Lesson 6: Getting Started with MS Excel 2010

Objective:
 Define Microsoft Excel
 Familiarize oneself with MS Excel window
 Identify the types of data and common functions in Excel
 Determine on how to enter text, values and formulas
 Apply some techniques to speedup data entry

Description:
Microsoft Excel is a commercial spreadsheet application, written and distributed by Microsoft for
Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet tool capable of performing calculations, analyzing
data and integrating information from different programs.
Introduction to Microsoft Excel 2010
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program developed by Microsoft Corporation. A spreadsheet is a grid
of rows and columns that helps organize, summarize, and calculate data. Spreadsheets are an everyday
part of many professions, including accounting, statistical analysis, and project management. You can
use Excel to create business forms, such as invoices and purchase orders, among many other useful
documents.
MS Excel is automated version of the paper-based spreadsheet that makes it easier to manipulate,
process, and view the data. Lotus 1-2-3 was the first spreadsheet to introduce cell names and macros
but, Excel one of the first spreadsheet programs that used Graphical User Interface (GUI). It also
introduced users to the point and click style of navigating the spreadsheet using the mouse.
MS Excel is an electronic spreadsheet that can be used to store, organized and manipulate data. With
this program, you can enter numerical values or data into rows or columns of a spreadsheet, perform
calculations, insert graphs and do statistical analysis of data. By default, documents saved in Excel 2010
are saved with the .xlsx extension whereas the file extension of the prior Excel versions is .xls.

Starting MS Excel 2010

1. Click on the Start button.
2. Click on All Programs option from the menu.
3. Search for Microsoft Office from the sub menu and click it.
4. Search for Microsoft Excel 2010 from the submenu and click it.

This will launch the Microsoft Excel 2010 application and you will see the following excel window.
The Workbook
A workbook is an Excel file that contains one or more worksheets which you can use to organize
various kind of related information. By default, a new workbook contains three worksheets which you
can access by clicking on the worksheet tab.
The Worksheet
A worksheet is a single spreadsheet that consists of cell organized into columns and rows. In a
worksheet, rows are identified by numbers while columns are identified by letters. In Excel 2010, the
worksheet contains 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns.
The Cell
The intersection of row and column is known as a cell. A cell is the basic unit for storing data in the
spreadsheet. Because an Excel spreadsheet contains billions of cells, each is given a cell reference or
address to identify it. The active cell is the selected cell, which having a dark outline or border.

Explore Window in Excel 2010

The following basic window appears when you start the excel application. Let us now understand the
various important parts of this window.

File Tab
The File tab replaces the Office button from Excel 2007. You can click it to check the Backstage
view, where you come when you need to open or save files, create new sheets, print a sheet, and do
other file-related operations.
Quick Access Toolbar
You will find this toolbar just above the File tab and its purpose is to provide a convenient resting place
for the Excel's most frequently used commands. You can customize this toolbar based on your comfort.
Ribbon

Ribbon contains commands organized in three components −

 Tabs − they appear across the top of the Ribbon and contain groups of related commands.
Homes, Insert, Page Layout are the examples of ribbon tabs.
 Groups − they organize related commands; each group name appears below the group on the
Ribbon. For example, group of commands related to fonts or group of commands related to
alignment etc.
 Commands − Commands appear within each group as mentioned above.
Title Bar
This lies in the middle and at the top of the window. Title bar shows the program and the sheet titles.
Help
The Help Icon can be used to get excel related help anytime you like. This provides nice tutorial on
various subjects related to excel.
Name Box
Name box is located at the left side of the formula bar, which displays the name of the active cell. It can
also be used to jump into a desired cell.
Formula Bar
Formula Bar is located just above the worksheet area, which displays the content or formula used in
the active cell.
Zoom Control
Zoom control lets you zoom in for a closer look at your text. The zoom control consists of a slider that
you can slide left or right to zoom in or out. The + buttons can be clicked to increase or decrease the
zoom factor.
View Buttons
The group of three buttons located to the left of the Zoom control, near the bottom of the screen, lets
you switch among Excel’s various sheet views.
 Normal Layout view − this displays the page in normal view.
 Page Layout view − this displays pages exactly as they will appear when printed. This gives a full
screen look of the document.
 Page Break view − this shows a preview of where pages will break when printed.
Worksheet Area
The Sheet Area is the area where you enter data. The flashing vertical bar is called the insertion
point and it represents the location where text will appear when you type.
Row Label
Rows are numbered from 1 onwards and keep on increasing as you keep entering data. Maximum limit
is 1,048,576 rows.
Column Label
Columns are numbered from A onwards and keeps on increasing as you keep entering data. After Z, it
will start the series of AA, AB and so on. Maximum limit is 16,384 columns.
Status Bar
This displays the current status of the active cell in the worksheet. A cell can be in either of the four
states (a) Ready mode which indicates that the worksheet is ready to accept user input (b) Edit mode
indicates that cell is editing mode, if it is not activated the you can activate editing mode by double-
clicking on a cell (c) A cell enters into Enter mode when a user types data into a cell (d) Point mode
triggers when a formula is being entered using a cell reference by mouse pointing or the arrow keys on
the keyboard.

Entering Data in MS Excel

Spreadsheet data is information that is stored in any spreadsheet program such as Excel. Data stored in
cells in a worksheet can be used in calculations, displayed in graphs, or sorted and filtered to find
specific information.

Types of Spreadsheet Data

Spreadsheets are composed of columns and rows that create a grid of cells. Typically, each cell holds a
single item of data. Here's an explanation of the three types of data most commonly used in
spreadsheet programs:

 Labels (Text), is used for worksheet headings and names that identify columns of data. Text data can
contain letters, numbers, and special characters such as ! or &. By default, text data is left-aligned in
a cell.
 Values (Number), is used in calculations. By default, numbers are right-aligned in a cell. In addition
to actual numbers, Excel also stores dates and times as numbers. Other spreadsheet programs treat
dates and times as a separate data category. Problems arise when numbers are formatted as text
data. This prevents them from being used in calculations.
 Formulas are mathematical equations that work in combination with data from other cells on the
spreadsheet. Simple formulas are used to add or subtract numbers. Advanced formulas perform
algebraic equations. Spreadsheet functions are formulas that are built into Excel.
Data Entry Technique

1. AutoFill

AutoFill feature allows you to copy the content and format of the selected cell and to complete a
known sequence like days of the week, months, and even number series by dragging the fill handle.
Fill handle is the black square in the lower right corner of the active cell or selection.

When data is needed to be entered in a sequential fashion, the Fill handle can be used to
accomplish that process. When Excel sees that the data to be copied is either a month, day, date, or
many combinations of text and numbers together, such as Quiz1, it will automatically see it as a
sequential increase as that data is copied using AutoFill.

Example:

In addition, the user can input an example of data in 2 or more cells and Excel will use an
incremental sequence to match that selected data when it is copied using AutoFill.

Example:

2. AutoComplete

The AutoComplete feature in Office Excel 2007 anticipates what you might want to enter next based
upon text you just entered, thus reducing errors and speeding up your work. AutoComplete comes
into play only when you’re entering a column of text entries.

AutoComplete looks at the kinds of entries that you make in that column and automatically
duplicates them in subsequent rows whenever you start a new entry that begins with the same
letter or letters as an existing entry. Then you can simply press Enter and Excel enters the text in the
cell so you don’t have to type the rest of it.
Keys to speed up your data entry
1. Enter key: Pressing the key will enters the data and moves the active cell highlight down to the
next cell in the current column.
2. Tab key: Pressing the key will enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next cell
in the current row.
3. Arrow keys: Pressing the key will enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next
cell in the direction of the specific arrow key pressed.
4. Esc key: Pressing the key will cancels the current data entry.

Navigating the Excel Worksheet

Navigation is how to move from one place to another in an Excel worksheet. There are a variety of
methods that can be used to navigate around an Excel Worksheet or Workbook. The keyboard is a very
efficient method that can be used to navigate.

Basic Navigation keys

1. Ctrl + Home – moves the active cell to cell A1
2. Ctrl + End - moves to the intersection of last used column/row
3. Arrow keys - moves one cell to the direction of the arrow at a time
4. Ctrl + Right Arrow - moves the active cell to the end of cell range
5. Ctrl + Left Arrow - moves cursor to the beginning of cell range
6. PageDown – moves one screen down at a time
7. PageUp – moves one screen up at a time

Selecting cells with the Keyboard

1. Shift+Ctrl + End - selects cells from active cell to end of worksheet
2. Shift+ Right Arrow - selects one cell right at a time
3. Shift+ Left Arrow - selects one cell left at a time
4. Shift + Down Arrow - selects one cell down at a time
5. Shift+Ctrl + Right Arrow - selects cells to the right to the end of a cell range
6. Shift+Ctrl + Left Arrow - selects cells to the left to the end of a cell range
7. Shift+PageDown - selects cells one screen down at a time
8. Shift+PageUp - select cells one screen up at a time