This document defines key terms related to the Excel user interface and workbooks. It describes: 1) The main components of the Excel interface including the title bar, menus, toolbars, worksheet, cells, and sheet tabs. 2) How workbooks contain worksheets made up of columns and rows that intersect to form cells. 3) How to navigate within and between worksheets using keyboard shortcuts, scroll bars, and sheet tabs.

2. Name box
Formula bar
Worksheet window
Sheet tabs
Navigation
Buttons
Row Headings
Column Headings
Cell
Office Assistant

3. TECHNICAL TERMS
WORKBOOK
Isauniquefilecreatedbyexcel.
Alsoknownasspreadsheet.
TITLE BAR
TheTitlebardisplaysboththename
oftheapplicationandthenameofthe
spreadsheet.

4. MENU BAR
Displaysallthemenusavailable inExcel2003.
Thecontentsofanymenu canbedisplayedby
clicking onthemenunamewiththeleftmouse
button.
STANDARD TOOLBAR
The Standard toolbar, located beneath the
menu bar, has buttons for commonly performed
tasks like adding a column of numbers, printing,
sorting, and other operations.

5. Formatting toolbar
The Formatting toolbar, located beneath the
Standard toolbar bar, has buttons for different
formatting operations like changing text size or
style, formatting numbers and placing borders
around cells.

6. Formula bar
The formula bar is located beneath the
toolbar at the top of the Excel worksheet. The
formula bar is use to enter and edit worksheet
data. The contents of the active cell always
appear in the formula bar. When you click the
mouse in the formula bar, an X and a check
mark appear. You may click the check icon to
confirm and completes editing, or the X to
leave editing.

7. NAME BOX
Shows the address of the current
selection or active cell.
FORMULA BAR
Displays information entered-or being entered
as you type-in the current or active cell. The
contents of a cell can also be edited in the
Formula bar.

8. In the following picture the cell C3, formed by
the intersection of column C and row 3,
contains the dark border. It is the active cell.
Note:
• Each cell has a unique cell address composed
of a cell's column and row.
• The active cell is the cell that receives the data
or command you give it.

9. THE CELL
An Excel worksheet is made up of columns
and rows. Where these columns and rows
intersect, they form little boxes called cells.
The active cell, or the cell that can be acted
upon, reveals a dark border. All other cells
reveal a light gray border. Each cell has a
name. Its name is comprised of two parts: the
column letter and the row number.
Active cell

10. Fill handle
The lower right corner of the active cell has a
small box called a Fill Handle. Your mouse
changes to a cross-hair when you are on the
Fill Handle. The Fill Handle helps you copy
data and create series of information. For
example, if you type January in the active cell
and then drag the Fill Handle over four cells,
Excel automatically inserts February, March,
April and May.

11. Mouse Pointers and Their Functions
MOUSE POINTER FUNCTIONS
Insertion Point uses to enter & edit data
Block Plus Sign selects cells (for formatting, etc.)
Cross Fill Handle
copies data or formulas from one cell to
another
Block Arrow Handle
drags contents of cells, rows, or columns to
another location
Horizontal Double Arrow adjusts column widths
Vertical Double Arrow adjusts row heights

12. COLUMN HEADINGS
Each Excel spreadsheet contains 256
columns. Each column is named by a
letter or combination of letters.
ROW HEADINGS
Each spreadsheet contains 65,536
rows. Each row is named by Anumber.

13. • Column headings are referenced by alphabetic
characters in the gray boxes that run across
the Excel screen, beginning with the Column A
and ending with Column IV.
• Rows are referenced by numbers that appear
on the left and then run down the Excel
screen. The first row is named Row 1 and the
last row is named 65536.

14. NAVIGATIONBUTTONSANDSHEETTABS
• Navigation buttons allow you to move to
another worksheet in an Excel workbook.
Used to display the first, previous, next or last
worksheets in the workbook.
• Sheet tabs separate a workbook into specific
worksheets. A Workbook defaults to three
worksheets. A Workbook must contain at least
one worksheet.

15. WORKBOOKS AND WORKSHEETS
• A Workbook automatically shows in the
workspace when you open Microsoft Excel
2003. Each workbook contains three
worksheets.
• A Worksheet is a grid of cells, consisting of
65,536 rows by 256 columns. Spreadsheet
information--text, numbers or mathematical
formulas--is entered in the different cells.

16. IMPORTANT TERMS
• A workbook is made up of three worksheets.
• The worksheets are labeled Sheet1, Sheet2, and
Sheet3.
• Each Excel worksheet is made up of columns and
rows.
• In order to access a worksheet, click on the tab that
says Sheet#.

17. MOVING AROUND THE WORKSHEET
To Move the Cell Pointer:
• To activate any cell, point to a cell with the
mouse and click.
• To move the pointer one cell to the left, right,
up, or down, use the keyboard arrow keys.

18. To Scroll Through the worksheet:
• The vertical scroll bar located along the right
edge of the screen is used to move up or
down the spreadsheet.
• The horizontal scroll bar located at the
bottom of the screen is used to move left or
right across the spreadsheet.

19. • The PageUp and PageDown keys on the
keyboard are used to move the cursor up or
down one screen at a time.
• Other keys that move the active cell are
Home, which moves to the first column on the
current row, and Ctrl+Home, which moves the
cursor to the top left corner of the
spreadsheet or cell A1.

20. To Move between worksheets
As mentioned, each Workbook defaults to
three worksheets. These worksheets are
represented by tabs-named Sheet1, Sheet2
and Sheet3-that appear at the bottom of the
Excel window.
• Click on the sheet tab (Sheet1, Sheet2 or
Sheet 3) that you want to display

21. Understanding File Terms
The File menu contains all the operations that we will discuss in
this module: New, Open, Close, Save and Save As.
New
Used to create a new Workbook.
Open
Used to open an existing file from a floppy
disk or hard drive of your computer.
Close
Used to close a spreadsheet.

22. Understanding File Terms
Save As
Used when to save a new file for the first
time or save an existing file with a different
name.
Save
Used to save a file that has had changes
made to it. If you close the workbook
without saving then any changes made will
be lost

23. Data Types
There are two types of data which may be
entered into a cell:
• 1. Constant - text or numbers; these values do
not change unless you edit the cell’s contents
• 2. Formula - value that is produced as a result
of calculations; value changes when data is
changed in the worksheet; formulas begin
with an equal sign (=).

24. Data Types
Numbers
• Includes the digits 0 through 9 and the following
specialcharacters: + - ( ) , / $ % . E e
• By default, all cells are formatted with the General
number format (which displays numbers as integers,
decimals,orinscientificnotation).
•Numbers, bydefault, arerightjustified.
• A different format may be applied to numbers by
selecting Format/Cells from the menu and then
clicking the Number tab; or use the short-cut buttons
intheFormatting toolbar.

25. Data Types
Numbers
• When the length of a number exceeds the column
width,numbersigns(####)willbedisplayedinthecell
or the number will be displayed in scientific notation;
todisplaytheentirenumber,movethecolumnborder
to desired width. Or, select thecolumn and then from
the menu select Format/Column/AutoFit Selection to
increasethecolumnwidth.

26. Data Types
Numbers
• In some cases, you may want to enter numeric
data as text. To do so, type an apostrophe
before the number or, prior to entering the
number, format the cell as text (by selecting
Format/Cells from the menu and then select
the Number tab and choose Text).

27. Data Types
Text
• Includesanycharacterthatisnotinterpretedasa
numberbyExcel.
•Bydefault, alltextisleftjustified; adifferentformat
maybeusedbyusingtheshort-cutbuttonsinthe
Formattingtoolbar.
•Alongtextentrywillappeartooverflowtoadjacent
cells.
•Cellsmaybeformatted toallowforwordwrapping by
selecting Format/Cellsfromthemenuandthenselect
theAlignmenttabandchooseWrapText.