Introducing Microsoft Excel 2010

Starting Excel
Worksheets and Workbook
Understanding the User Interface
Quick Access Toolbar
Ribbon
Formula Bar
Worksheet Area
Worksheet Tab
Status Bar
The Backstage View
Saving Excel Workbook
Creating New Excel Workbook
Opening Existing Excel Workbook
Getting Help with Excel 2010




Introducing Microsoft Excel 2010
In this chapter, you learn how to work with Excel workbooks. You will learn how to start Excel,
how an Excel file is organized, the new user interface in Excel 2010, and performing basic file
operations. If you used Excel 2007 earlier, you will immediately notice one significant change in
Excel 2010: the Microsoft Office button, located at the top left corner of the program window in
Excel 2007, has been replaced by the File tab. In Excel 2010 all of the workbook management
tasks such as saving and printing are moved to the File tab. Users can click to display these
commands in the new Backstage view.
In Excel 2010, another new feature added is Paste Preview. This capability allows you to see
how your data will appear in the worksheet before you commit to the paste. By pointing to any of
the icons in the Paste Options palette, you can switch between options to discover the one that
makes your pasted data appear the way you want it to.
You can not only continue to modify the Quick Access Toolbar in Excel 2010, but also have
many more options for changing the ribbon interface. You can hide or display built-in ribbon
tabs, change the order of built-in ribbon tabs, add custom groups to a ribbon tab and create
custom ribbon tabs which, in turn, can contain custom groups.
In Excel 2010, statistical, scientific, engineering, and financial functions accuracy have been
improved. Excel 2010 also contains more accurate statistical summary and test functions. The
naming conventions used to identify the programs functions have been changed. This change
is most noticeable with regard to the programs statistical functions, though the older functions
have been retained to ensure that workbooks created in Excel 2010 would be compatible with
workbooks created in previous versions of the program. It is possible in Excel 2010 to create
formulas by using the older functions.
Another powerful addition to Excel 2010 is the capability of summarizing data by using
Sparklines which enhances the programs reporting and summary capabilities.
Filtering PivotTable Data by using Slicers in Excel 2010, visually indicate which values appear in
a PivotTable and which are hidden. They are particularly useful when presenting data to an
audience that contains visual thinkers who might not be skilled at working with numerical values.
You have much more control over your data bars formatting in Excel 2010 than in Excel 2007.
When you create a data bar in Excel 2010, it has a solid color fill, not a gradient fill like the bars
in Excel 2007.
Rather than having to edit your images in a separate program and then insert them into your
Excel 2010 workbook you can now edit your images in the Excel workbook itself.



Starting Excel
You can start Excel in multiple ways:
1. From the Start button
i. Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of Task bar
ii. Click on All Programs


iii. Click on Microsoft Office and then click on Microsoft Excel 2010


2. Start Excel from the Desktop Icon





Worksheets and Workbook
Excel files are also called workbooks. Each file, or workbook, contains one or more worksheets.
A worksheet is a very large collection of rows and columns. Think of it as a giant data table with
a maximum of 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns. A new Excel file (workbook) contains three
worksheets by default. You can add more worksheets or delete the ones you do not want. A
workbook must have at least one worksheet.
Each worksheet has a name. You can see the worksheet name on the tab at the bottom of the
workbook. In a new workbook, the three default worksheets are named Sheet 1, Sheet 2, and
Sheet 3. You can rename the worksheet to give a meaningful name.
In the worksheet, the data is organized in cells. A cell is the intersection of a row and a column.
Excel uses alphabets as column labels and numbers as row labels. So the first column is
labeled A and the first row is labeled 1.
The first cell is labeled A1 (label of the column followed by the label of the row).
You can use both the mouse and the Arrow keys on the keyboard to navigate or move around
the worksheet.



An Excel workbook with 3 default worksheets


Understanding the User Interface
Microsoft Excel 2010 has an easy to use user interface that builds on the design introduced with
Excel 2007.
The user interface in Excel 2010 has six major elements as shown in the following picture:
I. Quick Access Toolbar
II. Ribbon
III. Formula Bar
IV. Worksheet Area
V. Worksheet Tabs
VI. Status Bar




Quick Access Toolbar
The top row in the interface is the Quick Access Toolbar you use it to quickly access
commonly used functions like File Save, New File, Undo & Redo. You can customize it to show
functions you use most.
To customize it:
i. Click on the Arrow next to the toolbar

ii. You will see a list of commands in the window. Click on the command you wish to
include in the toolbar. To remove an item from the toolbar, click on the check mark next
to the command.





iii. To move the Toolbar below the Ribbon, click on the check box Store Quick Access
Toolbar below the Ribbon
To get the Excel Options, go to File menu and select Options







iv. To add commands not shown in the list, click the More Commands option



Ribbon
The Ribbon interface was introduced in Excel 2007. All Office 2010 programs organize
commands on a horizontal bar called the ribbon, which appears across the top of each program
window whether or not there is an active document. Commands are organized on task-specific


tabs of the Ribbon and in feature-specific groups on each tab. Commands generally take the
form of buttons and lists. Some appear in galleries. Some groups have related dialog boxes or
task panes that contain additional commands.

Dynamic Ribbon Elements
The Ribbon is dynamic. As the width of the Ribbon changes the appearance of commands on
the Ribbon also changes. A command might be displayed on the ribbon in the form of a large
button, a small button, a small labeled button, or a list entry. As the width of the ribbon
decreases, the size, shape, and presence of buttons on the ribbon adapt to the available space.
For example, when sufficient horizontal space is available, the buttons on the tabs are spread
out and youre able to see more of the commands available in each group.

If you decrease the width of the ribbon, small button labels disappear

Each tab in the Ribbon contains tools and commands for working with your worksheet. Click on
each tab to see what you can do with it.


Home Tab
Contains commonly used commands for Copy / Paste, Formatting, Inserting rows and columns.
Insert
This tab has options to insert various objects like Tables, Illustrations, Charts, Sparklines, Filter,
Text, Symbols, Shapes, SmartArt, and Hyperlinks into your Excel worksheet.
Page Layout
Use this tab to change Page Themes, Orientation, Size, Margins, Backgrounds, Set Print Areas
and Move Objects Forward and Back.
Formulas
Formulas are the most powerful feature of Excel 2010. Use Formula tab to find and use and
check various Excel formulas in your worksheet.
Data
This tab has functions for importing /organizing external data into worksheets, option to
Connections, Sort & Filter options and sophisticated Data tools.
Review
This tab has functions for reviewing and protecting your worksheet like Spell Check, Language,
Comments and Protect.
View
This tab has commands to change how you see the worksheet, create and use Macros.

Formula Bar
This is where you enter / edit contents of a cell. It is called Formula bar but you can enter
anything here, not just formulas.
Worksheet Area
This is the area where you enter and store data




Worksheet Tab
This tab shows all worksheets contained in the current workbook and worksheet names. To
rename a worksheet,
i. Right click on the name of the worksheet




ii. Enter the new name and press Enter





Status Bar
The Status bar displays information about your worksheet based on the cells you select in the
worksheet.



The Backstage View
You use the Backstage view to manage Excel files and settings.
If you used Excel 2007 earlier, you will immediately notice one significant change in Excel 2010:
the Microsoft Office button, located at the top left corner of the program window in Excel 2007,
has been replaced by the File tab.
In Excel 2010 all of the workbook management tasks such as saving and printing are moved to
the File tab. Users can click to display these commands in the new Backstage view.
Use Backstage view to perform functions such as creating, saving, opening and closing Excel
files. The Backstage View is also the place where you can modify the information about the
current workbook. It also has the Print command for printing your worksheets. You can also set
default options like file save location and language settings in the Backstage view.

i. Click on the File tab in the Ribbon to access the Backstage view





ii. Click on Options






iii. Click on Save






iv. Click inside the Default file location text entry box and type new default location






v. Click OK to save the new location







Saving Excel Workbook
You can save your excel workbook by doing one of the following
1. Press CTRL+S on your keyboard the workbook will be saved in the default file location
you set in using the Backstage View.

2. Click the Save button on the Quick Access Toolbar.


3. Click the File tab to open the Backstage View and then click on Save As menu option.




A Save As dialog box opens.
i. Click on File Name text entry box. Type the name of the file and then click
the Save button.





Creating New Excel Workbook
You can create a new workbook by doing one of the following
1. With Excel open, press CTRL+N on your keyboard Excel will create a new workbook

2. Click the Arrow next to the Quick Access Toolbar and then click on New









3. Click the File tab and then click New. The New Workbook page of the Backstage view
appears.

Click on Blank Workbook, and then click Create. A new, blank workbook opens.




Click the File tab to open the Backstage View and then click on Save As menu option to
save the workbook.

Opening Existing Excel Workbook
You can open an existing workbook by doing one of the following
1. To open an existing workbook, press CTRL+O on your keyboard Excel will show you
the list of files in the default file location to open


2. Click the Arrow Next to the Quick Access Toolbar and click on Open





3. Click the File tab to open the Backstage View and click on Open




Getting Help with Excel 2010
In this section, you will learn how to use the Excel 2010 Help system. The Excel Help System is
a combination of tools and files stored on your computer. These tools and files get installed
along with Excel. You can access additional files and resources from Office.com if your
computer is connected to the Internet.
You can find Help information in one of the following ways:
1. You can display a ScreenTip for help with an item on the screen. For example, to display
a ScreenTip for a button, point to the button (but do not click it). The ScreenTip gives the
buttons name, the keyboard shortcut, and a description of what the button does when
clicked.





2. You can click the Microsoft Excel Help button (a question mark in a blue circle) located
at the right end side of the ribbon to display the Excel Help window.




To access the Table of Contents, click the Show Table of Contents button on the
toolbar. The Help window now displays two panes. The Table of Contents task pane is
on the left, organized by category. If you are connected to the Internet, Excel displays
categories, topics, and training available from the Office Online Web site as well as
those stored on your computer. If you click on any category (the book icon), Excel
displays that categorys topics (represented by help icons).




Below the bulleted list under Browse Excel 2010 Help, click Activating Excel.



Excel Help displays a list of topics related to activating Microsoft Office programs. Click
any topic to display the related information.



At the top of the Excel Help window, click the Type words to search for box, key in
Activating Excel, and then press the Enter key. The Excel Help window displays topics
related to the word you entered.