BCCC Library

Microsoft Excel 2007 Basics 1. Start Excel – if the Excel 2007 icon is not on the desktop: a. Click Start>Programs>Microsoft Office>Microsoft Excel 2007 b. The Ribbon- seen across the top of Microsoft Excel. The ribbon contains Tabs, Groups, and Commands i. Tabs – sit across the top of the ribbon. Each tab contains core tasks you do in the program (Home, Insert, Page Layout...) ii. Groups – sets of related commands displayed in the tabs. (Clipboard, Font, Alignment, Number, Styles...) iii. Commands – a button, menu, or a box where you enter information.

2. Each square on the worksheet is called a cell. Enter (type) your data into each cell. Its location is determined by the column letter and row number. In the example below, January is typed in cell “C3”. After you enter the date, press the Enter key on your keyboard so Excel accepts what you typed.

3. Type in a title, column headings, and row headings for your data you wish to enter 4. Formulas are used to calculate cells. All formulas must begin with an equals (=) sign. Also, when creating formulas, use the cell location, not what is in the cell to create your formula. a. Example: =C4+D4+E4

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BCCC Library b. After you type in the formula, press the [Enter] key on your keyboard. The formula will be replaced by the result in that cell.

c. When creating formulas, use i. + for additon ii. - for subtraction iii. * for multiplication iv. / for division d. Sometimes you may need to copy the contents of one cell, into another cell. For example, you wich to copy the contents of cell F5 into cell H6. To do this, in cell H6, you would type in the formula =F5 and press the [Enter] key on your keyboard. 5. Functions are prewritten formulas. The most common functions are Sum, Average, Minimum, and Maximum. To Sum (add up cells), click on the cell you wish to place the function. On the toolbar, click on the AutoSum button You will notice a marquee around some cells that Excel thinks you want to add. If Excel guesses correctly, just press the [Enter] key. If Excel does not guess the correct cells you want to add, click and drag over the cells you want and then press the [Enter] key.

a. Other popular functions: i. The average function – will give you the average for a range of cells. 1. Example: =AVERAGE(B3:E3) will give you the average for cells B3, C3, D3 and E3 ii. The minimum function: 1. Example: =MIN(B3:E3) will give you the lowest number for cells B3, C3, D3 and E3 iii. The maximum function: 1. Example: =MAX(B3:E3) will give you the highest number for cells B3, C3, D3 and E3 iv. The today function: 1. Example: =TODAY( ) will display today’s date (notice that no cells are used in the set of parenthesis). ggp –12/03/2014

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BCCC Library 6. Copy Formulas & Function a. To copy a formula or function to a new location, i. Click the cell that has the formula you want to copy. ii. Click the Copy button iii. Select the cell(s) that you want to paste the formula into and click Paste b. If the cell that contains the formula is next to you the cell(s) you want to copy into try using the Fill Handle. . The fill handle is a small black square in the lower-right corner of the selection. i. Click on the cell containing the formula you want to copy. ii. Place your mouse over the the fill handle so the pointer changes to a black cross. iii. Drag the mouse to the cell you want to copy the formula into. iv. FYI: Fill handles are great when you need to copy a Month, Day or Year from one cell to the next.

7. Absolute References. Use absolute references to refer to cells that you don't want to change as you copy a formula. a. For example, if I want to copy the following formula: =C4+D4+E4 and I do not want the C4 in the formula to change when I copy it into a new location; I just place dollar signs before the C and the 4 before I copy it into the new location. =$C$4+D4+E4 8. Save your workbook. Save early, save often! Once you type in some data, it is a good time to save your work. When you save your work, you need to tell Excel where to save the file and what to name it. a. Click the Office Button located on the upper left corner i. Select Save As ii. The Save As Dialog Box appears 1. Change the Save in box to the location where you wish to save your workbook (3 ½ inch Floppy drive, a Flash drive...) 2. In the File Name box, type in the name of your workbook. Microsoft may offer you a suggested name. You can delete it and type in any name you wish. 3. Click the Save button

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BCCC Library

9. Formatting cells allows you to change the size, color, alignment, and font type you want. Select the cells and click the appropriate button.

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BCCC Library 10. Printing - Click the Office Button located on the upper left corner a. Click Print b. The Print Dialog Box appears i. The Print Range should be set to All pages ii. The Copies should be set to 1 1. You can use the spin box to change the number of copies iii. Click the OK button.

9.Exit Excel - You can still loose your work if you do not exit properly. To close the Excel application: a. Click the Office Button located on the upper left corner i. Click the Exit Excel button. ii. If you have not saved your work, you will be asked if you want to save it – Click YES and save your work. iii. If you are saving to a floppy disk, there is a green light on the floppy disk drive. Be sure it is out before removing the disk. The green light means that the PC is reading or writing to the disk. If you remove the disk while it is reading/writing, you will damage the disk and loose all your work.

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