Spreadsheet SoftwareSpreadsheet Software

CS 100

Mount Union College

Spreadsheet BasicsSpreadsheet Basics

Screen area is divided into rows and columns

Microsoft Excel spreadsheets have 65,536 rows– identified by number– approx. 24 on screen at a time (depends on

screen size)

Spreadsheet BasicsSpreadsheet Basics

Excel spreadsheets have 230 columns– identified by letter

A to Z, then AA to AZ, then BA to BZ, ..., to IV

– not all on screen at a time Intersection of a row and column is called a

CELL– Basic unit of all spreadsheet operations– identified by column letter(s) and row number

Operating ModesOperating Modes

Ready mode– used for moving current cell pointer around the

spreadsheet Edit mode

– data items are being entered/changed in a cell Other, special-purpose modes

– move, copy, recalculate, etc.– depends on current operation requested by user

What Can Go Into A Cell?What Can Go Into A Cell?

Labels - describe parts of the spreadsheet Numbers - can be used in calculations Formulas - specify calculations to be

performed Functions - built-in operations the

program knows already

Arithmetic Operators in Arithmetic Operators in FormulasFormulas

+ : Addition - : Subtraction * : Multiplication / : Division Can be used with Numbers or Cell

References Formulas ALWAYS start with =

Ranges of CellsRanges of Cells

Many spreadsheet operations apply to more than one cell

A rectangular group of cells is called a RANGE– Identified by the two cells at the corners of the

rectangle– Cell references are separated by a colon ( : )– ex. A1:B6, B8:B12, C3:H3

FunctionsFunctions

Perform some calculation on a range of cells

SUM(F4:F10) -- add up all values in one column

AVERAGE(B18:G18) -- find average of a row

others: MIN, MAX, STDDEV, ….

FunctionsFunctions

Two ways to add all values from D10 through D15– hard way: =D10+D11+D12+D13+D14+D15– easy way: =SUM(D10:D15)

What if range changes to D10 through D215?– USE FUNCTIONS WHENEVER YOU CAN!

Types of Spreadsheets - Types of Spreadsheets - TemplatesTemplates

General framework of a problem Has labels to identify where values should

be placed Also has formulas and functions for

calculations NO SPECIFIC DATA ENTERED YET

Types of Spreadsheets - Types of Spreadsheets - InstancesInstances

Template with data filled in Solves a specific instance of the general

problem

How to Solve Problems in How to Solve Problems in Excel...Excel...

Construct rough sketch of worksheet on paper or mentally

Build a Template– SAVE TO DISK before adding specific data

Retrieve Template from disk and fill with data for each problem instance desired

Spreadsheet SoftwareSpreadsheet SoftwareSpreadsheet SoftwareSpreadsheet Software

CS 100

Mount Union College