HO-1: BASIC SPREADSHEET SKILLS - CREATING A WORKBOOK

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1 HO-1: BASIC SPREADSHEET SKILLS - CREATING A WORKBOOK After completing this exercise you will be able to: Create a new workbook and add and rename worksheets. Enter data (text labels, numerical values and data series) into a worksheet and edit existing data. Format cells (text, borders) and adjust column widths and row heights. Create and enter simple formulas to perform calculations. Set the print area, use print preview and save your work. Creating a new Workbook and Entering Data 1. When you first open Excel a blank workbook, called Book1 is created: 2. Click on the Office Button and select SaveAs on the pop-up menu. Save your blank workbook as username_bpho.xls, replacing username with your actual ITS username. You will use this workbook to store the majority of the hands-on exercises you complete during the early sessions of the module. 3. Move to a blank worksheet and rename it ho1. Double click on the Sheet1 tab (in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen) or Right click and choose Rename to name the sheet ho1. 4. Select your ho1 worksheet and use the shortcut keys: Ctrl+Home to move to cell A1. 5. Then insert the following data into your ho1 worksheet: Bacchus Wines Quarterly Sales 2009 (No of Cases Sold) Wine Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Red White Rose Sparkling Enter an appropriate title for the worksheet above the table you create, for example: 'Bacchus Wines Quarterly Sales If necessary use the Centre and Merge button bpho1.doc Page 1 of 5

2 to centre the title across the cells. Also take care to apply consistent formatting to the cells. 7. If necessary you can adjust the width of the column by clicking on the line between the column headings and dragging the right-hand border to the desired width (Note. during this process the width of the column is displayed). 8. You can adjust the row-height in a similar way. Click on the line below the row heading of the row whose height you want to adjust and drag the bottom border to the desired height. 9. Note: A quick way to enter data series: Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4, as column labels in a series of cells is to type in the first value, Q1, and then use drag-and-drop to complete the series. 10. For example, enter the value Q1 in cell C3 and with C3 as the active cell, click on the little black box at the bottom right-hand corner of the cell. When the plain black cross appears, hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor out over the cells you want to complete the series in. As you do this you will see that the values are displayed. Stop at Q Enter the data for the number of cases of wine sold for each quarter and add cell formatting to make the data look more like a table. Once you ve done this, your worksheet should look something like that shown below: 12. Next enter a formula in cells C9 to F8 (C9:F9) which calculates the total number of cases of wine sold in each quarter (Q). Note: you simply need to enter the appropriate formula in the cell (C9) for the total of wine sold in Q1 and then use drag-and-drop to copy the formula across into the cells D9:F9: 13. Alternatively you can select cell C9 and click the Autosum icon [ ], on the Home ribbon, and Excel will assume you wish to add the range of cells above C9. bpho1.doc Page 2 of 5

3 14. Finally enter an appropriate row label in cell B9, e.g. Total 15. Next enter a formula in cells G5:G9 which calculates the total number of cases of each wine sold during Once again you only need to enter the appropriate formula in cell G5 as you can then use drag and drop to copy the formula down into the other cells. Note: If you try to use the Autosum function in this case, then because there are no values in the cells above G5, Excel will assume you wish to sum the values figures to the left of G Enter an appropriate column label in cell G5, e.g. Total and reformat your table, taking care to format the cells containing the values as a Number. To do this first select cells C5:G9, then right click on your mouse to reveal the Format Cells menu. On this select the Number tab and choose appropriate formatting as shown below: 17. Your final worksheet should look something like that shown below: 18. Make sure you Save your workbook as you will need this data to complete a number of the Basic exercises. Setting the Print Area 19. The easiest way to define the area of your worksheet that you want to print is to highlight the relevant block of worksheet cells (in this case B2:G9) and then click on the Set Print Area button on the Page Layout ribbon: 20. Next select the View ribbon and click on Page Layout to view the document as it will appear when printed out. Note: you should always check that you have correctly setup your worksheet BEFORE printing to avoid wasting paper. bpho1.doc Page 3 of 5

4 Customising the Quick Access Toolbar 21. To make life easier for yourself it is possible to customise the Quick Access Toolbar (situated at the top left hand corner of the screen beside the Office button). To do this click on the small button to the left of the Toolbar and select More Commands from the drop-down list. This then reveals the Excel Options panel which allows you to add popular command buttons to the Quick Access Toolbar: 22. For now add the Set Print Area and Print Preview buttons to your Quick Access Toolbar. Your Quick Access Toolbar should now look something like that shown opposite. Note: This will enable you to set the print area and preview the page more easily next time around. You can add other short-cut buttons as you go along, which is especially useful for commands you use regularly. 23. Click on the Print Preview button to check how your page will print out. Again you should always review your work BEFORE printing to avoid wasting paper. 24. If you haven t already set the print area for your ho1 worksheet, select cells B2:G9 and click on the Set Print Area button you have just added to the Quick Access Toolbar. Then select the Print Preview button to review how the page will print out. It is now as SIMPLE as that! 25. To alter page margins, add headers and footers, centre the defined print area on the page you can use the Page Setup panel, which is accessed by clicking on the button at the bottom right-hand of the Page Layout tab: 26. This reveals the Page Setup panel, which contains 4 Tabs: Page, Margin, Header/Footer and Sheet. These allow you to add global formatting to your page, e.g. make the data print out on a single page, adjust the margins, centre the data on the page and add a header or footer, etc: bpho1.doc Page 4 of 5

5 27. Experiment with Page Setup, selecting the different tabs to modify the Page properties. Add: (i) a header which includes: your name, the name of the class, (ii) a footer which includes the date this file was created and the date it was last modified. 28. As hinted at above, one feature that you will find very useful is the ability to make your worksheet data fit on a specific number of pages, e.g. 'Fit to 1 page(s) wide by 1 tall'. 29. Finally when you are happy with the print options, save your work. For now let s do our bit for the environment and save a few sheets of paper by not actually printing out the worksheet. Getting Help If you are unsure about anything you can Select F1 to display the Excel 2007 Help Facility. This allows you to browse key topics or search using key words, such as Cell Formatting : FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES How to Use Excel Excel Tutorials for Beginners: MS Excel 2007 Tutorials: Excel 2007 Cheat Sheet: Microsoft Excel Tips, Tricks, and Ideas: bpho1.doc Page 5 of 5