A very basic introduction to the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software.

1. Meridian Career Institute Presents

2. A Learning Resource Center Seminar

3. Microsoft Excel

4. Click on “Start,” then “Microsoft Office Excel.”

5. If Excel does not appear, click on “All Programs,” then “Microsoft Office,” then “Microsoft Office Excel 2003.”

6. Close the “Getting Started” Window.

7. Let’s examine the different areas of the Excel worksheet

8. Each box is called a “cell.” Column headings Row headings

9. Name box (active cell) Formula Bar (information in the active cell) Worksheet (a sheet of cells)

10. Workbook (the full Excel file with all Worksheets). Navigation buttons (for switching between worksheets).

11. Information can only be entered into active cells. Click the cell you wish to add information to and begin typing.

12. Press the Enter key to advance to the next cell down.

13. Press the Tab key to go to the next cell on the right.

14. If a number is too large to fit in a cell, it may appear as several pound signs or as scientific notation.

15. To enlarge the cell so that all of the data appears, simply double-click on the right side of the cell, or place the cursor on the right side of the cell and drag it to the right.

16. The height of a row may be adjusted by placing the cursor over the top or bottom of the row’s heading and dragging to the desired height.

18. Click on “Insert,” then “Worksheet” to add another worksheet.

19. New worksheet added.

20. To rename a worksheet, right-click on the tab, and select “Rename.”

21. Cells must be highlighted, or selected, for Excel to perform a task. Simply click on a cell, then drag the mouse over all the cells you wish to select.

22. If the cells you need to select are NOT next to each other, hold down the Ctrl key as you select each one.

23. Click on a column’s heading to select the entire column.

24. To select multiple columns, click and drag across the columns you wish to select.

25. To select columns that are not next to each other, hold down the Ctrl button and select the columns.

26. Click on a row’s heading to select the entire row.

27. To select multiple rows, click and drag across the rows you wish to select.

28. To select multiple rows that are not next to each other, hold down the Ctrl key and select the rows.

29. To insert a NEW column, highlight the column that you wish to place the new column in front of, then click “Insert,” then “Columns.”

30. Please note that all the information in the columns to the right of the new column have new headings.

31. To insert a NEW row, highlight the row that you wish to place the new row in front of, then click “Insert,” then “Rows.”

32. Please note that all the information in the rows below the new row has shifted down a row.

33. To delete a column, select it, then click on “Edit,” then “Delete.”

35. To delete a row, select it, then click on “Edit,” then “Delete.”

36. Cut, Copy, and Paste

37. Data can be moved around or copied by using Cut, Copy, and Paste.

38. Select the data to be moved and click on “Cut.”

39. Place the cursor in the cell or cells you want the data to be placed in and click on “Paste.”

40. The data is deleted from the original location and is pasted in the new location.

41. Using “Copy” and “Paste” does not delete the data from the original location.

42. Select the data to be copied and click on “Copy.”

43. Put the cursor where you want the data to be copied and click “Paste.”

44. Using Autofill

45. The “Fill Handle” is the square in the lower right corner.

46. Using AutoFill can save work by copying data or repeating patterns.

47. Type the word “Sunday” in a cell.

48. Click on the “Fill Handle” in the first cell and drag it. The Autofill feature fills in the months of the year.

49. Type “almonds” and “apples” in two different cells.

50. If Autofill can’t find a pattern, then the original data will be copied.

51. Type the numbers “5” and “10” in two different cells.

52. Drag the Autofill Handle across. Please note – Autofill requires at least two numbers to detect a pattern.

53. Formatting

54. Data formatting is done in a similar manner to Microsoft Word.

55. Click on the “Font Color” icon to change the color.

56. Excel automatically lines up text (letters) on the left side of a cell, and numbers on the right side of a cell.

57. Change the alignment by clicking on one of these. Left alignment Center alignment Right alignment

58. To align data vertically, select cells and click on “Format,” then “Cells.”

59. Click on the “Alignment” tab, and select the text alignment you need, then click “OK.”

60. The text is now centered vertically.

61. Excel can enlarge a cell to fit a lot of data. Under “Text control,” click on “Wrap text.”

62. The cell has enlarged enough to fit the data entered.

63. Excel can also shrink data to fit a cell. Under “Text control,” click on “Shrink to fit.”

64. The data fits into one cell.

65. Data can be rotated – click on “Format,” then “Cells.”

66. Data may be rotated under “Orientation.”

67. The data is rotated at a 45 degree angle.

68. Cells can be merged to form one large cell - this is very helpful to create a title for the worksheet.

69. You can undo the cell merge by clicking on the “Merge and Center” button again.

70. You may change the horizontal alignment of data by clicking on the indent buttons.

71. Select the cell in which you wish to increase the indent, and click the “Increase Indent” button. Remember, text is automatically aligned to the left, and numbers to the right.

72. These buttons format numbers.

73. The “Currency Style” button adds a dollar sign and commas.

74. The “Percent Style” button adds a percent sign.

75. The “Comma Style” button adds commas to numbers greater than one thousand.

76. Every click of the “Increase Decimal” button displays an additional decimal space.

77. Every click of the “Decrease Decimal” button deletes a decimal space.

78. To add a border around your cells, select the cells, then click on the “Borders” button and choose a border style.

79. You can manually draw borders by clicking “Draw Borders.” The cursor will turn into a pencil.

80. Click on the “Line Color” icon to select different colors.

81. Click on the “Fill Color” icon to select different colors.

82. Click on the “Font Color” button to change the color of your data.

83. Pre-made formats are available in Excel. Click on “Format,” then “AutoFormat.”

84. Scroll down to view all the formats. Choose the one you want.

85. Click on Print Preview before printing the worksheet. Dotted lines will appear on the worksheet after using Print Preview. The lines indicate the page breaks.

86. Adjusting spreadsheets

87. Click on “File,” then “Page Setup.”

88. You may change the Orientation, adjust the size of the spreadsheet, change the margins, add a header/footer, and more.

89. Various print options are located on the “Print” menu. Go to “File,” then “Print.”

90. You may print a selection, the entire workbook, or the active sheet.

91. You may choose to print all pages or specify one or more.

92. Basic Formulas

93. Formulas always begin with an equal (=) sign. Type =5+5 into a cell. Press enter to move to the cell below.

94. The answer appears after you exit the cell.

95. If you go back to the original cell, you will see the formula in the “Formula Bar.”

98. Formulas can be created based on values in other cells. The formula, “=A1+A2” adds the values in A1 and A2.

100. AutoSum

101. AutoSum quickly adds the numbers in cells. Simply highlight the numbers to be added, then click on the AutoSum icon. The answer will appear in the next cell.

103. Click the small arrow next to the AutoSum icon to see other functions available.

105. Circular Reference Error

106. The “Circular Reference” error appears when a formula or function refers to its own cell.

107. For additional help with Excel, including formulas and functions, be sure to access the “Help” menu.