Intro to Excel. To start a new workbook, click on the Blank workbook icon in the middle of the screen.

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1 Excel is a spreadsheet application that allows for the storing, organizing and manipulation of data that is entered into it. Excel has variety of built in tools that allow users to perform both simple and complex calculations, manage and filter lists of data, and the ability to link to other spreadsheets, databases, or Word files. Excel has several built-in functions that can be used for data calculations, data analysis. Excel Start Screen When Excel is initially opened, the Excel Start screen will populate. On the left side of the Excel Start screen, Excel will display any recently opened spreadsheets. To open any of these recent files, simply click on the file name. If the file that is needed to be opened is not located on the Recent files navigation, click on the Open Other Workbooks icon, which is located below the Recent files. To open a new, double click on the Blank workbook option. Users may also search for a spreadsheet template by typing in a search term in the search text box. A template is a spreadsheet that is predesigned with various formatting, functions, etc. that may be helpful to users when creating new spreadsheets. To start a new workbook, click on the Blank workbook icon in the middle of the screen. Colorado State University 1

2 Create a New workbook To create a new workbook in Excel, click on the File tab and select New. Users are able to create a blank workbook by double clicking on the Blank workbook icon, or users can select any of the prebuilt templates within Excel. Users can also use the search feature to search for a specific type of template. Excel has added many new templates that may be worth looking at to see if any of them meet a users needs before building a new workbook from scratch. To look for a template, scroll through the list of templates on the New workbook page, or search from the search textbox at the top of the screen. Template Examples: Schedules, Loan comparisons, Budget planning, etc. If a template is found, click on the template icon to see an overview. To use the selected template, click on the Create icon. Note: To navigate back to the spreadsheet, hit the Esc key, or click the left arrow on the upper left-hand side of the page Colorado State University 2

3 Open an Existing Workbook To open an existing Excel workbook, click on the File menu and select the Open option. Any recently opened workbooks will be listed in the middle of the window, based on the dates which they were opened. To open a workbook that isn t listed on the recent list, click on the Browse icon to browse the local computer to the file s location. When the file is located, either double click on the file to open it, or click on the file, and then click the Open button. Colorado State University 3

4 The File Menu (Backstage view) The File Menu, or Backstage view, is where a user would go to manage a file and the data about a file. On the main window of the backstage view, users will see information such as the File Name, File Location (if the file has been saved), the Creator of the file, file size. Etc. On the left side of the backstage view will be options to create a new workbook, save the existing workbook, printing, Excel options, etc. To navigate back to the workbook, hit the Esc key, or click the left arrow on the upper left-hand side of the page. Colorado State University 4

5 Excel 2016 User Interface Title Bar The Title bar is located at the top of the Excel window. The name of the active workbook is displayed in the center of the Title Bar. Quick Access Toolbar The Quick Access Toolbar is a customizable toolbar, located on the left side of the Title Bar, which can contain commands that are independent of the tab that is currently being displayed, such as Save, Redo, Undo, etc. Users are able to add new buttons (New, Open) or remove buttons from the Toolbar by clicking on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar icon. Tabs and Ribbon The ribbon is the set of tabs that are located below the Title Bar. Each tab contains commands that are contained within Groups. Formula Bar The Formula Bar is located directly below the Ribbon. This is where text, numbers, and formulas can be entered to display in a cell. This is also where a user can go to see what a cell contains, be it actual text, or a formula. Name Box To the left of the formula bar is the Name Box, which displays the name of the active cell, or selected range. The Name Box may also be used to name a cell, or as a shortcut to access a named range. Tell Me Assistant The Tell Me Assistant, which is a new feature in all Office 2016 products, is a text field, located at the far right side of the ribbon which allows users to search for words or phrases of a command, action, etc. that one wants to do next in Excel. The Tell Me Assistant will not only show users how to do what was asked, but will actually perform the command or action that was searched for. Colorado State University 5

6 Workbook A workbook is a file that contains one or more sheets. By default, a new workbook will open a single sheet named Sheet1. Sheet A sheet is a collection of cells, divided up by columns and rows. Rows Rows run horizontally on the worksheet and are referenced by a number from 1 to 1,048,576. Columns Columns run vertically across the worksheet. Columns are referenced by a letter from A-Z and then from AA, AB, AC, etc. until the last possible column reference, XFD. There are a total of 16,384 columns in a sheet. Cell A cell is the rectangular area at the intersection of a column and a row. A cell is referenced by its Cell Address, which is a combination of the column letter followed by its row number, A3, X34, etc. A cell can contain data in the form of numbers, text, or formulas. Active Cell The Active Cell is the current, selected cell, which is indicated by a dark green box in the worksheet. The active cell s cell reference (the intersection of the column letter and a row number) is displayed in the Name box. Any data that is typed when a cell is selected, will be entered into the active cell. Status Bar The Status Bar is located at the bottom of the workbook. It can provide information about the workbook by a status of Ready, Enter, or Edit. It may also provide various information about a range of cells such as Average, Count, and Sum. Colorado State University 6

7 Sheets By default, each new workbook is set up to display with one Sheet, which is named Sheet1. Tip: The default setting for the number of worksheets can be changed in the Excel Options menu, which is located in the File menu, Options, General menu. Add a Sheet To add additional sheets to the workbook, click on the New Sheet icon (+) that is located to the right of the sheets, on the bottom of the window. This will insert a new sheet to the right of the active (selected) sheet. Note: The active sheet is highlighted in green. Users may also insert a new sheet by right-clicking on a sheet and then choosing Insert. On the Insert window, select the Worksheet icon and click OK, or double click on the Worksheet icon. This will insert a new worksheet to the left of the active worksheet. Rename a Sheet All sheets in Excel will be given the name Sheet 1, Sheet 2, and so on. Any sheet can be renamed by double clicking on the sheet tab to highlight the name, and then typing a new name. Users may also right-click on a sheet and choose Rename from the menu. Delete a Sheet Delete a sheet by right clicking on a sheet and then selecting Delete to remove it from the workbook. Sheet Navigation Shortcuts Click the left or right arrow on the Navigator (located to the left of the sheets) to move the sheets to the left or the right. o This will not change the current active sheet. Ctrl-Page Up - Switch between sheet tabs, moving from Right to Left. Ctrl-Page Down - Switch between sheet tabs, moving from Left to Right. Ctrl-Left click Scrolls to the last sheet. o This will only work if there are more sheets than what a user can see on the bottom of the window. Right click on the Navigator - displays a list of all sheets in the workbook. Colorado State University 7

8 Change Sheet Tab colors All sheet tabs by default, are set to the same color, grey. If multiple sheets are being used, it may be helpful to have different colored sheet tabs for organizing related data on separate sheets. To change the color of a tab, right click on the sheet, navigate to Tab Color, and select a color. Tip: To view more color options, select the More Colors option on the bottom of the menu. This will change the background of the sheet tabs to the selected color. Status Bar The Excel status bar, which is located on the bottom of the Excel window, will display information about the Excel workbook, such as Scroll Lock, page number, etc. The status bar will display various calculation options such as Sum, Average, Max, etc. any time numbers are selected within a sheet. By default, the Average, Count, and Sum options are enabled. To see the other options that are available to be displayed on the Status Bar, right click anyplace on the status bar. The options that can be displayed are located towards the bottom of the Customize Status Bar window. Any item that has a checkmark next to it will appear in the status bar. To add an unchecked item, click on the item with the mouse. Colorado State University 8

9 Navigate in Excel There are several different ways to navigate through the cells in Excel. Here are a few; Navigate to a cell by clicking on the cell with the cursor. Use arrow keys to move the active cell up, down, left, or right. Enter Completes the entry and moves the active cell to the cell below the current cell. Shift-Enter Completes the entry and moves the active cell to the cell above the current cell. Tab Completes the entry and moves the active cell to the cell to the right of the current cell. Shift-Tab - Completes the entry and moves the active cell to the cell to the left of the current cell. Navigation Shortcuts Home - Navigates to the first column (Column A) in a row. Ctrl-Home - Navigates to cell A1. Ctrl-End - Moves cursor to the last cell containing data in the sheet. Ctrl-Arrow - Moves the active cell, in the direction of the arrow that was pressed, to the edge of a block of data. Page Up and Page Down - Navigates a screen up or down. Alt-Page Up and Alt-Page Down - Navigates a full screen to the left (Page Up) or right (Page Down). Ctrl-Page Up and Ctrl-Page Down Navigates between sheet tabs to the left (Ctrl-Page Up) or right (Ctrl-Page Down). Ctrl-F - Searches a sheet for specific text, value, or item in a formula. o This is also accessible from Find in the Edit menu. o Note: Shift-F4 will continue the search even if the Find box is closed. Scroll Lock Key Scroll Lock will allow for users to move within the sheet using the arrow keys, without moving active cell. This will allow users to look at data in another area of the sheet without having to select other cells to see the data. o To activate Scroll Lock, hit the Scroll Lock button on the top right section of the keyboard. o When scroll lock is active, Scroll Lock will appear in the Status bar, which is located below the sheets in a workbook. o Note: This option is NOT on by default. Additional Shortcuts Ctrl-F1 - Expand/Collapse Ribbon. Alt - Display shortcut keys in Ribbon. Ctrl-1 - Format dialog box. Alt-= (Alt equals) Perform AutoSum. Ctrl- (Ctrl single quote) - Repeat the value from cell above. Colorado State University 9

10 Select Cells, Rows and Columns Before a user can format a cell, or group of cells, the cells must be selected. The following options may be used to select cells; Select a single cell - Click on the desired cell. To select multiple, continuous, cells (Range) - Click on the first cell in the sheet to select it. Now, press and hold the Shift key down, and then click on the last cell to be selected on the sheet. Non-contiguous cells/rows/columns - Click the first cell to select it. Now, press and hold the Ctrl key to select additional cells by clicking on the individual cells. When all cells/rows/columns have been selected, release the Ctrl key. To select all cells in a sheet - Press Ctrl-A, or click the Select All button (where the column and row headings intersect. Select an entire row or column Navigate with the mouse over a column or row heading until the cursor changes into a bold arrow and then click on the row, or column, heading. Select multiple rows/columns Click on the first column, or row, heading and then hold the left mouse button and drag across the desired column, or row, headings. Excel Icons When the cursor icon in Excel is over any portion outside of the columns and rows, it will be displayed as a white arrow cursor. When the cursor is over a cell within the sheet, the cursor will change shape, which will change how the cursor will act. When the mouse is over any cell in a sheet, the cursor is a hollow plus sign. A Hollow Plus sign indicates the ability to select a cell or a range of cells. When a cell is double clicked on, a single flashing cursor line will appear. This cursor indicates that the user is in editing mode. Any data that is typed when this cursor is active will appear in the active cell. When a cell is selected, the cursor can be moved into the lower right corner of the cell, which will change the cursor into a dark plus sign, or crosshairs. This icon indicates the ability to Copy or AutoFill the contents of the cell. If there is text in the cell, clicking, holding, and dragging the + sign, will copy the contents of the cell to adjacent cells. If there is a formula in this cell, clicking, holding, and dragging the + sign over other cells will AutoFill all adjacent cells. (AutoFill will be explained later in this handout.) When a cell is clicked on to make it the active cell and the cursor is moved to the border of the selected cell, a cross-hair cursor will appear. A cross-hair cursor indicates the ability to move the data within a cell to a new cell. A user would left click and hold on the border of the cell and move the cursor to a new cell. Colorado State University 10

11 Enter Data To enter data into a cell, select a cell by clicking on it and start typing. Users may also select a cell and type into the formula bar. Cell Data 1) Text - Any text (alphabetic characters) entered into a cell will be left aligned by default. 2) Numbers - By default, numbers are right aligned in a cell. Numbers may be formatted to display currency, dates, time, fractions, etc. Important: Formatted characters should not be typed into a cell. Formatting should be added by selecting the cell(s) and applying the desired format. These steps will be covered in Formatting tools. 3) Formulas - A formula is an expression used to calculate data on a worksheet. Formulas MUST start with an equal sign (=). Accept cell data Any data that is entered into a cell must be accepted before it will appear in the cell by using one of the following options; Enter - Completes a cell entry and moves the active cell to the cell below the current cell. o This can be changed through the File Tab, Options, and Advanced. Shift-Enter Completes a cell entry and moves the active cell to the cell above the current cell. Tab - Complete a cell entry and moves the active cell one cell to the right. Shift-Tab - Complete a cell entry and moves the active cell one cell to the left. Arrow keys Completes a cell entry and moves the active cell one cell in the arrow direction that was clicked. Click on the checkmark next to the formula bar. Cancel cell data Sometimes, the data that is being entered into a cell is incorrect, or is in the wrong cell. To cancel any data from being accepted into a cell, simply hit the Esc key, or click on the X next to the formula bar. Insert the Same Data in a Range To enter the exact same date in a range of cells, first select the cells that are to contain the same data. After the selection has been made, type in the data to be displayed in each cell, but do not accept the data. To accept the data in the entire range, press and hold the Ctrl key and then hit the Enter key. Colorado State University 11

12 Edit Data in a Cell To edit a cell s contents, double click on a cell to select it. When a cell is selected, a blinking cursor will display in the cell, which indicates where data will be entered if a user types any data. To move the cursor to a different location within the cell, use the arrow keys, or click in the new location with the mouse. Tip: The data in the selected cell will also appear in the formula bar, which may be an easier location to edit data in a cell. Once the data is entered, be sure to accept the entry by pressing the enter key, tab key, or one of the arrow keys, or by clicking on the check mark on the formula bar. Enter Dates and Time Excel stores dates, internally, as sequential numbers. Since the data is stored as a numeric value, Excel is easily able to perform calculations with dates. Serial numbers start with the date January 1, 1900, which is serial number 1. January 1, 2017 is serial number 42736, because it is 42,736 days after January 1, It is best practice to enter all dates with four digit years, such as 2000, 2017, etc. Years entered as two digits will be converted as follows; will convert to will convert to Enter Current Date To enter the current date within a cell, use one of the following shortcuts; Ctrl-; (Ctrl Semi-Colon) - Inserts the current date. This is a static date, which means the date will not change. =Today() Inserts the current date. This is a dynamic date, which will automatically update any time the workbook is opened. Enter Current Time To enter the current time within a cell, use the following shortcut; Ctrl-Shift-; (Ctrl-Shift-Semi-Colon) - Inserts the current time. This is a static time, which means the time will not change. Note: To enter a date as a header (09-10), Excel automatically alters the format into a date, showing 10-Sep. To make sure the data appears as one has typed it, enter a single quote before the text, The single quote will not appear in the cell; it will display as Colorado State University 12

13 Size Columns and Rows To resize a column, or row, position the cursor on the border to the right (column), or below (row) the column, or row, to be resized. The cursor will change to a vertical line with a right and left arrow icon. When this cursor appears, click, hold, and drag the column or row to a desired size. Size to Fit The vertical arrow cursor can be used to adjust a column, or row, automatically so all of the cells values are viewable. To auto size a column, or row, position the cursor on the border to the right of column or below the row until the cursor changes to a vertical line with a left and right arrow. Double click on the border and the cells will auto size to fit all cell contents. Auto Fit Column Auto Fit Row Delete Cell Content The easiest way to delete cell contents is to select the cell(s) by clicking on them and then hit the Delete or Backspace key. This will remove all content, and keep the selected cell(s) in the spreadsheet as blank cells. Users may also select what they would like to remove, formatting, contents, etc. To do this, select the cells, navigate to the Home Tab and click on the Clear button in the Editing Groups. On the Clear button dropdown, there are the following options; Clear All Clears all contents, formatting, comments, hyperlinks. Clear Formats Clears just the formatting from the cells. Clear Contents Clears the content of the cells, but keeps the formatting. This can also be done by making a selection, right clicking in the selection, and then selecting Clear Contents. Clear Comments Clears only the comments in the cell. Clear Hyperlinks Clears all hyperlinks in the cells. Colorado State University 13

14 Delete content and Remove cells Users may also delete the contents from a cell and remove that cell from the sheet entirely. To completely remove a cell and its contents from a sheet, select the cell(s) to be removed, right-click on the selected cells and then select Delete from the Contextual menu. Excel will populate a window that will ask what to do with the existing cells; Shift cells left Cells that are to the right of the deleted cells will be moved to the left to replace the cells being deleted Shift cells up - Cells that are below the deleted cells will be moved up to replace the cells being deleted Entire row This will delete the entire row that the selected cell is in and move the remaining rows up to replace the row being deleted Entire column This will delete the entire column that the selected cell is in and move the remaining columns to the left to replace the row being deleted CAUTION: When deleting data this way, make sure the cells that are replacing the removed cells will not change any other data, formulas, etc. that are currently on the sheet. This option can also be used to delete row(s) and column(s). Select the number of column headings or row headings to be deleted, then right click on the selection and select Delete. Undo and Redo Excel, as with all other Microsoft products, has a feature that will allow users to bring back previous changes by using the Undo feature. This can be especially helpful if data is accidentally typed over, or if data may be accidentally deleted. Undo To undo the last action, click on the Undo icon in the Quick Access Tool bar, or use the Shortcut Ctrl-Z. If there are several actions that need to be undone, it may be easier to click on the dropdown arrow next to the Undo icon. Excel will list all of the previous actions that have taken place in the workbook. Note: Users are unable to Undo a single action within this list, unless it is the top action. If an action is 10 steps back in the list, all actions that occurred after that step will also be undone. Redo Redo works the same was as Undo, except it will redo an action that was undone. To use Redo, click on the Redo icon in the Quick Access Toolbar, or use the Shortcut of Ctrl-Y. Colorado State University 14

15 Copy, Cut, and Paste The Copy, Cut and Paste options allow users to copy or cut the data contained in a cell, or selection of cells, and then paste the data in a new location. Copy data Copying data allows users to make and exact copy of the data in a cell, or selection of cells, and then place this data in a new location while keeping the original data. To copy data, select the cell(s) containing the data and then Copy the data by using one of the following options; The copy shortcut, Ctrl-C Right-clicking with the mouse on the selection or the cell and choose Copy Click on the Copy icon from the Home Tab Cut data Cutting data allows users to move the data contained in a cell, or selection of cells, and then move this data into a completely new location. To cut data, select the cell(s) containing the data, and then cut the data by using one of the following options; Cut the data by using the cut shortcut, Ctrl-X Right-click on the cell, or selection, and choose Cut Click on the Cut icon from the Home Tab Paste data Before being able to paste the cut, or copied, data, make sure there are enough empty cells to paste the data in. For example, if four cells are copied, there must be four cells available to accept the pasted data. To paste data, click in the new location and then paste the data by using; The paste shortcut, Ctrl-V Right-click the mouse and choose Paste from the Context Sensitive menu. Choose the paste icon from the Home Tab Note: The marquee selection, marching ants, will remain displayed around selected items after data has been cut, or copied. To remove the selection marquee, press the Esc key. Tip: The Office clipboard can hold up to 24 items at a time and works across all MS products. Colorado State University 15

16 AutoFill AutoFill is a tool that is used to automatically fill cells with data that follows a pattern from two or more selected cells. To use AutoFill, select at least two cells containing data. Move the cursor to the lower right side of the selection until the cursor turns into a dark plus sign. Now click, hold, and drag the dark plus sign over the new cells to populate data based on the pattern in the selection. Below are a few examples of using AutoFill with even numbers, odd numbers, and text. AutoFill Custom Lists AutoFill does require at least two cells to be selected in order for the AutoFill to work, but there are a couple exceptions to this rule. If a user types in a single Day of the Week, a Month of the Year, or a date, AutoFill will automatically select the next day, month, or date. To create a list of the days of the week, starting with Wednesday, type Wednesday in a cell, and then use AutoFill to complete the list for as long as the user drags the AutoFill cursor. Colorado State University 16

17 Custom AutoFill List A Custom AutoFill List is a list that is be created by a user, when a uses has a sequence of data that is being used often. To create a Custom List, click on the File menu and then select Options on the bottom left side of the screen. On the Excel Options window, select Advanced on the left side, and then scroll about 90% of the way to the bottom. Under the General section, click on the Edit Custom Lists button On the Custom Lists window, type the new list in the List entries text box. When typing in a list, make sure to separate each item by a comma or by hitting the Enter key to get a new line. When the list is entered in the list entries box, click on the Add button to add the list to the Custom List box and then click on the OK button to accept the changes. Note: The user may also Import a list by selecting the Import button from the custom list dialog box. Click in the text box to the left of the import button and then navigate to and highlight the list within Excel. Once the selection has been made, click the Import button to add the list to the Custom lists. Users are now able to type in one of the pieces of data within the new list, navigate to the lower right corner until the black plus sign appears and drag over the cells to AutoFill to. Excel will AutoFill the cells based on the new custom list. Colorado State University 17

18 Flash Fill Flash fill is a tool that will help users fill in data on a spreadsheet when a pattern is evident. It can be used to separate data from cells, combine data from cells, or even apply formatting to cells. Tip: In order for Flash Fill to work, users must stay within the same column or the pattern will be broke. After typing in the new data, users should hit Enter (or the down arrow) to go to the cell below in the same column. If the user hits Tab, or navigates into another row, Flash Fill may not work. To separate the First and Last name in a single column, navigate to the first blank cell to the right of the data and type the first, first name. When the name has been typed, hit enter and start typing the second first name. When flash fill picks up the pattern, a preview of the remaining cells contents will show. If this preview data is correct, hit Enter to fill in the remaining cells. Note: Flash Fill may not always notice the pattern after the second line, so users may need to go to a third, or fourth row in some instances. Excel will fill in the remaining cells based on what it believes is the best pattern. When the data has been filled, a Flash Fill options icon will appears to the right of the active cell. Click on this icon and either Accept the Flash fill or undo the Flash Fill. Note: Flash Fill can save a lot of time, but there may be some instances where the data is incorrect. Always verify the data that is produced by Flash Fill. Combine Columns using Flash Fill To combine the contents from two or more cells, start by typing in the combined data in a blank cell and then hit the Enter key. In the second row, start typing the data that is to be displayed. Excel should notice a pattern and provide a preview of what will happen to each corresponding cell. If the pattern looks correct, hit the Enter key and the column is filled in automatically. Note: Flash Fill will follow a punctuation pattern as well, so make sure all anticipated punctuation is typed in the cells. If there is a mistake in the data, a user can always correct it by going into a single cell to make the necessary changes. Users may also undo the entire flash fill if they results are not whey was expected. To undo the Flash Fill, use the undo shortcut, Ctrl-Z, or click on the undo icon on the Quick Access Toolbar. Note: Sometimes Excel may not notice the pattern, so a user can use the Flash fill shortcut of Ctrl-E to auto Flash fill based on what has been typed. This may not always work as expected, so always verify the data that has been filled in correctly. Colorado State University 18

19 Another way to use flash fill is to type in data in the first empty cell, hit enter to move to the next row. Now navigate to the Data Tab and click on the Flash Fill icon. This will perform a flash fill based on the data that was typed in the cell. There are some instances where this will work, but this is not the best option when using Flash Fill because Excel may not be able to find a pattern. AutoComplete AutoComplete will allow users to type in a few letters or digits in a cell and Excel will automatically scan other values in the column for a similar entry. If Excel finds a similar previous entry, it will try to complete the entry for the user. This feature is very beneficial to keep data integrity. For Example, if a sheet contains a column that has city names and the user wants to make sure that the city names are always typed in the exact same way every time, AutoComplete can help ensure this. When a user starts typing F for Fort Collins, Excel scans the current column and sees that there is a string of test starting with an F, Fort Collins. Excel will AutoComplete the cell for the user. If the text appearing in the cell is correct, hit Enter, Tab, etc. to accept the text and move to the next cell. Tip: There are times when AutoComplete can pose a problem. If a string of text that is being typed is shorter than what is already in the column, the user can type in the new string of text and hit Enter, Tab, etc. and Excel will AutoComplete the cell with the preexisting text, not what the user typed in. For example, if a column contains the last name Bergeron and a user types in a new last name of Berg. As the name is types, Excel has found a similar string of text in Bergeron and will auto complete the cell, even though the user wanted the string to be Berg. If a user is not watching as text is being typed, Auto Complete may insert incorrect data into a cell. Disable AutoComplete To turn off AutoComplete, chose File, Options, Advanced and remove the check box for Enable AutoComplete for Cell Values. Note: This will also turn off Flash Fill, as Flash Fill is an AutoComplete feature. Colorado State University 19

20 Pick from Drop-down List Pick from a Drop-down list is a good way to make sure all of the data in a column is entered in the exact same way. Pick from a drop-down list is similar to AutoComplete, but users are able to see all of the data that has been typed into a column, making it easy to select the appropriate text to display. To use Pick from a drop-down list, right click on the cell to insert data and select Pick from a drop-down list. Excel will populate a popup box which will show the unique values within the column. To make a selection, double click on the text, or highlight the text by using the arrow keys and then hit Enter. Note: Pick from a Drop-down list will only work with text. Formatting Tools Many of the most commonly used formatting features can be found on the Home tab in the Font group, Alignment group, and Number Group. Each one of the groups has formatting options that are specific to the Font (font type, font size, font color, cell color), alignment (left aligned data, center aligned data), and number format (Currency, date, Percentage, etc.) of the data. To apply formatting, first select the cell(s), column(s), or row(s) and then select the formatting option to be applied to the data; Bold, Underline, Center, left aligned, etc. To display more formatting tools and settings click on the dialog box launcher (small downward pointing arrows) located on the ribbon. These dialog box launchers will open the Format cells window to the specific tab corresponding with the Dialog box launcher that was selected. Colorado State University 20

21 Users may also apply formatting to a selection by right clicking on the selection, and then selecting Format Cells. From the Format Cells window, select the corresponding tab to apply Number, Alignment, etc. formatting. Number: Applies number formatting to the cell; Currency, Date, Percentage, etc. Alignment: Change the alignment, orientation, wrap text, shrink to fit, and merge cells. Font: Change the font type, size, color, italics, bold, etc. Border: Applies borders/lines to the cells. Fill: Applies a colored fill to the background of a cell. Protection: Allows users to protect certain parts of a worksheet. The Mini toolbar is a formatting toolbar that will appear if text is selected within a cell by double clicking on a cell. The Mini toolbar does have some very limited formatting options such as options for changing font size, color, Bold, Italics, etc. that can be applied to the selected text. Users may also apply some more formatting by right clicking on a cell. A context sensitive menu will display which will allow for formatting options to be applied to a cell or a selection. Merge and Center The Merge and Center tool will merge the text in a single cell over a selection of cells and then apply a center alignment to the text. Type the text to be centered in the cell farthest left, of the area where the text is to be centered and hit Enter. Now, click on the cell with the text and hold and drag with the mouse to select all cells where the text is to be centered. Click on the Merge and Center Icon on the Home tab and the text that will be merged and centered over the selection that has been made. Note: Under the Merge and Center icon, there are a few other options. Merge Across will merge the cells, but not center the text. Colorado State University 21

22 Format Painter The Format Painter tool is an easy way to apply text formatting from one cell to other cell(s) within the workbook. Single Cell Use To use the format painter to apply formatting to another single cell, click on the cell that is formatted correctly, and then click once on the Format Painter button on the Home Tab. The Format Painter button will be highlighted, indicating that it is activated. Note: The cursor will also change into a hollow plus sign with a paintbrush next to it. Now, click on a single cell and the exact formatting from the first cell will be applied to the cell that was clicked on. The Format Painter button will no longer highlighted, so the formatting will not be copied to any other cells. Multi-Cell Use To apply formatting to multiple cells within a workbook, click on the cell with the desired formatting, and then double-click on the Format Painter button. Now, multiple cells may be clicked on to apply formatting. Users must deactivate the Format Painter tool to stop the formatting from being applied to selected cells. To de-activate the Format Painter, click once on the Format Painter button, or hit the Esc key. When the Format Painter button has change back to its default, un-highlighted color, it is no longer active. Colorado State University 22

23 Freeze Panes Freeze panes will allow users to keep an area of a worksheet visible while scrolling to another area of the worksheet. The Freeze Panes tool is located on the View Tab. Within the Freeze panes icon, there are a couple of options that can be applied; Freeze Panes The user is able to freeze the area above and to the left of the active cell. Freeze Top Row The top heading row will display all of the time. Freeze First Column - The first column will display all of the time. Apply Freeze Pane Freeze panes will be applied to the column that is to the right of the current cell and to the row that is on top of the current cell. To apply a freeze pane to rows 1-4 and Columns A and B, place the cursor in Cell C5, and then click on the Freeze Panes icon. After these steps, the user will see the line after column B and below row 4 is slightly darker than any other line within Excel. When scrolling through the worksheet, this section will stay in place. Remove Freeze Pane To remove a Freeze Pane, click on the Freeze Panes icon on the View Tab and then select Unfreeze Panes from the drop down menu. Colorado State University 23

24 Save a workbook There are a few options when saving Excel workbooks, depending if it is a new file, or an existing file. Save a new workbook To save a new workbook, click on the File menu and select Save As. On the Save As window, a list of currently saved folder locations will display in the middle of the window. To save the file in one of the locations, simple click on the desired folder name. To navigate to a folder location that is not listed, click on the Browse button, which is located on the left side of the window. When the browse button is selected, Excel will allow the user to navigate to the location on their computer, network drive, USB device, etc. to save the file. Select the correct location to save the file. On the bottom of the window, there is a location to provide a unique File Name as well as an option to change the file type, or Save as type. To change the file type, click on the Save as type dropdown to select the appropriate file type. Note: The default file type is.xlsx, which is the native Excel file format since Colorado State University 24

25 Save in existing location The quickest way to save an opened workbook in the current location is to click on the disk icon on the upper left side of the Excel window. Users may also use the shortcut, Ctrl-S, to save the file in the current location. Save in a new location To save a new workbook, click on the File menu and select Save As. On the Save As window, a list of currently saved folder locations will display in the middle of the window. To save the file in one of the locations, simple click on the desired folder name. To navigate to a folder location that is not listed, click on the Browse button, which is located on the left side of the window. When the browse button is selected, Excel will allow the user to navigate to the location on their computer, network drive, USB device, etc. to save the file. Select the correct location to save the file. On the bottom of the window, there is a location to provide a unique File Name as well as an option to change the file type, or Save as type. To change the file type, click on the Save as type dropdown to select the appropriate file type. Colorado State University 25