Semester-I

IT Applications for Managers

Syllabus
UNIT I: Information System for Business: (Theory )

Need for Information Systems – Business Categories of Information Systems-Data Base

Concepts- Definition-Advantages, Disadvantages – Information Systems Application: Data
Interchange (EDI), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), M-Commerce Services &Applications,
Emerging Trends in Computing – Cloud Computing Cyber Crime: - Classification of cyber
criminals- Computer Security. Need For Security - Security Threat & Attack-Security
Mechanisms - Cryptography, Digital Signature, Firewall

UNIT II :Introduction to Advanced Excel & MS Access

Advanced Options of MS-EXCEL:

Getting started with Excel, working with Formulas & Functions and creating Charts & Graphs.
Statistical tools – use statistical functions such as average, Standard Deviation, ANOVA, IF
function etc Financial Tools – use of Financial Functions such as NPV, IRR FV PV IPMT
RATE Date Functions . Data analysis by using What IF , PIVOT table ,Scenarios, Goal seek

MS-ACCESS :Creating a database and tables by different methods- Entering and Editing data-
Sorting, Filtering and Displaying data, Creating & querying using forms. Creating & printing
reports and labels.
Suggested Readings

1. Turban, Rainer and Potter, “Introduction to Information Technology”, John & Wiley Sons.
2. Alex Leon & Mathew Leon, “Fundamentals of Information Technologies”, 2009, 2nd Ed
Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
3. Ralph M. Stair& George W. Reynolds, “Principles of Information Systems- A Managerial
Approach, 2001,Thomson Course Technology
4. Ramesh Behl, “Information Technology for Management”, 2012, McGraw-Hill Companies.
5. Ken Laudon, Jane Laudon &RajnishDass, “Management Information System”, 11nd Ed.
Pearson.
6. B. Muthukumaran, “Information Technology for Management”, 2010, Oxford.
7. S. Sudalaimuthu& S. Anthony Raj, “Computer Applications of Business”, 2010, HPH.
Arpita Gopal &Chandrani Singh, “E - World- Emerging Trends in Information Technology”,
2009,Excel Books
Unit-1
Information System for Business

Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1. How do Information Systems Influence Modern Business? ......................................................... 3
2. Need for Information Systems .............................................................................................................. 4
3. Business Categories of Information Systems........................................................................................ 5
4. Data Base Concepts ............................................................................................................................ 11
4.1. Definition .................................................................................................................................... 11
4.2. Advantages .................................................................................................................................. 14
4.3. Disadvantages ............................................................................................................................. 15
5. Information Systems Application: ...................................................................................................... 16
5.1. Data Interchange (EDI) ............................................................................................................... 16
5.2. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) ................................................................................................ 18
5.3. M-Commerce Services & Applications ...................................................................................... 20
6. Emerging Trends in Computing.......................................................................................................... 21
6.1. Cloud Computing ........................................................................................................................ 21
7. Cyber Crime ........................................................................................................................................ 25
7.1. Classification of cyber criminals................................................................................................. 25
8. Computer Security .............................................................................................................................. 26
8.1. Need for Security ........................................................................................................................ 27
8.2. Security Threat & Attack ............................................................................................................ 27
9. Security Mechanisms .......................................................................................................................... 28
9.1. Cryptography .............................................................................................................................. 28
9.2. Digital Signature ......................................................................................................................... 28
9.3. Firewall ....................................................................................................................................... 31

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 1. Introduction
Running a successful business calls for proper management of financial and organizational data
and statistics with quality information systems. Almost every company has experienced a
drastically slowed workflow because of data problems related to reliability and accuracy. It’s
true that there is no substitute for right information at the right time in the business world.

This prompted the development of systems that can be used to make the information accurate,
readily available, and easily accessible. With the effectiveness of information systems, an
organization can have better decision-making, better planning, and ultimately better results.

1.1. How do Information Systems Influence Modern Business?

In today’s continuously changing and fast moving world, where customers’ requirements and
preferences are always evolving, the only businesses that can hope to remain competitive and
continue to function at the performance levels that can match their customers’ expectations are
those that are going to embrace innovation. In the recent past, any business success has been
pegged on the information technology quality that the business has employed and the capability
to correctly use such information.

Information systems (IS) importance has increased dramatically, and most businesses have been
prompted to introduce it to keep their competitive edge. Today, nobody can envisage a business
without an effective information system. Introduction of an information system to a business can
bring numerous benefits and assist in the way the business handles its external and internal
processes that a business encounters daily and decision making for the future. Some of the
benefits of an information system include:

New Products and Services

Any company looking to improve and secure the future has to establish a broader perspective
with the use of a well-designed and coordinated information system. The IS makes it easier to
analyze independent processes such as information to produce valuable products or services and
organized work activities. Therefore, an IS can give a company the competitive advantage by
analyzing how a company creates, produce, and sell their products or services. This means that
the focus will be put on the main goal ahead.

Information Storage

Every organization needs records of its activities to find the cause of problems and proper
solutions. Information systems come in handy when it comes to storing operational data,
communication records, documents, and revision histories. Manual data storage will cost the
company lots of time, especially when it comes to searching for specific data. A quality
information system stores data in a comprehensive and sophisticated database which makes the
process of finding it convenient. With such information, a company can analyze how certain
actions affected the business as well as prepare cost estimates and forecasts.

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Easier Decision Making

Without an information system, a company can take a lot of time and energy in the decision
making process. However, with the use of IS, it’s easier to deliver all the necessary information
and model the results and this can help you make better decisions. The management team can
use the information system to choose the best course of action and carry out the tasks. When
there are several appealing alternatives, the information system can be used to run different
scenarios by calculating key indicators such as costs, sales, and profits. This way, you can
determine the alternative with the most beneficial results.

Behavioral Change

Employers and employees can communicate rapidly and more effectively with an information
system. While emails are quick and effective, the use of Information systems is more efficient
since documents are stored in folders that can be shared and accessed by employees.

This implies that information flows from the management to lower-level employees and vice
versa. Also, the lower-level employees get enlightened and involved in important decision
making, and this eliminates the need for middle managers. Employees who are directly involved
in the decision-making process are motivated and dedicated to their tasks.

2. Need for Information Systems

Information System helps Managers make decisions. Decision-making generally takes a four-
fold path −
• Understanding the need for decision or the opportunity,
• Preparing alternative course of actions,
• Evaluating all alternative course of actions,
• Deciding the right path for implementation.
Implications of Information in Business

Information processing has transformed our society in numerous ways. From a business
perspective, there has been a huge shift towards increasingly automated business processes and
communication. Access to information and capability of information processing has helped in
achieving greater efficiency in accounting and other business processes.

A complete business information system, accomplishes the following functionalities −

• Collection and storage of data.

• Transform these data into business information useful for decision making.
• Provide controls to safeguard data.
• Automate and streamline reporting.

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The following list summarizes the five main uses of information by businesses and other
organizations −

• Planning − At the planning stage, information is the most important ingredient in

decision making. Information at planning stage includes that of business resources,
assets, liabilities, plants and machineries, properties, suppliers, customers, competitors,
market and market dynamics, fiscal policy changes of the Government, emerging
technologies, etc.
• Recording − Business processing these days involves recording information about each
transaction or event. This information collected, stored and updated regularly at the
operational level.
• Controlling − A business need to set up an information filter, so that only filtered data is
presented to the middle and top management. This ensures efficiency at the operational
level and effectiveness at the tactical and strategic level.
• Measuring − A business measures its performance metrics by collecting and analyzing
sales data, cost of manufacturing, and profit earned.
• Decision-making − MIS is primarily concerned with managerial decision-making, theory
of organizational behavior, and underlying human behavior in organizational context.
Decision-making information includes the socio-economic impact of competition,
globalization, democratization, and the effects of all these factors on an organizational
structure.

3. Business Categories of Information Systems

No single system can provide all the information an organization needs. Even small firms have a
collection of different systems: e-mail systems, sales tracking systems, etc. Different systems can
be described through:

• A functional perspective: Identifying systems by their major business function

• A constituency perspective: Identifying systems in terms of the major organizational groups that
they serve

There are four main types of information systems that serve different functional systems:

Sales and marketing information systems help the firm with marketing business processes (identifying
customers for the firm's products or services, developing products and services to meet their needs,
promoting products and services) and sales processes (selling the products and services, taking orders,
contacting customers, and providing customer support).

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FIGURE 2-22 EXAMPLE OF A SALES INFORMATION SYSTEM
This system captures sales data at the moment the sale takes place to help the business monitor sales
transactions and to provide information to help management analyze sales trends and the effectiveness of
marketing campaigns.

information systems deal with the planning, development, and

Manufacturing and production informati

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production of products and services, and controlling the flow of production.

FIGURE 2-33 OVERVIEW OF AN INVENTORY SYSTEM

This system provides information about the number of items available in inventory to support
manufacturing and production activities.

Finance and accounting information systems keep track of the firm's financial assets and fund flows.

FIGURE 2-44 AN ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SYSTEM

An accounts receivable system tracks and stores important customer data, such as payment history, credit
rating, and billing history.

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Human resources information systems maintain employee records, track employee skills, job
performance and training,
aining, and support planning for employee compensation and career development.

FIGURE 2-55 AN EMPLOYEE RECORD KEEPING SYSTEM

This system maintains data on the firm’s employees to support the human resources function.

There are four main categories of systems from a constituency perspective.

1. Transaction processing systems (TPS) are basic business systems that serve the
operational level of the organization by recording the daily routine transactions required
to conduct business, such as payroll and sal
sales receipts.

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FIGURE 2-66 HOW MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS OBTAIN THEIR DATA FROM
THE ORGANIZATION’S TPS
In the system illustrated by this diagram, three TPS supply summarized transaction data to the MIS
reporting system at the end of the time period. Man
Managers
agers gain access to the organizational data through
the MIS, which provides them with the appropriate reports.

2. Management information systems (MIS) serve middle managers' interests by providing

current and historical performance information to aid in pla
planning,
nning, controlling, and
decision making at the management level. MIS typically compress TPS data to present
regular reports on the company's basic operations.

FIGURE 2-77 SAMPLE MIS REPORT

This report showing summarized annual sales data was produced by the MIS in Figure 2-6.
2

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Decision support systems (DSS),, or business intelligence systems, help managers with non-routine
non
decisions that are unique, rapidly changing, and not easily specified in advance. DSS are more analytical
than MIS, using a variety off models to analyze internal and external data or condense large amounts of

data for analysis.

FIGURE 2-8 VOYAGE-ESTIMATING

ESTIMATING DECISION
DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEM
This DSS operates on a powerful PC. It is used daily by managers who must develop bids on shipping
contracts.

Executive support systems (ESS) provide a generalized computing and communications environment
that help senior managers address strategic issues and identify long
long-term
term trends in the firm and its

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environment. ESS address nonroutine decisions requiring judgment, evaluation, and insight because there
is no agreed-on
on procedure for arriving at a solution. ESS present graphs and data from many internal and
external sources through an interface that is easy for senior managers to use. Often the information is
delivered to senior executives through a portal,, which uses a Web interface to present integrated
personalized business content.

FIGURE 2-99 MODEL OF AN EXECUTIVE SUPPORT SYSTEM

This system pools data from diverse interna
internall and external sources and makes them available to executives
in an easy-to-use form.

Ideally, these constituency-based

based systems are interrelated. TPS are typically a major source of data for
other systems, whereas ESS are primarily a recipient of data fro
from lower-level
level systems and external
sources.

FIGURE 2-10 10 INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG SYSTEMS

The various types of systems in the organization have interdependencies. TPS are major producers of
information that is required by many other systems in the firm, wh
which,
ich, in turn, produce information for
other systems. These different types of systems are loosely coupled in most business firms, but
increasingly firms are using new technologies to integrate information that resides in many different
systems

4. Data Base Concepts

4.1. Definition
Database, also called electronic database, any collection of data, or information, that is specially
organized for rapid search and retrieval by a computer. Databases are structured to facilitate the storage,
retrieval, modification, andd deletion of data in conjunction with various data
data-processing
processing operations.

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A database is stored as a file or a set of files. The information in these files may be broken down into
records, each of which consists of one or more fields. Fields are the basic units of data storage, and each
field typically contains information pertaining to one aspect or attribute of the entity described by the
database. Records are also organized into tables that include information about relationships between its
various fields. Although database is applied loosely to any collection of information in computer files, a
database in the strict sense provides cross-referencing capabilities. Using keywords and various sorting
commands, users can rapidly search, rearrange, group, and select the fields in many records to retrieve or
create reports on particular aggregates of data.

What is Data?
Data is a single unit of information or we can say information is a collection of data. Actually Data is part
of information so information creates with the help of data.
For example
if we want your name, age, weight, height, etc that is related to you, so this is data and that’s data helps to
create some information about you.
Why we need data?
Data is very important in every field if we do business than we need data, if we do any scientific research
then we need data if we play any game like cricket/football/hockey etc than we need data. So my point is
we need data every time we do anything and data is very important in our day to day life.
So the point is, data is very important which helps to create information, so now I think you understand
What Data is Actually, data helps to gather information and you know today’s world information is
everything and without information or data, you can’t do anything in life.
Data can be in any form like numbers, texts, images, sound, video, etc.
So if we talk about Database, Its helps to store data and that data is related to each other means for
example: if we create a “College Database“ so, In that database, we can store students data (like Student’s
Roll no, name, age, class, etc.), teachers data, college staffs data, etc. means In database, we should store
that data which is related to each other.
Now we talk about the database,
What is Database?
A database is a location, where we store data and that data should be logically related in a systematic
manner. So In the database, we can store our useful data systematically, which is managed by database
users.
The first main question comes in our mind, “Why we need a database?”
So the first thing is, why do you need data?

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If you do business then you need your business data or if you run a school/college then you need
school/college data like student’s information, teacher’s information, staff information, etc. So to manage
all information we need a database, where we can store data in a systematic manner
A database can be managed in manually or electronically:
Manually, we can be managed or organized data on paper files, diaries, etc.
Electronically, we can be managed in computers, digital diaries, mobile phones, etc.
In computers, Database is actually a space, where we store our data in an organized manner.
you can read this article: Advantages and Disadvantages of Database
Basic Definition of Database:-
A database is a shared collection of logically related data in a systematic manner, which is stored to meet
the requirements of different users of an organization, that can easily be accessed, managed, and updated.
Database is actually a place or a location where a related piece of information is stored and various
operations can be performed on it.
Database can be maintained manually or through electronic devices such as -: digital diaries, mobile
phones, computers, etc.
Database Terminology and Concepts

Criteria – the conditions that control which records to display in a query.

Database – a collection of information related to a particular topic or purpose. There are two types of
databases: Nonrelational and relational.

Database management system – a program such as Access, that stores, retrieves, arranges, and formats
information contained in a database.

Database model – the structure of the information stored in the database. This model should included
how each individual piece of information relates to all the other information in the database.

Field – a specific item of information containing a homogenous set of values throughout the table. Fields
appear as columns in a table and as cells in a form.

Object – a component of a database, such as a table, query, form, or report.

Primary Key – a field in a table whose value is uniquely identifies each record in the table.

Query – a request for a particular collection of data in a database.

Record – an individual listing of related information consisting of a number of related fields stored in a
table. A record is also called a row in the datasheet.

Report – a formatted collection of information organized to provide printed data on a specific subject.

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Select Query – a query that answers a question about one or more tables by limiting the number of
records and fields displayed.

Table – an arrangement of related information stored in columns and rows.

4.2. Advantages
1) Data Abstraction
2) Controlling Data Redundancy
3) Minimized Data inconsistency
4) Data Manipulation Easily
5) Data can be shared
6) Data Security
7) Support Multi-users Views
8) Concurrent Access
9) Helps for Decision Making

1) Data Abstraction
Data abstraction means, to hide the complexity of data from the basic users.
DBMS abstracts the data from the users, which is not useful for the users. It shows only those data which
are useful to the users.
2) Controlling Data Redundancy
Data redundancy means having multiple copies of the same data.
DBMS controls the data redundancy and integrates all data into a single database file.
Controlling the data redundancy also helps to save our storage space and increase retrieval and update
speed.
3) Minimized Data inconsistency
Data inconsistency means that different files may contain different information about a particular object
or person.
If DBMS has reduced the data redundancy than the database system leads the better data consistency.
Our data items appear only once (no redundancy) so the updated values are immediately available to all
users.
4) Data Manipulation Easily
In DBMS, Data can be manipulated easily, because data is centralized so once the data structure is
defined, we can easily change in the data like- insertion, modification, or deletion.
5) Data can be shared
Data can be shared easily by multiple applications in centralized DBMS. The applications can be
developed without having to create any new stored files.
The DBMS helps to develop a friendly environment where end-users can access and manage data.

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6) Data Security
Data is very important for any business organization. The more users access the data, the higher risks of
data security breaches. If someone stole business data then it would be very bad for business. So a
company will never want any outsider to come and access the company’s data. The business organization
invests plenty amount of time, effort, and money to ensure that its data are used by only authorized users.
DBMS provides data security means protecting your precious data from unauthorized access. Data can be
access only by authorized users of the organization.
A database can be accessed only by proper authentication usually by verifying login and password.
7) Support Multi-users Views
Multi-users can view the data at the same time.
Using the database, many users can access the data at the same time which increases our working speed.
DBMS gives the ability for its multiple authorized users to access the same database from different
locations, in different ways, to complete its different works.
8) Concurrent Access
Several users can access the database concurrently.
9) Helps for Decision Making
Better organized data and improved data access give us better quality information which helps for making
better decisions.

4.3. Disadvantages
1) Cost of Hardware and Software
2) Cost of Data Conversion
3) Cost of Staff Training

1) Cost of Hardware and Software

To run the DBMS software, we need a high-speed processor and a large memory size is required which
causes expensive hardware is needed.
2) Cost of Data Conversion
When a computer file-based system is replaced with a database system, then the data stored in data files
must be converted into database files.
It is the difficult and time-consuming method to convert the data of data files into database
3) Cost of Staff Training
DBMS are often complex systems, so the training is required for the users to use the DBMS.
The organization has to be paid plenty of amount for the training of workers to run the database
management system.

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 5. Information Systems Application:
5.1. Data Interchange (EDI)
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the computer-to-computer
computer exchange of business documents
in a standard electronic format between business partners.
By moving from a paper-based
based exchange of business document to one that is electronic,
businesses enjoy major benefits such as reduced cost, incre
increased
ased processing speed, reduced errors
and improved relationships with business partners. Learn more about the benefits of EDI here. »
Each term in the definition is significant:
Computer-to-computer– EDI replaces postal mail, fax and email. While email is also an
electronic approach, the documents exchanged via email must still be handled by people rather
than computers. Having people involved slows down the processing of the documents and also
introduces errors. Instead, EDI documents can flow straight thr
through
ough to the appropriate
application on the receiver’s computer (e.g., the Order Management System) and processing can
begin immediately. A typical manual process looks like this, with lots of paper and people
involvement:

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Page | 17
The EDI process looks like this — no paper, no people involved:

Business documents – These are any of the documents that are typically exchanged between
businesses. The most common documents exchanged via EDI are purchase orders, invoices and
advance ship notices. But there are mamany,
ny, many others such as bill of lading, customs
documents, inventory documents, shipping status documents and payment documents.

Standard format– Because EDI documents must be processed by computers rather than
humans, a standard format must be used so tha
thatt the computer will be able to read and understand
the documents. A standard format describes what each piece of information is and in what format
(e.g., integer, decimal, mmddyy). Without a standard format, each company would send
documents using its company-specific
specific format and, much as an English
English-speaking
speaking person probably
doesn’t understand Japanese, the receiver’s computer system doesn’t understand the company-
company
specific format of the sender’s format.

There are several EDI standards in use today, including ANSI, EDIFACT, TRADACOMS and
ebXML. And, for each standard there are many different versions, e.g., ANSI 5010 or EDIFACT
version D12, Release A. When two businesses decide to exchange EDI documents, they must
agree on the specific EDI standard and version.

Businesses typically use an EDI translator – either as in-house

house software or via an EDI service
provider – to translate the EDI format so the data can be used by their internal applications and
thus enable straight through processing of documents.

Business partners – The exchange of EDI documents is typically between two different
companies, referred to as business partners or trading partners. For example, Company A may
buy goods from Company B. Company A sends orders to Company B. Company A and
Company B are business partners.

5.2. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is a system of transferring money from one bank account
directly to another without any paper money changing hands. One of the most widely-used
widely EFT
programs is direct deposit,
posit, through which payroll is deposited straight into an employee's bank
account. However, EFT refers to any transfer of funds initiated through an electronic terminal,

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including credit card, ATM, Fedwire and point-of-sale (POS) transactions. It is used for both
credit transfers, such as payroll payments, and for debit transfers, such as mortgage payments.
How EFT works

Transactions are processed by the bank through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network,
the secure transfer system that connects all U.S. financial institutions. For payments, funds are
transferred electronically from one bank account to the billing company's bank, usually less than
a day after the scheduled payment date.
The ACH Network operates as a batch processing system. Financial institutions accumulate
ACH transactions throughout the day, which are handled via batch processing later on.
According to NACHA, which creates payment and financial messaging rules and standards, the
ACH Network handles 24 billion EFTs each year, accounting for more than $41 trillion
transferred. The ACH Network is one of the largest and most reliable payment systems in the
world, according to the association.
To complete an EFT, the receiving party must provide the following information:

• The name of the bank receiving funds

• The type of account receiving funds (e.g., checking or savings)

• The bank’s ABA routing number

• The recipient’s account number

The growing popularity of EFT for online bill payment is paving the way for paperless
transactions where checks, stamps, envelopes and paper bills are obsolete. The benefits of EFT
include reduced administrative costs, increased efficiency, simplified bookkeeping, and greater
security. However, the number of companies who send and receive bills through the Internet is
still relatively small.
Types of EFTs

The most common types of EFTs include:

• Direct deposit: Enables businesses to pay employees. During the employee

onboarding process, new employees typically specify the financial institution to receive the
direct deposit payments.

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• Wire transfers: Used for non-regular payments, such as the down payment on a house.

• Automated Teller Machines (ATMs): Allows cash withdrawals and deposits, fund transfers
and checking of account balances at multiple locations, such as branch locations, retail
stores, shopping malls and airports.

• Debit cards: Allows users to pay for transactions and have those funds deducted from the
account linked to the card.

• Pay-by-phone systems: Allows users to pay bills or transfer money over the phone.

• Online banking: Available via personal computer, tablet or smartphone. Using online
banking, users can access accounts to make payments, transfer funds and check balances.
5.3. M-Commerce Services & Applications
1. Finance and payments

This is one of the most user-friendly types of m-commerce services and applications. Using a mobile app
pay for something is becoming a common phenomenon. Using an app like Google Pay or Apple Pay
means that a customer doesn’t even need to carry a wallet – their payment information lives in their
phone. Not every generation has adopted this as their payment standard, but pretty soon this will be the
norm alongside cash and credit – or maybe even in place of. Customers also want their finance
institutions – like credit unions and stockbrokers – to allow account access, deposits, and transfers from
their mobile apps. For businesses with a physical presence, making sure that checking out via m-
commerce application is important, while online businesses want to make sure they offer their clients an
m-commerce application option to check their account.

2. Catalogs

M-commerce is changing the way that businesses run retail and even wholesale operations. IKEA offers
customers a downloadable app that serves as an AR catalog. Customers can take pictures of their space,
and using the AR app, superimpose furniture into their space to “try before you buy.” This kind of
technology gives customers a better understanding of a product in their space and can help reduce the rate
of refurbishment and returns that businesses see. This not only improves the customer experience but
helps the bottom line of many businesses.

3. Marketing

How can different types of m-commerce services and applications help grow your brand awareness or be
used as a marketing tool? Imagine owning a bookstore or a fast-food restaurant. What if you could use
location-based mobile marketing to help you reach your customers when they were in your physical
location? Using SMS apps to send visiting customers coupons or using your branded app to announce a
flash sale or in-store discount is a great way to make your m-commerce app do some of your work for
you.

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4. Tickets and entertainment

Nowadays, phones are the keys to the world. You can use an app to unlock your front door with wi-fi or
date enabled door locks – you can also use it as your pass for airline flights and concert tickets. This not
only offers enhanced convenience for your customers, but also a reduced impact on the environment,
which can be a boost for your brand.

5. Entertainment and games

Games like Pokemon Go and Harry Potter games have changed the nature of mobile entertainment. With
an augmented-reality landscape, more people are interested in gaming. These games help meet an unmet
pop culture need that enables users to participate in a universe that they are fans of and also game socially
with others. Game developers have opportunities to monetize their apps with in-app purchases or by
selling advertiser space and time

6. Healthcare

One of the most revolutionary types of m-commerce services and applications is in the realm of
healthcare and wellness. First, US companies like Walgreens and CVS have pharmacy-specific apps that
allow users to fill their prescriptions online and more easily pay for them through pickup or even delivery.
Apps like Lemonaid Health enable easy access to prescriptions without needing to see a doctor in person.
Other companies, like Says and Teladoc, use an easy app interface to help people meet with doctors just
using their smartphones. With affordable and no-wait appointments, these apps help patients get the
medical treatment they need on demand. While most of these services can only be used to diagnose, treat,
and prescribe for minor issues that don’t involve an in-person exam, like the cold, flu, or UTI, they have a
huge potential to help make medical care more accessible to more people.

6. Emerging Trends in Computing

6.1. Cloud Computing

cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases,

networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster
innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. You typically pay only for cloud services
you use, helping lower your operating costs, run your infrastructure more efficiently and scale as
your business needs change.

Types of cloud computing

Not all clouds are the same and not one type of cloud computing is right for everyone. Several
different models, types and services have evolved to help offer the right solution for your needs.

First, you need to determine the type of cloud deployment or cloud computing architecture, that
your cloud services will be implemented on. There are three different ways to deploy cloud
services: on a public cloud, private cloud or hybrid cloud.

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Public cloud

Public clouds are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service providers, which deliver
their computing resources like servers and storage over the Internet. Microsoft Azure is an
example of a public cloud. With a public cloud, all hardware, software and other supporting
infrastructure is owned and managed by the cloud provider. You access these services and
manage your account using a web browser.

Private cloud

A private cloud refers to cloud computing resources used exclusively by a single business or
organisation. A private cloud can be physically located on the company’s on-site datacenter.
Some companies also pay third-party service providers to host their private cloud. A private
cloud is one in which the services and infrastructure are maintained on a private network.

Hybrid cloud

Hybrid clouds combine public and private clouds, bound together by technology that allows data
and applications to be shared between them. By allowing data and applications to move between
private and public clouds, a hybrid cloud gives your business greater flexibility, more
deployment options and helps optimise your existing infrastructure, security and compliance.

Types of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS, serverless and SaaS

Most cloud computing services fall into four broad categories: infrastructure as a service (IaaS),
platform as a service (PaaS), serverless and software as a service (SaaS). These are sometimes
called the cloud computing stack because they build on top of one another. Knowing what they
are and how they are different makes it easier to accomplish your business goals.

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

The most basic category of cloud computing services. With IaaS, you rent IT infrastructure—
servers and virtual machines (VMs), storage, networks, operating systems—from a cloud
provider on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Platform as a service (PaaS)

Platform as a service refers to cloud computing services that supply an on-demand environment
for developing, testing, delivering and managing software applications. PaaS is designed to make
it easier for developers to quickly create web or mobile apps, without worrying about setting up
or managing the underlying infrastructure of servers, storage, network and databases needed for
development.

Serverless computing

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Overlapping with PaaS, serverless computing focuses on building app functionality without
spending time continually managing the servers and infrastructure required to do so. The cloud
provider handles the setup, capacity planning and server management for you. Serverless
architectures are highly scalable and event-driven, only using resources when a specific function
or trigger occurs.

Software as a service (SaaS)

Software as a service is a method for delivering software applications over the Internet, on
demand and typically on a subscription basis. With SaaS, cloud providers host and manage the
software application and underlying infrastructure and handle any maintenance, like software
upgrades and security patching. Users connect to the application over the Internet, usually with a
web browser on their phone, tablet or PC.

Top benefits of cloud computing

Cloud computing is a big shift from the traditional way businesses think about IT resources. Here
are seven common reasons organisations are turning to cloud computing services:

Cost

Cloud computing eliminates the capital expense of buying hardware and software and setting up
and running on-site datacenters—the racks of servers, the round-the-clock electricity for power
and cooling, the IT experts for managing the infrastructure. It adds up fast.

Speed

Most cloud computing services are provided self service and on demand, so even vast amounts
of computing resources can be provisioned in minutes, typically with just a few mouse clicks,
giving businesses a lot of flexibility and taking the pressure off capacity planning.

Global scale

The benefits of cloud computing services include the ability to scale elastically. In cloud speak,
that means delivering the right amount of IT resources—for example, more or less computing
power, storage, bandwidth—right when it is needed and from the right geographic location.

Productivity

On-site datacenters typically require a lot of “racking and stacking”—hardware setup, software
patching, and other time-consuming IT management chores. Cloud computing removes the need
for many of these tasks, so IT teams can spend time on achieving more important business goals.

Performance

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The biggest cloud computing services run on a worldwide network of secure datacenters, which
are regularly upgraded to the latest generation of fast and efficient computing hardware. This
offers several benefits over a single corporate datacenter, including reduced network latency for
applications and greater economies of scale.

Reliability

Cloud computing makes data backup, disaster recovery and business continuity easier and less
expensive because data can be mirrored at multiple redundant sites on the cloud provider’s
network.

Security

Many cloud providers offer a broad set of policies, technologies and controls that strengthen
your security posture overall, helping protect your data, apps and infrastructure from potential
threats.

Uses of cloud computing

You are probably using cloud computing right now, even if you don’t realise it. If you use an
online service to send email, edit documents, watch movies or TV, listen to music, play games or
store pictures and other files, it is likely that cloud computing is making it all possible behind the
scenes. The first cloud computing services are barely a decade old, but already a variety of
organisations—from tiny startups to global corporations, government agencies to non-profits—
are embracing the technology for all sorts of reasons.

Here are a few examples of what is possible today with cloud services from a cloud provider:

Create cloud-native applications

Quickly build, deploy and scale applications—web, mobile and API. Take advantage of cloud-
native technologies and approaches, such as containers, Kubernetes, microservices architecture,
API-driven communication and DevOps.

Test and build applications

Reduce application development cost and time by using cloud infrastructures that can easily be
scaled up or down.

Store, back up and recover data

Protect your data more cost-efficiently—and at massive scale—by transferring your data over the
Internet to an offsite cloud storage system that is accessible from any location and any device.

Analyse data

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Unify your data across teams, divisions and locations in the cloud. Then use cloud services, such
as machine learning and artificial intelligence, to uncover insights for more informed decisions.

Stream audio and video

Connect with your audience anywhere, anytime, on any device with high-definition video and
audio with global distribution.

Embed intelligence

Use intelligent models to help engage customers and provide valuable insights from the data
captured.

Deliver software on demand

Also known as software as a service (SaaS), on-demand software lets you offer the latest
software versions and updates around to customers—anytime they need, anywhere they are.

7. Cyber Crime
7.1. Classification of cyber criminals
Cyber attacks and malware have become an increasingly prevalent threat to businesses in the last
few years, and the effects they have on businesses can be devastating. Keeping critical IT assets
safe from cyber criminals is difficult, but it can be done.

Malware has come a long way since the first virus 25 years ago, and so have the people who
create it. Getting inside the mind of a cyber criminal can be tough these days, especially when
the criminals are such a diverse group. So who are these bad guys? And what do they look like?

Here are seven common types of cyber criminals. Recognize any?

1) Script kiddies: A wannabe hacker. Someone who wants to be a hacker (or thinks they are)
but lacks any serious technical expertise. They are usually only able to attack very weakly
secured systems.

2) Scammers: Your email inbox is probably full of their work. Discount pharmaceuticals, time-
shares, personal ads from available women in Russia…sound familiar?

3) Hacker groups: Usually work anonymously and create tools for hacking. They often hack
computers for no criminal reason and are sometimes even hired by companies wanting to test
their security.

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4) Phishers: Gotten an email recently claiming your bank account is about to expire? Don’t fall
for these jerks. They want your personal information and, most likely, your identity, by directing
you to a phony websites.

5) Political/religious/commercial groups:Tend to not be interested in financial gain. These

guys develop malware for political ends. If you think this group is harmless, think Stuxnet. The
Stuxnet worm which attacked Iran’s Atomic Program of Its Nuclear Facilities was believed to be
created by a foreign government.

6) Insiders: They may only be 20% of the threat, but they produce 80% of the damage. These
attackers are considered to be the highest risk. To make matters worse, as the name suggests,
they often reside within an organization.

7) Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) Agents:This group is responsible for highly targeted
attacks carried out by extremely organized state-sponsored groups. Their technical skills are deep
and they have access to vast computing resources.

8. Computer Security
Computer security, the protection of computer systems and information from harm, theft, and
unauthorized use. Computer hardware is typically protected by the same means used to
protect other valuable or sensitive equipment, namely, serial numbers, doors and locks, and
alarms. The protection of information and system access, on the other hand, is achieved
through other tactics, some of them quite complex.

The security precautions related to computer information and access address four major
threats:

(1) Theft of data, such as that of military secrets from government computers;

(2) Vandalism, including the destruction of data by a computer virus;

(3) Fraud, such as employees at a bank channeling funds into their own accounts; and

(4) Invasion of privacy, such as the illegal accessing of protected personal financial or medical
data from a large database.

The most basic means of protecting a computer system against theft, vandalism, invasion of
privacy, and other irresponsible behaviours is to electronically track and record the access to, and
activities of, the various users of a computer system. This is commonly done by assigning an
individual password to each person who has access to a system. The computer system itself can
then automatically track the use of these passwords, recording such data as which files were

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accessed under particular passwords and so on. Another security measure is to store a system’s
data on a separate device, or medium, such as magnetic tape or disks, that is normally
inaccessible through the computer system. Finally, data is often encrypted so that it can be
deciphered only by holders of a singular encryption key. (See data encryption.)

Computer security has become increasingly important since the late 1960s, when modems
(devices that allow computers to communicate over telephone lines) were introduced. The
proliferation of personal computers in the 1980s compounded the problem because they enabled
hackers (irresponsible computerphiles) to illegally access major computer systems from the
privacy of their homes. The development of advanced security techniques continues to diminish
such threats, though concurrent refinements in the methods of computer crime (q.v.) pose
ongoing hazards.

8.1.Need for Security

Computer security, the protection of computer systems and information from harm, theft, and
unauthorized use. Computer hardware is typically protected by the same means used to protect
other valuable or sensitive equipment, namely, serial numbers, doors and locks, and alarms. The
protection of information and system access, on the other hand, is achieved through other tactics,
some of them quite complex.

8.2. Security Threat & Attack

Threat models define the capabilities, goals and limitations of the attackers.
The limitations of the attacker are as follows:
1) Computational limitation: Attackers must have good computers that can do calculations
very
fast.
2) Bandwidth: Attackers must have good resources like bandwidth, connectivity etc.
3) Time: Attacker should complete the attack before session expires.
4) Access: It is also one of the limitations that attacker face. There could be two types of access.
Remote access: Which means attacker has an account on the server.
Local access : which means that attacker has an account on the server which he wantto
attack.
5) Knowledge of the defenses: Attacker should the knowledge of everything except the
explicity
denoted secrets like passwords , encryption keys , random no’s .
Attacker should know have the knowledge of the

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 • Encryption system.
• Public keys info.
• Logging system.
• Partial knowledge of the data.
• Location of the trap doors
• Network layout.
• Browser
• Source code.

9. Security Mechanisms
9.1.Cryptography

Cryptography is the study of secure communications techniques that allow only the sender and
intended recipient of a message to view its contents. The term is derived from the Greek word
kryptos, which means hidden. It is closely associated to encryption, which is the act of
scrambling ordinary text into what's known as ciphertext and then back again upon arrival. In
addition, cryptography also covers the obfuscation of information in images using techniques
such as microdots or merging. Ancient Egyptians were known to use these methods in complex
hieroglyphics, and Roman Emperor Julius Caesar is credited with using one of the first modern
ciphers.

When transmitting electronic data, the most common use of cryptography is to encrypt and
decrypt email and other plain-text messages. The simplest method uses the symmetric or "secret
key" system. Here, data is encrypted using a secret key, and then both the encoded message and
secret key are sent to the recipient for decryption. The problem? If the message is intercepted, a
third party has everything they need to decrypt and read the message. To address this issue,
cryptologists devised the asymmetric or "public key" system. In this case, every user has two
keys: one public and one private. Senders request the public key of their intended recipient,
encrypt the message and send it along. When the message arrives, only the recipient's private key
will decode it — meaning theft is of no use without the corresponding private key.

9.2.Digital Signature

Digital signatures are the public-key primitives of message authentication. In the physical
world, it is common to use handwritten signatures on handwritten or typed messages. They are
used to bind signatory to the message.
Similarly, a digital signature is a technique that binds a person/entity to the digital data. This
binding can be independently verified by receiver as well as any third party.

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Digital signature is a cryptographic value that is calculated from the data and a secret key
known only by the signer.
In real world, the receiver of message needs assurance that the message belongs to the sender
and he should not be able to repudiate the origination of that message. This requirement is very
crucial in business applications, since likelihood of a dispute over exchanged data is very high.
Model of Digital Signature

As mentioned earlier, the digital signature scheme is based on public key cryptography. The
model of digital signature scheme is depicted in the following illustration −

The following points explain the entire process in detail −

• Each person adopting this scheme has a public-private key pair.
• Generally, the key pairs used for encryption/decryption and signing/verifying are
different. The private key used for signing is referred to as the signature key and the
public key as the verification key.
• Signer feeds data to the hash function and generates hash of data.
• Hash value and signature key are then fed to the signature algorithm which produces the
digital signature on given hash. Signature is appended to the data and then both are sent
to the verifier.
• Verifier feeds the digital signature and the verification key into the verification
algorithm. The verification algorithm gives some value as output.
• Verifier also runs same hash function on received data to generate hash value.
• For verification, this hash value and output of verification algorithm are compared.
Based on the comparison result, verifier decides whether the digital signature is valid.

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 • Since digital signature is created by ‘private’ key of signer and no one else can have this
key; the signer cannot repudiate signing the data in future.
It should be noticed that instead of signing data directly by signing algorithm, usually a hash of
data is created. Since the hash of data is a unique representation of data, it is sufficient to sign
the hash in place of data. The most important reason of using hash instead of data directly for
signing is efficiency of the scheme.
Let us assume RSA is used as the signing algorithm. As discussed in public key encryption
chapter, the encryption/signing process using RSA involves modular exponentiation.
Signing large data through modular exponentiation is computationally expensive and time
consuming. The hash of the data is a relatively small digest of the data, hence signing a hash is
more efficient than signing the entire data.
Importance of Digital Signature

Out of all cryptographic primitives, the digital signature using public key cryptography is
considered as very important and useful tool to achieve information security.
Apart from ability to provide non-repudiation of message, the digital signature also provides
message authentication and data integrity. Let us briefly see how this is achieved by the digital
signature −
• Message authentication − When the verifier validates the digital signature using public
key of a sender, he is assured that signature has been created only by sender who possess
the corresponding secret private key and no one else.
• Data Integrity − In case an attacker has access to the data and modifies it, the digital
signature verification at receiver end fails. The hash of modified data and the output
provided by the verification algorithm will not match. Hence, receiver can safely deny
the message assuming that data integrity has been breached.
• Non-repudiation − Since it is assumed that only the signer has the knowledge of the
signature key, he can only create unique signature on a given data. Thus the receiver can
present data and the digital signature to a third party as evidence if any dispute arises in
the future.
By adding public-key encryption to digital signature scheme, we can create a cryptosystem that
can provide the four essential elements of security namely − Privacy, Authentication, Integrity,
and Non-repudiation.
Encryption with Digital Signature

In many digital communications, it is desirable to exchange an encrypted messages than

plaintext to achieve confidentiality. In public key encryption scheme, a public (encryption) key
of sender is available in open domain, and hence anyone can spoof his identity and send any
encrypted message to the receiver.
This makes it essential for users employing PKC for encryption to seek digital signatures along
with encrypted data to be assured of message authentication and non-repudiation.

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This can archived by combining digital signatures with encryption scheme. Let us briefly
discuss how to achieve this requirement. There are two possibilities, sign-then-
encrypt and encrypt-then-sign.
However, the crypto system based on sign-then-encrypt can be exploited by receiver to spoof
identity of sender and sent that data to third party. Hence, this method is not preferred. The
process of encrypt-then-sign is more reliable and widely adopted. This is depicted in the
following illustration −

The receiver after receiving the encrypted data and signature on it, first verifies the signature
using sender’s public key. After ensuring the validity of the signature, he then retrieves the data
through decryption using his private key.
9.3. Firewall

A firewall is a type of cybersecurity tool that is used to filter traffic on a network. Firewalls can
be used to separate network nodes from external traffic sources, internal traffic sources, or even
specific applications. Firewalls can be software, hardware, or cloud-based, with each type of
firewall having its own unique pros and cons.

The primary goal of a firewall is to block malicious traffic requests and data packets while
allowing legitimate traffic through.

8 Types of Firewalls

Firewall types can be divided into several different categories based on their general structure
and method of operation. Here are eight types of firewalls:

1. Packet-filtering firewalls

2. Circuit-level gateways

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3. Stateful inspection firewalls

4. Application-level gateways (a.k.a. proxy firewalls)

5. Next-gen firewalls

6. Software firewalls

7. Hardware firewalls

8. Cloud firewalls

Note: The last three bullets list methods of delivering firewall functionality, rather than being
types of firewall architectures in and of themselves.

How do these firewalls work? And, which ones are the best for your business’ cybersecurity
needs?

Here are a few brief explainers:

Packet-Filtering Firewalls

As the most “basic” and oldest type of firewall architecture, packet-filtering firewalls basically
create a checkpoint at a traffic router or switch. The firewall performs a simple check of the data
packets coming through the router—inspecting information such as the destination and
origination IP address, packet type, port number, and other surface-level information without
opening up the packet to inspect its contents.

If the information packet doesn’t pass the inspection, it is dropped.

The good thing about these firewalls is that they aren’t very resource-intensive. This means they
don’t have a huge impact on system performance and are relatively simple. However, they’re
also relatively easy to bypass compared to firewalls with more robust inspection capabilities.

Circuit-Level Gateways

As another simplistic firewall type that is meant to quickly and easily approve or deny traffic
without consuming significant computing resources, circuit-level gateways work by verifying the
transmission control protocol (TCP) handshake. This TCP handshake check is designed to make
sure that the session the packet is from is legitimate.

While extremely resource-efficient, these firewalls do not check the packet itself. So, if a packet
held malware, but had the right TCP handshake, it would pass right through. This is why circuit-
level gateways are not enough to protect your business by themselves.

Stateful Inspection Firewalls

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These firewalls combine both packet inspection technology and TCP handshake verification to
create a level of protection greater than either of the previous two architectures could provide
alone.

However, these firewalls do put more of a strain on computing resources as well. This may slow
down the transfer of legitimate packets compared to the other solutions.

Proxy Firewalls (Application-Level Gateways/Cloud Firewalls)

Proxy firewalls operate at the application layer to filter incoming traffic between your network
and the traffic source—hence, the name “application-level gateway.” These firewalls are
delivered via a cloud-based solution or another proxy device. Rather than letting traffic connect
directly, the proxy firewall first establishes a connection to the source of the traffic and inspects
the incoming data packet.

This check is similar to the stateful inspection firewall in that it looks at both the packet and at
the TCP handshake protocol. However, proxy firewalls may also perform deep-layer packet
inspections, checking the actual contents of the information packet to verify that it contains no
malware.

Once the check is complete, and the packet is approved to connect to the destination, the proxy
sends it off. This creates an extra layer of separation between the “client” (the system where the
packet originated) and the individual devices on your network—obscuring them to create
additional anonymity and protection for your network.

If there’s one drawback to proxy firewalls, it’s that they can create significant slowdown because
of the extra steps in the data packet transferal process.

Next-Generation Firewalls

Many of the most recently-released firewall products are being touted as “next-generation”
architectures. However, there is not as much consensus on what makes a firewall truly next-gen.

Some common features of next-generation firewall architectures include deep-packet inspection

(checking the actual contents of the data packet), TCP handshake checks, and surface-level
packet inspection. Next-generation firewalls may include other technologies as well, such as
intrusion prevention systems (IPSs) that work to automatically stop attacks against your network.

The issue is that there is no one definition of a next-generation firewall, so it’s important to
verify what specific capabilities such firewalls have before investing in one.

Software Firewalls

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Software firewalls include any type of firewall that is installed on a local device rather than a
separate piece of hardware (or a cloud server). The big benefit of a software firewall is that it's
highly useful for creating defense in depth by isolating individual network endpoints from one
another.

However, maintaining individual software firewalls on different devices can be difficult and
time-consuming. Furthermore, not every device on a network may be compatible with a single
software firewall, which may mean having to use several different software firewalls to cover
every asset.

Hardware Firewalls

Hardware firewalls use a physical appliance that acts in a manner similar to a traffic router to
intercept data packets and traffic requests before they're connected to the network's servers.
Physical appliance-based firewalls like this excel at perimeter security by making sure malicious
traffic from outside the network is intercepted before the company's network endpoints are
exposed to risk.

The major weakness of a hardware-based firewall, however, is that it is often easy for insider
attacks to bypass them. Also, the actual capabilities of a hardware firewall may vary depending
on the manufacturer—some may have a more limited capacity to handle simultaneous
connections than others, for example.

Cloud Firewalls

Whenever a cloud solution is used to deliver a firewall, it can be called a cloud firewall, or
firewall-as-a-service (FaaS). Cloud firewalls are considered synonymous with proxy firewalls by
many, since a cloud server is often used in a proxy firewall setup (though the proxy doesn't
necessarily have to be on the cloud, it frequently is).

The big benefit of having cloud-based firewalls is that they are very easy to scale with your
organization. As your needs grow, you can add additional capacity to the cloud server to filter
larger traffic loads. Cloud firewalls, like hardware firewalls, excel at perimeter security.

UNIT II : Introduction to Advanced Excel & MS Access

Advanced Options of MS-EXCEL:

Getting started with Excel,

working with Formulas

Working with basic functions

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 Figuring out formulas for calculations you want to make in Excel can
be tedious and complicated. Fortunately, Excel has an entire library
of functions—or predefined formulas—you can take advantage of.
You may be familiar with common functions
like sum, average, product, and count, but there are hundreds of
functions in Excel, even for things like formatting text, referencing
cells, calculating financial rates, and analyzing statistics.

In this lesson, you'll learn the basics of inserting common functions

into your worksheet by utilizing the AutoSum and Insert
Functions commands. You will also become familiar with how
to search and find various functions, including exploring
Excel's Functions Library.

Basic functions

A function is a predefined formula that performs calculations using specific values in a particular order.
One of the key benefits of functions is that they can save you time because you do not have to write the
formula yourself. Excel has hundreds of functions to assist with your calculations.

To use these functions correctly, you need to understand the different parts of a function and how to
create arguments in functions to calculate values and cell references.

The parts of a function

The order in which you insert a function is important. Each function has a specific order—
called syntax—which must be followed in order for the function to work correctly. The basic syntax to
create a formula with a function is to insert an equals sign (=), function name (SUM, for example, is the
function name for addition), and argument. Arguments contain the information you want the formula to
calculate, such as a range of cell references.

Working with arguments

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Arguments must be enclosed in parentheses. Individual values or cell references inside the parentheses
are separated by either colons or commas.

• Colons create a reference to a range of cells.

For example, =AVERAGE(E19:E23) would calculate the average of the cell range E19 through
E23.
• Commas separate individual values, cell references, and cell ranges in parentheses. If there is
more than one argument, you must separate each argument by a comma.

For example, =COUNT(C6:C14,C19:C23,C28) will count all the cells in the three arguments
that are included in parentheses.
To create a basic function in Excel:

1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (F15, for example).
2. Type the equals sign (=), then enter the function name (SUM, for example).

3. Enter the cells for the argument inside the parentheses.

4. Press Enter, and the result will appear.

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Excel will not always tell you if your function contains an error, so it's up to you to check all of your
functions. To learn how to do this, read the Double-Check Your Formulas lesson from our Excel
Formulas tutorial.

Using AutoSum to select common functions

The AutoSum command allows you to automatically return the results for a range of cells for common
functions like SUM and AVERAGE.
E.

1. Select the cell where the answer will appear ((E24, for example).
2. Click the Home tab.
3. In the Editing group, click the AutoSum drop-down
down arrow and select the function you want
(Average, for example).

4. A formula will appear in E24

E24, the selected cell. If logically
ogically placed, AutoSum will select your
cells for you. Otherwise, you will need to click the cells to choose the argument you want.

5. Press Enter,, and the result will appear.

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The AutoSum command can also be accessed from the Formulas tab.

You can also use the Alt+= keyboard shortcut instead of the AutoSum command. To use this shortcut,
hold down the Alt key and then press the equals sign.

Watch the video below to see this shortcut in action.

The Function Library

There are hundreds of functions in Excel, but only some will be useful for the type of data you're working
with. There is no need to learn every single function, but you may want to explore some of the different
types to get ideas about which ones might be helpful to you as you create new spreadsheets.

A great place to explore functions is in the Function Library on the Formulas tab. Here, you can search
and select Excel functions based on categories such as Financial, Logical, Text, and Date & Time. Click
the buttons in the interactive below to learn more.

To insert a function from the Function Library:

1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (I6, for example).
2. Click the Formulas tab.
3. From the Function Library group, select the function category you want. In this example, we'll
choose Date & Time.

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4. Select the desired function from the Date & Time drop-down menu. We'll choose
the NETWORKDAYS function to count the days between the order date and receive date in our
worksheet.

5. The Function Arguments dialog box will appear. Insert the cursor in the first field, then enter or
select the cell(s) you want (G6, for example).

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6. Insert the cursor in the next field, then enter or select the cell(s) you want (H6, for example).

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 7. Click OK, and the result will appear. Our results show that it took five days to receive the order.

The Insert Function command

The Insert Function command is convenient because it allows you to search for a function by typing a
description of what you're looking for or by selecting a category to peruse. The Insert Function command
can also be used to easily enter or select more than one argument for a function.

Using the Insert Function command

In this example, we want to find a function that will count the total number of supplies listed in the Office
Supply Order Log. The basic COUNT function only counts cells with numbers; we want to count the
cells in the Office Supply column, which uses text. Therefore, we'll need to find a formula that counts
cells with text.

1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (A27, for example).
2. Click the Formulas tab, then select the Insert Function command.

3. The Insert Function dialog box will appear.

4. Type a description of the function you are searching for, then click Go (Count cells with text,
for example). You can also search by selecting a category.

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5. Review the results to find the function you want (COUNTA, for example). Click OK.

6. The Function Arguments dialog box will appear. Insert the cursor in the first field, then enter or
select the cell(s) you want (A6:A14, for example).

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 7. Insert the cursor in the next field, then enter or select the cell(s) you want (A19:A23, for
example). You can continue to add additional arguments if needed.

8. Click OK, and the result will appear. Our results show that 14 Total Supplies were ordered from
our log.

Challenge!

1. Open an existing Excel 2010 workbook.

2. Create a function that contains more than one argument.

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 3. Use AutoSum to insert a function. If you are using the example, insert the MAX function in cell
E15 to find the highest-priced supply.
4. Insert a function from the Functions Library. If you are using the example, find the PRODUCT
function (multiply) to calculate the Unit Quantity times the Unit Price in cells F19 through F23.
5. Use the Insert Function command to search and explore functions.
Advanced Excel Formulas You Must Know

Every financial analyst spends more time in Excel than they may care to admit. Here are the most
important and advanced Excel formulas that every world-class financial analyst must know.

1. INDEX MATCH

Formula: =INDEX(C3:E9,MATCH(B13,C3:C9,0),MATCH(B14,C3:E3,0))

This is an advanced alternative to the VLOOKUP or HLOOKUP formulas (which have several
drawbacks and limitations). INDEX MATCH is a powerful combination of Excel formulas that will take
your financial analysis and financial modeling to the next level.

INDEX returns the value of a cell in a table based on the column and row number.

MATCH returns the position of a cell in a row or column.

Here is an example of the INDEX and MATCH formulas combined together. In this example, we look up
and return a person’s height based on their name. Since name and height are both variables in the
formula, we can change both of them!

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Advanced Excel Formulas - Index Match

2. IF combined with AND / OR

Formula: =IF(AND(C2>=C4,C2<=C5),C6,C7)

Anyone who’s spent a great deal of time doing various types of financial models knows that nested IF
formulas can be a nightmare. Combining IF with the AND or the OR function can be a great way to keep
formulas easier to audit and easier for other users to understand. In the example below, you will see how
we used the individual functions in combination to create a more advanced formula.

3. OFFSET combined with SUM or AVERAGE

Formula: =SUM(B4:OFFSET(B4,0,E2-1))

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The OFFSET function on its own is not particularly advanced, but when we combine it with other
functions like SUM or AVERAGE we can create a pretty sophisticated formula. Suppose you want to
create a dynamic function that can sum a variable number of cells. With the regular SUM formula, you
are limited to a static calculation, but by adding OFFSET you can have the cell reference move around.

How it works: To make this formula work, we substitute the ending reference cell of the SUM function
with the OFFSET function. This makes the formula dynamic and the cell referenced as E2 is where you
can tell Excel how many consecutive cells you want to add up. Now we’ve got some advanced Excel
formulas!

Below is a screenshot of this slightly more sophisticated formula in action.

sum offset formula

As you see, the SUM formula starts in cell B4, but it ends with a variable, which is the OFFSET formula
starting at B4 and continuing by the value in E2 (“3”), minus one. This moves the end of the sum formula
over 2 cells, summing 3 years of data (including the starting point). As you can see in cell F7, the sum of
cells B4:D4 is 15, which is what the offset and sum formula gives us.

Learn how to build this formula step-by-step in our advanced Excel course.

4. CHOOSE

Formula: =CHOOSE(choice, option1, option2, option3)

The CHOOSE function is great for scenario analysis in financial modeling. It allows you to pick between
a specific number of options, and return the “choice” that you’ve selected. For example, imagine you

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have three different assumptions for revenue growth next year: 5%, 12%, and 18%. Using the CHOOSE
formula you can return 12% if you tell Excel you want choice #2.

Read more about scenario analysis in Excel.

CHOOSE function

5. XNPV and XIRR

Formula: =XNPV(discount rate, cash flows, dates)

If you’re an analyst working in investment banking, equity research, financial planning & analysis
(FP&A), or any other area of corporate finance that requires discounting cash flows, then these formulas
are a lifesaver!

Simply put, XNPV and XIRR allow you to apply specific dates to each individual cash flow that’s being
discounted. The problem with Excel’s basic NPV and IRR formulas is that they assume the time periods
between cash flow are equal. Routinely, as an analyst, you’ll have situations where cash flows are not
timed evenly, and this formula is how you fix that.

XNPV advanced finance formula in Excel

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6. SUMIF and COUNTIF

Formula: =COUNTIF(D5:D12,”>=21
=COUNTIF(D5:D12,”>=21″)

These two advanced formulas are great uses of conditional functions. SUMIF adds all al cells that meet
certain criteria, and COUNTIF counts all cells that meet certain criteria. For example, imagine you want
to count all cells that are greater than or equal to 21 (the legal drinking age in the U.S.) to find out how
many bottles of champagnee you need for a client event. You can use COUNTIF as an advanced solution,
as shown in the screenshot below.

COUNTIF formula

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7. PMT and IPMT

Formula: =PMT(interest rate, # of periods, present value)

If you work in commercial banking, real estate, FP&A or any financial analyst position that deals with
debt schedules, you’ll want to understand these two detailed formulas.

The PMT formula gives you the value of equal payments over the life of a loan. You can use it in
conjunction with IPMT (which tells you the interest payments for the same type of loan), then separate
principal and interest payments.

Here is an example of how to use the PMT function to get the monthly mortgage payment for a $1 million
mortgage at 5% for 30 years.

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8. LEN and TRIM

Formulas: =LEN(text) and =TRIM(text)

The above formulas are a little less common, but certainly very sophisticated ones. They are great for
financial analysts who need to organize and manipulate large amounts of data. Unfortunately, the data we
get is not always perfectly organized and sometimes, there can be issues like extra spaces at the beginning
or end of cells.

The LEN formula returns a given text string as the number of characters, which is useful when you want
to count how many characters there are in some text.

In the example below, you can see how the TRIM formula cleans up the Excel data.

Advanced Excel - TRIM

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9. CONCATENATE

Formula: =A1&” more text”

Concatenate is not really a function on its own – it’s just an innovative way of joining information from
different cells and making worksheets more dynamic. This is a very powerful tool for financial analysts
performing financial modeling (see our free financial modeling guide to learn more).

In the example below, you can see how the text “New York” plus “, “ is joined with “NY” to create “New
York, NY”. This allows you to create dynamic headers and labels in worksheets. Now, instead of
updating cell B8 directly, you can update cells B2 and D2 independently. With a large data set, this is a
valuable skill to have at your disposal.

Concatenate formula Excel Example

10. CELL, LEFT, MID and RIGHT functions

These advanced Excel functions can be combined to create some very advanced and complex formulas to
use. The CELL function can return a variety of information about the contents of a cell (such as its name,

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location, row, column, and more). The LEFT function can return text from the beginning of a cell (left to
right), MID returns text from any start point of the cell (left to right), and RIGHT returns text from the
end of the cell (right to left).

Below is an illustration of the three formulas in action.

To see how they can be combined in a powerful way with the CELL function, we break it down for you
step by step in our advanced Excel formulas class.

CELL, LEFT, MID and RIGHT formulas

Introduction

By default, every row and column of a new workbook is set to the same height and width. Excel allows
you to modify column width and row height in different ways, including wrapping text and merging
cells.

Optional: Download our practice workbook.

Watch the video below to learn more about modifying columns, rows, and cells.

To modify column width:

In our example below, column C is too narrow to display all of the content in these cells. We can make all
of this content visible by changing the width of column C.

1. Position the mouse over the column line in the column heading so the cursor becomes a double
arrow.

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2. Click and drag the mouse to increase or decrease the column width.

3. Release the mouse. The column width will be changed.

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With numerical data, the cell will display pound signs (#######) if the column is too narrow.
Simply increase the column width to make the data visible.

To AutoFit column width:

The AutoFit feature will allow you to set a column's width to fit its content automatically.

1. Position the mouse over the column line in the column heading so the cursor becomes a double
arrow.

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 2. Double-click the mouse. The column width will be changed automatically to fit the content.

You can also AutoFit the width for several columns at the same time. Simply select the columns you want
to AutoFit, then select the AutoFit Column Width command from the Format drop-down menu on
the Home tab. This method can also be used for row height.

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To modify row height:

1. Position the cursor over the row line so the cursor becomes a double arrow.

2. Click and drag the mouse to increase or decrease the row height.

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 3. Release the mouse. The height of the selected row will be changed.

To modify all rows or columns:

Instead of resizing rows and columns individually, you can modify the height and width of every row and
column at the same time. This method allows you to set a uniform size for every row and column in your
worksheet. In our example, we will set a uniform row height.

1. Locate and click the Select All button just below the name box to select every cell in the
worksheet.

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2. Position the mouse over a row line so the cursor becomes a double arrow.
3. Click and drag the mouse to increase or decrease the row height, then release the mouse when
you are satisfied. The row height will be changed for the entire worksheet.

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Inserting, deleting, moving, and hiding

After you've been working with a workbook for a while, you may find that you want to insert
new columns or rows, delete certain rows or columns, move them to a different location in the worksheet,
or even hide them.

To insert rows:

1. Select the row heading below where you want the new row to appear. In this example, we want
to insert a row between rows 4 and 5, so we'll select row 5.

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2. Click the Insert command on the Home tab.

3. The new row will appear above the selected row.

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When inserting new rows, columns, or cells, you will see a paintbrush icon next to the inserted cells.
This button allows you to choose how Excel formats these cells. By default, Excel formats inserted rows
with the same formatting as the cells in the row above. To access additional options, hover your mouse
over the icon, then click the drop-down arrow.

To insert columns:

1. Select the column heading to the right of where you want the new column to appear. For
example, if you want to insert a column between columns D and E, select column E.

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2. Click the Insert command on the Home tab.

3. The new column will appear to the left of the selected column.

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When inserting rows and columns, make sure to select the entire row or column by clicking the heading.
If you select only a cell in the row or column, the Insert command will only insert a new cell.

To delete a row or column:

It's easy to delete a row or column that you no longer need. In our example we'll delete a row, but you can
delete a column the same way.

1. Select the row you want to delete. In our example, we'll select row 9.

2. Click the Delete command on the Home tab.

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 3. The selected row will be deleted, and those around it will shift. In our example, row 10 has
moved up, so it's now row 9.

It's important to understand the difference between deleting a row or column and simply clearing its
contents. If you want to remove the content from a row or column without causing others to shift, right-
click a heading, then select Clear Contents from the drop-down menu.

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To move a row or column:

Sometimes you may want to move a column or row to rearrange the content of your worksheet. In our
example we'll move a column, but you can move a row in the same way.

1. Select the desired column heading for the column you want to move.

2. Click the Cut command on the Home tab, or press Ctrl+X on your keyboard.

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3. Select the column heading to the right of where you want to move the column. For example, if
you want to move a column between columns E and F, select column F.

4. Click the Insert command on the Home tab, then select Insert Cut Cells from the drop-down
menu.

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 5. The column will be moved to the selected location, and the columns around it will shift.

You can also access the Cut and Insert commands by right-clicking the mouse and selecting
the desired commands from the drop-down menu.

To hide and unhide a row or column:

At times, you may want to compare certain rows or columns without changing the organization of your
worksheet. To do this, Excel allows you to hide rows and columns as needed. In our example we'll hide a
few columns, but you can hide rows in the same way.

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1. Select the columns you want to hide, right-click the mouse, then select Hide from
the formatting menu. In our example, we'll hide columns C, D, and E.

2. The columns will be hidden. The green column line indicates the location of the hidden
columns.

3. To unhide the columns, select the columns on both sides of the hidden columns. In our example,
we'll select columns B and F. Then right-click the mouse and select Unhide from
the formatting menu.

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 4. The hidden columns will reappear.

Wrapping text and merging cells

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Whenever you have too much cell content to be displayed in a single cell, you may decide to wrap the
text or merge the cell rather than resize a column. Wrapping the text will automatically modify a
cell's row height, allowing cell contents to be displayed on multiple lines. Merging allows you to
combine a cell with adjacent empty cells to create one large cell.

To wrap text in cells:

1. Select the cells you want to wrap. In this example, we'll select the cells in column C.
2. Click the Wrap Text command on the Home tab.

3. The text in the selected cells will be wrapped.

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Click the Wrap Text command again to unwrap the text.

To merge cells using the Merge & Center command:

1. Select the cell range you want to merge. In our example, we'll select A1:F1.
2. Click the Merge & Center command on the Home tab. In our example, we'll select the cell
range A1:F1.

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 3. The selected cells will be merged, and the text will be centered.

To access additional merge options:

If you click the drop-down arrow next to the Merge & Center command on the Home tab,
the Merge drop-down menu will appear.

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From here, you can choose to:

• Merge & Center: This merges the selected cells into one cell and centers the text.
• Merge Across: This merges the selected cells into larger cells while keeping each row separate.
• Merge Cells: This merges the selected cells into one cell but does not center the text.
• Unmerge Cells: This unmerges selected cells.
Be careful when using this feature. If you merge multiple cells that all contain data, Excel will keep only
the contents of the upper-left cell and discard everything else.

Centering across selection

Merging can be useful for organizing your data, but it can also create problems later on. For example, it
can be difficult to move, copy, and paste content from merged cells. A good alternative to merging is
to Center Across Selection, which creates a similar effect without actually combining cells.

Watch the video below to learn why you should use Center Across Selection instead of merging cells.

To use Center Across Selection:

1. Select the desired cell range. In our example, we'll select A1:F1. Note: If you already merged
these cells, you should unmerge them before continuing to step 2.
2. Click the small arrow in the lower-right corner of the Alignment group on the Home tab.

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3. A dialog box will appear. Locate and select the Horizontal drop-down
down menu, select Center
Across Selection,, then click OK.

4. The content will be centered across the selected cell range. As you can see, this creates the same
visual result as merging and centering, but it preserves each cell within A1:F1.

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Challenge!

1. Open your workbook.

2. Autofit Column Width for the entire workbook.
3. Modify the row height for rows 3 to 14 to 22.5 (30 pixels).
4. Delete row 10.
5. Insert a column to the left of column C. Type SECONDARY CONTACT in cell C2.
6. Make sure cell C2 is still selected and choose Wrap Text.
7. Merge and Center cells A1:F1.
Hide the Billing Address and Phone columns.

Working with Functions

Creating Basic Charts & Graphs in Excel

Introduction

A chart is a tool you can use in Excel to communicate data

graphically. Charts allow your audience to see the meaning behind
the numbers, and they make
showing comparisons and trends much easier. In this lesson, you'll
learn how to insert charts and modify them so they communicate
information effectively.

Charts

Excel workbooks can contain a lot of data, and this data can often be
difficult to interpret. For example, where are the highest and lowest
values? Are the numbers increasing or decreasing?

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The answers to questions like these can become much clearer when data is represented as a chart. Excel
has various types of charts, so you can choose one that most effectively represents your data.

Types of charts

examples of some of the types of charts available in Excel.

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Page | 77
Identifying the parts of a chart

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn about the different parts of a chart.

To create a chart:

1. Select the cells you want to chart, including the column titles and row labels. These cells will be
the source data for the chart.

2. Click the Insert tab.

3. In the Charts group, select the desired chart category (Column, for example).

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4. Select the desired chart type from the drop-down menu (Clustered Column, for example).

5. The chart will appear in the worksheet.

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Chart tools

Once you insert a chart, a set of chart tools arranged into three tabs will appear on the Ribbon. These are
only visible when the chart is selected. You can use these three tabs to modify your chart.

To change chart type:

1. From the Design tab, click the Change Chart Type command. A dialog box appears.

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 2. Select the desired chart type, then click OK.

To switch row and column data:

Sometimes when you create a chart, the data may not be grouped the way you want. In the clustered
column chart below, the Book Sales statistics are grouped by Fiction and Non-Fiction, with a column
for each year. However, you can also switch the row and column data so the chart will group the
statistics by year, with columns for Fiction and Non-Fiction. In both cases, the chart contains the same
data—it's just organized differently.

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 1. Select the chart.
2. From the Design tab, select the Switch Row/Column command.

3. The chart will readjust.

To change chart layout:

1. Select the Design tab.

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 2. Click the More drop-down arrow in the Chart Layouts group to see all of the available layouts.

3. Select the desired layout.

4. The chart will update to reflect the new layout.

Some layouts include chart titles, axes, or legend labels. To change them, place the insertion point in
the text and begin typing.

To change chart style:

1. Select the Design tab.

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 2. Click the More drop-down arrow in the Chart Styles group to see all of the available styles.

3. Select the desired style.

4. The chart will update to reflect the new style.

To move the chart to a different worksheet:

1. Select the Design tab.

2. Click the Move Chart command. A dialog box appears. The current location of the chart is
selected.

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 3. Select the desired location for the chart (choose an existing worksheet, or select New Sheet and
name it).

4. Click OK.. The chart will appear in the new location.

Keeping charts up to date

By default, when you add more data to your spreadsheet, the chart may not include the new data. To fix
this, you can adjust the data range
range.. Simply click the chart, and it will highlight the data range in your
spreadsheet. You can then click and drag the handle in the lower-right
right corner to change the data range.

If you frequently add more data to your spreadsheet, it may become tedious to update the data range.
Luckily, there is an easier way. Simply format your source data as a table,, then create a chart based on

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that table. When you add more data below the table, it will automatically be included in both the table
and the chart, keeping everything consistent and up to date.

Watch the video below to learn how to use tables to keep charts up to date.

Challenge!

1. Open an existing Excel 2010 workbook. If you want, you can use this example.
2. Use worksheet data to create a chart.
3. Change the chart layout.
4. Apply a chart style.
5. Move the chart to a different worksheet.

Statistical tools – use statistical functions

Average

Returns the average (arithmetic mean) of the arguments. For example, if the range A1:A20
contains numbers, the formula =AVERAGE(A1:A20) returns the average of those numbers.

Syntax

AVERAGE(number1, [number2], ...)

The AVERAGE function syntax has the following arguments:

• Number1 Required. The first number, cell reference, or range for which you want the
average.

• Number2, ... Optional. Additional numbers, cell references or ranges for which you
want the average, up to a maximum of 255.

Remarks

• Arguments can either be numbers or names, ranges, or cell references that contain
numbers.

• Logical values and text representations of numbers that you type directly into the list of
arguments are not counted.

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 • If a range or cell reference argument contains text, logical values, or empty cells, those
values are ignored; however, cells with the value zero are included.

• Arguments that are error values or text that cannot be translated into numbers cause
errors.

• If you want to include logical values and text representations of numbers in a reference as
part of the calculation, use the AVERAGEA function.

• If you want to calculate the average of only the values that meet certain criteria, use the
AVERAGEIF function or the AVERAGEIFS function.

Standard Deviation

STDEV function

Estimates standard deviation based on a sample. The standard deviation is a measure of how
widely values are dispersed from the average value (the mean).

Important: This function has been replaced with one or more new functions that may provide
improved accuracy and whose names better reflect their usage. Although this function is still
available for backward compatibility, you should consider using the new functions from now on,
because this function may not be available in future versions of Excel.

Syntax

STDEV(number1,[number2],...)

The STDEV function syntax has the following arguments:

• Number1 Required. The first number argument corresponding to a sample of a

population.

• Number2, ... Optional. Number arguments 2 to 255 corresponding to a sample of a

population. You can also use a single array or a reference to an array instead of
arguments separated by commas.

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Remarks

• STDEV assumes that its arguments are a sample of the population. If your data represents
the entire population, then compute the standard deviation using STDEVP.

• The standard deviation is calculated using the "n-1" method.

• Arguments can either be numbers or names, arrays, or references that contain numbers.

• Logical values and text representations of numbers that you type directly into the list of
arguments are counted.

• If an argument is an array or reference, only numbers in that array or reference are

counted. Empty cells, logical values, text, or error values in the array or reference are
ignored.

• Arguments that are error values or text that cannot be translated into numbers cause
errors.

• If you want to include logical values and text representations of numbers in a reference as
part of the calculation, use the STDEVA function.

• STDEV uses the following formula:

where x is the sample mean AVERAGE(number1,number2,…) and n is the sample size.

ANOVA

The Anova analysis tools provide different types of variance analysis. The tool that you should
use depends on the number of factors and the number of samples that you have from the
populations that you want to test.

Anova: Single Factor

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This tool performs a simple analysis of variance on data for two or more samples. The analysis
provides a test of the hypothesis that each sample is drawn from the same underlying probability
distribution against the alternative hypothesis that underlying probability distributions are not the
same for all samples. If there are only two samples, you can use the worksheet function T.TEST.
With more than two samples, there is no convenient generalization of T.TEST, and the Single
Factor Anova model can be called upon instead.

Anova: Two-Factor with Replication

This analysis tool is useful when data can be classified along two different dimensions. For
example, in an experiment to measure the height of plants, the plants may be given different
brands of fertilizer (for example, A, B, C) and might also be kept at different temperatures (for
example, low, high). For each of the six possible pairs of {fertilizer, temperature}, we have an
equal number of observations of plant height. Using this Anova tool, we can test:

Whether the heights of plants for the different fertilizer brands are drawn from the same
underlying population. Temperatures are ignored for this analysis.

Whether the heights of plants for the different temperature levels are drawn from the
same underlying population. Fertilizer brands are ignored for this analysis.

Whether having accounted for the effects of differences between fertilizer brands found in the
first bulleted point and differences in temperatures found in the second bulleted point, the six
samples representing all pairs of {fertilizer, temperature} values are drawn from the same
population. The alternative hypothesis is that there are effects due to specific {fertilizer,
temperature} pairs over and above the differences that are based on fertilizer alone or on
temperature alone.

Anova: Two-Factor Without Replication

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This analysis tool is useful when data is classified on two different dimensions as in the Two-
Factor case With Replication. However, for this tool it is assumed that there is only a single
observation for each pair (for example, each {fertilizer, temperature} pair in the preceding
example).

IF functionetc

IF function

The IF function is one of the most popular functions in Excel, and it allows you to make logical
comparisons between a value and what you expect.

So an IF statement can have two results. The first result is if your comparison is True, the second
if your comparison is False.

For example, =IF(C2=”Yes”,1,2) says IF(C2 = Yes, then return a 1, otherwise return a 2).

Syntax

Use the IF function, one of the logical functions, to return one value if a condition is true and
another value if it's false.

IF(logical_test, value_if_true, [value_if_false])

For example:

• =IF(A2>B2,"Over Budget","OK")

• =IF(A2=B2,B4-A4,"")

Argument name Description

logical_test (required) The condition you want to test.

value_if_true (required) The value that you want returned if the result of logical_test is

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Argument name Description

TRUE.

value_if_false The value that you want returned if the result of logical_test is
(optional) FALSE.

Simple IF examples

• =IF(C2=”Yes”,1,2)

In the above example, cell D2 says: IF(C2 = Yes, then return a 1, otherwise return a 2)

• =IF(C2=1,”Yes”,”No”)

In this example, the formula in cell D2 says: IF(C2 = 1, then return Yes, otherwise return No)As
you see, the IF function can be used to evaluate both text and values. It can also be used to
evaluate errors. You are not limited to only checking if one thing is equal to another and
returning a single result, you can also use mathematical operators and perform additional
calculations depending on your criteria. You can also nest multiple IF functions together in order
to perform multiple comparisons.

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 • =IF(C2>B2,”OverBudget”,”Within Budget”)

In the above example, the IF function in D2 is saying IF(C2 Is Greater Than B2, then return
“Over Budget”, otherwise return “Within Budget”)

• =IF(C2>B2,C2-B2,0)

In the above illustration, instead of returning a text result, we are going to return a mathematical
calculation. So the formula in E2 is saying IF(Actual is Greater than Budgeted, then Subtract the
Budgeted amount from the Actual amount, otherwise return nothing).

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 • =IF(E7=”Yes”,F5*0.0825,0)

In this example, the formula in F7 is saying IF(E7 = “Yes”, then calculate the Total Amount in
F5 * 8.25%, otherwise no Sales Tax is due so return 0)

Note: If you are going to use text in formulas, you need to wrap the text in quotes (e.g. “Text”).
The only exception to that is using TRUE or FALSE, which Excel automatically understands.

Common problems

Problem What went wrong

There was no argument for either value_if_true or value_if_False arguments. To

0 (zero) in
see the right value returned, add argument text to the two arguments, or add TRUE
cell
or FALSE to the argument.

#NAME? in
This usually means that the formula is misspelled.
cell

Financial Tools – use of Financial Functions such as

NPV,

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Calculates the net present value of an investment by using a discount rate and a series of future
payments (negative values) and income (positive values).

Syntax

NPV(rate,value1,[value2],...)

The NPV function syntax has the following arguments:

• Rate Required. The rate of discount over the length of one period.

• Value1, value2, ... Value1 is required, subsequent values are optional. 1 to 254
arguments representing the payments and income.

o Value1, value2, ... must be equally spaced in time and occur at the end of each
period.

o NPV uses the order of value1, value2, ... to interpret the order of cash flows. Be
sure to enter your payment and income values in the correct sequence.

o Arguments that are empty cells, logical values, or text representations of numbers,
error values, or text that cannot be translated into numbers are ignored.

o If an argument is an array or reference, only numbers in that array or reference are

counted. Empty cells, logical values, text, or error values in the array or reference
are ignored.

Remarks

• The NPV investment begins one period before the date of the value1 cash flow and ends
with the last cash flow in the list. The NPV calculation is based on future cash flows. If
your first cash flow occurs at the beginning of the first period, the first value must be
added to the NPV result, not included in the values arguments. For more information, see
the examples below.

• If n is the number of cash flows in the list of values, the formula for NPV is:

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 • NPV is similar to the PV function (present value). The primary difference between PV
and NPV is that PV allows cash flows to begin either at the end or at the beginning of the
period. Unlike the variable NPV cash flow values, PV cash flows must be constant
throughout the investment. For information about annuities and financial functions, see
PV.

• NPV is also related to the IRR function (internal rate of return). IRR is the rate for which
NPV equals zero: NPV(IRR(...), ...) = 0.

IRR

Returns the internal rate of return for a series of cash flows represented by the numbers in values.
These cash flows do not have to be even, as they would be for an annuity. However, the cash
flows must occur at regular intervals, such as monthly or annually. The internal rate of return is
the interest rate received for an investment consisting of payments (negative values) and income
(positive values) that occur at regular periods.

Syntax

IRR(values, [guess])

The IRR function syntax has the following arguments:

• Values Required. An array or a reference to cells that contain numbers for which you
want to calculate the internal rate of return.

o Values must contain at least one positive value and one negative value to
calculate the internal rate of return.

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 o IRR uses the order of values to interpret the order of cash flows. Be sure to enter
your payment and income values in the sequence you want.

o If an array or reference argument contains text, logical values, or empty cells,

those values are ignored.

• Guess Optional. A number that you guess is close to the result of IRR.

o Microsoft Excel uses an iterative technique for calculating IRR. Starting with
guess, IRR cycles through the calculation until the result is accurate within
0.00001 percent. If IRR can't find a result that works after 20 tries, the #NUM!
error value is returned.

o In most cases you do not need to provide guess for the IRR calculation. If guess is
omitted, it is assumed to be 0.1 (10 percent).

o If IRR gives the #NUM! error value, or if the result is not close to what you
expected, try again with a different value for guess.

Remarks

IRR is closely related to NPV, the net present value function. The rate of return calculated by
IRR is the interest rate corresponding to a 0 (zero) net present value. The following formula
demonstrates how NPV and IRR are related:

NPV(IRR(A2:A7),A2:A7) equals 1.79E-09 [Within the accuracy of the IRR calculation, the
value is effectively 0 (zero).]

FV

FV, one of the financial functions, calculates the future value of an investment based on a
constant interest rate. You can use FV with either periodic, constant payments, or a single lump
sum payment.

Use the Excel Formula Coach to find the future value of a series of payments. At the same time,
you'll learn how to use the FV function in a formula.

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Or, use the Excel Formula Coach to find the future value of a single, lump sum payment.

Syntax

FV(rate,nper,pmt,[pv],[type])

For a more complete description of the arguments in FV and for more information on annuity
functions, see PV.

The FV function syntax has the following arguments:

• Rate Required. The interest rate per period.

• Nper Required. The total number of payment periods in an annuity.

• Pmt Required. The payment made each period; it cannot change over the life of the
annuity. Typically, pmt contains principal and interest but no other fees or taxes. If pmt is
omitted, you must include the pv argument.

• Pv Optional. The present value, or the lump-sum amount that a series of future
payments is worth right now. If pv is omitted, it is assumed to be 0 (zero), and you must
include the pmt argument.

• Type Optional. The number 0 or 1 and indicates when payments are due. If type is
omitted, it is assumed to be 0.

Set type equal to If payments are due

0 At the end of the period

1 At the beginning of the period

Remarks

• Make sure that you are consistent about the units you use for specifying rate and nper. If
you make monthly payments on a four-year loan at 12 percent annual interest, use

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 12%/12 for rate and 4*12 for nper. If you make annual payments on the same loan, use
12% for rate and 4 for nper.

• For all the arguments, cash you pay out, such as deposits to savings, is represented by
negative numbers; cash you receive, such as dividend checks, is represented by positive
numbers.

PV

PV, one of the financial functions, calculates the present value of a loan or an investment, based
on a constant interest rate. You can use PV with either periodic, constant payments (such as a
mortgage or other loan), or a future value that's your investment goal.

Use the Excel Formula Coach to find the present value (loan amount) you can afford, based on a
set monthly payment. At the same time, you'll learn how to use the PV function in a formula.

Or, use the Excel Formula Coach to find the present value of your financial investment goal.

Syntax

PV(rate, nper, pmt, [fv], [type])

The PV function syntax has the following arguments:

• Rate Required. The interest rate per period. For example, if you obtain an automobile
loan at a 10 percent annual interest rate and make monthly payments, your interest rate
per month is 10%/12, or 0.83%. You would enter 10%/12, or 0.83%, or 0.0083, into the
formula as the rate.

• Nper Required. The total number of payment periods in an annuity. For example, if
you get a four-year car loan and make monthly payments, your loan has 4*12 (or 48)
periods. You would enter 48 into the formula for nper.

• Pmt Required. The payment made each period and cannot change over the life of the
annuity. Typically, pmt includes principal and interest but no other fees or taxes. For
example, the monthly payments on a $10,000, four-year car loan at 12 percent are

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 $263.33. You would enter -263.33 into the formula as the pmt. If pmt is omitted, you
must include the fv argument.

• Fv Optional. The future value, or a cash balance you want to attain after the last
payment is made. If fv is omitted, it is assumed to be 0 (the future value of a loan, for
example, is 0). For example, if you want to save $50,000 to pay for a special project in 18
years, then $50,000 is the future value. You could then make a conservative guess at an
interest rate and determine how much you must save each month. If fv is omitted, you
must include the pmt argument.

• Type Optional. The number 0 or 1 and indicates when payments are due.

Set type equal to If payments are due

0 or omitted At the end of the period

1 At the beginning of the period

Remarks

• Make sure that you are consistent about the units you use for specifying rate and nper. If
you make monthly payments on a four-year loan at 12 percent annual interest, use
12%/12 for rate and 4*12 for nper. If you make annual payments on the same loan, use
12% for rate and 4 for nper.

• The following functions apply to annuities:

CUMIPMT PPMT

CUMPRINC PV

FV RATE

FVSCHEDULE XIRR

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CUMIPMT PPMT

IPMT XNPV

PMT

An annuity is a series of constant cash payments made over a continuous period. For
example, a car loan or a mortgage is an annuity. For more information, see the
description for each annuity function.

• In annuity functions, cash you pay out, such as a deposit to savings, is represented by a
negative number; cash you receive, such as a dividend check, is represented by a positive
number. For example, a $1,000 deposit to the bank would be represented by the argument
-1000 if you are the depositor and by the argument 1000 if you are the bank.

• Microsoft Excel solves for one financial argument in terms of the others. If rate is not 0,
then:

If rate is 0, then:

(pmt * nper) + pv + fv = 0

IPMT

Returns the interest payment for a given period for an investment based on periodic, constant
payments and a constant interest rate.

Syntax

IPMT(rate, per, nper, pv, [fv], [type])

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The IPMT function syntax has the following arguments:

• Rate Required. The interest rate per period.

• Per Required. The period for which you want to find the interest and must be in the
range 1 to nper.

• Nper Required. The total number of payment periods in an annuity.

• Pv Required. The present value, or the lump-sum amount that a series of future
payments is worth right now.

• Fv Optional. The future value, or a cash balance you want to attain after the last
payment is made. If fv is omitted, it is assumed to be 0 (the future value of a loan, for
example, is 0).

• Type Optional. The number 0 or 1 and indicates when payments are due. If type is
omitted, it is assumed to be 0.

Set type equal to If payments are due

0 At the end of the period

1 At the beginning of the period

Remarks

• Make sure that you are consistent about the units you use for specifying rate and nper. If
you make monthly payments on a four-year loan at 12 percent annual interest, use
12%/12 for rate and 4*12 for nper. If you make annual payments on the same loan, use
12% for rate and 4 for nper.

• For all the arguments, cash you pay out, such as deposits to savings, is represented by
negative numbers; cash you receive, such as dividend checks, is represented by positive
numbers.

RATE

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Returns the interest rate per period of an annuity. RATE is calculated by iteration and can have
zero or more solutions. If the successive results of RATE do not converge to within 0.0000001
after 20 iterations, RATE returns the #NUM! error value.

Syntax

RATE(nper, pmt, pv, [fv], [type], [guess])

Note: For a complete description of the arguments nper, pmt, pv, fv, and type, see PV.

The RATE function syntax has the following arguments:

• Nper Required. The total number of payment periods in an annuity.

• Pmt Required. The payment made each period and cannot change over the life of the
annuity. Typically, pmt includes principal and interest but no other fees or taxes. If pmt is
omitted, you must include the fv argument.

• Pv Required. The present value — the total amount that a series of future payments is
worth now.

• Fv Optional. The future value, or a cash balance you want to attain after the last
payment is made. If fv is omitted, it is assumed to be 0 (the future value of a loan, for
example, is 0). If fv is omitted, you must include the pmt argument.

• Type Optional. The number 0 or 1 and indicates when payments are due.

Set type equal to If payments are due

0 or omitted At the end of the period

1 At the beginning of the period

• Guess Optional. Your guess for what the rate will be.

o If you omit guess, it is assumed to be 10 percent.

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 o If RATE does not converge, try different values for guess. RATE usually
converges if guess is between 0 and 1.

Remarks

Make sure that you are consistent about the units you use for specifying guess and nper. If you
make monthly payments on a four-year loan at 12 percent annual interest, use 12%/12 for guess
and 4*12 for nper. If you make annual payments on the same loan, use 12% for guess and 4 for
nper.

Date Functions .

DATE function

Use Excel's DATE function when you need to take three separate values and combine them to
form a date.

The DATE function returns the sequential serial number that represents a particular date.

Syntax: DATE(year,month,day)

The DATE function syntax has the following arguments:

• Year Required. The value of the year argument can include one to four digits. Excel
interprets the year argument according to the date system your computer is using. By
default, Microsoft Excel for Windows uses the 1900 date system, which means the first
date is January 1, 1900.

Tip: Use four digits for the year argument to prevent unwanted results. For example, "07" could
mean "1907" or "2007." Four digit years prevent confusion.

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 o If year is between 0 (zero) and 1899 (inclusive), Excel adds that value to 1900 to
calculate the year. For example, DATE(108,1,2) returns January 2, 2008
(1900+108).

o If year is between 1900 and 9999 (inclusive), Excel uses that value as the year.
For example, DATE(2008,1,2) returns January 2, 2008.

o If year is less than 0 or is 10000 or greater, Excel returns the #NUM! error value.

• Month Required. A positive or negative integer representing the month of the year
from 1 to 12 (January to December).

o If month is greater than 12, month adds that number of months to the first month
in the year specified. For example, DATE(2008,14,2) returns the serial number
representing February 2, 2009.

o If month is less than 1, month subtracts the magnitude of that number of months,
plus 1, from the first month in the year specified. For example, DATE(2008,-3,2)
returns the serial number representing September 2, 2007.

• Day Required. A positive or negative integer representing the day of the month from 1
to 31.

o If day is greater than the number of days in the month specified, day adds that
number of days to the first day in the month. For example, DATE(2008,1,35)
returns the serial number representing February 4, 2008.

o If day is less than 1, day subtracts the magnitude that number of days, plus one,
from the first day of the month specified. For example, DATE(2008,1,-15) returns
the serial number representing December 16, 2007.

Note: Excel stores dates as sequential serial numbers so that they can be used in calculations.
January 1, 1900 is serial number 1, and January 1, 2008 is serial number 39448 because it is
39,447 days after January 1, 1900. You will need to change the number format (Format Cells) in
order to display a proper date.

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Syntax: DATE(year,month,day)

For example: =DATE(C2,A2,B2) combines the year from cell C2, the month from cell A2, and
the day from cell B2 and puts them into one cell as a date. The example below shows the final
result in cell D2.

Need to insert dates without a formula? No problem. You can insert the current date and time
in a cell, or you can insert a date that gets updated. You can also fill data automatically in
worksheet cells.

Change the date format

1. Right-click the cell(s) you want to change. On a Mac, Ctrl-click the cells.

2. On the Home tab click Format>Format Cells or press Ctrl+1 (Command+1 on a Mac).

3. 3. Choose the Locale (location) and Date format you want.

4. For more information on formatting dates, see Format a date the way you want.

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Calculate a date based on another date

You can use the DATE function to create a date that is based on another cell’s date. For example,
you can use the YEAR, MONTH, and DAY functions to create an anniversary date that’s based
on another cell. Let’s say an employee’s first day at work is 10/1/2016; the DATE function can
be used to establish his fifth year anniversary date:

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 1. The DATE function creates a date.

=DATE(YEAR(C2)+5,MONTH(C2),DAY(C2))

2. The YEAR function looks at cell C2 and extracts "2012".

3. Then, "+5" adds 5 years, and establishes "2017" as the anniversary year in cell D2.

4. The MONTH function extracts the "3" from C2. This establishes "3" as the month in cell
D2.

5. The DAY function extracts "14" from C2. This establishes "14" as the day in cell D2.

Convert text strings and numbers into dates

If you open a file that came from another program, Excel will try to recognize dates within the
data. But sometimes the dates aren't recognizable. This is may be because the numbers don't
resemble a typical date, or because the data is formatted as text. If this is the case, you can use
the DATE function to convert the information into dates. For example, in the following
illustration, cell C2 contains a date that is in the format: YYYYMMDD. It is also formatted as
text. To convert it into a date, the DATE function was used in conjunction with the LEFT, MID,
and RIGHT functions.

1. The DATE function creates a date.

=DATE(LEFT(C2,4),MID(C2,5,2),RIGHT(C2,2))

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 2. The LEFT function looks at cell C2 and takes the first 4 characters from the left. This
establishes “2014” as the year of the converted date in cell D2.

3. The MID function looks at cell C2. It starts at the 5th character, and then takes 2
characters to the right. This establishes “03” as the month of the converted date in cell
D2. Because the formatting of D2 set to Date, the “0” isn’t included in the final result.

4. The RIGHT function looks at cell C2 and takes the first 2 characters starting from the
very right and moving left. This establishes “14” as the day of the date in D2.

Increase or decrease a date by a certain number of days

To increase or decrease a date by a certain number of days, simply add or subtract the number of
days to the value or cell reference containing the date.

In the example below, cell A5 contains the date that we want to increase and decrease by 7 days
(the value in C5).

Data analysis by using

What IF

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By using What-If Analysis tools in Excel, you can use several different sets of values in one or
more formulas to explore all the various results.

For example, you can do What-If Analysis to build two budgets that each assumes a certain level
of revenue. Or, you can specify a result that you want a formula to produce, and then determine
what sets of values will produce that result. Excel provides several different tools to help you
perform the type of analysis that fits your needs.

Note that this is just an overview of those tools. There are links to help topics for each one
specifically.

What-If Analysis is the process of changing the values in cells to see how those changes will
affect the outcome of formulas on the worksheet.

Three kinds of What-If Analysis tools come with Excel: Scenarios, Goal Seek, and Data
Tables. Scenarios and Data tables take sets of input values and determine possible results. A
Data Table works with only one or two variables, but it can accept many different values for
those variables. A Scenario can have multiple variables, but it can only accommodate up to 32
values. Goal Seek works differently from Scenarios and Data Tables in that it takes a result and
determines possible input values that produce that result.

In addition to these three tools, you can install add-ins that help you perform What-If Analysis,
such as the Solver add-in. The Solver add-in is similar to Goal Seek, but it can accommodate
more variables. You can also create forecasts by using the fill handle and various commands that
are built into Excel.

For more advanced models, you can use the Analysis ToolPak add-in.

A Scenario is a set of values that Excel saves and can substitute automatically in cells on a
worksheet. You can create and save different groups of values on a worksheet and then switch to
any of these new scenarios to view different results.

For example, suppose you have two budget scenarios: a worst case and a best case. You can use
the Scenario Manager to create both scenarios on the same worksheet, and then switch between
them. For each scenario, you specify the cells that change and the values to use for that scenario.

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When you switch between scenarios, the result cell changes to reflect the different changing cell
values.

1. Changing cells

2. Result cell

1. Changing cells

2. Result cell

If several people have specific information in separate workbooks that you want to use in
scenarios, you can collect those workbooks and merge their scenarios.

After you have created or gathered all the scenarios that you need, you can create a Scenario
Summary Report that incorporates information from those scenarios. A scenario report displays
all the scenario information in one table on a new worksheet.

Note: Scenario reports are not automatically recalculated. If you change the values of a scenario,
those changes will not show up in an existing summary report. Instead, you must create a new
summary report.

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If you know the result that you want from a formula, but you are not sure what input value the
formula requires to get that result, you can use the Goal Seek feature. For example, suppose that
you need to borrow some money. You know how much money you want, how long a period you
want in which to pay off the loan, and how much you can afford to pay each month. You can use
Goal Seek to determine what interest rate you must secure in order to meet your loan goal.

Note: Goal Seek works with only one variable input value. If you want to determine more than
one input value, for example, the loan amount and the monthly payment amount for a loan, you
should instead use the Solver add-in. For more information about the Solver add-in, see the
section Prepare forecasts and advanced business models, and follow the links in the See Also
section.

PIVOT table ,

A PivotTable is a powerful tool to calculate, summarize, and analyze data that lets you see
comparisons, patterns, and trends in your data.

PivotTables work a little bit differently depending on what platform you are using to run Excel.

Windows

macOSWeb

Create a PivotTable

1. Select the cells you want to create a PivotTable from.

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Note: Your data shouldn't have any empty rows or columns. It must have only a single-row
single
heading.

2. Select Insert > PivotTable

PivotTable.

3. Under Choose the data that you want to analyze

analyze, select Select a table or range.
range

4. In Table/Range,, verify the cell range.

5. Under Choose where you want the PivotTable report to be placed,

placed select New
worksheet to place the PivotTable in a new worksheet or Existing worksheet and then
select the location you want the PivotTable to appear.

6. Select OK.

Building out your PivotTable

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 1. To add a field to your PivotTable, select the field name checkbox in the PivotTables
Fields pane.

Note: Selected fields are added to their default area

areas: non-numeric
numeric fields are added to Rows, date
and time hierarchies are added to Columns,, and numeric fields are added to Values.

2. To move a field from one area to another, drag the field to the target area.

MS-ACCESS :

Creating a database and tables by different methods

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Creating a database

When you open Access, Backstage view displays the New tab. The New tab provides several
ways that you can create a new database:

A blank database You can start from scratch if you want. This is a good option if you
have very specific design requirements or have existing data that you need to
accommodate or incorporate.

A template that is installed with Access Consider using a template if you are starting
a new project and would like a head start. Access comes with several templates installed
by default.

A template from Office.com In addition to the templates that come with Access, you
can find many more templates on Office.com. You don't even have to open a browser, the
templates are available from the New tab.

Adding to a database

Once you are working in a database, you can add fields, tables or application parts.

Application parts are a feature that let you use several related database objects together as if they
were one. For example, an application part might consist of a table and a form that is based on
the table. You can add the table and the form at the same time by using the application part.

You can also create queries, forms, reports, macros - all the database objects that you are used to
working with.

Create a database by using a template

Access comes with a variety of templates that you can use as-is or as a starting point. A template
is a ready-to-use database that contains all the tables, queries, forms, macros, and reports needed
to perform a specific task. For example, there are templates that you can use to track issues,
manage contacts, or keep a record of expenses. Some templates contain a few sample records to
help demonstrate their use.

If one of these templates fits your needs, using it is usually the fastest way to get a database
started. However, if you have data in another program that you want to import into Access, you
might decide it is better to create a database without using a template. Templates have a data
structure already defined, and it might require a lot of work to adapt your existing data to the
template's structure.

1. If you have a database open, on the File tab, click Close. Backstage view displays
the New tab.

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 2. Several sets of templates are available in the New tab, some of which are built into
Access. You can download additional templates from Office.com. See the next section in
this article for details.

3. Select the template that you want to use.

4. Access suggests a file name for your database in the File Name box — you can change
the file name, if you want. To save the database in a different folder from the one
displayed below the file name box, click , browse to the folder in which you want to
save it, and then click OK. Optionally, you can create and link your database to a
SharePoint site.

5. Click Create.

Access creates a database from the template that you chose, and then opens the database. For
many templates, a form is displayed in which you can begin entering data. If your template
contains sample data, you can delete each record by clicking the record selector (the shaded box
or bar just to the left of the record), and then doing the following:

On the Home tab, in the Records group, click Delete.

6. To begin entering data, click in the first empty cell on the form and begin typing. Use the
Navigation Pane to browse for other forms or reports that you might want to use. Some
templates include a navigation form which allows you to move between the different
database objects.

Create a database without using a template

If you are not interested in using a template, you can create a database by building your own
tables, forms, reports, and other database objects. In most cases, this involves one or both of the
following:

Entering, pasting, or importing data into the table that is created when you create a new
database, and then repeating the process with new tables that you create by using
the Table command on the Create tab.

Importing data from other sources and creating new tables in the process.

Create a blank database

1. On the File tab, click New, and then click Blank Database.

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 2. Type a file name in the File Name box. To change the location of the file from the
default, click Browse for a location to put your database (next to the File
Name box), browse to the new location, and then click OK.

3. Click Create.

Access creates the database with an empty table named Table1, and then opens Table1 in
Datasheet view. The cursor is placed in the first empty cell in the Click to Add column.

4. Begin typing to add data, or you can paste data from another source, as described in the
section Copy data from another source into an Access table.

Entering data in Datasheet view is designed to be very similar to working in an Excel worksheet.
The table structure is created while you enter data. When you add a new column to the datasheet,
a new field is defined in the table. Access automatically sets each field's data type, based on the
data that you enter.

If you do not want to enter data in Table1 at this time, click Close . If you made any changes
to the table, Access prompts you to save the changes. Click Yes to save your changes,
click No to discard them, or click Cancel to leave the table open.

Tip: Access looks for a file named Blank.accdb in the folder located at [install drive]:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033\Access\. If it exists, Blank.accdb is the template for all
new blank databases. Any content it contains is inherited by all new blank databases. This is a
good way to distribute default content, such as part numbers or company disclaimers and
policies.

Important: If you close Table1 without saving it at least once, Access deletes the entire table,
even if you have entered data in it.

Add a table

You can add new tables to an existing database by using the commands in the Tables group on
the Create tab.

Create a table, starting in Datasheet view In Datasheet view, you can enter data immediately
and let Access build the table structure behind the scenes. Field names are assigned numerically

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(Field1, Field2, and so on), and Access automatically sets each field's data type, based on the
data you enter.

1. On the Create tab, in the Tables group, click Table.

Access creates the table and selects the first empty cell in the Click to Add column.

2. On the Fields tab, in the Add & Delete group, click the type of field that you want to
add. If you don't see the type that you want, click More Fields .

3. Access displays a list of commonly used field types. Click the field type that you want,
and Access adds the new field to the datasheet at the insertion point.

You can move the field by dragging it. When you drag a field in a datasheet, a vertical insertion
bar appears where the field will be placed.

4. To add data, begin typing in the first empty cell, or paste data from another source, as
described in the section Copy data from another source into an Access table.

5. To rename a column (field), double-click the column heading, and then type the new
name.

You should give a meaningful name to each field, so that you can tell what it contains when you
see it in the Field List pane.

6. To move a column, click its heading to select the column, and then drag the column to
the location that you want. You can also select multiple contiguous columns and then
drag them to a new location all at once. To select multiple contiguous columns, click the
column header of the first column, and then, while holding down SHIFT, click the
column header of the last column.

Create a table, starting in Design view In Design view, you first create the table structure.
You then switch to Datasheet view to enter data, or enter data by using some other method, such
as pasting, or importing.

1. On the Create tab, in the Tables group, click Table Design.

2. For each field in your table, type a name in the Field Name column, and then select a
data type from the Data Type list.

3. If you want, you can type a description for each field in the Description column. The
description is then displayed on the status bar when the cursor is located in that field in
Datasheet view. The description is also used as the status bar text for any controls in a

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 form or report that you create by dragging the field from the Field List pane, and for any
controls that are created for that field when you use the Form Wizard or Report Wizard.

4. After you have added all of your fields, save the table:

On the File tab, click Save.

5. You can begin typing data in the table at any time by switching to Datasheet view and
clicking in the first empty cell. You can also paste data from another source, as described
in the section Copy data from another source into an Access table.

Set field properties in Design view Regardless of how you created your table, it is a good idea
to examine and set field properties. While some properties are available in Datasheet view, some
properties can only be set in Design view. To switch to Design view, right-click the table in the
Navigation Pane and then click Design View. To see a field's properties, click the field in the
design grid. The properties are displayed below the design grid, under Field Properties.

To see a description of each field property, click the property and read the description in the box
next to the property list under Field Properties. You can get more detailed information by
clicking the Help button.

The following table describes some of the field properties that are commonly adjusted.

Property Description

Field For Text fields, this property sets the maximum number of characters that can be
Size stored in the field. The maximum is 255. For Number fields, this property sets the
type of number that will be stored (Long Integer, Double, and so on). For the most
efficient data storage, it is recommended that you allocate the least amount of
space that you think you will need for the data. You can adjust the value upwards
later, if your needs change.

Format This property sets how the data is displayed. It does not affect the actual data as it
is stored in the field. You can select a predefined format or enter a custom format.

Input Use this property to specify a pattern for all data that will be entered in this field.
Mask This helps ensure that all data is entered correctly, and that it contains the required
number of characters. For help about building an input mask, click at the right
side of the property box.

Default Use this property to specify the default value that will appear in this field each time
that a new record is added. For example, if you have a Date/Time field in which

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Property Description

Value you always want to record the date that the record was added, you can enter
"Date()" (without the quotation marks) as the default value.

Required This property sets whether a value is required in this field. If you set this property
to Yes, Access does not allow you to add a new record unless a value is entered for
this field.

Entering and Editing data

Access 2007 databases hold the actual data records inside tables. You can add, edit, and delete
records directly from these tables. This lesson will show you how to work in the tables to add
new records, as well as how to edit existing records using commands like copy and
paste and find and replace. It will also discuss the dangers involved in deleting records from a
table, as well as the importance of setting validation rules and other field properties to ensure
data is valid.

Adding and editing data in tables

Download the example to work along with the video.

Adding records to tables

When you enter records into your table, you are populating the database. In Access 2007, you
can do this a few different ways.

To add records in the new record row:

• Click the record row with the asterisk that appears at the bottom of the table.

• Type the data into the appropriate fields.

• Hit Enter or the Tab key to move to the next field.

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To add records with the New Record navigation button:

• Click the New Record button in the navigation bar. The navigation bar is located in the
bottom-left corner of the open object pane.

• Type data into the appropriate fields.

• Hit Enter or the Tab key to move to the next field.

To add records with the New Record command:

• Click the New Record command in the Records group in the Ribbon.

• Type the data into the appropriate fields.

• Hit the Enter or the Tab key to move to the next field.

Editing records in tables

Sometimes it is necessary to edit records in the database. Like with every other task in Access
2007, this can be done several different ways.

To edit a record directly:

• Scroll through the records, or use the navigation buttons on the navigation bar to find
the record to edit.

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 • Click the cell containing the information that must be edited. A pencil icon appears to
indicate edit mode.

• Type the new information into the field.

• Click outside of the record row to apply the change.

To edit a record using Find and Replace:

• Click the Find command in the Find group on the Ribbon.

• The Find and Replace dialog box opens.

• Tell Access what to find by typing it into the Find What: area.

• Type the replace term in the Replace With: area.

• Tell Access where to look with the Look In: drop-down list. The first choice in the drop-
down list is the field you were last in within the table.

• Tell Access what to Match: Any part of the field, the whole field, or just the start of the
field.

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 • Tell Access how to Search: Up finds records above the cursor, Down finds records
below the cursor, and All searches all records.

• Click one of the action options:

o Find Next will find the next instance of the word in the table.

o Replace will put the new word into the table, overwriting what is currently there.

o Cancel stops the editing process.

CAUTION: DO NOT use Replace All because it will overwrite every instance of the Find term
in the table, which can have a serious impact on your data.

To copy and paste a pecord:

• Select the record you want to copy. Right-click, then select Copy.

• Select the new record row. Right-click and select Paste. The record information appears
with a new record ID number.

To delete a record:

• Select the record you want to delete, then right-click and select Delete Record.

• A dialog box appears, telling you the action cannot be undone and asking if you are sure
you want to delete the record.

There may be other records that rely on the record you are trying to delete. DO NOT delete a
record without knowing how it will impact the rest of your database.

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When you delete a record, the record number is permanently deleted from the database table. If
you delete the last record from a table and then add a new record, your new record numbers will
appear to be out of sequence.

Data validation

Data validation is an important database concept. It is the process by which Access tests the
data that is being entered into the database to make sure it is in an acceptable—or valid—format.

Let's say one of your database users has entered an order date of January 4, 2008, in the
month/date/year format as 01/04/2008. Another user has entered an order placed on that same
date in the day/month/year format as 04/01/2008. If the database is tracking all sales for the
month of January 2008, it may not show both orders as placed in January, even though both were
placed on the same date.

Access 2007 allows you to set field properties and data validation rules to force the person
entering data to follow a specific format.

Data types and validation rules

Data validation begins when data types are set during the process of building tables and fields.
For example, if a field data type had been set to Currency and a text value is entered in that
table field during data entry, Access will not accept an invalid format and will display a
validation error, like the one below.

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Data validation is accomplished by setting data validation rules and other field properties for
various fields.

To set data validation rules:

• In Design view, highlight the field that requires a validation rule.

• In the Field Properties section at the bottom half of the window, set your validation rule
using the Expression Builder. The Expression Builder offers common syntax to set up a
data validation rule.

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Validation rules work most easily with numerical fields. Rules for text fields require you to
enclose each acceptable value inside its own quotation marks, separating them with Or, as seen
above.

Validation text

Validation text is a specialized error message you can set to have Access tell the user entering
data the specific way you want that person to enter it.

To set the validation text, enter the error message exactly as you want it to appear to users in
the row directly beneath the Validation Rule row in the Field Properties section of Design
view. For the validation rule we set for Category, you'd set the validation text like this:

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The image below shows the resulting error message users would see when the Category
validation rule has been broken.

Using field properties to ensure data integrity

Another way to ensure data integrity is by setting field properties such as Field Size, Format,
and Required.

• Field Size can be set to hold a specific number of characters, up to as many as 255 for
text fields. If you were using a text field to hold the two-letter state postal abbreviation,
the field size could be set to 2 to ensure no one enters a full state name into this field.

• The Format field property can be set to display text or numbers in a standardized way.
For example, text can be set to show as all uppercase, and numbers can be set to show
scientific numbers, percentages, or decimals.

• Set the Required property to Yes if you want users entering data to be required to enter
something in the field. Choose No if users are allowed to leave the field blank.

These are just some ways Access helps you ensure data being entered into your database is valid.

Sorting, Filtering and Displaying data,

Access gives you the ability to work with enormous amounts of data, which means it can be
difficult to learn anything about your database just by glancing at it. Sorting and filtering are
two tools that let you customize how you organize and view your data, making it more
convenient to work with. In this lesson, you'll learn how to sort and filter records.

Throughout this tutorial, we will be using a sample database. If you would like to follow along,
you'll need to download our Access 2016 sample database. You will need to have Access 2016
installed on your computer in order to open the example.

Watch the video below to learn more about sorting and filtering records in Access.

About sorting and filtering

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Essentially, sorting and filtering are tools that let you organize your data. When you sort data,
you are putting it in order. Filtering data lets you hide unimportant data and focus only on the
data you're interested in.

Sorting records

When you sort records, you are putting them into a logical order, with similar data grouped
together. As a result, sorted data is often simpler to read and understand than unsorted data. By
default, Access sorts records by their ID numbers. However, there are many other ways records
can be sorted. For example, the information in a database belonging to a bakery could be sorted
in a number of ways:

• Orders could be sorted by order date or by the last name of the customers who placed
the orders.

• Customers could be sorted by name or by the city or zip code where they live.

• Products could be sorted by name, category (like pies, cakes, and cupcakes), or price.

You can sort both text and numbers in two ways: in ascending order
and descending order. Ascending means going up, so an ascending sort will arrange numbers
from smallest to largest and text from A to Z. Descending means going down, or largest to
smallest for numbers and Z to A for text. The default ID number sort that appears in your tables
is an ascending sort, which is why the lowest ID numbers appear first.

In our example, we will be performing a sort on a table. However, you can sort records in any
Access object. The procedure is largely the same.

To sort records:

1. Select a field you want to sort by. In this example, we will sort by customers' last names.

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2. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon, and locate the Sort & Filter group.

3. Sort the field by selecting the Ascending or Descending command.

4. The table will now be sorted by the selected field.

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 5. To save the new sort, click the Save command on the Quick Access Toolbar.

After you save the sort, the records will stay sorted this way until you perform another sort or
remove the current one. To remove a sort, click the Remove Sort command.

Filtering records

Filters allow you to view only the data you want to see. When you create a filter, you
set criteria for the data you want to display. The filter then searches all of the records in the
table, finds the ones that meet your search criteria, and temporarily hides the ones that don't.

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Filters are useful because they allow you to focus in on specific records without being distracted
by the data you're uninterested in. For instance, if you had a database that included customer and
order information, you could create a filter to display only customers living within a certain city
or only orders containing a certain product. Viewing this data with a filter would be far more
convenient than searching for it in a large table.

In our examples and explanations, we will be applying filters to tables. However, you can apply
filters to any Access object. The procedure is largely the same.

To create a simple filter:

1. Click the drop-down arrow next to the field you want to filter by. We will filter by city
because we want to see a list of customers who live in a certain city.

2. A drop-down menu with a checklist will appear. Only checked items will be included in
the filtered results. Clicking Select All will select or deselect everything at once. In our
example, we'll deselect everything except Cary.

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 3. Click OK. The filter will be applied. Our customers table now displays only customers
who live in Cary.

Toggling your filter allows you to turn it on and off. To view the records without the filter, click
the Toggle Filter command. To restore the filter, click it again.

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Creating a filter from a selection

Filtering by selection allows you to select specific data from your table and find data that
is similar or dissimilar to it. For instance, if you were working with a bakery's database and
wanted to search for all products whose names contained the word chocolate, you could select
that word in one product name and create a filter with that selection. Creating a filter with a
selection can be more convenient than setting up a simple filter if the field you're working with
contains many items. You can choose from the following options:

• Contains includes only records with cells that contain the selected data.

• Does Not Contain includes all records except for those with cells that contain the
selected data.

• Ends With includes only records whose data for the selected field ends with the search
term.

• Does Not End With includes all records except for those whose data for the selected
field ends with the search term.

To create a filter from a selection:

1. Select the cell or data you want to create a filter with. We want to see a list of all of our
products that contain the word chocolate in their names, so we'll select the
word Chocolate in the Product Name field.

2. Select the Home tab on the Ribbon, locate the Sort & Filter group, and click
the Selection drop-down arrow.

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 3. Select the type of filter you want to apply. We'll select Contains "Chocolate" because
we want to see records that contain the word Chocolate anywhere in the field.

4. The filter will be applied. Our table now displays only products with the
word Chocolate in their names.

Creating a filter from a search term

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You can also create a filter by entering a search term and specifying the way Access should
match data to that term. Creating a filter from a search term is similar to creating a filter from a
selection.

Filtering text by a search term

When filtering text by entering a search term, you can use some of the same options you use
when filtering by a selection, like Contains, Does Not Contain, Ends With, and Does Not End
With. You can also choose from the following options:

• Equals, which includes only records with data that is identical to the selected data

• Does Not Equal, which includes all records except for the data that is identical to the
selection

• Begins With, which includes only records whose data for the selected field begins with
the search term

• Does Not Begin With, which includes all records except for those whose data for the
selected field begins with the search term

To filter text by a search term:

1. Click the drop-down arrow next to the field you want to filter by. We want to filter the
records in our orders table to display only those that contain notes with certain
information, so we'll click the arrow in the Notes field.

2. In the drop-down menu, hover your mouse over Text Filters. From the list that appears,
select the way you want the filter to match the term you enter. In this example, we want
to view only records whose notes indicate the order was placed for a party. We'll
select Contains so we can search for records that contain the word party.

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 3. The Custom Filter dialog box will appear. Type the word you want to use in your filter.

4. Click OK. The filter will be applied.

Filtering numbers with a search term

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The process for filtering numbers with a search term is similar to the process for filtering text.
However, different filtering options are available to you when working with numbers. In addition
to Equals and Does not Equal, you can choose:

• Greater Than to include only records with numbers in that field that are greater than or
equal to the number you enter

• Less Than to include only records with numbers in that field that are less than or equal
to the number you enter

• Between to include records with numbers that fall within a certain range

To filter numbers by a search term:

1. Click the drop-down arrow next to the field you want to filter by. We want to filter the
records in our menu items table by price, so we'll click the arrow in the Price field.

2. In the drop-down menu, hover your mouse over Number Filters. From the list that
appears, select the way you want the filter to match your search term. In this example, we
want to see items that are less than $5, so we'll select Less Than.

3. The Custom Filter dialog box will appear. Type the number or numbers you want to use
in your filter. We'll type 5 so the filter will show us only menu items that cost $5 or less.

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 4. Click OK. The filter will be applied.

Specific types of numbers may include other filtering options. For instance, dates stored in
numerical form (mm/dd/yyyy or 12/01/2013) include options to filter by periods of time.

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Creating & querying using forms.

Queries are a way of searching for and compiling data from one or more tables. Running a
query is like asking a detailed question of your database. When you build a query in Access,
you are defining specific search conditions to find exactly the data you want.

How are queries used?

Queries are far more powerful than the simple searches or filters you might use to find data
within a table. This is because queries can draw their information from multiple tables. For
example, while you could use a search in the customers table to find the name of one customer
at your business or a filter on the orders table to view only orders placed within the past week,
neither would let you view both customers and orders at once. However, you could easily run
a query to find the name and phone number of every customer who's made a purchase within the
past week. A well-designed query can give information you might not be able to find out just by
examining the data in your tables.

When you run a query, the results are presented to you in a table, but when you design one you
use a different view. This is called Query Design view, and it lets you see how your query is put
together.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn how to navigate the Query Design view.

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One-table queries

Let's familiarize ourselves with the query-building process by building the simplest query
possible: a one-table query.

We will run a query on the Customers table of our bakery database. Let's say our bakery is
having a special event, and we want to invite our customers who live nearby because they are the
most likely to come. This means we need to see a list of all customers who live close by,
and only those customers.

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We want to find our customers who live in the city of Raleigh, so we'll search for "Raleigh" in
the City field. Some customers who live in the suburbs live fairly close by, and we'd like to
invite them as well. We'll add their zip code, 27513, as another criteria.

If you think this sounds a little like applying a filter, you're right. A one-table query is actually
just an advanced filter applied to a table.

To create a simple one-table query:

1. Select the Create tab on the Ribbon, and locate the Queries group.

2. Click the Query Design command.

3. Access will switch to Query Design view. In the Show Table dialog box that appears,
select the table you want to run a query on. We are running a query on our customers, so
we'll select the Customers table.

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4. Click Add, then click Close.

5. The selected table will appear as a small window in the Object Relationship pane. In the
table window, double-click the field names you want to include in your query. They will
be added to the design grid in the bottom part of the screen. In our example, we want to
mail invitations to customers who live in a certain area, so we'll include
the First Name, Last Name, Street Address, City, and Zip Code fields.

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6. Set the search criteria by clicking the cell in the Criteria: row of each field you want to
filter. Typing criteria into more than one field in the Criteria: row will set your query to
include only results that meet all criteria. If you want to set multiple criteria but don't
need the records shown in your results to meet all of them, type the first criteria in the
Criteria: row and additional criteria in the or: row and the rows beneath it. Because we
want to find customers who either live in Raleigh or in the 27513 zip code, we'll type
"Raleigh" in the City field and "27513" into the or: row of the Zip Code field.
The quotation marks will search these fields for an exact match.

7. After you have set your criteria, run the query by clicking the Run command on
the Design tab.

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 8. The query results will be displayed in the query's Datasheet view, which looks like a
table. If you want, save your query by clicking the Save command in the Quick Access
Toolbar. When prompted to name it, type the desired name, then click OK.

Now you know how to create the simplest type of query with only one table. In the next lesson,
you'll learn how to create a query that uses multiple tables.

Creating & printing reports and labels.

To create a report:

Reports give you the ability to present components of your database in an easy-to-read, printable
format. Access lets you create reports from both tables and queries.

1. Open the table or query you want to use in your report. We want to print a list of cookies
we've sold, so we'll open the Cookies Sold query.

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2. Select the Create tab on the Ribbon. Locate the Reports group, then click
the Report command.

3. Access will create a new report based on your object.

4. It's likely that some of your data will be located on the other side of the page break. To
fix this, resize your fields. Simply select a field, then click and drag its edge until the
field is the desired size. Repeat with additional fields until all of your fields fit.

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 5. To save your report, click the Save command on the Quick Access Toolbar. When
prompted, type a name for your report, then click OK.

Just like tables and queries, reports can be sorted and filtered. Simply right-click the field you
want to sort or filter, then select the desired option from the menu.

Deleting fields

You might find that your report contains some fields you don't really need to view. For instance,
our report contains the Zip Code field, which isn't necessary in a list of orders. Fortunately, you
can delete fields in reports without affecting the table or query where you grabbed your data.

To delete a field in a report:

1. Click any cell in the field you want to delete, then press the Delete key on your keyboard.

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 2. The field will be deleted.

When you delete a field, be sure to delete its header as well. Simply select the header and press
the Delete key.

Printing and saving reports in Print Preview

While you can print reports using commands in Backstage view, you can also use Print
Preview. Print Preview shows you how your report will appear on the printed page. It also
allows you to modify the way your report is displayed, print it, and even save it as a different
file type.

Watch the video below to learn more about printing reports.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn about Print Preview.

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To print a report:

1. From the Home tab, click the View command, then select Print Preview from the drop-
down list. Your report will be shown as it will appear on the printed page.

2. If necessary, modify the page size, margin width, and page orientation using the
related commands on the Ribbon.

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 3. Click the Print command.

4. The Print dialog box will appear. Set any desired print options, then click OK. The
report will be printed.

Saving reports

You can save reports in other formats so they'll be viewable outside of Access. This is
called exporting a file, and it allows you to view and even modify reports in other formats and
programs.

Access offers options to save your report as an Excel file, text file, PDF, HTML document, and
more. Experiment with the different export options to find the one that best suits your needs.

To export a report:

1. From the Home tab, click the View command, then select Print Preview from the drop-
down list.

2. Locate the Data group on the Ribbon.

3. Select one of the file type options, or click More to see options to save your report as
a Word or HTML file.

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4. A dialog box will appear. Select the location where you want to save the report.

5. Enter a file name for the report, then click Publish.

6. A dialog box will appear to notify you that your file has been successfully saved.
Click Close to return to your report.

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Some export options will cause the Export Wizard to appear. Simply follow the instructions to
export your report.

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