Module 4 : Spreadsheets What is a spreadsheet program? A spreadsheet program allows you to store, organise and analyse information. Applications of spreadsheets focus on generating numeric information from other numeric information. MS Excel is an example of a spreadsheet program. How to open MS Excel? 1. Click the Start button 2. Select All Programs 3. Click Microsoft Office 4. Click Microsoft Excel 2010 The MS Excel Interface 1 M.Bajada (2016)
Quick Access Toolbar The Quick Access Toolbar lets you access common commands no matter which tab you are on. By default, it shows the Save, Undo and Redo commands. You can add other commands to make it more convenient for you. Customising the Quick Access Toolbar 1. Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Quick Access toolbar. 2. Select the command you want to add from the drop-down menu. 3. To choose from more commands, select More Commands. 4. To remove a command, click again on the respective tool. Ribbon The Ribbon contains multiple tabs, each with several groups of commands. Minimising and Maximising the Ribbon The ribbon is designed to be easy to use and responsive to your current tasks. However, if you find that it takes up too much of your screen space you can minimise it. Click the arrow in the upper-right corner of the Ribbon to minimise it. When the Ribbon is minimised, you can make it reappear by clicking a tab. NOTE: when the ribbon is minimised, you can make it reappear by clicking a tab. However, the Ribbon will disappear again when you are not using it. 2 M.Bajada (2016)
To maximise the Ribbon, click the arrow again. To minimise the Ribbon: 1. Right-click on one of the tabs e.g. the View tab. 2. Click Minimise the Ribbon. To maximise the Ribbon: 1. Right-click on one of the tabs e.g. the View tab. 2. Click Minimise the Ribbon (ticked). Name Box Gives you the location or the name of the selected cell. In the image below, cell B4 is in the Name Box. Note how cell B4 is where column B and row 4 intersect. Formula Bar In the Formula Bar, you can enter or edit data, a formula, or a function that will appear in a specific cell. In this image, cell C1 is selected and 1984 is entered into the formula bar. Note how the data appears in both the formula bar and in cell C1. Row A group of cells that runs from the left of the page to the right. In Excel, rows are identified by numbers. Row 15 is selected here. 3 M.Bajada (2016)
Column A group of cells that runs from the top of the page to the bottom. In Excel, columns are identified by letters. Column L is selected here. Cell The intersection of each column and row is a cell. The total number of cells in a worksheet is 16,777,216. Each cell has a unique address known as its cell reference. A cell reference consists of the column heading followed by the row heading, e.g. A2, B15, F23 Worksheet Excel files are called workbooks. Each workbook holds one or more worksheets (also known as spreadsheets). Three worksheets appear by default when you open an Excel workbook. You can rename, add, and delete worksheets. Horizontal and Vertical Scroll Bar You may have more data than you can see on the screen all at once. Click and hold the horizontal / vertical scroll bar and slide it to the left or right (horizontal) and up or down (vertical) depending on which part of the page you want to see. 4 M.Bajada (2016)
There are three ways to view a spreadsheet. Click a page view button to select it. Page View Normal View Normal view is selected by default and shows you an unlimited number of cells and columns. Page Layout View Page Layout view divides your spreadsheet into pages. Page Break view lets you see an overview of your spreadsheet, which is helpful when you're adding page breaks. Page Break View Zoom Control Click and drag the slider to use the zoom control. The number to the left of the slider bar reflects the zoom percentage. Click the Zoom Out button to reduce the view of the slide from 100% to 90% to 80% etc. Click the Zoom In button to increase the view of the slide from 100% to 110% to 120% etc. You can click on the number to open a dialog box where you can choose a specific percentage zoom. Creating a new Workbook 1. Click the File tab. 2. Select New. 3. Select Blank workbook under Available Templates. It will be highlighted by default. 4. Click Create. A new blank workbook appears in the Excel window. 5
Opening an Existing Workbook 1. Click the File tab. 2. Select Open. The Open dialog box appears. 3. Select your desired workbook, then click Open. Opening a recently opened workbook If you have opened the existing workbook recently, you can choose Recent from the File tab instead of Open to search for your workbook. 1. The Save As Command 2. Click the File tab. 3. Select Save As. The Save As dialog box will appear. 4. Select the location where you want to save the workbook. 5. Enter a name for the workbook, then click Save. 6 M.Bajada (2016)
The Save Command 1. Click the Save command on the Quick Access toolbar. 2. The workbook will be saved in its current location with the same file name. NOTE: If you are saving for the first time and select Save, the Save As dialog box will appear. To save as an Excel 97-2003 workbook You can share your workbooks with anyone using Excel 2010 or 2007 because they use the same file format. However, earlier versions of Excel use a different file format, so if you want to share your workbook with someone using an earlier version of Excel you will need to save it as an Excel 97-2003 workbook. 1. Click the File tab. 2. Select Save As. 3. In the Save as type drop-down menu, select Excel 97-2003 Workbook. 4. Select the location where you want to save the file. 5. Enter a name for the file, then click Save. You can save a workbook as another file type like: template, text file, specific file extension and version number. Saving a Workbook as another File Type 7 M.Bajada (2016)
Using Help Click Help button. The Excel Help window is displayed. 1. Click one of the main topics e.g. Getting started with Excel 2010. 2. This will display sub-topics. Click the sub-topic to display. 3. You can type a keyword or question e.g. functions in the search field. 4. Click Search button. 5. Click the topic to display. 6. Click Close button to close the Excel Help window. Modifying User Preferences You can modify the author s name attached to every workbook file generated in MS Excel as follows: 1. Click File tab. 2. Click Options. The Excel Options dialog box is displayed. 3. Click General. 4. In the User name: field type your name and surname. 5. Click OK button. 8 M.Bajada (2016)
Set a default folder location where all workbooks will be saved 1. Click File tab. 2. Click Options. The Excel Options dialog box is displayed. 3. Click Save. 4. In the Default file location: field type the drive and folder where the workbooks will be saved. 5. Click OK button. Switching between open workbooks 1. Click View tab. 2. Click Switch Windows button. This will display the name/s of open workbooks. 3. The active workbook i.e. the one you are viewing will have a checkmark (e.g. Class.xls). 4. Click the name of the workbook file to display. 9 M.Bajada (2016)