Introduction ...............................................................................................................

2
To Open Excel 2000...................................................................................................2
To Open a New Workbook.....................................................................................3
Opening an existing document................................................................................3
Saving a Spreadsheet..................................................................................................3
Printing a spreadsheet.................................................................................................5
Page Setup .............................................................................................................5
Print selection.........................................................................................................6
Creating a Spreadsheet. ..............................................................................................6
Data entry ..................................................................................................................6
Formatting Cells.........................................................................................................7
Inserting Rows and Columns. .................................................................................8
To insert a row, column or cell select Insert from the top pull down menu.............8
To Insert Cells........................................................................................................9
Deleting Rows, Columns and Cells. .......................................................................9
Extracting information from a Spreadsheet...............................................................10
Moving around the spreadsheet. ...............................................................................10
Moving data. ............................................................................................................11
Sorting Data .........................................................................................................11
Drag and Drop......................................................................................................12
Cut, Copy and Paste .............................................................................................12
Altering Column Widths and Row Heights...............................................................13
Changing multiple rows .......................................................................................13
Manually changing the row height........................................................................13
Manually changing the Column width ..................................................................14
Using the Autofit selection ...................................................................................14
Borders and Shading ................................................................................................14
Apply Borders to cells. .........................................................................................14
Removing Borders ...............................................................................................15
Shading with solid colours ...................................................................................15
Shade Cells with patterns. ....................................................................................15
Removing Shading. ..............................................................................................16
Toolbar. ...................................................................................................................17
Calculating...............................................................................................................18

Introduction
Microsoft Excel 2000 is a software application which primarily produces an
electronic spreadsheet. This information is generally represented in rows and
columns. It is rather like an electronic accounting ledger which provides a
method by which data can be analysed and used. Many functions are
available to use within this software and the application is used extensively
out in the commercial and financial world for forecasting and analysing data.
Columns

Field or cell

Rows

Use the scroll bar to

move horizontally,
clicking arrows
moves by one cell.

Figure 1 :Initial Workbook and basic Terminology.

To Open Excel 2000

From the Start menu, select the Programs option. Highlight Microsoft Excel
and it will launch the software package. Microsoft Excel is also recognised by
its icon.

To Open a New Workbook

Excel opens by default with a blank workbook, but there are some
supplied templates that you can access, through using the File pull
down menu and selecting new. These are highlighted in figure 2.

Figure 2: Microsoft Supplied templates for new Workbooks.

Opening an existing document

Open Microsoft Excel. Select File from the pull down menu. Choose
the Open option.
A windows box will appear. Move to the drives box to select where
your work is located which you wish to open:

From the File pull down menu, select the save as option. A window box will
appear for you to enter the name of your file; as viewed in figure 3.

Click on this up arrow

folder to view other drives
and to select your
personal G Drive network
space.

Figure 3: Window box for saving a spreadsheet.

Select which drive you wish to save to.
Highlight the default filename situated within the filename box.
Select what type of file you would like to save your spreadsheet as.
(e.g. an earlier version of Excel).

Select the save button to confirm command, or cancel to return back to

the spreadsheet without saving.
Alternatively, use the save icon as a shortcut option.

Printing a spreadsheet.
Printing your spreadsheet is very similar to printing a document from a word
processor. It would be advisable to preview your work prior to printing. To do
this select the File pull down menu and select the Print Preview option. Click
on the close button to return to the normal view of your spreadsheet.
To Print, select Print from the buttons menu now at the top of the screen.
Click on the OK box to print the whole spreadsheet.

Page Setup
Prior to printing off your spreadsheet, it is important that you check that
the page is set up correctly.
Select the File pull down menu, select Page Setup. This will prevent
you with a windows dialogue box. There are several options for you to
select:
Page
This option enables you to check what paper set up you are
working on (i.e. portrait or landscape) and whether the
orientation is correct for your spreadsheet.
Margins
Adjusts the position on the page on which the worksheet is
printed. If the whole spreadsheet does not quite fit on the page
you can make the margins smaller.
Header/Footer
By default Excel prints a header at the top of each printed page
consisting of the name of your file. To remove this and insert
your own, select the custom header button.
By default Excel prints a footer at the bottom of each printed
page consisting of the word pageand the number. To remove
this and insert your own, select the custom footer button.

Print selection
Select the File pull down menu option and choose the Print option. If
you wish to print only a selection of pages enter the page numbers into
the appropriate boxes.
Alternatively, select a range of cells that you wish to print prior to using
the Print option and select Print selected range only from your
windows dialogue box.
After you have made your final print choices click the OK button.
Alternatively select the print icon from the toolbar as a shortcut to
printing the entire worksheet. (Please note: This only prints off one copy).
Tip: If gridlines and/or row and column headings
are printed, select page setup from the file menu,
click on the sheet tab click in gridlines or row and
column headings boxes as required. Click on OK to
select the command.

Creating a Spreadsheet.
All textual data within a spreadsheet is often used for headings or group titles.
This data within each cell is referred to as a Label. It is important when
creating your spreadsheet that columns or rows of data also have labels, to
help guide you as a reference point.

Data entry
To enter data in a cell move the pointer to the preferred cell and then click on
the mouse button. You can type in any data, e.g. text or numbers ; dependant
on whether or not this specific cell if going to be referred to as a label or not.
When you begin to enter in the information, it will appear in two places:

This is the Formula Bar

This is the Active cell

Figure 4: The Formula bar and Active cell.
Formatting Cells
It is good practice to set the format in which you wish your data to appear
before you type it.
There are several options for formatting your spreadsheet. The main options
are shown in figure 5 and can be selected through using the Format pull
down menu and selecting cells for the sub menu:

1. Number formatting.
Used to select decimal places and types of currency.
Select the Numbers Option.
Select type of format (e.g. number or currency)
Select additional options (e.g. to how many decimal places?)
Click OK to confirm.
2. Text Alignment.
Wrap Text. -
Used to display multiple lines of text within a cell (automatically
increasing a cells height)
Select the alignment Option.
Under the text control options, select wrap text.
Click OK to confirm
Merging cells
Used to merge cells together on one row useful for a combined
Title used for more than one column.
Select the alignment Option.
Under the text control options, select merge cells.
Click OK to confirm.

Inserting Rows and Columns.

To insert a row, column or cell select Insert from the top pull down
menu.
Select Row (to insert a row)
Select Column (to insert a column)
If you wish to insert more than one row or column, simply highlight the

To Insert Cells.
Select Insert from the top pull down menu.
Select Cells as your sub-menu option and a
windows dialogue box with appear.
Shift cells right - moves data across one
place to the right
Shift cells down moves data down one
row.
Entire row Inserts an entire row in the same way as selecting row
instead of the cells sub-menu.
Entire column Inserts an entire column in the same way as selecting
column instead of the cells sub-menu.

Deleting Rows, Columns and Cells.

To delete any cells, entire rows or columns
select the edit function from the top pull
down menu and select delete from the
submenu. A windows dialogue box will
appear.
Select the option you wish to delete and click
OK to confirm.

To delete entire rows or columns, highlight what you wish to delete and
use the edit function from the top pull down menu followed by delete
from the sub menu options, automatically deleting the area selected.
Alternatively highlight the data you wish to remove and press the

Extracting information from a Spreadsheet.

A picture of a simple spreadsheet can be viewed in figure 6. As you can see
from this, we can see that in year 3, out of the 62 Students a high proportion
obtained high Grades, but also a high proportion obtained low Grades. This
would be the information required once the spreadsheet had been created.
The spreadsheet could also be used for simple calculations; such as totals.
(e.g. the total of all grade A students over the 3 years).

Figure 6:An example of a Simple spreadsheet.

Moving around the spreadsheet.
In addition to using the mouse, it is possible to use a selection of keys.
The Arrow keys

Will move the cursor one place in whichever direction you select; making your
new destination the active cell.

The Tab key can be used to move the active cell

to the right.

The Enter key can be used to move the active cell

down a row.

Moving data.
Data can be moved from one place within your worksheet to another. This
can be done in three ways:
Sorting Data
Drag and Drop
Cut, Copy and Paste

Sorting Data
This is the most effective way of sorting data into an alphabetical or
numerical order relevant to you.
Highlight all of the data you wish to use. Select the Data pull down
menu and choose the sort command. You will be given a windows
box of options of which column, row or range of data that you wish to
sort in order, similar to figure 7.

If no header row is required and for example you wish to sort by

column rather than title, select the alternative option; no header row.
Click OK to confirm operation or cancel to return back without making
any changes.

Drag and Drop

This is the easiest option for moving small chunks of data about a
worksheet.
Select an area you wish to move through holding down the mouse key
to highlight the range of cells. Once highlighted, move the cursor to the
edge of the data until it changes from a cross to an arrow. Click and
drag this selection to its new location.
To copy a piece of text and leave the original intact, select the data and
move the cursor to the bottom left hand corner until it resembles a +
sign. Select the mouse and move to the location you wish the data to
be copied to.

Cut, Copy and Paste

This is the preferred option to move large chunks of data and
transferring between more than one spreadsheet or additional
software.
Cut
This will move your data to another location, deleting the
original.
To use this option, select edit from the pull down menu followed
by the cut sub-menu. The cell range you have requested to cut
out will now be highlighted.
Copy
This will copy your data onto a clipboard without deleting the
original. Select Edit from the pull down menu followed by the
copy sub-menu. The cell range you have requested to copy will
now be highlighted.

Altering Column Widths and Row Heights.

If a column becomes too narrow for itsdata, it will be represented by the hash
sign (please refer to figure 8 of this manual.)
Drag down or up using the

pointer on the row or column line.

Column
line
Row line

Column too narrow

Figure 8: Altering Column and Row heights.

Changing multiple rows

Select rows or columns that you wish to change using the mouse so
that the selected area is highlighted.
Move the pointer to of one of the rows or columns that you have
selected. Using your mouse, drag to the relevant row height or column
width that you wish the entire selected range to change to.
This will change all the rows or columns selected, to the same height or
width the one you have amended.

Manually changing the Column width

To manually change the column width, select the column, choose the
column option on the Format pull down menu. Select width, and then
enter a number.

Using the Autofit selection

To automatically adjust height and width to fit the contents, select the
column or rows, choose the column or row option on the Format pull
down menu. Select Autofit for rows, or Autofit selection for columns.

Borders and Shading

Apply Borders to cells.

Select cells you wish to add borders to. Click the borders icon on the
Formatting toolbar.

(Tip: If not present, select the chevrons for more

details to the right of the toolbar, select borders, and
this will add the icon to your toolbar.)

To apply a different style, click the arrow next to borders, and then
select a border from the palette shown. This can be highlighted in
figure 9.
To apply additional border styles, click cells on the format menu.

Removing Borders
Select the cells you wish to remove the borders from. From the
Borders Palette, select the relevant icon.

Shading with solid colours

Select the cells you wish to apply shading to.
To apply the most recently selected colour, click the fill colour icon on
the formatting toolbar.

Tip: If not present, select the chevrons for

more details to the right of the toolbar,
select fill colour, and this will add the icon
to your toolbar.

To apply a different colour, click the arrow next to the fill colour icon,
and select a new colour from the colour palette.

Figure 11: Selecting shading and patterns from the Format pull
down menu.
Select the Pattern you require from clicking on the drop down menu of
Patternat the bottom left hand side of this windows box.
(Note: It is possible to change the colour shading and patterns shading
simultaneously using this process).

Removing Shading.
Select the cells you wish to remove the shading from.
There are 2 ways to now remove the shading:
Click the arrow next to the fill colour icon, select no fill.
Through using Format from the pull down menu, selecting
Cells, then Patterns. Select no fill.

Toolbar.
In addition to the Pull down menus in text across the top there are
various toolbar options. The following table shows a selection of the
main options that you will find useful to use.
Create a new or blank worksheet.
Open an existing worksheet.
Save a current worksheet.
Print current worksheet.
Previews the worksheet prior to printing.
Checks worksheet or spreadsheet for spelling
Formulae wizard.
Sum (totals of a range of figures).
Bold.
Italic
Underline
Cut
Copy
Paste
Font Style
Font size
Left Align
Centre
Right Align

Calculating

Basic Formula.
Formulae form the heart of the spreadsheet. Formulas can be used to
add, subtract, multiply and divide and totals on an entire range of data
or on part of it.
The formula is a set of instructions sent to the computer. General rules
for this are as follows:
= symbol
used at the start of the formula. This will let Excel know that
whatever you type in next is the calculation.
References
are required for the cells of which you wish to perform the
calculation.
Mathematical Operators
are used for the calculation of the formulae.
Symbol Representation
+
Add
Subtract
*
Multiply
/
Divide
Note: You can also use brackets within your calculations.

Examples of simple formula are as follows:

=A3+A5
This will add up cell A3 and cell A5 together
=A1+A2+A3+A4+A5
This will add up the total of the first 5 rows
of a column
=A1/A2(A2+A3)
This divides A1 by A2 and adds the answer
to the sum A2 and A3 to the result.
As you can see; the simple formula in example 2 can be viewed in
figure 11 of this manual.

Totaling using the Autosum tool

Another way to total up your rows and columns is to use the Autosum
Tool highlighted on your toolbar.

By selecting the cell for your total, you are able to select this shortcut
icon. This will automatically select a highlighted range. If the range is
not the range you wish to total, simply reselect the range by dragging
across the cells you wish to calculate. Once selected, press enter.

Using the Function Wizard

Through selecting the function short cut icon in the same way, you are
given a windows box giving the option to select a choice of
calculations. This is viewed in figure 12.

Graphs using the Chart Wizard.

A simple graph can be extremely effective in analyzing your data. Highlight the
figures that you wish to use to make your graph from.
Select the chart wizard function from the shortcut keys. A windows box will appear
similar to figure 14. This will give you the option to select the type of chart that you
wish to produce.

Figure 14: The Chart Wizard function.

Continue with this process using the next and back buttons at the bottom of this
window. Once completed to the best of your capability select the finish button to
confirm the chart. A graph will now appear on your worksheet. Once the chart is
highlighted at any point you are able to reselect the sections and alter the information
contained within it. A Basic example of the Chart wizard capabilities is in figure 15.

Figure 15: An example of a simple graph using the wizard

function.
Terminology
Terminology
ROWS
COLUMNS
FIELD or CELL
FIELD or CELL ADDRESS
RANGE
LIST

Explanation
Rows of the screen numbered in a downwards
direction.
Columns across the screen labeled with letters
A point where a row and column intersect.
The unique reference of a field e.g. A1 or C23
A group of fields or cells
A list of field addresses