INTRODUCTION TO MS EXCEL

INTRODUCTION
MS Excel is a spread sheet package. I is used for
storing data in the form of rows and columns. This
data can also be presented as charts and graphs.
Starting MS Excel:
1. Click on start ➡ locate the letter e ➡ click on
Excel to open.
OR
2. Type Excel in the search box➡ click on Excel to open.
3. MS Excel window opens.

Vertical scroll bar

Status bar Horizontal scroll bar

EXITING MS EXCEL
1. Click on the File tab.
2. Select Close option from the list to close the current workbook.

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KEY TERMS:
Woksheet/Sheets
A worksheet is a collection of cells in the form of rows and columns. There are by default
three worksheets/sheets in a workbook. These are shown as tabs at the bottom left
corner of the window.
Workbook
A collection of worksheets is known as a workbook. It can hold many worksheets. The
name of the default workbook is Book1.
Columns
The columns are arranged vertically. These are headed with letters.
Rows
Rows are arranged horizontally. These are headed with numbers.
Cell
A cell is the intersection of a row and a column. Each cell can store a single item of data,
it can be text, number, or a date value.
Cell Reference
The cell reference is the column letter and row number identifying a single cell. For
example, A1 is the cell reference of the selected cell on the worksheet shown on the
previous page.
Cell Range
A cell range is a collection of selected cells. Every cell
range has a name, it starts with the name of the first
cell of the selection, a colon, and the name of the last
cell. For example, C3:D12.
To select a cell range in the worksheet:
1. Press the left mouse button at any cell, for
example C3.
2. Drag the mouse diagonally to D12.
3. Release the left mouse button.
Active Cell
The selected cell is called the active cell. It is displayed with bold, black border.
Name Box Name Box
The name box displays the cell reference of the active cell.
Active cell
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Cell Pointer
The mouse pointer changes to a plus sign , then the mouse pointer is on the
worksheet.
Formula Bar
The formula bar is a long bar found above the columns of a worksheet. It is used to insert
the formula to solve a problem and a formula always starts with an = sign.
You can change the formula of a cell either by editing that cell or by changing the
formula in the formula bar.

HOW TO INSERT TEXT, NUMBERS, AND FORMULA

Inserting Text and Numbers
Follow these steps to enter text, and numbers in MS excel:
1. The cell where data has to be entered should be made active.
2. Type the value and press Enter.
3. On clicking the Formula Bar, two small buttons appear on its left.
a. A cancel button with a symbol of a
cross. This is used to cancel the
data entered without having to
press the Delete key.
b. An Enter button with a symbol of
a tick-mark. This is used to enter
data without having to press the
Enter key.
Insert A Formula
A formula begins with an equal sign =. any kind of formula can be created in MS Excel.
Once the formula is entered, the calculation is executed immediately and the formula
itself is visible in the Formula Bar. The formula can include the addresses of the cells
whose values will be manipulated, with appropriate operators placed in between.
The Formula May Consist Of: Formula: left aligned

1. Only values, for example, =5+7

2. A combination of a number and a cell address,
for example, =A1+3
3. Only cell addresses, for example,
=D2+E2
Text: left aligned
Cell Alignment
Cells can contain text, numbers, or mathematical
formulas:

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Number, Date, Currency: Right aligned.

 1. Text entries are left aligned.
2. Numbers are right aligned.
3. Formulas begin with = sign. These are left aligned before the enter key is pressed.
After pressing the enter key, it gives the answer in numbers with are right aligned
or text which is left aligned.

INSERTING ROWS AND COLUMNS

In a worksheet you can edit rows, columns, and cells.
The height of rows and the width of columns can be easily adjusted depending on your
need.
How To Insert Rows
1. Select the row label before
which a new row is to be
inserted.
2. Click on the Home tab.
3. In the Cells group, click on
the Insert drop-down list.
4. From the drop-down list,
select the Insert Sheet
Rows option.
5. A new row will be inserted
above the selected row.
OR
Select the row by clicking on the row label. Right-click on the mouse and choose the
Insert option from the shortcut menu. A new row is added above the selected row.

How To Insert Columns

1. Select the column label
before which a new row is
to be inserted.
2. Click on the Home tab.
3. In the Cells group, click on
the Insert drop-down list.
4. From the drop-down list,
select the Insert Sheet
Column option.
5. A new column will be
inserted above the selected
row.

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 OR
Select the column by clicking on the column label. Right-click on the mouse and choose
the Insert option from the shortcut menu. A new column is added above the selected
column.

INSERTING WORKSHEETS
You can shuffle between different worksheets using the sheet tabs. These are found
above the Status Bar.
To add more sheets, follow these steps.
1. Click on the Home tab.
2. In the Cells group, click on the Insert drop-
down list.
3. From the drop-down list, select Insert Sheet
option.
4. A new sheet will be inserted before the
selected worksheet.

OR
Click on the Insert Worksheet button above the
Status Bar. A new sheet will be inserted after the
existing worksheets.

INSERTING CELLS
Adding a single cell or a collection of cells is allowed in a worksheet. When inserting new
cells, the existing cells either shift to the right or down depending on the option selected.
Follow these steps to insert cells in a worksheet.
1. Click on the Insert drop-down list in the Cells
group of the Home tab.
2. Select the Insert Cells option from the drop-
down list.
3. The Insert dialog box appears.
4. The dialog box gives the following options.
a. Shift cells right: Shifts the content of
the selected cells to the right to make
space for the new data.
b. Shift cells down: Shifts the content of
the selected cells down to make space for
the new data.
c. Entire row: Inserts a blank row by
shifting the contents of the entire row
down.
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 d. Entire column: Inserts a blank column
by shifting the contents of the entire
column to the right.

RESIZING ROW HEIGHT AND COLUMN WIDTH

Sometimes you need to alter the default height of a row and the width of a column.
There are two ways to do this.
1. Resize the selected row by dragging the lower line of the row label up or down.
2. A selected column can be resized in a similar manner by dragging the line on the
right of the column label inwards or outwards.

OR
1. Click on the row/column label.
2. Go to Home tab ➡ Cells group ➡ Format drop-down
list ➡ Row Height/Column Width option.
3. The Row Height/Column Width dialog box appears.
Enter a numerical value for the height of the
row/width of the column. Click on OK.

DELETING WORKSHEETS, ROWS, COLUMNS AND CELLS

Deleting Worksheets
1. Open the worksheet that needs to be deleted.
2. Click on the Home tab.
3. In the Cells group, click on the Delete drop-down list.
4. Select the Delete Sheet option from the drop-down list.
5. If the worksheet contains data, then the Microsoft Office
Excel dialog box appears. asking for permission to delete
both the worksheet and the data contained in it.
6. Click Delete to confirm deletion.

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 OR
Right-click on the respective Sheet tab. Click the Delete option from
the shortcut menu.
Deleting Rows
1. Select the row by clicking on the respective row label.
2. Click on the Home tab ➡ Cells group➡ Delete drop-down
list➡ Delete Sheet Rows option.
OR
Right click on the row label. Select the Delete option from
the shortcut menu.
Deleting Columns
1. Select the column by clicking on the respective column label.
2. Click on the Home tab ➡ Cells group ➡ Delete drop-down
list➡ Delete Sheet Columns option.
OR
Right-click on the column label. Select the Delete option
from the shortcut menu.
Deleting cells
1. Select the cell(s) you wish to delete.
2. Click on the Home tab ➡ Cells group Delete drop-down list ➡ Delete Cells option.
OR
Right-click on the selected cell(s). Select the Delete option from the shortcut
menu.
3. In both the cases, the Delete dialog box appears. The dialog box gives the
following options:
a. Shift cells left: Overwrites the content by shifting the data from the cell on the
right to the selected cell.
b. Shift cells up: Overwrites the content by shifting the data from the cell below
to the selected cell.
c. Entire row: Overwrites the content by shifting the data from the row below. It
appears that the entire row is deleted.
d. Entire column: Overwrites the content by shifting the data from the column on
the right. It appears that the entire column is deleted.
4. Select the appropriate option. Click on the OK button.

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ALIGNMENT OF DATA IN A CELL
This is the positioning of data within a cell. By default, text is left aligned, and numbers
are right aligned.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of alignments available. These are discussed here.
Horizontal alignment There are three types of horizontal alignment. These are Left,
Center and Right.
Vertical alignment There are three types of vertical
alignments. These are Top, Middle, and Bottom.
Horizontal alignment
You can change the alignment of data in a cell. Follow
these steps.
Vertical alignment
1. Select the cells.
2. Click on the chosen alignment button in the Alignment group of the Home tab.

AUTO FILL OPTIONS

The Auto Fill feature allows you to quickly fill the cells with
repetitive or sequential data such as chronological dates or
numbers or repeated text. This feature is implemented by
using the Fill Handle of the selected cell.
Follow these steps to quickly fill the cells with Auto Fill.
1. Select the cell with the chosen data and put the cursor
on the small black square in the lower-right corner. A plus
sign appears.
2. Drag it down to as many cells as you want to fill.
3. Release the mouse button. The Auto Fill Options box
appears on the right of the plus sign.
4. Bring the cursor to the box and click on the drop-down arrow.
5. Choose the appropriate action from the drop-down list. For example, click the Fill
Series option to complete the series or the Copy Cells option to copy the contents of the
selected cell.

The Auto Fill feature is not limited to numbers. It can also be used for
text and a mix of text and numbers. For example, to make a repeating
list of the days of the week:

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1. Type 'Monday' in a cell.
2. Highlight the cell and drag it across with the mouse.
3. Select the desired action from the Auto Fill Options drop-down list.

EDITING DATA
Selecting data
Before a cell can be modified or formatted, it must first be selected (highlighted).
Refer to the table given below for selecting groups of cells.
Cells to select Mouse action
One cell Click once on a cell
Entire row Click on the row label
Entire column Click on the column label
Entire Click on the entire sheet button (upper-left corner
worksheet of the labels)
Range of cells Drag mouse over the cells
Cutting cells
To cut cells, select the chosen cells and then click on the Cut option in the Clipboard
group of the Home tab.
Copying cells
To copy the cell contents, first select the cell and then click on the Copy option in the
Clipboard group of the Home tab.
Pasting cells
Select the cell into which you want to paste the content and then click on the Paste
option in the Paste drop-down list in the Clipboard group of the Home tab.

SAVING AN MS EXCEL
FILE
After completing the work, you can
save the change in two ways.

1. Click on the Save button

on the Quick Access Toolbar.
2. Choose a directory folder to
save the file in.
3. Specify a file name, and then
press Save.
OR
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 1. Click on File tab list ➡Save/Save As option.
2. The Save As dialog box appears. Select the destination folder and specify the file
name.
3. Click on the Save button.
It is recommended that you save your files every ten minutes. When you save changes
for the first time, you use File tab ➡ Save As option.
After this, changes made in the same file are saved using the Save option in the File tab
list.

OPENING AN ALREADY
SAVED MS EXCEL FILE
1. Click on the File tab.
2. Select Open from the list.
3. The Open dialog box appears. Click
the Browse button and select the
source folder and select the chosen file
in that folder.
4. Click on the Open button.

CREATING A BLANK WORKBOOK IN MS

EXCEL
1. Click on the File tab.
2. Select New option from the drop-down list.
3. The New Workbook dialog box appears. Select the
Blank Workbook option from the Available Templates.
4. Click on the Create button.

PRINTING AN MS EXCEL FILE

Follow these steps to print an Excel file:
1. Click on the File tab.
2. Select Print from the drop-down list.
3. The Print screen appears. Select the following options:
a. Print All
range
b. Print Selection if any area is selected in the
what worksheet.
Active sheet(s) if current sheet is
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 required to be printed.
Entire workbook if the whole workbook is
required to be printed.
c. Copies Number of copies is 1 by default.
d. To see the print preview before printing.
Preview

4. Click on OK.

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