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FRP299 Basic Excel

As of February 21, 2017

Parts of a Spreadsheet .................................................................................................................................. 1

Keyboard Navigation ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Highlight blocks of data ................................................................................................................................ 4

Delete Rows and Columns ............................................................................................................................ 5

Insert Rows and Columns.............................................................................................................................. 5

Move Rows and Columns (Not Taught) ........................................................................................................ 5

Hide and Unhide ........................................................................................................................................... 6

Freeze and Split ............................................................................................................................................. 6

PEMDAS ........................................................................................................................................................ 7

Basic Math ..................................................................................................................................................... 9

Relative versus Absolute Referencing ........................................................................................................... 9

Functions ..................................................................................................................................................... 10

Function: COUNT ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Function: COUNTA ...................................................................................................................................... 11

Function: SUM............................................................................................................................................. 12

Function: AVERAGE ..................................................................................................................................... 12

AutoFilter .................................................................................................................................................... 12

Appendix 1: Parts of a Spreadsheet ............................................................................................................ 14

Appendix 2: Excel Trivia .............................................................................................................................. 14

Appendix 3: Essential Excel Symbols and Operators .................................................................................. 15

Appendix 4: Selected Keyboard Shortcuts .................................................................................................. 15

Appendix 5: Excel Spreadsheet Essentials .................................................................................................. 16

Parts of a Spreadsheet

1. See the appendix 1 for a graphic

2. Quick Access Toolbar (QAT):

a. Out of the box, the QAT is placed beside the Excel Icon on the same line where the legend Book1

appears. The QAT allows the user to place shortcuts or often used routines where they are

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always accessible. A user may want to place the Quick Print icon there. Among others, I tend to

use Paste Special, Print Preview, Format Painter, A to Z and Z to A sort icons, and Auto Sum.

b. To add icons to the QAT, mouse over any blank area of the ribbon (see below) and right click.

The menu that displays will have “Customize Quick Access Toolbar…” as a selection. Selecting

that option will open The Excel Options dialog.

c. Highlight the the commands you want from the Popular Commands or one of the lists from the

drop down, click Add to place them on the QAT list. Click OK. They are now part your

personalized QAT.

3. Menu Bar

a. The Menu Bar displays the major headings for creating and editing spreadsheets.

4. Ribbon

a. The Ribbon replaces the older menu drop down lists and each displays the selections that are

available.

b. The ribbon can be edited or customized by right clicking any blank area and from the menu and

selecting Customize the Ribbon from the list.

c. The ribbon can also be hidden to allow you to see more spreadsheet area. This, again, is done by

right clicking any blank area of the ribbon and selecting Minimize the ribbon from the list. When

you select this option, the ribbon remains hidden unless you click on the Menu Bar, and hides

again when go back to the spreadsheet.

d. To permanently redisplay the ribbon, right click a blank area and select Minimize the Ribbon.

5. Name Box

a. On a new spreadsheet, the Name Box appears above cell A1, and will have A1 displayed. At its

most basic, the Name Box displays the location of the active cell (see below). You can

automatically go to a cell location by clicking into the Name Box and typing a cell location and

pressing Enter.

i. Go to the Name Box and type F10 and press Enter. The active cell will become F10.

b. The Name Box can also be used to highlight a range of cells.

i. In the Name Box, type B1:F10 and press Enter. That block of cells will be highlighted. The

Name Box will only show B1, which it considers to be the active cell in the highlighted

range.

c. If you create a named range (see FRP300 – Intermediate Excel for EPM Users), it will be

displayed in the Name Box drop down menu.

d. If, in the active cell, you type an = sign indicating you are writing a formula, the Name Box will

display a list from the Function Library (a listing of all functions available to the user in Excel).

6. Formula Bar

a. The Formula Bar is to the right of the Name Box and displays the contents of the active cell. The

active cell can be entered or edited from this location.

b. To the left of the Formula Bar is the symbol 𝑓𝑥. Clicking the 𝑓𝑥 opens the Insert Function dialog,

which is an assistant to help with entry of almost all Excel functions.

7. Active Cell

a. The active cell is the intersection of a column and row in Excel.

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b. A spreadsheet is made up of cells. Each cell contains a piece of data, which can be a written text,

a date, a number, a formula, or something else. Whichever cell you are working on is the active

cell. In Excel it is outlined in black and has a little black square located on the lower right corner

(see Fill Handle below).

i. If you type a cell address in the Name Box and press enter, that cell will become the active

cell.

ii. If you click on a cell, it will become the active cell.

c. Once selected, all you need to do to enter or edit is to start typing.

i. If the active cell has data and you want to edit instead of replace, press F2 (Function 2) to

edit the contents of a cell without overwriting.

8. Fill Handle

a. The Fill Handle is the little square at the bottom right corner of the active cell. It is used to copy

data from the active cell to the cells around it.

b. If you mouse over the square, your mouse icon changes to a cross. If you left-click the fill handle

and drag up, down, left, or right, Excel will copy the contents of the active cell to the cells being

highlighted.

c. In a column, you can double click the fill handle and Excel will copy down the active cell so long

as it can find data in the cells to the left or right.

9. Row and Column Headings

a. The address of any cell is defined as the intersection of a column reference followed by a row

reference.

i. For example, A1 describes the location of the active cell on a new spreadsheet, which is the

intersection of Column A and Row 1.

b. The address of every cell in a spreadsheet.

i. Pre 2007: A1 to IV65536

ii. 2007 and later: A1 to XFD1048576

10. Worksheet Tab

a. A worksheet is a single page in a workbook. It is true that most workbooks are only one page

(even though when printed it may be hundreds of pages). All that data is stored on a single

worksheet page.

i. Worksheet and Tab are synonymous terms.

b. A workbook can have as many pages (worksheets, tabs) as computer memory will allow.

c. Each page is by default named Sheet”x” where “x” can be any number, but always the first page

is called Sheet1. The page name is stored on a tab

i. The default page name can be changed by double clicking the tab and typing a new name.

Press Enter when done.

d. Keyboard navigation from page to page: Ctl-PgDn or Ctl-PgUp

11. Add a New Worksheet tab

a. Out of the box, Excel opens with one spreadsheet. The New Worksheet tab allows you to add

new worksheets quickly.

i. Shift-F11 will also add a new worksheet.

12. Scroll Bars

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a. Scroll bars are located on the right side and and bottom right of the spreadsheet. By the sliding

the bars, the user can quickly traverse large distances on a spreadsheet.

i. Please see the section of Keyboard Navigation for other ways to move about a spreadsheet

13. Scroll Buttons

a. For a workbook that has many tabs, the scrolling buttons allow the user to move into the visual

display those spreadsheet tabs that may be hidden.

i. There are, also, full stops in order to move to the first or last tab immediately

ii. Right clicking the Scroll Button area displays a menu showing a list of all the tabs in the

workbook. Double clicking the menu selection will take the user directly to that tab.

14. Status Area

a. This is an ad hoc multi-functional area that provides “quick” information to a user.

i. For example, highlighting a selection of numbers will cause the status area to display their

average, count, and sum; all without have to enter a function or formula.

ii. On the right side of the status area you can change how your spreadsheet is displayed

1. Normal, Page Layout, Page Break

2. The size of the display (10% to 400%)

iii. By right clicking the status area you can modify what information is displayed.

Keyboard Navigation

1. Moving around a spreadsheet – Keyboard

a. Hold down the Ctl key and then use the arrow keys

i. If the active cell is blank, the cursor will go to the first non-blank cell, or to the end of

the spreadsheet

ii. If the active cell is not blank, the cursor will go to the end the non-blank cells

b. Moving around a spreadsheet – Mouse Method

i. Mouse over the active cell until your mouse changes to the four arrow form ( )

ii. Double click

iii. The same rules as above apply.

Highlight blocks of data

1. Keyboard Only

a. Place your cursor at the start location

i. Ctl-Shift-Arrow keys

ii. Example: Ctl-Shift- will highlight a row.

b. Three ways to highlight a block of data – place your cursor somewhere in the data

i. Ctl-A

ii. Ctrl-Shift-*

iii. Shift-Arrow keys to manually select an area

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c. Special highlighting options

i. Shift-Spacebar to select an entire row

1. In the Name Box, type r and then Enter

ii. Ctrl-Spacebar to select an entire column

1. In the Name Box, type c and then Enter

d. When you highlight a large block of data, you are left at the bottom of the highlighted material

i. Ctl-Backspace will return you to the top of your data while leaving the data highlighted.

Delete Rows and Columns

1. Keyboard Method

a. Rows: Highlight the row or a cell in the row

i. Alt-E-D-R

b. Columns: Highlight the column or a cell in the column

i. Alt-E-D-C

2. Mouse Method

a. Rows: Highlight the row > Right click > Delete

b. Rows: Highlight a cell > Right click > Delete (dialog displays) > Entire Row > OK

c. Columns: Highlight the row > Right click > Delete

d. Columns: Highlight a cell > Right click > Delete (dialog displays) > Entire Column > OK

Insert Rows and Columns

1. Keyboard Method

a. Rows: Highlight the row or a cell in the row

i. Alt-I-R

b. Columns: Highlight the column or a cell in the column

i. Alt-I-C

2. Mouse Method

a. Rows: Highlight the row > Right click > Insert

b. Rows: Highlight a cell > Right click > Insert (dialog displays) > Entire Row > OK

c. Columns: Highlight the row > Right click > Delete

d. Columns: Highlight a cell > Right click > Insert (dialog displays) > Entire Column > OK

Move Rows and Columns (Not Taught)

1. Use this when you want to change the position of a column or row (cut and move) without deleting

the existing contents of the column or row

a. Select the column(s) or row(s)

i. Hold down the Shift key (this tells Excel to ‘insert’)

ii. Mouse over the edge of the row or column to be moved

iii. Left click and drag to the insertion point

iv. Release the mouse button, then release the Shift key

2. Move just a bloke of cells without replacing the destination contents

a. Select the block of cells

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i. Hold down the Shift key (this tells Excel to ‘insert’)

ii. Mouse over the edge of the row or column to be moved

iii. Left click and drag to the insertion point

iv. Release the mouse button, then release the Shift key

3. To copy and move

a. You can use the same methods above except, to Copy, you hold down the CTRL key in addition

to the SHIFT key when you are moving the cells. You will see a small plus sign next to the mouse

pointer as you drag the cells (+ = Copy and SHIFT = Insert).

Hide and Unhide

1. Hide – Keyboard Method

a. Rows: Highlight the row or cell in the row

i. Ctl-9

b. Columns: Highlight the column or cell in the column

i. Ctl-0

2. Hide – Mouse Method

a. Rows: Highlight the row > Right click > Hide

b. Columns: Highlight the column > Right click > Hide

3. Unhide – Keyboard Method

a. Rows: Highlight the rows or cells on either side of the hidden row

i. Ctl-Shift-( (0)

b. Columns: Highlight the columns or cells on either side of the hidden column

i. Ctl-Shift-) (0)

ii. Note: Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft starting assigning this key combination to

the Region/Language setting to change keyboard layouts. To change it back

1. Open Control Panel > Language and Region

2. Click the Change Keyboards button on the Keyboards and Languages tab

3. On the Advanced Key Settings tab, select the Between input languages action and

click Change Key Sequence

4. Under Switch Keyboard Layout, set the radio button to Not Assigned (or one of

the other options, if you need this feature to be available)

4. Unhide – Mouse Method

a. All: Highlight the entire rows or columns on either side of the hidden rows or columns

i. Right click > Unhide

Freeze and Split

1. Freeze Pane

a. Place your cursor where you want to place the freeze. In this example it is cell A3

b. Mouse Navigation: View (Ribbon) > Freeze Panes

i. or

c. Keyboard: Alt-W-F then Enter

d. Repeating the navigation or keyboard shortcut will undo.

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2. Split Screen

a. Method 1

i. Place your cursor where you want to split the screen

ii. Navigation: View (Ribbon) > Split

b. Notes:

i. If your cursor is in column A then an horizontal split will be inserted

ii. If your cursor is in row 1 then a vertical split will be inserted

iii. If your cursor is anywhere else both horizontal and vertical will be inserted

c. Method 2

i. Above the vertical scroll bar and to the right of the horizontal scroll bar are split boxes

ii. Using your mouse, left click and drag the split box to where you want to insert the scroll.

d. To remove:

i. Double click the split or

ii. navigate to View (ribbon) > Split

PEMDAS

1. Excel is programmed to follow the standard Order of Operation as typified by the acronym PEMDAS

a. Parenthetical ( ) operations receive the highest priority

b. Exponents (24) are next

c. Multiplication

d. Division

e. Addition

f. Subtraction

2. PEMDAS has several mnemonics to help you remember the order of operation

a. Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

i. Also, Pudgy Elves May Demand A Snack

ii. Popcorn Every Monday Donuts Every Saturday

iii. In the UK, the mnemonic is BODMAS

1. Brackets, Orders, Divide, Multiply, Add, Subtract

3. The class example is 4 + 3 ÷ 2 x 8

a. Using a standard 4 function calculator you would get 28 as an answer because you are entering

the numbers and operations sequentially.

b. Under the rules of PEMDAS, division and multiplication have a higher priority than the addition,

so that 3 ÷ 2 x 8 would be calculated first, and then the 4 would be added, giving 16 as the

correct answer

i. If you wanted to force the 4 + 3 to occur first (thus giving 28 as the answer) then you

would place that part in parenthesis, forcing it to happen first

1. (4 + 3) ÷ 2 x 8 = 28 {The parenthetical forces the addition first}

2. 4 + 3 ÷ 2 x 8 = 16

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4. If you are using multiple sets of parentheticals, Excel will color code them to make it easier to keep

track.

a. Multiple sets of parentheticals are calculated from the inside to the outside.

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Basic Math

1. All formulas in Excel start with the equal (=) sign

a. When creating a formula, you should always use cell references instead of values.

i. Cells hold values. So, if A1 holds a 1, and A2 holds a 2, then =A1+A2 is the same as =1+2

ii. Using =A1+A2 allows you to change the values in the cells and automatically get an

updated answer

b. Cells should be selected either by mouse or use of the arrow keys

i. Only in rare circumstances should you ever type a cell name

ii. Typing cell names is error prone and doesn’t use the power of Excel to its fullest extent

2. How Excel reads a formula

a. In general, Excel reads all formulas from left to right except as noted in the section above

i. Nested parentheticals are read from the inside out (see Functions section below)

b. You should develop a consistent method of formula writing that recognizes that order may be

important

i. Order is important for Subtraction, Division, and Exponents

ii. Order is not important for Addition or Multiplication

Relative versus Absolute Referencing

1. Using the Fill Handle (see the Parts of a Spreadsheet Section #8) you can copy the contents of one

cell to others. If that cell happens to contain a formula, then the formula will be copied and applied

to the new cell references. This is because of relative referencing.

a. When you create a formula you use cell references to determine the location of the data you

are using

b. Excel doesn’t “see” cell references. It “sees” cell position.

i. Suppose in cell A10 you have the formula =SUM(A1:A9) and you copy it into B10. You

now see =SUM(B1:B9).

ii. What Excel saw from B10 was , the range from one cell up to nine cells up.

iii. So, when you copy the formula, it is always seeing from one cell up to nine cells up.

2. Sometimes you need Excel to stay in one place when you copy a formula. To do this you “lock” the

reference so Excel always sees it in one place.

a. The hard way to lock a reference is type dollar signs ($) before the column reference and before

the row reference ( e.g., $A$1)

b. The much easier way to lock the reference is to highlight cell reference you want to lock and

press the F4 (function 4) key. This will automatically insert the dollar signs to lock a reference.

i. There are four locked states a cell can be in

1. $a$1 – both column and row are locked

2. A$1 – row is locked but the column remains relative

3. $A1 – column is locked but the row remains relative

4. A1 – both column and row are relative

ii. If you keep pressing F4, Excel will cycle you through them

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Functions

1. Functions are automated and named formulas

a. All Functions begin with an equal sign (=)

i. They generally require user input called arguments, which are the variables used by

Excel to determine an answer

ii. Multiple arguments are separated by commas

iii. Optional arguments are enclosed in square brackets [ ]

b. Typing the equal sign and the name of the function brings up what is called the Signature

i. c. Anatomy of a Function

i. = - An equal sign introduces a function just as it introduces a formula

ii. NAME – The function name can be entered in upper or lower case letters. If the function

is found in Excel’s function library, then it will be converted to Uppercase.

iii. ( - Open parenthesis

iv. Arguments – Arguments for the function. Multiple arguments are separated by commas

v. ) – Closing parenthesis

d. Notes

i. Always type your function in the lowercase

ii. Functions can be written UPPER or lower case

iii. If Excel finds the function in the library, it will convert the function to UPPER case

iv. If the function remains in the lowercase, you know you made a mistake in typing

v. Some functions do not require arguments [e.g., =NOW(),=TODAY(), =RAND()]

vi. Excel displays optional arguments (not required) with square brackets [ ]

e. The Function Library

i. Typing and equal sign and a function name will open the function library

1. Excel will display all of the functions that begin with the name you have typed.

2. Example: Typing =SUM will display SUM, SUMIF, SUMIFS, SUMPRODUCT, etc

3. Keyboard Method: Once the list is displayed, you can use the arrow keys to

navigate to the function you want

4. Pressing the Tab key will select that function and open the parenthesis to allow

you to insert arguments

5. Mouse Method: From the function list, mouse to your selection and left double

click

f. Functions can be nested.

i. Depending on your requirements, you can include functions within functions

1. =SUM(AVERAGE(Range1),MAX(Range2)) would add the average of Range1 with

the maximum value in Range2

2. Note that each function has its own set of parenthesis

a. There has to be an equal number of open and closed parentheses

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b. Notice that the SUM parenthesis wraps both the AVERAGE and MAX

functions

c. PEMDAS rules requires that the inside parentheses be calculated before the

outside parentheses (from the inside out). Thus, AVERAGE and MAX are

calculated before SUM.

d. Nesting parentheses can get quite complicated; especially when it comes to

parenthetical placement. Proceed with caution. The example above is a

simple nesting.

g. Summary

i. Functions are predefined, named operations

ii. Start with an Equal Sign as you would to begin a formula

iii. Specify the Function name

iv. Enter your arguments, which are the variables used by Excel to resolve to an answer.

Arguments are values on which you want to perform the calculation. For example,

arguments specify the numbers or cells you want to add (SUM functiona)

v. Enclose the arguments within parenthesis

vi. Arguments must be entered in the correct order

vii. Use commas to separate arguments

viii. Syntax is always:

Function: COUNT

1. COUNT counts the number of numeric entries in a range. It will ignore blanks, text, and errors.

2. Syntax: =COUNT(Value1,[Value2],…[Value256])

a. Value can be a cell reference, range of cells, or values typed into a cell

b. Arguments in square brackets are optional and not required.

c. The opposite of COUNT is COUNTBLANK(Value1,[Value2],…) which counts blanks.

Function: COUNTA

1. COUNTA counts the number of nonblank cells

2. Syntax: =COUNTA(Value1,[Value2],…[Value256])

a. Cells that contain numbers, any kind of data, spaces, or errors

b. It will ignore cells that are empty

Element Explanation

= An equal sign introduces a function, just as it introduces a formula.

NAME The function’s name is entered in uppercase letters; if you use lowercase letters, Excel will convert them to uppercase.

( Opening parenthesis

Arguments Arguments for this function; multiple arguments are separated by commas.

) Closing parenthesis

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Function: SUM

1. SUM creates a total from a list of numbers

a. It can be used either horizontally or vertically

2. Syntax: =SUM(Value1,[Value2],…[Value256])

a. Value can be a cell reference, range of cells, or values typed into a cell

b. Arguments in square brackets are optional and not required.

Function: AVERAGE

1. AVERAGE calculates the average from a list of numbers

a. If the cell is blank or contains text, the cell will not be used in the average calculation

b. If the cell contains 0, the cell will be included in the average calculation

2. Syntax: =AVERAGE(Value1,[Value2],…[Value256])

a. Value can be a cell reference, range of cells, or values typed into a cell

b. Arguments in square brackets are optional and not required.

c. The long form of AVERAGE is =SUM(Value1,[Value2],…[Value256])/

COUNT(Value1,[Value2],…[Value256])

AutoFilter

1. The AutoFilter allows you to view rows of data based on your criteria while it hides rows that don’t

meet the criteria that has been set.

a. Navigation: Data (Ribbon) > Filter (Funnel icon)

b. Selecting the Filter icon a second time turns off the AutoFilter

2. In most instances, just selecting a cell within the table of data is sufficient for Excel to determine the

table parameters.

a. If Excel cannot accurately determine the correct location of the table of data then you will have

to manually define the table

i. Starting from the upper left corner of the header row

1. Ctl-Shift Right arrow, then Ctl-Shift Down arrow

3. When the AutoFilter is selected each column header is provided with a dropdown menu, which is

used to select criteria

a. Drop down menus are context sensitive. Text and numerical columns have slightly different

menus

4. Select the Price Dropdown (Column F)

a. Number Filters > Greater Than or Equal To 100

b. Only those items that meet the criteria are displayed. The rest are hidden

c. Click the “Clear” icon to erase the criteria and restore the table.

5. Select the Std UOM dropdown (Column E)

a. Uncheck Select All

b. Check the box EA

i. EA is displayed

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c. Select the Price dropdown > Number Filters > Top Ten > OK

i. Top or Bottom (default is Top)

ii. Select a number (default is 10)

iii. Items or Percent (default is Items)

d. You have selected multiple filters

i. You can have as many filters as you have columns

ii. Filters can be cleared singly (dropdown > clear filter from …) or in masse.

iii. Clear all of the filters

e. Select the More Info dropdown > Text Filters > Contains

i. You can do a word search. More Info contain a lot of text but it can still be searched to

give relevant information

ii. Type “Nut” (without the quotes) in the first line

1. Excel doesn’t allow for a “fuzzy” search. You have to be explicit.

2. If you want nuts (as in nuts and bolts) you have to supply it with the least amount of

information that describes your criteria. That would be nut.

3. When you click OK, only those rows that contain the word nut will be displayed. Notice

that the first displayed row (row 23) is returning aerosol paint. That is because the

word nut appears in the word “minute”.

iii. Return to the Contains AutoFilter

1. To find “nuts and bolts” you have to reduce the words to their most common

elements, “nut” and “bolt”.

2. Type bolt on the second row

a. Select the OR radio button

i. “And” and “Or” are used in the SQL sense

ii. “And” requires both conditions to be TRUE

iii. “Or” requires either condition to be TRUE

b. OR will return all rows that contain “nut” or “bolt” so you will retrieve all

the relevant answers

3. From the dropdown, select “Contains”. Click OK

f. AutoFilter2 is an example of where the table needs to be manually defined because Excel cannot

determine the correct table parameters.

i. Starting at cell A11 highlight the table

1. Ctl-Shift right arrow, Ctl-Shift down arrow.

2. Turn on the Auto filter. Data (Ribbon > Filter (funnel icon)

a. Quantity on Hand dropdown

b. Uncheck Select All

c. Check 0

d. All the inventory items with a 0 balance are displayed

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Appendix 1: Parts of a Spreadsheet

Appendix 2: Excel Trivia

Workbook Capacities Excel 2003 Excel 2007 Power of 2

Number of Worksheets 255 Limited to memory

Columns 256 16,384 2 14

Rows 65,536 1,048,576 2 20

Colors 56 16 million 2 24

Sort levels 3 64 2 6

Characters in formula 1,024 8,192 2 13

Nested levels in formulas 7 64 2 6

Arguments in a function 30 255 2 8 -1

Conditional formats 3 Limited to memory

•You can undo the last 100 actions

•Each worksheet holds 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns (17,179,769,184 cells)

•There are 1,024 global fonts available to use, 512 per worksheet

•Zoom range is from 10 percent to 400 percent

•You can select 2,147,483,648 cells that are not touching

•You can have up to 255 data series in one chart

•You can highlight 32,767 cells per worksheet

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Appendix 3: Essential Excel Symbols and Operators

Symbol What it does = Starts every formula and action in Excel + Addition; joins compound formula - Subtraction; negation; joins compound formula * Multiply; Windows wildcard; join for arrays (advanced use) / Division () Forces priority of operation & A join used in text and formula operation ? Windows wildcard indicating one space ‘ (single quote) indicates what follows is text “ (double quote) Text in a formula; used to show criteria : (colon) Range operator, defines a range , (comma) Separates parts of a function; Union operator % Percent sign ^ (carat) Exponent ~ (tilde) prefaces a wildcard to indicate it is not a wildcard

Appendix 4: Selected Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut What it does Ctl ~ Show/Hide formula Ctl 1 Opens Format Cells Alt Enter Wraps text in a cell Alt251 √ (check mark) Alt0247 ÷ (division symbol ~ do not use in a working formula) F2 Edit a cell; Rename a file F7 Spellcheck F9 Recalculate Shift F11 Add a new worksheet Ctl C Copy Ctl V Paste Ctl X Cut Ctl B Bold Ctl U Underline Ctl I Italics Ctl drag Copies the contents of a cell to a new location

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Appendix 5: Excel Spreadsheet Essentials

Spreadsheet Anatomy Parts of a spreadsheet

Cell The box where the numbers, the labels, or the formulas are entered.

Column The collection of cells in a line from top to bottom.

Row The collection of cells in a line from side to side.

Worksheet The single page of rows and columns that is on the screen.

Workbook The collection of pages (worksheets) that make up one file.

Range A group of cells that are next to each other.

Mouse pointer

The arrow or other marker that indicates where the mouse is pointing.

Formula A mathematical expression that gives instructions to the computer about what to do with the contents of specified cells.

Navigating in the Worksheet Window

Enter key Moves down one cell.

Tab key Moves across one cell to the right.

Shift Enter Moves up one cell. (Reverse gear)

Shift Tab Moves across one cell to the left. (Reverse gear)

Arrow keys Move one cell in the direction of the arrow.

Control < or Control > Moves to the next cell with information or to the far edge of the worksheet.

Page Up and Page Down Move one full screen at a time up or down through the worksheet.

Control Page Up and Control Page Down

Moves from worksheet to worksheet.

Scroll Bars

o The Scroll Bar on the right side moves the screen up or down.

o The Scroll Bar on the bottom right moves the screen to the right or left.

Home key Sends the cursor to the first column (A).

Control Home Sends the cursor to cell A1.

Control End Sends the cursor to the bottom right of the spreadsheet.