This courseware will introduce you to basics in working with Excel Spreadsheets. It'll serve as a compliment to the in-lab sessions that will be held during the data journalism training session - Voter's Count - in Kumasi

1. Introduction to Spreadsheets
KingstonTagoe
Techpreneur & IT Consultant
FoundationalTraining Program

2. Objectives for this session
• Understand what spreadsheets are
• Fundamental operations in Excel
• Learn essential tasks
• Data manipulation – tips and tricks

3. What Are Spreadsheets
The computer equivalent of a paper ledger sheet.
It’s an electronic document in which data is arranged in rows and
columns.This data can be manipulated and used in calculations.

4. Why Spreadsheets Matter
• Easy formatting of data
• Organize data by sorting it
• Name ranges of data and use those range names in
formulas
• Use cell references rather than values in formulas
• Generation of charts and graphs
• Other reasons?

5. Types of Spreadsheet Apps
Alternatives

6. Working with Excel Spreadsheets

7. Excel Spreadsheet Layout
View Options and Zoom ControlStatus Bar and Sheets
Ribbon
Row Column
Scroll Bar
Quick AccessToolbar Window Controls & Help

8. Understanding the Ribbon
• File – managing files
• Home – common tools
• Insert – insertion of objects (pictures, charts etc.)
• Page Layout – printing and structure of page
• Formulas – functions, calculations
• Data – working with data
• Review – spell checks, protection, sharing
• View – how Excel appears on your screen

9. Spreadsheet Basics
Each Excel file is a workbook and hold many worksheets.
Worksheets are made of rows, columns, and intersections
called cells.
Each cell on the spreadsheet has a cell address that is the
column letter followed by the row number.
Basic types of data that can be entered into a cell:
1. text (eg. ”Education”)
2. numbers (such as ”4”)
3. formulas (mathematical equation, such as ”=9*4”)

10. Excel Labs – We’ll work on:
• Data selection
• Spreadsheet navigation
• Data entry and revisions:
oFinding and replacing data
oFilling data
oSorting data
• Formatting of cells
• Other useful skills

11. Excel Labs – Data Selection
Action Result
Ctrl + Spacebar Highlight the entire column
Shift +
Spacebar
Highlight the entire row
Ctrl + A Highlight the entire worksheet
Data selection keyboard shortcutsUse the mouse or keyboard shortcuts to select cells,
rows, and columns of data:
• Single clicking on the column (or row) label will
highlight the whole column (or row).
• Clicking and dragging across several row or column
labels will highlight several rows or columns,
respectively.
Non-adjacent cells can be highlighted by holding down the
Ctrl key and using the mouse to single click the desired
cells.

12. Excel Labs – Spreadsheet navigation
As you enter and edit data you’ll
need to move through the
worksheet using either the
mouse or keyboard shortcuts.
Action Result
Single Click Cell Make cell active
Enter Move active cell down
Shift + Enter Move active cell one cell up
Tab Move active cell one cell to
the right
Shift +Tab Move active cell one cell to
the left
Home Move active cell to column A
of current row
Ctrl + Home Move active cell to A1
Ctrl + End Move active cell to last cell in
the spreadsheet
Ctrl + Page Down Move to next worksheet
Ctrl + Page Up Move to previous worksheet
Some navigation techniques

13. Excel Labs – Entry and revision
Using Cut, Copy and Paste
Using the drag-and-drop method to move data:
1. Select the cells you wish to move
2. Point to an outside border of the cell
3. Click and drag the cell(s) to the new location
The data is removed from its original location
and overwrites the contents in the destination
location, just as when you apply cut and paste.
Action Result
Ctrl + C Copy
Ctrl + X Cut
Ctrl +V Paste
Cut, Copy and Paste Shortcuts

14. Excel Labs – Find and replace data
Action Result
Ctrl + F Find
Ctrl + H Replace
Find and Replace shortcuts
Using Find or Replace from the Edit drop
menu allows you to quickly find and/or
replace text or numbers in multiple cells

15. Excel Labs – Filling data
Autofill feature allows you to quickly fill in commonly
used series of data, such as repetitive or sequential data.
To use Autofill:
1. Type in the first few elements of the series in order
for Autofill to distinguish the pattern (eg. 2, 4, 6)
2. Highlight cells distinguishing the series
3. Select the (cross) handle at the bottom right corner of
the cell with the left mouse and drag it down across
as many rows as you want to fill
4. Release mouse button when done
Can also Autofill across columns by dragging right instead

16. Excel Labs – Sorting data & formatting
Action Result
Ctrl + B Bold
Ctrl + I Italicize
Ctrl + U Underline
Ctrl + 5 Strikethrough
Shift + Ctrl + $ Format as currency with 2 decimal places
Shift + Ctrl + % Format as percent with no decimal places
Formatting keyboard shortcuts
Formatting options
Using the Format Cells Dialog Box
Working with Format Painter
Conditional formatting of cells
Working with Styles
Sorting Data
Sort in the Ascending & DescendingOrder
Working with Sort Dialog Box
Non-alphabetic or numeric sort

17. Tips, useful skills
Action Result
Ctrl + O Open
Ctrl + N Open a new file
F12 Save As
Ctrl + S Save
Ctrl + P Print
Ctrl + Z Undo
Ctrl +Y Redo
Additional keyboard shortcuts
Add & delete a row
Add & delete a column
Resize rows and columns
Freezing panes and allowing for scrolling
Printing a worksheet
Data import and export
Worksheet modification – HowTo:

18. Thanks for working with Excel Spreadsheets