Prepared Handout On Excel

Pyruvate Concepts Ltd.
Beginning
Microsoft
Excel
Pyruvate Concepts ltd 2
BEGINNING MICROSOFT EXCEL 1
BEGINNING MICROSOFT EXCEL 2007 4

Workbooks and Worksheets 5
Creating a New Workbook 5
Creating a New Worksheet 5
Exercise 1 5
Navigating and Selecting 6
Exercise 2 6
Entering and Editing Data 7
Exercise 3 7
You can also edit information in a cell by double-clicking in a cell or by clicking in the formula bar. Try these two
options. 7
Exercise 4 7
Inserting Columns and Rows 7
Exercise 5 7
Formatting Columns and Rows 8
Column Width: 8
Column Width 8
Exercise 6 – Autofit all 8
Column Width - Drag 8
Exercise 7 8
Row Height 9
Moving to a New Worksheet 9

Formatting Text and Data 9
Exercise 8 9
Formatting Numbers 9
Exercise 9 9
Deleting vs Clearing a Cell 10
Filling Cells Automatically 10
Exercise 10 11
Filling Time 11
Exercise 11 11
Filling in Numbers 11
Exercise 12 11
Alignment Options: Wrapping Text 12
Exercise 13 12
Merging Cells 12
Exercise 14 12
Performing Mathematical Calculations 12

What's a formula? 12
Exercise 16 13
More Formula Examples 13
Exercise 17 13
Printing 14
Recognizing Cursor Styles 15
Common formula errors 15
MATHEMATICAL OPERATORS 16
Order of Operations 16
BEDMAS 16
How the Order of Operations Works 16
FUNCTIONS 16
SUM 17
MULTIPLY 18
DIVIDE 18
AVERAGE 19
MAX 20
MIN 20
COUNT 21
CountA 22
IF 22
PMT 23
Exercise 23
SIN, COS, TAN 24
COPYING 25
FILL DOWN 25
PivotTables 25
Creating a PivotTable 26
Laying out a new PivotTable on the worksheet (preferred method) 27
Arranging and filtering your data 27
Laying out a PivotTable using the wizard 28
Pivot Table toolbar 28
Managing PivotTables 29
Refreshing a PivotTable 29
Modifying a PivotTable 29
Swapping PivotTable row and column headings 29
Formatting cells in the data area 29
PivotTable options 30
Grouping PivotTable items 30
Grouping selected items 30
Grouping numeric items into ranges 30
Grouping a date or time in a range 30
Formatting PivotTable reports 31
PivotChart reports 31
Layout a new PivotChart on the chart sheet 32
How To Make A Chart In Excel 34
Editing 39
Beginning Microsoft Excel 2007
Excel is a spreadsheet program. A spreadsheet is a grid of rows and columns that helps organize,
summarize, and calculate data. Spreadsheets are an everyday part of many professions, including
accounting, statistical analysis, and project management. You can use Excel to create business forms,
such as invoices and purchase orders, among many other useful documents.
This class teaches Microsoft Excel basics. To begin, let’s open Microsoft Excel. You can do this by
clicking on Start, All Programs, and Microsoft Excel. Let’s look at the toolbars.
This is the Title Bar. It gives the name of the program and the title of the workbook you are
using. Since we have just opened up a new workbook and have not saved it with a name, the default
title is Book1.
The Office Logo Button is located at the upper left of the Title Bar.
Clicking on it will open a dropdown menu that contains many of the
menu items that used to appear under File in prior versions of Excel.
Right beside the Office Button is the Quick Access Toolbar. You can
Add or subtract commands to the toolbar by simply clicking/ on
them in the list.
Next we have the fraternity. The fraternity has seven Tabs that give instructions to the software. The
fraternity Tabs begin with Home and continue with Insert, Page Layout, Formulas, Data, Review,
and View. On the right-hand end, there is an icon for the Help Menu, Minimize, Restore Down, and
Close.
Clicking on one of these Tabs will open the Group. The Group that belongs to each Tab shows
related Command items together. You may then choose a Command.
Workbooks and Worksheets
When Excel is opened, a workbook appears with three worksheets. Each worksheet contains columns
and rows. There are 1,048,575 rows and 16,384 columns. The combination of a column coordinate and
a row coordinate make up a cell address. For example, the cell located in the upper left corner of the
worksheet is cell A1, meaning column A, row 1. The cell address is visible in the Name Box.
Place your cursor in the first cell, A1. The formula bar will display the cell address in the Name Box
on the left side of the Formula bar. Notice that the address changes as you move around the sheet. You
can easily move from cell to cell by pressing tab or using the arrow keys.
A cell can contain any of the following:
 A number (and any associated punctuation, such as decimal points, commas, and currency
symbols).
 Text (including any combination of letters, numbers, and symbols that aren't number-related).
 A formula, which is a math equation.
 A function, which is a named equation that shortcuts an otherwise complex operation.
Creating a New Workbook

It is easy to create a new workbook! Simply, click on Office Button – New and click on Blank
Workbook to create a new workbook.
Creating a New Worksheet

Creating a new worksheet is just as easy. By default, each Excel workbook contains three worksheets.
Three tabs displaying Sheet 1, Sheet 2, and Sheet 3 will be displayed at the bottom of the workbook to
indicate the separate sheets. To add a new worksheet, simply click on the tab after the tab that says
Sheet 3.
Exercise 1
1. To change the location of a newly added worksheet, click once on the tab and hold down the
left mouse button and drag the worksheet to its new location.
2. It is also possible to change the name of each worksheet. Right-click on the Sheet 1 tab and
left-click on Rename. Once you click on Rename, the name of the sheet becomes highlighted
and you can simply type in a new name. Double-clicking on the tab will also enable you to type
in a new name.
3. You can also change the color of the tabs by right-clicking on the tab and choosing Tab Color.
Then simply choose a color!!!
4. It is possible to change the magnification of a worksheet so that you can read it better. To do
this, click on View and then Zoom. Go ahead and try the different magnifications to see which
works best for you. You can also make use of the Zoom bar in the lower right-hand corner to
zoom to a comfortable reading size.
Navigating and Selecting
Moving around a worksheet is easy! You can easily move from cell to cell by using the arrow keys or
pressing tab (will move the cursor to the right) or shift-tab (shift-tab will move you to the left). You
can also use your mouse to click within a cell which will select that cell. Sometimes you will want to
select a range of cells.
A range is a group of one or more cells. If you select more than one cell at a time, you can then
perform actions on the group of them at once, such as applying formatting or clearing the contents. A
range can even be an entire worksheet.
A range is referenced by the upper left and lower right cells. For example, the range of cells B1, B2,
C1, and C2 would be referred to as B1:C2.
To select a range:
 With the mouse: Drag across the desired cells with the left mouse button held down. Be
careful when you're positioning the mouse over the first cell (before pressing the mouse
button). Position the pointer over the center of the cell, and not over an edge.
If you drag while the pointer is on the edge of the cell, Excel interprets the selection as a move
operation and whatever is in the cell(s) is dragged to a different spot.
 With the keyboard: Select the first cell, and then hold down the Shift key while you press the
arrow keys to expand the selection area.
To select a nonrectangular or noncontiguous range, select the first portion of the range (that is, the first
rectangular piece), and then hold down the Ctrl key while you select additional cells/ranges with the
mouse.
To select an entire column, click the column header (where the letter is). To select an entire row, click
the row header (where the number is). You can click one row or column and then drag to select
additional columns, or hold down Ctrl as you click on the headers for noncontiguous rows and/or
columns.
Exercise 2
Let’s practice:
1. Click column B's letter to select that column.
2. Hold Shift and click column D's letter. Columns B, C, and D should all be selected.
3. Release the Shift key.
4. Hold Ctrl and click column G's letter. Now B, C, D, and G are all selected.
5. Release the Ctrl key.
6. Click row 2's number. The columns are deselected, and row 2 is now selected.
7. Click in cell B4. The row is no longer selected, because you weren't holding down Shift or Ctrl.
Now only B4 is selected.
8. Press and hold the Shift key while pressing the down arrow key two times. Now B4 through B6
are selected. This range is called B4:B6.
9. Still pressing the Shift key, press the right arrow two times. Now the range B4:D6 is selected.
10. Release the Shift key and then press and hold the Ctrl key.
11. Drag across cells B9, C9, and D9. Those cells are selected in addition to B4:D6.
12. Release the Ctrl key.
13. Press Ctrl+A. This is a shortcut for selecting the entire sheet.
14. Click in any cell to undo the selection.
15. Click the square containing a gray triangle at the upper intersection of the column letters and
the row numbers. The entire sheet is selected again.
Entering and Editing Data
Let’s learn how to enter data into your worksheet. First, you place the cursor in the cell in which you
would like to enter data. Then you type the data and press Enter.
Exercise 3
1. Place the cursor in cell A1.
2. Type Jane. Tab to the next cell and type Smith.
3. Move the cursor back to cell A1.
4. Change "Jane" to "Joe."
You can also edit information in a cell by double-clicking in a cell or by clicking in the formula bar.
Try these two options.
Let’s practice a little.

Exercise 4
1. Click on the Office button and then on Open.
2. Click on Desktop and then look for Business Trips.xls.
3. Double-click on the file.
4. Edit the text in cell A1 to read Gross Receipts Summary.
5. Change the value in cell D5 to 18.
6. Change the value in cell G12 to 28.
7. Change the value in cell J18 to 25.
8. In cell A19, type # nights @ $155.
9. In cell A18, change the text to read # nights @ $95.
10. In cell A17, select the cell and press the Delete key, clearing that cell's contents.
11. In cell K11, type December, and then press Enter.
12. In cell K17, type December, and then press Enter.
13. In cell K18, type 16, and then press Enter.
14. In cell K19, type 2, and then press Enter.
15. Click on the Save button in the Quick Access Bar.
Inserting Columns and Rows

If you don't plan your worksheet layout correctly, you might end up with too many or too few rows or
columns in a certain area. You can always move data around in the sheet to help with this, but
sometimes it's easier to simply insert or remove columns or rows.
Exercise 5
To insert a column or row:

1. Click on the cell on the right of the two columns between which you wish to insert. To insert rows,
click on the lower row of the two between which you wish to insert.
2. Go to “Insert” and select “Columns”. To insert a row, go to “Insert” and select “Rows”.
3. Appearing to the left of your highlighted column or above your highlighted row will be a new row
or column. Insert a row to the left of Column I and a row under Row 1.
Formatting Columns and Rows
Often you will need to change your columns and rows in order for text to fit or for the text to fit on the
page correctly. There are a number of different methods one can use to do this. Let’s start with
columns.
Column Width:
The formatting that is unique to columns is Column Width. Column Width is measured in characters.
A column's width can be from 0 to 255 characters, which is a really wide column! Decimal values are
allowed. In fact, the default size is 8.43 characters.
A width of 12, for example, means the column is wide enough for 12 average characters, using
whatever you chose as the Standard font. The default is Calibri 11 pts. To change the font from the
default, go to Tools-Options-General-Standard font.
Column Width
Exercise 6 – Autofit all
1. Move your pointer to the right edge of the heading of Column A until it changes to which is
the Resize Column shape.
2. Press the left mouse button down. (Don't release it yet.)The popup tip appears, showing the
current width of Column A.
3. Release the left mouse button and double-click in the same spot (the right edge of Column A's
heading). The column width changes so it is wide enough to display the longest text in any cell
in the column as a single line.
Be careful when you set a column's width with AutoFit. The column may wind up wider than you
expected. Any text will be on a single line in its cell. No matter how long the text is! If you
accidentally find you've widened a cell out of sight to the right, use Undo. (my favorite button!) Then
resize the column with another method.
Column Width - Drag
Dragging is a natural method of adjusting column width. But since you can't see the change until you
release the mouse button, it may take you several attempts to get a satisfactory width.
Exercise 7
1. Type in New Zealand in B1. Move the pointer to the right edge of column heading B.
2. When the pointer changes to (the Resize Column shape), drag to the right until New
Zealand shows entirely. Since the column is not resized until you release the mouse button,
you may need several tries to get the width right.
3. Click and hold again on the right edge of Column B to see the new width.
Row Height
The only unique formatting for rows is Row Height. Row Height is measured in points, like font size,
from 0 to 409 points. A row height of zero hides the row.
The default setting for Row Height is AutoFit. The row height adjusts to the largest font size in the
row.
AutoFit will leave a little white space, called the cell padding, between the text in the cell and the cell
edges. When Arial 10 pt. is the Standard Font, the Row Height is 12.75 points. You may find that this
looks a bit crowded when the gridlines are shown. If you don't print the gridlines, your paper version
will look OK.
Moving to a New Worksheet
In Microsoft Excel, each workbook is made up of several worksheets. Before moving to the next topic,
let’s move to a new worksheet. You can move from worksheet to worksheet by clicking on the tabs at
the bottom of the worksheet. Let’s move to Sheet 2.
Formatting Text and Data
Once information has been entered into a cell, you might want to change or enhance the way the
information is displayed. Text can be formatted in the same way that one uses in Microsoft Word or
PowerPoint. Most of the formatting choices can be found in the Font grouping under the Home tab.
There are numerous ways to format data. Let’s look at some. First remember to always make sure that
the cell you want to format is selected.
Using Formatting Buttons – On the Ribbon, make sure the Home tab is selected. In the Number
Group box, there are several buttons which allow one-click formatting.
Exercise 8
1. Type in the number 214567 in Cells A1, B1, C1, and D1.
2. With the cursor in A1, click on the Currency button.
3. With the cursor in B1, click the Percent button.
4. To add decimal places, click the Increase Decimal button for cell C1.
5. To decrease decimal places, click the Decrease Decimal button for cell D1.
6. Type in 345678 in E1. Click on the Comma button to separate thousands.
Notice how each number changes depending on the formatting.
Formatting Numbers
Let’s look at other formatting options.
Exercise 9
1. Move the cursor to cell A5.
2. Type 145657800. Hit enter and then move back into A5. At this point it is necessary to move
out of the cell and then back in. I’m not sure why, but it is the only way to get the appropriate
menu up!
3. Right click on the number. A menu will pop up. Click on Format Cells.
4. Click on “Number”. Click on the comma.
5. The thousands should now be separated by commas.
After formatting
Let’s change it to a dollar amount.

1. Make sure that the cursor is in cell A5.
2. Right-click again.
3. Click on Format Cells.
4. Click Currency in drop down menu.
5. Look at the options available including currency symbols.
Deleting vs Clearing a Cell

Many beginners get confused about clearing versus deleting in Excel, so let's look at this concept
briefly. When you clear the content from a cell, the formatting for that cell is still there. It may be
helpful to think of an Excel worksheet as a stack of empty cardboard boxes, each one with its open side
facing you. You can put something into a cell or take something out. When you take something out of
a cell, it's called clearing its content. The cell itself remains in the "stack," but it's now empty.
To clear the content from a cell:

1. Press Delete on the keyboard.
2. Right-click the cell and then select Clear Contents.
3. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, select Clear > Clear Contents.
Unfortunately, clearing a cell's content doesn't clear its formatting.

To clear formatting:
1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, select Clear > Clear Formats
2. To clear both contents and formats at once, select Clear All.
In contrast, deleting the cell removes the cell itself from the stack and makes the surrounding cells
shift. Think about what happens when you pull a box out of a stack of boxes -- the boxes above it fall
down one position, right? It's the same thing with Excel cells, except it's reverse-gravity (cells fall up
rather than down), and you have the choice of making the remaining cells shift up or to the left. Let’s
look at how this works.
Filling Cells Automatically
You can use Microsoft Excel to fill cells automatically with a series. For example, you can have Excel
automatically fill in times, the days of the week or months of the year, years, and other types of series.
Days of the week and months of the year fill in a similar fashion.
Exercise 10
1. Let’s move to another worksheet.
2. In cell A1, type Sunday.
3. Find the small black square in the lower right corner of the highlighted area. This is called the
Fill Handle.
4. Grab the Fill Handle and drag with your mouse to fill cell A1 to G1. Note how the days of the
week fill the cells in a series. Also, note that the Auto Fill Options icon appears.
5. Click the Auto Fill Options icon. Click on Copy Cells.

6. Choose the Fill Series radio button. The cells fill as a series from Sunday to Saturday again.
7. Click the Auto Fill Options icon again.
8. Choose the Fill Without Formatting radio button. The cells fill as a series from Sunday to
Saturday, but the entries are not bolded.
9. Click the Auto Fill Options icon again.
10. Choose the Fill Weekdays radio button. The cells fill as a series from Monday to Friday.
Filling Time
Exercise 11
1. Click on a new worksheet. Type 1:00 into cell A1.
2. Grab the Fill Handle and drag with your mouse to highlight cells A1 to A24. Note that each cell
fills using military time.
3. Click anywhere on the worksheet to remove the highlighting.
To change the format of the time:

1. Select cells A1 to A24.
2. Choose from the fraternity: Home > Number.
3. Click on the drop down box and choose Time.
4. The time is no longer in military time.
5. If you wish to change the formatting further, click on the dropdown arrow in lower right-hand
corner of number group and choose the way you want the time to appear.
Filling in Numbers
Exercise 12
1. Click on another worksheet. Type a 1 in cell A1.
2. Grab the Fill Handle and drag with your mouse to highlight cells A1 to A7. The number 1 fills
each cell.
3. Click the Auto Fill Options icon.
4. Choose the Fill Series radio button. The cells fill as a series starting with 1, 2, 3.
And finally, here is one more interesting fill feature.

1. Go to cell A1.
2. Type Lesson 1.
3. Grab the Fill Handle and drag with your mouse to highlight cells A1 to A6.
4. The cells fill in as a series: Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3, and so on.
Alignment Options: Wrapping Text
When you enter text that is too long to fit in a cell into a cell, it overlaps the next cell. If you do not
want it to overlap the next cell you can wrap the text.
Exercise 13
1. Open another new sheet.
2. Move to cell A1.
3. Type Text too long to fit. (After typing, click out of the cell and back in again.)
4. From the Ribbon, choose Home >Cells > Format. This will open a dropdown menu.
5. Click on Format Cells at the bottom of the dropdown menu.
6. Choose the Alignment tab.
7. Click Wrap Text.
8. Click OK. The text wraps.
Merging Cells
Sometimes, rather than having text wrap in a cell, you will actually want the text to run across the
width of the data. Usually when making a spreadsheet, you need to create a heading for the sheet. This
heading should run across the width of your data. To do this, one must merge the cells across the
width of the data.
Exercise 14
1. Select the range A1:B1.
2. Click the Merge and Center button. The heading is now centered over the data.
Performing Mathematical Calculations
Let’s add a column of numbers using the AutoSum Button . To select the AutoSum button choose
Home > Editing > and automatically add a column of numbers. Exercise 16
1. Type in the numbers 5, 7, 3, 9, 4, 8 in column C.
2. Move your cursor to select C7. Click the AutoSum button found on the Ribbon under
Home > Editing.
3. C1 to C6 should now be highlighted.
4. Press Enter. Cells C1 through C6 are added together.
What's a formula?
A formula is an equation that performs some type of operation and issues a result. In Excel, formulas
always begin with an equal sign. Here are some formula examples:
 =2+6: This formula is strictly math. If you place this formula in a cell, the cell displays 8.
 =A1+6: Same as the preceding, but this time you're adding 6 to whichever value is in cell A1
and displaying the result in the cell into which you enter this formula. This formula does not
change A1's contents.
 =A1+A2: Same thing again, but you're adding the contents of cell A1 to the contents of cell A2.
 =A1+A2-A3: In this example, multiple cells are referenced.
Here are the symbols you can use in formulas to indicate mathematical operations:
 +: Addition
 -: Subtraction
 *: Multiplication
 /: Division
Exercise 16
To try a basic formula, do the following:
1. In a new worksheet, type 6 in cell A1 and 7 in cell A2.

2. In cell A3, type =A1+A2, and then press Enter.
3. Select cell A3. Notice that it displays 13 in the cell itself, and in the formula bar, the original
formula you entered appears.
4. Click in the formula bar to move the insertion point there and edit the formula to read as
follows: =A1+A2+5. Then press Enter. The value now appears as 18.
5. Change the value in cell A1 to 4. The value in A3 changes to 16.
More Formula Examples

The math operators in Excel have an order of operation, just like in regular math. The order of
operation is the order in which they're processed when multiple operators appear in the same formula.
Here are the rules that determine the order:
1. Any operations that are in parentheses, from left to right

2. Multiplication (*) and division (/)
3. Addition (+) and subtraction (-)
Parentheses override everything and go first. So, if you need to execute an operation out of the normal
order, you place it in parentheses. Now let's try some formula examples that refer to cells and use math
operations. For this exercise, enter the following values in cells in a blank worksheet:
A1: 12 A2: 6 A3: 4 A4: 9
Exercise 17
Now let’s create the following formulas:
1. In cell A5, create a formula that adds A1+A2+A3+A4.
2. In cell A6, create a formula that adds A1+A2, and then multiplies the result by the sum of
A3+A4. (Remember, operations that you want to perform first should be put in parenthesis.)
3. In cell A7, create a formula that adds A1+A2+A3+A4 and then divides the result by 4.
4. In cell A8, create a formula that first calculates A1+A4 and then divides it by A3.
5. Here are the correct answers!
Printing
Let’s prepare to print! If your worksheet is more than one printed page, it is possible to have the
heading on each page by going to the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group and click Print
Titles.
On the Sheet tab, under Print Titles, do one or both of the following:
In the Rows to repeat at top box, type the reference of the rows that contain the column labels if
you want the heading repeated on each page.
In the Columns to repeat at left box, type the reference of the columns that contain the row
labels if you want those to show.
We want our sheet to print with no gridlines, and centered horizontally across the page, but not
vertically. Let’s go the Page Layout > Sheet Options. There should not be a check under Print in the
Gridline section.
Make sure that you have checked your spelling and made any necessary corrections. Click on the
Office Button and Print>Print Preview (Always do a print preview in Excel!). Click on Page
Setup>Margins and make sure that there is a check under “Center on Page” > horizontally. Now let’s
print!!!
Recognizing Cursor Styles

There are four common cursor styles used in Excel.
Click and drag to

Click and drag with
highlight multiple cells
this cursor to fill cell
with this cursor, or click
contents into cells
in a cell to select the
below or to the right.
single cell
Click to place the

Click and drag the
cursor into the Formula
contents of the selected
bar so that you can edit
cell to any other cell.
an equation or function.
Common formula errors

Here are some of the most common mistakes people make when entering formulas and functions:
 Not putting in all the required arguments: If a function is expecting more arguments than
you have entered, and you get a dialog box, be sure you've placed commas between the
arguments and that you haven't overlooked any.
 Circular references: If you refer to the cell's own address in a function, you create a circular
error, which is like an endless loop. Suppose that you enter =A1+1 into cell A1. You'll get an
error message like the one below. If you click OK at this message, a Help window appears to
help you find the problem.
 Text in an argument: Most functions require numeric arguments. If you enter text as an
argument, for example, =SUM(text), the word #NAME? appears in the cell. This happens
because Excel allows you to name ranges of cells using text, so technically =SUM(text) isn't an
invalid function. It is invalid only if there's no range that has been assigned the name "text."
 Hash marks (###) in a cell: This happens when the cell isn't wide enough to display its value.
Widen the column to fix this.
If you receive an error when copying a formula, don't panic; it happens to everyone. Use the skills you
learned earlier in this chapter to display the formulas and then check them for the common errors
discussed here.
MATHEMATICAL OPERATORS
The mathematical operators used in Excel formulas are similar to the ones used in math class.
 Subtraction - minus sign ( - )

 Addition - plus sign ( + )
 Division - forward slash ( / )
 Multiplication - asterisk (* )
 Exponentiation - caret (^ )
Order of Operations
If more than one operator is used in a formula, there is a specific order that Excel will follow to
perform these mathematical operations. This order of operations can be changed by adding brackets to
the equation. An easy way to remember the order of operations is to use the acronym:
BEDMAS
The Order of Operations is:
Brackets
Exponents
Division
Multiplication
Addition
Subtraction
How the Order of Operations Works
Any operation(s) contained in brackets will be carried out first followed by any exponents.
After that, Excel considers division or multiplication operations to be of equal importance, and carries
out these operations in the order they occur left to right in the equation.
The same goes for the next two operations – addition and subtraction. They are considered equal in the
order of operations. Whichever one appears first in an equation, either addition or subtraction, is the
operation carried out first.
FUNCTIONS
In Excel there is a help tool for functions called the Function Wizard.
There are two ways to get the function wizard. If you look at the Standard Toolbar, the function
wizard icon looks like this:
The other way to get to the function wizard is to go to the Menu INSERT -- down to FUNCTION.
Either way you get there, at this point Excel will list all of the
functions available. Upon choosing the function, Excel will
prompt you for the information it needs to complete the function. Mini
descriptions are available for each of the cells. It is often necessary for
you to understand the functions in order to be able to figure out these
descriptions. Once you’ve learned the functions, though, it is faster
to type the basic function in from the keyboard as opposed to going
through the steps of this tool.
SUM
Probably the most popular function in any spreadsheet is the SUM

function. The Sum function takes all of the values in each of the
specified cells and totals their values. The syntax is:
 =SUM(first value, second value, etc)
In the first and second spots you can enter any of the following
(constant, cell, range of cells).
 Blank cells will return a value of zero to be added to the total.

 Text cells cannot be added to a number and will produce an error.
A
Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows: 1 25
2 50
We will look at several different specific examples that show how the
typical function can be used! Notice that in A4 there is a TEXT entry. 3 75
This has NO numeric value and cannot be included in a total. 4 test
5
Example Cells to ADD Answer

=sum(A1:A3) A1, A2, A3 150
=sum(A1:A3,
A1, A2, A3 and 100 250
100)
=sum(A1+A4) A1, A4 #VALUE!
=sum(A1:A2, A5) A1, A2, A5 75
MULTIPLY
An example of multiplying two numbers, such as 235 and 546, using the
PRODUCT function would be:
=PRODUCT( 235 , 546 )
The answer of 128,310 will appear in the cell where you type the
function.
While this approach to using the PRODUCT function works, it limits the usefulness of the function. A
better way of using the function is to type the numbers you are multiplying into cells on the
spreadsheet and then enter those cell references (the address of the cells) into the function.
For example, if we enter the numbers 235 and 546 into cells C1 and C2, we would write the function
as:
=PRODUCT( C1:C2 )
The answer is still 128,310, but the advantage of this approach is that if the numbers ever change, you
only need to change the numbers in cells C1 or C2 and the function automatically updates the answer.
For example, if you find that the number in C1 wasn't 235 but 230, simply type 230 in cell C1 and the
function updates the answer to 128,580.
This approach works well for instances where you have constantly changing numbers – say on a
monthly income statement where the income amounts get multiplied by set numbers to find deduction
rates for taxes, pensions, or medical benefits.
DIVIDE
To divide two numbers in Excel you need to create a formula. Important points to remember about
Excel formulas:
 formulas in Excel always begin with the equal sign ( = )

 the equal sign always goes in the cell where you want the answer to go
 the division symbol is the forward slash ( / )
Use Cell References in Formulas
Even though you can use numbers directly in your division formula, it is much better to use the
references or addresses of the cells containing your data. If you use the cell references [A1, B1, F2]
rather than the actual data, later, if you need to change the data in either cell, the results of the formula
will update automatically without you having to rewrite the formula.
Setting Up the Division Formula
As an example, lets create a formula in cell E1 that will divide the contents of cell C1 by cell D1.
Our formula:
=C1 / D1
Our data:
 place the number 20 in cell C1

 place the number 10 in cell D1
Division Formula Steps
To divide 20 by 10 and have the answer appear in cell E1:
1. Type an equal sign in cell E1.

2. Click on cell C1 with the mouse pointer.
3. Type the division sign ( / ) in cell E1.
4. Click on cell D1 with the mouse pointer.
5. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard.
6. The answer 2 should be present in cell E1.
7. Even though you see the answer in cell E1, if you click on that cell you will see our formula in
the formula bar above the work area.
To expand your formula to include additional operations - such as subtraction or addition - just
continue to add the correct mathematical operator followed by the cell reference containing your data.
AVERAGE
There are many functions built into many spreadsheets. One of the first ones that we are going to
discuss is the Average function. The average function finds the average of the specified data.
(Simplifies adding all of the indicated cells together and dividing by the total number of cells.) The
syntax is as follows.
 =Average (first value, second value, etc.)
Text fields and blank entries are not included in the calculations of the Average Function.
A
1 25
Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows: 2 50
average function can be used! 3 75
4 100
5
Example Cells to average Answer

=average (A1:A4) A1, A2, A3, A4 62.5
=average (A1:A4,
A1, A2, A3, A4 and 300 110
300)
=average (A1:A5) A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 62.5
=average (A1:A2,
A1, A2, A4 58.33
A4)
MAX
The next function is Max, which stand for Maximum. This will return the largest (max) value in the
selected range of cells.
 Blank entries are not included in the calculations of the Max Function.
 Text entries are not included in the calculations of the Max Function.
A
1 10
Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows. 2 20
Max functions can be used! 3 30
4 test
5
Example of Max Cells to look at Ans. Max

=max (A1:A4) A1, A2, A3, A4 30
=max (A1:A4,
A1, A2, A3, A4 and 100 100
100)
=max (A1, A3) A1, A3 30
=max (A1, A5) A1, A5 10
MIN
The next function we will discuss is Min (which stands for minimum). This will return the smallest
(Min) value in the selected range of cells.
 Blank entries are not included in the calculations of the Min Function.

 Text entries are not included in the calculations of the Min Function.
A
1 10
2 20
Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows.
We will look at several different specific examples that show how the 3 30
min functions can be used! 4 test
5
Example of min Cells to look at Ans. min

=min (A1:A4) A1, A2, A3, A4 10
=min (A2:A3,
A2, A3 and 100 20
100)
=min (A1, A3) A1, A3 10
A1, A5 (displays the smallest
=min (A1, A5) 10
number)
COUNT
The next function we will discuss is Count. This will return the number of entries (actually counts
each cell that contains number data) in the selected range of cells.
 Blank entries are not counted.

 Text entries are NOT counted.
A
1 10
Count functions can be used! 3 30
4 test
5
Example of Count Cells to look at Answer

=Count (A1:A3) A1, A2, A3 3
=Count (A1:A3,
A1, A2, A3 and 100 4
100)
=Count (A1, A3) A1, A3 2
=Count (A1, A4) A1, A4 1
=Count (A1, A5) A1, A5 1
CountA
The next function we will discuss is CountA. This will return the number of entries (actually counts
each cell that contains number data OR text data) in the selected range of cells.
 Blank entries are not Counted.

 Text entries ARE Counted.
A
1 10
CountA functions can be used! 3 30
4 test
5
Example of CountA Cells to look at Answer

=CountA (A1:A3) A1, A2, A3 3
=CountA (A1:A3,
A1, A2, A3 and 100 4
100)
=CountA (A1, A3) A1, A3 2
IF
The next function we will discuss is IF. The IF function will check the logical condition of a statement
and return one value if true and a different value if false. The syntax is
 =IF (condition, value-if-true, value-if-false)

 value returned may be either a number or text
 if value returned is text, it must be in quotes
A B
1 Price Over a dollar?
Let's use the table here for the
discussion that follows. We 2 $.95 No
will look at several different 3 $1.37 Yes
specific examples that show comparing
how the IF functions can be 4 # returning #
used!
5 14000 0.08
6 8453 0.05
Example of IF
Compares Answer
typed into column B
=IF (A2>1,"Yes","No") is ( .95 > 1) No
=IF (A3>1, "Yes", "No") is (1.37 > 1) Yes
=IF (A5>10000, .08, .05) is (14000 > 10000) .08
=IF (A6>10000, .08, .05) is (8453 > 10000) .05
PMT
The PMT function returns the periodic (in this case monthly) payment for an annuity (in this case a
loan). This is the PMT function that was used for the car purchase in the first example. There are a few
things that we must know in order for this function to work. To calculate the loan we must know a
combination of the following
 (rate) interest rate per period

 (NPER) number of payments until repaid
 (PV) present value of the loan (amount we are borrowing)
 (FV) future value of the money (for saving or investing)
 (type) enter 0 or 1 to indicate when payments are due.
=PMT(rate, NPER, PV, FV, type)
equation goes into c7 =PMT(C4/12,C5,-C3)
C4 is the yearly interest and since it's compounded monthly we

divide by 12
C5 is the number of months (# of payments)
-C3 is the amount of money we have (borrow - negative)
Note that the rate is per period. If we have an annual interest rate of 9.6% and we are calculating
monthly payments, we must divide the annual interest rate by 12 to calculate the monthly interest rate.
Exercise
Use the =PMT(rate, nper, pv, fv, type) function to set up a mortgage payment calculator as shown in
the following figure. The =PMT() function is available from the Financial functions and you only need
to specify the first three parameters. Use Help if you need more information.
Figure 0-1
SIN, COS, TAN
Excel has most of the math and trig functions built into it. If you need to use the SIN, COS, TAN
functions, they can be typed into any cell. If you wanted to find:
angle Sin cos tan

REF =sin(REF) =cos(REF) =tan(REF)
0 0.00 1.00 0.00
22330 0.50 0.87 0.58
45 0.71 0.71 1.00
90 1.00 0.00
180 0.00 -1.00 0.00
format for degrees formula = sin (angle * pi()/180) the argument angle is in degrees
format for radians formula = sin (angle) the argument angle is in radians
To calculate trig functions in degrees you must convert them - otherwise excel will calculate them in
radians.
You can type in either an actual number for the REF or you can also type in a reference from the excel
spreadsheet (like A2).
COPYING
Sometimes when we enter a formula, we need to repeat the same formula for many different cells. In
the spreadsheet we can use the copy and paste command. The cell locations in the formula are pasted
relative to the position we Copy them from.
A B C
1 5 3 =A1+B1 Cells information is copied from its relative position. In other words in the
original cell (C1) the equation was (A1+B1). When we paste the function it
2 8 2 =A2+B2
will look to the two cells to the left. So the equation pasted into (C2) would be
3 4 6 =A3+B3 (A2+B2). And the equation pasted into (C3) would be (A3+B3).
4 3 8 =? + ?
FILL DOWN
If you have a lot of duplicate formulas you can also perform what is referred to as a FILL DOWN.
Often we have several cells that need the same formula (in relationship) to the location it is to be typed
into. There is a short cut that is called Fill Down. There are a number of ways to perform this
operation. One of the ways is to
1. select the cell that has the original formula

2. hold the shift key down and click on the last cell (in the series that needs the formula)
3. under the edit menu go down to fill and over to down
A B C
1 5 3 =A1+B1
2 8 2 fill down
Cells information is copied from its relative position. In other words in the
3 4 6 fill down original cell (C1) the equation was (A1+B1). When we paste the function it
4 3 8 fill down will look to the two cells to the left. So the equation pasted into (C2) would be
(A2+B2). And the equation pasted into (C3) would be (A3+B3). And the
equation pasted into (C4) would be (A4+B4).
Pivot Tables
A PivotTable organises and then summarises large amounts of data from any range that has labelled
columns. Any number of column headings can act as category items. You can alternatively choose to
create a PivotChart which will summarise the data in chart format rather than as a table. Details on
creating a PivotChart are set out later in this section.
It is called a PivotTable because the headings can be rotated around the data to view or summarise it in
different ways. You can filter the data to display just the details for areas of interest.
The source data can be:

 An Excel worksheet database/list or any range that has labelled columns.
 A collection of ranges to be consolidated. The ranges must contain both labelled rows and
columns.
 A database file created in an external application such as Access or Dbase.
The data in a PivotTable cannot be changed as they are the summary of other data. The data itself can
be changed and the PivotTable recalculated thereafter. However, formatting changes such as bold,
number formats, etc. can be made directly to the PivotTable data.
Creating a PivotTable
1. Select a cell within your list.

2. From the Data menu select
PivotTable and PivotChart
Report.
3. Choose Microsoft Excel list or
database.
4. Choose PivotTable as the kind of
report to be created.
5. Click the Next button to go to step 2
of the wizard.
6. This step verifies where your list
data are. Provided the active cell
was within your list when you launched the PivotTable wizard, the worksheet range will be your
list.
7. Click Next.
8. Step 3 is where you need to

decide whether you want to
construct the PivotTable on
the worksheet or as part of
the wizard process.
Whenever possible, lay out
the PivotTable or
PivotChart directly on the
worksheet so that you can
easily view the data while
you arrange the fields.
Laying out a new PivotTable on the worksheet (preferred method)

1. At Step 3 of the Wizard, select whether you want to put the PivotTable in a new worksheet or on
the existing worksheet.
2. If you choose to put the PivotTable into the existing worksheet, you need to make sure you tell the
wizard where to place it. The easiest way to do this is to click into an area in the existing
spreadsheet. The cell reference will appear in the Cell Reference box.
3. Click on the Finish button.
4. The PivotTable layout, PivotTable toolbar and PivotTable Field List will be displayed.
PivotTable PivotTable
layout Field List
PivotTable
toolbar
Arranging and filtering your data

1. The PivotTable layout allows you to arrange and filter your data for analysis.
2. From the PivotTable Field List, drag the fields with the data you want to display in rows to the area
on the PivotTable diagram labelled Drop Row Fields Here. You will have a filter button as
part of the row heading to display just the data you want to see.
3. Drag the fields with the data you want to display in columns to the area labelled Drop Column
Fields Here. You will also have a filter button as part of the column heading to display just the
data you want to.
4. Drag the fields that contain the data you want to summarise to the area labelled Drop Data Items
Here. Excel assumes SUM as the calculation method for numeric fields and COUNT for non-
numeric fields. You can change the calculation method by double-clicking the field in the DATA
area.
5. If you drag more than one data field, set the order by right-clicking a data field and then point to
Order on the shortcut menu. Use the commands on the Order menu to move each field to the
position you want.
6. Drag the fields that you want to use as page fields to the area labelled Drop Page Fields Here.
Page fields allow you to display one data item at a time using a drop-down list.
7. To rearrange the fields at any time, simply drag them from one area to another.
8. To remove a field, drag it out of the PivotTable report. Fields that you remove remain available in
the field list on the PivotTable toolbar.
Laying out a PivotTable using the wizard

1. At Step 3 of the wizard, click on the Layout button.
2. A list of column labels from your list will appear to the right of the dialog box.
3. Drag and drop the field buttons for the ROW, COLUMN and PAGE labels. Each row, column or
page can have more than one label(s). This can be omitted for that dimension provided at least one
dimension has one.
4. The PAGE area allows you to display one data item at a time using a drop-down list.
5. Drag column labels to the DATA area for the fields to summarise. Excel assumes SUM as the
calculation method for numeric fields and COUNT for non-numeric fields. You can change the
calculation method by double-clicking the field in the DATA area.
6. Format your summary field in the DATA area by double-clicking it and choosing the appropriate
option. Click OK.
7. Choose Next to move to the last step of the PivotTable wizard. Select a destination for your
PivotTable. If you do not key in a destination cell, the result will be placed on a new Worksheet.
8. Click Finish.
9. Whichever method you have used, the PivotTable Report will be displayed.
Pivot Table toolbar

When you create or work with a PivotTable a PivotTable toolbar automatically displays.
Refresh data
Format report Chart wizard
Managing PivotTables
When data is changed in the PivotTable source list, the PivotTable does not automatically recalculate.
Refreshing a PivotTable
1. Select any cell in the PivotTable to be refreshed.
2. From the Data menu, select Refresh Data or click the refresh button on the PivotTable
toolbar.
Modifying a PivotTable
A PivotTable can be modified by adding or deleting fields. Fields can be added and removed from the
PivotTable in the worksheet or in Layout view.
In the PivotTable report in the worksheet:
1. Select any cell in the PivotTable to be modified.
2. To add a field simply drag the required field(s) from the PivotTable Field List into position on the
PivotTable report.
3. To remove a field, select the field name and drag it away from the PivotTable report.
In Layout view:
1. Make sure the worksheet with the PivotTable is in view.
2. From the Data menu select PivotTable and PivotChart Report.
3. Click on the Layout option in the dialog box.
4. To add a field simply drag the required field(s) from the list of fields on the right into position on
the diagram on the left of the screen.
5. To remove a field, select the field name and drag it away from the PivotTable diagram.
Swapping PivotTable row and column headings

In the PivotTable drag the row heading to the column heading and vice versa.
Formatting cells in the data area

1. To format the cells in a PivotTable you need to click in the area in the PivotTable to be formatted
and then on the PivotTable button on the PivotTable toolbar and select Field Settings.
2. Click on the Number button.
3. Select the Number format you want and
click OK.
4. Click OK again and your
PivotTable will be re-formatted.
PivotTable options
1. Clicking on the PivotTable button on the PivotTable toolbar, then selecting Table Options opens
the PivotTable Options dialog box.
2. You can set PivotTable print options to set
page breaks and repeat rows and columns
labels for PivotTable reports that appear in an
indented format.
Grouping PivotTable items

Data can be summarised into higher level
categories by grouping items within PivotTable
fields. Depending on the data in the field there are
three ways to group items:
 Group selected items into specified categories.
 Automatically group numeric items.
 Automatically group dates and times.
Grouping selected items
1. Select the items you wish to group. Select adjacent items by clicking and dragging, or non-adjacent
items by selecting each item whilst holding down the Ctrl key.
2. From the Data menu, select Group and Outline, and then Group.
Grouping numeric items into ranges
1. Select a single field item in the PivotTable.
3. Excel displays a dialog box in which it automatically enters a start and end date. It also lists a
number of intervals to group by.
4. Select an appropriate interval and click OK.
Grouping a date or time in a range
1. Select a single field item in the PivotTable.
3. Excel displays a dialog box in which it automatically enters a start
and end date. It also lists a number of intervals to group by.
4. Select an appropriate interval and click OK.
Formatting PivotTable reports

There are two types of formatting that can be used when displaying PivotTable reports – indented
formats or non-indented formats. Indented formats are similar to traditional banded or formatted
database reports which make a large or complex PivotTable report easier to read.
The PivotTable wizard initially formats all PivotTable reports with a non-indented layout i.e., Table
format. To change the layout:
1. Click the Format report button on the
PivotTable toolbar.
2. For indented formats choose one of
the formats labelled Report 1 to
Report 10.
3. Choosing one of these AutoFormats
changes the report to indented format,
changes the layout and applies character
and cell formats.
4. All column fields in the PivotTable
report are moved so that they become
row fields. Column fields also move to
the left of existing row fields so that the
column fields become outer row fields.
5. Data fields move to the right of row fields.
6. If the name of the data field identifies the function for the field, the name changes so that the
function name is omitted. For example Sum of Sales becomes Sales.
7. For non-indented formats choose one of the formats labelled Table 1 to Table 10 or the
PivotTable Classic format.
8. Choosing one of these AutoFormats changes the names of data fields so that the function name is
omitted.
PivotChart reports
When you create a PivotChart report, Excel automatically creates an associated PivotTable report. If
you have an existing PivotTable report you can use it at any time to create a PivotChart Report which
will reflect the view of that table.
Creating a PivotChart
1. Select a cell within your list. Then from
the Data menu select PivotTable and
PivotChart Report.
2. Choose Microsoft Excel list or database.
3. Choose PivotChart (with PivotTable) as
the kind of report to be created.
4. Click the Next button to go to step 2 of the
wizard.
5. This step verifies where your list data is.
Provided the active cell was within your
list when you launched the PivotTable
wizard, the worksheet range will be your list.

6. Click Next.
7. If you have already created a PivotTable report from your current data, you will be asked if you
want to base your next PivotTable report on the existing report. Click Yes if you want to save space
or No if you want to create a separate PivotTable report.

8. Step 3 is where you need to decide whether you want to construct the associated PivotTable on the
worksheet or as part of the wizard process. Whenever possible lay out the PivotTable directly on
the worksheet so that you can view the data while you arrange the fields. The PivotChart will
automatically be created on a separate worksheet.
9. Choose whether you want to put the PivotTable associated with this chart on a new worksheet or
on the existing worksheet.
10. Click on the Finish button.
Layout a new PivotChart on the chart sheet
1. The outline of the PivotChart as well as the PivotTable toolbar will now be displayed.
2. From the group of buttons on the toolbar, drag the fields with the data you want to display in
categories i.e., on the category axis to the area on the PivotChart diagram labelled Drop Category
Fields Here. In the sample chart the Date field was selected.
3. Drag the fields that contain the data you want to compare or measure to the area labelled Drop
Data Items Here. The value axis will automatically be created and will be based on this data. In
the sample chart the Sales field was selected.
4. Drag the fields that you want to use as page fields to the area labelled Drop Page Fields Here.
Page fields allow you to display one data item at a time using a drop-down list. In the sample chart
the Sales Rep field was selected.
5. Drag the field that you want use as series fields to the area labelled Drop Series Fields here. In
the sample chart the Customer field was selected.
6. To rearrange the fields at any time, simply drag them from one area to another. To remove a field,
drag it out of the PivotChart report. Fields that you remove remain available in the field list on the
PivotTable toolbar.
7. The resulting PivotChart report will then be displayed on screen and the associated PivotTable will
be created in the location you specified.
8. Each field on the PivotChart will have a filter button so that you can display just the data you want
to see.
Helpful hint:
Use the Excel Chart
toolbar to format your
chart as required
CHARTS
In excel, charts (also known as graphs, plots, and diagrams) are created by selecting data, then clicking
on a chart type button (or using the chart wizard button in older versions of excel).
The document concludes with two common charting mistakes to avoid:
 the dreaded “series 1” legend text—never leave a chart with a “series” legend text.
 the poorly chosen axis range—make the chart visibly appealing and informative.
How To Make A Chart In Excel

To make a chart, numbers are needed. the example below is based on a recent working paper that
explores how much time students spend studying, with the twist that the authors cleverly string
together a series of surveys from 1961 to 2003. here’s the source and abstract:
the falling time cost of college: evidence from half a century of time use data
philip s. babcock, mindy marks
nber working paper no. 15954
issued in april 2010
using multiple datasets from different time periods, we document declines in academic time
investment by full-time college students in the united states between 1961 and 2003. full-time
students allocated 40 hours per week toward class and studying in 1961, whereas by 2003 they
were investing about 27 hours per week. declines were extremely broad-based, and are not
easily accounted for by framing effects, work or major choices, or compositional changes in
students or schools. we conclude that there have been substantial changes over time in the
quantity or manner of human capital production on college campuses.
the primary results are captured in this table:

We will focus on liberal arts colleges. On a blank excel worksheet, enter the following text in the first
row and numbers:
Year Avg Study Time

1961 28.96
1981 24.62
1988 17.49
2003 16.34
Read the instructions below carefully and do each step in order. there are three basic steps:
1. select the data
2. click a chart type button (usually scatter)
3. Clean up and improve the chart.
step 1. select the cells you want to graph including the text that describes the data. to plot the
average study time, select the data that you just typed in. always select from the top left to the bottom
right. selecting right to left or down to up seems to sometimes confuse excel.
you can select non-contiguous (or non-adjacent) cells by holding down the crtl key (or command key
on a mac) after you select the first cell or group of cells. keep holding down the ctrl key as you add
more non-contiguous data to already selected data.
tip: holding down the ctrl key before you start selecting the data you want to graph is a common error
and will seriously confuse excel. remember, select the first range of cells, then hold down the ctrl key
and select the next range.
with the cells selected (highlighted on your screen), you are ready for the next step.
step 2. from the insert tab found on the upper-left hand part of the Ribbon, click on the Scatter
button that is located in the Charts group of the Insert tab.
Avoid the
smoothed sub
types of scatter
plots!
After you have clicked on the Scatter button, you will be presented with the five options shown above.
Clicking one of these buttons, preferably NOT the smoothed line options, will create the scatter plot of
the selected data IN THE SAME SHEET as the data.
NOTE: Scatter is the most common type of chart used in Economics because we are often interested in
showing how one variable depends on another.
TIP: Avoid the smoothed sub types! You may think it looks prettier, but there is no reason to use this
option on plotted data. If you are fitting a line or curve, there are better ways than creating a smoothed
chart.
In older versions of Excel, after selecting the data, you click the Chart Wizard button and you are
presented with a several chart types to choose from. Select XYScatter and walk through the Chart
Wizard to create the chart.
Applying the two steps above to the study time data produces this chart:
Avg Study Time

35
30
25
20
15 Avg Study Time
10
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Step 3. After you have created a chart, there might be some cleaning up that needs to be done. Click
the chart itself to bring up the Chart Tools group in the ribbon in Excel 2007 or greater. The chart
above does not require a legend because there is only one series being plotted. Select the legend and
press the delete (not backspace) key to remove it. The x axis is fine because the year is obviously being
displayed, but the y axis needs a label. In Excel 2007 and greater, click the y axis and use the Layout
group in the Chart Tools to add a label. The finished product looks like this:
Avg Study Time

35
30
Hours of Study Time
25
20
15
10
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
The cleaned up chart is better than Excel’s original chart (at the top of this page). It is more informative
and does not have the distracting legend text. Remember, use legends only when plotting more than
one relationship
Sizing
If you want to change the size of the chart, you can click on one of the ‘handles’ located on the corners
and sides of the box and drag it until you have obtained the desired dimensions. These handles show up
only when the ‘object’ (in this case, the chart) has been selected.
You can also move the whole picture by clicking and dragging it if the cursor is in the shape of a four-
sided arrow.
Editing
Making changes to an already created chart in Excel is pretty easy. The general rule is to right-click on
whatever you want to change. After right-clicking on an item you wish to change, look for the
“Format…,” which will be located at the very bottom of the drop-down menu. After clicking on this
button, you will be able to detail the selected item.
If you let the cursor rest for a moment, Excel tells you what object you have under the cursor. This
helps if you are having trouble getting the options for a particular part of the chart.
Switching the X and Y variables

Excel automatically assumes that the data in the first (furthest left) column is the X, or independent,
variable. If your X variable is not located in the first column, you need to do some editing to change
the variables in the chart.
A powerful way to make changes is by directly editing the series. Click once on the plotted data on the
chart and note that the source data appears as a formula in the formula bar. The first part is the legend
text, then comes the x axis, then the y axis, and finally the series number (each separated by a comma).
TIP: Excel plots data as a SERIES formula with a structure like this:
=SERIES(legend text, x axis data, y axis data, series number)
The two charts below show how the series formula determines the chart being depicted. Note how the
axes are switched by changing the order in which the data ranges $A$2:$A$5 and $B$2:$B$5 appear
in the series formula.
TIP: Once you have a chart nicely formatted and set up as you like it, you can copy and paste that
chart, then change the series by simply editing the series in the formula bar.
We think the secret to good charting practice in Excel (and any other software) is to always remember
step 3: Clean up and improve the chart. Excel will usually make a decent chart, but you should always
examine the chart with a critical eye. It is not necessary to add colors and other fancy aspects (and
smoothing data is almost never a good idea), but always check to make sure you have a descriptive
title, well-labeled axes, and that the legend text is correct and needed. We conclude the charting primer
with two common mistakes.
Two Common Graphing Mistakes to Avoid Like the Plague
Mistake 1) The “Series 1” legend text

If the group of cells that you select to create the chart does NOT contain cells with text in the first row
and you ask for a legend, Excel complies by creating a legend box with the “Series #” as the legend:
This is NOT good graphing. “Series 1” means nothing.
There are two solutions:
A) If you want a legend, make sure that the first row (if your data are organized in rows) of your
selected data range has text for the legend.
B) Inspect your chart after initially creating it and delete the dreaded “Series 1” legend text.
TIP: If you are graphing only one variable against another, a legend is unnecessary. Legends should be
used only when graphing more than two variables.
Mistake 2) The Poorly Chosen Axis Range

While Excel can usually be counted on to make good choices concerning the x and y axes range, it is
up to you to make sure that the range on each axis is appropriate.
In the graph above, the y axis ranges from 0 to $4,000, but the data points go from only 0 to $400. The
y axis range is chosen poorly here because there is too much wasted space and the display is
misleading.
You can improve this chart by fixing the y axis. In Excel 2007 or greater, right-click on the y-axis and
select “Format Axis.” (double click the y axis in earlier versions of Excel). This will pop up the Format
Axis dialog box in which you can change the values included in the y-axis. The best option would be to
select “Fixed” in the Maximum option and set it to 500. This will make the graph look much better.
TIP: When you want to change something in Excel, RIGHT CLICK on it to bring up a context-
sensitive dialog box and adjust the settings as needed.

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BEGINNING MICROSOFT EXCEL 1

BEGINNING MICROSOFT EXCEL 2007 4

Moving to a New Worksheet 9

Performing Mathematical Calculations 12

Beginning Microsoft Excel 2007

Workbooks and Worksheets

A cell can contain any of the following:

Creating a New Workbook

Creating a New Worksheet

Navigating and Selecting

Entering and Editing Data

Let’s practice a little.

Inserting Columns and Rows

To insert a column or row:

Formatting Columns and Rows

Column Width - Drag

Moving to a New Worksheet

Formatting Text and Data

Notice how each number changes depending on the formatting.

Let’s look at other formatting options.

Let’s change it to a dollar amount.

Deleting vs Clearing a Cell

To clear the content from a cell:

Unfortunately, clearing a cell's content doesn't clear its formatting.

Filling Cells Automatically

5. Click the Auto Fill Options icon. Click on Copy Cells.

To change the format of the time:

And finally, here is one more interesting fill feature.

Alignment Options: Wrapping Text

Performing Mathematical Calculations

1. Type in the numbers 5, 7, 3, 9, 4, 8 in column C.

1. In a new worksheet, type 6 in cell A1 and 7 in cell A2.

More Formula Examples

1. Any operations that are in parentheses, from left to right

A1: 12 A2: 6 A3: 4 A4: 9

Recognizing Cursor Styles

Click and drag to

Click to place the

Common formula errors

 Subtraction - minus sign ( - )

The Order of Operations is:

Probably the most popular function in any spreadsheet is the SUM

 =SUM(first value, second value, etc)

 Blank cells will return a value of zero to be added to the total.

Example Cells to ADD Answer

=PRODUCT( 235 , 546 )

 formulas in Excel always begin with the equal sign ( = )

Use Cell References in Formulas

Setting Up the Division Formula

 place the number 20 in cell C1

Division Formula Steps

To divide 20 by 10 and have the answer appear in cell E1:

1. Type an equal sign in cell E1.

 =Average (first value, second value, etc.)

Example Cells to average Answer

Example of Max Cells to look at Ans. Max

Example of min Cells to look at Ans. min

 Blank entries are not counted.

Example of Count Cells to look at Answer

 Blank entries are not Counted.

Example of CountA Cells to look at Answer

 =IF (condition, value-if-true, value-if-false)