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Chapter 1 Working with Excel You use Microsoft Excel to create spreadsheets, which are documents that enable you to manipulate numbers and formulas to quickly create powerful mathematical, financial, and statistical models. In this chapter you learn about Excel and you find out the kinds of tasks you can perform with Excel. You also learn how to start the program, and you take a tour of the program’s major features. This chapter also shows you how to work with Excel Ribbon and the Ribbon’s galleries, how to customize the Ribbon and the Quick Access Toolbar, how to work with smart tags, and how to customize the view and other aspects of the program. 03_577639-ch01.indd 2 3/15/10 2:35 PM Getting to Know Excel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Start Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tour the Excel Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Work with Excel’s Ribbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Work with Excel’s Galleries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Customize the Quick Access Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Customize the Ribbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Work with Smart Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Change the View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Configure Excel Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 03_577639-ch01.indd 3 3/15/10 2:35 PM Getting to Know Excel Working with Excel involves two basic tasks: building a spreadsheet and then manipulating the data on the spreadsheet. Building a spreadsheet involves adding data, formulas, and functions. Manipulating data involves calculating totals, working with series, creating tables for your data, and visualizing data in charts. This section just gives you an overview of these tasks. You learn about each task in greater detail as you work through the book. Build a Spreadsheet Add Data You can insert text, numbers, and other characters into any cell in the spreadsheet. Click the cell that you want to work with and then type your data in the Formula bar. This is the large text box above the column letters. Your typing appears in the cell that you selected. When you are done, press Enter. To edit existing cell data, click the cell and then edit the text in the Formula bar. Add a Formula A formula is a collection of numbers, cell addresses, and mathematical operators that performs a calculation. In Excel, you enter a formula in a cell by typing an equal sign (=) and then the formula text. For example, the formula =B1-B2 subtracts the value in cell B2 from the value in cell B1. Add a Function A function is a predefined formula that performs a specific task. For example, the AVERAGE function calculates the average of a list of numbers, and the PMT function calculates a loan or mortgage payment. You can use functions on their own, preceded by =, or as part of a larger formula. Click Insert Function ( ) to see a list of the available functions. 4 03_577639-ch01.indd 4 3/15/10 2:35 PM 1 CHAPTER Working with Excel Manipulate Data Calculate Totals Quickly Fill a Series If you just need a quick sum of a list of numbers, click a cell below the numbers and then click the Sum button ( ), which is available in the Home tab of Excel’s Ribbon. In Excel, you can also select the cells that you want to sum, and their total appears in the status bar. Excel enables you to save time by completing a series of values automatically. For example, if you need to enter the numbers 1 to 100 in consecutive cells, you can enter just the first few numbers, select the cells, and then click and drag the lower right corner to fill in the rest of the numbers. Most programs also fill in dates, as well as the names for weekdays and months. Manage Tables Add a Chart The row-and-column format of a spreadsheet makes the program suitable for simple databases called tables. Each column becomes a field in the table, and each row is a record. You can sort the records, filter the records to show only certain values, and add subtotals. A chart is a graphic representation of spreadsheet data. As the data in the spreadsheet changes, the chart also changes to reflect the new numbers. Excel offers a wide variety of charts, including bar charts, line charts, and pie charts. 5 03_577639-ch01.indd 5 3/15/10 2:35 PM Start Excel Before you can perform tasks such as adding data and building formulas, you must first start Excel. This brings the Excel window onto the Windows desktop, and you can then begin using the program. This task and the rest of the book assume that you have already installed Excel 2010 on your computer. When you have finished your work with Excel, you should shut down the program. This reduces clutter on the desktop and in the taskbar, and it also conserves memory and other system resources. Start Excel 1 Click Start. The Start menu appears. 2 Click All Programs. 2 1 The App Programs menu appears. 3 Click Microsoft Office. 3 6 03_577639-ch01.indd 6 3/15/10 2:35 PM 1 CHAPTER Working with Excel The Microsoft Office menu appears. 4 Click Microsoft Excel 2010. 4 The Microsoft Excel window appears on the desktop. Note: When you are finished with Excel, close the program by clicking the File tab and then clicking Exit. Are there faster methods I can use to start Excel? Yes. After you have used Excel a few times, it should appear on the main Start menu in the list of your most-used programs. If so, you can click that icon to start the program. You can also force the Excel icon onto the Start menu by following Steps 1 to 3, right-clicking the Microsoft Excel 2010 icon, and then clicking Pin to Start Menu. If you are using Windows 7, you can also click Pin to Taskbar to add the Excel icon to the taskbar. 7 03_577639-ch01.indd 7 3/15/10 2:35 PM Tour the Excel Window To get up to speed quickly with Excel, it helps to understand the various elements of the Excel window. These include standard window elements such as the title bar and status bar, as well as Office-specific elements such as the Ribbon and the File tab. Title Bar Quick Access Toolbar The title bar displays the name of the current workbook. This area gives you one-click access to a few oftenused features. To learn how to customize this toolbar, see “Customize the Quick Access Toolbar.” Ribbon This area gives you access to all of Excel’s commands, options, and features. To learn how to use this element, see “Work with Excel’s Ribbon.” Excel Window Controls You use these controls to minimize, maximize, restore, and close Excel’s application window. Workbook Window Controls You use these controls to minimize, maximize, restore, and close the current workbook window. File Tab Status Bar Click this tab to access file-related commands, such as Save and Open. This area displays messages about Excel’s current status, the results of certain operations, and other information. Worksheet This area displays the current worksheet, and it is where you will do most of your Excel work. 8 03_577639-ch01.indd 8 3/15/10 2:35 PM 1 CHAPTER Work with Excel’s Ribbon You use Excel’s Ribbon element to access all of the program’s features and commands. The Ribbon is the horizontal strip that runs across the top of the Excel window, just below the title bar. The Ribbon is organized into various tabs, such as File, Home, and Insert, and each tab contains related controls, which usually include buttons, lists, and check boxes. There is no menu bar in Excel, so you do not use pull-down menus to access commands. Work with Excel’s Ribbon 1 1 Click the tab that contains the Excel feature you want to work with. 2 Excel displays the controls in the tab. • • Each tab is organized into groups of related controls, and the group names appear here. In many groups you can click the dialog box launcher button ( ) to display a dialog box that contains group settings. 2 Click the control for the feature. • If the control displays a list of options, click the option you want. Excel runs the command or sets the option. 03_577639-ch01.indd 9 9 3/15/10 2:35 PM