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dung chính Show Microsoft® Office contains a variety of tools that help people accomplish many personal and professional objectives. Microsoft Excel is perhaps the most versatile and widely used of all the Office applications. No matter which career path you choose, you will likely need to use Excel to accomplish your professional objectives, some of which may occur daily. This chapter provides an overview of the Excel application along with an orientation for accessing the commands and features of an Excel workbook. Making Decisions with ExcelTaking a very simple view, Excel is a tool that allows you to enter quantitative data into an electronic spreadsheet to apply one or many mathematical computations. These computations ultimately convert that quantitative data into information. The information produced in Excel can be used to make decisions in both professional and personal contexts. For example, employees can use Excel to determine how much inventory to buy for a clothing retailer, how much medication to administer to a patient, or how much money to spend to stay within a budget. With respect to personal decisions, you can use Excel to determine how much money you can spend on a house, how much you can spend on car lease payments, or how much you need to save to reach your retirement goals. We will demonstrate how you can use Excel to make these decisions and many more throughout this text. Figure 1.1 shows a completed Excel worksheet that will be constructed in this chapter. The information shown in this worksheet is top-line sales data for a hypothetical merchandise retail company. The worksheet data can help this retailer determine the number of salespeople needed for each month, how much inventory is needed to satisfy sales, and what types of products should be purchased. Figure 1.1 Example of an Excel WorksheetStarting Excel
The Excel WorkbookOnce Excel is started, a blank workbook will open on your screen. A workbook is an Excel file that contains one or more worksheets (sometimes referred to as spreadsheets). Excel will assign a file name to the workbook, such as Book1, Book2, Book3, and so on, depending on how many new workbooks are opened. Figure 1.2 shows a blank workbook after starting Excel. Take some time to familiarize yourself with this screen. Your screen may be slightly different based on the version you’re using. Figure 1.2 Blank WorkbookYour workbook should already be maximized (or shown at full size) once Excel is started, as shown in Figure 1.2. If necessary locate the Maximize button as shown in Figure 1.3. Navigating WorksheetsData are entered and managed in an Excel worksheet. The worksheet contains several rectangles called cells for entering numeric and nonnumeric data. Each cell in an Excel worksheet contains an address, which is defined by a column letter followed by a row number. For example, the cell that is currently activated in Figure 1.3 is A1. This would be referred to as cell location A1 or cell reference A1. The following steps explain how you can navigate in an Excel worksheet:
Note: Your highlighted column letter and row number may be different than figure shown. Figure 1.4 Activating a Cell Location
This is referred to as a cell range and is documented as follows: A1:D5. Any two cell locations separated by a colon are known as a cell range. The first cell is the top left corner of the range, and the second cell is the lower right corner of the range. Figure 1.5 Highlighting a Range of Cells
Keyboard ShortcutsBasic Worksheet Navigation
The Excel RibbonExcel’s features and commands are found in the Ribbon, which is the upper area of the Excel screen that contains several tabs running across the top. Each tab provides access to a different set of Excel commands. Figure 1.6 shows the commands available in the Home tab of the Ribbon. Table 1.1 “Command Overview for Each Tab of the Ribbon” provides an overview of the commands that are found in each tab of the Ribbon. Table 1.1 Command Overview for Each Tab of the Ribbon
The Ribbon shown in Figure 1.6 is full, or maximized. The benefit of having a full Ribbon is that the commands are always visible while you are developing a worksheet. However, depending on the screen dimensions of your computer, you may find that the Ribbon takes up too much vertical space on your worksheet. If this is the case, you can minimize the Ribbon by clicking the button shown in Figure 1.6. When minimized, the Ribbon will show only the tabs and not the command buttons. When you click on a tab, the command buttons will appear until you select a command or click anywhere on your worksheet. Keyboard ShortcutsMinimizing or Maximizing the Ribbon
The Quick Access Toolbar is found at the upper left side of the Excel screen above the Ribbon, as shown in Figure 1.7. This area provides access to the most frequently used commands, such as Save and Undo. You also can customize the Quick Access Toolbar by adding commands that you use on a regular basis. By placing these commands in the Quick Access Toolbar, you do not have to navigate through the Ribbon to find them. To customize the Quick Access Toolbar, click the down arrow as shown in Figure 1.7. This will open a menu of commands that you can add to the Quick Access Toolbar. If you do not see the command you are looking for on the list, select the More Commands option. Figure 1.7 Customizing the Quick Access ToolbarIn addition to the Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar, you can also access commands by right clicking anywhere on the worksheet. Figure 1.8 shows an example of the commands available in the right-click menu. Figure 1.8 Right-Click Menu The File TabThe File tab is also known as the Backstage view of the workbook. It contains a variety of features and commands related to the workbook that is currently open, new workbooks, or workbooks stored in other locations on your computer or network. Figure 1.9 shows the options available in the File tab or Backstage view. To leave the Backstage view and return to the worksheet, click the arrow in the upper left-hand corner as shown below. Included in the File tab are the default settings for the Excel application that can be accessed and modified by clicking the Options button. Figure 1.10 shows the Excel Options window, which gives you access to settings such as the default font style, font size, and the number of worksheets that appear in new workbooks. Figure 1.10 Excel Options WindowSaving Workbooks (Save As)Once you create a new workbook, you will need to change the file name and choose a location on your computer or network to save that file. It is important to remember where you save this workbook on your computer or network as you will be using this file in the Section 1.2 “Entering, Editing, and Managing Data” to construct the workbook shown in Figure 1.1. The process of saving can be different with different versions of Excel. Please be sure you follow the steps for the version of Excel you are using. The following steps explain how to save a new workbook and assign it a file name. Saving Workbooks in Excel 2013
Saving Workbooks in Excel 2016
Keyboard ShortcutsSave As
Skill RefresherSaving Workbooks (Save As)
The Status BarThe Status Bar is located below the worksheet tabs on the Excel screen (see Figure 1.13). It displays a variety of information, such as the status of certain keys on your keyboard (e.g., CAPS LOCK), the available views for a workbook, the magnification of the screen, and mathematical functions that can be performed when data are highlighted on a worksheet. You can customize the Status Bar as follows:
Excel HelpThe Help feature provides extensive information about the Excel application. Although some of this information may be stored on your computer, the Help window will automatically connect to the Internet, if you have a live connection, to provide you with resources that can answer most of your questions. You can open the Excel Help window by clicking the question mark in the upper right area of the screen or ribbon. With newer versions of Excel, use the query box to enter your question and select from helpful option links or select the question mark from the dropdown list to launch Excel Help windows. Figure 1.14 Excel Help WindowKeyboard ShortcutsExcel Help
Key Takeaways
AttributionAdapted by Barbara Lave from How to Use Microsoft Excel: The Careers in Practice Series, adapted by The Saylor Foundation without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensee, and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. What are the boxes in Excel called?In an Excel worksheet, each small rectangle or box is known as a cell. The active cell is the selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Which symbol indicates that a cell contains a comment?A red triangle in the top right corner of a cell indicates that someone added a comment to the cell. To read the comment, hover over the cell containing the red triangle. A text box containing the comment appears next to the cell. In Excel 2019, a red triangle indicates a Note. What does the Add Level button in the Sort dialog box do?Click the down arrow next to the sort Order box. Click the Largest to Smallest option. Click the Add Level button. This allows you to set a second level for any duplicate values in the Percent of Total column. When included in a formula which of the following operators does Excel calculate first?A formula in Excel always begins with an equal sign (=). Excel interprets the characters that follow the equal sign as a formula. Following the equal sign are the elements to be calculated (the operands), such as constants or cell references. What keyboard shortcut displays the print backstage area?CTRL+F2 displays the print preview area on the Print tab in the Backstage view.
What is the shortcut to display the help pane?F1 Display the Help task pane. F6 Switch between the Help task pane and the active application. TAB Select the next item in the Help task pane. SHIFT+TAB Select the previous item in the Help task pane.
When selecting text in a Word document you can press this key to turn on the extend mode?For instance, let's say you wanted to select everything between the current cursor position and the next occurrence of the word "echo." All you need to do is turn on extend mode (press F8) and then search for "echo." Word selects everything between the two points.
What happens when you click the Replace All button?What happens when you click the Replace All button? All occurrences of that text in the document are replaced.
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