Introduction to MS Excel

Microsoft Excel is the most widely-used spreadsheet program on the market today. Excel 2003 makes it easier than ever to keep track of your important information.

When you open Excel, you will see a series of columns and rows that create a grid. The boxes of this grid are called cells.

The Menu, Standard Toolbar and Formatting Toolbar are at the top of the page. In Excel, a file is called a "Workbook" and each workbook starts with 3 "Worksheets". As in other Office 2003 programs, the pane at the right side of the page will get you started and also show Clip art and Help.

The Standard Toolbar (Click on any toolbar icon to find out what it does.)

1. New: Use this to create a brand new workbook.
Return to Standard Toolbar
2. Open: Clicking on this icon opens up a previously saved workbook on your computer.
Return to Standard Toolbar
3. Save: Clicking on the Save icon saves the document you are currently working on. If you are saving a workbook for the first time, you can click on this button. However, if you want to save a new file, then you must go to the menu bar and select “File” >> “Save As” and give the file a new name. When working on any document, you should be sure to save frequently so that you don't lose any work.
Return to Standard Toolbar
4. Permission: Microsoft has enabled Information Rights Management (IRM) within the new version of Excel, which can help protect sensitive documents from being copied or forwarded. Click this for more information and options.
Return to Standard Toolbar
5. E-mail: This will allow you to E-mail the document directly from Excel.
Return to Standard Toolbar
6. Print: Clicking on the Print icon automatically prints the active worksheet (not the entire workbook). This will print directly to the default printer. If you wish to explore more print options, then go to the menu bar and select “File” >> “Print.”
Return to Standard Toolbar
7. Print Preview: To get an idea of the appearance of your spreadsheet in print before you actually print it out, you can click on this icon to view your document from a zoom-out distance.
Return to Standard Toolbar
8. Spelling and Grammar: Clicking begins a review of your document in search of spelling and grammatical errors that may need to be corrected. Excel will not automatically inform you of errors like Word.
Return to Standard Toolbar
9. Research: This will let you look up items in dictionaries and encyclopedias (this is a very handy tool).
Return to Standard Toolbar
10. Cut: Cuts out the current selection and adds it to the clipboard, which can then be pasted elsewhere in the document, or into a completely separate program/document -- COOL! Quick Trick: Use Ctrl+X as a keyboard shortcut to Cut.
Return to Standard Toolbar
11. Copy: Copy the current selection to the clipboard, which can then be pasted elsewhere in the document, or into a completely separate program/document. Quick Trick: Use Ctrl+C as a keyboard shortcut to Copy.
Return to Standard Toolbar
12. Paste: Clicking on the Paste button inserts the text that has been most recently added to the Clipboard (the text would have been added there by Cutting or Copying). With Paste, you can either insert the copied text into a document or replace selected text. Quick Trick: Use Ctrl+V as a keyboard shortcut to Paste.
Return to Standard Toolbar
13. Format Painter: Allows you to "paint" the formatting (color, font, etc.) of a selected section to other sections.
Return to Standard Toolbar
14. Undo Typing: The Undo Typing button goes back and removes the last addition or change made to your worksheet.
15. Redo Typing: This will redo anything that has been undone.
Return to Standard Toolbar
16. Insert Hyperlink: Using the Insert Hyperlink button, you can turn selected text into hyperlinks. When the icon is clicked, a window will appear that will allow you to insert the URL (web address) of the web page you want to link to. Once the link is inserted, the link in your Word document can be clicked and the web page will open up in a web browser.
Return to Standard Toolbar
17. AutoSum: A drop-down menu of available mathematical operations to perform.
Return to Standard Toolbar
18. Sort Ascending: Sorts the current selection in ascending order.
Return to Standard Toolbar
19. Sort Descending: Sorts the current selection in descending order.
Return to Standard Toolbar
20. Chart Wizard: Opens the “Chart Wizard,” which will walk you through the creation of a chart or diagram using the currently selected information.
Return to Standard Toolbar
21. Drawing: Opens the Drawing Toolbar at the bottom of the page.
Return to Standard Toolbar
22. Zoom: Zoom in or out on your document.
Return to Standard Toolbar
23. Help: Become close friends with this icon. It will bring up the Assistance pane that can answer almost any question about Microsoft Excel.
Return to Standard Toolbar

The Formatting Toolbar (Click on any toolbar icon to find out what it does.)

1. Font: Font is a simple but important factor in Word documents. The choice of font (the style of the text itself) can influence the way others view documents, either on the screen or in print. For example, Arial font looks better on screen, while Times New Roman is clearer in print. Click the little arrow to see a list of available fonts.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
2. Font Size: You may encounter times in which you need to display some text larger or smaller than other text. Choose a font size from the drop down menu (little arrow).
Return to Formatting Toolbar
3. Bold: Places the text in bold.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
4. Italic: Places the text in italics.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
5. Underline: Underlines the text.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
6.Align Left: Aligns the selection to the left of the screen/paper.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
7. Center: Aligns the selection to the center of the screen/paper.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
8. Align Right: Aligns the selection to the right of the screen/paper.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
9. Merge & Center: Combine two selected cells into one new cell that spans the width of both and center the contents of this new cell -- great for making titles and sub titles.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
10. Currency Style: Click here to show numbers as currency.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
11. Percent Style: Click here to show numbers as percentages.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
12. Comma Style: Click here to show whole numbers (not currency or percentage).
Return to Formatting Toolbar
13. Increase Decimal: Allows you to increase the number of decimal places shown.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
14. Decrease Decimal: Allows you to decrease the number of decimal places shown.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
15. Decrease Indent: Decrease the indent of a cell by approximately one character.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
16. Increase Indent: Increase the indent of a cell by approximately one character.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
17. Border: Click the little down arrow to choose a style of border for the selected cells.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
18. Fill Color: Select a color with which to fill the background of selected cells. Great for highlighting important data. Just click the little down arrow for a choice of colors.
Return to Formatting Toolbar
19. Font Color: Select a color to apply to a selection of text. Click the little down arrow for a choice of colors.
Return to Formatting Toolbar

• Blonde Tutorials Home • MS Excel Intro • Creating & Saving • Typing & Formatting • Simple Formulas • Sorting & Filtering • Clip Art & Drawing • Freezing & Protection • Charts & Graphs • Web Pages •

---