Chapter Five
Creating Spreadsheets with Microsoft Excel
A spreadsheet:- is a file that exists of cells in rows and columns and can help arrange, calculate, and sort data.
Data:- in a spreadsheet can be numeric values, as well as text, formulas, references and functions.
Rows, columns, and cells
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Rows are numbered; columns are lettered
A cell is the intersection of a row and column
A cell's address is its column and row
Active cell is the selected cell
Workbooks and worksheets
Workbook: an Excel data file, containing one or more worksheets.
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In other words, A spreadsheet can contain one or several worksheets (tabs).
Adding worksheets can be done by clicking the '+' on the right side of the existing worksheet tab(s).
in the picture above worksheet 3 is selected.
Clicking on the plus-sign will add a new worksheet to the spreadsheet.
Worksheet: a single page in an Excel file.
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The active cell: the cell that the cell selector is on. Any content entered will appear in the active cell.
Name box: the box above cell A1 where the name of the active bell appears.
Formula bar: Shows the content of the active cell.
If cell content is a formula, shows the formula.
If cell content is text or number, shows that.
Scroll bars: Use the vertical and horizontal scroll bars to move to different areas. Drag the scroll box to cover
long distances. To cover long distances very quickly, hold down the Shift key as you drag the scroll box on the
vertical scroll bar.
Scroll wheel on the mouse: If your mouse is equipped with a scroll wheel, turn the wheel to quickly scroll up
and down.
Name box: Enter a cell address in the Name box and press Enter to go to the cell.
Press Tab to move to the next cell (to the right)
Press Shift +Tab to move back to the cell to the left
To replace the content, type a new entry
To edit the content, click in the formula bar to move the insertion point there
To clear all the text from the cell, press Delete.
Choose Home > Clear > Clear All to clear both content and formatting
Autofill Selected Cells that are non-Adjacent
Sometimes we want to autofill non-contiguous cells in row or column.
What is a Linear Series?
the next number in the series is obtained by adding a constant, or step value, to the current number.
Excel's Fill Handle is a cool tool used inside the worksheet.
When you select your starting cells and hover the mouse over the lower right corner of the cell range, the Fill
Handle, a plus sign, appears.
To autofill, press the left mouse button over the Fill Handle and drag over the cells to be autofilled.
Create your own series
To create new series for Excel:
Choose file---Options--Advanced--Edit custom lists.
Inserting a row
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Click anywhere in the row below where you want to insert the new row.
Choose Insert→ Rows from the menu bar
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Click anywhere in the row below where you want to insert the new row.
Right-click and choose Insert from the shortcut menu.
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The Insert dialog box opens. Click Entire Row.
Click OK.
Inserting a column
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Click anywhere in the column where you want to insert a new column.
Choose Insert Columns from the menu bar.
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Click anywhere in the column where you want to insert a new column.
Right-click and choose Insert from the shortcut menu.
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The Insert dialog box opens.
Click Entire Column in the Insert dialog box.
Click OK.
Deleting columns and rows
To delete a row and all information in it:
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Select a cell in the row to be deleted.
Choose Cell > Delete from the menu bar.
Click Entire Row in the Delete dialog box
Click OK.
To delete a column and all information in it:
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Select a cell in the column to be deleted.
Choose Cell > Delete from the menu bar.
Click Entire Column in the Delete dialog box.
Click OK.
Merging Cells
1. Select the cells to merge.
2. Select Merge & Center.
Unmerge cells
1. Select the Merge & Center down arrow.
2. Select Unmerge Cells.
Auto Fitting Column Width or Row height.
Use these steps to adjust a column's width or a row's height to fit
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Position the mouse pointer between two rows letters or between two column numbers. The column to
the left or the row above will be the one adjusted.
Specifying a column width or row height: after selecting the rows or columns you want to adjust.
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1. On the Home tab, click Format, and then click Column Width or Row Height.
2. Enter the desired column width or row height
Click OK
Setting Alignment of Text in Cell
By default, text is left-aligned in a cell and numbers are right aligned.
You might sometimes want to change these defaults. For example, you might want a text label to right-align, or
you might want the column headings to be centered over each column.
By default, each cell has bottom vertical alignment, but most people don't notice it because Excel automatically
sizes row height to fit the text.
Number format: A format applied to a cell that makes the numbers in it appear in a certain way.
Accounting: Currency symbol left-aligned, and the rest Of the number right-aligned.
Currency: Currency symbol right-aligned, two decimal places
Percent: Percent symbol to the right of the numbers.
Comma style: Same as accounting format except no currency symbol
Modifying a Number Format
Use these steps to select and then modify a cell's number format:
1. Select the cell's to affect.
2. On the home tab, open format, format cells, and select a format.