EXCEL HINTS. Navigation Nomenclature (for this class)

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1 EXCEL HINTS D. J. Dal Bello, revised July 2006 The purpose of this handout is to provide an introduction to, and hints on, using Microsoft Excel. Experimenting with Excel (or any computer program) is the best way to learn it. Do not be afraid to use the Help Menu to look up a command or function, etc., or use printed references such as this humble compilation, or books on Excel. You will generally learn more by investigating for yourself first, than if you simply ask your instructor or another student. Excel is a spreadsheet program originally developed for business applications. However, it is very useful in the technical fields. Among other applications, Excel: is a powerful calculation tool, can create publication-ready graphs, and can be used as a database. Excel s work area called a worksheet is divided into columns (lettered) and rows (numbered), similar to an accountant s ledger or a data table. Each cell is identified by its column (A, B,etc.) and its row (1, 2, etc.). The address of a cell is given by its column and row; e.g., the selected cell in Figure 1 is B5. A worksheet can have up to 256 columns and 65,536 rows. There can be up to 256 worksheets in a single workbook (Excel file). That s 4.295x10 9 different addresses! By using formulas, any cell in any worksheet can be referenced. The spreadsheet may be navigated with the mouse (by clicking on cells, or click-and-dragging to select several cells), or by using the arrow keys on the keyboard. Navigation Nomenclature (for this class) In class, or in these hints, you may hear/read the following phrases shown here in CAPITAL letters. These phrases describe how to navigate in Excel. CLICK (LEFT CLICK) point with the mouse (to a cell or object), and click the left mouse-button (if a Mac, there is only one mouse button). This will select the cell or the object. DOUBLE-CLICK point with the mouse to the indicated object and click twice, quickly. RIGHT-CLICK RIGHT-CLICKING will bring up a shortcut menu that gives common based on wher SELECT CELL click on a specific cell; e.g., SELECT B5. CLICK-AND-DRAG, or SELECT RANGE point with the mouse (to a cell), click and hold the mouse button down, scroll with mouse to the cell location where you want to end your selection and release the mouse button. This action selects a range of cells. e.g.: SELECT B5:D12. The same result is also achieved by CLICKING B5, holding down the SHIFT key, and CLICKING on D12. SELECT MENU point with the mouse to the desired menu (at top of Excel Window), hold the mouse button down, scroll down to the desired menu item on the popdown menu, release button. e.g.,: SELECT MENU FORMAT/CELLS CONTROL-CLICK to various cells. hitting the CONTROL key while selecting various cells selects each cell individually; the cells do not need to be adjacent. DJD Excel Hints, Engr. 124, Fall 2006 Page 1 of 9

2 Top Menus Toolbars Selected Cell s Address Formula Bar Chart Wizard Selected Cell Fill Handle Range F6:H6 Workbook (file) name Worksheet Tabs; a book can have several sheets. Range D10:D14 Range F12:H15 Figure 1. A typical Excel Worksheet. The Selected Cell is B5. The address of the Selected Cell is displayed to the left of the Formula Bar. The Formula Bar displays the contents of the selected cell, which in this case is a formula: = A5*3... meaning take the value in A5 and multiply it by 3. A Range is a set of cells that are grouped together. The cells D9, D10, D11, D12 can be written as a range: D9:D12; this short-hand is a very useful tool. The toolbars (the graphical menu items just below the Top Menu above has been customized; they are not the default buttons that will appear at the top of your Excel Spreadsheet. You may customize your toolbar for commonly used menu commands as follows: SELECT MENU Tools/Customize/Commands and dragging the appropriate command button onto a toolbar. DJD Excel Hints, Engr. 124, Fall 2006 Page 2 of 9

3 CELLS AND THEIR CONTENT A cell address can be thought of as a variable name. The content of the cell is the value of the variable. Some types of content that can be entered in a cell are: 1. Text, e.g., Monday, Debits, Balance. In Figure 1: n and nx3 are text. 2. Numbers, e.g., $32, 14.26, 22-Oct-99, 23, 2.45E+05, 2.45E 05. In Figure 1, the value of cell A6 is Formulas define the value of a cell in terms of the values of other cells. A formula is always preceded by an equal sign, and may include numbers, mathematical operators (+,, *, /, etc.) and functions (sine, cosine, summation, etc.). For example: = A1+B1 C2/3 A1 plus B1 minus (C2 divided by 3) = A1*C3*SIN(B2) A1 times C3 times sin(b2); B2 in radians = SUM(A1:A5) sum of contents of A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, the range is A1:A5-- = A5*3 A5 times 3, as in Figure 1. When a cell is selected, its content text, number or formula is displayed in the Formula Bar. The value (text or number) of the cell is still displayed in the cell itself. If you then CLICK in the Formula Bar, the formula will be color-coded, with each cell address in the formula being color-coded to the appropriate cell in the worksheet. Also, if you DOUBLE-CLICK the cell, any formula in the cell will be displayed in the cell itself and color-coded. The color-coding helps to visualize how the cells in the worksheet are related. To enter a text string, number or formula into a cell, select the cell (with the mouse). A selected cell has a thick border (cell B5 in Figure 1). The column and row titles (B and 5) are also highlighted. Type the entry and hit ENTER when you are done. What you type appears in the cell and in the Formula Bar. ENTER will end the entry; the cursor will automatically move down one cell. Notes: - a numerical entry is considered as a number by Excel; numbers are by default rightjustified; - to enter a number as text, type the single quote first, e.g.: 2... the number will be made text; text is by default left-justified; - always enter an equal sign before any formula; - any entry that contains a non-number is considered text. Exceptions are: when the entry is proceeded by an equal sign (then it s a formula), or if it is in scientific notation (e.g., 2.45E+05) DJD Excel Hints, Engr. 124, Fall 2006 Page 3 of 9

4 MENUS At the top of the Excel window, shown in Figure 1, are the Menus (Files, Edit, View, etc.). They are similar to those in Microsoft Word. Experiment with them to see what choices they offer, and what can be done with the menu items. The menu and menu item selection that you might use most often is FORMAT/CELLS. FORMAT/CELLS At SELECT MENU FORMAT/CELLS, a dialog box comes up (Figure 2) providing you will choices (tabs) to format the contents of a cell. Formatting makes the spreadsheet more presentable, as well as easier to read. Number: The general format has no specific formatting; Excel will choose the simplest format (if you enter 0.20, it display as 0.2 ), or the format of the number you enter. Number formatting allows you to specify the number of places displayed after the decimal point, and commas between thousands. Currency allows formatting with dollar signs (or not). Percentage turns decimal fractions into a percent (0.43 is displayed as 43%), etc. Experiment with these. Alignment: Is the content of a cell left-, center- or right-justified? At the top, middle or bottom of the cell? Indented? Should the text Wrap (i.e., does the cell and row height increase as more text is added) or Shrink to fit into the current size of the cell? Is the text horizontal or aligned at an angle? Figure 2. Format Cells dialog box. Patterns: The background color and patterns of the cell. Many of these formatting options are also available on the buttons on the toolbars. FORMAT/ROW and FORMAT/COLUMN The primary use of these drop-down menus are to specify the Height of a Row or Width of a Column. The Height and Width may also be adjusted directly on the spreadsheet by dragging the top/bottom of a Row Label, or the left/right of a Column Label headings. Font: Choose the Font, Size, Subscript, Bold, effects, color, etc. of the contents of the cell. In the Formula Bar, individual or groups of letters may be selected and formatting applied only to that (those) letter(s); e.g., text formulas often use subscripts and exponents (superscripts) select only the letters/numbers you want subscripted or superscripted. Border: Choose the border of the cell. None (default), Solid, Dotted, Thin, Thick, Double, Diagonal, Colors, etc. DJD Excel Hints, Engr. 124, Fall 2006 Page 4 of 9

5 Formulas: Mathematical Operations and Functions The power of Excel is that is can perform many mathematical operations at once, and continuously update results whenever the value of a cell (used to calculate other values) changes. Formulas always begin with an equal sign. The value of the cell with a formula is based on the values of other cells that the formula references, e.g.; if in cell C3, you type: = C1 + C2 then the value of C3 is the sum of the contents of C1 and C2. Mathematical Operators The standard math operators are available: Addition: Subtraction: = C1 + C2 add contents of C1 to C2 = D7 B6 subtract B6 from D7 Multiplication: = E5*E4 multiply E5 by E4 Division: Exponent: = A5*3 (Figure 1) = E7/E2 divide E7 by E2 = E7^2; = E7^D2 E7 2 E7 D2 (to the power of the value in D2) The order in which operations are done is as follows: 1. Parenthesis (inner to outer), 2. Exponent, 3. Multiplication/Division (left to right), 4. Additions/Subtraction (left to right). Be careful when entering a formula. If you want to divide E3 by the sum of E1 and E2, enter: = E3 / (E1 + E2) which tells Excel to add E1 and E2 first, then do the division. An incorrect formula would be: = E3 / E1 + E2...it actually equals = (E3/E1) + E2 Hint: It is often a good idea to break up long formulas into steps or parts, placing each step in a separate cell (or separate column when operating on columns of data), and then compiling those steps into the final solution. Breaking up the problem makes troubleshooting errors easier for long formulas. Parenthesis Parentheses group parts of a formula. Be careful, especially in long equations. Every left parenthesis must have a right parenthesis. Make sure parentheses are in the right locations, for how they are nested is important in determining the order in which calculations are done. e.g., =B7+C3*D4 does not equal = (B7+C3)*D4 Fortunately, Excel provides a useful tool to help with parenthesis: As you click and type in the Formula Bar, matching parenthesis are color-coded. DJD Excel Hints, Engr. 124, Fall 2006 Page 5 of 9

6 Functions Functions are predefined formulas. For example, if you wanted to add the values in cells C2, C3, C4, C5... C17, C18. You could type: = C2+C3+C4+C4+C5+C6+C7+C8+C9+C10+C11+C12+C13+C14+C15+C16+C17+C18 However, a simpler method would be to use the SUMMATION function: =SUM(C2:C18) C2:C18 represents the Range of cells between and including C2 to C18. The range F12:H15 (in Figure 1) is three columns wide by four rows high. Some Functions If in doubt, functions are found by selecting the menu item: INSERT/FUNCTION or using Help. A brief list of functions are listed below; a fuller list is given on Page 9. Some Mathematical and Trigonometric Functions number1 refers to a cell address or numerical value proper; number1, number2... refers to a range (B2:D6, B2:B12, etc.) or a list (B2, B3, B4) of cells or numbers. =SUM(number1, number2...) returns the sum of a list or range of arguments: number 1, number 2, etc., =SUM(A1:B3) is the sum of the contents in all cells between A1 and B3, inclusive; =SUM(A1:B3, D4, 6) is the sum of the contents in range A1:B3, in cell D4, and the number 6. =SQRT(number1) returns square root of number1; =PI() returns the value of pi to 15 digits; empty parenthesis =LOG(number1) returns the log (base 10) of number1; =LN(number1) returns the natural log of number1; =EXP(number1) returns e number1 ; =DEGREES(number1) converts number1 in radians to degrees; =RADIANS(number1) converts number1 in degrees to radians; =SIN(number1) returns sine of number1; number1 in radians; =COS(number1) returns cosine of number1; number1 in radians; =TAN(number1) returns tangent of number;, number1 in radians; =ATAN(number1) returns inverse tangent of number1; value in radians; =ATAN2(number1, number2y) returns inverse tangent of (number2/number1): number1 is the x-value, and number2 is the y-value of a vector. Note: ATAN(number1) actually has two solutions in 360 (Excel and your calculator only give one); ATAN2(specifies the angle knowing the x- and y-values. Some Statistical Functions (look-up other ones... INSERT/FUNCTION) =AVERAGE(number1, number2...) =MEDIAN(number1, number2... ) =STDEV(number1, number2...) =MAX(number1, number2...) =MIN(number1, number2...) returns average of a list (range) of arguments; returns median of a list (range) of arguments; returns standard deviation of a list (range) of arguments; returns maximum of a list (range) of arguments; returns minimum of a list (range) of arguments; DJD Excel Hints, Engr. 124, Fall 2006 Page 6 of 9

7 Some Conditional and Other Functions =IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false) returns value_if_true or value_if_false depending on whether logical test is true or false. e.g.,: =IF(B6<5, 0, more ) returns 0 if B6<5, otherwise returns more. Conditional tests can be nested by placing another IF Function in the value_if_false: e.g.,: =IF(B6<5, small, IF(B6<10, medium, large )) returns small if B6<5, medium if B6<10, or large if anything else. Watch parenthesis! =COUNTIF(number1, number2..., value ): e.g.,: =COUNTIF(B1:F3, x ) =COUNT(number1, number2... ) returns number of entries in the range that have value = value. returns the number of cells with x in them in range B1:F3. returns number of cells in a range that are not blank, including those with spaces (watch out a cell with a space is NOT blank. to clear a cell, select it and hit DELETE). Comparison Operators Conditional Functions require Comparison Operators ( equal to, greater than or equal to, etc.). The Comparison Operators are: Operator Meaning = equal to <> not equal to > greater than < less than >= greater than or equal to <= less than or equal to Examples =IF(B6>=70, Credit, No Credit ) returns Credit if B6 is greater than or equal to 70, else returns No Credit. =IF(B6<>8, 0, 1) if B6 does not equal 8, return 0, else return 1. Text Operators To concatenate two text values to produce a single value, use the ampersand, &: Example = Bull & dog returns Bulldog DJD Excel Hints, Engr. 124, Fall 2006 Page 7 of 9

8 Cell References LOCAL (RELATIVE) and ABSOLUTE REFERENCES Local Reference Consider typing the following into cell C3 (the selected cell): =C1*C2 Excel actually understands the selected cell (C3) to be the product of the value from two cells above the selected cell (here C1) and the value from one cell above the selected cell (C2). If you copy this formula into another cell, say, F6, then the formula in F6 becomes =F4*F5 which is the product of the cells two and one above F6. The references in the equation are LOCAL REFERENCES. Absolute Reference It is often useful to use the same value for one of the variables in a formula, no matter where you copy the formula to. For example, if cell C1 holds a constant (like the acceleration of gravity) that is used everywhere. If this is the case, type into C3: =$C$1*C2 Excel now understands the selected cell (C3) to mean: always take the value in C1 and multiply it by the value from one cell above the selected cell (here C2). When copied to F6, the formula in F6 is: =$C$1*F5 the product of C1 and the cell one above F6. The $-sign indicates an ABSOLUTE REFERENCE. Wherever you copy the formula, the first term will always be $C$1. Note: You may be thinking that a value you use everywhere does not change. But what if the acceleration of gravity changes (e.g., on the moon, at higher earth elevations, etc.)? Mixed References You may place an absolute reference on only the column, e.g., $C1 or on only the row, C$1, meaning the part of the cell address with the $ is ABSOLUTE and that without is LOCAL. For example, say the formula in cell C3 is =$C1+C2 If this formula is copied to F6, then the equation in F6 is: =$C4+F5 Note that in the first term, the Column C is absolute: always look in Column C; but the 4 is relative: look two rows above Row 6. Reference Operators Reference Operators are as follows: Operator Meaning : range all cells between two reference cells, including those cells, union of two ranges, sets of cells [single space] intersection of two ranges Examples =SUM(C2:H19) returns sum of contents of all cells between C2 and H19. =SUM(C1:C3, D2, 6) returns sum of all cells in C1:C3, cell D2 and 6. =SUM(C1:C3 A2:D2) returns sum of all cells in both C1:C3 and A2:D2 (here only C2). DJD Excel Hints, Engr. 124, Fall 2006 Page 8 of 9

9 Math and Trigonometry Functions ABS returns the absolute value of a number ACOS returns the arccosine of a number ACOSH returns the inverse hyperbolic cosine of a number ASIN returns the arcsine of a number ASINH returns the inverse hyperbolic sine of a number ATAN returns the arctangent of a number ATAN2 returns the arctangent from x- and y-coordinates ATANH returns the inverse hyperbolic tangent of a number CEILING rounds a number to the nearest integer or to the nearest multiple of significance COMBIN returns the number of combinations for a given number of objects COS returns the cosine of a number COSH returns the hyperbolic cosine of a number DEGREES converts radians to degrees EVEN rounds a number up to the nearest even integer EXP returns e raised to the power of a given number FACT returns the factorial of a number FACTDOUBLE returns the double factorial of a number FLOOR rounds a number down, toward zero GCD returns the greatest common divisor INT rounds a number down to the nearest integer LCM returns the least common multiple LN returns the natural logarithm of a number LOG returns the logarithm of a number to a specified base LOG10 returns the base-10 logarithm of a number MDETERM returns the matrix determinant of an array MINVERSE returns the matrix inverse of an array MMULT returns the matrix product of two arrays MOD returns the remainder from division MROUND returns a number rounded to the desired multiple MULTINOMIAL returns the multinomial of a set of numbers ODD rounds a number up to the nearest odd integer PI() returns the value of pi POWER returns the result of a number raised to a power PRODUCT multiplies its arguments QUOTIENT returns the integer portion of a division RADIANS converts degrees to radians RAND returns a random number between 0 and 1 RANDBETWEEN returns a random number between the numbers you specify ROMAN converts an arabic numeral to roman, as text ROUND rounds a number to a specified number of digits ROUNDDOWN rounds a number down, toward zero ROUNDUP rounds a number up, away from zero SERIESSUM returns the sum of a power series based on the formula SIGN returns the sign of a number SIN returns the sine of the given angle SINH returns the hyperbolic sine of a number SLOPE returns the slope of a linear curve fit of x-y data points SQRT returns a positive square root SQRTPI returns the square root of (number * pi) SUBTOTAL returns a subtotal in a list or database SUM adds its arguments SUMIF adds the cells specified by a given criteria SUMPRODUCT returns the sum of the products of corresponding array components SUMSQ returns the sum of the squares of the arguments SUMX2MY2 returns the sum of the difference of squares of corresponding values in two arrays SUMX2PY2 returns the sum of the sum of squares of corresponding values in two arrays SUMXMY2 returns the sum of squares of differences of corresponding values in two arrays TAN returns the tangent of a number TANH returns the hyperbolic tangent of a number TRUNC truncates a number to an integer Microsoft web site for Excel help (accessed July 26, 2006) DJD Excel Hints, Engr. 124, Fall 2006 Page 9 of 9