1. Creating a Worksheet and
Chart
MOP
Excel Project 1 – pgs. EX1 – EX52

2.  Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application
 A spreadsheet allows data to be easily summarized and
charted
 A chart allows data to show a visual representation of data
 An Excel file is also called a Workbook
 Each workbook contains worksheets
 By default Excel opens with 1 worksheet. A user can add as
many worksheets as needed to convey the data in an
understandable format
About Excel

3.  Excel is set up much like the other Office products – ribbons
control everything
 The worksheet consists of row and columns which are
created by gray lines called gridlines
 The intersection of a column and a row is called a cell
 When a cell is active it has a dark black border around it – the
example below shows cell D4 as the active cell
 The column
letter comes
1st then the
row number
to identify a cell
The Excel Environment

4.  The letters across the top are called row headers
 The numbers down the left side are called row headers
 When referring to a cell the user is making a cell
reference such as the phrase “select cell D4”. The letter
or column always comes first then the number or letter
 The last cell in a worksheet is XFD1048576 – yes, there
are a lot of cells.
More about the Excel Environment

5.  There are several ways to move around the worksheet:
 Point and Click with the mouse is probably the easiest. Point to
the cell and click on it will make that the active cell
 The arrows on the keyboard are also an option – on press of an
arrow moves the active cell one position in the direction of the
arrow
 The tab key moves the active cell one column to the right
 The enter key moves the active cell one row down
 Finally a user can click in the name box and type in the desired
cell to make that the active cell
Moving around Excel
Name box

6.  To enter data the user needs only to click on a cell to make it
active and begin typing
 Text will automatically be left aligned
 Numbers will automatically be right aligned
 The following are considered numbers: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + - ( ) , / * . $ % E e
 When entering data, it may spill over into another column, this is
normal. Column widths can be easily adjusted.
 The image below shows data entered into cell B2 – it spills over
into C2 & D2
 Once data is entered into C2 the data in B2 goes behind – it is still
there just buried until the columns are adjusted
Entering Data

7. WARNING -- WARNING
Do not format anything until
the book asks you to when
doing the walk through or the
projects. Changing things
before being asked may result
in you having to redo
everything!!!!

8.  The major benefit of Excel is the ability for it to perform
multiple calculations in a fraction of a second
 In order to perform calculations the user must select
multiple cells
 A selection of multiple cells is called a range
 An example of referring to a range - D4:E8, the first cell (top
left) is named (D4) then the colon which means through and
then the second cell (lower right of range) is named.
Ranges / Functions / Formulas
When selecting a range be
sure to start in the middle of
the first cell, do not click on
the border of the cell or the
fill handle

9.  In Excel a formula, as most people would know it, is called a
function.
 Excel has several hundred functions built in – anything from
basic math to higher level trigonometry and calculus
 The most basic math functions can be inserted by using the
Autosum button located on the right side of the home ribbon
 The Autosum button looks like a backwards E – known as sigma in
the Greek alphabet
 Immediately to the right of the Autosum button
is a dropdown arrow that has other basic math
options such as average, minimum and
maximum
More about Functions / Formulas

10.  In order to find the sum of a range the user must select the
cell where the answer will be, then click the autosum button.
Excel will then give an assumed range to add. The user can
adjust the range or hit enter to calculate.
 The image to the right shows the range B2:D2 being suggest as
the range to be added.
Summing a Range/ Fill Handle
The image above shows the result of
hitting enter and then reselecting the cell
– notice the small black box in the lower
right corner – this is the fill handle

11.  The fill handle is used to copy data, formulas, and completing
sequences of numbers or text
 To use the fill handle place your curser over the handle then
click, hold and drag down
 The image above shows the use of the fill handle after copying
the sum function down the rows.
The fill Handle

12.  At times Excel will not have a built in formula or
function that can be applied – a formula must be
entered by hand
 Any and all formulas/functions must begin with an
equal sign (=)
 As the formula is entered a user can click on the
desired cell or type it in
Formulas

13.  Cell styles allows the user to change several
characteristics of a cell including font, font size, and
font color
Cell Styles

14.  Excel allows the user to merge multiple cells together into one
large cell
 One of the main uses of this is to center titles and create
worksheets that are easier to read.
 The merge button is in the middle of the home ribbon
Merging cells
Select the range
to merge – as
shown to the
right – then click
the merge &
center button
The image to the left
shows the result of the
merge & center

15.  The easiest way to resize a column or row is to place the
cursor on the line between the column or row (the cursor will
turn into a double arrow) and then click and drag to the
desired width or height
 The exact measurement will show in a tooltip box when the user
clicks
 A second way of resizing is to double click the line in between
the rows and columns. This will make the column or row the
height or width of the biggest data entry.
 If you get this in the cell ########## - that means there is not
enough room in the cell to display information – increase the
width of the column
Resizing Columns and Rows

16.  Charts and graphs are visual representations of the data within
the worksheet
 An embedded chart is a chart that is on the same page as the
data it is representing.
 An example of an embedded chart is below
 A chart that is on its own
sheet is called a chart
sheet
Charts

17.  When selecting the data to be charted take note as to what is
being asked for
 Most charts will need column and/or row headings selected in
order to populate the axis across the bottom and on the left side
 Do not select the total column or total row as this will throw
off the chart – the totals will be much greater than the original
data – see image for an example
More about Charts

18.  Located on the bottom of the worksheet are three tabs – sheet
tabs
 You can add as many tabs as needed – remember each sheet can
hold lots of information
 You can rename tabs by double clicking on the tab and typing the
name you would like
 You can recolor the tab by right clicking on it, pointing to tab color
and choosing a color
 The color will not show up
until another tab is selected
Sheet Tabs
Renamed Tab New Sheet Button

19.  The autocalculate area is located at the bottom of the window
on the status bar
 The autocalculate area will calculate several different formulas
once a range of cells is selected.
 By right clicking on the status bar a menu will appear that
allows the user to choose the calculations that the user would
like shown.
AutoCalculate