IT APPLICATION TOOLS IN BUSINESS

A.KEYBOARDING
Keyboarding is one of the most important skill you can have in today’s world both professionally
and personally. In the fast paced computer driven society, keyboarding has become a survival skill
in the workplace—a life long skill. For most of us, the first time that we use the keyboard, we are
staring down at it searching for each letters and using our index finger when we finally find it. We
stare in amazement at people typing in a very fast speed without looking at their keyboard.

Touch Typing is the process by which you position your hands on the keyboard and type using your
sense of touch without looking at the keys you are pressing.

Like most things, we start the beginning with the basics. Each of your fingers has a home key where
it should rest if not being used. The finger must return to the letter assigned to it after you have typed a
letter.. Letsstart..make sure the finger return to the home areas if not you will loss your finger on the
keyboard.

To become successful in keyboarding, there are 3 essential skills needed.

1. Proper Keyboarding techniques—the observance of proper posture, correct wrist, hand and
finger position and correct finger movement.
2. Accuracy- the tapping of correct key at a given time
3. Speed- the no. of words or keystroke you type in a minute.

Home Row keys are the keys on which you place your fingers at rest when typing. The standard
placement for the left hand is the keys A through F and the standard placement for the left hand is the
keys J through L and the semicolon (;) key. After any displacement to strike a key on the keyboard, your
fingers should return to the home row keys at the default placement.
Add-a-Key is a method of learning to type where you start with a single key and when that is
mastered, add a new key to increase proficiency. This method involves repetition typing with a focus on
error-free results and speed of typing. When you have reached proficiency with the key, you should be
able to strike it without looking at the key.
QWERTY keyboard has been the standard typing interface since at least the patent containing it in
1878 but probably closer to its invention by C.L.Sholes for this “Type-Writer” in the 1860s. This
keyboard, also called the “Universal keyboard” is named for the arrangement of the first six letters on
the top row of letter keys.

To achieve accuracy and speed, you must observe proper keyboarding techniques.
a. Proper posture-
 Always sit up straight.
 Keep your back against the chair.
 Keep your feet flat on the floor.
 Keep your eyes leveled on the monitor.
 Position of your elbows—keep it hanging naturally resting at our side.
 Position your body—Body always at the center of your keyboard.
b. Correct wrist, hand, and finger position
HOME ROW POSITION
1. Drop your hands to your side. Allow your fingers to curve naturally. Maintain this curve as you
key.
2. Lightly place your left fingers over the a s d f and the right fingers over the j k l ;. You will feel a
raised element on the f and j keys, which will help you keep your fingers on the home-row
position. You are now in home row position.

B. MS WORD
Word is a full-featured word processing program that allows you to create professional looking
documents and revise them easily. With Word you can develop many types of personal and business
documents, including flyers, letters, memos, resumes, reports, fax cover sheets, mailing labels, and
newsletters.
To Start a Program Using the Start Menu
Across the bottom of the Windows 7 desktop is the taskbar. The taskbar contains the Start
button, which you use to access programs, files, folders, and setting on a computer. Clicking the start
button displays the Start menu. The Start menu allows you to access programs, folders, and files on

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 IT APPLICATION TOOLS IN BUSINESS
thecomputer and contains commands that allow you to start programs, store and search for documents,
customize the computer, and obtain help about thousands of topics.
Menu is a list of related items, including folders, programs, and commands. Each command on a
menu performs a specific action, such as saving a file or obtaining help.
Window is a rectangular area that displays data and information. The top of a window has a title
bar, which is a horizontal space that contains the window’s name. You view a portion of a document
on the screen through a document window. The default view is Print Layout view, which shows the
document on a mock sheet of paper in a document window.
Insertion Point is a blinking vertical bar that indicates where text, graphics and other items will
be inserted.
Mouse pointer becomes different shapes depending on the task you are performing in Word,
sometimes the shape of an I-beam.
You use a Scroll Bar to display different portions of a document in the document window. At
the right edge of the document window is a vertical scroll bar, a horizontal scroll bar appears at the
bottom of the document window. A scroll arrow is located at each end of a scroll bar.
Status bar is located at the bottom of the document window presents information about the
document, the progress of current tasks, and the status of certain commands and keys.
The Ribbon, located near the top of the Word window, is the control center in Word. It consists of
tabs, groups, and commands. Each tab surrounds a collection of groups, and each group contains related
commands. The ribbon displays seven top level tabs: Home, Insert, Page Layout, References, Mailings,
Review, and View. The Home tab, called the primary tab,contains the more frequently used
commands. The tab currently displayed is called the active tab. Word displays other tabs, called
contextual tabs, when you perform certain tasks or work with objects such as pictures or tables.
Gallery is a set of choices, often graphical, arranged in a grid, or in a list. Most galleries support live
preview, which is a feature that allows you to point to a gallery choice and see its effect in the
document—without actually selecting the choice.
Some commands on the Ribbon display an image to help you remember their function. When you
point to a command on the Ribbon, all or part of the command glows in shades of yellow and orange,
and an Enhanced Screen Tip appears on the screen. An enhanced screen tip is an on-screen note that
provides the name of the command, available keyboard shortcut (s), a description of the command, and
sometimes instructions for how to obtain help about the command
The lower right corner of some groups on the ribbon has a small arrow, called a Dialog Box
Launcher, that when clicked, displays a dialog box or a task pane with additional options for the group.
A task pane, in contrast to a dialog box, is a window that can remain open and visible while you work in
the document.
The mini toolbar which appears automatically based on tasks you perform, contains commands
related to changing the appearance of text in a document. When the mini toolbar appears, it initially is
transparent that is not use, it disappears from the screen.
The Quick Access Toolbar, located by default above the Ribbon, provides easy access to frequently
used commands. Initially, the Quick Access Toolbar contains the Save, Undo, and Redo commands.
Key Tips. If you prefer using the keyboard instead of the mouse, you can press the ALT key on the
keyboard to display KeyTips, or keyboard code icons, for certain commands.
A shortcut menu is a list of frequently used commands that relate to the right-clicked object. When
you right click a scroll bar, for example, a shortcut menu appears with commands related to the scroll
bar.
Office Button is a central location for managing and sharing documents.

PROJECT 1. Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and Directory

In the mailmerge process, Word supports five types of main documents: letters, e-mail messages,
envelopes, labels, and a directory.

A data source is a file that contains the data that changes from one merged document to the next. A
data source often is shown as a table that consists of a series of rows and columns. Each row is called a
record. The first row of a data source is called the header record because it identifies the name of each
column. Each row below the header row is called a data record. Data records contain the text that
varies in each copy of the merged document.
Each column in the data source is called a data field. A data field represents a group of similar
data. Each data field must be identified uniquely with a name, called a field name. For example,
Position is the name of the data field (column) that contains the advertised position.
In the main document, field names linked to the data source are called merge fields because
they merge, or combine, the main document with the contents of the data source. When a merge field is

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 IT APPLICATION TOOLS IN BUSINESS
inserted in the main document, Word surrounds the field name with merge field characters, which are
chevrons that mark the beginning and ending of a merge field.
The AddressBlock Merge field contains text and fields related to the inside address. The
GreetingLine merge field contains text and fields related to a salutation.
In addition to merge fields, you can insert Word fields that are designed specifically for a mail merge.
An If field is an example of a Word field. One form of the If field is called an If..then: If a condition is
true, then perform an action. Another form of the If field is called an If…Then..Else: If a condition is true,
then perform an action; else perform a different action.

Methods for selecting text

To select Mouse Keyboard Mouse and Keyboard
A word Double click the word Move the insertion
point to the beginning
of the word and hold
Ctrl + Shift, and then
press
A sentence click the beginning of Press and hold Ctrl,
the sentence, then drag then click any location
the pointer until the within the sentence
sentence is selected
A paragraph Double click in the Move the insertion
white space to the left point to the beginning
of the paragraph, or of the paragraph, press
triple click at any and hold Ctrl + Shift,
location within the and then press
paragraph
Multiple paragraphs Click in the white space Move the insertion
to the left fo the first point to the beginning
paragraph you want to of the first paragraph,
select, and then drag to press and hold Ctrl +
select the remaining Shift, and then press
paragraphs Until all the paragraphs
are selected.
An entire document Triple click the white Press Ctrl + A Press and hold Ctrl, and
space to the left of the click in the white space
document text to the left of the
document text
A block of text Click at the beginning of Click the beginning of
the block, then drag the the block, press and
pointer until the entire hold shift, and then click
block is selected at the end of the block

C. MICROSOFT EXCEL—ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEET

Getting to Know Excel
Microsoft Office’s Excel is to numbers what word is to text.
Excel has been called a “word processor for numbers.” With excel you can create numerically based
proposals, business plans, business forms, accounting workbooks, and virtually any other document that
contains calculated numbers. Those worksheets can contain graphics and charts, too.
Excel starts with a grid of lines in which you place information
All excel files end in the .xls filename extension.
A worksheet is set up in a similar manner to a Word table, except that excel worksheets can do much
more high end numeric calculations that word tables can.

Initially, blank Excel Workbooks contain three worksheets, named sheet 1, sheet 2, and sheet 3. When
you click a worksheets tab, Excel brings that worksheet into view.

Tip
To insert additional worksheets, click the Insert Worksheet button. Excel adds an additional sheet tab.
Rename your worksheet to a name other than the default sheet # by right clicking the sheet’s name tab and
selecting Rename. Type a new name and press Enter.

Each worksheet column has a column name; column name start with A, B, and so on. Each row has a
number, starting with 1,2, and so on. The intersection of a row and column, called a cell, also has a name,

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 IT APPLICATION TOOLS IN BUSINESS
which comes from combining the column name and row number, such as C4 or A1. A1 is always the top left
cell on any worksheet. The gridlines throughout the worksheet help you distinguish between cells.

Each unique cell name is sometimes called the cell reference, and it is unique for each cell in the
worksheet. The active cell or cells are always highlighted with a dark border. A cell’s location also known as
its name or cell reference, appears in the worksheet’s name box.

New Terms
Spreadsheet- another name for a worksheet and often used another name for workbook.
Worksheet-numerical information presented in a tabular row and column format with text that labels the
data/ A collection of rows and columns that hold text and numbers.
Workbook-office documents that contain one or more worksheets.
Cell reference- the name of a cell, composed of its column and row intersection, such as G14. This is
sometimes called the cell address or cell name.

Parts of the MS Excel 2016 Environment

A. The File tab is new to Excel 2016
It is a replacement for the Office Button in Excel 2007 which was a replacement for thefile menu in
earlier versions of Excel.
Like the old file menu, the File tab options are mostly related to file management such as opening
new or existing worksheet files, saving, printing, and a new feature - saving and sending Excel
files in PDF format.
.
B. Quick Access Toolbar
It is a customizable toolbar that allows you to access frequently used commands such as
Save, Undo, Redo, etc. You can place the Quick Access toolbar above or below the ribbon.
To customize the Quick Access toolbar
1. Click the drop-down arrow found on the right side of the Quick Access toolbar to access
the command Customize Quick Access Toolbar. Click a button form the displayed list or
click More Commands for more options
2. To change the location of the Quick Access toolbar, click on the drop-down arrow at the
end of the toolbar then click Show Below the Ribbon.
If you want to add items to the Quick Access toolbar from the ribbon, follow these steps:
1. Right click on any item in the Office Button or the Ribbon.
2. Click Add to Quick Access Toolbar. A new icon or shortcut will be added to the Quick Access
toolbar.
C. Ribbon
The ribbon is a panel located at the top portion of the document. It consists of a series of
tabs that provides you with quicker access to commands for completing a particular task. Each
tab is divided into groups which are logical collections of related features designed to perform
functions for developing, editing, and formatting your Excel spreadsheet.
1. Tabs- It contain features organized around the tasks that you do most in each program.
The most frequently used features or commands are found in the Home tab.
There are seven of them across the top. Each tab represents a collection of tasks you
can do in Excel. Tabs and tasks are categorized as follows:
a. Home-Clipboard, Fonts, Alignment, Number, Styles, Cells, Editing
b. Insert--- Tables, Illustrations, Add- ins, Charts, Sparklines, Filters, Links, Text,
Symbols
c. Page Layouts---Themes, Page Setup, Scale to Fit, Sheet Options, Arrange
d. Formulas--- function Library, Defined Names, Formula Auditing, Calculation
e. Data---Get External Data, Connections, Sort & Filter, Data Tools, Outline
f. Review--- Proofing, Language, Comments, Changes
g. View--- Workbook Views, Show/Hide, Zoom, Window, Macros
2. Contextual Tabs-- These are the additional tabs to the normal sets of tabs that appear
when certain object is selected. These tabs give you other commands that can be applied
to the object you have selected.
3. Groups--- It contains more detailed tools that are organized according to their functions.
Example, Font group provides the tools for text.
4. Commands—These are the buttons which will either display a dialog box where you can
enter information or open a menu for more related options.
5. Dialog Box Launcher---It is located at the bottom right corner of a group which displays a
dialog box containing additional options and settings for each command.

To access the Ribbon:

Using your mouse
Click the Ribbon tab, then in the appropriate group, click the
command required.
A. Using your Keyboard
a. Press Alt or F10 to display the keys for each tab in the ribbon
b. Press the corresponding key to display or activate the command.
By pressing Esc key, the user can cancel a command
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Note: If the Ribbon is not visible, right-click on the Ribbon tab and then click to
uncheck the Minimize the Ribbon option.
 IT APPLICATION TOOLS IN BUSINESS

D. Name Box---indicates thelocation of the active cell, which is the selected cell. It also show the name
assigned to a cell or range of cells. It can be used to navigate to different cells in your worksheet.
E. Formula Bar--- the formula bar is located just below the ribbon. It displays the data or formula as you
type in the cell. You can use the formula bar to enter and edit a formula, function or data in the cell.
F. Columns--- These are vertical blocks of cells which can be identified by alphabetical letters. There are
16, 384 columns which are indicated by column heading XFD. Columns are represented by letters.
G. Rows--- These are horizontal blocks of cell running across the entire width of the spreadsheet. Rows
are sequentially numbered from the top. There are 1,048,576 rows which you can use in Excel 2007.
H. Galleries--- Galleries help you change the look of your spreadsheet by offering an array of different
visual styles.
I. Mini Toolbar--- This feature is Excel is visible when you select or highlight text. It is a floating toolbar
that contains specific commands and paragraph formatting features such as Bold, Italic, font, font Size
and Font color. This toolbar remains translucent until the mouse pointer is positioned over the mini
toolbar.
J. Worksheet---A worksheet consists of cell that are organized into columns and rows. A worksheet is
stored in a workbook.
K. Cell---An individual cell lies at the intersection between a row and a column.. The combinations of both
a column letter and row number is also known as cell reference or cell address. A rectangular
highlight specifies the on screen location of an active. This is also referred to as the active cell
indicator.
L. Active Cell---An active cell has a black border indicating that a data is ready for entry. You can use the
mouse or the keyboard arrow keys to change the location of the active cell.
M. Sheet Tabs--- These are tabs that allow you to view a specific sheet. By default, there are three
worksheet tabs which appear each time you create a new workbook.
N. Scroll bars---The horizontal and vertical scroll bars allow the user to scroll through other parts of the
sheet. To scroll horizontally in a worksheet, you can locate the horizontal scroll bar in the bottom-right
corner or you can click the bar and move it from left to right.
O. StatusBar---The status bar display if options such as signatures, permissions, track changes, and
macro are turned on or off. It also displays if the cell is ready for data entry.
P. Views--- a new feature in MS Excel 2007 is the Views toolbar which allows you to switch between
available views of your workbook. It is located on the right side of the status bar.
Q. Zoom Control---The zoom control is located at the bottom right corner of the window that is used to
increase or decrease the viewing size of the work area. The plus (+) sign indicates to increase the
size of the text while the minus (-) sign is to decrease the text on the screen.
R. MinimizeButton--- this will reduce the size of the entire screen and place it on the taskbar.
S. Maximize Button--- This will expand the application to fill the entire screen.
T. Restore Button--- This will bring back the original size of the worksheet.

The Different Types of Mouse Pointers in Excel 2007

As you work on your workbook, you will notice that the mouse pointer changes in appearance.
Arrow- An arrow mouse pointer will allow you to select commands in the Ribbon
Thick Cross--- A thick cross pointer will enable you to select a cell or range of cells.
I Beam--- An I-beam mouse pointer will allow you to select text within a formula bar.
Fill Handle---A fill handle mouse pointer is used to copy cell content.
Double Headed Arrow--- The double headed arrow allows you to adjust the column’s width and row heights.
You can do this by clicking and dragging the line between column headings from left to right and for
rows, clicking and dragging the line between row headings up and down.

Selecting a Range of Cells

A range refers to a selected rectangular block of cells. It can be as small as a single cell or as large as
the entire worksheet.
To select a range of cells, do either of the following:
 Click the first cell and then drag to the last cell.
 Click the first cell and then hold down the Shift key while pressing the arrow keys to extend your
selection
 Click the first cell and then press Shift or F8 while pressing the arrow keys to extend your selection,
Pressing F8 will stop extending the selection.

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 IT APPLICATION TOOLS IN BUSINESS
Selecting Non-Adjacent Cells
To select cells that are apart from each other, follow the steps below:
1. Select the first cell or range of cells
2. Hold down the Ctrl key while selecting non-adjacent cells. Release the Ctrl key when done with your
selections.

You can also select non-adjacent rows and columns by selecting the column or row heading while holding
down the CTRL key as you select other headings not adjacent to the first selection.

Using the Fill Handle to Copy a Cell to Adjacent Cells

The cell being copied is called the source area or copy area.
The range of cells receiving the copy is called the destination area or paste area.
The fill handle is the small black square located in the lower-right corner of the heavy border around
the active cell.

Formatting the Worksheet

By formatting the contents of the worksheet, you can improve its overall appearance. When formatting a
worksheet, consider the following formatting suggestions:
 Increase the font size of cells
 Change the font color of cells
 Center the worksheet titles, subtitles, and column headings.
 Modify column widths to best fit text in cells
 Change the font style of cells. (regular, bold, italics, underline)

The preset font for the entire workbook is Calibri, with a font size, font style, and font color of 11 point
regular black.

A theme is a collection of cell styles and other styles that have common characteristics, such as a color
scheme and font. The default theme for an Excel workbook is the Office Theme.

TYPES OF CELL ENTRIES

There are three basic types of entries you can make into a worksheet cell.
A. Labels - are text entries which do not have a value associated with them. Labels are used to identify
data in your spreadsheet. A label can also consist of numerical data which is not used in any
calculations and can also be a combination of alphanumeric characters. It can also be a date or a
serial number.
 Text Entries
a. In Microsoft Excel, text is any combination of numbers, spaces, and non numeric
characters---For example MS Excel treats the following entries as text: 10AA109, 127AXY,
12-976, 20846
b. All text is left aligned in a cell. To change the alignment, click the desired alignment tool in
the Format Cells dialog box under Alignment Group
c. A long text entry spills to the next cell. However, if the next cell to the right has an entry, the
long text entry is truncated. To fully display the entry within the cell, adjust the column width.
d. To display all the text on multiple lines in the cell, select the Wrap text check box as Text
Control on the Format cells, Alignment Group dialog box.
e. To enter a “hard” carriage return in a cell, press ALT-ENTER
B. Values – are numeric data used in calculations including dates. Data is considered a value if it belongs
to any type of numerical data such as numbers, dates, times, fractions, percentages, currencies and formulas.
You will know that a value has been entered because it is automatically aligned to the right.
*Number Entries—
In Microsoft Excel, a number can contain only the following characters:
0123456789+-(),/$%
Excel ignores leading plus signs (+) and treats a single period as a decimal. All other
combinations of numbers and nonnumeric characters are treated as text.
Entering fractions. To avoid entering a fraction as a date, precede fractions with a 0 (zero); for
example, type 0 ½.
Entering negative numbers. Precede negative numbers with a minus sign (-), or enclose the
numbers in parenthesis ( ).
How numbers appear. The number format that is applied to a cell determines the way Excel
displays a number on a worksheet. If you type a number into a cell that has the General number format, Excel
may apply a different number format. For example if you type $14.73, Excel applied a currency format. To
change the number format, select the cells that contain the numbers. On the Number group, click the number
tab, and then select a category and format.
The General Number Format. In cells that have the default General number format, Excel
displays numbers as integers (789), decimal fractions (7.89) or scientific notation (7.89E+08) if the number is
longer than the width of the cell. The General format displays up to 11 digits, including a decimal point and
characters such as “E” and “+”. To use numbers with more than 11 digits, you can apply a built-in scientific
number format (exponential notation) or a custom number format.

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 IT APPLICATION TOOLS IN BUSINESS

To enter numbers automatically in a sequence of cells

1. Enter the first two numbers in two successive cells.
2. Select the cells that contain the two numbers
3. Drag (as in copying selection) until desired range to be filled.

*Date and Time Entries—

Dates and times are numbers. MS Excel treats dates and times as numbers. The way that a time or
date is displayed on a worksheet depends on the number format applied to the cell. When you type a date or
time that Excel recognizes, the cell’s format changes from the General format to a built in date or time format.
By default, dates and times are right- aligned in a cell.
The most convenient way to enter a date is to follow the pattern MM/DD/YYYY
To enter a date: Type the date and press Enter or Tab
Press Ctrl+; (semicolon)
Use the date and time functions in Excel. =today() /now ()
The most convenient way to enter time is to follow the pattern HOUR:MINUTE:SECOND
To type a time based on the 12-hour clock, type a space followed by AM or PM (or A or P) after the
time. Otherwise, excels bases the time on the 24-hour clock. For example if you type 3:00 instead of 3:00
P.M., the time stored as3:00 AM
To enter time, type the current time and press Enter or Tab or Press Ctrl + Shift: (colon) or

Viewing the serial number behind a date or time. Regardless of the format used to display a date or time,
Excel stores all dates as serial numbers and stores all times as decimal fractions.

Calculating with dates and times.Times and dates can be added, subtracted, and included in other
calculations. To use a date or time in a formula, enter the date or time as text enclosed in quotation marks.
For example, the following formula would display a difference of 68.

=”5/12/2004”-“3/5/2004”
In Excel for windows, days are numbered from the beginning of the century; the date serial number 1
corresponds to the date January 1, 1900.

B. Formulas

Entering Data
In excel, any set of characters containing a letter, hyphen, or space is considered text. Text is used to
place titles, such as worksheet titles, column titles, and row titles, on the worksheet.
There are several ways to encode data in Excel: in an active cell or in the formula bar.
a. To enter data in an active cell, first select the cell and then begin typing your data. As you encode
characters from the keyboard, an insertion point will appear in the cell. The characters will
simultaneously appear in the cell and in the formula bar at the same time.
b. To encode data into the formula bar, position the mouse pointer and click on the cell where you want to
type the data. Move your cursor to the formula bar. Type in your data.
Note: a cell may display ######## when it contains data that has a value or decimal numbers
which are wider than the present column width. To see the whole value, simply increase the
width of the column by double clicking on the line in between the column borders. This
automatically widens the column to accommodate the entire number.

***To cancel an entry in a cell or the formula bar, press Esc

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