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Mosaic Flowers Stitch
An Integrated Case Study with Microsoft® Office
© Robert Grauer and Maryann Barber
The Definitely Needlepoint boutique is owned and operated by four friends who wanted
a friendly place to sit and stitch. The idea for the store was thrown out casually during
lunch, a business plan was developed, and a storefront was selected. The partners
supplied the initial capital, placed their first order for canvases, fibers, and other supplies,
and opened for business shortly thereafter. The store was making a profit within a year
and it continues to grow each month. What began as a casual venture is now a serious
enterprise with the partners entertaining thoughts of franchising their concept. The most
challenging task will be to duplicate the unique atmosphere that continues to draw
women to Definitely Needlepoint.
This document provides a series of exercises in Microsoft Office that relate to
Definitely Needlepoint. Each exercise describes a specific task that the partners want to
accomplish and typically requires the use of multiple applications within Microsoft
Office for solution. Many of the exercises are cumulative in nature. For example, the
student is asked to create an Excel chart in one exercise, and then incorporate that chart
into a Word memo and a PowerPoint presentation in subsequent exercises. A summary
of the exercises is shown below:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Sales Summary and Chart (Excel)
Report to Partners: (Word and Excel)
Presentation to the Partners (PowerPoint and Excel)
Last Minute Change (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
Importing Sales Data (Excel and Access)
Access Objects (Access)
An Access Switchboard (Access)
Mail Merge (Word and Excel/Access)
Worksheet References (Excel)
Presentation for Venture Capital (PowerPoint and Excel)
Letter to Venture Capitalists (Word and Excel)
Submission Check List (Word)
All exercises are based on material from Exploring Office XP Volume I by Robert
Grauer and Maryann Barber. Specific chapter references are deliberately not provided.
The exercises also utilize a series of practice files that are available on our Web site at
www.prenhall.com/grauer. This document may be freely duplicated in conjunction with
any text in the Exploring Office series by Robert Grauer and Maryann Barber.
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1.
Sales Summary and Chart (Excel): You will find a partially completed version of the
spreadsheet in Figure 1 in the Definitely Needlepoint Current Sales workbook in the
Definitely Needlepoint folder. (You can download the practice files for this case
study from our Web site at www.prenhall.com/grauer.) Open the workbook and save
it as Definitely Needlepoint Current Sales Solution so that you can return to the
original workbook if necessary. Proceed as follows:
a. Click in cell F3 and compute the total sales in the canvases category for the
entire year. Copy this formula to the remaining cells in column F. Click in cell
B8 and compute the total sales for the first quarter, then copy this formula to the
remaining cells in this row.
b. Use the AutoFormat command as the basis for formatting your worksheet in an
attractive fashion. You can match our formatting or you can use your own
design.
c. Create a stacked column chart based on the data in cells A2 through E7. Specify
that the data series are in rows so that each column represents the total sales
(over all categories) for each quarter. The legend will display the different colors
used for each category. Display the legend at the bottom of the chart. Save the
chart in its own sheet called Graphical Analysis.
d. Experiment with variations of the chart you just created. Change the chart type
from a stacked column chart to a side-by-side column chart and/or change the
orientation of the data series from rows to columns. Choose the chart that you
think is most appropriate to show the sales by quarter and category.
e. Print the completed Current Year worksheet twice, once to show displayed
values and once to show the cell formulas. (You do not have to print the chart at
this time.)
f. Save the completed workbook for use in subsequent exercises. Exit Excel.
Figure 1 – Sales Summary and Chart
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2.
Report to the Partners: (Word and Excel): This exercise builds on the previous
problem by creating a Word document that contains the formatted worksheet and
associated chart. The latter is to be dynamically linked to the Word document, so that
any changes in the Excel workbook will be automatically reflected in the memo.
a. You will find a partially completed version of the document in Figure 2 in the
Report to Partners document in the Definitely Needlepoint folder. Open this
document, and then save it as Report to Partners Solution.
b. Open the completed workbook from the previous exercise if it is not already
open. Click and drag to select the completed worksheet then click the Copy
button on the Standard toolbar.
c. Click the Microsoft Word button on the Windows taskbar. Pull down the Edit
menu and click the Paste Special command to display the Paste Special dialog
box. Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object in the displayed list, click the
Paste Link button, and then click OK to insert the worksheet. Do not worry
about the size or position at this time.
d. Return to the Excel workbook. Click the worksheet tab containing the chart.
Click the Zoom button and change the magnification so that you can select the
entire chart. Click the Copy button.
e. Return to the Word document and click below the worksheet to position the
insertion point for the chart. Pull down the Edit menu click Paste Special, select
Microsoft Excel Chart Object, click Paste Link, and click OK.
f. The Excel chart should appear in the document. The only tricky part (if any) is
to display the entire chart (it may be cropped initially). Select the chart then
click and drag a corner sizing handle to make the chart smaller. Right click the
chart and click the command to display the Picture toolbar. Select the Crop tool,
then click and drag the side handle at the right of the chart to show the portion of
the chart that may have been cropped initially.
g. Move and size the worksheet and chart within the memo as necessary. Add your
name to the bottom of the memo, and then print the completed report. Save the
completed document. Exit Word.
Figure 2 – Report to the Partners
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3.
Presentation to the Partners (PowerPoint and Excel): You have been asked to present
the financial information for last year at a partners meeting. A partially completed
version of the presentation in Figure 3 has been saved as the Presentation to
Partners in the Definitely Needlepoint folder. Open this presentation and save it as
Presentation to Partners Solution so that you can return to the original presentation
if necessary.
a. Insert a new slide that contains the mission statement as the third slide in the
presentation. The mission statement should read as follows: Definitely
Needlepoint provides an intimate setting in which to stitch. Our customers are
our friends and participate in a variety of social and educational activities that
encourage and develop the art of needlepoint.
b. Open the completed workbook that contains the sales information for the current
year. Use the same techniques as in the previous problem to link the worksheet
and the chart from the workbook to their respective slides in the presentation, as
shown below. Move and/or size these objects after they have been added to the
presentation.
c. Include animation effects as you see fit within a slide and as transition effects
from one slide to the next.
d. Add your name to the title slide in the indicated position. Print the audience
handouts of the completed presentation (six per page) for your instructor.
e. Save the completed presentation. Exit PowerPoint. Close the Excel workbook.
Exit Excel.
Figure 3 – Presentation to the Partners
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4.
Last Minute Change (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint): The accountant has just
discovered several “last minute” sales for canvases and fibers that were not recorded
in the year-end worksheet. Your task is to correct all of the documents that reflect
this information. Open the completed Definitely Needlepoint Current Sales Solution
workbook from exercise one.
a. Click in cell E3. Change the sale of canvases in the fourth quarter from the
current value of $27,500 to the new value of $45,000. Click in cell E4. Change
the amount of fibers sold in the fourth quarter from $21,545 to $31,000. Save
the workbook. The chart changes automatically to reflect the new values. Exit
Excel.
b. Start Word and open the Report to Partners Solution document. The worksheet
and chart should be updated automatically to reflect the corrected sales data as
shown in Figure 4. (The total sales for last year should be $305,699.) If this is
not the case, right click the worksheet to display a context sensitive menu and
click the Update Link command. If the worksheet is still not updated, right click
the worksheet to display a context-sensitive menu, click the Linked Worksheet
Object command, then click the Links command to display the Links dialog box
where you can check the source (folder) of the linked objects.
c. Click at the beginning of the opening paragraph in the memo and enter the new
text, which is shown in bold italics in Figure 4. Save and print the completed
report. Exit Word.
d. Start PowerPoint. Open the Presentation to Partners Solution that you created
earlier. PowerPoint detects that a change has been made in the underlying
worksheet and chart and prompts you to update. Click the button to update the
links.
e. Change to the Slide Sorter view. Press and hold the Shift key as you select the
slides containing the Excel worksheet and chart. Pull down the File menu, click
the Print command, and print the selection (these two slides) as audience
handouts, two slides per page.
f. Save the presentation. Exit PowerPoint.
Figure 4 – Last Minute Change
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5.
Importing Sales Data (Excel and Access): The initial customer mailing list was
created in Excel, in part because of the partners’ lack of knowledge. The enterprise
has grown, however, and it is time to convert the existing customer list into an
Access database for more extensive processing. Proceed as follows:
a. Start Access. Open the Definitely Needlepoint database that is found in the
Definitely Needlepoint folder. Click the Tables button if necessary.
b. Pull down the File menu, click (or point to) the Get External Data command,
and then click the Import command to display the import dialog box.
c. Click the down arrow on the Look in list box and change to the Definitely
Needlepoint folder (the same folder that contains the Definitely Needlepoint
database). Change the file type to Microsoft Excel. Select the Definitely
Needlepoint Customer List workbook to start the Import Spreadsheet Wizard.
d. The options button to Show worksheets is selected as shown in Figure 5. Click
Next. Check the box that indicates the first row contains column headings. Click
Next. Select the option button to store the data in a new table. Click Next.
e. You do not need information about the individual fields. Click Next.
f. Select the option to choose your own primary key. Click the drop-down arrow
on the list box and select CustomerNumber. Click Next.
g. Access indicates that it will import the data into a Customers table. Click the
Finish button, then click OK when the Wizard indicates that it has imported the
table. The Customers table appears in the Database window.
h. Examine the fields in the newly imported Customers table. What data validation
(if any) has been established? Which other properties (if any) have been
modified from their default settings? What changes would you make to the
design of the table? How will your changes affect the existing data?
Figure 5 – Importing Sales Data
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6.
Access Objects (Forms, Queries, and Reports): This assignment asks you to create
various objects for the Definitely Needlepoint database. All of the objects are based
on the Customers table that was imported from the associated Excel workbook in the
previous exercise.
a. Start by creating a Customer form similar to the form in Figure 6. You need not
follow our design exactly, but you must have the equivalent functionality. The
fields should appear in the same order as on our form. Be sure to set the tab
order correctly, so that you can tab from one field to the next during data entry.
b. The Guild Member control should appear automatically as a check box since the
underlying field is defined as a Yes/No field.
c. The mailing list should be entered as an option group with values of 1, 2, and 3
corresponding to all mailings, semi-annual, and annual mailings, respectively.
d. Add command buttons to add, print, and delete a record. You also need a
command button to close the form.
e. Use the completed form to enter data for yourself (even if you are not interested
in Needlepoint). Use customer number C1000 as shown in the figure. Indicate
that you are a guild member and that you want to receive all mailings. Print the
completed form for your instructor.
f. Create a Customer Summary report (not shown) that includes the following five
fields from the Customers table – Customer Number, Last name, First Name,
Mailing List Preference (will appear as 1, 2, or 3), and an indication of whether
they are a guild member (appears as a check box). The report should display the
customers in alphabetical order by last name. Print the page in this report that
contains your name.
g. Create a Customer Address List containing the name and address of every
customer. The customers should appear in alphabetical order by last name. Print
the page in this report that contains your name.
h. Create a query that lists guild members in alphabetical order, then create a report
based on that query. Include the Customer Number, last name, first name, and a
check box showing the customer is a guild member. Print the completed report
for your instructor.
Figure 6 – Access Objects (A Customer Form)
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7.
Access Switchboard (Access): Create the switchboard in Figure 7 for use with the
Definitely Needlepoint database from previous exercises. You do not have to match
our design exactly, by you are required to have all four buttons. Note, too, that the
switchboard contains a Report Menu
a. The first button on the main switchboard opens the Definitely Needlepoint form
as shown in Figure 7. This form has been created for you and can be found in
the Definitely Needlepoint database. You are asked, however, to modify the
existing form to include your name in the indicated position.
b. The second button opens the Customer form from in the previous exercise.
c. The report menu button provides access to a subsidiary switchboard that
contains the various reports you created in the previous exercise. There should
be four buttons on this switchboard, one for each report, and one button to return
to the main switchboard.
d. The exit button on the main switchboard closes the database.
e. Be sure you test both switchboards completely to be sure that they work
correctly. Print the Switchboard Items table, the main switchboard, and the
report switchboard for your instructor as proof that you completed the exercise.
f. Modify the startup property of the database so that the switchboard form opens
automatically when you open the database. (You can also create an AutoExec
macro to maximize the database window. Display the Database window, click
the Macros button, then click the New button to create a macro. Click the dropdown arrow to display the available actions and scroll until you can select
Maximize. Save the macro as AutoExec.)
g. Close the database then reopen it. The switchboard should appear automatically
and all subsequent objects should appear in a maximized window.
Figure 7 – Access Switchboard
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8.
Mail Merge (Word and Excel/Access): This exercise asks you to use the Mail Merge
Wizard in Microsoft Word in conjunction with an Access database.
a. Open the partially completed November Letter document in the Definitely
Needlepoint folder. Save the document as November Letter Solution so that you
can return to the original document if necessary.
b. Pull down the Tools menu, click Letters and Mailings, then click Mail Merge
Wizard to open the task pane. Select the Letters option. Click Next. Select the
option to use the Current Document. Click Next.
c. Select the recipients from an existing list. Choose the Definitely Needlepoint
folder, select the Definitely Needlepoint database and select the Customers table
to display the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box. Select all of the recipients.
d. Complete the form letter by adding an address block and greeting line as shown
in Figure 8. Now click the View Merged Data button to toggle between the field
names and the actual data. (Figure 8 displays the form letter for Debbie
Armstrong.)
e. Click the Merge to New Document button on the Mail Merge toolbar to display
the associated dialog box, and then specify that you want records 1 to 3 as
shown in Figure 8. Click OK. There are more than 150 records in the database,
so be sure that you print only the first three records.
f. Word creates a new document consisting of three pages, corresponding to a
letter for the first three records in the Customers table in the Access database.
Print these letters for your instructor.
g. Save the completed form letter (November Letter Solution). There is no need to
save the document that contains the individual form letters. Exit Word.
Figure 8 – Mail Merge
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9.
Worksheet References (Excel): The year that just ended marked the second year of
operation for Definitely Needlepoint. The partners are looking for a detailed analysis
that will compare the sales for this year to the previous year. Proceed as follows:
a. Open the Definitely Needlepoint Historical Sales workbook in the Definitely
Needlepoint folder and save it as Definitely Needlepoint Historical Sales
Solution. (The values in this worksheet reflect the last minute correction that
was made in problem four; i.e., the total sales for the current year are $305,699.)
b. Click the worksheet tab labeled Year to Year Comparison, then click in cell B4
of this worksheet as shown in Figure 8. Type an equal sign, click the worksheet
tab labeled Previous Year, click in cell F3 of this worksheet and press enter. The
formula for this cell appears in the formula bar as =’Previous Year’!F3,
indicating that the value for this cell is obtained from another worksheet in the
same workbook. Complete the formulas for the other cells in this worksheet.
c. Print this worksheet for your instructor. Print the worksheet two ways, once to
show the displayed values, and once to show the cell formulas.
d. Your next task is to create two charts that reflect the year to year increases. A
portion of the chart to show the increases by category can be seen in the right
pane of Figure 8. Note, too, that this chart displays the data table below the
chart, an option that is found in the Chart menu. Note, too, that we changed the
default color of the columns in the chart to green and white. (You do not have to
print the chart.)
e. Create a second chart that shows the increases by quarter. The chart should have
the same general appearance as the other chart you created. (You do not have to
print the chart.)
f. Save the completed workbook. Exit Excel.
Figure 9 – Worksheet References
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10. Presentation for Venture Capital (PowerPoint and Excel): A partially completed
version of the presentation in Figure 9 has been saved as the Request for Venture
Capital presentation in the Definitely Needlepoint folder. Open this presentation and
save it as Request for Venture Capital Solution. Your next task is to link the
worksheets and charts from the previous exercise to various slides in this
presentation.
a. Open the Definitely Needlepoint Historical Sales Solution workbook from the
previous exercise. Select the worksheet that contains sales data for last year,
and link that data to the slide containing the year to year comparison (slide 4).
Now select the worksheet with sales data for the current year and link this data
to the same slide. Move and/or size the worksheets after they have been added to
the presentation.
b. Locate the worksheet containing the chart that shows the sales increase by
category. Link this chart to slide five
c. Locate the chart that shows the sales increase by quarter and link the chart to
slide six.
d. Add the mission statement as the slide by importing the slide from the Report to
the Partners presentation. (Pull down the Insert menu, click the Slides from File
command to display the Slide Finder dialog box, and then click the Browse
button to locate the earlier presentation.)
e. Add your name to the title slide in the indicated position. Print the audience
handouts of the completed presentation (six per page) for your instructor.
f. Save the completed presentation. Exit PowerPoint. Close the Excel workbook.
Exit Excel.
Figure 10 – Presentation for Venture Capital
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11. Letter to Venture Capitalists (Word and Excel): This exercise provides additional
practice in linking Excel objects to a Word document as well as another chance to
practice your skills in a mail merge. Open the partially completed Letter to Venture
Capitalists document in the Definitely Needlepoint folder, and save it as Letter to
Venture Capitalists Solution. Insert your name at the bottom of the letter. Now
proceed as follows to create the completed document in Figure 11.
a. Open the Definitely Needlepoint Historical Sales Solution workbook from the
previous exercise if it is not already open. Use the same techniques as in the
previous exercise to link the worksheets containing sales for both the current and
previous year to the Word document.
b. Insert a section break at the end of the first page, then change the orientation of
the second page (section) to landscape. Return to the Excel workbook. Select the
chart that shows the sales increase by quarter and link this chart to the Word
document. The Excel chart should appear in the document. The chart may be
cropped initially. If so, select the entire chart then click and drag a corner sizing
handle to make the chart smaller. Right click the chart and click the command to
display the Picture toolbar. Select the Crop tool, then click and drag the side
handle at the right of the chart to show the portion of the chart that may have
been cropped initially.
c. Use the completed letter as a form letter for a mail merge to venture capitalists.
The data for the mailing list is in the Word document, Venture Capital Mailing
List in the Definitely Needlepoint folder. Pull down the Tools menu, click
Letters and Mailings, then click the Mail Merge Wizard command to link to this
file. Insert an address block and greeting line, and then print the merged letters
for your instructor. You should print three letters.
d. Exit Word. Exit Excel.
Figure 11 – Letter to Venture Capitalists
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12. Submission Checklist: You have successfully completed multiple exercises with the
Definitely Needlepoint case study. Each exercise described a specific task(s),
required the use of one or more applications in Microsoft Office, and asked you to
print one or more documents to show that you completed the exercise. The
submissions checklist in Figure 12 will ensure that you have printed all of the
required documents.
a. Open the Definitely Needlepoint Submission Checklist that is found in the
Definitely Needlepoint folder. Read the document carefully and check each box
after you verify that you have printed the indicated document.
b. Add your name to the check list as indicated, then use the check list as a cover
sheet when you submit the material to your instructor.
c. Think for a minute about all that you have accomplished. You have completed a
series of 11 exercises, which required the use of all four major applications
within Microsoft Office. Congratulations on a job well done!
Figure 12 – Submission Checklist
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