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Excel Spread Sheet Tutorial
by Anthony Smith
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Overview
Microsoft Excel has become so widely used in both business and personal applications that it has in effect become the standard for spreadsheet software. Because of this, computer users without an understanding of how to use Excel may find themselves at a distinct disadvantage in many situations. Fortunately, by understanding a few basic concepts, it is fairly easy to gain at least an elementary proficiency in Excel.
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The Excel Working Environment
The Excel window is set up in a manner consistent with many of Microsoft's other products. A horizontal row of commands is located at the top of the main window, and a toolbar with icons is directly beneath it. The worksheet in use takes the majority of space in the center of the window, with horizontal and vertical scroll bars. There are tabs on the bottom of the Excel window that when clicked on, send you directly to another worksheet that is associated with it.
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Excel Files
Excel files are known as workbooks, and these workbooks may contain one or multiple worksheets. Many users will refer to the worksheets or workbooks as spreadsheets. You can open both new and existing Excel files by clicking on the "File" command. From there, select either "New" or "Open."
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Worksheet Basics
Excel worksheets are comprised of a large grid of individual cells, arranged in rows and columns. Each column is given an alphabetical letter to identify it, and rows are assigned numbers. The upper left-hand corner of the grid is the starting point, and cells are then referred to by their location in relation to these rows and columns. For example, the third cell to the right of the starting point is in the "C" column. If a cell was in this column, but four rows down, it would be referred to as "C4." Data in many different formats can be entered in a cell. Among others, Excel allows data in numerical, text, currency and date formats.
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Excel Command Menus and Toolbars
The menu commands with which Windows users have become familiar are applicable in Excel also. The usual "File," "Edit" and "View" commands are there, as well as commands for "Insert," "Format," "Tools" and "Data." These are used in conjunction with a toolbar that is filled with icons for formatting cells and performing functions on cells. For example, users can change the font properties of data within a cell by clicking on the font icons in the toolbar. This easy point-and-click method is used for most of the major tasks in Excel. One of the many functions and formulas that come as part of Excel can be inserted into a cell by clicking on the "Insert" command, clicking on "Function" and then selecting the function of your choosing.
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Excel Graphics
Produce eye-catching and professional-looking charts and graphs for the work you have done in Excel by utilizing the large selection that is included with the software. Use your mouse to select the cells with the data that you want to have displayed, click on the "Insert" command, then choose "Charts." From there, Excel will present choices for charts and graphs that will allow you to put a finishing touch on your data and make it ready for presentations.
