Microsoft Excel (2007) guide.

Introduction

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program included in the Microsoft Office suite of applications. Spreadsheets present tables of values arranged in rows and columns that can be manipulated mathematically using both basic and complex 
arithmetic operations and functions.

In addition to its standard spreadsheet features, Excel also offers programming support via Microsoft's Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), the ability to access data from external sources via Microsoft’s Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE), and extensive graphing and charting capabilities.

Before you begin creating spreadsheets in Excel, you may want to set up your Excel environment and become familiar with a few key tasks and features, like how to minimize and maximize the Ribbon, configure the Quick Access toolbar, switch page views, and access your Excel options.

Exploring and setting up your Excel environment

Exploring the Excel environment

      The tabbed Ribbon menu system is how you navigate Excel and access its various commands. If you have used previous versions of Excel, the Ribbon system replaces the traditional menus. Above the Ribbon in the upper-left corner is the Microsoft Office Button. From here, you can access important options such as New, Save, Save As, and Print. By default, the Quick Access Toolbar is pinned next to the Microsoft Office Button and includes commands such as Undo and Redo.

   At the bottom-left area of the spreadsheet, you will find worksheet tabs. By default, three worksheet tabs appear each time you create a new workbook. On the bottom-right area of the spreadsheet you will find page view commands, the zoom tool, and the horizontal scrolling bar.

To zoom in and out:

• Locate the zoom bar in the bottom-right corner.
• Left-click the slider, and drag it to the left to zoom out and to the right to zoom in.

To scroll horizontally in a worksheet:

• Locate the horizontal scroll bar in the bottom-right corner.
• Left-click the bar, and move it from left to right.

To change page views:

• Locate the Page View options in the bottom-right corner. The Page View options are Normal, Page Layout, and Page Break.
• Left-click an option to select it.

To add commands to the Quick Access Toolbar:

• Click the arrow to the right of the Quick Access Toolbar.
• Select the command you wish to add from the drop-down list. It will appear in the Quick Access Toolbar.

OR

• Select More Commands from the menu, and a dialog box appears.
• Select the command you wish to add.
• Click the Add button.
• Click OK.
• The Save, Undo, and Redo commands appear by default in the Quick Access Toolbar. You may wish to add other commands to make using specific Excel features more convenient for you.

To minimize and maximize the Ribbon:

• Click the drop-down arrow next to the Quick Access Toolbar.
• Select Minimize Ribbon from the list. The Ribbon disappears.
• To maximize the Ribbon, click the arrow again, then select Minimize the Ribbon to toggle the feature off.

You can also minimize and maximize the Ribbon by right-clicking anywhere in the main menu and selecting Minimize the Ribbon in the menu that appears.

The Microsoft Office Button

The Microsoft Office Button appears at the top of the Excel window. When you left-click the button, a menu appears. From this menu, you can create a new spreadsheet, open existing files, save files in a variety of ways, and print. You can also add security features, send, publish, and close files.

To change the default Excel Options:

• Click the Excel Options button. A dialog box will appear.
• Select a category on the left to access different Excel options.

• Modify any of the default settings.
• Click OK.As you learn more about Excel and become proficient at using it, you may want to modify some of the settings. As a beginning user, it is usually best to leave the default settings.

To create a new, blank workbook:

• Left-click the Microsoft Office Button.
• Select New. The New Workbook dialog box opens, and Blank Workbook is highlighted by default.

• Click Create. A new, blank workbook appears in the window.

To insert text:

• Left-click a cell to select it. Each rectangle in the worksheet is called a cell. As you select a cell, the cell addressappears in the Name Box.

• Enter text into the cell using your keyboard. The text appears in the cell and in the formula bar.

Cell addresses

Each cell has a name, or a cell address, based on the column and row where it is located. For example, this cell is C3 because it is where column C and row 3 intersect.

You can also select multiple cells at the same time. A group of cells is known as a cell range. Rather than a single cell address, you will refer to a cell range using the cell addresses of the first and last cells in the cell range, separated by acolon. For example, a cell range that included cells A1, A2, A3, A4, and A5 would be written as A1:A5.

To edit or delete text:

• Select the cell.
• Press the Backspace key on your keyboard to delete text and make a correction.
• Press the Delete key to delete the entire contents of a cell.

You can also make changes to and delete text from the formula bar. Just select the cell, then place your insertion point in the formula bar.

To move through a worksheet using the keyboard:

• Press the Tab key to move to the right of the selected cell.
• Press the Shift key then the Tab key to move to the left of the selected cell.
• Use the Page Up and Page Down keys to navigate the worksheet.
• Use the arrow keys.

To save the workbook:

• Left-click the Microsoft Office Button.
• Select Save or Save As.
• Save As allows you to name the file and choose a location to save the spreadsheet. Choose Save As if you'd like to save the file for the first time or if you'd like to save the file as a different name.
• Select Save if the file has already been named.

         You can save a workbook in many ways, but the two most common ones are as an Excel Workbook, which saves it with a 2007 file extension, and as an Excel 97-2003 Workbook, which saves the file in a compatible format so people who have earlier versions of Excel can open the file.

Compatibility mode

Sometimes you may need to work with workbooks that were created in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, such as Excel 2003 or Excel 2000. When you open these kinds of workbooks, they will appear in Compatibility mode.

Compatibility mode disables certain features, so you'll only be able to access commands found in the program that was used to create the workbook. For example, if you open a workbook created in Excel 2003, you can only use tabs and commands found in Excel 2003.

If you want access to all features of Excel 2007, you can save the workbook in the Excel 2007 file format.

To exit Compatibility mode:

• Click the Microsoft Office Button.
• Select Save As  Excel Workbook.

Columns, rows, and cells

To modify column width:

• Position the cursor over the column line in the column heading, and a double arrow will appear.

• Left-click the mouse, then drag the cursor to the right to increase the column width or to the left to decreasethe column width.
• Release the mouse button.
  OR
• Left-click the column heading of a column you'd like to modify. The entire column will appear highlighted.

• Click the Format command in the Cells group on the Home tab. A menu will appear.

• Select Column Width to enter a specific column measurement.
• Select AutoFit Column Width to adjust the column so all of the text will fit.

To modify the row height:

• Position the cursor over the row line you want to modify, and a double arrow will appear.

• 
• Left-click the mouse, then drag the cursor upward to decrease the row height or downward to increase the row height.
• Release the mouse button.
  OR
• Click the Format command in the Cells group on the Home tab. A menu will appear.
• 
  
  
• 
  
• Select Row Height to enter a specific row measurement.
• Select AutoFit Row Height to adjust the row so all of the text will fit.

 

To insert rows:

• Select the row below where you want the new row to appear.
• Click the Insert command in the Cells group on the Home tab. The row will appear.

Make sure you select the entire row below where you want the new row to appear and not just the cell. If you select just the cell and then click Insert, only a new cell will appear.

To insert columns:

• Select the column to the right of where you want the column to appear.
• Click the Insert command in the Cells group on the Home tab. The column will appear.

The new column always appears to the left of the selected column. For example, if you want to insert a column between September and October, select the October column, then click the Insert command.

Make sure you select the entire column to the right of where you want the new column to appear and not just the cell. If you select just the cell and then click Insert, only a new cell will appear.

To delete rows and columns:

• Select the row or column you’d like to delete.
• Click the Delete command in the Cells group on the Home tab.

Formatting cells

To format text in bold or italics:

• Left-click a cell to select it, or drag your cursor over the text in the formula bar to select it.
• Click the Bold or Italics command.

   You can select entire columns and rows, or specific cells. To select the entire column, just left-click the column heading, and the entire column will appear as selected. To select specific cells, just left-click a cell and drag your mouse to select the other cells, then release the mouse button.

To format text as underlined:

• Select the cell or cells you want to format.
• Click the drop-down arrow next to the Underline command.
• Select the Single Underline or Double Underline option.

To change the font style

• Select the cell or cells you want to format.
• Left-click the drop-down arrow next to the Font Style box on the Home tab.
• Select a font style from the list.

To change the font size:

• Select the cell or cells you want to format.
• Left-click the drop-down arrow next to the Font Size box on the Home tab.
• Select a font size from the list.

To change the text color:

• Select the cell or cells you want to format.
• Left-click the drop-down arrow next to the Text Color command. A color palette will appear.
• Select a color from the palette.

OR

• Select More Colors. A dialog box will appear.
• Select a color.
• Click OK.

To add a border:

• Select the cell or cells you want to format.
• Click the drop-down arrow next to the Borders command on the Home tab. A menu will appear with border options.

• Left-click an option from the list to select it.
• You can change the line style and color of the border.

To add a fill color:

• Select the cell or cells you want to format.
• Click the Fill command. A color palette will appear.
• Select a color.

OR

• Select More Colors. A dialog box will appear.
• Select a color.
• Click OK.

You can use the fill color feature to format columns and rows and format a worksheet so it's easier to read.

To format numbers and dates:

• Select the cell or cells you want to format.
• Left-click the drop-down arrow next to the Number Format box.
• Select one of the options for formatting numbers.

Simple Formulas

To create a simple formula that adds two numbers:

• Click the cell where the formula will be defined (C5, for example).
• Type the equals sign (=) to let Excel know a formula is being defined.
• Type the first number to be added (e.g., 1500).
• Type the addition sign (+) to let Excel know that an add operation is to be performed.
• Type the second number to be added (e.g., 200).
• Press Enter, or click the Enter button on the Formula bar to complete the formula.

If the result of a formula is too large to be displayed in a cell, it may appear as pound signs (#######) instead of a value. This means that the column is not wide enough to display the cell content. Simply increase the column width to show the cell content.

Excel will not always tell you if your formula contains an error, so it's up to you to check all of your formulas. To learn how to do this, read our article on why you should Double-Check Your Excel Formulas.

To create a simple formula that adds the contents of two cells:

• Click the cell where the answer will appear (C5, for example).
• Type the equals sign (=) to let Excel know a formula is being defined.
• Type the cell number that contains the first number to be added (C3, for example).
• Type the addition sign (+) to let Excel know that an add operation is to be performed.
• Type the cell address that contains the second number to be added (C4, for example).
• Press Enter, or click the Enter button on the Formula bar to complete the formula.

To create a simple formula using the point-and-click method:

• Click the cell where the answer will appear (C30, for example).
• Type the equals sign (=) to let Excel know a formula is being defined.
• Click on the first cell to be included in the formula (C5, for example).
• Type the subtraction sign (-) to let Excel know that a subtraction operation is to be performed.
• Click on the next cell in the formula (C29, for example).

• Press Enter, or click the Enter button on the Formula bar to complete the formula.

Simple Formulas

To create a simple formula that adds two numbers:

• Click the cell where the formula will be defined (C5, for example).
• Type the equals sign (=) to let Excel know a formula is being defined.
• Type the first number to be added (e.g., 1500).
• Type the addition sign (+) to let Excel know that an add operation is to be performed.
• Type the second number to be added (e.g., 200).
• Press Enter, or click the Enter button on the Formula bar to complete the formula.

If the result of a formula is too large to be displayed in a cell, it may appear as pound signs (#######) instead of a value. This means that the column is not wide enough to display the cell content. Simply increase the column width to show the cell content.

Excel will not always tell you if your formula contains an error, so it's up to you to check all of your formulas. To learn how to do this, read our article on why you should Double-Check Your Excel Formulas.

To create a simple formula that adds the contents of two cells:

• Click the cell where the answer will appear (C5, for example).
• Type the equals sign (=) to let Excel know a formula is being defined.
• Type the cell number that contains the first number to be added (C3, for example).
• Type the addition sign (+) to let Excel know that an add operation is to be performed.
• Type the cell address that contains the second number to be added (C4, for example).
• Press Enter, or click the Enter button on the Formula bar to complete the formula.

To create a simple formula using the point-and-click method:

• Click the cell where the answer will appear (C30, for example).
• Type the equals sign (=) to let Excel know a formula is being defined.
• Click on the first cell to be included in the formula (C5, for example).
• Type the subtraction sign (-) to let Excel know that a subtraction operation is to be performed.
• Click on the next cell in the formula (C29, for example).

• Press Enter, or click the Enter button on the Formula bar to complete the formula.

Using cell references

As you can see, there are many ways to create a simple formula in Excel. Most likely, you will choose one of the methods that enters the cell address into the formula rather than an actual number. The cell address is basically the name of the cell and can be found in the Name Box.

The following example uses actual numbers in the formula in C5.

When a cell address is used as part of a formula, this is called a cell reference. It is called a cell reference because instead of entering specific numbers into a formula, the cell address refers to a specific cell. The following example uses cell references in the formula in C30.

Working with cells

To copy and paste cell contents:

• Select the cell or cells you wish to copy.
• Click the Copy command in the Clipboard group on the Home tab. The border of the selected cells will change appearance.

• Select the cell or cells where you want to paste the information.
• Click the Paste command. The copied information will now appear in the new cells.

To select more than one adjoining cell, left-click one of the cells, drag the cursor until all of the cells are selected, and release the mouse button.

The copied cell will stay selected until you perform your next task, or you can double-click the cell todeselect it.

To cut and paste cell contents:

• Select the cell or cells you wish to cut.
• Click the Cut command in the Clipboard group on the Home tab. The border of the selected cells will change appearance.

• Select the cell or cells where you want to paste the information.
• Click the Paste command. The cut information will be removed from the original cells and now appear in the new cells.

The keyboard shortcut for Paste is the Control Key and the V key.

To drag and drop information:

• Select the cell or cells you wish to move.
• Position your mouse pointer near one of the outside edges of the selected cells. The mouse pointer changes from a large, white cross to a black cross with four arrows.

• Left-click, then hold the mouse button and drag the cells to the new location.

• Release the mouse button, and the information appears in the new location.

To use the fill handle to fill cells:

• Position your cursor over the fill handle until the large white cross becomes a thin, black cross.

• Left-click your mouse, then drag it until all of the cells you want to fill are highlighted.

• Release the mouse button, and all of the selected cells are filled with the information from the original cell.
• The fill handle doesn't always copy information from one cell directly into another cell. Depending on the data entered in the cell, it may fill the data in other ways. For example, if you have the formula =A1+B1 in cell C1 and use the fill handle to fill the formula into cell C2, the formula doesn't appear the same in C2 as it does in C1. Instead of =A1+B1, you will see =A2+B2.

You can use the fill handle to fill cells horizontally or vertically.

Preparing to print and printing

To view the spreadsheet in Print Preview:

• Left-click the Microsoft Office Button.
• Select Print.
• Select Print Preview. The spreadsheet will appear in Print Preview view.

Click the Close Print Preview button  to return to the Normal View.

To make previewing your spreadsheet easier, add the Print Preview command to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Exploring Print Preview:

Once you are in Print Preview, you can access many of the same features that you can access from the Ribbon; however, in Print Preview you can see how the spreadsheet will appear in printed format.

To modify margins, column width, or row height while in Print Preview:

• Click the Print Preview command on the Quick Access Toolbar, or select Print Preview from the Microsoft Office Button menu. The spreadsheet opens in Print Preview mode.
• Hover your cursor over one of the black margin markers until a double arrow appears.

• Left-click and drag the marker to the desired location. The change will be reflected in the spreadsheet.

To modify margins:

• Select the Page Layout tab.
• Left-click the Margins command.
• Choose one of the pre-defined settings, or enter custom margins.

To change page prientation:

• Select the Page Layout tab.
• Left-click the Orientation command.
• Select either Portrait or Landscape.

Portrait orients the page vertically, while Landscape orients the page horizontally.

To use Scale to Fit:

• Select the Page Layout tab.
• Locate the Scale to Fit group.
• Enter a specific height and width, or use the percentage field to decrease the spreadsheet by a specific percent.

Scale to Fit is a useful feature that can help you format spreadsheets to fit on a page. However, be careful with how small you scale the information—it can become difficult to read!

To change the paper size:

• Select the Page Layout tab.
• Click the Size command.
• Select a size option from the list.

To define a print area:

• Left-click, then drag your mouse to select the cells you wish to print.
• Click the Print Area command.
• Choose Set Print Area.

• Now, only the selected cells will print. You can confirm this by viewing the spreadsheet in Print Preview.

To return to the default setting, which is the entire worksheet, click the Print Area command, then select Clear Print Area.

To insert a break:

• Select a cell below where you want the break to appear.
• Select the Breaks command.
• Select Insert Break.

Click Print Preview to confirm that the break appears in the correct place in your spreadsheet.

To use the Print Titles command:

This is an important command to be familiar with if you intend to print your worksheets. It allows you to select specific rows and/or columns that will be repeated on each printed sheet. Imagine how difficult it would be to read page 48 of a printed spreadsheet if the column and row headings only appeared on the first page.

• Select the Page Layout tab.
• Click the Print Titles command. The Page Setup dialog box appears.
• Click the icon at the end of the field.

• Select the first row in the spreadsheet that you want to appear on each printed page.

• Repeat for the column, if necessary.
• Click OK.

To print from the Microsoft Office Button:

• Left-click the Microsoft Office Button.
• Select Print  Print. The Print dialog box appears.

• Select a printer if you wish to use a printer other than the default setting.
• Click Properties to change any necessary settings.
• Choose whether you want to print specific pages, all of the worksheet, a selected area, the active sheet, or the entire workbook.
• Select the number of copies you'd like to print.
• Click OK.

You can select Quick Print to bypass the Print dialog box.

 

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