Microsoft Excel

INTRODOCTION TO EXCEL
INTRODUCTION
• What is a spreadsheet? an electronic document in which data is
arranged in the rows and columns of a grid and can be manipulated
and used in calculations.
• Some examples of spreadsheets are Microsoft excel, Google sheets,
Numbers, Open office etc.
Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft is a spreadsheet program developed by Microsoft. Excel
organizes data in columns and rows and allows you to do
mathematical functions. It runs on Windows, macOS, Android and
iOS.
• The first version was released in 1985 and has gone through several
changes over the years. However, the main functionality mostly
remains the same.
Cont.
• Excel is typically used for:
• Analysis
• Data entry
• Data management
• Accounting
• Budgeting
• Data analysis
• Visuals and graphs
• Programming
• Financial modeling
• And much, much more!
Why Use Excel?
• It is the most popular spreadsheet program in the world
• It is easy to learn and to get started.
• The skill ceiling is high, which means that you can do more advanced things
as you become better
• It can be used with both work and in everyday life, such as to create a family
budget
• It has a huge community support
• It is continuously supported by Microsoft
• Templates and frameworks can be reused by yourself and others, lowering
creation costs
GET STARTED
• The easiest way to get started with Excel, is to use Office 365.

• Office 365 does not require downloading and installation of the

program. It simply runs in your browser.
Overview
• This chapter is about giving you an overview of Excel. Excel's structure
is made of two pieces, the Ribbon and the Sheet.
The Ribbon
• The Ribbon provides shortcuts to Excel commands. A command is an action that
allows you to make something happen. This can for example be to: insert a table,
change the font size, or to change the color of a cell.
• The Ribbon may look crowded and hard to understand at first. Don't be scared, It
will become easier to navigate and use as you learn more. Most of the time we
tend to use the same functionalities over again.
• The Ribbon is made up by the App launcher, Tabs, Groups and Commands. In
this section we will explain the different parts of the Ribbon.
App launcher
• The App launcher icon has nine dots It allows you to access the
different parts of the Office suite, such as Word, PowerPoint and
Outlook. App launcher can be used to switch seamlessly between the
Office applications.
Tabs
• The tab is a menu with sub divisions sorted into groups. The tabs
allow users to quickly navigate between options of menus which
display different groups of functionality.
Groups
• The groups are sets of related commands. The groups are separated
by the thin vertical line break.
Commands
• The commands are the buttons that you use to do actions.
THE SHEET
• The Sheet is a set of rows and columns. It forms the same pattern as
we have in math exercise books, the rectangle boxes formed by the
pattern are called cells.
• Values can be typed to cells.
• Each cell has its unique reference, which is its coordinates, this is
where the columns and rows intersect.
• Hello world was typed in cell C4. The reference can be found by
clicking on the relevant cell and seeing the reference in the Name
Box to the left, which tells you that the cell's reference is C4.
CONT.
• Another way to find the reference is to first find the column, in this
case C, then map that towards the row, in this case 4, which gives us
the reference of C4.
Multiple Sheets
• You start with one Sheet by default when you create a new workbook.
You can have many sheets in a workbook. New sheets can be added
and removed. Sheets can be named to making it easier to work with
data sets.
• You can use the hotkey Shift + F11 to create new sheets.
Summary
• The workbook has two main components: the Ribbon and the Sheet.
• The Ribbon is used to navigate and access commands.
• The Sheet is made up of columns and rows, which make cells.
• Each cell has its unique reference. You can add new sheets to your
workbook and name them.
• In the next chapters you will learn more about the sheet, formulas,
ranges and functions.
GET STARTED
FUNCTIONALITY
• FORMULA
• INPUTTING DATA
• FORMATING DATA
• WRAPPING
Excel Ranges
• Range is an important part of Excel because it allows you to work with
selections of cells.
• There are four different operations for selection;
• Selecting a cell
• Selecting multiple cells
• Selecting a column
• Selecting a row
• Before having a look at the different operations for selection, we will
introduce the Name Box.
The Name Box
• The Name Box shows you the reference of which cell or range you
have selected. It can also be used to select cells or ranges by typing
their values.
Selecting a Cell
• Cells are selected by clicking them with the left mouse button or by
navigating to them with the keyboard arrows.
• It is easiest to use the mouse to select cells.
Selecting Multiple Cells
• More than one cell can be selected by pressing and holding
down CTRL or Command and left clicking the cells. Once finished with
selecting, you can let go of CTRL or Command.
• Lets try an example: Select the cells A1, A7, C1, C7 and B4.
• Did it look like the picture below?
Selecting a Column
• Columns are selected by left clicking it. This will select all cells in the
sheet related to the column.
Selecting a Row
• Rows are selected by left clicking it. This will select all the cells in the
sheet related to that row.
• To select row 1, click on its number in the row bar:
Selecting the Entire Sheet
The entire spreadsheet can be selected by clicking the
triangle in the top-left corner of the Spreadsheet

There are 1,048,578 rows and 16,384 columns

Selection of Ranges
• Selection of cell ranges has many use areas and it is one of the most important concepts of
Excel. Do not think too much about how it is used with values. You will learn about this in a
later chapter. For now let's focus on how to select ranges.
• There are two ways to select a range of cells
• Name Box
• Drag to mark a range.
• The easiest way is drag and mark. Let's keep it simple and start there.
• How to drag and mark a range, step-by-step:
• Select a cell
• Left click it and hold the mouse button down
• Move your mouse pointer over the range that you want selected. The range that is marked will turn grey.
• Let go of the mouse button when you have marked the range
• Let's have a look at an example for how to mark the range A1:E10.
Excel Fill
• Filling makes your life easier and is used to fill ranges with values, so
that you do not have to type manual entries.
• Filling can be used for:
• Copying
• Sequences
• Dates
• Functions (*)
• For now, do not think of functions. We will cover that in a later
chapter.
How To Fill
• Filling is done by selecting a cell, clicking the fill icon and selecting the
range using drag and mark while holding the left mouse button down.
• The fill icon is found in the button right corner of the cell and has the
icon of a small square. Once you hover over it your mouse pointer will
change its icon to a thin cross.
• Click the fill icon and hold down the left mouse button, drag and mark
the range that you want to cover.
Fill Sequences
• Filling can be used to create sequences. A sequence is an order or a
pattern. We can use the filling function to continue the order that has
been set.
• Sequences can for example be used on numbers and dates.
• Let's start with learning how to count from 1 to 10.
• This is different from the last example because this time we do not
want to copy, but to count from 1 to 10.
Cont.
• Start with typing A1(1):
• First we will show an example which does not work, then we will do a working one. Ready?
• Lets type the value (1) into the cell A2, which is what we have in A1. Now we have the same
values in both A1 and A2.
• Let's use the fill function from A1:A10 to see what happens. Remember to mark both values
before you fill the range.
• What happened is that we got the same values as we did with copying. This is because the fill
function assumes that we want to create copies as we had two of the same values in both the
cells A1(1) and A2(1).
• Change the value of A2(1) to A2(2). We now have two different values in the
cells A1(1) and A2(2). Now, fill A1:A10 again. Remember to mark both the values (holding
down shift) before you fill the range:
Cont.
• The fill function understands the pattern typed in the cells and continues it
for us.
• That is why it created copies when we had entered the value (1) in both
cells, as it saw no pattern. When we entered (1) and (2) in the cells it was
able to understand the pattern and that the next cell A3 should be (3).
• Let's create another sequence. Type A1(2) and A2(4):
• It counts from 2 to 20 in the range A1:A10.
• This is because we created an order with A1(2) and A2(4).
• Then it fills the next cells, A3(6), A4(8), A5(10) and so on. The fill function
understands the pattern and helps us continue it.
Sequence of Dates
• The fill function can also be used to fill dates.
• Test it by typing A1(29.07.2021):
• The fill function has filled 10 days
from A1(29.07.2021) to A10(07.08.2021).
• Note that it switched from July to August in cell A4. It knows the
calendar and will count real dates.
Combining Words and Letters
• Combining Words and Letters
• Words and letters can also be combined.
• Type A1(Hello 1) and A2(Hello 2):
• Next, fill A1:A10 to see what happens:
• The result is that it counts from A1(Hello 1) to A10(Hello 10). Only the
numbers have changed.
• It recognised the pattern of the numbers and continued it for us.
Words and numbers can be combined, as long as you use a
recognizable pattern for the numbers.
Excel Double Click to Fill
• The fill function can be double clicked to complete formulas in a range:
• Let's use the Double click fill function to calculate the AttackB2:B20 +
Defense C2:C20 for the Pokemons in the range D2:D20.
• Select D2
• Type =
• Select B2
• Type +
• Select C2
• Hit enter
• Double click the fill function
A Non-Working Example
• Delete values in the range D1:D20
• Enter the formula "=B2+C2" in E2
• Note: There is no header for Columns D and E. There are blank cells in between.
• The fill function is just loading without filling the rows. It is not understanding the pattern.
• Give it more clues.
• Add a header to see what happens. Enter "Atk+def" in E1
• Double click the fill function
• Loading... Still nothing...
• One more header. Enter "Random" in D1
• Double click the fill function.
• Is the gap closed?
Excel Move Cells
• There are two ways to move cells: Drag and drop or by copy and paste.
• Drag and Drop
• Let's start by typing or copying some values that we can work with:
• Next, start by marking the area A1:B4:
• You can drag and drop the range by pressing and holding the left mouse button on
the border. The mouse cursor will change to the move symbol when you hover
over the border.
• Drag and drop it when you see the symbol.
Cut and Paste
• Ranges can be moved by cutting and pasting values from one place to another.
• Tip: You can cut using the hotkey CTRL+X and paste by CTRL+V. This saves you
time.
• Mark the range A1:C5
• Right click the marked area, and click on the "Cut" command, which has
scissors as its icon:
• Cutting makes the range white-grey with dotted borders. This indicates that
the range is cutted and ready for pasting.
• Right click the paste destination B6 and left click the paste icon.
• You have successfully cutted and pasted the range from A1:C5 to B6:D10.
Copy and paste
• Copy and paste works in the same way as cut and paste. The difference is that it does not
remove the original cells.
• Let's copy the cells back from B6:D10 to A1:C5.
• Mark the range B6:D10.
• Right click the marked area, and click on the "Copy" command which has two papers as its
icon.
• Copying gives the range a dotted green border. This indicates that the range is copied and
ready for pasting.
• Right click the paste destination A1 and left click the paste icon:
• The difference between cutting and copying, is that cutting removes the originals, while
copying leaves the originals.
• Next, let's delete the original data and keep the data in the A1:C5 range.
Delete Data
• Select the original cells and remove them by pressing the "Delete"
button on the keyboard:
Adding New Columns
• Columns can be added and deleted. You access the menu by right
clicking the column letter. New columns are added to the same place
you clicked.
• Let's try to create a new column B.
• Right click on the column and select "Insert Columns":
• And a new column is created:
Adding New Rows
• Rows can also be added and deleted. You access the menu by right
clicking the row number. New rows are added to the same place you
clicked.
• Let's try to create a new row 4.
Delete Cells
• Cells can be deleted by selecting them, and pressing the delete
button.
• Note: The delete function will not delete the formatting of the cell,
just the value inside of it.
Excel Formulas
• A formula in Excel is used to do mathematical calculations. Formulas always
start with the equal sign (=) typed in the cell, followed by your calculation.
• Formulas can be used for calculations such as:
• =1+1
• =2*2
• =4/2=2
• It can also be used to calculate values using cells as input.
• Let's have a look at an example.
Creating formulas, step by step

• Select a cell
• Type the equal sign (=)
• Select a cell or type value
• Enter an arithmetic operator
• Select another cell or type value
• Press enter
Using Formulas with Cells
• You can type values to cells and use them in your formulas.
• Lets type some dummy values to get started. Double click the cells to type values into them. Go ahead and type:
A1(309)
A2(320)
B1(175)
B2(205)

• Select the cell C1

• Type the equal sign (=)
• Left click on A1, the cell that has the (309) value
• Type the minus sign (-)
• Left click on B2, the cell that has the (35) value
• Hit enter
• Note: You can make formulas with all four arithmetic operations, such as addition (+), subtraction (-),
multiplication (*) and division (/).
Excel Relative References
• Relative and Absolute References
• Cells in Excel have unique references, which is its location.
• References are used in formulas to do calculations, and the fill function can be used to
continue formulas sidewards, downwards and upwards.
• Excel has two types of references:
• Relative references
• Absolute references
• Absolute reference is a choice we make. It is a command which tells Excel to lock a
reference.
• The dollar sign ($) is used to make references absolute.
• Example of relative reference: A1
• Example of absolute reference: $A$1
Relative reference
• References are relative by default, and are without dollar sign ($).
• The relative reference makes the cells reference free. It gives the fill
function freedom to continue the order without restrictions.
• Let's have a look at a relative reference example
Absolute References

• Absolute reference is when a reference has the dollar sign ($).

• It locks a reference in the formula.
• Add $ to the formula to use absolute references.
• The dollar sign has three different states:
• Absolute for column and row. The reference is absolutely locked.
Example =$A$1
• Absolute for the column. The reference is locked to that column. The row remains
relative.
Example =$A1
• Absolute for the row. The reference is locked to that row. The column remains relative.
Example =A$1
cont
• The price's reference is B11, we do not want the fill function to change this, so we lock it.
• The reference is absolutely locked by using the formula $B$11.
• How to do it, step by step:
• Type C2(=)
• Select B11
• Type ($) before the B and 11 ($B$11)
• Type (*)
• Select B2
• Hit enter
• Auto fill C2:C7
Excel Addition Operator

• Addition uses the + symbol in Excel, and is also known as plus.

• There are two ways to do addition in Excel. Either by using the + symbol in a
formula or by using the SUM function.
• How to add cells:
• Select a cell and type (=)
• Select a cell
• Type (+)
• Select another cell
• Hit enter
• You can add more cells to the formula by typing (+) between the cells.
• Let's have a look at some examples.
Addition using the sum function
• Adding with SUM
• Let's keep the numbers from the last exercise. If you did last exercise,
remove the value in B1.
• Step by step to add with SUM:
• Type B1(=SUM)
• Double click the SUM command
• Mark the range A1:A5
• Hit enter
Adding Using Absolute Reference
• Adding Using Absolute Reference
• You can also lock a cell and add it to other cells.
• How to do it, step by step:
• Select a cell and type (=)
• Select the cell you want to lock, add two dollar signs ($) before the column
and row
• Type (+)
• Fill a range
Cont.
• Let's have a look at an example where we add B(5) to the
range A1:A10 using absolute reference and the fill function.
• Step by step:
• Type C1(=)
• Select B1
• Type dollar sign before column and row $B$1
• Type (+)
• Select A1
• Hit enter
• Fill the range C1:C10
Excel Subtraction Operator

• Subtraction uses the - symbol, and is also known as minus.

• How to subtract cells:
• Select a cell and type (=)
• Select the minuend
• Type (-)
• Select the subtrahend
• Hit enter
• Note: The minuend is the number to which the subtrahend subtracts
from.
Subtracting Using Absolute Reference
• You can lock a cell and subtract it from other cells.
• How to do it, step by step:
• Select a cell and type (=)
• Select the minuend
• Type (-)
• Select the subtrahend and add two dollar signs ($) before the column and row
• Hit enter
• Fill the range
Excel Parentheses

• Parentheses () is used to change the order of an operation.

• Using parentheses makes Excel do the calculation for the numbers
inside the parentheses first, before calculating the rest of the formula.
• Parentheses are added by typing () on both sides of numbers,
like (1+2).
Nesting Parentheses
• When using more advanced formulas you may need to nest parentheses. You can
look at this like an onion, which has many layers. Excel will calculate the numbers
inside the parentheses first, layer by later, starting with the inner layer.
• Example no nesting
• =2*2+3*4+5*5*2
• It calculates the values flat as you would do with a calculator.
• Example nesting
• =((2*2)+(3*4)+(5*5))*2
• Let's break it down and explain.
• Nesting creates layers like an onion. You can have many layers. This example uses
two, the inner and outer layers.