Excel Foundation Quick Reference (Windows PC)

Excel Foundation Quick Reference (Windows PC) See https://staff.brighton.ac.uk/is/training/pages/excel/foundation.aspx for videos and exercises to accompany this quick reference card. Structure of a spreadsheet An Excel file is referred to as a workbook Each workbook contains one or more worksheets A worksheet contains a grid, made up of rows and columns Columns are labelled by column letters Rows are referred to by row numbers The box where a row and column intersect is called a cell A cell is referred to using its column letter and row number, e.g. B2 Renaming a worksheet Give your worksheets meaningful names to keep track of their content. Double click on the worksheet name (eg Sheet1) Type the new name (eg 2016 spends) Press ENTER Colour worksheet tabs Useful for shared workbooks to guide users to relevant tabs, Right click on the worksheet tab Choose Tab Color Choose a colour Data entry Typing data in a cell Click on the cell to activate it Type on your keyboard When finished typing: o press ENTER on the keyboard to move to next row OR o press TAB on the keyboard to move to the next column OR o click on the left of the formula bar to stay in the same cell WATCH OUT: avoid the habit of clicking your mouse on another cell on the worksheet to stop editing a cell as this will cause problems with formulae TOP TIP: Press Esc instead of ENTER or TAB to stop editing a cell without changing the original cell content. Editing data in a cell To Do this Make small changes to existing text e.g correct a spelling mistake Double click on the cell to activate it, then click or use the keyboard arrow keys to position your cursor within the text. Replace the entire content of a cell. Click once on the cell then start typing. Deleting data from a cell Click once on the cell Press the Delete key on the keyboard Last updated June 2018 See https://staff.brighton.ac.uk/is/training for more videos and documentation Faye Brockwell

Using a spreadsheet set up by someone else Checking for formulae If you are using a spreadsheet set up by someone else, before typing data into a cell, check whether the cell contains a formula. If a cell contains a formula, the cell will usually show the result of the formula. The formula itself can be seen in the formula bar. Show formulas There is a way to show all formulae on a worksheet before you start using it: On the Formulas tab, click on the Show Formulas icon Any cells with formulae will show the formula instead of the result Click on the cell to select it. The formula bar will display the content of the selected cell. If the cell does contain a formula, double click on the cell. This will colour any cells on the current worksheet that feed into that formula, to help you work out what that formula does and how it works. Always press ESC to stop checking/editing a cell containing a formula. This guarantees that you will leave the formula as you found it. Do NOT click your mouse elsewhere on the sheet to stop checking as this may break the formula. As a general rule, to not type your own data into a cell that contains a formula. To switch this off, go back to the Formulas tab and click on the Show Formulas icon Inserting rows on an existing spreadsheet If you need to insert rows into an existing table of data, you must always check that any affected formulas have been updated. Do not assume this has happened automatically. To do this: Insert your row. Before typing any data into the new row: Use the Show Formulas (Formulas>>Show Formulas) tool to check the row above for formulas. If the row above does have formulas, use Autofill to copy the formula(s) from the row above down to your new row. Now check for cells containing totals formulas. Click on any totals and check that data in your new row has been included, if it should be. If your new row is not included, adjust the cell references used in the totals formulas so that your new row is included. Turn off Show Formulas when you are finished. 2

Selecting cells You select cells for editing, formatting, copying and for creating formulae and charts. Selecting one cell Click on the cell to select it. Selecting multiple cells Point your cursor in the centre of the first cell of the range of cells so your cursor is a white cross. Hold down your left mouse button and move to the last cell in the range of cells. Working with dates in Excel Excel is very fussy about dates and only recognises certain date formats. To avoid problems, always input your dates by typing in dd/mm/yy format. To change the display format of dates You can change the display format of the cell(s) to your preferred date style: Click on the cell (or the row/column if you have an entire row or column of dates) On the Home tab, click on the in the Number group Selecting non-contiguous cells Select the first cell/range of cells that you want to select (see above) Hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard whilst you select the other cell(s)/range(s) of cells Select an entire row Click on the row number to the left of the worksheet To select multiple rows, click and drag your mouse on the row numbers. Select an entire column Click on the column letter above the worksheet. To select multiple columns, click and drag your mouse on the column letters. Click on Date in left hand list of the pop-up window Choose your preferred date format from the list on the right. Click OK. Now when you type the date in dd/mm/yy format, it will be displayed in your chosen format (you still need to type the date in dd/mm/yy format). Select the entire worksheet Click on the in the top left corner of the worksheet. 3

Setting data validation on cells containing dates This stops anyone typing an invalid date format into cells that should contain dates. Select the cell(s), row(s) or column(s) that should contain dates. On the Data tab, click on Data Validation In the Allow field, choose Date Set the Start Date and End Date to show an acceptable date range Click on the Error Alert tab, type an error message to help you and your colleagues remember the valid date entry format. Click OK Formatting cells as currency Select the cell, row or column containing the figures (Excel will ignore not change any cells containing text, eg column headers) On the Home tab, click on the currency format icon Excel will show any numbers as currency Copying and pasting Coping one cell to another cell Click on the cell to select it On the Home tab, click Copy or press CTRL+C on the keyboard. Click on the destination cell. On the Home tab, click Paste or press CTRL+V on the keyboard. Copying multiple cells to multiple cells Click on the range of cells to select it (see opposite). On the Home tab, click Copy or press CTRL+C on the keyboard. Click on the first cell in the destination range of cells. On the Home tab, click Paste or press CTRL+V on the keyboard. Copying to Word or PowerPoint When copying to Word or PowerPoint, to maintain the link between the Word document and the Excel file so that the Word document is updated if the Excel file is updated: Copy the cell(s) in the Excel file (see above) Click in the Word document where you want to paste the Excel data On the Home tab, click on the drop-down arrow beneath the Paste icon Choose Link and keep source formatting or Link and use destination styles Word will ask you whether you want to pull new data from Excel when you open the Word document. This only works if the Excel file is stored in a location that the Word document can access. 4

Formatting the worksheet Change the width of a column Hover over the vertical line between 2 columns until your cursor changes to a double-headed arrow Hold your left mouse button down and drag to the left or right to increase or decrease the column width. TOP TIP: Instead of dragging to resize, double-click to automatically resize the column to fit its content Change the height of a row Hover over the horizontal line between 2 rows until your cursor changes to a double-headed arrow Hold your left mouse button down and drag up or down to increase or decrease the row height. TOP TIP: Instead of dragging to resize, double-click to automatically resize the row to fit its content Resize all columns & rows to fit cell content Much faster than dragging to resize manually or double-clicking on each row or column. You will probably need to manually resize one or two columns afterwards, depending on their content. Click to select the entire workbook Point at the line between 2 column (or row) headings...until the mouse pointer changes to a double-headed arrow. Double-click. Wrapping text to have longer text within a narrow column Select a cell or range or cells Click on the Wrap text icon on the Home tab. Text alignment Select the cell(s), row(s), column(s) you want to align (or select the entire worksheet. On the Home tab, use the alignment icons to set the desired alignment. Insert a column Right click on the column letter of the column to the right of where you want your new column to be, then choose Insert Insert a row Right click on the row number of the row below where you want your new row to be, then choose Insert Hiding a column or row Right click on the column letter or row number and choose Hide Un-hiding a column or row Select the columns or rows either side of the hidden column(s) or row(s) Right click and choose Unhide Delete a column or row Right-click on the row(s) or column(s) to be deleted and choose Delete Merging cells Cells can be merged to improve the look of title rows on worksheets for printing. Do not merge cells within lists or tables of data as this hinders further analysis. Select the cells you want to merge (cells must be adjacent) Click on Merge and Center on the Home tab. 5

Printing a worksheet How to print Click on the File tab then click on the Print icon to print. Tips for printing a large spreadsheet It can be a challenge to fit large spreadsheets onto the page when printing. Filtering data The most useful thing when working with large lists of data. Filter the data to only see what you need. Filtering only hides data, it does not change it. Apply a filter Click once anywhere in the data On the Home tab, click on the Sort & Filter icon and choose Filter. Click on the drop-down arrows on the column headings to filter data. Most spreadsheets are best printed in Landscape Orientation Change the paper size to A3 if your printer accepts this paper size To squeeze columns onto one sheet, choose Fit All Columns on One Page in the bottom box Hide any columns that you do not need to print Rotate or wrap the text of any column headers that are much longer than the content of the rest of the column You can filter on several columns at once. After choosing the filter for one column, simply click on the drop down arro w on another column header to apply another filter. TOP TIP: If you print a filtered list, only the filtered results will be printed. Rotating text Useful for fitting columns onto one page for printing Select a cell or range or cells Click on the Orientation icon on the Home tab. Choose Rotate Text Up. Resize the column Print headings on each page When printing large spreadsheets, it is useful to repeat the headers on each page. Click on Print titles icon on the Page Layout tab. Click on the icon in the Rows to repeat at top box Click on the row number(s) of the row(s) to repeat Click on the icon again in the pop-up window and click on OK. How to see if a spreadsheet has a filter applied If you may get a moment of panic and think someone has deleted all your data from a shared spreadsheet, they ve probably left a filter on. Check: For blue row numbers. This indicates that the data is filtered and only those rows matching the filter are being shown A icon on a column header indicates that a filter has been applied to that column Remove a filter Removing the filter(s) on a worksheet will not change the data. It will only restore the view so that all data on the worksheet is displayed again. Click on the icon on a column header and choose Select All to remove the filter from one column only OR Click on the Sort & Filter icon on the Home tab and choose Filter to remove a filter that has been applied to several columns. 6

Sorting data Sorting on one column A simple technique, but you can run into problems if you don t do it right: Click once anywhere on the data in the column you want to sort by (do not select the column by clicking on the column header) On the Home tab click on the Sort & Filter icon Choose Sort A to Z (or Sort Oldest to Newest if the column contains dates) This will work for columns containing dates that have been input correctly. If not, the dates would need to be re-entered in dd/mm/yy format so Excel recognises them. Sorting on multiple columns Click anywhere in the data On the Home tab, click on the Sort & Filter icon and choose Custom Sort In the Sort by box, choose the first column to sort by Click on Add Level In the Sort by box, choose the next column to sort by Add more sort criteria as needed, then Click OK Sorting by month Click anywhere in the data On the Home tab, click on the Sort & Filter icon and choose Custom Sort In the Sort by box, choose the column containing the months In the Sort by box, choose Custom List From the list on the left, choose the format of the months, then click OK. Freeze panes This tool is invaluable when working with very wide or long spreadsheets. The technique anchors columns or rows so that they remain static whilst you scroll across or down the sheet. Freeze header row So that column headings are always visible when you scroll down. In column A, select the first cell directly below the header row eg if your headers are in row 2, select cell A3 On the VIEW tab, click on Freeze Panes Choose Freeze Panes Freeze header row and columns So that column headings are always visible when you scroll down, and some columns are always visible when you scroll across. Click on the cell that is directly below the header row and to the right of the last column you want to anchor eg to anchor row 2 and columns A & B, click in cell C3 On the VIEW tab, click on Freeze Panes Choose Freeze Panes Unfreeze panes On the VIEW tab, click on Freeze Panes Choose Unfreeze Panes 7

Autofill Autofill will copy the contents of a cell to other cells. If Excel recognises a pattern, it will continue that pattern. It is a very useful technique when building a new spreadsheet or copying formulae across rows or columns. Filling a series Type the data in the first cell of row or column and press ENTER. Click back on the cell to select it again. Point to the bottom-right-hand corner of the cell so that your cursor becomes a simple black cross. Hold your left mouse button down and drag down the column or across the row to populate the other cells in the series. If the results are not as you expected, click on the icon to see the fill options. This technique works with months, days of the week, numbers, dates, quarters (Q1, Q2 etc) and text containing numbers (eg ABC 01, ABC 02 etc) Filling a growth series With this technique, you start the pattern and Excel finishes it off. Useful for setting up a table with dates every fortnight, for example. Type enough cells in the column or row to establish a pattern Select the cells you have just populated. Point to the bottom-right-hand corner of the selection so that your cursor becomes a simple black cross. Hold your left mouse button down and drag down the column or across the row to populate the other cells in the series. If the results are not as you expected, click on the icon to see the fill options. Flash Fill (Excel 2013 & 2016 only) This tool is amazing for working with text in databases. In earlier versions, you needed to know several text functions to achieve the same results. Type the desired result in the first cell of the series and press ENTER Start typing the desired result in the second cell in the series. Excel should suggest content for that and all other cells in the column. Press ENTER to fill the column. Some examples: To merge first name and last name in one column Type the full name in the first cell of a new column Start typing the full name in the second cell of the new column Press ENTER when Excel suggests the full name for every cell in the column To extract the initials from 2 columns Type the initials in the first cell of a new column Start typing the initials in the second cell of the new column Press ENTER when Excel suggests the initials for every cell in the column TOP TIP: if the technique above does not work: Type the desired result in the first cell of the series and press ENTER. Type the desired result in the second cell in the series and press ENTER. Select both cells. Use the Autofill technique to copy the cells down column. Click on the icon and choose Flash Fill. 8

Formulae & Functions Basics When building a formula: All formulae and functions begin with = Use your mouse to select a cell or range of cells to be used in a formula Avoid typing variables (such as tax rates) in formulae; instead type the variable in a separate cell and refer to that cell in the formula Autosum to add row or column totals This only works where the total is to appear at the end of the column or row of data. This technique will not work across worksheets. Select the range of cells to add up On the Home tab, click on the Autosum icon The total will be put in the cell at the end of the selected cells. The operators for building formulae are: + Add * Multiply - Subtract / Divide Building a formula to subtract 1. Click in the cell where the result of the formula will appear BODMAS rules apply to arithmetic (Brackets Over Division, then Multiplication, then Addition, then Subtraction). To repeat a formulae down a column, build the formula in the first cell of the column, then use autofill to copy the formula down the column. 2. Type = 3. Click on the first cell containing data to be included in the calculation 4. Type 5. Click on the next cell containing data to be included in the calculation 6. Press ENTER on the keyboard. Building a formula to add 1. Click in the cell where the result of the formula will appear 2. Type = 3. Click on the first cell containing data to be included in the sum 4. Type + 5. Click on the next cell containing data to be included in the sum 6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 as required. 7. Press ENTER on the keyboard. Building a formula to multiply or divide 1. Click in the cell where the result of the formula will appear 2. Type = 3. Click on the first cell containing data to be included in the calculation 4. Type * to multiply or / to divide 5. Click on the next cell containing data to be included in the calculation 6. Press ENTER on the keyboard. 9

Quick Analysis Totals (Excel 2013 and 2016) Use as a quick alternative to Autosum. Select the range(s) of cells containing the data for your totals Click on the Quick Analysis icon that appears to the bottom right of the selection Click on the TOTALS tab Click on to add totals to the bottom of columns or Recommended PivotTables (Excel 2013 and 2016) Excel Pivot Tables summarise data without the need to build complex formulae. From Excel 2013 on, the Recommended PivotTables tool will suggest simple Pivot Tables to summarise your data without the need to know the details of how to build a PivotTable. Click anywhere within the table of data. Click on the INSERT tab. Click on the Recommended PivotTables icon. to add totals to the end of rows. Quick conditional formatting (Excel 2013 and 2016) Great for adding visual impact to your data quickly. Select the range(s) of cells containing the data (exclude totals) Click on the Quick Analysis icon that appears to the bottom right of the selection Click on the suggested PivotTables on the left of the pop-up window to see the table in more detail. To create a PivotTable, click on the PivotTable you require and click OK. The PivotTable will be created on its own worksheet. Click on the FORMATTING tab Hover over the conditional formatting types to see a preview of the suggested formatting Click on a conditional formatting type to apply it to the selected data. Creating a chart from a Pivot Table Once you ve created a simple Pivot Table using the steps above, creating a chart to go with it is easy: Click on the Pivot Table to select it. On the Pivot Table Tools ANALYZE tab, click on the PivotChart icon Choose a chart type Click OK. 10

Recommended charts (Excel 2013 and 2016) Charts are used to represent Excel data visually. It is possible to create charts from summarised data in a few simple clicks. Select the range(s) of cells containing the data for your chart ( include headings but exclude totals). Click on the INSERT tab. Click on the Recommended Charts icon. Click on the suggested charts on the left of the pop-up window to see the chart in more detail. To create a chart, click on the chart you require and click OK. TOP TIP: usually you cannot create an Excel chart directly from a list of data such as a list of students, list of courses or survey responses without first using a Pivot Table to summarise your data. However, the Recommended Charts option includes Pivot Charts which summarise your data for you at the same time! We just cover the very basics of charts and Pivot Tables on this sheet. For more information on creating charts in Excel, visit https://staff.brighton.ac.uk/is/training/pages/excel/excel.aspx 11