Introduction to MS Excel 97/2000

Transcription

1 Workbooks and Worksheets... 3 Inserting and Deleting Cells, Rows, and Columns... 8 Formatting Tools... 8 Formatting Columns & Rows... 9 Formatting Cells--The 6 Tabbed Box Editing Techniques Spreadsheet Navigation Toolbars Printing Hints So You Want to Create a Chart How Excel Works with Charts Stepping Through Charts with the Chart Wizard Parts of a Chart Using the Chart Toolbar Entering Formulas Operators Cell References Names Functions Correcting Errors... 36

2 What is Microsoft Excel? Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program with sophisticated charting and database functions that allow you to quickly and easily: perform both simple and complex calculations filter data from a database or spreadsheet list chart data in numerous formats. The value of the spreadsheet lies in its flexibility. For example, you can play "what-if" games with your data and its graphic representations. You can check changes in the figures without the tedium of calculating them all yourself. Excel also provides many formatting options that add quality to your presentation while representing both the figures and the images you want to convey. Spreadsheet Design Proper design and layout in a spreadsheet are important skills for Excel users to learn. Unlike many other computer programs, spreadsheets require thought and planning to make them efficient and economical. To develop useful spreadsheets, first prepare a sketch, considering the following elements: What are the desired outputs? What are the required inputs? How is the data positioned? What mathematical expressions are used? Who will be using the spreadsheet? Starting Microsoft Excel Here are three popular ways to start Excel: From the Windows 95/98 Desktop, click Start then Programs then MS Office and then select Excel. From the Windows My Computer tool (or Windows Explorer), double click on any Excel filename to open that file. From the MS Office Toolbar, select the Excel icon. Elements of the Excel Screen The Menu Microsoft has tried to make the menus uniform in all of their products so it is easier for users to locate commands. For example, most of the menu options found in Excel are the same as those in Word. Clicking on any menu item with the mouse drops down a list of available commands. Some menu items have arrows, indicating there are side menus with additional options. Other menu items such as Format Cells bring up tabbed dialog boxes, allowing greater flexibility in making multiple changes at once. Excel 97 users will notice that the menus look different in Excel Each menu now has a downward-pointing arrow at the bottom, and fewer options are displayed. Excel designers decided that users would prefer a shorter menu list displaying only the most

3 frequently or recently used commands. All menu options become available if you move the cursor onto the bottom arrow. If you don t care for this particular innovation, you can turn it off. Go to the Tools menu, and select Customize. A dialog box with three tabs appears; select Options. Click on the check next to Menus show recently used commands first, and then press the Close button. The ToolBar in Excel 97 The standard set of Excel tools includes two rows of toolbar icons. The top row is the Standard toolbar and the second one is the Formatting toolbar. To determine what a tool does, point to the base of the tool to see a pop-up note (the ToolTip), which describes its function. The ToolBar in Excel 2000 The Standard and Formatting toolbars share the same row in Excel While all of the Standard toolbar is displayed, the Formatting toolbar is truncated. You can see all of the formatting options by clicking once on the double-arrows on the right end of the toolbar. Perhaps you don't mind the extra space that two rows of Toolbars take up and would rather have the formatting options displayed in full. Go to the Tools menu, and select Customize. Click on the Options tab, and click on the check next to Standard and Formatting toolbars share one row. Press the Close button; you can now apply any of the formatting options on the toolbar. The Name Box and Formula Bar Located directly below the toolbars are the Name Box and the Formula Bar. The Name Box displays the name of the active cell or selected range, and can be used to name a cell range and as a shortcut to a cell or range of cells. The drop down menu next to the name box may be used to locate previously named regions. The Formula Bar is an area where you can enter text, labels, numbers, and formulas. Workbooks and Worksheets The Worksheet The workbook is a collection of sheets that enable you to better organize your work. A workbook can contain worksheets, charts, macros, or other types of sheets--you can have up to 255 sheets in one workbook. The Sheet Tab, which is to the left of the horizontal scroll bar, shows you a list of sheets in the current workbook. A more in-depth discussion of workbooks can be found in Excel Introduction II (dwe26).

4 The worksheet is the area in which you do all of your work on a spreadsheet. It is divided into a grid of columns and rows. Each worksheet has 256 columns and 65,536 rows. Each intersection of a column and row forms a cell. Information is stored in cells, and each cell is identified by its address: the column letter and row number. Examples of the cell address, or cell reference, are A4, B32, and C3. The Name Box displays the address for the active cell, which is always surrounded by a thick, dark border. The Formula Bar (to the right of the Name Box) is where data appears as you type. This is also where you edit numeric data, text, and formulas. As soon as you start typing, Cancel, Enter, and Formula Wizard boxes appear in the Formula Bar. Spreadsheet Navigation You can quickly navigate around any spreadsheet with the mouse by using the horizontal and vertical scrollbars. Clicking on the up, down, left, or right arrows on the scrollbars moves you in the selected direction one row or column at a time. To cover greater distances, use the scrollbox to drag to various locations. For example, dragging the scrollbox to the bottom of the vertical scrollbar moves you to the bottom of the current sheet; dragging it to the top will take you to the top of the sheet. On the keyboard, you can use direction keys to move around the spreadsheet. The page up and page down keys move up or down one screen at a time. Some other keyboard shortcuts of note include: Ctrl key and Home key--moves the pointer to cell A1. Ctrl key and End key--moves the pointer to the last cell in the worksheet area. Entering and Editing Data Editing Cells You can enter data into a cell in two different ways: 1. Click once to select the cell and start typing. The data will appear in two locations: in the cell itself and in the Formula Bar. The data is placed into the cell when you hit the Return key, the Enter key, the Tab key, or any of the direction keys. You can also enter the data by clicking the green check box next to the formula bar, or by selecting another cell with the mouse 2. You may also use the Form... under the Data menu.

5 To edit the contents of a cell, click on it, and its contents will appear in the Formula Bar. Once the cell contents appear, you can edit them in the Formula Bar using the normal Windows editing techniques. Note that individual words of the formula or label can easily be replaced or retyped in the Formula Bar. To edit a single word, double-click on it and either retype it or press the Delete key to remove it. Editing can also be done within a cell by simply double-clicking on the cell, which places the cursor within the cell. Deleting a Cell's Contents Cell Entries To clear the contents of a cell, click on it, and choose the Clear... command from the Edit menu. This command brings up a dialog box asking what to remove from the selected cell: formats, contents, or everything. If you use the Delete key, Excel assumes that you want to clear contents of the cell(s), but does not clear any formatting you may have added. Do not use the spacebar to clear cells; it adds a space to the cell rather than emptying it, which may play havoc with any calculations you perform on your data. Cells can contain text, numbers, or formulas. Cells can also contain dates and times. For more information about entering and formatting dates and numbers, refer to Excel 97/2000: Formulas and Functions (dwe30). Entering Labels or Text To enter text or create non-numeric entries, or "labels," click on the cell and start typing. Examples of labels are Spring 90, M. Freedberg, and Quiz 4. If you enter more data than the cell can display, Excel will either truncate the display of the label or spill it over into the next cell. This happens because the column is not wide enough to show the contents of the cell. You can increase the column width to see the full contents of the cell. Entering Numbers To enter numbers in a cell, click on the cell and start typing. If Excel displays a row of number signs, #####, the column is not wide enough to show the number, and you will have to widen the column to see the full contents (see Formatting Columns and Rows later in this document). AutoComplete and Pick from List One feature that makes entering data easier is AutoComplete. With this tool, all you need to do is type in the first letters or digits of an entry into a cell; Excel will automatically scan the surrounding values in that column and complete the entry for you if it finds a like value. If you want to accept AutoComplete s suggestion, simply press Enter, Tab, or any of the arrow keys. If the AutoComplete suggestion is not what you need, keep entering the desired text, or use the delete key to cut off the letters that it suggests. This feature is useful if you are entering data with many repeated values that are not too similar. However, it is potentially dangerous if the data you are entering contains repeated values that are very similar, such as a grade sheet. In this case, you might want to turn the feature off. You can toggle the feature on and off by choosing Options from the Tools menu and clicking on the Edit tab. Clicking in the Enable AutoComplete for Cell Values checkbox will allow you to turn AutoComplete on and off. Pick From List does something very similar. It allows you access to a range of values that have already been entered into the worksheet. When you get ready to enter a value into

6 AutoCorrect a cell and want to see which values have already been entered, right-click on the cell and choose Pick From List... from the pop-up menu. This option will produce a drop-down list below the cell showing the values already entered in the column. Like Word, Excel can automatically correct values entered into cells. If you make a common typo, just press Enter to have the corrected value appear in the cell. "Thier," for example, will automatically correct itself to "their." Selecting Cells Whenever you want to make a change to a cell or set of cells, you must first select it. To select an area, click on one cell, hold down the mouse button, and drag across the cells you want to include in the selection. Be careful to position the cursor inside of the cell area rather than near the border. Notice that as you move the cursor next to or onto a border, it changes from a white cross to an arrow-pointer. If you drag while you have the arrow cursor, you wind up moving the contents of the cell rather than selecting other cells. If you wish to select a large area of adjacent cells, use the Shift key to extend the selection. Click on the first cell of the range you want to select; then, while holding down the Shift key, click on the last cell in the range you want to select. You can select nonadjacent ranges of cells by holding down the Ctrl key while making the various selections. Selecting entire columns or rows is quite simple. You will notice that each row and column has a button with its identifying number or letter. Click on the appropriate row or column button, and all of the cells will be selected. For example, to select all of column E, click on the E at the top of the column. Formulas and Functions Calculation and Order of Operations The first math concept you need to learn before using a spreadsheet is how computers calculate numbers. In creating mathematical expressions, you must observe some simple rules to calculate correct answers. The following order is used to calculate mathematical expressions: Entering Formulas Expressions contained within parentheses Exponential notation Multiplication and division Addition and subtraction To enter a formula in a cell, click on the cell, type the = character, and enter the formula. If you forget to enter the initial = sign, Excel will treat the expression like a text string: it won t be calculated. Don t waste keystrokes re-entering numbers into your formulas that you ve already used elsewhere on the sheet. Instead, replace the number with the cell address containing the number. That way, if the number changes, the formula remains correct. For example, =A1+B1 adds the numbers in cells A1 and B1 and puts the answer

7 wherever you enter this formula. Tip: Don t bother entering those cell addresses by hand. When you re ready to include a cell address as you re entering a formula, simply click on the cell (or select a range of cell) in the sheet itself. The corresponding cell address then appears in the formula. Then click back in the formula bar to resume work. The mathematical symbols or "operators" that Excel recognizes are as follows: Entering Functions + Addition - Subtraction * Multiplication / Division ^ Exponentiation Functions have three parts: the first is the = sign, which tells Excel that a formula or function follows. The second is the function name, such as SUM for addition or AVERAGE for determining the average of a series of numbers. The third is the argument on which the particular function operates. The argument contains cell references to let the function know which data to calculate. The argument must also be enclosed by parentheses. Again, it is of utmost importance to remember to start all formulas and functions with the = sign. Some examples of functions are =SUM(B4,G43,T70); =COS(A2); =AVERAGE(B1:B10). You can type functions in the formula bar, directly into the cell or use the Function Wizard to help you create the desired results. The Function Wizard To use the Function Wizard to create a formula, select the cell in which you wish to create the formula, and click on the Function Wizard icon the equal sign--from the Formula Bar. The Function Wizard is a two step process. In the first step you select the function you wish to use from the Function Name box. Clicking on the drop-down arrow next to the Function Name box will open a list of the ten most recently or frequently used functions, with an additional option at the bottom for More Functions. After choosing the function you want, the Function Wizard dialog expands to display fields for the arguments (required arguments are the fields displayed in bold) for that function. Either type in the cell references for the arguments, or simply select the rows or columns of arguments directly from the worksheet. When done choose Finish. The return value will appear in the cell you originally selected. (Note: You don't need to type in an "=" sign to start Function Wizard.) AutoCalculate AutoCalculate lets you create a temporary subtotal or average without using the calculator, building a formula or using the Function Wizard. Simply select the range of arguments you want to add, and the value will appear in the right-hand corner of the status bar at the bottom of the program window. You can also right-click the mouse on the Sum area of the status bar and change the sum function to Average, Count, Count Numbers, Max or Min. This is a very useful way to make quick calculations that you do not necessarily want to appear on your worksheet.

8 Inserting and Deleting Cells, Rows, and Columns Deleting Cells Sometimes it is necessary to add cells, rows, or columns to the worksheet. Excel adds a row above the selected row(s) and it adds a column to the left of the selected column(s). Select the appropriate column or row by clicking on its identifying header button, then choose Column or Row from the Insert menu. For example, select Cells from the Insert menu and Excel will ask how you want it to move the cells. Deleting cells, rows, and columns is similar to inserting. Select the column, row, or cell you wish to delete and choose Delete... from the Edit menu. If you are deleting a range of cells, you will be asked where you want to move or shift those cells. Cutting and Copying Cells Like every Windows program, Excel allows you to cut or copy cells from one location to another. Unlike other Windows programs, however, Excel does not follow the standard sequence for these operations. Once you have selected the cell or range of cells to cut or copy, choose either Cut or Copy from the Edit menu. If you choose Cut, the contents of the selected cells do not disappear as they would in a word processor. Rather, the cells are surrounded by a flashing dotted line, and their contents are not actually moved until you click in the cell where you want the Paste to begin and click Paste. Only then will the contents move from their current location and flow into the new one. Copy does not move the contents of cells; it copies or reproduces those contents elsewhere in the worksheet. If you select a range of cells as the destination of either Cut or Copy, and this range differs in size or shape from the source, Excel will complain. Selecting a single cell is easier, since this method tells Excel where to start the paste and will ensure that the destination is formed exactly like the source. To turn off the flashing dotted line, press the Esc key. A second way of accomplishing the above is to highlight the cells you wish to cut or copy, and right click anywhere in the highlighted data. Two of the eleven options afforded you are Cut and Copy. Paste Special..., also available from the Edit menu, allows you to paste values created using formulas or functions, the formulas or functions themselves, or a combination of both. Paste Special also allows you to paste a column of cell arguments as a row or vice versa. Just click the Transpose box in the Paste Special dialog, and the arguments will automatically transpose from vertically stacked cells to horizontal cells or vice versa. Formatting Tools Excel offers a wide range of formatting options from the Formatting toolbar. Among these options are the ability to change fonts, character formats, numerical formats, cell alignments, and cell borders. Font and Font Size Boxes These are the first two fields on the Format toolbar. The Font box will provide you with a

9 drop-down list of available fonts (based upon your current printer selection). The Size box will provide you with available character sizes, based upon your current font selection. Character Format Tools This set of tools will allow you to change some of the basic character formats. The B tool will bold contents of the selected cell(s), the I italicize, and the U will underline. Alignment Tools Number Tools The first tool in this set allows you to align data in the selected cell to the left border of the cells. The second centers data within a cell, and the third allows you to align data to the right-hand side of the cell. The last tool in this set (the lower case a with an arrow pointing left and right) will allow you to center a title or other text across a group of selected cells-- not just within a single cell. Five tools on the Formatting toolbar will help you use common number formats. Use the $ to apply currency formats, the % to apply percent styles, the comma to apply comma styles (for figures in the thousands), and the last two decimal tools to increase or decrease decimal places. Formatting Columns & Rows Getting Help You can easily change the width of a column or the height of a row by positioning the cursor on the line between a particular row or column and the next. When you've positioned the cursor, it will change to a thick line with arrows pointing in opposite directions. Once this new cursor appears, hold down the left mouse button. Drag the mouse left and right to decrease or increase column widths, or up and down to change row heights. To format an entire column or row using the formatting tools, click on the column or row button to make your selection. You can also choose adjoining rows or columns by clicking and dragging over the row or column buttons. To answer questions while working, open the Help menu and select Contents and Index. A list of available help topics appears, from which you choose the one you need. The Index includes letter buttons to help you move quickly through the alphabetical index listing of help items. Many help windows include a button called Example and Practice, which will provide you with an interactive demonstration on the topic you are viewing. The AnswerWizard is also useful if you are not familiar with the program's terminology.

10 Simply type in a question and the AnswerWizard will locate the appropriate key words or phrases in the Help Index. Excel 97 also contains a help menu for Lotus 1, 2, 3. The Office Assistant in Excel 97 In Excel 97 you are given the option of the Office Assistant. The little paper clip on your screen provides suggestions and tips related to the actions you perform. To turn it off, click the X in the upper right of its window. To change the options (for example, to change the paper clip to Einstein or Shakespeare), click the Option button and select the Gallery tab. Excel 2000 Help The Help system has changed quite a bit since Excel 97. Veteran Excel users should know that the Contents and Index option is no longer available from the Help menu and, unless you customize Excel 2000, you must consult the Office Assistant with any questions you have. Working withthe Office Assistant Click on the Office Assistant's icon, and it will ask you, "What would you like to do?" Type your question into the space provided, and click on Search or press the Enter key. It will then provide a list of options related to your question. Clicking on any of these topics opens the Excel Help window, which displays detailed, topic-specific information. Clicking on any underlined text will link to more help screens. Excel-related vocabulary appears in blue; if you click on any blue term, a pop-up note containing the definition and other descriptive information appears. The back and forward buttons on the Microsoft Excel Help toolbar function just like these buttons do in a web browser application, taking you back and forth between pages that you've opened. During the course of your wanderings in Help, the topic list that the Office Assistant offered earlier may have disappeared. Click on the Assistant's icon to bring that information back into view. Working withoutthe Office Assistant While you're working, you may want to dismiss the Office Assistant. You can do so from the Help menu, by choosing Hide the Office Assistant. Once it is hidden, you can go directly to the Excel Help system by pressing the F1 key. You can summon it again by either choosing Show the Office Assistant from the Help menu or by pressing the Help button on the standard toolbar. After you ve hidden the Office Assistant a number of times, Excel will offer you the option of turning it off entirely. Although it may be tempting, be forewarned - if you want to get it back again, you may need to reinstall it from the Office 2000 CD. Help Contents, Index, and Answer Wizard As noted earlier, users making the switch from Excel97 will notice that the Contents and Index option is gone from the Help menu. You can display these options from the Excel Help window by clicking on the Show button on the tool bar. Click on the appropriate table to display options for each system. The Contents view is organized much like a book s table of contents. Click on any plus sign to the left of a topic or double-click on the topic name to show a list subtopics. Click

11 once on a help page listing (with a question mark icon) to display its contents in the adjoining window. The Index view allows you to type in a keyword or keywords, or to choose from an alphabetical list of keywords. Once you select or enter a keyword, a list of related topics will appear in the Choose a Topic window. The AnswerWizard is useful if you are not familiar with the program's terminology. Simply type in a question and the AnswerWizard will locate the appropriate key words or phrases in the Help Index. Saving and Opening Files Saving Files Opening Files To save your Excel workbook, choose Save... from the File menu or the Save tool from the toolbar. If the document is new, you will need to name it and make sure that it will be saved to the right folder on the right drive. To save the worksheet into another folder, onto a particular drive, or onto a floppy disk, first click on the downward-pointing arrow to the right of the Save in field. This displays the drives available on My Computer. Click on the name of the appropriate drive. Folders within that drive will display in the adjoining window. Double-click on the folder you want, and once it is open, click on Save. Excel can save files in a number of different formats, such as SYLK, WK1, or tab-delimited text files. To see these different options, click on the Save as Type drop-down button in the Save dialog box. In Excel 2000, if you want to save the worksheet to My Documents, to the Desktop, or to Favorites, you can easily specify these folders by clicking on the appropriate icon in the shortcuts bar on the left of the Save... dialog box. Excel can also open files in a number of different formats. Once you choose Open... from the File menu or the Open tool from the toolbar, Excel will show you a list of all the files it can open, given the different formats it understands. By default, Excel first displays all Excel files. Click on the downward pointing arrow next to the Files of type field at the bottom of the dialog box to display other categories of files. You can even transfer a Lotus, Quattro Pro, dbase file to a disk and open it directly in Excel. This is a very useful feature, especially if you are collaborating with others who might not be using Excel, or if you want to make use of public-domain data which is often stored in Lotus, dbase, or text format. Excel can open more than one file at a time, making it easy to copy information from one place to another. Use the Window menu to navigate among the open files. Templates If you choose New...from the File menu, you can select from a variety of Excel templates or "spreadsheet solutions," including a sample invoice, expense statement, and purchase order, all of which can be customized to your needs. Shared Workbooks Excel allows more than one person to edit a workbook at any given time. If you anticipate more than one person will use a document at one time, you can allow for multi-user editing and see who else is currently working on a file you have open. Simply select

12 Share Workbook... from the Tools menu, click the Editing tab, and check the box labeled Allow changes by more than one user at the same time. The window in the dialog box displays a list of who else is currently working on the file. In a shared workbook, each user can update values, add rows and columns, and sort data; however, he or she cannot change the cell formatting or create formulas in the list. Printing Excel Files If you want to print a single copy of the current worksheet on your default printer, select Print from the toolbar to send the file directly to the printer. If you would like to make choices about the number of copies you want, print a certain selection or range of pages, or make a choice among printers, then choose Print... from the File menu. Once the dialog box appears, make the necessary choices and click OK. Print Preview Print Preview, which is found in the File menu (and also as a tool on the standard toolbar), puts up a miniature preview screen of the worksheet. You can use the Zoom option to magnify and examine any particular part of the page. You can also print from the Print Preview by clicking on the Print option. Quitting Excel Choose Quit from the File menu. If there are unsaved changes in any of the open worksheets, Excel will ask you, Save changes to [filename]? This keeps you from quitting Excel without having saved changes to your work. Working with Workbooks Excel 2000 is the version following Excel97. It has been expanded to offer more options while attempting to create a more intuitive environment. It starts you off with a workbook file. This file stores up to 255 sheets. These sheets can be spreadsheets (which are the same as worksheets), charts, macros, or pivot table sheets. By default, when you open a new workbook, there are three sheets available for use. If you wish to change the default number of sheets in your workbooks, go to the Tools menu and select Options. From the Options tab box, choose General and look for the Sheets in New Workbook field to change the number of sheets. If you wish to see a list of the new features offered in Excel 2000, go to the Help menu and select Microsoft Excel Help. In the right hand window click on the underlined phrase, Finding out what s new in Excel Workbook Navigation To move between the sheets in a workbook, use the sheet tabs located on the left side of the horizontal scrollbar at the bottom of the page. These tabs display the name of each

13 Sheet Names sheet in the workbook. The sheet name, shown in bold on a white background, is the currently active sheet. You may use the scroll buttons at the left of the sheet tabs to scroll quickly among the sheets in your workbook. In a new workbook, sheets are given the default names of "Sheet1", "Sheet2", etc. To change the name of a sheet, double-click on the tab and type in a new name. Sheet names must adhere to the following rules: The Shortcut Menu no more than 31 characters in length (you can use spaces!). must be unique within the workbook. must not use the following special characters: \, /, *,?, :, [ or ]. Clicking once with the right mouse button on any sheet tab will bring up a shortcut menu which displays all options for working with your sheet: insert, delete, copy, move, rename, select all sheets, and view code. Inserting and Deleting Sheets To insert a sheet into a workbook, click on the sheet tab to the right of your desired insertion point. Using the right mouse button, bring up the tab shortcut menu and choose Insert. Select the type of sheet you want to insert. To delete a sheet from a workbook, click on its tab and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Moving and Copying Sheets It's easy to move sheets from one location to another within a workbook by dragging and dropping the sheet's tab at a new location. Likewise, you can make a copy of a sheet in the current workbook by selecting the sheet to be copied, holding down the Ctrl key and dragging the sheet to the new location. You can also move or copy a sheet to another workbook by dragging the sheet tab to the other workbook. However, you must first have the other workbook open and tiled in the same window. The Move or Copy Sheet... dialog box under the Edit menu allows you to do the same thing. Editing a Group of Sheets Excel's workbook approach makes it easy to setup or edit files sharing common information or a common format. This is done by using group-editing techniques. To edit multiple sheets, you must first group these sheets together. There are three methods for grouping worksheets: To group adjacent worksheets, select the first sheet, and holding down the Shift key, click on the last sheet. To group non-adjacent worksheets, select the first sheet and, holding down the Ctrl key, click the tab of each additional sheet. To select all worksheets in a workbook, activate the tab shortcut menu and choose Select All Sheets. Once the sheets are grouped, you will note that nearly everything you do in one document is repeated in the others. This is convenient for applying formats,

14 entering text or formulas, changing column widths, etc. When you are finished making your changes, activate the shortcut menu and choose Ungroup Sheets. Working with Multiple Workbooks or Windows At times you might want to view and have access to more than one sheet or part of a sheet, or more than one workbook at a time. The Window menu provides you with options to make this easier. The New Window command creates an additional window for the active workbook, so you can view different parts of it simultaneously. This is helpful if you need to compare two sheets within the workbook at the same time. If you need to work with more than one workbook at once, open the workbooks and use the Arrange... command to display equal portions of the workbooks on your screen. This makes it easy to transfer information between workbooks. Splitting Windows The Split command under the Window menu splits the active sheet into two or four panes and allows you to scroll multiple panes simultaneously. To split a window into vertical or horizontal panes, switch to the worksheet window you want to split. For vertical panes, select a column. For horizontal panes, select a row. From the Window menu, choose Split. To adjust the split panes, drag the split bar or the split box to the desired position. To remove splits from a window, switch to the worksheet window from which you want to remove the split. Double-click any part of the split bar, or go to the Window menu, place the cursor on the double arrow at the bottom of the drop-down list and choose Remove Split after it appears in the menu. Formatting Techniques The formatting toolbar, which appears every time you open Excel, makes formatting much easier. The sections below discuss how to change the sizes of columns and rows, how to apply formatting to cells and their contents, and how to use formatting shortcuts. Changing Column Widths & Row Heights With the Mouse It is easy to adjust the width or height of a single column or a row by using the mouse to point to the gridline of the column or row and dragging the line to the desired size. To change the size of multiple columns or rows, select all the ones to be adjusted and, using the mouse, drag a line of any of the selected rows or columns to the desired size. You may also size columns (or rows) so that they adjust to the width of the longest entry in each column. This is called AutoFit. To AutoFit a column or row, select it, double-click on the border of the heading of the column/row, and its size will align around the largest entry. From the Menu: First, select the column/row, choose Format, then Column or Row to make adjustments as follows: Choose Width (for column) or Height (for row) to type in a column width or a row height. Choose AutoFit to adjust a column around the longest entry, or a row around the largest font. Select Hide or Unhide commands to hide or show columns or rows.

15 Select Standard Width to change the selected columns or rows back to their default size. Formatting Cells--The 6 Tabbed Box Number You can apply formatting changes to a cell, a range of cells, or even to individual characters within a cell. To format characters within a cell, double-click in the cell (or click in the formula bar) and select those characters or words that will be affected by the formatting change. Then use the formatting toolbar, or go to the Format menu and select Cells... This will activate the Format Cells tab box where you can select any of the following formatting categories: Number, Font, Alignment, Border, Patterns, or Protection. Alignment The Number tab helps you determine how numeric information is shown in the selected cells. You can use one of the built-in number formats, or you can create your own custom formats by selecting Custom from the Category list. Category offers a variety of number, date, and time formats. When you select Custom, the built-in and custom formats are displayed in the Type box. Type lists all available format codes for a selected category. All cells in a new worksheet are formatted with the General format. When you type a number in a cell formatted as General, Excel assigns the number a built-in format based on what you typed. To add a custom format, edit the one shown in the Format box or type a new one. The custom format is added to the Custom category. The Sample box displays a sample of the format selected in the Type box. Delete removes a selected custom format displayed in the Type box. You cannot delete built-in number formats. If you are choosing from among various fraction, percent, or accounting formats, you can specify the number of decimal places you would like to appear on the worksheet using the up or down arrow keys. You can also choose built-in formats for displaying negative values in red or in parentheses. The Alignment tab box provides options for aligning the contents of cells. The Horizontal option adjusts the left/right orientation. The General button, which is the default setting, aligns text to the left and numbers to the right. Fill repeats the contents of the selected

16 cell until the cell is full. If blank cells to the right also have the Fill format, they are filled as well. Justify aligns text within a cell to the right and left. Center Across Selection centers a cell entry across selected cells. Wrap Text allows text to wrap in multiple lines within a cell. The Vertical option aligns cell entries with the top, center, or bottom of a cell. The Orientation options rotate selected cell entries. You must adjust row height to the length of the rotated text. Font Formatting options found in the Font tab box include: choice of font, font style (bold, italic, etc.), font size, underlining, text colors, and effects such as strikethrough, superscript and subscript. Any time you wish to change text back the default font, simply check Normal Font in this dialog box. Patterns, Border, and Protection The Patterns and Border tab dialog boxes help you set off portions of your spreadsheet by applying borders or patterns. The Protection dialog box allows you to secure cells either by locking them so that they cannot be changed or by hiding the formulas in cells so that others cannot see them. The Format Painter You can use the Format Painter button on the Formatting toolbar to quickly and easily copy formatting elements from one area of your spreadsheet to another. To use the Format Painter, select the cell containing attributes you want to copy, click on the Format Painter icon, then click and drag through the cells to which you want to apply the format and release the mouse. If you would like to use this feature for cells that are not adjacent, you must double click the Format Painter. To exit the Format Painter mode, simply click the icon again. Editing Techniques Excel offers a variety of editing techniques to make copying or changing the data and formulas in your cells easier. These include tools and techniques such as AutoFill, Finding and Replacing, and the Toolbars. Copying or Moving Cells Excel provides a wonderful shortcut menu for any copying or moving functions you may want to perform. Select the desired cell or range of cells, and point with your mouse to the border surrounding the selection. The mouse pointer will display a white arrow when pointed to any border or selection. Press the right mouse button and drag the selection where you want to copy or move it. You will be presented with a shortcut menu where you can choose to copy, move, copy values, copy formats, or copy/move with the option of shifting cells. Paste Special... If you want to copy a range of cells with values created by a formula or function, select Paste Special... from the Edit menu or shortcut mouse menu, and click on the desired paste output (e.g., all values plus formulas, values, formats, notes, or all except borders ).

17 NOTE: if you do not use Paste Special... when attempting to paste values created by a formula onto another worksheet, you will get a #REF error message. If you want to paste a column of cells into a row or vice versa, check the Transpose box. Using AutoFill AutoFill is a tool that allows you to create a series of fixed or incremental values on a worksheet by dragging the fill handle (the small cross box on the corner of the selection border) with the mouse. Copying with AutoFill If you want to copy a formula or fixed value from the active cell into the five cells below it, click on the fill handle and drag to cover the five cells. The fixed value will be copied to all five cells. AutoFill is an excellent tool to use when you want to copy to adjacent cells. You can also clear or "unfill" data within a selection by dragging the fill handle up or to the left within the selection and stopping within the selected cells. The data to be cleared appears in gray as you drag the fill handle. Creating a Series with AutoFill Type "Monday" into a cell, select it, and drag the fill handle to contiguous cells to fill in other days of the week. Other preset series you can create include months of the year and quarters. If you wish, you can also create numeric series such as 1970, 1975, 1980,... or 7, 14, To do this, simply type in the first two numbers in the series in two adjacent cells, and select both cells. Drag the fill handle in the desired direction, and you create the numeric series. The AutoFill Shortcut Menu When you use the right mouse button to drag the fill handle you can get into an AutoFill shortcut menu. This menu makes it easier to perform tasks such as filling formats, and developing linear or growth trends. Adding or Importing a Custom List or Series Find and Replace Find You can create a custom AutoFill list such as Small, Medium, Large or High, Medium, Low. To create such a list, go to the Custom Lists tab under the Tools menu in the Options dialog box. You can then type a list directly into the List Entries box and select Add to save the list. If you have already entered a list onto your worksheet, click the Import button and select the range of cells containing the list to be imported directly from the worksheet. Click OK to add the imported list. You can have Excel search for cells containing specific text, formulas, formats, values or range names, and you can also have it replace what it finds with something else. To find characters, select the area of the worksheet you want to search. If only one cell is selected, Excel searches the entire worksheet.

18 Replace From the Edit menu, choose Find. In the Find what box, type the characters you want to find. Search specifies the direction of the search, by rows or by columns. Under Look in, select Formulas, Values, or Comments. Excel searches for the characters you choose only in the locations you specify. Select the Match case check box if you want Excel to use the exact combination of uppercase and lowercase characters you entered in the Find what box. Choose the Find entire cells only box if you want to be assured that the cell contents found in the search are an exact match with the criteria specified. To start the process select Find Next. You can choose this again to find another occurrence of the string. To replace characters, choose Replace from the Edit menu. In the Find what box, type the characters you want find. You can include any letter, number, punctuation mark, or wildcard character in your search. In the Replace with box, type the characters you want to use instead. The Search, Match case, and Find entire cells only options operate in the same manner as with the Find command (see above). Choose the Replace All button if you want Excel to automatically find and replace all occurrences. Choose the Find Next button if you want to see consecutive occurrences - Excel automatically finds them. Spreadsheet Navigation Excel offers several options to make it easier to move around your worksheet. Naming Ranges and Going to a Named Region Excel gives you the option of naming regions of the worksheet so that you can move to them rapidly without scrolling. You can name ranges in a couple of different ways. You can select the range you want to name, and choose Name, Define... from the Insert menu. Another way to do this is to select the range and enter the name in Name Box. If you want to change the name, select the text and type the new name. Spaces are illegal, so replace them with the underscore symbol (_). For instance, "Last Budget" must be typed as "Last_Budget." If the upper-left cell of the selection is a label, Excel will use that as the name; thus, if the upper-left cell of the selection reads "Italian 002 Students," the proposed name will be "Italian_002_Students." Use Go To... from the Edit menu to select

19 a named region from a scrolling list, or click on the Name Box to bring down a scrolling list of available regions. Excel will immediately go to and select that region, allowing you to move around the worksheet quickly and efficiently. Freezing and Unfreezing Panes Toolbars The Freeze Panes command found in the Window menu freezes the top or left panes, or both, on the active sheet. This is useful for keeping row or column titles on the screen while you scroll to other parts of the worksheet. The panes that are not frozen do not scroll into the frozen part of the worksheet. To freeze and unfreeze panes, switch to the window in which you want to freeze the panes. If the window is not split, select a place to split the window. From the Window menu, choose Freeze Panes. To unfreeze panes, switch to the window that you want to unfreeze, and in the Window menu, choose Unfreeze Panes. Toolbars are collections of tools to help you work faster and more easily. The Standard and Formatting toolbars are the default toolbars displayed and they contain tools for some of the most frequently used commands. Excel has thirteen toolbars. You can display any toolbar by choosing the Toolbars command from the View menu or by using the toolbar shortcut menu. You can reach the shortcut menu by clicking with your right mouse button on any currently displayed toolbar. Displaying and Hiding Toolbars By default, Excel 2000 displays both the Standard and the Formatting Toolbars on a single line. You can see all of the formatting options by clicking once on the doublearrows on the right end of the toolbar. Perhaps you would rather have the formatting options displayed in full. Go to the Tools menu, and select Customize. At the Options tab, click the check next to Standard and Formatting toolbars share one row. Press the Close button, and you now can apply any of the formatting options on the toolbar with the touch of a single button. To display a toolbar, choose Toolbars from the View menu. In the Toolbars box, select the toolbar you want to display. To hide a toolbar, choose Toolbars from the Options menu. In the Toolbars box, select the toolbar you want to hide and make sure you turn it off. If the toolbar is displayed in a separate toolbar window with a border, you can hide it by clicking the close box. Changing the Shape of a Toolbar The shape of a floating toolbar is changed in the same way you change the size of a document window. Drag the size box at the lower right of the toolbar window. Excel automatically wraps the tools to fit in the new toolbar shape. If you move the toolbar back to the toolbar dock, Excel aligns the tools to fit in the horizontal or vertical dock. Creating a New Toolbar

20 To create a new toolbar, go to the View menu, choose Toolbars, then Customize. In the Toolbars tab, click the New button, give your new toolbar a name and click OK. Excel displays a new blank to the left of the dialog box. (Look hard; it's just a small box.) Excel also displays the Customize dialog box so that you can add tools to the toolbar. Click on the Commands tab, and in the Categories box, select the category of tools from which you want to add tools to the new toolbar. Excel displays the tools in the Commands box. To display a description of the tool, click the tool in the Commands box. Drag the tool from this box to the position where you want it to be on the new toolbar. You can also drag tools from a displayed toolbar to the new toolbar. This action moves the tool from the original toolbar to the new toolbar. Hold down Ctrl while you drag the tool to place a copy onto the new toolbar without affecting the original toolbar. Continue this until you have added all the tools you want. If you change your mind, you can remove the tool from the toolbar by dragging it off the toolbar and placing it anyplace where there is no toolbar. Choose the Close button. Adding Buttons to a Built-in Toolbar Notice that each toolbar has a tiny downward-pointing arrow at its rightmost end. If you click on the arrow, an option displays for Add or Remove Buttons. Clicking on this option gives a list of buttons that you can toggle on or off. You can make changes more readily by choosing the Customize option at the bottom of the menu (see Creating a New Toolbar, above). Resetting a Built-in Toolbar If you have customized a built-in toolbar, and want to restore it to its original configuration, choose Toolbars from the View menu, or the toolbar shortcut menu. In the Toolbars box, select the toolbar you want to restore. Choose the Reset button. (If this button has changed to a Delete button, you have selected a custom toolbar, not a built-in toolbar. You cannot reset a custom toolbar.) Click the Close button. Clicking on the tiny down arrow at the end of a toolbar, choosing Add or Remove Buttons, and then selecting Reset Toolbar is an even more straightforward method. Deleting a Custom Toolbar

21 Printing Hints Page Setup To delete a custom toolbar, choose Toolbars from the View menu. In the Toolbars box, select the custom toolbar you want to delete and choose the Delete button. When you're done, choose the Close button. It is sometimes difficult to get the desired results when printing your spreadsheet. The following sections address some options available for addressing printing problems. Many print options can be accessed from the Page Setup command in the File menu. Inside the Page Setup dialog box, you can make changes to margins, page settings, header and footers, and sheet settings by selecting the appropriate tab. Choosing the Page tab allows you to select the page orientation you want to use--portrait or landscape. You can also determine whether or not you would like to change the scale of your page to have it print out larger or smaller than normal. An option called Fit to allows you to determine how many pages you want this sheet to use, and will automatically scale it down to fit on the specified number of pages. The Paper size field allows you to specify the paper size you wish to use. Print quality allows you to choose the dots per inch (if using a dot matrix printer). First page number will allow you to indicate an initial page number other than one. To change the left, right, top, and/or bottom margins, select the Margins tab. This box also allows you to determine the amount of blank space between the edge of the paper and your headers and footers. You set this in the From Edge fields. The Center on Page fields are very nice options, especially if your sheet doesn't totally fill a page. You can choose to center the sheet contents horizontally and/or vertically on the page. The Header/Footer tab box allows you to make a header and/or footer for your document. You can select from preset headers or footers by scrolling through the options in the Header or Footer boxes. Or you can create a Custom Header or Custom Footer. To do this click on the Header/Footer tab, then choose the button Custom Header... or Custom Footer.... From here you can enter text in the desired section (left, center or right). There are also buttons located above these fields that allow you to: change the font, enter the page number, total pages, date, time, file name or sheet name.

22 Finally, the Sheet tab provides options to set your print area or print titles. The Print area field allows you to select an area in the current sheet to print. You can click in this box and then drag in your worksheet to select the desired range. Click on the tool button on the far right of this box to minimize the dialogue box. This allows you greater ease in selecting the desired range of your sheet that you wish to print. The Print titles fields allow you to define text in selected rows and columns of your worksheet as titles to be printed on every page. The text selected can include any number of adjacent rows or columns, or a combination. To set titles for columns, click in the Columns to repeat at left box, and then select cells in the rows you want to use for column titles. If you leave the Columns to repeat box blank, Excel will not set print titles for columns. To set titles for rows, click in the Rows to repeat at top box, and select the cells you want to use for row titles. If you leave this box blank, Excel will not set print titles for rows. To remove print titles, make sure that the Rows to repeat at top and Columns to repeat at left boxes are both empty. You can also determine whether or not you wish to print Gridlines, Comments, Draft quality, Black and white cells, and Row & column headings from this dialog box. Setting and Removing Page Breaks Charts You can use the Page Break command in the Insert menu to set a manual page break. Manual page breaks you set override Excel's automatic page breaks. Manual page breaks appear on the screen as bold dashed lines and are darker than automatic page breaks. Both horizontal and vertical page breaks may be set. To set a horizontal page break only, select the row below the gridline where you want the page to end. From the Insert menu, choose Page Break. To set a vertical page break only, select the column to the right of the gridline where you want the page to end. From the Insert menu, choose Page Break. To remove a manual page break, select any cell directly below or to the right of the manual page break. Page Break changes to Remove Page Break on the Insert menu. Choose Remove Page Break. To remove all page breaks, select the entire worksheet and choose Remove Page Break. So You Want to Create a Chart... You've probably heard the adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words." Sometimes a chart or a graph can say more than a thousand numbers; Excel has the ability to create these visual aids. Before you start a chart, you must first input the data from which the chart will be drawn. Do this just as you would for creating any Excel worksheet. To create the chart, Excel will plot sets of data from your worksheet called data series. In the worksheet example to the right, the columns for median house prices for the U.S. and for Chapel Hill are two data series which could be plotted in a chart. In this example, the data

23 in the first column, the years between 1985 and 1993, will be category labels in your chart. What Type of Chart Should You Use? Excel 97 has 16 types of charts that you can select and use. The selection of chart type is usually driven by the data, although there are no hard and fast rules for determining the chart type you should use. Experiment! It is extremely easy to change your chart type selection. Then use the one which displays your data and conveys your message in the simplest way possible. Below is a brief description of chart types and their general use: Area Bar Column Line Pie Doughnut Radar Scatter Combination 3-D Surface Stock Bubble Cylinder/Cone/ Pyramid Good for depicting magnitude of change over time. Shows the value of two or more items at the same point in time. Good for depicting dramatic difference between positive and negative values. Shows two or more values side by side. Illustrates trends over time. Represents your data as a percentage of the total. The appearance of a pie, but displaying more than one series. Depicts frequency and change relative to a central point. Depicts two values and tries to show relationships, usually independent of time. Allows you to layer one type of chart over another. Dramatic use of some of the above charts, but be careful as they can be hard to read and distort the perspective of your data. A 3D surface shows trends in values across 2 dimensions in a continuous curve. Requires 3 series of values in the order of high-low-close. Compares three sets of values. It is similar to a scatter plot chart with the 3 rd value displayed as a size of a bubble. Creates a column chart with a cylindrical, conical, or pyramidal shape. How Excel Works with Charts When you create a chart, Excel creates a link between the worksheet data and the chart. When you update or change the data, the chart is automatically adjusted. Also, when you create a chart you can choose from two different placement types: an embedded chart or a chart sheet. You can choose to insert the chart directly into a worksheet as an object (an embedded chart) or you can make it a new sheet (a chart sheet) in the workbook.

24 Stepping Through Charts with the Chart Wizard Once you start the creation process, the ChartWizard will walk you through the following four steps. First, click on the Chart Wizard tool button on the right side of Formatting Toolbar, or choose Chart under the Insert menu option. 1. Selecting the Chart Type The ChartWizard will now allow you to select from 14 different chart types. Select the chart type and sub-type you desire, and then choose the Next button. Below the sub-type options is a box that tells you specifically what the chart type and sub-type are designed for. There is also a button for you to press that will show you a sample of your data in that specific chart type. You also have an option for you to create a custom type of chart. It is advised here that early on in your Excel charting experience you choose from the over 100 options offered to you from Excel before you go out on your own. 2. Defining the Data Range.

25 In this step you will be asked to define the area or range to be included in the chart. To assist you in this, you can minimize the dialogue box by clicking on the tool button located in the far right of the Data Range Box. If you selected the data you wanted to chart prior to starting the ChartWizard, that area will appear highlighted in the Data Range. From here you can select the Next button to move on to the next step. The 2nd tab, "Series", allows you to add a series of data to act as your X-axis. The other options in this tab are not necessary if you specified the correct data ranges, names, and labels. However, if you wish to change any of these values this is where you would come. This is most helpful after you have already created your chart and you want or need to come change the data. See also the later section Modifying a Data Series. 3. Displaying the Sample Chart

26 The Chart Wizard will display a sample chart based upon the selections you made in the previous steps. If you don't like the chart type or format that you've selected, you may change these by using the Back button to return to the previous dialog boxes. There are 6 options for your manipulation under step three: Title: Allows you to give the chart and both axes titles. Axes: Allows you to choose if you want values on both the X and Y axes. Gridlines: Allows you to place gridlines (major and minor) on both the X and Y axes. Legend: Allows you choose if and where a legend should be placed. Data Labels: Allows you to put the Y values as labels above the X series (or vice versa) within the plot area. Data Table: Allows you to affix a data table to the chart. If at any time later you want to change the selections you made, just select the Chart Wizard tool button or Chart under the Insert menu option. 4. Chart Location

27 The final Chart Wizard step lets you decide if you wish to place your newly created chart on its own sheet or as an object in a pre-existing sheet. If you choose "As new sheet", you can name it thusly, or anything else for that matter. Parts of a Chart The following diagram points out basic elements of a chart. Use this diagram as a reference for understanding the following sections on chart modifications. Anything you see in an Excel chart can be modified. Listed below are four different methods for modifying items within a chart. Double-click on the item in the chart you wish to modify. This will bring up a formatting dialog box for the item chosen and will allow you to make all modifications to the item at once. Select the chart item with a single-click. You may then use the menus to make your changes. Use the drop down menu from the chart toolbar and click on the tool button directly to the right of this box. This button is called the Format whatever (Whatever depends on what option in chosen in the adjoining drop down menu.). This tool button look very similar to the MS Properties tool button. Point to the item you wish to modify and click the right mouse button to display the shortcut menu options for that item. Remember that if you are working with a embedded chart, before you start making changes, you must double-click on the chart to edit it. Changes to the Chart If you wish to make a change to the entire chart, such as changing the fonts throughout it or copying the chart to another document, you need to select the chart area. You can select the chart area by clicking with the left mouse button anywhere outside of the axis area. Black handles will appear around the chart area. Double-clicking on the chart area

28 will bring up the Format Chart Area dialog box where you can make changes to fonts and patterns. Changes to the Plot Area The plot area is the area inside and bounded by the axes. You may choose the plot area by clicking in any blank areas inside the boundaries. Black handles will appear on the area within the axis. You may also double click on the plot area to make changes to the borders, colors, or patterns in that area. Working with Chart Text There are two basic types of text used in Excel charts--attached and free-floating. The chart title and axis titles are examples of attached text. If you did not create these titles in Step 3 of the ChartWizard, you can go back and insert them. Free-floating text may be inserted anywhere on the chart. It is often used to add explanations or comments to a chart. To add free-floating text to your chart, just start typing and then press Enter when you are finished. The text will appear in the middle of the chart and you can then move it to the desired place on the chart. Unlike attached text, free-floating text may not appear where you want it if you resize or re-position the text or if you add additional data series to your chart. Any text may be easily formatted by either double-clicking on the text to display the format dialog box or single-clicking with the right mouse button to bring up the formatting short-cut menus. Either of these methods will allow you to make changes to font, alignment and pattern selections. Using the Chart Toolbar Again, anything you see can be modified within your chart. Using the drop down menu from the Chart Toolbar and selecting the first tool button will allow you all options regarding that facet of the chart. The following buttons are explained here. Changing the Chart Type If you wish to change your chart's type, you can use the Chart Type icon on the Chart Toolbar to select from a drop-down list of charts. Two things to take note of: Excel will not allow you to mix a 3-D type and a 2-D type in the same chart. If you select a single data series, when you change the chart type, only that single series will be changed. This is an easy way to mix two chart types (i.e. line and bar types) in the same chart. Adding or Modifying a Legend If you wish to add a legend to your chart, the easiest way to do this is to use the Legend tool on the Chart Toolbar. This Legend icon is a toggle button which can be used to either

29 create or remove the legend. The legend is generally built from the information stored in the first column or row, depending on the shape of the selected area to be charted, unless you specify otherwise. The chart is reduced in size to accommodate the legend, so this may sometimes not be an acceptable choice. You can format the legend by double-clicking on it and making the necessary or appropriate changes to the font, placement, or pattern selections Adding a Data Table If you wish to add a data table below your chart, select this button from the Chart Toolbar. You can also excise this option under step 3 of the Chart Wizard. Using Data Series in Rows or Columns If you wish to view your data series by rows rather than columns (or again, vice versa), you can toggle between the next two button found on the Chart Toolbar. The Angle of the Text The last two buttons on the Chart Toolbar angle the text found on the axes. You must first select an axis in the chart area or choose the appropriate axis from the drop down menu on the Chart Toolbar to use these buttons. Each button is a toggle unto itself (`on' or `off") unlike the Data Series tool buttons. Modifying a Data Series It is easy to add a new data series to you chart, delete an existing series or format one or more series. Adding a New Series You may select from any of the following methods when inserting a new data series in your chart: Deleting a Series If the chart is embedded, simply select (highlight) the new data to be included and drag it into the chart. Select the data to be added and then copy it to the Windows Clipboard. Then activate the chart and choose Paste (or Paste Special) from the Edit menu. Activate the chart and select New Data from the Insert menu. You then may type in the range in which the new series data is located or use your mouse to activate that worksheet and select the range. First select the series and then either hit the Delete key or choose Clear and Series from the Edit menu. Formatting Data Series

30 As with other chart modifications, you may double-click on a chart series or single-click with the right mouse to bring up formatting options for data series. The Format Data Series dialog box will provide you with options to redefine the data series names and values, data labels, patterns, axis, X values and Y error bars. Adding Arrows and Other Graphics To add arrows or other drawing objects to your chart, you will need to activate the Drawing Toolbar. To do this, select Toolbars from the View menu and then choose Drawing. To add an arrow click the Arrow icon and then drag with the mouse until the arrow is in the correct position and is the desired length. Dragging a Data Marker As mentioned before, there is a direct link between the chart and its corresponding worksheet. Because of this it is easy (and also somewhat dangerous if you're unaware of it!) to change the data in your worksheet by selecting an individual data point in a chart series and then dragging it to a new position in the plot. This will adjust the value in the worksheet to match the new value on the chart. Formulas and Functions detailed analysis Entering Formulas Operators To enter a formula in a worksheet cell, you will first type an equal sign (=) followed by elements that may include values, operators, cell references, names or functions. Then press Enter or click the Check button on the Formula Bar. Excel displays the result of the calculation on the cell and the entered formula on the Formula Bar. To switch between displaying the results or the formulas on the cells of a worksheet, press Ctrl. This is useful for checking your formulas, because Excel will produce a result as long as your formula is free of syntax errors. It's up to you to make sure that you don't have the right answer to the wrong formula. An operator is a symbol that performs an operation, such as a plus sign (+). The arithmetic operators for performing standard mathematical operations are: + for addition, - for subtraction, * for multiplication, / for division, ^ for exponentiation, and ( ) for grouping terms. Formula Result =10+6/2 13 =(10+6)/2 8 =1-3^2-8 =(1-3)^2 4 =1+-3^2 10 =(1+-3)^2 16 Order of Operations (Do you remember 6th grade Math?)

31 When a formula contains several operators, there is a predetermined order in which they will be performed: ( ) Parentheses ^ Exponents * or / Multiplication or Division + or Addition or Subtraction (Forgetful? This phrase will help you remember: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally). In addition to the standard math operators, Excel has % which divides a value by 100. Like the minus sign used to negate values, % takes precedence over the standard operators. Formula ="6/8/96"- "5/27/96" ="12:30 pm"- "9:00" Result 12 3:30 Operations on Dates & Times Since Excel treats dates and times as numbers, they can be math operands. For example, subtract two dates to find the number of days in between. Text & Logical Operations You can also perform logical and text operations. The & operator connects two values to produce one text value. Comparison operators, which include =, <, >, >=, <=, and <>, compare two values and return the logical value TRUE or FALSE. =123& ="Route"&66 Route66 ="Net"&""&"Sales" Net Sales =6=5 FALSE =6>=5 TRUE Cell References In the long run, it will be more beneficial for you to use cell references instead of values as operands in formulas. That way if you change the value in a cell referenced by a formula, the calculated result updates automatically. To enter a cell reference in a formula, type it in directly or point and click on the cell, and Excel will fill in the cell reference. In this example, the formula in cell D2 multiplies the value in cell B2 by the value in cell C2. If you change the unit price for fine lamps to $50.00, then the total will automatically change to $1,

32 In formulas, you can use references to cells on other worksheets in the workbook, or even cells in other workbooks. At the point in the formula where you want to enter the cell reference, switch to that worksheet by clicking the worksheet tab, then click the cell and continue with formula. Caution: Do not click back to your original sheet to continue your formula. You must put another operand in your formula before you switch worksheets or finish your formula by hitting Enter. If you switch worksheets without the operator or hitting enter, Excel will not give you an error message. It will use the cell on the "switched to" worksheet no matter the value it finds there. So be careful and check your work until you become comfortable with the feature. This is also how one links cells in a workbook. Relative References By default, Excel uses relative references. An example of this is below. To compute the totals for leather chairs and hardwood desks, you can copy the formula in cell D2 to cells D3 and D4. Use the Copy and Paste buttons on the Standard toolbar, or drag on the AutoFill handle of cell D2. You will see that the cell references will automatically adjust for the new location. For example, the formula in cell D3 will be =B3*C3, correctly reflecting the total for leather chairs. This automatic adjustment applies when you copy or move formulas with relative cell references. For further clarification: if you were literally copying the formula in D2 down the worksheet, the formula in each of the cells D3 and D4 would B2*C2. But again, relative references make the formula in D2 analogous to "multiply the 2 cells to the left of me together and return the value here." So, when you copy this formula down to D3 and D4, you get what you hoped for. Absolute References If you need to copy a cell reference exactly as it appears in the original formula, then you must use absolute cell references. An absolute cell reference has a $ sign preceding the column letter and row number. In this example, we anchor cell C15 as absolute so that no matter where we fill or copy D6's formula, C15 will remain anchored.

33 Mixed References You can also use mixed references, such as $A1 or A$1. When you copy a formula with a mixed cell reference, the column or row (whichever one does not have a $ sign) automatically adjusts for the new location while leaving the other part of the reference unchanged. As shown in the example, before copying the formula for January totals to calculate the February totals, first make the reference to column B absolute so that the correct unit price multiplies the February order quantity: your formula for D3 would be $B3*E3. Copy this formula to F3, fill down, and you are good to go. Names If you named a cell or a range of cells, you can use the name in formulas to refer to values in the range. To enter a name in a formula, either type it in, or select one by going to Insert / Name/ Paste and choosing the appropriate name. In this example, the range B2:E2 is named Sales and the range B3:E3 is named Expenses. The formula for profit for each quarter is =Sales-Expenses. Excel actually uses the values for the particular column. You can refer to the intersection of two ranges using each range's name separated by a space. In the above example, the range B2:B4 is named January. The formula =(January Sales) results in 67,

34 Functions AutoSum Excel has lots of built-in functions that perform many different types of calculations. Excel functions are used in formulas and have the format: name(arguments). A function can be the only element in a formula or part of a larger formula. Arguments can be numbers, text, cell references, range names or even formulas containing functions. The AutoSum button on the Standard toolbar is a shortcut for creating a formula that totals values in a range of cells using the Excel SUM function. For example, look at the Blue Sky Airline Sales Report. To compute total January sales in cell C9: click in cell C9, then click the AutoSum button (note that Excel gave the correct sum range, C5:C8), and then press Enter or click the Check button on the formula bar. To total sales for each month all at once, select the range C9:E9 before clicking the AutoSum button. To compute monthly totals in row 9, regional totals in column F, and the grand total in cell F9, select the range C5:F9 before clicking the AutoSum button. In proposing a sum range, Excel assumes that you are adding values down a column or across a row. If the proposed range is incorrect, just select the right range by clicking and dragging and then press Enter. The formula =SUM(C5,D8,E7) adds 10111, 21500, and while the formula =SUM(C5:E5,C7:E7) totals the north and east region totals. Paste Function To create a formula that begins with an Excel function, select Function... from the Insert menu or click the Paste Function button on the Standard toolbar. Excel inserts an = sign to begin the formula and then brings up the Paste Function dialog box. To insert a function elsewhere in the formula, select Function... from the Insert menu or click the Paste Function button on the Standard toolbar or the Formula Bar.

35 In Step 1 of the Paste Function, select the function by clicking on its name. If you do not know the name of the function that you need, select the Function Category that it falls under to filter the Function Name list. Every time you select a function name, a description of the function and its arguments appears. For more information on the function you selected, click the Help button on the Paste Function dialog box. This brings up the on-line help topic window for that function. Once you've selected the function, click the OK button to move on to Step 2. In this final step, you fill in the required arguments in the edit box(es) provided and click OK when you're done. For the arguments, you can type values, select cell ranges, or select a name you previously defined. You can also enter a formula (without starting with an = sign) as an argument. If you want to enter a function in the argument (this is called a nested function), click the drop down menu where the Name Box usually is and select More Functions. You will need to complete the steps of the Paste Function for the nested function before completing the original function. An example of the second step in the Paste Function tool is shown below.

36 More Examples The formula that computes average January sales for Blue Sky Airlines is =AVERAGE(C5:C8). If the range C5:C8 were named January, then the formula =AVERAGE(January) produces the same result. Here are additional examples: Function Result Description =COUNT(C5:E8) 12 counts the numbers =MAX(C5:E8) =MIN(C5:E8) finds the maximum number finds the minimum number =MAX(C5:E8)* finds 10% of =MAX(C5:E8)-MIN(C5:E8) subtracts from =IF(C5>20000,1,0) 0 returns 1 if C5>20000, returns 0 otherwise =COUNTIF(January,">20000") 1 counts the number of regions whose sales exceed in January SQRT(4) 2 finds the square root of 4 =SQRT(ABS(-4)) 2 nested function, finds the square root of the absolute value of -4 Correcting Errors If you tried to enter a formula that contains an error, Excel will give you an error message. Click OK on the error message's dialog box. Then either edit the formula on the Formula Bar to correct the formula, or click the Cancel button to clear it. Common sources of error are parentheses that don't match or missing arguments for functions. A formula that is free of syntax errors may result in an error value. Here are some error values you might get: ###### Not really an error. The result is too long to fit in the cell,

37 #DIV/0! just make the column wider. You're trying to divide by zero. Correct the divisor. If the divisor is a cell reference, check that it is not empty. #NAME? There's a name in the formula Excel doesn't recognize. If you used a name you defined, check its spelling. You can avoid this error by selecting a name in the Name Box instead of typing it in. If you typed in a function, check its spelling or verify that such a function exists. If you're performing operations on text, enclose it in double quotation marks. #REF! A cell reference is not valid. This happens if you deleted cells referred to in the formula or pasted moved cells on cells referred to in the formula. You will need to reenter the formula. #VALUE! The formula uses a wrong type of operand or argument. Check to see that you're not performing math operations on labels or that arguments of functions that need to be numeric are not referring to cells containing labels.

38 Your boss wants a spreadsheet detailing the total sales by quarter for each sales region from the previous year and would like all regions below $100,000 in sales to be highlighted, as well as the regions above $300,000 in sales. She explains that she would like to see at a glance those regions that are below standard and also those regions that greatly exceed company expectations in each quarter. Your boss hands you the information and expects you to figure out how best to display it. After inputting the data and playing a bit with formatting, you have come up with the following spreadsheet: Applying Conditional Formatting Rather than examining each figure yourself and applying formatting manually to each one, conditional formatting offers the ability to format one time and apply it to any cell that meets the conditions you set. For example, we could have Excel look for cells below $100,000 and apply a red font color in bold typeface. We could also have Excel look for those cells above $300,000 and apply a blue font color in bold typeface. In this way, the figures your boss wants to stand out can be seen at a glance. Let's take a look at the steps: 1. First, select the cells in which you would like Excel to apply the formatting. In this case, we want only those cells with figures relating to individual quarters. 2. From the Format menu, choose Conditional Formatting. The Conditional Formatting dialog box appears as shown below. 3. The first condition to set, is formatting the cells below $100,000. In the second field, choose less

39 than. The dialog box changes to reflect your selection. 4. Type in in the last field to complete the statement as read across the dialog box. Cell Value is less than There is no need to include symbols such as commas and dollar signs. 5. Choose the Format button. The Format cells dialog box opens and allows you to select formatting for this condition. Note that in addition to choosing a typeface and color, you can select the Border and/or Patterns tab to border cells and shade cell backgrounds. In our case, we chose bold typeface and red font color. Choose OK. 6. Because we have another condition to add for cells above $300,000, choose the Add >> button on the Conditional Formatting dialog box. The second condition is set up in the same manner as above and is shown in the graphic below. You can add up to 3 conditions.

40 7. Once all the conditions and formats are in place, choose OK. The results are displayed on the spreadsheet. While we used a short, simple example above for display purposes, imagine the amount of formatting time this would save on a large spreadsheet of data. Using conditional formatting also eliminates the possibility of human error - there is no need to wonder if you missed formatting a cell or to quadruple check your work.

41 Relative and absolute references Excel uses two types of cell references to create formulas. Each has its own purpose. Read on to determine which type of cell reference to use for your formula. Relative Cell References This is the most widely used type of cell reference in formulas. Relative cell references are basic cell references that adjust and change when copied or when using AutoFill. Example: =SUM(B5:B8), as shown below, changes to =SUM(C5:C8) when copied across to the next cell. Absolute Cell References Situations arise in which the cell reference must remain the same when copied or when using AutoFill. Dollar signs are used to hold a column and/or row reference constant. Example: In the example below, when calculating commissions for sales staff, you would not want cell B10 to change when copying the formula down. You want both the column and the row to remain the same to refer to that exact cell. By using $B$10 in the formula, neither changes when copied.

42 A more complicated example: Let's pretend that you need to calculate the prices of items in stock with two different price discounts. Take a look at the worksheet below. Examine the formula in cell E4. By making the first cell reference $C4, you keep the column from changing when copied across, but allow the row to change when copying down to accommodate the prices of the different items going down. By making the last cell reference A$12, you keep the row number from changing when copied down, but allow the column to change and reflect discount B when copied across. Confused? Check out the graphics below and the cell results. Copied Across

43 Copied Down Now, you might be thinking, why not just use 10% and 15% in the actual formulas? Wouldn't that be easier? Yes, if you are sure the discount percentages will never change - which is highly unlikely. It's more likely that eventually those percentages will need to be adjusted. By referencing the cells containing 10% and 15% and not the actual numbers, when the percentage changes all you need to do is change the percentage one time in cell A12 and/or B12 instead of rebuilding all of your formulas. Excel would automatically update the discount prices to reflect your discount percentage change. Summary of absolute cell reference uses: $A1 A$1 $A$1 Allows the row reference to change, but not the column reference. Allows the column reference to change, but not the row reference. Allows neither the column nor the row reference to change. There is a shortcut for placing absolute cell references in your formulas! When you are typing your formula, after you type a cell reference - press the F4 key. Excel automatically makes the cell reference absolute! By continuing to press F4, Excel will cycle through all of the absolute reference possibilities. For example, in the first absolute cell reference formula in this tutorial, =B4*$B$10, I could have typed, =B4*B10, then pressed the F4 key to change B10 to $B$10. Continuing to press F4 would have resulted in B$10, then $B10, and finally B10. Pressing F4 changes only the cell reference directly to the left of your insertion point.

44

45 Using Auto Fill in Excel Days of the week sequences, months of the year, quarters, number patterns, formulas across a series of cells - are you manually typing all of these? Shame on you! Use AutoFill to fill in common sequences, number patterns, and formulas. What is AutoFill? AutoFill is a time saving tool that can automatically fill in a common series of words, number patterns, and formulas. AutoFill makes data entry fast and efficient. Using AutoFill To fill in a common series: 1. Select the initial cell for the series. 2. Place the mouse over the fill handle, as shown below. Your mouse appears as a small black plus sign (called crosshairs). 3. Drag the handle (click & hold the mouse button down) over the cells that are to be filled. An AutoTip appears showing the impending result. 4. Release the mouse button. Excel fills in the cells as shown in the graphic below. Note: AutoFill can only be used to fill in cells in a contiguous range (cells that are touching each other). To fill in a number pattern: Follow the instructions above, adjusting step 1 to selecting the first two cells in the pattern. Selecting the first two cells before dragging the fill handle allows Excel to examine the proper number pattern to fill. In the example below, a number pattern is filled in that counts by 5.

46 To fill in a formula: Using the steps above, select the cell with the formula you want to copy and drag the fill handle to fill in the rest of the cells. This is an excellent way to fill in a totals row. Excel automatically adjusts/changes your cell references to create the new formulas. In some cases, you may not want a particular cell reference to be changed by Excel when using AutoFill. For example, if you are figuring the commission for your sales staff for a particular month, and they all have a commission rate of 10%, you may have the commission rate in one cell. That cell should be referenced in all of your formulas. As in the graphic below, you would always want to reference cell B10 to calculate all of your formulas. To do this, you need to use an absolute cell reference ($B$10).