Instructional Center for Educational Technologies EXCEL 2010 BASICS Things to Know Before You Start The cursor in Excel looks like a plus sign. When you click in a cell, the column and row headings will be highlighted, so you can always tell where you are. When entering data into a cell, the info will show in the cell and in the formula bar, the white field at the top of the worksheet. A cell is highlighted when a thick black border appears around it. Use TAB to move to the next cell to the LEFT. Use SHIFT-TAB to move to the RIGHT. Use ENTER/RETURN to go down to the NEXT ROW. Use SHIFT-ENTER to move UP. The ARROW keys also work for left-right-up-down. All basic functions (copy, cut, paste, insert, etc) generally work in Excel like they do in Word. You can have hundreds of columns and/or rows. Page divisions are shown with a dashed line, either up-down or left-right. There are three TYPES of DATA: o Text (labels): Name, Cost, etc. o Numbers (constants, FIXED): counting, percents, dollar amounts o Formulas (equations, CALCULATE): Begin with equal sign (=) 1 Excel Basics/ICET 2012
EXCEL 2010 VOCABULARY MAP FORMULA Performs operations such as adding or averaging, all formulas begin with = NAME BOX The address of the active cell (column letter + row number) FORMULA BAR Shows what is typed in the active cell. You will see the formula rather than the value. VALUE The amount entered, or what the operation is worth only one value per cell CELL The individual box where data is entered into the spreadsheet ROW Cells from left to right, numbered top to bottom CELL GRID The lines that separate the rows and columns, also called borders RANGE A group of neighboring cells, up/down or across ACTIVE CELL The cell in which you are working WORKSHEET Individual spreadsheet within the workbook, can be named in the bottom tab COLUMN Cells from top to bottom, labeled alphabetically from left to right WORKBOOK An Excel file, composed of worksheets 2 Excel Basics/ICET 2012
To CREATE a NEW WORKBOOK: Click the File tab, top left corner of the screen. Click New. Click Blank Workbook. Click Create (or Double-click Blank Workbook). To SAVE A WORKBOOK: Click on Office button. Click Save As. Make sure the correct file location is at the top. Enter desired name for the workbook in File Name. ***Remember: This is the name of the entire file, including all of the worksheets inside. Click Save. To NAME a WORKSHEET (individual documents within the workbook): Double Click on the worksheet tab at the bottom of the worksheet; a box will appear around the current name. Type the desired name. Hit Enter. Use this same procedure to CHANGE the NAME of a worksheet. To ADD a WORKSHEET: Click Insert Worksheet tab at the bottom of the worksheet (icon of white rectangle with yellow star). Blank worksheet will appear in workbook To DELETE a WORKSHEET: Right Click on the tab of the worksheet to be deleted Click Delete. The worksheet will disappear from the workbook. ***You will not be given a chance to cancel, and you cannot undo a worksheet delete! To MOVE BETWEEN WORKSHEETS in a Workbook: Click on the tab of the desired worksheet to activate it 3 Excel Basics/ICET 2012
To ENTER CONTENT/DATA onto a Worksheet: Click in the desired cell; the active cell will be outlined in black. The name of the cell (i.e., A1) will appear in the Name Box in the upper left-hand corner of the worksheet. Enter information; it will also appear in the Format Box at the top of the worksheet. To EDIT CONTENT/DATA in the Worksheet: To Change or Delete All of the cell contents, o Click on the cell to highlight it. o To Change, Enter the new information. o To Delete, hit Delete on the keyboard. To Change Some of the cell contents (i.e., to correct an error): o Double Click in the cell so that the cursor appears. o Use the Mouse or the Arrow Keys to place the cursor. o Use Backspace or Delete to remove the error as you would in Word. o Enter the correction. OR o Click on the cell to highlight it. o Double Click in the Format Bar so that the cursor appears. ***Use this to correct formulas. o Correct the error as you would in Word. To FORMAT (CHANGE) the EXACT WIDTH of a COLUMN: Place the cursor at the top of the column until you see the BLACK DOWN- ARROW Right Click to get the pull-down menu Click Column Width Enter the desired width (not measured in inches) Click OK To FORMAT (CHANGE) the EXACT HEIGHT of a ROW: Place the cursor to the left of the row until you see the BLACK DOWN- ARROW Right Click to get the pull-down menu Click Row Height Enter the desired width (not measured in inches) Click OK 4 Excel Basics/ICET 2012
To FORMAT (CHANGE) the SIZE of a ROW or COLUMN: Place the cursor at the top/left end of the row/column line to be moved until the handle appears (cross-hairs with up-down arrow) Click and drag the line to the desired position To FIT the SIZE of the ROW or COLUMN to the CONTENT: Place the cursor at the top/left end of the line to be moved until the handle appears (cross-hairs with up-down arrow) Double Click ; the line will automatically move to fit the size of the content To FORMAT the VERTICAL ALIGNMENT in a CELL: Click on the cell to highlight it (or Click & Drag to highlight a range of cells) On the Home ribbon, Click on the chosen icon at the top of the screen in the Alignment section: Top Align, Middle Align, Bottom Align To FORMAT the HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT in a CELL: Click on the cell to highlight it (or Click & Drag to highlight a range of cells) On the Home ribbon, Click on the chosen icon at the top of the screen in the Alignment section: Align Text Left, Center, or Align Text Right To FORMAT the VERTICAL or HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT in a ROW or COLUMN: Place the cursor to the TOP of the chosen COLUMN or to the LEFT of the chosen ROW until the black arrow appears Click to highlight the row or column (or Click & Drag to highlight several rows or columns) On the Home ribbon, Click on the chosen icon at the top of the screen in the Alignment section: Left, Center, Right, Top, Middle, Bottom To FORMAT BORDERS for the Cells: Click (or Click & Drag) to highlight the chosen cell(s) On the Home ribbon, Click Border icon in the Font section Click on the desired border(s) To Change the Color or Style of the Borders, o On the Home ribbon, Click Border icon in the Font section o Click More Border at the bottom o Click the Border tab o Choose the desired Style, Color, and Placement of the borders o Click OK 5 Excel Basics/ICET 2012
To FORMAT FONT in the Cells: Click (or Click & Drag) to highlight the chosen cell(s) or text On the Home ribbon, Click Font Style, Font Size, and Font Color as you would in Word To FORMAT CELL S BACKGROUND (FILL): Click (or Click & Drag) to highlight the chosen cell or range of cells On the Home ribbon, Click Fill Color in the Font section To FORMAT the TYPE OF DATA: To Format the Text or Number in a Cell or Range of Cells: o Click (or Click & Drag) to highlight the chosen cell or range of cells o On the Home ribbon, Click the down arrow in the Number section o Click on the desired formatting (common choices described below): General: no specific formatting Currency: money, automatically adds the dollar sign, decimal point, and 2 decimal places Short date: shows as M/D/YY Long date: shows as Day, Month Date, Year (written out) To Format the Text or Number in a Row or Column: o Place the cursor to the TOP of the chosen COLUMN or the LEFT of the chosen ROW until the black arrow appears o Click to highlight the row or column (or Click & Drag to highlight several rows or columns) o On the Home ribbon, Click the down arrow in the Number section o Click on the desired formatting (common choices described below): General: no specific formatting Currency: money, automatically adds the dollar sign, decimal point, and 2 decimal places Short date: shows as M/D/YY Long date: shows as Day, Month Date, Year (written out) 6 Excel Basics/ICET 2012
ALTERNATIVE FORMATTING METHODS for Borders, Font, Alignment, Number & Fill: Click (or Click & Drag) to highlight the chosen cell, range of cells, row, or column Right Click for drop-down menu Click Format Cells; a dialogue box will appear Click on the desired tab and make your selections OR Click (or Click & Drag) to highlight the chosen cell, range of cells, row, or column On the Home Ribbon, Click Format in the Cells section Click Format Cells; a dialogue box will appear Click on the desired tab and make your selections To MERGE CELLS (combine adjacent cells to make one larger cell): To SPLIT MERGED CELLS: Click & Drag to highlight the cells to be merged On the Home ribbon, Click Merge & Center in the Alignment section; this will automatically center text, which can be changed later Click on the cell to be split On the Home ribbon, Click the down-arrow next to Merge & Center in the Alignment section; a drop-down menu will appear Click Unmerge Cells To INSERT a COLUMN: To INSERT a ROW: Place the cursor to the TOP of the Column to the RIGHT of the New Column Click to highlight the column On the Home ribbon, Click Insert in the Cells section Click Insert Sheet Column Place the cursor to LEFT of the Row BELOW the New Row Click to highlight the row On the Home ribbon, Click Insert in the Cells section Click Insert Sheet Row 7 Excel Basics/ICET 2012
To DELETE a COLUMN: To DELETE a ROW: Place the cursor to the TOP of the Column you wish to delete Click to highlight the column On the Home ribbon, Click Delete in the Cells section Click Delete Sheet Column Place the cursor to LEFT of the Row BELOW the New Row Click to highlight the row On the Home ribbon, Click Insert in the Cells section Click Delete Sheet Row ALTERNATIVE METHODS for Inserting and Deleting Columns & Rows: Place the cursor to the TOP of the Column or to LEFT of the Row Right Click for drop-down menu Click Insert or Delete as needed ONLINE RESOURCE: ONLINE BASICS TUTORIAL w/quiz http://www.excelfunctions.net/basic-excel.html For additional assistance, contact the Instructional Center for Educational Technologies: PHONE: 608.342.1792 EMAIL: icet@uwplatt.edu 8 Excel Basics/ICET 2012