Splitting Windows and Freezing Panes

Introduction
So far we have worked in one worksheet and window at a time. Excel has expanded
perspective capabilities so that you can either improve the view while working in one
worksheet, or show more than one worksheet at a time.

Splitting the Window

1. Open the advancedexcel308.xlsx file found on Blackboard.
2. Notice that there are three worksheets: students, Sheet1 and Accounts.
3. Click on the students worksheet.
4. Click in cell A2.
5. Click on the View tab.
6. Click on [Split] in the Window area (shown circled in red below)

7. You’ll see that the line above cell A2 seems to thicken – click and drag down this line to
line 17 - you’ll find that the worksheet has been split into two identical sheets.
8. You’ll also see that two cells are selected at once – cell A2 in each screen.
9. Change the student number for Brendan Ahern from 14904 to 14905. The number
changes in both screens.
10. Notice the scroll bars on the right side of the window – there are two, one for each
version of the worksheet – these operate separately so moving one does NOT move both
sheets.
Removing the Split
There are a couple of ways to remove the split:
11. Click on the View tab.
12. Click on [Split] in the Window area.
13. Just as clicking [Split] the first time adds the split, clicking it again takes it off.
14. Alternatively, you can click on the line separating the worksheets and drag it all the
way to the bottom of the window – this will also remove the split.
15. Click in cell F1.
16. Click on [Split] in the Window area.
17. This time the split gives you two vertical worksheets from column F.
18. Click [Split] again to remove the split.
19. Click in cell D10.
20. Click on [Split] in the Window area.
21. Now notice that the split gives you four worksheets from the selected cell!

Viewing Different Worksheets

We’ve seen how the Split function allows you multiple views of the same worksheet. Excel also
makes it easy for you to view two separate files at the same time.
22. Open the CIS308SalesData.xlsx file, found on Blackboard.
23. Now that you have both files open, click on the View tab on one of them.
24. Click on [Arrange All] and choose Vertical.
25. Both sheets are now arranged next to each other on your computer screen.
26. You can also view the screens horizontally or cascaded.
27. If you have more than two worksheets open, it will increase the number of Excel
windows viewed – too many worksheets and this can get difficult to read.

You can also view worksheets in the same workbook as two separate files at the same time.
28. Close the CIS308SalesData.xlsx file and maximize the remaining advancedexcel308.xlsx
so that it shows full screen.
29. Click on the View tab and click on [New Window]. This duplicates your file.
(numbered at the end of the file as :1 or :2).
30. Now click on [Arrange All] and choose Vertical – also check the Windows of active
workbook box.
31. You now see your file as two files next to each other. You can use this option also to
view separate worksheets from the same file at the same time – click on a different
worksheet in one of the screens. Only that screen changes.
Freezing Panes
Sometimes, rather than splitting the view to multiple versions of the same screen, you just want
to work more easily in your original worksheet. Perhaps you want your column and/or row
headings to remain when you move the rest of the worksheet.

32. Click on cell A1 (or press [Ctrl-Home] to get there).

33. Click on the View tab.
34. Click on the pulldown for [Freeze Panes] in the Window area.
35. Choose Freeze Top Row.
36. This option freezes the column headers so that when you move through the
worksheet, Row A remains stationary.
37. Click on cell A1.
38. Click on the View tab again, but this time first [Unfreeze Panes] and then choose
[Freeze Panes].
39. Notice that now both vertical and horizontal freezes exist – but in the approximate
center of the visible sheet (on mine, this is row 14 and column J).
40. If you need to freeze the panes vertically and horizontally – say you have 3 rows of
column headers and 1 column of row headers: click in cell B4. (This would be the first cell
of non-header data).
41. Click on the View tab, first click [Unfreeze Panes] and then choose [Freeze Panes].
42. Now the top three rows and first column should be frozen.

Printing Row and Column Headings

If your Excel data spans multiple pages, you can have Excel print the row and/or column
heading information on each page. Still working in the advancedexcel308.xlsx sheet:

43. First, unfreeze your panes as described above.

44. Click on the Page Layout tab.
45. Click on [Print Titles]. This opens a Page Setup box.
46. Since in this worksheet, we only have one row of column headers, we need to repeat
only the first row at the top on each printed page.
47. Click in the Rows to repeat at top function box.
48. Either click on row 1 in the worksheet or type ‘$1:$1’ in the box.
49. You can then click on [Print Preview] to see the outcome or click [OK] to accept.
50. Close the advancedexcel308.xlsx sheet without saving any changes.
Series and Custom Lists
When performing calculations in Excel, you can translate the formula across a series of cells
using the fill handle, which is a small black plus sign that shows at the bottom right hand
corner of a cell. As this fill handle is dragged, the formula within the cell is translated to the
cells that are included in the drag. Unless absolute values are used, formulas will change
based on the cell location as it is copied. Values are changed only if they appear to be part
of a series, otherwise values are copied (or incremented if multiple cells are dragged).

Extending a Single Cell

Let’s start with a new workbook.
51. Open Excel and start with a blank workbook.
52. In cell A1 type “65” and press [Ctrl-Enter].
53. Move the cursor to the bottom right of cell A1 until the pointer changes to a black plus
sign (no arrows).
54. Click, hold and drag down to cell A13.
55. Notice that a small box appears at the bottom right of the fill area. This is the Auto Fill
Options.
56. Click on the pull down for the Auto Fill Options and choose [Fill Series]. What
happens to the numbers?
Note** The Auto Fill Options can be especially useful for things like filling in a spreadsheet for
workdays (excluding weekends), as you can start with Monday and using the Auto Fill Options,
choose [Fill Weekdays].
57. Click on cell B1.
58. Type ‘Excel’ in the cell and press [Ctrl-Enter].
59. Move the cursor to the bottom right of cell B1 until the pointer changes to a black plus
sign (no arrows).
60. This time, double click the plus sign and note what happens. This fill can occur because
there is already data in cells A1-A13.
61. Click on cell C1.
62. Type ‘Practice’ in the cell and press [Ctrl-Enter].
63. Using your mouse, highlight cells C1-C13.
64. In the Editing area of the Home tab, use the pull down next to [Fill], which is the
button below the AutoSum, and select Down.

This demonstrates that within Excel, there are sometimes several ways to complete the same
task. Filling can also be done with a keyboard shortcut, [Ctrl-D].
Built-in Data Series
Excel also contains some data series that are pre-defined. To use these, you can enter one
value in a cell and drag (or double click) to fill the rest.
65. Click on cell D1.
66. Type ‘Mon’ in the cell and press [Ctrl-Enter].
67. Move the cursor to the bottom right of cell D1 until the pointer changes to a black plus
sign (no arrows).
68. Double click the plus sign.
In addition to day-of-the-week abbreviations, Excel also recognizes full day-of-the-week names,
months (both full and abbreviations), times of day (don’t forget the colon!), week or number
series (start with week1 or start with 1st) or quarters (full, abbreviated or just using one letter
[Q1]).

Extending Multiple Cells

You can also create incremental value increases by adding data to multiple cells before
extension.
69. Click on cell E1.
70. Type ‘5’ in the cell and press [Enter] to go to cell E2.
71. Type ‘10’ in the cell.
72. Highlight both cells E1 and E2.
73. Move the cursor to the bottom right of cell E2 until the pointer changes to a black plus
sign (no arrows).
74. Double click the plus sign.

The same thing works with dates:

75. Click on cell F1.
76. Type ‘May 1’ in the cell and press [Enter] to go to cell F2.
77. Type ‘May 2’ in the cell.
78. Highlight cells F1 and F2.
79. Move the cursor to the bottom right of cell F2 until the pointer changes to a black plus
sign (no arrows).
80. Double click the plus sign.

So, as shown above, Excel knows math and dates - but it does not know the alphabet.
 81. Click on cell G1.
82. Type ‘A’ in the cell and press [Enter] to go to cell G2.
83. Type ‘B’ in the cell and press [Enter] to go to cell G3.
84. Type ‘C’ in the cell.
85. Highlight cells G1, G2 and G3.
86. Move the cursor to the bottom right of cell G3 until the pointer changes to a black plus
sign (no arrows).
87. Double click the plus sign. The result happens because Excel does not know the
alphabet.

The Auto Fill Options Button

Earlier we talked about using the Auto Fill Options. Let’s try it now.
88. Click on cell H1.
89. In cell H1 type ‘Monday’.
90. Click on cell I1.
91. In cell I1 type ‘4/20/15’.
92. Highlight both cells H1 and I1.
93. Move the cursor to the bottom right of cell I1 until the pointer changes to a black plus
sign (no arrows).
94. Click, hold and drag down to cell I13.
95. Use the pulldown on the Auto Fill Options box at the bottom right of the fill area
and choose [Fill Weekdays]. Notice what happens in both columns.

Customizing a Series
Sometimes you may have your own data series that you would like to use in Excel. For
example, a list of employees. If you have a data series that you find yourself using often, you
can create and save your own custom list. Once created, you can use Auto Fill to populate the
list.
96. Click in cell J1.
97. From J1 to J13, type a data series of names (first and last).
98. Highlight cells J1-J13.
99. Click on the File tab and then choose Options.
100. On the left side of the window, choose Advanced.
101. On the right side of the window, scroll down to the General area and click the [Edit
Custom Lists] button.
102. The Custom Lists button box appears. In the section to Import list from cells, the area
you highlighted should be defaulted.
 103. Click the [Import] button. In the left window, you should see your list of names appear
as a new list.
104. Click [OK] twice to return to your spreadsheet.
105. Click in cell K1.
106. Type the name you entered in cell J1 and press [Ctrl-Enter].
107. Move the cursor to the bottom right of cell K1 until the pointer changes to a black
plus sign (no arrows).
108. Double click the plus sign.

You can also edit your custom list:

109. Click on the File tab and then choose Options.
110. On the left side of the window, choose Advanced.
111. On the right side of the window, scroll down to the General area and click the [Edit
Custom Lists] button.
112. The Custom Lists button box appears. Select your custom list in the window on the left
and the list should populate in the List Entries area.
113. Edit the list in the List Entries area and remove one name by highlighting in and clicking
the Backspace button.
114. Click the [Add] button to save the changes to the list.
115. Click [OK] twice to return to your spreadsheet.
116. Click in cell L1.
117. Type the first name from your custom list (if the name you deleted was the first, then
the formerly second name will now be first).
118. Move the cursor to the bottom right of cell L1 until the pointer changes to a black plus
sign (no arrows).
119. Double click the plus sign.
120. Does Excel only populate 12 cells, since you deleted a name? Mine doesn’t!

Click on the File tab, then choose Save As. Save the file to your computer as “Assignment
3.[Your Last Name].xlsx”.
Upload your assignment to Blackboard by the due date.

Naming and Using Ranges

Another really cool feature of Excel is the use of Named Ranges. Excel allows you to name a
range of cells and then use that range elsewhere by its name.

Watch the Lecture 3 video for information on this facet of Excel.