the excel worksheets -...

The Excel Worksheets 1- 1

Chapter 1

The Excel Worksheets

Chapter Outline

Objectives of this chapter

Some conventions used in this book

1.1 General Worksheet Properties

1.2 Pointer Movements

1.3 Generating random numbers

1.4 Upper left corner and the formula bar

1.4.1 The first part of the upper left corner

1.4.2 The second part of the upper left corner

1.5 Upper right corner

1.6 Lower right corner

1.7 Lower left corner

1.8 Printer Basics

1.9 Summary

Objectives of this chapter:

This chapter acquaints the readers with the appearance of the Excel spreadsheets by moving around

the four corners of the spreadsheet window. We explain the basic features of the tabs, ribbons, groups,

toolbars, and logos.

Some notational conventions of this book

Before we start, here are some of the notation conventions that will be used throughout this book.

They are listed in Table 1.1a.

(1) In cases 1 and 2 of Table 1.1a, we may encounter a sequence of commands like

(a) The first /./ tells you to click the “Insert” tab button in the menu. Tabs are enclosed with

quotation marks.

/“Insert”/Text, WordArt!/ (Choose a character)

(a) (b) (c) /“Drawing Tools, Format”/Shape Styles, Shape Fill!/Gradient!/ (1.1.1)

(d) (e) (f)


(b) The next /. / tells you to click the down arrow ▼ next to WordArt in the “Text” group of the

ribbon. The first word shows the category of the ribbon, and the second word is the button

you should click.

(c) The instruction in parentheses, (.) is that you choose a character.

(d) Once you choose a character, a Word Art box will open, and you will see the drawing tools

tabe appear in the menu bar.

Here, /x, y/ consists of two contextual tabs: “Drawing Tools” x, under which there is a new tab

“Format” y. The first entry x in this /x, y/ is for location: it lets you locate the “Format” tab under

the “Drawing Tools”. The second entry y in /x, y/ is for clicking, you click the second tab to open

the “Format” ribbon.

(e) Under the Shape Styles group of Format ribbon, click the downward arrow next (▼) to

Shape Fill button. A drop-down list appears.

(f) This /./ has a single entry. It asks you to select and click the down arrow of the Gradient

button.

(2) Here is a summary table of the notations used in this book.

(3) If commands are repeated except the last command, we use /~/ to indicate the repeated previous

command. For example, /“Page Layout”/Page Setup, Print Area!/Set Print Area/. To cancel the Print

Area, you repeat the first two steps, so we write /~/~/Clear Print Area/.

(4) We also use // to indicate “double click/. For example, “//tab and ^drag the tab” means “double

click the tab and holding control key and drag the tab.”

(5) Sometimes, for clarity, /x/ is also used to show the name of button x rather than requesting the

reader to click x. /RM/ or /LM/ is also used to denote right mouse or left mouse.

(6) In the text, we also give many Steps, Examples, or Propositions. At the end of them, we add # to

indicate its end.

Table 1.1 Some conventions used in this book

Case Symbol Example Explanation

1 / . / /F2/ Select and press the F2(edit) key, or the name of key is F2.

2 /x, y/ /Font, Bold/ In Font group (x), click the Bold button (y).

3 /“x ”/ /“Home”/ Select the “Home” tab (x) in the menu bar. x = “tab button(s)”

4 [ ] [2] Enter optional number 2. It can be any number.

5 ( ) (a dialogue box opens) Explanation of results or procedure.

6 ! Arial! Click the down arrow ▼ at the right of the Arial box:

7 @ @All Select the bullet eye next to “All”

8 x xPrint to file Click the blank square left of “Print to file”

9 ^V (Carat) ^C = control+C Hold the control key and then press the V key

10 #C (music Sharp) #C = shift+C Hold the shift key and then press the C key

11 RM or LM /RM/ or /LM/ Click the right (or left) button of the mouse

We call this procedure Right Mouse or Left Mouse


(7) In addition, if a submenu or small window is open and you have to choose an item, an entry, or a

command from the submenu or subwindow, a $ sign is added before the item. For example, /$Count/

means that a submenu of functions is open and you choose the “Count” function from the submenu.

It states that “a submenu is open and you choose the Count function from the menu.”

(8) If variables or parameters are named, they will be enclosed in an “All borders” box. For example,

In this case, 55.58% and 44.42% are named a and b, respectively. But the next column a+b= 100% is

not.

(9) For convenience, the formulas of the first row of a table are shown at the bottom or to the right

of the table for easy reference. The reader should enter the formulas into the indicated cells in the row,

and copy the first row to the whole table. Usually, for easy reference, the formula is located on the

same column as that in the first row of the table.

(10) In Steps, say Step (7), if there is a comment, an asterisk * is added, like (7)* to alert you.

(11) In this book, for easy referencing, we use section as unit in numbering Tables, Figures, Steps,

and Examples. For example, if they are used in Section 1.2, they are designated as Table 1.2a, Table

1.2b, etc., Fig. 1.2a, Fig. 1.2b, etc. and Steps 1.2a, 1.2b, etc.

(12) If a figure is attached to a table, to avoid confusion, we refer to the figure as “the figure of

Table 1.2a.” For the numbering of Equations, we still follow the traditional numbering method, and

use (1.2.1), (1.2.2), etc. indicating the first equation in Section 1.2, second equation in Section 1.2,

etc.

1.1 General Worksheet Properties

A spreadsheet is a software program for entering numerical data for calculation, manipulation, and

analysis. It usually comes with graphic and drawing facilities with limited word processing capacity.

When you start Excel, the monitor screen will be filled with a worksheet (1) or spreadsheet

(see Fig. 1.1a), which is embedded in a document window, that is, the screen. It displays command

menus on the top and bottom parts, with blank cells arranged in a grid of rows and columns, and lets

you enter data in the blank cells.. When the mouse is moved, an indicator on the screen also moves.

This indicator is called the pointer or curser (2). Outside the document window, the pointer is an

white fat arrow. When the pointer moves inside the spreadsheet, and the mouse is pressed, a cell, and

so the spreadsheet, is selected (if a cell is not selected, the pointer remains fat arrow). The selected

cell is enclosed with dark borders, and the pointer changes to a fat cross. That cell is called the active

cell (3). Similarly, a column or a group of columns, or a row or a group of rows, may be selected by

clicking the column letters (16) or the row numbers (15), and the selected columns or rows will be

shaded.

You can change a document window to another window by clicking the sheet tab (4) at the

bottom left-hand side. Now, type your name or any word anywhere in Sheet1, and click the Sheet2

tab. A new worksheet, Sheet2, will open (your name is not in Sheet2). Click the Sheet1 tab to return

to Sheet1. In the illustration, there are three sheets, or worksheets, Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3. The

active sheet (5) is indicated by a white tab. A workbook is a collection of all the worksheets; in the

current example, the name of the workbook (6) in the title bar (7), the first row of the worksheet, is

a b a+b=

55.58% 44.42% 100%


Book1, as shown in the first row of the worksheet. The names of worksheets and workbooks can be

changed, as noted below.

Use the mouse to move the pointer (2) to point to the “sheet1” tab (5). The fat cross pointer

changes to a fat arrow pointer. Click the “sheet1” tab twice to invert the black and white background

of the tab. The tab now is in the editing mode. Enter “Q1”(for Question 1 in the test) and click

anywhere in the worksheet. This changes the sheet name. See the steps shown in Steps 1.1a.

Similarly, change “sheet2” and “sheet3” to “Q2” and Q3.”

(2) the pointer

(1) Worksheet Sheet1

(4) Sheet tabs

(5) Active Sheet tab

(6) The name of workbook

(7) Title bar (8) Menu

(tab) bar

(9)

Menu

Ribbon

(13) Status bar

(12) Name box

(11) Formula bar

(15) Row numbers and row heading bar

(16) Column letters and

column heading bar

(3) Active cell

(14) Status

(10) Group

(Font group)

Fig. 1.1a Worksheets and its four corners


If more tabs are needed, simply click the “Insert Worksheet” tab (shown by the arrow) once, Sheet4

appears. Save the changed workbook as file name “Test1.” For saving the new file, we go through

/“File”/Save as/Filename, [Test1]/Save/ (1.1.2)

The name of the workbook (6) is changed from “Book1” to “Test1,” which will be shown in the first

row of the worksheet. We may also move, eliminate, or color the sheet tabs by clicking the /RM/ at

any tab. This will be explained in the next Chapter. After the first saving, we can just click the Quick

Save logo (3Save, see Section 1.2.1) to save.

The method of performing an operation by clicking the object twice to invoke the editing

mode is similar in most part of Excel. In this book we will use this format to illustrate the steps of

operation.

The second row of the worksheet is called the menu bar (8): it gives the menu of available

commands. The menu bar has a tab list. Its default list has seven tabs: “Home,” “Insert,” “Page

Layout,” “Formulas,” “Data,” “Review,” and “View.” Permanent tabs like “Developer” and “Acrobat”

etc. may be present. Some more tabs called “tools”, like “Chart Tools” consisting of “Design,”

“Layout,” “Format” may be added automatically to the right of the tab list when you create a chart

and click the chart. When you deselect the chart by clicking a cell outside the chart, then the “Chart

Tools” tab disappear to save the space.

Below the menu bar is a menu ribbon (9), which contains groups of submenus related to the tab in

the menu bar (8). The group name is shown at the bottom of the ribbon, like Clipboard, Font,

Steps 1.1a Changing the worksheet name

1

2

3

(1) Use the mouse to move the pointer to point to the

“sheet1” tab. The fat cross pointer changes to a fat arrow

pointer.

(2) Click the “sheet1” tab twice to invert the black and

white background of the tab. The tab now is in the

editing mode.

(3) If you want to change the name to “Q1,” enter “Q1”.

The vertical line flashes, waiting for you to enter the next

character.

(4) To finish, click anywhere in the worksheet. This

changes the sheet name.

Similarly, change “sheet2” and “sheet3” to “Q2” and

Q3,” respectively.

4


Alignment, etc. under the “Home” tab. For example, the Font group (10) of the “Home” tab

contains the standard toolbar of Excel 2010. When we click a tab in the menu bar (8), the ribbon

associated with the tab also changes, giving different groups. The arrangement of the tabs and

commands in the ribbon is fixed and cannot be changed or moved. The row below the group names is

called the formula bar (11), which will show the formula or the entry of the cell at which the active

cell (3) is located. Enter 123 or =rand() in any cell, and the number or formula will appear in the

formula bar.

The last row at the bottom of the spreadsheet is called the status bar (13). In the illustration

(Fig. 1.1a), the worksheet is in the “ready” mode (14), that is, ready to receive data.

The major part of the worksheet consists of a grid of rows and columns. The rows are

denoted by Arabic numbers, called the row numbers or headings (15), shown in the row heading

bar (15), and the columns by alphabets, called the column letters or headings (16), shown in

column heading bar (16).

Use of a worksheet

Just to show a good example of the use of the spreadsheet, Table 1.1b shows the calculation

of the number of columns in the spreadsheet intuitively using Microsoft Excel 2010. By checking the

spreadsheet, we know the columns range from A to XFD. How many columns are there? While you

can use paper and pencil to calculate on a sheet of paper, it is much easier to calculate using Excel.


We have over 17 million cells in a worksheet. Usually, the amount of data you can enter on a

worksheet is limited only by the memory of the computer.

A cell has a cell address (or cell reference) like E4, which means that the cell is located1 at

the intersection of column E and row 4. A rectangular collection of cells is called a range. A range

may be part of a column or row, or may include parts of rows and columns. It is defined by choosing

the cell address at the northwest corner and the cell address at the southeast corner. In Table 1.1b, the

range of the data is A1:G20, and in Fig. 1.3a, the range is C5:F10, with the colon between the two

cell addresses.

1.2 Pointer Movements

1 This is different from matrix algebra notation. In matrix algebra, aij denotes the element at the ith row and the

jth column, while on the spreadsheet, it denotes the entry in column i and row j.

(1) Starting from 26 letters of the alphabet, each

letter can be combined with 26 other letters , so we

have 676 combinations in G6. They designate

column A through column ZZ.

(2) To each of the 676 combinations, we can

combine letters from A to W, a total of 23 letters.

So we have 23x656 = 15548 combinations for

columns A through WAZ

(3) For the three letter columns that start with X,

the space following the X contains only the letters

from A to E. The third space can contain any letter

of the alphabet. (1*5*26) for a total of 130

combinations.

(4) Row 19 shows that X can only be combined

with FA, FB, FC, and FD, a total of 4

combinations.

(5) The sum of column G = 16,384 columns.

Excel 2010 has 1,048,576 rows and 16,384

columns. The intersection of a row and a column is

a cell. There are 17,179,869,184 cells in a

worksheet.

Row numbers (or headings) and bar

Column numbers (or headings and bar (16) Table 1.1b Rows, Columns, and Cells

1

2

3

4 5


Excel has several methods of moving the pointer. You can combine the arrow keys, Home and End

keys, and PageUp, PageDown keys with the Control and Shift Keys. In the figure. Steps 1.2a shows

those methods. Begin with current active cell, which is enclosed by heavy borders in step 1. .

Shift Key (#) + Up, Down, Left, Right

Control Key (^) + Up Down, Left, Right

Inside a range: Control Key (^) + Up Down, Left, Right

(1) One cell at a time: The up, down,

left, or right arrow keys move the

active cell one cell up, down, left, or

right from the current active cell.

1 Up

one cell

Left Right

one cell one cell

Down

one cell

Current active cell

Pointer position

Steps 1.2a Movement of The Arrow

keys

Up, Down, Left, Right keys

(2) Select a range: If the Shift key (#)

is combined with the up, down, left, or

right arrow key, or the PageUp and

PageDown key, the pointer will select

the range defined by the original key’s

movement.

#Up

one cell

#Left #Right

one cell one cell

#Down

one cell

2

(3)Edge of the spreadsheet: If the

Ctrl key (^) is combined with up,

down, left, or right arrow keys, the

pointer will move the active cell to

the upper, lower, left, or right edge of

the whole spreadsheet if the

movement of the pointer is not

stopped by obstacle (cells with any

entries).

Screen (current) ^UP

G1 First row of col. G

First col. Of row 26 Last col of row 26

^Left A26 G26 XFD26 ^Right

Last row of col. G

G1048576

^Down

3


Inside a range: Control Key (^) + Shift Key (#) + Up Down, Left, Right

(4)Within data set: If the Ctrl key

(^) is combined with up, down, left,

or right arrow keys, the pointer will

move the active cell to the upper,

lower, left, or right edge of the same

row or column in the data set.

4

Inside a data range Ûp

0.848625 0.153325 0.773301 0.830191

0.489433 0.923431 0.422386 0.740839

^Left 0.871623 0.874296 0.26711 0.723268 ^Right

0.208187 0.654771 0.732892 0.586595

0.309627 0.393984 0.369496 0.918122

0.777031 0.37887 0.365775 0.5415

^Down

(5)Within data set: If the Ctrl key

(^) is combined with Sheft key (#)

and up, down, left, or right arrow

keys, the pointer will move the active

cell to the upper, lower, left, or right

edge of the same row or column in the

data set and at the same time select

and shade the range.

5

(6) Home: The Home key moves the

pointer to the beginning of the same

row of the active cell, and the

Control+Home key move the pointer

to cell A1. Ênd will move the pointer

to the southeast corner of the range of

all current entries on the active

worksheet.

The Home and End keys

Screen (current)

^Home A1

Home

Ênd

6


1.3 Generating random numbers

Now, we know how to move the pointer around the worksheet, we want to generate random numbers.

The method will be used in this book. The procedure is shown as Step 1.3a below. In Excel, the

formula of the random number generator is given by

=rand() (1.3.1)

(7) The PageUp and PageDown keys

move the active cell one screen up or

down from the current active cell

position. For example, PageDown from

cell G26 in a worksheet showing the

window of row 22 to row 33, a total of

12 rows in the current window (one

screen), will move the pointer from G26

to G38(=26+12).

(8) The Alt+PageUp and

Alt+PageDown keys move the active

cell one screen left or right from the

current active cell position. For example,

if columns of the current window range

from A to M, we have 13 columns. Thus,

Alt+PageDown will move the pointer 13

columns to T26.

Screen (current) A22:M33

PageUp 13 cols

12 rows A22 M22

One screen up

One screen left One screen right

Alt+PageUp row26 G26 Alt+PageDown

colG+13 col =colT

One screen down

A33 row26+12rows=row39 M33

PageDown

The PageUp and PageDown keys

8

7

(9) Previous or Next Sheet: If the

current active cell is anywhere in a

sheet (say, Sheet3), e

/Control+PageUp or

/Control+PageDown moves the

pointer to A1 of previous sheet

(Sheet2) or A1 of the next sheet

(Sheet4).

Sheet2 Sheet3 (current) Sheet4

A1 A1

^PageUp ^PageDown

9

The ^PageUp and ^PageDown keys


1

(1) Move the pointer to C5, and click the cell. The

pointer changes to a fat cross. Note that the name box

denotes the active cell C5, and the cell itself is enclosed

with heavy borders. The column heading and the row

heading in which the cell is located are shaded.

Steps 1.3a Generating random numbers in a range

Objective: Fill range C5:F10 with random numbers.

(2) Enter the random number generating function.

It is defined as =rand(). Enter it in C5. Note that when

=r is typed, a list of function names appears. You may

either ignore it (since you know what you are doing)

and continue typing to finish the entry; or you may

move the pointer to the word on the list to read the

definition of the rand function, and click the word

twice to enter the word into the cell as =rand(. Finish

the word by entering the right-hand parenthesis “)”. A

vertical bar is flashing next to (), waiting for more

entry.

2

(3) When the return key is entered, the random

number appears in cell C5. Each time the /F9/ key is

pressed, the number changes. Note that the formula

bar shows the formula in capital letters (which are

default). Move the fat cross pointer close to the

southeast corner of the border, which has a small

black box called the fill handle, and the fat cross

changes to a black plus sign, as shown.

3

(4)* Drag the black-plus sign to cell F5 and

release the LM. This will copy the formula and its

value from C5 to F5, as shown.

4


Remarks on Steps 1.3a Generating random numbers in a range (a) In step (4), if you stop at F5, move the pointer away and click anywhere, the shade and the black-

plus sign disappear. In this case, to resume filling the range C5:F10, you have to repeat step (3) by

selecting and shading C5:F5, moving the pointer to the southeast corner of F5, and dragging the

range down to F10.

(b) You may press the F9 key (which is called the recalculation key) several times to change the

numbers #

Two methods of selecting a range

There are two methods of selecting a range.

(5)* Next, while the range C5:F5 is selected, drag

the fill handle down to F10 and the range C5:F10

is selected. Release LM and the range will be

shaded and filled with random numbers. Move

the pointer away from the fill handle and click the

LM, and the shade disappears but the random

numbers remain.

Note that the formula of the initial cell, C5 is

shown in the formula bar, and its cell position is

shown in the name box.

5

(1) For a given range, say, C5:F10, select a range

by clicking a cell, say C5, pressing LM, and

dragging the pointer with the fat cross to the

desired range, say to F10. Range C5:F10 will be

shaded. Then releasing the LM. The shade

remains. Click outside the shade, the shade

disappears.

1

Fig. 1.3a Generating numbers and creating a range


The pointer movement inside a range

When the range is selected (shaded), use the (right) tab key to move the pointer one cell to right, or

the shift+tab key to move the pointer one cell to left, inside the shaded range. For other pointer

movement with a range, see Seps (4) and (5) of Steps 1.2a.

.

1.4 Upper left corner and the formula bar

To be acquainted with a person, we first note the person’s face, dress, and manners.

Similarly, to acquaint ourselves with a worksheet, we have to note and study the appearance of the

worksheet and its functions. This way we will not feel strange facing a worksheet.

The first corner of the worksheet is almost the same as other Microsoft Office programs, like

Microsoft Word 2010. We explain it in two parts.

1.4.1 The first part of the upper left corner

(2) Another method is to select the northwest

corner of cell C5, hold the shift key, and then

click the southeast corner of cell F10.

This second method is particularly useful

when the range is large, say, several pages long. In

this case, we use the horizontal or vertical split

bar (see Figs. 1.6b, 1.6c). Click the first cell,

pressing and holding the shift key, and click the

last cell in the other side of the split bar. The

whole range is selected.

2 Hold the shift key

(1) Inside C5:F10, by pressing the tab key, the

pointer will move along a row within the shaded

area only, and will bounce back automatically to

the beginning of the next row from the end of the

previous row. This feature is useful when we

enter data manually in the range.

1

Use the tab key to move

the pointer..


The first part of the upper left corner, see Fig. 1.4a, consists of the menus of commands. The

top row contains the Excel button and the Quick Access Tool Bar. Clicking Excel logo (1) will open

a list of menu which repeats other commands with more choices. The row of logos on the right of the

office button is the quick access toolbar (2). As its name indicates, you can activate the command

by simply clicking the logo on the menu without going through the steps. The original Microsoft

Word 2010 comes with only the following three logos:

(1) Excel button

(2) Quick access toolbar

(3) Customize quick access toolbar

(4) Tabs (Home tab, Insert tab, etc.)

Fig. 1.4a The northwest corner of the worksheet

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(9) Font dialog box launcher (8) More paste options

(5)Ribbon

for the

“home”

Tab.

(7) Button with an arrow

(6) Font group


Saving a file

To save a file for the first time, click /“File”/Save as/. See (1.1.2). You can save in two formats: If

you use Excel 2010, then click “Excel Workbook,” but if you use Excel 1997-2003, you should

click “Excel 97-2003 Workbook.” After you decide which format you are using, select your disk

drive, give the new file name as [Ch1RandomNumber] and /Save/. If you choose the former, the file

will save with extension .xlsx; if the latter, it will be saved with extension .xls. Note that if you save

in Excel Workbook (that is in Excel 2010), then you cannot open the saved file using your Excel 97-

2003, but if you save the file in Excel 97-2003, you can open it in Excel 2010 (backward

compatibility).

For convenience, we may add some more-often used commands after using the Customize

Quick Access toolbar (3) in Fig. 1.4a.

1New Open a new workbook file

2Open Open an existing saved file

4Preview Preview the worksheet before printing. Return to the normal view by clicking /Close/.

5Print Quick print of the current worksheet. If you want to change the printing specifications, like

double-sided printing, multiple copies, etc., you have to use /“File”/Print/ command.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(2) Quick access toolbar (1) Excel button

(3) Customize quick access toolbar

1

2

3

4

5

6 7

3Save This feature allows a quick way to save a

file. It saves the current workbook in the current

directory automatically without asking you what

to do. If you want to save in a different file

name or in a different disk, you have to use the

/Save As/ command under the “File” menu (see

(1.1.2).

6Undo The feature allows you to undo the last

action. For example, if you type 123 in cell B2,

then delete the number, you can click /“Undo”/

and 123 reappears. When you make an error by

erasing some entry, you can always use this to

restore it.

7Redo. This feature allows you to redo the

action that you previously undid. For example,

in B2, you have the number 123, the result of

the “Undo” command above. If you click

“Redo,” the number disappears; that is, you

have redone what you undid. Click Undo and

Redo several times using B2 to get the feeling of

the commands.


These four menu buttons are taken from the menu inside the “File” button (1) by using the

"customize quick access toolbar" (3). When the down arrow is clicked, a drop down menu appears.

You may select or deselect the items you want to add or delete them in the toolbar.

The second row of the worksheet is the tab row (4). The tab row is a menu bar, where each

tab is associated with a Ribbon (5) that contains several menu choices called groups. Each group is

contained in a separate box. For instance, a group like the Font group (6) in Fig. 1.4a, has different

very small boxes called buttons in different shapes and sizes. By clicking on a particular button,

Excel will perform the action associated with that button. Some buttons come with a selection arrow,

like the Underline button U (7), or the More Paste Options button (8), or the Font dialog box

launcher (9). In all cases, clicking the down arrow will give you a drop-down list with a menu.

Clicking (9) will open the extensive Format Cells dialogue window. Many of the frequently used

commands contained in the Format Cells dialog box are already available in the ribbon.

If the button is on the right-hand side of the logo, like Underline (7), Excel will remember

that item. After you choose an item from the menu, the new choice will replace your previous

choice and will be shown on the button. If the arrow is below the logo, like (8), Excel will not

remember the item and the logo and the function (in this case, the plain “Paste”) stay the same. Most

buttons come without a short arrow, like the bold face button B. In this case, you simply select the

cell and click B. The text in the cell will be bold faced.

1.4.2 The second part of the upper left corner

Underneath the ribbon, you will see two rows. The first contains the name box and the

formula bar. The next row down contains the “Select All” button, and the column heading bar You

will also see the row heading bar that runs the full length of the left hand side of the worksheet.

The intersection of the row-heading bar

and the column-heading bar is called the

“select-all” button. It will select and shade

the whole worksheet. This is very useful

command if you want to copy the whole

sheet to another workbook. Click the Select

All button, and click anywhere in the

window to deselect the Select-All button.

Fig. 1.4b Second part of the upper-left corner

The column heading bar Select all

The row heading bar


(4) If a range on the worksheet is given a name, say, “sample” (see Chapter 4), then the name range

will show “sample” when the range is selected.

(5) If there are other named ranges, the drop down name list contains all other defined names of the

ranges on all the worksheets in the workbook.

(6) If you move the pointer to a blank cell, say B5, and click the formula button (fx) an Insert

Function dialogue box appears. In the dialogue box, you may click the down arrow on the right of

“Select a category” box, and select “Math & Trig” from the drop-down list. Then select RAND from

the “Select a function” box. We have introduced this random function in (1.3.1). Click /ok/, then the

Function Arguments box appears. It says: “This function takes no arguments,” /ok/. The cell will

be filled with a fraction, as in step (3) of Fig. 1.3a.

In general, compared with (1.3.1), the formula button is so time consuming and redundant

that it is seldom useful for us, unless you do not know the formula. If you know the formula, as you

usually do from economic and business analysis, you simply enter =rand() manually and get a

random number. Thus, we do not use this method of entering formulas in this book. Other methods

of entering a formula are explained in Chapter 2.

Remarks on Steps 1.4a Changing column width and row height

(1) The value or formula contents of a cell will be shown in

the formula bar. Enter /Esc/ to exit the formula mode.

(2) The script bold X is “cancel the editing” without

changing the original formula. (It is the same as /Esc/).

(3) The check button is “enter the formula buttons,”

which is the same as /Enter/ without the pointer moving one

cell down.

2

1

3

4 5 6

Steps 1.4a Changing column width and row height

Column separator

2 1

Row separator 3

(1) Move the pointer close to a column separator

(the short vertical line in the column heading bar), say

between A and B. The white fat cross changes to a

black cross with left and right arrows, indicating that

the column separator is ready to move.

(2)* Click LM and a width indicator appears, as

indicated by the arrow. The number changes when

you move the separator. Move the separator toward

the left to 30 pixels, and move back.

(3) Similarly, you may change the height of the rows

by clicking and dragging the row separator (2) up

and down.


(a) In Step (2), if you want to draw a flow chart, you can adjust the column width to make a

plotting paper. #

1.5 Upper right corner

The upper right corner, of the worksheet, in Fig. 1.5a, consists of a group of basic workbook and

worksheet operations: the upper three buttons are: minimize (1) the whole workbook to the bottom of

the window; reduce (2) the sheet to less than full screen, or close (3) the Excel workbook; the lower

three buttons, 4, 5, and 6, do the same for worksheet. Button (7a) is Minimize the Ribbon, and (7b)

is the Help button

To split the worksheet, use the mouse to click the horizontal split bar (9) and drag it to the

middle of the worksheet, then enter 1 in the upper part of the sheet and 2 in the lower part of the sheet

(see Fig. 1.5b). Move the vertical scroll bar (11) in the vertical scroll box up and down to see how

the numbers move, or move the vertical scroll-up arrow (10). To eliminate the split, double click

the horizontal split line, or use the mouse to select the horizontal split bar and move it back to the

original place at (9). Both numbers are now on the same sheet. Note that the vertical scroll arrow up

(10) and down (11), or Vertical scroll bar (10) are available for each subwindow, making it easy to

adjust the subwindow (see Fig. 1.5b).

1 2 3

7a 7b 4 5 6

(1) Minimize, (2) reduce/maximize , and (3) close

buttons for Excel workbook

(4) Minimize, (5) reduce/maximize, and (6) close buttons

for Excel worksheet

(8) Expanding button for the formula bar

(9) Horizontal split bar

(10) Vertical scroll arrow up

(12) Vertical scroll bar

(7a) Help

(7b) Minimize the ribbon

Fig. 1.5a The upper right corner of the worksheet

(11) Vertical scroll arrow down


1.6 Lower right corner

The lower right corner of the worksheet is shown in Figs. 1.6a. You can split the worksheet

vertically by using the mouse pointer. Select select and drag the vertical split bar (3) to the center of

the worksheet. In Fig. 1.6a, move the split line between A and B. Enter number 3 anywhere on the

left-hand side of the split, enter number 4 anywhere on the right-hand side, and move the horizontal

scroll bar (7a) in the horizontal scroll box (7b) left and right, or click the horizontal scroll-right (5)

or scroll-left (6) arrow. Watch how the numbers move. Click the vertical split box (3) twice or drag

the divided line to the right to cancel the split. The numbers are now on one sheet.

You may also split the screen into four parts simultaneously by using the horizontal and

vertical split boxes. You may move the vertical or horizontal scroll bars to see how the four numbers

move.

(1) Generate random numbers from

A2 to C101 (See Steps 1.3a). Enter

column titles in row 1.

(2) When the pointer moves to the

horizontal split bar, the pointer changes

to = with up and down arrows.

(3) Drag it to the row between row 4 and

row 5. Use Vertical scroll bar (12) at “a”

to scroll down the row until row 101

shows up. In this way we can compare

data in row 2 (say, for branch 1), with

that of row 101 (say, for branch 100)

directly.

(8)

(10) V scroll -up

(12) V scroll bar

V scroll-down

a

Fig. 1.5b Horizontal split

(10) V scroll-up

(11) V scroll-down

(12) V scroll bar

1 2

3

(13) V split bar

1 2 3

1 2 3

(2) Vertical scroll arrow down

(4) Worksheet/workbook size

adjustment

(5) Horizontal scroll arrow - right

(6) Horizontal scroll arrow - left

(8) Horizontal scroll box adjustment bar

9 10 11

(12) (Worksheet font) Zoom slider

(9) Normal view

(10) Page Layout

(7a) Horizontal scroll bar

(11) Page Break Preview

(3) Vertical split bar

(1b) Vertical scroll box

(7b). Horizontal scroll box

(1a) Vertical scroll bar

(13) Status bar

Fig. 1.6a The lower right corner of the worksheet

(14) View tabs


In addition, there are several ways to adjust the window size. First, place the workbook or

worksheet in reduced mode by clicking and dragging (2) or (5) as in Fig. 1.5a. When the workbook

(1) When the pointer moves to the vertical split bar (see

(13) of Fig. 1.5b), the pointer changes to a vertical =

equal sign with left and right arrows.

(2) Select and drag it between cols. A and B. Click the

Horizontal scroll arrow-right (5), denoted as “a” in Fig.

1.6a, several times until column E comes to next to the

vertical split line. If column A shows the year and

column E shows Profit, we can make a direct

comparison of the numbers across the columns.

(3) Note that the scroll left and right arrows (5) and (6)

are available for both subwindows.

In this figure, the whole spreadsheet is reduced

to 12 rows and three columns by using (4) Worksheet

size adjustment.

Fig. 1.6b Vertical split of the spreadsheet

(4) WKST adj

(3) V split bar

(5)

(6) H scroll Left

(5) H scroll Rigt

(6)

a 1

2

3

In Fig. 1.6c, the spreadsheet data is divided into four

subwindows. We now can compare directly TR and Profit, and

those of branch 1 and branch 100.

The division of the spreadsheet is a very useful and

powerful tool for a large set (say, 50 rows by 10 columns) of

data.

Fig. 1.6c The four subwindows of spreadsheet

Select B2:D3, the descriptive data statistics will

show up left of the view bar on the status bar

(see (13) of Fig. 1.6a).

You may change what you want to

display by clicking the bar and /RM/, and choose

the functions.

Fig. 1.6d The lower right corner of the worksheet

Name box


or worksheet is in the reduced mode , the size of workbook or worksheet can be adjusted by dragging

the worksheet size adjustment button as in (4) in Fig. 1.6a. Also, note that in Fig. 1.6a, the size of

the horizontal scroll box (7b) can be adjusted by moving the horizontal scroll box adjustment bar

(8) to the right or left. This is convenient if you have many worksheets and you want to show the

worksheet tabs. The size of the fonts on the worksheets can be adjusted to large or small by moving

the zoom slider (12). This is useful if the worksheet is projected on a whiteboard for presentation.

In Fig. 1.6a, the three buttons in the status bar (13) are the normal view (9), which is the

default view of the worksheet, the page layout view (10) for fine-tuning pages before printing, and

the page break preview (11) for adjusting the page break line before printing. These three

commands are also available under /“View”/ tab.

When you enter numbers in a range, say 1 to 6 in B2:D3, and select a range of numbers, then

the results of some statistical functions, such as average, count, and sum, show up on the left-hand

side of the view buttons (9, 10, 11) in the status bar (13). This is a convenient way to do simple

statistics instantly. You may choose the kind of statistical functions to display by moving the pointer

to any place on the status bar (13), clicking /RM/, and selecting the item you want to display.

1.7 Lower left corner

The lower left corner, Fig. 1.7a, shows the sheets management area. The default number of the

worksheets in a workbook is 6, but you can create many more new worksheets by clicking insert

sheet tab button (3). Click the button 9 times to increase the number of sheet tabs from 6 to 12. The

sheets now overflow to the right of the horizontal scroll box adjustment bar (8) of Fig. 1.6a.

Select Sheet3 as the active sheet. Using the mouse, click the last left sheet arrow (4) to jump

back to Sheet1, click the next right sheet arrow (6) to scroll the sheets to the right one by one, click

the last right sheet arrow (7) to jump to Sheet15, and then click next left sheet arrow (5) to scroll

the sheets to the left one by one. Watch how the active sheet tab, Sheet3, moves.

Multiple worksheets can be selected from the sheet tabs (1) in Fig. 1.7a. To do so, in A1,

enter 1 anywhere in Sheet1, click and open sheet2, and enter 2. Lastly, click and open Sheet3, and

enter 3. This will identify each sheet. Click Sheet1, and then, pressing and holding the control key,

Tab scrolling buttons

(4) |◄ Last left sheet

(5) ◄ Next left sheet

(6) ► Next right sheet

(7) ►| Last right sheet

(3) Insert sheet tab button

(same as /“Home”/Cells,

Insert!/Insert Sheet/)

(1) Sheet tabs

(2) Active sheet tab

Fig. 1.7a Lower left corner of the worksheet

4 5 6 7

a

(or //, or, see Section 1.1)

(or // and drag the tab,

// and ^drag the tab

(or // and /Delete key/

(same as /“Home”/Cells,

Insert!/Insert Sheet/)

a

a


click both the Sheet2 and Sheet3 tabs (the tabs should be consecutive). The background of the three

tabs changes to white, and [Group] indicator appears after the workbook name in the title bar (See

Fig. 1.1a, (7)). Enter “Test1 John Doe” in cell B1 in the current worksheet. Click any one of the

sheet tabs in the group to move inside the grouped sheets; “Test1 John Doe” should be shown in cell

B1 in all three sheets in the group. Deselect the group tabs by clicking any sheet tab that is not in the

group.

Right clicking any tab will invoke the menu for tab operations, as shown on the right side of

Fig. 1.7a. Using this menu, we can /delete/ the whole sheet permanently or choose /Tab color/ to

color the tabs.

/Move or Copy/ is a useful command if you want to rearrange the sheet in order, for example,

interchanging Q2 and Q1, or copy Q2 to another sheet for practicing and trying another method.

Clicking the menu item will give a dropdown menu and you follow the menu. However, it is best to

use the select-and-drag method as follows.

Remarks for Steps 1.7a Moving and copying a tab In Excel, a command can be executed either by menu or by the pointer. Generally, the pointer method

is direct and much faster if you know how to do it. That needs some practice and familiarity with

Excel.

1.8 Printer Basics

If you are printing the current worksheet as it is, you may simply click /"File"/Print/Quick Print/. In

both cases, the printer will start printing immediately.

If you write homework (or test) questions separately in several worksheets, or you want to

print only part of the worksheet, or you want to print more than one copy, you need to enter specific

printer settings. In Excel 2010, the printer settings are scattered in three places: the Print Settings

1

(1) Click anywhere on the sheet. Move the pointer near the border

of the selected tab, say the” move” tab or the “copy” tab in the

figure. The fat cross changes to a fat arrow.

(2) For moving, press the LM. A small sheet is added to the tip of

the fat arrow, and a black down arrow appears at the upper left

corner of the tab, showing the position of the tab. Drag it to the

desired place and release the mouse.

(3) For copying, In Step (1), when a small sheet is added to

the tip of the fat arrow, use the left index finger to press the

control key, a plus sign + is added on the sheet. Holding LM

and drag the tab to the desired place and release the mouse,

you have copied the sheet.

Steps 1.7a Moving and copying a tab

2

3


screen under the “File” tab, the “Page Setup” dialog box at the bottom of Print Setting Screen, and

the “Page Setup” ribbon category under “Page Layout” tab. Many commands overlap each other

and can be confusing. The following printing steps help you sorting out some of the most useful

commands for business and economic applications.

1

(1)* Printing from default

setting: /"File"/Print/, Print

window opens. Print preview will

be shown automatically on the

right-hand side. Enter /Print/ to

print.

(2)* Any adjustment of the

default setting can be done under

“Settings” by clicking the down

arrow button on the right.

(3)* “Print entire workbook” is a

useful option.

(4) /No Scaling!/Fit Sheet on One

Page/ is a useful command. The

font size will be reduced

automatically.

(5) Use “Show Margins” to make

limited adjustment of margins in

the printing mode. Use “Zoom to

Page” to the actual contents of the

current page.

(6) For more print options, click

/Page Setup/. Step (7) opens.

2

Steps 1.8a Excel printing (I): Using /Print Setting/ Screen

4

6

5

Show Margins Zoom to Page

3


Remarks on Steps 1.8a, b, c Excel Printing

(7) Scaling repeats Step (3), except that here

you can adjust numerically. You can fit

several pages in one page with reduced font

size.

You may go back to the normal size

by /Scaling, @Adjust to/ [100] %/ normal

size.

(8) “Options…” contains the printer

options, and it depends on the printer you

use. It may include tabs like “Printing

Shortcuts”, “Paper Quality”, “Effects”,

“Finishing”, etc.

7

8

Steps 1.8b Excel printing (II): Using /Print Setup/ Dialog Box

(9)* Select a range, say, C5:F10, to be

printed. Then, from the ribbon, /“Page

Layout”/Page Setup, Print Area!/Set Print

Area/. The range of Print Area will be

entered in the box (9).

(10)* To add the Print Title, namely, the

rows or columns to repeat at the top or left on

each printed page, enter /“Page

Layout”/Page Setup!/Sheet/. The Page Setup

dialog box appears (as shown). Click the

square box a or b and select the range of

rows or columns, the range of rows or

columns will be entered in the boxes of (10).

(11) Printing “Gridlines” and “Row and

column headings” are useful for clarity in

explaining the printed chart and data.

10

9

11

a

b

Steps 1.8c Excel Printing (III): Using “Page Layout” Ribbon.

(9) (10) below can be entered only through the “Page Layout” Ribbon.


(a) In Step (1), since printing is a common command, we suggest to put” Instant printing” in the

Quick Access Toolbar. (b) In Step (2), for a large worksheet ranging several pages, before printing, use two buttons at the

lower right bottom of the spreadsheet, Page Layout ((10) of Fig. 1.6a) or Page Break Preview ((11)

of Fig. 1.6a) to adjust the margin and cut extruding part. Note that the page border lines are

adjustable by clicking the lines and drag.

(c) In Step (3), when you answer test questions on separate worksheets, you may like to print the

answers to all exam questions at the same time, and use “Print entire workbook.”

(d) Print Area in Step (9) can be activated or deactivated only through the “Page Layout” tab. The

Print Area is useful if a worksheet contains a large table that covers many pages, you may like to

print only part of it. For example, you may select only a table or a chart to print, but not both.

To cancel the print area, /~/~/Clear Print Area/. For additional print area, select the range and

/~/~/Add to Print Area/.

(e) In Step (10), “Gridlines” and “Row and column headings” may also be added from /"Page

Layout"/Sheet Options, Gridlines, xPrint/ and /~/~/Heading, xPrint/. #

1.9 Summary

The command buttons in new Excel 2010 are many and very complicated, if not confusing. Based on

our long experience of introducing spreadsheets to students, we have tried our best to introduce the

above commands. It is suggested that the most useful features of the spreadsheets are moving,

copying, pasting, adding, and deleting cells and ranges, columns and rows, text boxes, tables, and

charts, worksheets and workbooks. We especially recommend the use of the control key method to

move and copy a range. Other commands can be learned as the need for them arises in the process of

using spreadsheets in economic and business applications in later chapters. Thus, the more you use

the spreadsheets, the faster you will become familiar with Excel commands and become an expert.

You will find that spreadsheets can be used in many areas, including finance, business, economics,

science, and engineering.

the excel worksheets -...

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