EXCEL INTRODUCTION

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 Excel MODULE 1

(Manual – Version 5)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 5
OPENING EXCEL............................................................................................................ 5
THE SCREEN LAYOUT ................................................................................................... 6
THE TITLE BAR ............................................................................................................... 6
THE RIBBON ................................................................................................................... 7
THE FILE MENU AND DEFAULT OPTIONS.................................................................... 7
CUSTOMISING QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR .................................................................. 8
SMART TAGS................................................................................................................ 10
CREATING A NEW WORKBOOK.................................................................................. 11
ABOUT WORKSHEETS ................................................................................................ 12
MOVING AROUND WORKSHEETS.............................................................................. 13
MOVING AROUND A WORKBOOK .............................................................................. 15
INSERTING AND DELETING SHEETS ......................................................................... 16
NAMING SHEETS ......................................................................................................... 17
COLOURING SHEET TABS .......................................................................................... 17
SELECTING CELLS AND WORKSHEETS .................................................................... 18
TO SELECT A SINGLE CELL ........................................................................................ 18
TO SELECT A RANGE OF CELLS ................................................................................ 18
TO SELECT NON-ADJACENT CELLS .......................................................................... 19
SELECTING WORKSHEETS ........................................................................................ 19
ENTERING DATA .......................................................................................................... 20
DATA ENTRY TECHNIQUES ........................................................................................ 20
TO ENTER DATA IN A CELL RANGE ............................................................................ 20
TO ENTER THE SAME DATA THROUGHOUT A CELL RANGE ................................... 21
ENTERING TIMES AND DATES ................................................................................... 21
EDITING CELLS (CHANGING THE CONTENTS OF A CELL).................................................... 22
UNDO & REDO .............................................................................................................. 23
CLEARING CELLS ........................................................................................................ 23
CREATING A DATA SERIES ......................................................................................... 24
CREATING A SERIES BY EXAMPLE ............................................................................ 24
MANAGING WORKBOOKS........................................................................................... 25
SAVING ............................................................................................................................ 25
SAVING A COPY OF A FILE .......................................................................................... 26
CLOSING WORKBOOKS .............................................................................................. 26
OPENING AN EXISTING WORKBOOK ......................................................................... 27
PRINTING AND PREVIEWING YOUR PAGES ................................................................ 28
PAGE LAYOUT.............................................................................................................. 29
THE PAGE TAB................................................................................................................. 29
MARGINS ......................................................................................................................... 30
HEADERS & FOOTERS ................................................................................................ 31
REPEAT PRINT TITLES ................................................................................................ 32
PAGE BREAKS ............................................................................................................. 33
EDITING A WORKSHEET ................................................................................................ 36
MOVING CELLS ............................................................................................................ 36
CUT & PASTE................................................................................................................ 36

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 DRAGGING ................................................................................................................... 36
COPYING CELLS .......................................................................................................... 36
COPY & PASTE ............................................................................................................. 37
DRAGGING ................................................................................................................... 37
INSERTING CELLS, ROWS & COLUMNS .................................................................... 38
DELETING CELLS, ROWS & COLUMNS ...................................................................... 38
HIDE ROWS & COLUMNS ............................................................................................ 39
FORMATTING A WORKSHEET....................................................................................... 40
CHANGING COLUMN WIDTHS .................................................................................... 40
CHANGING ROW HEIGHT............................................................................................ 41
ALIGNING WORKSHEET DATA ................................................................................... 43
FORMATTING WORKSHEET DATA ............................................................................. 44
THE FONT COMMAND ................................................................................................. 45
THE NUMBER COMMAND............................................................................................ 45
FORMULAS ...................................................................................................................... 46
USING AUTOSUM......................................................................................................... 46
EXCEL KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS.................................................................................. 47

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INTRODUCTION

Excel provides a powerful spreadsheet in a Windows environment. There are easy

calculating and charting facilities, and the Windows environment allows you to access
features in Excel with the mouse using the icons or the ribbon bar. Excel provides on-line
help so if you are stuck at any point you can access Help to give you comprehensive
information about that feature.

This training course is designed to provide knowledge of the basic concepts of Excel and
to allow you to use it in the office to aid you in solving business problems in an efficient
manner.

OPENING EXCEL

To launch Excel:

1. Click on the Start Button in the bottom left corner of the screen and click the Excel
shortcut icon on the desktop if present. Alternatively,…

2. Select the Programs Option.

3. Select Microsoft Office

4. Click on the Microsoft Excel icon .

Excel will launch.

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THE SCREEN LAYOUT

The Workbook is displayed in a Window and will appear as follows:

The screen has various icons and images, together with various bars of information. One
of the great features of Excel is that the displayed screen can be customised to suit your
own requirements.

THE TITLE BAR

The Title Bar can be seen at the very top of the screen and contains the name of the
application and the document number (or name) you are currently working on.

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THE RIBBON
The main commands are located inside the Home command tab, which displays most of
the tools you will need to create a basic document. Specialised features can then be
quickly accessed from the other command tabs.

Tools for each command tab are divided into groups (e.g., the Clipboard, Font, Alignment
etc in the Home tab). Some command tabs are context-sensitive, displaying only when a
particular feature is being used.

The ribbon can be customised by clicking File, Options, Customise ribbon. You can add
your own tabs, groups and icons from here (more advanced).

THE FILE MENU AND DEFAULT OPTIONS

The File Menu is located in the upper-left of the program window.

The File Menu allows you to open, save, and print documents, and perform other
document output functions (e.g., email). The File Menu is also where you go to change
options and preferences, by clicking the Options button. From the Options button you can
customise an Office program's display and settings.

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CUSTOMISING QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR

The Quick Access toolbar is available in Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. It is always
visible, no matter which tabs are active on the Ribbon. If there are buttons that you use
frequently, you may want to consider putting them on your Quick Access toolbar.
From the Quick Access toolbar, click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar drop down
button

Tick the common commands in the list such as New, Open, Print, Email etc.
To add further commands you can right click any button on any tab and select Add to
Quick Access toolbar, otherwise:-
1. Select More Commands ...
2. Change Popular Commands in the drop down list at the top to All Commands

3. Search for the command you want in the list and select it by clicking on it once
4. Click the Add button to add this button to the Quick Access Toolbar
5. OPTIONAL: If you decide that you no longer want a command on the Quick Access
toolbar
6. From the list of toolbar commands, select the command you wish to remove from
the list of commands on the right hand side of the screen
7. Click REMOVE
The option is removed from the Quick Access toolbar.
TIP – you can also quickly add a button to the quick access toolbar simply by right clicking
on it and selecting Add to Quick Access Toolbar.

FORMULA BAR:

The Formula bar indicates the contents of a cell. The formula bar is most commonly used
for editing information and is found at the top of the screen. It displays text, numbers and
formulas.

WORKSHEET AREA:

Contains cells in a grid, where text and values can be entered. Where a column and a row
cross is referred to as a cell.

SHEET TABS:

Allows you to move between and rename sheets. Sheets are useful for storing different
types of data that relate to the same information.
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ZOOM BUTTONS:

Located in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, that allows you to click and drag the
slider bar to zoom in or out. You can also click the minus or plus signs to zoom in and out.

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MOUSE TERMINOLOGY

POINT To move the tip of the pointer on

top of an element on the screen.

CLICK To quickly press and release the

mouse button.

DOUBLE CLICK To quickly press and release the

left mouse button twice in
succession.

RIGHT CLICK To click with the right (or second)

mouse button. This produces a
pop up menu with options about
where the pointer currently is.

DRAG To depress the mouse button and

whilst it is depressed, move the
mouse in the direction you wish
the pointer to move.

RELEASE To stop holding down the mouse

button.

SELECT To point at an icon or highlight an

area of text that you wish to affect
with a particular command.

SMART TAGS
Like the commands on the Ribbon, Smart Tags put commonly used functions within easy
reach. A Smart Tag is an icon containing a menu that temporarily appears within your
document after you perform a certain action. The purpose of Smart Tags is to inform you of
the options available in different situations when using Excel. For example, after you paste
text, a Smart Tag appears with formatting options for that text; however, the tag will
disappear when you begin typing more text. Smart Tags also appear when using the
AutoCorrect feature and when errors occur in Excel formulas.
EXAMPLE:
1. After pasting, to reveal your options, click the Paste Options smart tag

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CREATING A NEW WORKBOOK

The Workbook is the normal document Excel uses for you to store and work with your
data. A Workbook is the electronic equivalent of a three-ring binder. Inside Workbooks you
will find Sheets, such as worksheets and chart sheets. Each Sheets name appears on a
tab at the bottom of the Workbook. You can move or copy sheets between Workbooks and
you can re-arrange sheets within a Workbook. When you first start Excel there will be a
new Workbook automatically created for you with 3 worksheets present.

1. If you want to create another NEW Workbook:

2. Select the File Menu .

3. Choose New.

4. Choose the New Workbook option from the task pane by clicking on it.

SHORTCUT: Click on the New Workbook Icon from the Quick Access toolbar.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl & N

Each new Workbook will be called Book and given a number i.e. Book 1, until you save
the Workbook with a specific name. Whenever you open, close or save a file in Excel you
are opening closing or saving the entire Workbook inclusive of all the sheets within that
workbook.

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ABOUT WORKSHEETS

The default Workbook contains 3 worksheets named Sheet1 through to Sheet3. The
Sheet names appear on tabs at the bottom of the Workbook window. By clicking on the
tabs you can move from one sheet to another within a Workbook. The tab of the active
sheet is always Bold with a white background.

Each Worksheet allows you to input, manipulate, calculate and analyse data such as
numbers, text and formulas.

A Worksheet is made up of columns and rows forming a grid of cells. A cell is the point of
intersection between a column and a row. The data in a cell can be manipulated in many
different ways; changes to data in a cell can result in an automatic recalculation in other
cells. This happens when other cells are reliant on the cell you are changing.

The maximum number of rows in the Worksheet is 1,048,576 and the maximum number of
columns available is 16,384. For clarity the columns are lettered, starting with A going up
to XFD.

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MOVING AROUND WORKSHEETS

To move to a specific place in the worksheet point at the cell you want to go to and click
the mouse button. The cell will be selected or will be ACTIVE. A bold black border will
surround the Active cell.

Scroll Bar

The scroll bars can be used to move up and down or left to right. To do this, point and click
on the arrow pointing in the direction you want to go.

OR

Point at the grey box that is in the scroll bar (known as the Thumb key). Click and hold
down the mouse button and drag up, down, left or right, whichever way you prefer to move.

Keyboard

The keyboard can also be used to move around Excel.

Keys Movement
Arrow Keys Up, Down, Left and Right.

Page Up One Window up

Page Down One Window down

Home To the beginning of the row

Ctrl + Home To A1

Ctrl + End To where the last cell containing

data in the sheet is positioned

Ctrl + G Jump to a cell reference

NOTE: laptop users may also have to hold down the Fn key in addition to the Ctrl
key to access certain shortcuts.

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GO TO

It is possible to specify a certain cell to get to by using the GO TO command.

1. Press F5 or Ctrl G on the keyboard.

2. A dialog box appears as follows:

3. Type in the Cell Reference for the cell you want to go to.

4. Click on OK.

5. The cell you wanted to go to will now be the Active Cell.

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MOVING AROUND A WORKBOOK

You can quickly View and Switch between different sheets in a Workbook. To do this you
need to use the Sheet Tab Bar at the bottom of the screen.

Any new Workbook will have SHEET1 as the ACTIVE sheet. You can tell it is the Active
sheet because the Sheet tab is in white as opposed to shaded.

1. To move to a different Sheet, point at the sheet name and click the mouse
button.

2. To move to a sheet when the Tab is not visible, click on the left or right scroll
button in the Sheet Tab Bar positioned to the left of the sheet tabs. When the
Sheet Tab for the sheet you require appears, click on this tab and the relevant
Sheet will become Active.

3. Clicking on the right or left scroll bar with a bar after it takes you to the beginning
or the end of the list of available Sheet Tabs.

4. Click the or button at the end of the sheet tabs to add a new sheet.

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INSERTING AND DELETING SHEETS

A new Workbook opens with between 1 and 3 sheets (depending on version) named
Sheet1 through to Sheet3. You can easily insert or delete sheets.

Inserting Sheets

To Insert a Worksheet:

1. Click the button at the end of the sheet tabs, shown as a sign in newer
versions of Excel

Deleting Sheets

To delete a Sheet:

1. Right click a sheet by clicking on a Sheet Tab.

2. Select Delete from the shortcut Menu then click OK.

3. The sheet is deleted and the tab to the right becomes the Active sheet.

N.B. To delete more than one Worksheet, select the number of worksheets you need to
delete and follow steps above. To Highlight more than one worksheet hold down the CTRL
key and click on the number of sheets you wish to select.

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NAMING SHEETS

You can change the name of any sheet to a name of up to 31 characters, including spaces.
Once you rename a sheet, the tab for that sheet contains the name.

1. Point at the Sheet Tab you want to name.

2. Double-click the mouse button.

3. The Sheet name will become highlighted.

4. Overtype the New Name.

5. Click away into the worksheet or Press Enter.

COLOURING SHEET TABS

It is possible to alter the colour of each of the individual sheet tabs.

1. Hover the mouse over the sheet tab you wish to change the colour of.

2. Press the right mouse button – the following shortcut menu will appear:

3. Select the Tab Color option - a colour pallet will appear – choose the desired
colour. Click on OK to confirm and apply that colour to that sheet tab.

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SELECTING CELLS AND WORKSHEETS

Before carrying out most commands and tasks, you must first select the part of the
worksheet you want to work with. A selection consists of the highlighted items on your
screen that will be affected by the next command or action. A range of cells is a block of
adjacent cells.

You make many kinds of selection on a worksheet; a single cell, a range of cells or non-
adjacent cells. You can also use select to select more than one Worksheet.

TO SELECT A SINGLE CELL

A single cell is called the ACTIVE cell.

1. Click the cell you want to select.

TO SELECT A RANGE OF CELLS

1. Point at the first cell you want to select.

2. Hold down the mouse button and drag through the remaining cells you want to
select ensuring that you are using the cursor icon that looks like a white first aid
cross.

Ways to select a range:

Select an entire row or column Click the row or column heading

Select many rows and columns Drag through the row or column
Headings

Select the entire Worksheet Select the Select All button to the
left of the column headings

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TO SELECT NON-ADJACENT CELLS

1. Click the first cell, or drag through the first range.

2. Hold down Ctrl as you click each additional cell, or drag through each additional
range.

SELECTING WORKSHEETS

You can enter data on, and format a single worksheet or Multiple Worksheets in a
Workbook. Normally you work with one Active Worksheet at a time. The Active Sheet is the
sheet currently displayed in the Workbook. The tab of the Active Sheet is white with bold
type. You can also work with multiple worksheets in a Workbook simultaneously by making
them part of a group selection.

Selecting a Single Sheet

1. Click on the Worksheet tab you want to select.

Selecting Two or More Worksheets

1. Click the tab for the first sheet in the group.

2. Hold down the Shift key.

3. Click the tab for the last sheet in the group. This will highlight all sheets between
the first and last click

4. If you wish to select non adjacent sheets hold down the Ctrl key and click on the
relevant sheet tabs.

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ENTERING DATA

DATA ENTRY TECHNIQUES

You enter data in a cell by first selecting the cell and then typing the data in. The data will
appear in both the Active cell and the Formula Bar. Depending on the type of data e.g.
numbers or text, Excel will format it as appropriate. There are three basic ways of entering
data. There is no difference between entering numbers or text in Excel.

To Enter Data In A Cell

1. Click the cell into which you want to enter data.

2. Type the data.

3. Click the enter box to remain in the cell or press ENTER to move down or
press Tab to move to the next cell.

TO ENTER DATA IN A CELL RANGE

1. Point to the first cell in the range you want to select and drag through
the range.

2. Type the data in the active cell.

3. Click the enter box or press ENTER.

The entry will be placed in the cell and your cursor moved to the next available cell in your
selected cells. If more than one column of cells is selected the cursor moves down the
selection & then across.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the remaining cells in the range.

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TO ENTER THE SAME DATA THROUGHOUT A CELL RANGE

1. Highlight the appropriate cells.

2. Type the data in the active cell.

3. Press CTRL + ENTER. The data typed in the active cell will be
duplicated in all the other cells.

N.B. Click the cancel box or press Esc to clear data being entered.

ENTERING TIMES AND DATES

1. Select the cell into which you want to enter the date or time.

2. Type the Date or Time.

You can use either the slash e.g. 12/11/06 or the hyphen 12-11-06 for the date (but 12-11-
06 will appear as 12/11/2006, unless the cell has been formatted).

You can use Hour: Minutes for the time e.g. 12:12

3. Press Enter.

SHORTCUT

1. Ctrl + : Today’s date

2. Ctrl + Shift + : Current time

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EDITING CELLS (changing the contents of a cell)

Editing the data in the formula bar will change the data in a cell.

1. Click on the cell to be edited.

2. Click on the formula bar where the cell contents appear.

3. Correct the entry and click the enter box or press Enter.

SHORTCUT

1. Click on the cell to be edited.

2. Press F2.

3. Correct the entry and click the enter box or press Enter.

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UNDO & REDO

If you do something and then you want to reverse it, then use the Undo facility. For
example if you accidentally delete the contents of the wrong cell and need that information
back.

1. Press Ctrl + Z or click on the undo icon on the Quick Access toolbar.

N.B. If you undo something accidentally you can redo it by clicking on the redo icon on the
Home tab.

CLEARING CELLS

Clearing a cell clears the data, formats, comments or all three from that cell, but leaves the
cleared cells in the structure of the worksheet.

1. Select the cells to be cleared.

2. Click the Eraser button on the Home tab to clear the cell content or
click the drop down button for options.

SHORTCUT

The contents (not including format and comments) of a cell can be deleted quickly.

1. Select a cell or range of cells.

2. Press the Delete key on the keyboard.

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CREATING A DATA SERIES

A series is a sequence of numbers, dates and mixed text that extends in a regular fashion.
Being able to create a Data Series saves a lot of data entry.

You can create a series by putting the value of the active cell into a range you drag through
using the fill handle.

1. Select the cell with the initial value in.

2. Point to the bottom right corner of the cell. The pointer changes to a black hair
cross.

3. Click and hold down the left mouse button.

4. Drag in the direction you want the filled range, either down or across. You
cannot mix the direction of a series. Notice a yellow box appears attached to the
cursor to inform you if you let go of the cursor what the last entry would be.

5. Release the mouse button. The range will be filled with the value that was
originally in the active cell.

N.B. Months can be entered as a series. Type in ‘Jan’ as the initial cell value and
continue with steps 2-5.

CREATING A SERIES BY EXAMPLE

A series by example is a series created based on the data example given in the selected
range. For example, if two cells contained 1 and 2 and these were used as an example for
the remainder of the series the series will be a set of numbers increasing by one every
time.

1. Select the range with the example.

2. Point at the bottom right corner of the selected range, the pointer will turn into a
thin black cross.

3. Click and hold down the left mouse button. Drag through the range to fill.

4. Release the mouse button.

5. The series in the range will continue as per the example.

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MANAGING WORKBOOKS

Once you have entered data into a Workbook it may be necessary to either Save, Print or
Close the Workbook or Open another Workbook. This is known as managing what
happens to your Workbook. This section gives details of all these techniques.

SAVING

Once a workbook has been created it is necessary to save a copy. More copies can then
be printed, or the document can be reused time and time again.

1. To save a workbook click your mouse on the Save icon. (note this screenshot
shows Excel version 2016)

2. As this is the first time we have chosen to save this document we are
automatically confronted with the Save As dialog box as shown above, select
where to store your file or click Browse (note, you may be confronted with the
next screen depending on your options)

3. Type the name of the document to be saved. Excel offers you a name by default
of Workbook followed by a number. You can change this by selecting it, if it isn’t
already selected and type a new name.

4. Click on Save. Your document will then be stored.

5. Click on the Save icon to continue to save your document as you work. The
Save As dialog does not appear again unless you want to create a duplicate
workbook (covered next).

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SAVING A COPY OF A FILE

It is often necessary to create files, which are similar to ones that already exist. It is
therefore easier and quicker to retrieve a file and edit it, rather than create the file from
scratch. When it comes to saving the file, if the save icon is used the original file will be
replaced by the edited version. To keep the original file in the same condition as when it
was retrieved it is necessary to use the Save As option. The edited file can then be given
a different name, leaving the original file unchanged.

1. Select File from the menu.

2. Select Save As - the Save As window will appear:

3. Type a new file name for the document.

4. Click on .

5. The file is saved under the new name, leaving the original file in the same condition
as when it was retrieved, under the original file name.

CLOSING WORKBOOKS

When you have finished working in the workbook follow the steps below to close it:

1. Click on the File Menu.

2. Choose Close.

N.B. If you have not already saved your Workbook you will be prompted to save.

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OPENING AN EXISTING WORKBOOK

One or more workbooks can be opened at the same time by following the steps below:

1. Click on the File Menu.

2. Choose Open. A dialog box similar to the following appears:

3. Double click on the Workbook required from the list OR click on it once to
highlight it and click on the Open button.

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PRINTING AND PREVIEWING YOUR PAGES

By previewing your spreadsheet, you can see each page exactly as it will be printed. This
can save on time, paper and trips to the printer.

1. Ensure you have added Print Preview and Print to

the Quick Access toolbar and click the button to preview
your work.

Use any of the options on the left hand side to specify

number of copies etc or click the page setup button at the
bottom for more advanced options including Headers and
Footers prior to Printing.

TIP you can also press the Page Setup button at the
bottom of Settings to display all page setup options in
Excel.

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PAGE LAYOUT

The page layout tab on the ribbon bar is used to set the options on how your page will
appear when it is printed. These buttons provide a fast way of setting your page options
such as margins, orientation and scale.

TIP you can click the button in the bottom right hand corner of the Page Setup group of
commands to display the old Page Setup dialog box from earlier versions of Office.

The Page Tab

The page tab contains options for setting your page layout as either portrait or landscape.
Click on the relevant radio button to change this option. This tab also allows scaling, so
that you can adjust your data so that it exactly fits onto one page.

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Margins
The Margins tab can also be used to centre information on the page either horizontally or
vertically as well as altering the sizes of existing margins.

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HEADERS & FOOTERS

Headers and footers can be created in one of two places; either by switching to Page
layout view (View, Page Layout) or use the Page Setup dialog box.

The tab labelled Headers & Footers is used for repeating titles throughout the document.
A header will automatically appear at the top of every page, a footer at the bottom of every
page.

1. Depending of whether a header or footer is required select the Custom Header or

Custom Footer button. A screen similar to the following will be displayed:

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 2. The three sections of the header/footer have been set up for alignment, if you
require the header/footer to appear in the left hand corner of the page, enter data
required in the left box. If you require the header/footer to appear in the centre of
the page, enter the data required into the centre box and the right hand side box is
used for right aligning data on the page.

3. Enter the data as required, note shortcut buttons at the top of the screen for
inserting information such as page number, data, time, etc.

4. When you are happy with the data that has been entered, select the OK button to
return you to the previous dialog box where, if you required you can select either of
the Custom Header or Custom Footer buttons again.

5. When you are finished setting up the headers and footers select the OK button to
return you to the document.

TIP to have a different first page header, tick the box at the
bottom of the header and footer dialog box and then click
the custom header button – you will see 2 tabs at the top of
this dialog box, one for the first page header and one for
the rest of the document entitled Header.

REPEAT PRINT TITLES

If a worksheet spans more than one page, you can print row and column headings or
labels (also called print titles) on every page to ensure that the data is properly labeled.

1. Select the worksheet that you want to print.

2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Print Titles.

3. On the Sheet tab, under Print titles, do one or both of the following:

o In the Rows to repeat at top box, click on the rows that contain the column
labels.

o In the Columns to repeat at

left box, click on the columns
that contain the row labels.

For example, if you want to print column

labels at the top of every printed page, you could type $1:$1 in the Rows to repeat at top
box or you could click onto Row 1 to automatically insert the row reference.

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PAGE BREAKS

In Page Break Preview, dashed lines are page breaks Excel automatically added. Solid
lines are page breaks that were added manually.

Insert a page break

1. Click the worksheet that you want to print.

2. On the View tab, in the Workbook Views group, click Page Break Preview.

1. You can also click Page Break Preview on the status bar.

2. To insert a horizontal page break, select the row where you want to insert the page
break. NOTE: Excel inserts the break above the row you select.

3. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Breaks.

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 4. Click Insert Page Break.

5. You can also right-click the row or column below or to the right of where you want to
insert the page break, and then click Insert Page Break.

6. If manual page breaks that you insert do not take effect, it may be that the Fit
To scaling option has been selected on the Page tab of the Page Setup dialog box
(Page Layout tab, Page Setup group, Dialog Box Launcher ). To use the manual
page breaks, change the scaling to Adjust to instead.

Move a page break

1. On the View tab, in the Workbook Views group, click Page Break Preview.

2. You can also click Page Break Preview on the status bar.

3. To move a page break, drag the page break to a new location.

Delete a page break

1. Select the worksheet that you want to modify.

2. On the View tab, in the Workbook Views group, click Page Break Preview.

3. You can also click Page Break Preview on the status bar.

4. To delete a horizontal page break, select the row below the page break that you
want to delete.

NOTE: You cannot delete an automatic page break.

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On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Breaks.

Click Remove Page Break.

You can also remove a page break by dragging it outside of the page break preview area
(to the left past the row headers, or up past the column headers). If you cannot drag page
breaks, make sure that the drag-and-drop feature is enabled.

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EDITING A WORKSHEET

MOVING CELLS

You can move cell data to a different part of the same worksheet or to a different
worksheet in the same Workbook. Moving cells is like physically cutting out the cells and
transferring them to a new location. There are various ways of moving cells.

CUT & PASTE

1. Select the cell(s) to be moved.

2. Click the Home tab.

3. Select the Cut button.

4. Select the first cell you want the data that has been cut to be moved to.

5. Click the Paste button.

DRAGGING

1. Select the cell(s) to be moved.

2. Position the mouse pointer over the border of that cell.

3. It will change to a four headed arrow.

4. Press & drag the mouse to the paste area where you want to move the data.

5. Release the mouse button.

SHORTCUT
Use the Shortcut Keys

Cut Ctrl + X
Paste Ctrl + V

COPYING CELLS

You can copy cell data to a different part of the same worksheet. Copying cell(s) duplicates
and pastes them into another location. The original cells are not affected by being copied.
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There are various ways of copying cells.

COPY & PASTE

1. Select the cell(s) to be moved.

2. Click the Home tab.

3. Select the Copy button.

4. Select the first cell you want the data that has been cut to be moved to.

5. Click the Paste button.

TIP click the expand button to display the Clipboard (useful for copying and pasting
multiple items)

DRAGGING

1. Select the cell(s) to be copied.

2. Position the mouse pointer over the border.

3. It should change to a four headed arrow.

4. Hold down Ctrl and drag the mouse to the new location.

5. Release the mouse button.

SHORTCUT

Use the Shortcut Keys:

Copy Ctrl + C
Paste Ctrl + V

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INSERTING CELLS, ROWS & COLUMNS

You can insert blank cells, ranges of blank cells, or entire blank rows or columns anywhere
in the worksheet. Excel shifts the other cells to make room and adjusts references to reflect
the new position of the shifted cells.

Inserting Rows & Columns

1. Select the row(s) or column(s) you want shifted by clicking on the heading(s),
either the row number or column letter.

2. Click the Insert button on the Home tab (do not click the drop down
button this time).

N.B. New row(s) will be inserted above the selected row(s).

N.B. New column(s) will be inserted to the left of the selected column(s).

DELETING CELLS, ROWS & COLUMNS

Rows & Columns

1. Select the row(s) or column(s) you want deleted by clicking on the heading(s).

2. Click the Delete button on the Home tab.

N.B. Columns will be shifted from the right to replace the deleted columns.

N.B. Rows below will be shifted up to replace the deleted rows.

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HIDE ROWS & COLUMNS

You can hide a row or column by using the Hide command, but a row or column also
becomes hidden when you change its row height or column width to 0 (zero). You can
display either again by using the Unhide command.

1. Select the rows or columns that you want to hide.

2. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format.

Do one of the following:

a. Under Visibility, point to Hide & Unhide, and then click Hide Rows or Hide
Columns.

b. Under Cell Size, click Row Height or Column Width, and then type 0 in the
Row Height or Column Width box.

TIP You can also right-click a row or column (or a selection of multiple rows or columns),
and then click Hide.

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FORMATTING A WORKSHEET

CHANGING COLUMN WIDTHS

1. Point at the separating line between the column headers .

The White cross will change to a double headed arrow.

2. Drag the column width to the new setting.

OR

1. Point at the separating line between column headers .

The White cross will change to a double headed arrow.

Double click to automatically get the best fit for the longest cell entry.

N.B. If multiple columns are selected then the changes to one column will apply to all.

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CHANGING ROW HEIGHT

You can format your worksheet by increasing or decreasing the height of the rows. The
standard height setting can be modified as well.

1. Select a row or range of rows that you want to alter.

2. Click the Format button from the Cells group on the Home tab

3. then choose Row Height.

4. The following dialog box appears:

5. Change the value of the row height and choose OK.

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SHORTCUTS

1. Point at the blue separating line between row labels .

2. The white cross will change to a black double headed arrow.

3. Drag the row height to the new setting.

OR

1. Point at the black separating line between row labels .

2. The white cross will change to a black double headed arrow.

3. Double click the black cross to automatically get the best fit for the tallest cell
entry.

N.B. If multiple rows are selected then the changes to one row will apply to all.

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ALIGNING WORKSHEET DATA

You can format cell entries so that the data is aligned or rotated the way you want. With
General alignment, text is automatically aligned to the left in a cell, numbers are aligned to
the right and logical and error values are centred.

1. Select the cell(s) you want to format.

2. Use the alignment shortcut icons on the Ribbon Bar as required:

Align top, middle or bottom Change text direction Wrap text

Left Centre Right Merge and Centre

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FORMATTING WORKSHEET DATA

You can change the appearance of data in your worksheet by changing the font, size, and
colour of data in a cell. Numbers can be formatted to reflect currency amounts,
percentages, decimals, scientific notation, dates or times.

Both blank and filled cells can be organised so that when you later enter data into these
cells the data is automatically formatted. All formatting options are available within the Font
group on the Home tab and Number group shown below.

From left to right:-

Font, Size, Bigger, Smaller

Bold, Italic, Underline, Border Style, Fill colour, Text colour

From left to right:-

Formatting

Currency style, Percentage, Comma style, increase/decrease decimals

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THE FONT COMMAND

1. Select the cell(s) that you want to format.

2. Select the cell(s) to be formatted.

3. Use the icons on the ribbon bar:

Use the arrows next to the fill colour and font colour tools to produce a drop down menu
which will open up a colour palette.

THE NUMBER COMMAND

1. Select the cell(s) that you want to format.

2. Use the shortcut buttons shown above in the Number group, $ for 2 decimal places, %
or increase/decrease decimal. Remember to set back to General for no formatting.

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FORMULAS

Formulas are covered in detail in a later module.

USING AUTOSUM

AutoSum is technically a function however it is used often in basic calculations. It is the

most frequently used of all worksheet functions. Complex/Long formulas are made more
concise using AutoSum. The AutoSum Icon is as follows:

When you use AutoSum Excel types the calculation for you and even suggests the range
of cells you want to add.

To enter a sum formula:

1. Select a cell adjacent to a row or column of numbers you want to add.

2. Click the AutoSum button which can be located on the Formula tab of the ribbon
bar in the Function Library group.

3. Excel enters an equals sign and a SUM function, suggesting the range to sum.

e.g. =SUM(A3:A7)

4. Press Enter and the range will be summed automatically.

N.B. If the suggested range is incorrect, you can override this by selecting another range,
then pressing Enter.

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EXCEL KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
Shortcut Key Action
Ctrl Home or End Jump to cell A1 or last populated cell on sheet
END, arrow key Move by one block of data in row or column
Ctrl + Enter Fill the selected range with the current entry
Ctrl Shift ~ Apply the default format
Ctrl C Copy
Ctrl X Cut
Ctrl V Paste
Ctrl B, I, U Bold, italics or underline
Alt Enter Start a new line within the same cell (text wrap)
Shift +  → Select cells or increase/decrease an existing selection
Ctrl A Select All
Ctrl + (numpad) Insert an entire row or column (select row/column first)
Ctrl – (numpad) Delete an entire row or column (select row/column first)
Ctrl (key Show or hide formulae on a worksheet
underneath ESC)
Ctrl D Duplicate (cells above)
Ctrl G Go to specific cell reference
Shift Click Sheet Group consecutive sheets
Tabs
Ctrl Click Sheet Group non consecutive sheets
Tabs
Ctrl Drag sheet Duplicate sheet
Ctrl ; Insert current date
Ctrl Shift ; Insert current time
Ctrl W Close Window (same as file close)
F2 Edit the current cell
F3 Paste Name
F4 Insert an absolute cell reference
F11 Create a chart based on the selected range
F12 Save As
=today() Insert current date (automatically updates)
=now() Insert current date and time (automatically updates)

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