insert a row between Row 8 and 9, you will have to place the cell pointer inRow 9 and select Insert Row. The original Row 9 is pushed down and labelled Row 10 while a blankRow 9 appears in the worksheet.

Fig.22

Deleting columns and rows is similar to inserting them. Select the Delete Option from the Edit Menu.A delete dialog box appears that gives the items that can be deleted. When a row or column is deleted,all data is deleted in them, even in cells that are not visible to you on the screen.

Fig.23

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You have seen how to delete and insert rows and columns in a worksheet. But sometimes you wouldneed to insert and delete only some cells in the worksheet without affecting the data in other rows andcolumns.

For example you are making a statement of all the branch-wise sales of your company for the first halfof the month. The first five columns, A to E shows information on individual Branch sales. Column Flists all the products that your company sold during the period.

Fig.24

After making the list, you realise that you have missed out a Sale Statement of 1 January sent by theLondon Branch. You would like to insert it but if you introduce a row it would affect even Column EYou would then have to move text of Column F back into place. Instead of doing this, Excel allowsyou to introduce cells only in Columns A to E and leave Column F unaffected. Figure 25 shows onerow of cells inserted below A1 and E1, thus pushing all other cells in those columns after Row 1, onerow down. The cells in Column F and next to it are untouched by the insertion.

Fig.25

1.4.1 Moving and Copying Cell Contents

When working with numbers and data, you would often find that you want to reuse some data inanother place and make a different analysis. You might want to use it in the same worksheet, onanother worksheet in the same workbook or in another workbook. Instead of recreating the data allover again, you can easily copy and paste the existing data to another destination.

You move or copy a cell by using the Cut or Copy, and Paste tool buttons. You can also use thekeyboard controls, Ctrl + M or Ctrl + C, and Ctrl + V. When you copy or cut a selection, the contentsare placed in the Office Clipboard.

To cut a cell is like moving its contents. When you cut a selection, the contents are copied to the

Clipboard but it is not removed from the original worksheet until the paste operation is completed.When you cut a selection, it can only be pasted once. When a selection is copied, you can paste it any

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number of times using Ctrl + V or the paste button. If you want to paste it only once or when youwant to remove the selection from the Clipboard, you can use the Enter key.

A copy operation allows more flexibility while pasting than a cut operation. When a selection iscopied, you have the option of pasting it in whole or choose to paste only the text or the format or thecolumn size etc. This can be done using the Paste Special dialog box in Edit menu.

Fig.26

The process of cutting and copying data is similar to what you did in Word. But since there are cells in

an Excel worksheet, you have to be sure that there are enough vacant cells at the point where youwish to paste in the destination worksheet. Supposing you have copied 5 columns and 6 rows of datafrom Sheet 1 and want to paste it in Sheet 2 which already has other data. You have to be sure thatthere are enough blank cells to accommodate the selection that you have copied. If not, the non-blankcells at the destination point will be overwritten. To avoid this, you will have to insert columns orrows before clicking paste.

You can also move and copy data from one cell to another by using the drag and drop operation. Todo this you will have to select the cell or range of cells to move and then click on the right mouse

button when the mouse pointer is like an arrow. You can then move to the destination cell and thenrelease the button. Options Menu for the drop or paste operation opens immediately using which you

can select the appropriate one.

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Fig.27

If you press the left mouse button when pointing to a cell or range of cells, you can move the selectionto another location. You can also copy a selection using the left mouse button by pressing the Ctrl keyat the same time.

1.5 Printing from Worksheets

After you have prepared your worksheet document, you would want to print it. In the Wordapplication, you saw that the document page resembles the actual page you are likely to use for

printing. However, the Excel spreadsheet application does not look like a page. As you learnt, a singleworksheet is several columns wide and several rows long.

To print from a worksheet would therefore need more attention to pagination and margin adjustments.Excel therefore comes with more tools for previewing and printing a worksheet. You have to ensurethat all the columns of your data can fit the page you have selected to print on and whether you shoulduse the portrait or landscape orientation. You may need to change the margin size, or decide to print ascaled down version so that it would fit your page. You would also have to decide whether you wantgridlines, and headers and footers in your printed output.

1.5.1 Previewing the Layout

Before you start printing a worksheet, it is advisable to click Print Preview to see how the sheet willlook when you print it. Print Preview allows you to adjust the columns and margins easily. Sometimes

you may not want to print the contents of the entire workbook, only specific sheets or pages. In suchcases, to get a preview, you should first go to the Print dialog box and then choose the pages to print,in the From and To boxes. You can then click on the Preview button.

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The Preview window offers several buttons with which you can have different views of the pages toprint and also go to the Print and Page Set up dialog boxes to make adjustments in printing. You canalso view all the pages of the worksheet in preview using the Previous page and the Next page

buttons. Margins can also be adjusted from the Preview window.

Figure 28

You can take a magnified view of your page using the Zoom button. The Page Break Preview showsthe data that will go on each page and allows you to click and adjust the page breaks. It can beaccessed from Print Preview or from the View menu. The white areas show what will be printed whilethe areas that will not be printed are in grey. You can adjust the page breaks by dragging the page

break. You can also insert page breaks manually.

The Page Break Preview button changes to the Normal view button if you are already in Page BreakPreview when you switched to Print Preview. Figure 29 shows the Page Break Preview window.

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Fig.29

As you make settings that affect how your pages will print, you can switch between the different views

to see theeffects of the changes before you send the data to the printer. The Close button of the printpreview window returns to the previous view you were in before Print preview.

1.5.2 Changing Page and Sheet Settings

Once you have viewed your worksheet in preview,you may want to make some changes to the printoutput. You can click the Set up button to go to the Page set up view. You can also directly accessthe Page Set up dialog box using the File menu. The Page Set up dialog box has four tabbed pages forsetting up the page and sheet layout.

Fig.30

Using the Page tab, you can set the orientation and adjust the scaling for printing. Suppose your datahas several columns and that the last two columns would not fit the page in Portrait orientation. Exceloffers you three options to solve the problem. You can change the orientation of the page toLandscape, which will more or less ensure that all your columns fit in the page. The other option is touse the Scaling option and reduce the print size in such a way that all the columns fit your page. Youcan also select to fit the page or pages within a certain number of pages. You can also change the sizeof your paper.

Page Set up Dialog box

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You can switch between the Print dialog box and Print Preview if you have opened the Page Set upfrom the File menu. If you have accessed it through Print preview, then you can only return to thePrint preview window.

You have to decide about the matter that will appear on the printed pages. The Page Set up dialogbox allows you to select various options from the Sheet page. Supposing you have a Title for yourdata statement along with headings for each column, then you would want this information to appear

at the top of each sheet that you print in this worksheet. You can instruct Excel to repeat such rowsby giving the range in the Rows to Repeat at top textbox in the Sheet page. Excel also gives you theoption to repeat columns on the left of the worksheet as well.

Fig.31

Excel by default prints all that there is on the worksheet. Sometimes you may not want to print all thepages in the worksheet. In such cases, you can select the print range by entering the cell address inthe Print Area Text box. Or you can select the print area from the worksheet directly by clicking thearrow in the text box, which will temporarily close the Page Set up dialog box and take you to theworksheet. After marking the area, you can again click the arrow in the small age Set up Print areadialog box that has been opened. This will return the Page Set up dialog box with the print area

selected.

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Fig.32

Setting Print Area

Excel has an option called Print Area in the File menu. After you select the print range, you can clickon Set Print Area accessed from Print Area. The range is set. To remove the selected print area,choose Clear Print Area.By default Excel does not print the gridlines on your worksheet. But you can choose to print it bychecking the Gridlines checkbox. If you check the row and column headings checkbox, row andcolumn letters will be printed. Checking the Black and White checkbox will speed up the printing

process in case you have used colour in the worksheet but are not using a colour printer.

1.5.1 Print Settings

The Print dialog box gives you the complete control over what you will print. if you use the Printbutton on the Standards toolbar, Excel will start printing a copy of all the pages or the selected range.However, if you want to change the print options you can access the Print dialog box from the Filemenu.

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Fig.33

You can use the print range control to select the pages to print by specifying the pages to print. Excelallows you another way to override the default print instruction in the Print What option. You canchoose a selection that you have already made. You can also specify the number of copies of a page to

print.

If you are connected to more than one printer, you can change the printer through the Print Optiondialog box. After you have made all your choices, you can then execute the print order

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LESSON NO. 2 C2/B

WORKING WITH SPREADSHEET

LESSON OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the trainee will be able to learn

Open a Worksheet

Enter and edit text & numbers

Select multiple cells

Write a simple formula

Use the formula palette

Write a complex formula Fill formulae

Total columns and rows

Edit formulae

Apply format features to numbers

Format the Worksheet by:

Changing column width, Changing row height, Insert and delete rows, columns and cells

Moving and copying cell contents Transferring data between worksheets Transferring data between workbooks

Print the worksheet

Previewing the layout Change page set up Change Sheet settings Set the print options Review page breaks Change print settings

Check spelling

2.1 Getting started with MS Excel

1. Click on Start

2. Select Office 2000

3. Click on MS Excel. Refer to Figure 1.

Now you are in Ms Excel Workbook The workbook looks like Figure2.

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The work book, which is to be created, will contain the employee details of the institute,IRISET. The workbook will contain details of employee name, age, sex, Blood group, Basic,HRA, Bonus, Provident Fund, Total years of service net pay.

Fig.1

Fig.2

2.2. Creating a new workbook

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NameBox Formula Bar

Sheet tabs

WorksheetWindowSheet navigation

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1. Click on Option on the menu bar2. Click on New3. A Dialog box as shown in figure 3 will appear4. Select work book and Click OK

Fig.3

2.3. Entering text

1. Click on Cell A12. Enter the text IRISET

You will see that the text appears on the formula bar as shown in figure 4.

Fig.4Similarly, enter the text as shown in figure 5. Begin entering the text from Cell A3

29

Formula Bar

Constant value or formula used in the active cell. To

Enter or edit values or f A bar near the top of the windowthat displays theormulae, select a cell, type theData , and then press ENTER. You can also Double-Clicka cell to edit data directly in the cell.

Cell A3


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Fig.5

2.4. Entering Numbers

1. Click on Cell A72. Type the number 1 in the Cell3. Now click Cell C7 and type number 284. Complete the worksheet as shown in figure 6.

Fig.62.5Formatting the text

To change the font size, font type, font format, follow the steps given below.

1. Click on the Cell whose text format has to be changed. Here click on the heading IRISET i.e.,Cell A1.

2.5.1 Increasing font size

1. To increase font size, Click on the font size tool of the format toolbar.2. Change the font size number to 14 as shown in figure 7.

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Fig.7

2.5.2 Changing the Font type

1. After selecting the Cell whose Font type is to be changed, Click on the Font name toolto the right.

2. Select any font type (for example select Times New Roman), from the list of font names availablewith Office 2000.

2.5.3 Changing the Font Format

To make the text Bold, Italic, Underlined, follow the steps given below

3. Select the text to which the formatting is to be done.

4. To make the selected text Bold, Click on the Bold icon.

5. To make the selected text Italic, Click on the Italic icon.

6. To underline the selected text, Click on the Underline icon.

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A number of cells can be formatted at the same time, by dragging the mouse cursor fromthe desired cell to the cell till where the formatting is to be done, by keeping the left mouse

button pressed.

Exercise:

Make the following changes to the currently prepared worksheet - set the column headings Bold,the heading, "Employee Personal Details" Italic and underlined, using the above steps. Theworksheet will now look like Figure.8

2.5.4 Setting Alignments of text

To align the text contents of a column with left, centre or right Alignment, follow the steps givenbelow

Make the Cells of column S.no. and Sex as centre aligned. Make the Cells of columns forAge andWeight right aligned. Note that the columns Name and Blood group are left aligned.

1. Click and select the cell or cells where the alignment is to be made.2.2. To make the selected text left aligned, Click on the left align icon.

3. To make the selected text centre aligned, Click on the centre align icon.

4. To underline the selected text right aligned, Click on the right align icon.

5. Refer to Figure 8.

Fig 8

Sometimes the text is required to be merged into one within a number of columns, for example,'IRISET" has to appear at the center of columns A,B,C,D,E,F,G instead of keeping it left aligned. To

perform merge and center text, Perform the following steps

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5. Click on the Cell of the text that is to be Center Merged. Here select the cells from Cell A1 to CellG1.

6. Select and Drag the cursor from Cell A1 to Cell G1, till where the text is to be center merged.

5. Click on the Center Merge icon.

6. The worksheet will now look like Figure 9.

Fig.9

2.6 Selecting Multiple Cells

1. Click on the Cell from where the selection is to he made.2. Drag the cursor from the Cell, which is just selected, to the Cell where the selection is to he made.

You may Cut, Copy, Paste or align the text contents as per requirement.

2.7 Writing Simple Formula

Add another column "Basic" to the worksheet and enter the data as shown in Figure 10.

1. Click on the Cell in which the formula is to he written.2. Take your cursor to the formula bar and write the formula as per the requirement.

For example

Click on Cell H18.Type the following formula at the Formula Bar:= h7+h8+h9+h10+hll+h12+h13+h14+h15+h16 or type = sum (h7: h16) and Click on the

equal to sign

In the dialog box that appears, it you find that the answer is right, Click on OK.

33

You may even use =sum(h7:h16)


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Fig.10

After Clicking on Formula is wrong Clickon Formula and Answer is

correct, Click on

3.You may even sum the contents of the Cells using the following stops

Select the cells from Cell H7 to H18.

Click on the icon. Refer to Figure 11.

Note that you use any one of the above procedures. If you are practicing both, see to it that the resultof the earlier one must be deleted. Else it may sometimes get added to the original and get erroneousanswers.

Fig.11

2.8 Writing Complex Formula

Create Columns for HRA, Bonus, PF, Total Years and Net Pay as shown in Figure 14.

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1. Click on the Cell, where the formula is to he utilised, Here Cell 17.

2. Click on Refer to Figure 12.

3. Click on the drop down button of the Function Box and Select More Functions logical IFclause.7. In the if dialog box that appears, fill the text boxes with the conditions as shown in Figure 12.

This is to calculate HRA - if the Basic is greater than or equal to Rs.4000, then HRA should be Rs.1500, or else, if Basic is less than Rs. 4000, then HRA should be Rs. 800.

Figure 12.

5. Click on Cell J7 and type the formula as given in Figure 13.

Bonus = 4% of Basic, for Basic >= 4000 and Bonus = 1.5% of Basic, for Basic < 4000.

Figure 13.

Exercise: Complete the Worksheet as given in Figure 14. Insert a column Date to record the joiningdate of each employee. Apply the formulae to calculate RE, Total Years of Service, and Net Pay asgiven below:

P.F. = (12% of Basic) if Basic >= 4000, else P.F. = 0.

Total years = 2000 - Year (H7). The Year function extracts the year from a date.

Net Pay = 17 + J7 + K7 - L7.

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Fig.14

To display the data in column M - Total Years as numbers, select the cells M7:W1 6 and click onFormal Cells... and from the Number tab, choose General in the Category list.

2.9 Copying Formulae in rest of the Cells

To copy the Formula, (which has been defined for a particular cell) to the other Cells in the same

column, perform the following steps

1. After the formula in a certain Cell has been entered, for example Cell J7, Click on the lowerright-hand corner of the selected Cell on the '+ sign'. =.,+

2. Hold down the Left mouse button, and drag the cursor to the cell to which the formula has to heapplied. Here till Cell J16.

3. Release the Left mouse button to fill up the Cells with the result of the selectedformula.

The same process can be used to fill the cells in the other columns. You are required to try this forthe rest of the columns - Bonus, P.F., Total Years and Net Pay.

2.10 How to Edit Formulae

1. Click on the cell where the correction of Formulae has to be performed.

2. Click on the icon in the Formula Bar.

3. The Formula Box, which was earlier used to create the Formula, will appear. Make the changeshere, if any.

4. Click on the OK button of that Formula dialog box.

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2.11 Applying Formatting features to numbers

Suppose you need to add Rs. to cells that contain money related data, follow the following steps:

1. Select the Cells to which the special formatting is to he applied i.e. Cells 17 to I16.

2. Click on Format option on the Main Menu bar and select Cells...

3. Click on Currency option in the Category section of the Number tab page. The Format cell dialogbox will look like Figure 15.

4. Click on Ok to Select the Currency settings to the selected Cells.

This will place the '$ sign' in the Cells which were selected.

Perform the same steps for all the other relevant columns i.e. columns J, K, L and column N. Thefinal worksheet should look like Figure 12.

Figure 15.

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Figure 16.

To change the '$ sign' to Rs. follow the steps given below

5. Click on the start icon

6. Select Settings Control panel. The Control Panel window appears.

7. Double click on Regional settings icon Settings.The Regional Settings Propertiesdialog box appears.

8. Click on Currency tab page in the Regional Settings Property dialog box.

9. Delete the '$ sign' in the Currency symbol and type Rs. as shown in Figure 17.

10. Click Apply and then click on OK. The '$' sign in your worksheet will now be replaced by Rs'.The Worksheet will look as shown in Figure 18.

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3. Click on the Set up button to make changes to the different Page settings by following Figures 19,20 and 21.

3. Click on OK after you complete making all the changes.

Figure 19

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Figure 20

Figure 21

2.13 Saying the Worksheet

1. Click on the File option on the Menu Bar.

2. Select the Save option.

3. Select the Directory to which the file is to he saved and then enter the file name, which is to begiven for the file being saved (for example give file name "Lab 1").

4. Click on File Close to close this file.

2.14 Formatting the Text

1. Click on File option from the Menu bar.

2. Select New option Click Ok in the dialog box that appears.

4. Enter the values as shown in Figure 22.

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Figure 22

2.14.1 Changing the Column width

To change the width of the columns according to the text written in the cell, perform the followingsteps:

1 . Click on the Column Heading Bar at column A. You will see this cursor +

2. Drag the cursor to the right by keeping the left mouse button pressed to fit the characters in thebox.

In Column A, make sure that "Visual Studio 2.0 is visible.

3. Similarly arrange all the other columns according to the text in each of them.

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Figure 23

2.15 Changing Row Height

1. Select any cell of a row, the height of which has to he increased. Here select row 3.

2. Click on Format option from the Main menu.

3. Select the Row option and then click on Height option. Refer to Figure 24.

4. Enter the value for row height and click on OK. Here the value entered is 25.

5. The row height can also be increased by selecting the row and right clicking on It to get the popup menu as shown in Figure 25.

5. Select Row Height and increase the value of the row height as shown in Figure 24.

Figure 24

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Figure 25

2.12 Inserting and Deleting Rows

Suppose you wish to enter a new row before the row that contains Windows 98. To insert a new rowfor Office 97, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the Windows 98 cell i.e. Cell A8.

2. Click on Insert and select Rows.

A row will be added above Cell A9. The Windows 98 cell will now become Cell A9.

Exercise:

Type "Office 97" as the column entry for Cell A8.

Enter the remaining entries in rest of the cells for row 8 as shown in Figure 22.

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2.17 Inserting and deleting Columns

Suppose a new Column is to be inserted for a Date field before Sales. Follow the steps given below

1. Click on Cell for Sales i.e. Cell 05.

2. Click on 1nsert' option on the Main menu and then select the "Columns" option.

A new column will be inserted before the column Sales as shown in Figure 29.

Exercise:

Type Date" as the heading for this column in Cell 05.

Enter some dates in the cells for column D under "Date" as shown in Figure 29.

Figure 29

Exercise:

Insert a column for City after the Date Column, and give it a heading called as "City" i.e. in Cell E5.Enter some city names in the cells from Cell E2 to Cell E10.

1. If you want to delete any column, click on any cell on that column.

Here we select a cell say Cell E2 of the newly created column E for City.

2. Click on Edit option in the Main Menu Delete, Entire column and click on OK.

2.18 Moving and Copying Cell Contents

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To copy the contents of a cell to a another location, other than the adjacent cells

Exercise:

Insert a new column for Manufacturer, and type "Microsoft" in Cell 82 as shown in Figure 30.

1. Click on the Cell B2 whose contents are to he copied.

2. Click on Edit option on the Main Menu and select Copy option.

3. To copy the contents to any other cell i.e. Cell B10, Click on that particular cell.

4. Click on Edit option on the Main Menu and select Paste option.

To copy contents into adjacent cells follow the steps given below

1. Click on the cell whose contents are to be copied. Here Click on Cell B2.

3. Keep the left mouse button pressed on the right bottom corner of the cell when you see ahold 'plus' sign as shown in Figure 30.

3. While keeping the left mouse button pressed, drag the Cell down to Cell B10.

4. Now click outside the selected area to view the copied contents.

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Fig.30

2.19 Transferring Data between Worksheets

1. Select the cells AI to F12, the data that is to he copied to another worksheet.

2. Copy the contents by Clicking on Edit +Copy or Right click on the mouse and select copy.

3. Move to the other workbook by Clicking on Sheet 2.

Click on the Cell from where the contents are to he pasted. Here Click on Cell Al.

Click on Edit + Paste Special and follow Figure 31 and Click OK.

Figure 31

2.20 Transferring Data between Workbooks

1. Open a new workbook.

2. Go to the old workbook. Select all the cells from Cell AI to F12, of the Workbook justcreated.

3. Copy the contents by Clicking on Edit option Copy or you may even Right click on themouse and select copy.

4. Now move to the new workbook and click to Cell Al.

5. Click on Edit Paste Special. Click OK in the dialog box.

2.21 Checking Spelling Mistakes

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1. Misspell the word Office in Cell A8 and type "Official", also Misspell Price in Cell D5 and type itas Prise".

2. Click on the Cell from where you wish to check the spelling say cell B7.

3. Select Tools Spelling...

A list of related spelling is given for the wrongly spelt word "Offica". Click on the correct optioni.e. Office and click on Change.

A Message dialog box asks you whether to continue checking from the beginning, as shown inFigure 32.

If you click on NO then the word "Prise" will remain misspelt. To correct it you are required toclick on Yes and select the correct option and change it.

9. Select the. correct word from the list of words given and click on change.

Figure 32

2.22 Printing the worksheets

2.22.1 Previewing the Layout

1. Click on File Print Preview.

2. To have a magnified view, Click on the area you want to view.

3. Click on Pagebreak Preview.

4. You can adjust the Page breaks by dragging the tilted arrow cursor to the desired position asshown In Figure 33 (a) and (b).

5. Figure 33 (b) shows the page after the page area is fixed with the outlying text.

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Figure 33To get the normal view back

Select File Print Preview

In the Print Preview click on the Normal button to get back the original view.

2.22.2 Changing the Page and Sheet Settings

1. Click on File Page setup.

2. Set the Page as given in Figure 34 (a) and Figure 34 (b).

3. Set the Page setup Sheet according to Figure 34 (c). Click on OK.

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Figure 34(a)

Figure 34(b)

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Chapter 3 C2B

MS Excel Advanced Features - Concept

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this chapter, the trainee will be able to

Create References of different types Cell

Named Use Functions

Common Financial Functions Use different Chart types

Pie

Line

Column & Bar

Speciality Create various Charts using the Chart Wizard Edit & Format Charts

Move, size & print

Add & Delete Data series

Format Charts

3.1 Introduction

In the last chapter you were introduced to the versatile spreadsheet application - Excel. You learntthe components of a worksheet and how to navigate around in a worksheet. You learnt the

method to enter text, numbers and formulae into cells and how to format numbers, alter theworksheet layout.

At the end of the chapter you saw the tools you could use to format your printed page beforeprinting.You learnt about the Print Preview, the Page Break Preview and how to use the Page Setup options.

Now that you are familiar with the concept of a worksheet application, We can discuss some of theadvanced features of Excel. In this chapter you will learn to create and use different types ofreferences in your worksheet and will be introduced to the inbuilt Financial Functions of Excel forboth common and statistical needs.

We will also have an overview of the concepts of databases and see the Data Management toolsthat Excel provides. Finally, we will create pivot tables and pivot charts.

3.2 Creating References

One of the biggest advantages of using an spreadsheet application is that you can store a lot ofdata, besides that it allows you to make optimum utilisation of data by providing effective dataretrieval and data management tools.

Practically any action that you perform in Excel requires the selection of a Group of adjacent cells. Such agroup of cells is called a range. Selecting a range of cells is required when you want to format data/cells,insert/delete multiple rows/ columns/ cells, use functions, copy/move data and prepare graphs. You use the

worksheet primarily to enter data, especially numerical data. This is because the application is speciallydesigned to let you analyse the data [numbers] in various ways. You can use the same data and analyse it indifferent ways, that is to say, you need not re-enter the information for every type of calculation you make. In

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other words, you can have raw data on one project or one company in a single place and retrieve all or part ofthat data whenever and as many times as you want. This is made possible through referencing. Referencing is a

process where you refer to the data that is present in a cell or a range of cell.

As we start referring to a cell or range of cells, Excel immediately starts picking up the contentfrom them and uses them wherever you require.

With references, you can use:

Data contained in one cell in different formulae.

Data in different parts of the worksheet/s or workbook in a single formula.

A reference can be created either using cell addresses or names.

3.2.1 Cell References

The process of specifying Excel that you want a specific value to be taken from some otherlocation and incorporated in a specific cell is termed as Cell Reference. Let us take an analogy tounderstand this term; you want to refer to some books on C++ Programming in your library and you

do not have any idea where to look. You ask the librarian, who looks up the catalogue and givesyou the some numbers termed as reference numbers, now with the help of this number you canuse easily locate the books on C++.

Similarly Excel also has a way of referring to cells in its worksheet - using reference numbers.Excel uses the cell address reference style. That is it refers to the row and column headings toidentify the cell. In this method of referencing, you enter the column letter followed by the rownumber e.g. A10 refers to the cell at the intersection of column A and row 10.

Consider Figure 1 given below

Fig.1

You will observe the following :

1. The columns C to F present Quarterly Sale figures2. The product-wise break up of Sales is given for each city

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3. There are 3 product-heads4. There are 3 cities.

Assuming that you need information on the first two Quarters, you will have to select the twocolumns - C & D. And since there are 3 cities and 3 products for each, to get the sales figure forthe whole company you would find the data in 9 rows - 6th to 14th.

Consequently you have the data in 18 cells - (2 columns and 9 rows). To refer to these 18 cells,you would first have to refer to the cell that references the upper-left corner of the range (in thiscase, C6), insert a colon (:), and then reference the cell in the lower-right corner of the range (D14).The shaded area in Figure 1 shows the range of cells that will be included when you use thisrange reference.

How to Reference

The cell in column A and row 1 A1

The range of cells in column A and rows 1 through 20 Al:A20

The range of cells in row 15 and columns B through F B15:F15

All cells in row 5 5:5

Ail cells in rows 5 through 10 5:10 All cells in column K K:K

All cells in columns K through M K:M

The range of cells in columns A through D and rows 10 through 20 A10: D20

We normally use cell reference with numerical data for financial analysis. We saw in the lastchapter how to write a simple formula. We also saw how a formula could be re-used by copying itto other cells that required the same formula. Now what happens when you copy a formula fromone cell to another?

When you copy a formula, Excel adjusts each cell reference in the formula relative to the

position of the formula.

A simple example will make this concept clear. Take a look at Figure 2.

Suppose you want to obtain the quarterly sales figure of each product sold by the company,"Perfect Circle". To get the total of quarterly sales figure for each product, you will have to add theindividual City sales for each product. The Quarter 1 Sales for Audio Products will be :

Detroit

C6+C9+C12- California

New York

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Fig. 2

If you copied this formula one cell down, Excel will adjust all the 3 cell references in the formula,one cell down. That is to say, it will add the Quarter 1 sales for Video Products:

= C7+C10+C13

This is because the city-wise Video Product sales are contained in the row below the AudioProduct sale figures.

If you copied Audio Products Quarter 1 sales formula two cells down, the formula references will beadjusted to provide the Other Products Quarter 1 sale figure (which is 2 cells down).

Now, if you were to copy the Audio Product Quarterly sales formula one cell right, Excel would

adjust the references in the formula one cell right. That is to say it will provide the quarter 2 salefigures of Audio Products :

= D6+D9+D12

References to cells relative to the position of the formula are called relative references.

Most of the time we want that a copy operation maintain the same relationship relative to the newcell. But sometimes there are exceptions.

Continuing with our example ofTHE PERFECT CIRCLE Inc, if you now want to calculate the contributionof each product sold in New York during the year to the total sales. We calculate the products contribution by

dividing the products annual sales by the grand total sales by the grand total sales for the whole company. Weenter this formula to arrive at the percentage contribution of Audio Product Sales of New York (456.20) by theGrand Total (2040.87) :

= Sum (G6/G18)

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Fig. 3

The formula for Audio Products is correct and yields the result 22.35. But when this formula iscopied for Video Product Sales, it does not yield any result. Why?

The formula in H6 is G6/G18, when it was filled down to H7, Excel changes the references to each

cell in the formula one cell down, i.e. G7/G19. Cell G7 does represent the annual Video Productsales figure for New York but cell G19 does not contain the Grand Total figures. It is blank. Sowhat do we want Excel to do?

We want that cell g6 should change to G7 in the formula's relative position but cell G18 shouldremain the same even in the new location. That is the reference to cell g18 should be an absolutereference. To create an absolute reference to a cell, a dollar sign should precede the letter andnumber, such as $A$1. The column and row reference thus becomes absolute.

Reference to a particular cell irrespective of its position is an absolute reference. Absolute cell reference should be created in the original formula

In the formula for contribution of Audio Product sales of New York to the Grand Total Sales, we have to placea dollar sign before the letter g and before the number 18. This formula then can be used to AutoFill the otherrows below it and obtain the correct result.

To Create an Absolute Cell Reference

You can place a $ sign before a Column letter and Row number of a Cell by clicking on the celladdress of the cell that contains the absolute value and press the F4 Key

= G6/ $ G $18

Suppose for example you want to find out the contribution of each product's Quarterly Sales to the

Total Quarterly Sales. You would write the following formula in cell C22 :

= C15/$C$18

So that when the formula is copied downto obtain the contribution of the other 2 products, it wouldreference the correct Total Quarterly Sales figure. But what would happen when you copy thisformula right and down to the other Quarters?

All the other Quarterly Product Sales figures would be divided by the Quarter 1 Total Sales figure since C18 isan absolute reference in our formula. What we want is that the denominator reference in our formula shouldchange to the appropriate Quarterly Total Sales figure when the formula is copied. Yet we do not want a fullyrelative reference for the reasons we saw in

our earlier example. So what is the solution?

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Fig. 4

You can create a mixed cell referencing. That is to say, you can set either the column orrow reference fixedinstead of both being absolute.

Absolute row reference - If a dollar sign were to precede only the row number, e.g. A$1, thenonly the column reference changes relatively when the formula is copied.

Absolute column reference - If a dollar sign precedes only the column letter, e.g. $A1, Excel willchange onlythe row reference relative to the change in the formula location.

In this case you can set the row reference constant while changing the column reference, i.e. usingthe C$18 reference. This will ensure that every time you copy the formula right, the columnreference will move relatively. However when the formula is copied down for other products, therow reference would remain constant.

3.2.2 Named References

Once the librarian gives you the reference numbers, you would use it to locate the rack where youcan find the books on C++ Programming. But even as you use the reference numbers you wouldalso use the catalogue to write down the Names of the books. This is because we are morecomfortable using names.

Similarly, Excel allows you to refer cells by name instead of the cell address. A name is descriptiveand makes it easier to recollect and use than a cell reference. If you have information stored onone worksheet that you want to use on other sheets, you can create a name that describes the cellor range.

You can also use the labels of columns and rows on a worksheet to refer to the cells withinthose columns and rows.

A descriptive name in a formula can make it easier to understand the purpose of the formula.Suppose you want to refer to the quarter1 sales of PREFECT CIRCLE Inc. Instead of referencingthe cells as = sum (C6 : C14), if you have named it Q1 Sales, it might be easier to identity andlocate the cells.

After you name a cell or a range of cells, the name is available to any sheet in the Workbook. Forexample, if the name Q1Sales refers to the range =sum (C6 : C14) on the first worksheet in aworkbook, you can use the name Q1 Sales on any other sheet in the same workbook to refer torange =sum (C6 : C14) on the first worksheet. You can represent a value or a formula that do notchange by Names.

By default a name uses the absolute cell reference. When you move a cell in the sameworksheet or to another worksheet, the name also moves with it.

Guidelines for naming cells, formula, and constants

The first character of a name must be a letter or an underscore character. Other characters in

the name can be letters, numbers, periods, and underscores. Names cannot be the same as a cell reference, such as A$1.

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More than one word can be used but spaces are not allowed between them. Underscorecharacters and periods may be used as word separators.

A name can contain up to 255 characters. Names are not case sensitive, i.e. sales and SALES are the same name. Names cannot be repeated in a workbook.

You can create names by using the Name Box in the formula bar You can select the cell or range

of cells for which you want to create a name, and then clicking the Name Box enter a name. If thename you enter already exists, the active cell will move to the cell that bears the Name, even if it isin another worksheet. This ensures that two cell do not have the same name.

Fig. 5

You can also Name a cell using the Define Name dialog box from the Insert menu. This dialog boxhas the list of all the names that have already been created. If click on any one of the names theRefer To textbox gives the range of the cells name references. You can also select the range ofcells for which you want to define a name by clicking on the arrow in the Refers to text box. Thedialog box will collapse temporarily, keeping only the Refers to text box visible. After you choosethe cell or you click on any one of the names, the Refers To text box gives the range of cells thename cells, you can again click on the expand button of the text box to reopen the dialog box fully.

You can then enter the name for the cell range.

Fig. 6

In the last chapter we learnt about creating formulae using the Natural Language. Creating Namesusing the column and row headings is an extension of that concept. When you enter data in aworksheet, you often have labels at the top of each column and at the left of each row thatdescribe the data. You can use these labels in a formula when you refer to cells related to this

data.

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Fig. 7

Using the Create Names dialog box you can define a group of labels in a row or a column at one time. Inyour formula, you can use the names to make calculations. For example, if you want to calculate Total

Sales you can use = sum (Sales), instead of =sum (d7 :d10).

Suppose you want to find the number of copies of Windows NT sold during March and the celladdress is not known; you can simply use the formula =Number WindowsNT. This will return thevalue in Cell B8; which is 500. The space in the formula Number and WindowsNT is theintersection operatorThis determines that Excel should find and return the value in the cell at theintersection of column labelled Number and row labelled WindowsNT.

The important thing about using Column and Row headings is that the names should be uniquein the workbook. If the same column and row names repeat either in the same worksheet oranother worksheet, then when you use the labels in your formula, Excel will return the valuesfrom the nearest cells answering to such labels, though they may not always be the right cells.

Note: Names as a Navigation Toot

In a large workbook with several sheets, you can use Names to navigate to particular cells orrange of cells using the Name box. You can select any name from the drop down list box and clickto go to the cell referenced.

3.3 Using Functions

You can use Excel to make different kinds of calculations. For this purpose Excel has hundreds ofpredefined formulaes known as Functions. Functions use specific arguments in a particular orderor structure. We have been using the SUM () function to add values in cells. Similarly you can

calculate loan payments using the PMT () function based on the rate of Interest, term of the loanand the principal amount.

The arguments of functions can be anything from numbers, text, True or False values, or cellreferences. You can also have a formula or other functions as arguments in a function that arecalled nested functions. The normal order for a function is the Function Name, the openingparenthesis, arguments for the function separated by commas and closing parenthesis. You canmake use of the Formula palette to create formulaes that contain functions.

Function Name Parenthesis

= SUM(C7 : C10)

Argument

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In case you are likely to use a formula repeatedly, you can also create a name to represent it usingthe Define Names dialog box. You can enter the name for the formula and in the Refers To boxinsert an equal sign and enter the formula.

You also saw that you could select cells in labelled ranges to create a formula, Excel can insert thelabels in place of cell references in your formula. This makes it easier for you to see how areformulaes constructed.

The functions available in Excel can be categorised under several distinct heads, Table 1 lists thecategories and the purpose for which they can be used.

Category PurposeFinancial To calculate interest, depreciation, loan payments, IRR,

NPV etc.Date & Time To return the year, date, day, hour or timeMath & Trig To calculates the absolute values such as pi, logarithms,

degrees and angles etc.Statistical For common functions such as totals, averages, mean,

median and mode etc. & advanced functions

Lookup & Reference To search for and returns values from a range, also tocreate hyperlinks etc.

Database To calculate the values in an Excel Database based on theconditions you specify

Text To convert text to upper and lower case, concatenate textetc

Logical To evaluate an expression or argument and returns True or False

Information To get information on a cell, an error or the current status of an object

Table 1

While working with Functions, you can use the Formula Palette to see the way it is calculated. Youcan access the most recently used functions from the Name box. The moment you enter an equalto sign in an active cell or click the = to sign in the formula bar, the Name box will change to aFunction box. You can click the down arrow to view the list of functions recently used.

Fig. 8

If you select a function, it will appear in the formulaBar and the Formula Palette. A list containingall the functions in Excel can also be obtained using the Paste Function [refer Figure 9] dialog box.

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Fig. 9

3.3.1 Financial Functions

You can make use of Excel's financial functions for making many personal finance relatedcalculations. Excel offers more than 50 different types of financial functions. You can makecalculations to assess profitability and return on an investment and determine the depreciation onassets.

You can easily use most of the commonly needed functions if you take a look at a function formulathat Excel provides. In fact the formula palette takes you through most of the steps needed to fillthe formula explaining what type of value each argument expects. Even as you fill in the argumentvalues, the Formula Palette provides the progress at each stage so that you can continuouslyobserve the result.

Once you start using the financial functions you will realise how easy it is to make some of thosecalculations which were thought to be difficult. We will use some of the most commonly used financialfunctions in Excel to understand how they work.

Let us take an analogy to understand this. Suppose you want that at the end of three year time period youwant your savings to be $1000, then you make use of pre-built function future value function.

The formula for the Function = FV(rate,nper,pmt,pv,type)

These arguments are common to many financial functions. The present value, interest rate,number of periods and the value of the periodic payments have a close relationship. You cancalculate the value of one of them if you know the others. While using these financial functions youwill have to be sure that you are consistent about the units you use for specifying the interest rateand the number of periods.

If Payments are made

Monthly divide Annual Interest Rate by 12 Quarterly divide Annual Interest Rate by 4

Half Yearly divide Annual Interest Rate by 2

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If the "Term is in Years, to obtain the total number of periods, you will have to multiply the yearsby the number of payments made in a year i.e. if monthly by 12, if quarterly by 4 and if halfyearly by 2.

If it is a cash payment like making a deposit, you have to represent it with negative numbers.You have to represent a cash receipt, such as interest received, by positive numbers.

What these arguments mean

Rate - Interest rate per period on a loan, or the discount or interest on an investment.Nper - Number of periods, i.e. the total number of payment periods either in years,

months, days etc.Pmt - Payment made each period; it includes interest and principal amount.Pv - Present Value, that is the lump-sum value of an investment or loan today.Fv - Future Value, the value of an investment in the future assuming periodic, constant payments and

constant interest.Type - Indicates when payments are due - whether end of period or at the beginning,

Can either be 0 or 1. If type is omitted, it is assumed to be 0.

Now let us calculate the future value of your savings of $1000 per month over 3 years. We firstmake the savings schedule as shown in Figure 10. Let us assume that the interest rate per annumis 10.5% and that the deposit is made at the beginning of the month.

Fig. 10

After placing the equal to sign in cell F8 and entering FV, you can click on the = sign on the Formula barto open the Formula Palette. The Formula Palette presents a text box for each of the arguments in the FVFunction. An explanation for each argument is also provided when you click the appropriate text box.

Fig. 11

Likewise PMT function can be used to calculate the monthly instalment for the principle amount, ata specific rate of interest, within a given period of time. For Ex. We want to calculate the instalmentfor the principle amount of Rs. 24500. at the rate of 12% for 5 years.

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Fig. 12

The sheet should look like the figure 13 after applying the PMT function on the given set of values.

Fig. 13

Your savings of $1000 per month will yield a future value of $42,469,30 over three years.Supposing you require an amount of $40,000 only at the end of this period. You would like to knowhow much you ought to save to obtain this round sum. Excel offers a feature called Goal Seek inTools menu. Using this function you can in a fraction of a second back solve to find the exactmonthly deposit you need to make.

Fig.14

Using the Goal Seek dialog box you define the cell for which you want to find a new value, in thiscase the FV cell, F8. You have to state the value required i.e. $40,000. Excel asks you to refer thecell that should be changed so that the value may be adjusted. We want to reduce the savingsamount so, cell F4.

The set cell value should not have any formula, it can have only a value.Through a series of iterations, Excel arrives at a result. The monthly savings should be $941.86 toobtain exactly $40,000 at the end of the period.

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Figure 15 shows the results of the Goal Seek in cell F4 and the findings of the back solve in theGoal Seek Status dialog box.

Fig.15

You are now familiar with using a common financial function in Excel and tools like Goal Seek. Youcan try using other Functions and tools in a similar manner.

3.4 Introduction to Charts

When you are preparing a report, you would use various tools to enhance the effect of yourdocument. Words alone are not adequate. Financial analysis and performance, sales forecastsand other numerical information cannot be just written about. They need to be presentedfiguratively. These days there are so many software applications that can be used to process andpresent data. You saw how numbers could be processed using the various financial tools availablein Excel. You also know how to present numbers in tabular format and give labels to data columns.

Tables are very effective in comparing and analysing figures. Similarly charts are effective ingraphically representing numerical data.

Charts create a 'picture' in the mind's eye by giving a visual comparison, pattern and analysis ofnumbers. For example instead of analysing several columns of a table, you can see at a glancewhether sales are failing or rising over a period, or how the actual performance compares againstpromised performance. Charts therefore make data interesting and attractive to read and interpret.

You can use the data in an Excel spreadsheet to create a chart. A chart is created using datapoints and data series. Data points are the individual numbers in a worksheet cell within a datatable. Data points also known as data markers, are represented by symbols such as a bar, line,area, dot, column etc.

When a group of related data points appearing either within a column or a row in a data table are plotted on achart they form a series. There can be either one or more data series in a single chart. When a series is plotted,each series is distinguished by a different colour or pattern.

3.4.1 Parts of a Chart

While studying algebra at school you would have been introduced to graphs and the way to plotthem. The basic structure of an Excel graph too has similar components. A graph has two lines thatmeet at right angles. These are called as the axes which form the frame of reference formeasurement or comparison in the graph. The horizontal line represents the X-axis while thevertical line represents the Y-axis. Figure 16 shows a simple graph.

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Fig. 16

In an Excel chart, the category Names appear on the X-axis. The X- axis is therefore also referredto as the category axis while the Y-axis is referred to as the value axis. The column or rowheadings of a data table are used as the category names. In the graph above, Surya, Teja, Adityaand Priyanka are the category axis names. By default, Excel uses the column and row headings

also as the series Names for data. Maths and Physics are the series names in Figure 16. You canalso change the category names and the series names depending on your requirement.

By default, Excel plots whatever is fewer - rows or columns - as the data series. In Figure 16, Excelplotted the Marks (two columns) as the data series rather than the student's names (four rows).This chart emphasises the comparison of marks obtained by a particular person. This defaultoption can be with the names being used as the data series. The chart emphasises comparison ofmarks obtained by students in the various subjects as shown in Figure 17.

Fig.17The axes in a chart have data values and labels to show clearly the unit of measurement anddetails of data series. This makes clear the purpose of the chart. You can also provide data labelsto data markers in a chart. A data label provides additional information such as values, names ofdata series, etc about data markers. In Figure 17, the actual marks obtained by the four studentsare shown at the top of each data marker.

Each data series in a chart is represented by a different colour or pattern. The various data seriesused in the chart along with their respective names are identified together in the legend of thechart.

You can create titles for the category axis and the value axis to describe what each axisrepresents. A chart title can also be inserted.

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3.5 Different Chart Types

Using Excel, you can create different types of charts. There are pie charts, line & area graphs,column & bar charts among others. Depending on the purpose of your presentation, you canchoose which chart type to create.

3.5.1 Pie Chart

Suppose you are studying the consumer-spending pattern in a particular area. You would dividethe expenditure under various item heads such as food, clothing, entertainment, travel etc. Now todepict how much each item contributes to the total expenditure, a pie chart would be the mosteffective. A pie chart as the name suggests, looks like a pie.

A pie chart shows only a single data series. It shows the proportionate contribution of various itemsthat

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