CST04101 BASIC COMPUTER

APPLICATIONS

BASIC CERTIFICATE IN COMPUTER

STUDIES – BCCS&IT

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A 1
 Microsoft Office

What we learn:
ü Performing computing task using spreadsheet
(formulas and functions)

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
2
 Formulas and functions
Introduction to functions
n Functions give you the ability to do a variety of things, like perform
mathematical operations, look up values, or even calculate dates and
times.
n The most common formula in Excel is SUM, or the addition of multiple
values. In this example, we could create a formula that reads
=C6+D6+E6+F6+G6+H6.
n That’s a lot of typing! Instead, we can use the SUM function and
specify a range of cells. Functions are more complex formulas that are
invoked by typing their name.
n In this example, we will use the SUM function. Excel has over 200
functions that can be used. Because SUM is the most common
function, it is the only one with its own toolbar button.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 Formulas and functions
n When working with functions, the cells used
in the formula are referred to as the range.
n A range is a group of cells that are specified
by naming the first cell in the group and the
last cell.
n For example, A1:D1 is a range that includes
cells A1, B1, C1 and D1.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 Formulas and functions
n To Create the Total Column’s Values Using Autosum:

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 Formulas and functions
1) Click in the cell where you would like the Total to be located
2) Press the Autosum button on the Home Ribbon
n The Autosum function automatically looks for cells that have
values in them. It will read values until it finds the first blank
cell. Autosum will always look for values in the cells above it
first, then to the left. This means that you need to be aware
of what cells will be in the formula. Autosum will select the
range of cells to use in the formula by highlighting the range.
3) Press Enter

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 Formulas and functions
n let’s check some fundamental Excel functions
to get you started.
n Sum()
n Average()
n Max()
n Min()
n Count()
n Date functions
n If statements
BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 SUM() function
n Let's try another ways to add up values with the SUM
function.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 SUM() function
n From the tables above:
1 Under the Amount column for Fruit (cell D7), enter =SUM(D3:D6),
or type =SUM(, then select that range with the mouse, and press
Enter. This will sum the values in cells D3, D4, D5, and D6. Your
answer should be 170.
Now let's try AutoSum. Select the yellow cell under the column
for Meat (cell G7), then go to Formulas > AutoSum > select
2 SUM. You'll see Excel automatically enter the formula for you.
Press Enter to confirm it. The AutoSum feature has all of the
most common functions.
Here's a neat keyboard shortcut. Select cell D15, then press Alt =
3 then, Enter. This automatically enters SUM for you.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 SUM() function
n Go to the Formulas tab and browse through the Function Library,
where functions are listed by category, like Text, Date & Time, etc.
n Insert Function will let you search for functions by name, and launch a
function wizard that can help you build your formula.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 SUM() function

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 SUM() function
n When you start typing a function name after you press =,
Excel will launch Intellisense, which will list all of the
functions starting with the letters you type.
n When you find the one you want, press Tab, and Excel will
automatically finish the function name and enter the
opening parenthesis for you.
n It will also display the optional and required arguments.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 SUM() function
n Now let's look at the anatomy of a few functions.
n The SUM function is structured like this:

The first
The
argument.
function It's almost Additional arguments,
name. always separated by commas (,).
required.

=SUM(D38:D41,H:H)
n If the SUM function could talk, it would say, "Return the sum of
all the values in cells D38 to D41, and all of column H".
BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 AVERAGE() function
n Use the AVERAGE function to get the
average of numbers in a range of cells.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 AVERAGE() function

1 Select cell D7, then use AutoSum to add an AVERAGE function.

2 Now select cell G7, and enter an AVERAGE function by typing =AVERAGE(G3:G6).

3 In cell D15, you can use either AutoSum, or type to enter another AVERAGE function.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
MIN() and MAX() functions
nUse the MIN function to get the
smallest number in a range of cells.
nUse the MAX function to get the largest
number in a range of cells.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
MIN() and MAX() functions
1 Select cell D7, then use the AutoSum Wizard to add a MIN function.
.

2 Now select cell G7, and enter a MAX function by typing =MAX(D3:D6).
In cell D15, you can use either the AutoSum Wizard, or type to enter a MIN
3
or MAX function.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 COUNT() function
n The COUNT function counts all cells in a
given range that contain only numeric
values.
n =COUNT(value1, [value2], …)

n TRY YOURSELF…….!

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 Formulas and functions
n Now, let's try one that doesn't require any arguments.

The TODAY function returns today's date. It will

automatically update when Excel recalculates.

=TODAY()

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
Date() functions
n Excel can give you the current date,
based on your computer's regional
settings.
n You can also add and subtract Dates.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
Date() functions
1 Check out the TODAY function, which gives you Today's date. These are live, or
volatile functions, so when you open your workbook tomorrow, it will have
tomorrow's date. Enter =TODAY() in cell D6.
2 Subtract Dates - Enter your next birthday in MM/DD/YY format in cell D7, and
watch Excel tell you how many days away it is by using =D7-D6 in cell D8.
3 Add Dates - Let's say you want to know what date a bill is due, or when you
need to return a library book. You can add days to a date to find out. In cell
D10, enter a random number of days. In cell D11, we added =D6+D10 to
calculate the due date from today.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 Joining text from
different cells
n There are many times in Excel when you
want to join text that's in different cells. This
example is very common, where you have
first and last names, and want to combine
them as first name, last name, or full name.
n Fortunately, Excel lets us do that with the
Ampersand (&) sign, which you can enter
with Shift+7.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 Joining text from
different cells
.

1 In cell E3, enter =D3&C3 to join the last and first names.

SmithNancy doesn't look quite right though. We need to add a comma and a space.
2 To do that we'll use quotes to create a new text string. This time, enter =D3&", "&C3.
The &", "& portion lets us join a comma and space with the text in the cells.
To create the full name, we'll join first and last name, but use a space without a
3
comma. In F3, enter =C3&" "&D3.
BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
IF Statements
n IF statements allow you to make logical
comparisons between conditions.
n An IF statement generally says that if
one condition is true do something,
otherwise do something else.
n The formulas can return text, values, or
even more calculations.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 IF Statements
.

1 In cell D9 enter =IF(C9="Apple",TRUE,FALSE). The correct answer is TRUE.

2 Copy D9 to D10. The answer here should be FALSE, because an orange is not an apple.

Try another example by looking at the formula in cell D12. We got you started with
3 =IF(C12<100,"Less than 100","Greater than or equal to 100"). What happens if
you enter a number greater than or equal to
100 in cell C12?
BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
IF Statements
IMPORTANT DETAIL
n TRUE and FALSE are unlike other words in
Excel formulas in that they don't need to be
in quotes, and Excel will automatically
capitalize them.
n Numbers don't need to be in quotes either.

n Regular text, like Yes or No does need to be

in quotes like this:
=IF(C3="Apple","Yes","No")

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
Fixing formula errors
n At some point in time, you'll run across a formula that has
an error, which Excel will display with #ErrorName.
n Errors can be helpful, because they point out when
something's not working right, but they can be
challenging to fix.
n Fortunately, there are several options that can help you
track down the source of the error, and fix it.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
Fixing formula errors
n Error checking
Go to Formulas > Error Checking. This will load a dialog that will tell you the
general cause for your specific error. In cell D9, the #N/A error is caused because
there is no value matching "Apple". You can fix this by using a value that does exist,
suppress the error with IFERROR, or ignore it and know it will go away when you do
use a value that exists.

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
Fixing formula errors
n If you click Help on this Error, a help topic specific to the error message will
open.
n If you click Show Calculation Steps, an Evaluate Formula dialog will load.

n Each time you click Evaluate, Excel will step through the formula one section at
a time.
n It won't necessarily tell you why an error occurs, but it will point out where.
n From there, look at the help topic to deduce what went wrong with your
formula.
BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
Fixing formula errors

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
Creating a Basic Chart
Creating a Basic Chart :
1) Highlight the data to be charted
2) Click on the Insert tab
3) Click on a Chart Type in the Charts group
4) Click on a Chart Style

To Move your Chart:

Click and drag the chart to a new location on the worksheet.
BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
Creating a Basic Chart
When the chart is selected you will notice a new tab “Chart
Tools” on the Ribbon. If you do not see the Chart Tools,
click on the chart to select it. Under Chart Tools you will find
2 tabs:
• Design
• Format`

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 Saving worksheet
n When working in Excel it is necessary to save your files.
n It is also very important that while working, your file is
saved frequently.
n When naming a file, you are restricted to 255 characters.
n Avoid most punctuation; spaces are acceptable.
n To Save the File:
1) Click on the File tab
2) Click Save
3) Choose the destination
4) Type a file name
5) Click Save

BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A
 THANK YOU…!
BASIC COMPUTER APPLICATION – BCCS 2024/2025 Institute of Finance management Mr. Riziki, A