Know Excel for Beginners

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Objectives
Enter, edit and format data in MS Excel
Add, delete and resize columns and rows
Sort information
Save and print a file

Handouts
Know the Excel Window

Introduction
Microsoft Excel is a program that can be used to create spreadsheets (lists or budgets),
databases (address books), or charts and graphs. Excel is useful for manipulating data and can
perform basic to advanced mathematical calculations. Spreadsheets are called worksheet in
Excel and each worksheet is made up of Columns and Rows, which intersect to form Cells.
Starting Excel
To open Excel, click on the start button on the lower left-hand corner of your computer
screen. A menu will appear on top of the start button. Click on all programs, then
Microsoft Office, then Excel.
The Excel Window
Look over your handout titled Know the Excel Window and familiarize yourself with the different
elements that make up an MS Excel window and spreadsheet.

Workbook Navigation
Making a Cell Active
There are a few ways you can make a cell active. You can type its address in the Name box and
press Enter and it will automatically become the active cell. You can also hover your mouse
pointer over the desired cell and press the left mouse button to activate a cell.
Exercise I
1. Make cell J20 active using the Name Box
2. Make cell C5 active using your mouse.

Moving Around the Worksheet

You can use your mouse or you keyboard to move around your worksheet. Use your mouse to
move to another cell by hovering your pointer over the desired cell and pressing the left mouse
button. To use your keyboard, follow the chart below:
Key stroke
Enter
Tab
Shift + Enter
Shift + Tab

Home

Moves
Next row
Next column
Previous row
Previous cell
1 cell left
1 cell right
1 cell up
1 cell down
Start of row

Shortcut Key
Ctrl +
Ctrl +
Ctrl +
Ctrl +
Ctrl + Home

Moves
Last column
Last row
First column
First row
Start of worksheet

Entering Information
You can enter three types of data into your spreadsheet: Labels (text), Data (numbers) and
Formulas (calculations). Were going to create a simple Address Book in Excel. Use the
keyboard to copy the following information into your Excel worksheet:

Editing Data on Your Worksheet

There are several ways you can edit data on your spreadsheet. You can make changes from
either the formula bar or within the active cell itself.
EXCEL TIP: If a cell is active, any typing will replace what is already in that cell. Double click on a
cell to make the cursor appear in the cell for smaller edits.

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EXCEL TIP: The Backspace key will delete anything to the left of the cursor; the Delete key
anything to the right of the cursor.
Exercise II
1. Make cell A3 your active cell. Click in the Formula
bar and use the backspace key to delete the
letters n, e and s. Type in hnson to change the
name from Jones to Johnson.

2. Make cell B3 your active cell. Double click on the

cell and use the backspace key to delete the letter
y. Type rew to change the name from Andy to
Andrew.
3. Make cell B5 your active cell and type Sarah to change the name from Sally.

Adding or Deleting Cells, Rows and Columns

You can add or delete a single cell or an entire row or column from your spreadsheet as needed.
In the next exercise were going to add a column for email addresses and were going to delete
one entire entry from our address book.
Exercise III
1. Click on the Column Header D to highlight the entire column.

2. Find the Cells grouping under the Home Tab on the Ribbon
3. Click on the dropdown arrow by Insert.
4. Click on Insert Sheet Column.
EXCEL TIP: Notice that the new column is inserted to the left
of the highlighted column.
5. Click on Cell D2 and type Email Address.

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Exercise IV
1. Click on Row Header 4 to highlight the entire
row.

2. Find the Cells grouping under the Home Tab on the Ribbon
3. Click on the dropdown arrow beside Delete.
4. Click on Delete Sheet Row.
EXCEL TIP: Notice that the row below moved up one space to fill in
the gap left by the deleted row.

Formatting Data on Your Worksheet

You can use the various formatting tools to make certain parts of your spreadsheet stand out
such as headers and titles. You can accomplish this by changing the font type and size; by
applying common formatting such as Bold, Italics or Underlines; or by adding color to selected
cells.
Exercise V
1. Make cell A1 active.
2. Find the Fonts grouping under the Home Tab
on the Ribbon
3. Click on the dropdown menu button on the
font type box.
4. Find Arial Black on the list and click on it with
your left mouse button.

5. Click on the dropdown menu button on the font size

box.
6. Find 14 on the list and click on it with your left mouse
button.
Selecting Multiple Cells
If you are going to apply the same formatting to a series of cells, you can select them all and
apply the formatting at the same time.
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Exercise VI
1. Click on cell A2.
2. Hold down the Shift button and use your right
arrow key to tab over four cells. Cells A2 through
E2 should now be highlighted with a bold border.
3. Find the Fonts grouping under the Home Tab on
the Ribbon
4. Click on the B button to apply Bold formatting.

1. Find the Styles grouping under the Home Tab on the Ribbon.
2. Click on Cell Styles.
3. Click on a 40% accent of the color of your choosing.

1. Click on cell C2.

2. Hold down the Shift button and use your down arrow key to tab
down two cells. Cells C3 through C5 should now be highlighted
with a bold border.
3. Find the Fonts grouping under the Home Tab on the Ribbon
4. Click on the I button to apply Italics formatting.

EXCEL TIP: Click on a column or row header to automatically highlight it the whole thing.
Sizing Cells on Your Worksheet
Sometimes the data you enter into a cell wont fit in its default size. The text will overflow the
cell, and when you begin to type in the next cell it will become hidden. There are two ways to
resize a cell to show all the information it contains.
Exercise VII
In this exercise were going to increase the size of Columns A and B so that the titles Last
Name and First Name are always visible in our address book.

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1. Hover your mouse between Column Headers A and B

until the pointer turns into a black line with two small
arrows, one facing right and one facing left.
2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the column
to the right until all of Last Name is visible in the cell
A2.
3. Repeat the above procedure for Column B.
Exercise VIII
In this exercise, were going to resize Column E so that all the address information is visible.
Were going to have the computer resize this column for us automatically, rather than doing it
manually as in Exercise VII.
1. Click on Column Header D to highlight the entire column.
2. Find the Cells Grouping under the Home Tab in the
Ribbon.
3. Click on the Format button to bring up the full menu.
4. Click on AutoFit Column Width.
5. Repeat the above procedure for Column E.

To Move and Center the Spreadsheet Title

1. Select cells A1 to E1.
2. Find the Alignment grouping under the Home
Tab.
3. Click the Merge and Center button.

How to Sort Your List Alphabetically

Once youve created your list, you can sort it alphabetically.
1. Click on Cell A3.
2. Find the Editing Grouping under the Home Tab on the
Ribbon.
3. Click on the Sort and Filter Icon
4. Click on Sort A to Z.

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Printing Your Worksheet

It can be tricky to print an Excel worksheet because it doesnt necessarily conform to an 8 by
11 sheet of paper like an MS Word document does. You will want to view your worksheet in
page layout before printing to ensure it will fit on a standard piece of paper. If it is too wide, you
might need to print in Landscape view rather than Portrait.
Exercise IX
1.
2.
3.
4.

Click on the View Tab on the Ribbon.

Find the Workbook Views Grouping.
Click on Page Layout.
If your worksheet fits in the page view
screen than it will print properly on a
normal sheet of paper.

5. Click on the Windows button.

6. Click on Print.

If you do need to change the layout of your print job from Portrait to Landscape follow the steps
below:
1. Click Properties on the print box.

2. Change orientation to Landscape.

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Saving Your Worksheet

You cannot save files to the computers here at the library. You will need a flash drive (also
known as a USB drive or memory stick) in order to save files.
1. Click on the Windows button
2. Click on Save As
3. Click on Excel Workbook or Excel 97-2003 Workbook

EXCEL TIP: Saving files in 97-2003 format will allow you to open them on computers running older
versions of MS Excel. If you save it as a regular Excel document (the top choice in the list) you will only be
able to open it on computers running updated Windows 2007 software.
Next, you need to tell the computer where youd like to save the file.
4. Find the large drop down menu titled Save in:
5. Find the icon representing your flash drive and
double click on it.

EXCEL TIP: Each flash drive will have its own name. They are usually associated with the (E:) or (F:) drive.

6. Name your file and click save.

Key Points to Remember

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program you can use to create budgets, schedules, and simple
databases, such as address books. The Excel window is a spreadsheet made of cells containing text or
numbers arranged in rows and columns.
Additional Resources
Microsoft tutorials for Excel 2007:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/excel-help/CH010224830.aspx
Home and Learn tutorial: http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/excel2007/Excel2007.html
BayCon Group Excel Basics Tutorial: http://www.baycongroup.com/excel2007/excel-2007.htm
MS Excel Custom Guide: http://www.customguide.com/pdf/excel-quick-reference-2007.pdf
LearnFree.org, Excel 2007: http://www.gcflearnfree.org/excel2007
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