155
ECDL Spreadsheets
(Syllabus 4 for Excel 2003)
This course guide is produced for the Happy eLearning
ECDL Spreadsheets
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ECDL Spreadsheets About This Manual
1.1 Contents
1.1 Contents...................................................................................................................... 2
2 About This Manual...................................................... 3
2.1 Who Is It For and How Do I Use It?.............................................................................. 3
2.2 What Do the Icons Mean?............................................................................................ 4
2.3 Using Help in Excel 2003 ............................................................................................. 5
2.4 Working with Windows................................................................................................. 6
3 Getting Started............................................................ 9
3.1 What Is Excel For? ...................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Starting and Closing Excel ..........................................................................................10
3.3 The Excel 2003 Screen...............................................................................................12
3.4 Task Panes ................................................................................................................13
3.5 Smart Tags – How Can They Help? ............................................................................15
3.6 The Mouse Keeps Changing Shape............................................................................16
3.7 Saving Your Workbook ...............................................................................................16
3.8 Saving Other File Types..............................................................................................19
3.9 Opening and Closing Your Workbook .........................................................................20
3.10 Creating a New Workbook ..........................................................................................22
3.11 Changing the Zoom Control ........................................................................................23
3.12 Moving Around a Spreadsheet ....................................................................................24
3.13 Toolbars .....................................................................................................................25
3.14 Entering Text and Numbers ........................................................................................26
3.15 Selecting Cells............................................................................................................27
3.16 Adding Numbers Up with AutoSum .............................................................................30
3.17 Typing the Sum Function to Add Numbers Up.............................................................31
3.18 Entering Simple Formulae...........................................................................................32
3.19 Undo and Redo – A Licence to Make Mistakes! ..........................................................33
3.20 Correcting Mistakes ....................................................................................................35
3.21 Formulae ....................................................................................................................36
3.22 Using Mixed Cell References ......................................................................................37
3.23 Error Messages ..........................................................................................................39
4 Editing a Worksheet ................................................. 40
4.1 Drag and Drop ............................................................................................................40
4.2 Cut, Copy and Paste...................................................................................................41
4.3 The Office Clipboard ...................................................................................................43
4.4 Using AutoFill to Copy Text and Formulae ..................................................................44
4.5 Find and Replace........................................................................................................46
4.6 Checking the Spelling .................................................................................................47
4.7 Symbols .....................................................................................................................48
4.8 Sorting........................................................................................................................49
4.9 Inserting, Deleting, Moving and Copying Sheets .........................................................51
5 Functions and Cell References................................ 53
5.1 Using Absolute Cell References..................................................................................53
5.2 Finding the Average....................................................................................................55
6 Printing Workbooks.................................................. 58
6.1 Getting a Print Preview ...............................................................................................58
6.2 Printing Ranges and More than One Copy ..................................................................63
6.3 Changing the Page Setup ...........................................................................................64
6.4 Creating Headers and Footers ....................................................................................67
7 Formatting Worksheets ............................................ 69
7.1 Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns..................................................................69
7.2 Resizing Rows and Columns ......................................................................................70
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ECDL Spreadsheets About This Manual
7.3 Changing the Font and Font Size............................................................................... 72
7.4 Changing the Number Format .................................................................................... 74
7.5 Using the Format Painter ........................................................................................... 75
7.6 Changing Text Wrapping and Orientation................................................................... 76
7.7 Changing the Alignment............................................................................................. 77
7.8 Adding Borders.......................................................................................................... 79
7.9 Applying Shading Styles ............................................................................................ 81
7.10 Freezing Rows and Columns ..................................................................................... 83
7.11 Changing Basic Preferences...................................................................................... 84
8 Charts ........................................................................ 85
8.1 What Are Charts? ...................................................................................................... 85
8.2 Creating Charts.......................................................................................................... 87
8.3 Moving, Resizing and Deleting charts......................................................................... 90
8.4 Selecting Parts of a Chart .......................................................................................... 91
8.5 Formatting the Chart .................................................................................................. 94
8.6 Using the Chart Toolbar ........................................................................................... 101
8.7 Changing Chart Options........................................................................................... 102
8.8 Printing Charts......................................................................................................... 103
9 Other File Formats .................................................. 103
9.1 Saving a Spreadsheet as a Web Page ..................................................................... 104
9.2 Templates................................................................................................................ 104
9.3 Importing and Exporting to and from Word ............................................................... 107
9.4 Other File Types ...................................................................................................... 113
10 Appendices ............................................................. 114
10.1 How Does the Computer’s Filing System Work?....................................................... 114
10.2 What do all the Icons Mean?.................................................................................... 117
11 Glossary .................................................................. 119
11.1 Glossary .................................................................................................................. 119
12 Consolidation Exercises ........................................ 121
12.1 Creating Simple Spreadsheets................................................................................. 121
12.2 Further Excel Skills .................................................................................................. 122
12.3 Using Excel for calculations ..................................................................................... 123
13 Index ........................................................................ 124
13.1 Index ....................................................................................................................... 124
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ECDL Spreadsheets About This Manual
It is not meant as a replacement to the full reference manuals that come with Excel 2003.
You should be able to find the part you’re after by looking in the index and contents and noting
that the general course will follow the pattern of the manual.
The stepbystep parts are in italics. Simply do the things on the left, and read the things on the
right for further information.
This is what you do This is a description of what is happening
Essential
Essential points to understand how to do the work in hand
Technical
Technical (nonessential) points for the technically minded
Traps
Hints to help you with certain features that may just trip you up if you are not
aware of them!
Right Mouse Button You can also
use the right
This means that pressing the right mouse button (instead of the left mouse mouse
button) will bring up a short cut menu that can achieve the same things as listed button here
in the text
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ECDL Spreadsheets About This Manual
1. Type your question into the help box in the top right hand corner of the screen
3. Select the most appropriate choice from the list
4. View the Answers in the Help Window
Or
1. Clck Help icon Help pane will appear
2. Enter keywords into search box
3. Click Green arrow
Or
1. Click Help icon Help pane will appear
2. Click Table of Contents
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ECDL Spreadsheets About This Manual
It is possible to have many windows open at once. Our online courses require you to have at
least two windows open…
· Internet Browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator), which contains course
lessons
· The software you are learning, e.g. Word, Excel, Outlook
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ECDL Spreadsheets About This Manual
Minimise
Toolbar
Click minimise at the top right of the window
To restore a window after it has been minimised…
Click the name of the window from the task bar at the bottom of the screen
Maximising a Window…
Click Maximise at the top right of the window Window will fill the screen
Maximise button will change to
Restore button
Restoring a Window…
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ECDL Spreadsheets About This Manual
Click Restore at the top right of the window Window will shrink
Restore button will change to
Maximise button
Click the window you require on the task bar Window will appear on screen
The window for Word is
overlapping the Browser
window.
If you position your mouse
at this edge and drag to
the left, you will make the
window narrower, and get
rid of the overlap.
3. Click and drag to move the window to a new position
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
3 Getting Started
This cell contains a formula to work out the total outgoing.
This cell contains a formula, which takes the total outgoing away
from the income to give you the amount left over.
(For more information see page 32)
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Excel has a simple database facility that allows you to…
· Sort information into any order (e.g. by surname)
· Extract the information you wish to see (e.g. only the females)
· Spreadsheet – an electronic table or tables used to store data and make calculations.
Spreadsheet is a very general term, and can be used to mean either one sheet within a file,
or a whole file. It depends on the context. Occasionally it is also used to mean the
application (e.g. Excel, Lotus 123), although this is rarer.
· Workbook – an entire file of sheets. A workbook is the terms given to a file created in Excel.
· Worksheet or sheet – these are the separate pages contained within a workbook.
Worksheet is a term used in Excel.
· Cell – A single space on a sheet, used to enter information.
· Formula – An equation used to calculate values from the data on a sheet. For example, a
simple formula could add the value of two cells together.
· Column – Sheets are divided into vertical columns – each represented by a letter at the top.
· Row – Sheets are also divided into rows – with each represented by a number on the left of
the screen.
· Cell Reference – Each cell has its own reference, taken from the column and row it is in.
So, an example of a cell reference might be B2 (B for the column it is in, 2 for the row).
1. Click Start button
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
2. Click Programs
3. Click Microsoft Office
4. Click Microsoft Excel
Or if you have a shortcut…
Double click on the shortcut on the desktop or Office toolbar
Click on the top X to close
Or
Click on the “x” at the top right hand corner of the screen
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Formatting
Title bar Menu bar Standard toolbar
toolbar
Name box Formula
toolbar
Cells
Vertical
Active cell scroll bar
Sheet
navigation
buttons Task pane
Status bar
Horizontal
Sheet tabs scroll bar
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Title Bar This tells you which program you are in and the filename of the workbook.
Menu Bar Click on a menu to access Excel’s commands.
Standard Toolbar Icons for carrying out Excel’s commands.
Formatting Toolbar Icons for changing the appearance of your worksheet.
Formula Bar Shows you which cell you are in and what its contents are.
Name Box This gives you the cell reference for the active cell.
Active Cell The cell that you are currently working in.
Cells The boxes that make up the worksheet. Each cell has a cell reference, made up of
its column letter and its row number, e.g. A1, E6
Sheet Tabs When you first create a new workbook it has three sheets inside it. The white
sheet tab is the sheet you are currently on.
Sheet Navigation If you add more sheets to your workbook, these buttons allow you to move
Buttons through them.
Horizontal Scroll Bar This allows you to move across your worksheet.
Vertical Scroll bar This allows you to move up and down your worksheet.
Status Bar This lets you know what state Excel is in. Usually it will say “ready”, but it can point
out potential problems in your worksheet such as circular references
Task Pane Window that you can use for many different things, e.g. opening files.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
This is the New
Workbook task pane
3. Select the task pane you wish to use
There are four main task panes:
New Workbook You can choose a new workbook or open an existing one from here or
you can create one based on a template.
Clipboard This opens the Office Clipboard, which can hold up to 24 individual
pieces of information. You can select which piece you wish to insert.
Search This launches the search pane, which allows you to search for
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
documents.
Insert Clipart This task pane is for inserting clipart into your document.
Smart Tags are buttons that pop up and offer you help according to what you are doing.
Smart Tag What is it for?
This smart tag appears to give you
information. It will appear when you type
in a name and will prompt you to add it to
your Outlook Contact List.
When you paste in something you have
copied, this smart tag appears. Hover
your mouse over it and it will give you
options for the formatting of what you
have selected.
When clicking on the cell with the green
triangle in the corner the smart tag on the
left appears. This is a checking error
smart tag and will give you options to
check your formulae.
AutoFill Smart Tag appears when you use
AutoFill and will give you various options.
(see page 44)
AutoCorrect Smart Tag – this one
appears as a small blue box and turns
into the smart tag when you hover the
mouse over it. It allows you to undo an
auto correction.
The Insert Options button appears when
rows, columns or cells are inserted. You
are then offered various formatting
options.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Where does my mouse have to be? Where would I use this icon?
Big Plus sign
When you are selecting cells (see page 27).
Position your mouse over the middle of a cell
Four Cross Arrow When you wish to move the contents of a
Position your mouse on the border of a cell cell (see page 41).
Small Plus sign
Position your mouse over the bottom right When you are using AutoFill (see page 44).
hand corner of the active cell
Pointer
When you are moving or copying cells (see
Position your mouse at the border of the
page 41).
active cell
Ibar
When you are adding or deleting text from a
Click into the formula bar, or double click
cell (see page 26).
inside a cell
Cross Arrow
When you are resizing a row or column (see
Position your mouse between two column
page 70).
letters, or between two row numbers
Magnifying glass
When you want to zoom in or out of the print
Position your mouse over the sheet in print
preview (see page 23).
preview
Double arrow
When you are resizing a picture, chart or
Select a picture or drawn shape and position
drawn shape. (see page 90).
the mouse around the boxes
The mouse will change to an egg timer
Egg timer when Excel is busy. If you wait for a
moment, it will disappear.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
1. Click on the Save icon
Click the down
arrow to change the
Places bar. Shortcuts to folder Excel saves
frequently used locations to.
Click here to see the
last 2050 documents
or folders you have
worked with listed
Type in the
filename here
2. Type in a name for your workbook (up to 255 characters)
3. Change the folder to save in, if required
4. Click on Save
What are folders?
See appendix “How does the Computer’s Filing System Work?” on page 114
Save your work regularly!
Keep clicking on the save icon as you are working to ensure that you do not
lose your work!
1. Click on File
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
2. Click on Save As
3. Type in a new filename for the workbook if required
4. Change the folder if required
5. Click Save
Type the drive
and folder you
wish to use
here
5. Type in the drive and folder you wish to save to, e.g. C:\work
6. Click OK
1. Click on File
2. Click on Save As
3. Click on New Folder icon You will get a dialog box inviting you to
type in a new folder name (see below)
4. Type in new name
5. Click on OK The dialog box will disappear and you
will have the Save As dialog box left on
your screen
6. Click on Save This will save your document to the
new folder
Or
Click on Cancel You have created your new folder but
you have not saved anything to it yet
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Click here to
create a new
folder
Click OK to
confirm
creating new
folder
Type a new
Folder name
here
1. Click on the File menu
2. Click on Save As
3. Click on down arrow at the end of Save as type box
4. Click the version of Excel you require (e.g. Excel 5.0/95 Workbook)
5. Click Save
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
4. Click the file format you require CSV (Comma delimited) etc.)
5. Click Save
1. Open the workbook containing the sheet you wish to save as a web page
2. If required, select the range of cells you wish to save
3. Click on the File menu
4. Click on Save as Web Page
5. Use the arrow on the right of the Save in box to select a location to save to
6. Click in the circle before Entire Workbook
or
Click in the circle before Selection: Sheet
What if I only want a part of my worksheet as a web page?
Make sure you select the range of cells required in step 2. There will be a
Selection option instead of the Sheet option in the Save as dialog box.
Click into the circle before Selection.
7. Click in the File name box
8. Type in a File name
9. Click on Save
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Click here to list
the most recently
used Folders and
Files
Click on the
Folder or
Workbook you
wish to open
2. Change the folder Excel is looking in if required
3. Click on the name of the workbook you wish to open, scrolling across if necessary
4. Click on Open
What are folders?
See appendix How Does the Computer’s Filing System Work?
If you know that you will want to use more than one workbook when you start you can select all
the workbooks that you will need from the Open dialog box and click on Open. From the Open
dialog box…
1. Click on the first file you wish to open
2. Hold down the Control (Ctrl) key on the keyboard
3. Click on the next file you wish to open
4. Continue clicking on all the files you wish to select
5. Release the Control key
6. Click Open All selected files will be opened in separate windows
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
How can I switch between more than one open workbook?
1. Click on Window menu A list of open workbooks can be seen
at the bottom of the menu
2. Click on the file you wish to switch to
Click on the bottom X to
close the workbook
Or
1. Click on File
2. Click on Close
Click on the New icon
Or
1. Click on File
2. Click on New
3. Choose one of the following from the New Workbook task pane
New – Blank Workbook This opens a blank workbook like clicking on
the new icon
New – From existing workbook This will create a new workbook based on
the workbook that you choose
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
New from Templates This option allows you to select a template to
base your new workbook on
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
4. Click OK
To move up and down, use the vertical scroll bar to the right of the sheet
To move left or right, use the horizontal scroll bar
Click on the up arrow repeatedly to move up slowly
Click and hold the mouse button down on the up arrow to move up quickly
Click and drag the grey box to move quickly up or down
Click on the down arrow repeatedly to move down slowly
Click and hold the mouse button down on the down arrow to move down
quickly
Click and drag the grey box to move
quickly left or right
Click on the right
arrow repeatedly to
Click on the left arrow move slowly to the
repeatedly to move right
slowly to the left
Or click on the right
Or click on the left arrow and hold the
arrow and hold the mouse button down
mouse button down to move quickly to
to move quickly to the the right
left
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
1. Position the mouse over the middle of the cell you wish to move to
2. Click when your mouse looks the big white cross
3.13 Toolbars
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
When you are not entering text When you are entering text
You will see a thick border around the cell. You will see a thin border around the cell and a
cursor will flash inside the cell.
There is no red cross or green tick on the Any text that you type will appear on the Formula
Formula bar. bar, along with a red cross and green tick.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Always enter dates with forward slashes…
If you enter dates with dots, e.g. 1.1.2000, then Excel will see them as text
rather than numbers. You will then be unable to perform calculations on the
date. Performing calculations on dates is very common when you wish to
calculate how many days there are between two dates.
3.14.6 What Is the Difference Between Enter (Return) and the Green
Tick?
· If you press Enter (Return), you move down one cell after you have pressed it.
· If you click on the green tick, you remain in the same cell after you have clicked it.
Click on the red cross on the Formula bar
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
To select, your mouse must look like a big white cross
· When you are formatting part of the sheet, e.g. making it bold, italic, changing the size
· When you are copying or moving part of the sheet
· When you are adding or deleting rows and columns
· When you are choosing the cells you wish to use in a calculation or formula
· When you are printing part of your sheet
What do cells look like when they are selected?
All the cells, apart from the first one you selected, will go blue. The first cell
remains white (this indicates the active cell of the selection).
Or
Click and drag over the column letters to select several columns
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Or
Click and drag over the row numbers to select several rows
Click here to
select the
whole thing
Or if you have selected the whole sheet…
Click into the middle of the sheet
1. Click on the cell at the top left of the range of cells you want to select
2. Hold down the Shift key
3. Click on the cell at the bottom right of the range of cells you want to select
Keyboard alone:
1. Use the cursor keys to move to the first cell you want to select
2. Hold down the Shift key
3. Use the cursor keys to move to the last cell you want to select
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
What does the Sum formula mean?
When you AutoSum, you will see a formula similar to the one shown below in
the cell.
=SUM(A1:A6)
SUM means that Excel is going to add up. The cell references in brackets show
the range of cells, which will be included in the addition. The last cell reference
(A6 in the example above) should always be a blank cell (see below).
Always include a blank cell between the figures and the answer
This ensures that if you need to add any more figures to the list you are adding
up, the answer will update to include the new information. If you do not leave a
blank line, you may end up with an incorrect answer.
3.16.3 AutoSum Has Put Flashing Lights Around the Wrong Figures
1. Ensure that you can still see the flashing lights around the wrong figures
(if you can’t, click on the cell and click on the AutoSum icon again!)
2. Click and drag over the correct figures, to include the blank cell
3. Press Enter (Return) or click on the green tick
This can happen when you correct AutoSum after it has put flashing lights around the wrong
figures. You will see this error message after you confirm the formula.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
The diagram below shows an example of a sheet with a circular reference…
Cell B13 is
included in the
formula
The cell that
contains the
formula is B13
To correct a circular reference…
1. Click on the cell which contains the formula
2. Press Delete
3. Enter the formula again, without including any reference to the cell that the formula
is in!
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
6. Type the last cell reference from the list you want to add up (this should be a blank cell)
7. Type a close bracket )
8. Press Enter (Return) or click on the green tick
e.g. =SUM(B5:B10)
· Addition For adding numbers together, e.g. finding totals.
· Subtraction For finding the difference between two numbers, e.g. finding a surplus would
involve subtracting outgoing from the incoming.
· Multiplication This is commonly used in spreadsheets to find VAT and other percentages.
The clue that you need a multiplication is the word of
e.g. 20% of £100 is 20% multiplied by £100
¾ of 200 is ¾ multiplied by 200.
· Division Used when you wish to divide an amount up by certain criteria, e.g. finding the
amount per month for a loan would involve dividing the total amount by the
number of months you need to repay it in.
Addition is usually carried out by using AutoSum or typing the Sum function. If you need to do
another sort of calculation, you will have to create a formula as detailed below.
Always use cell references in formulas – and never numbers!
Although formulas will still work if you use numbers instead of cell references, it
is never advisable. Using cell references means that if the number contained in
the cell should change, the formula will update to show the correct answer. So
your spreadsheet is always correct!
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Use the number keypad!
The easiest way of typing the mathematical symbols is to use the keys around
the number pad on the right hand side of the keyboard. (Press Num Lock to use
the numbers!)
The acronym for this is BODMAS.
Brackets Order Divide Multiply Add Subtract
Click here to undo your
last action
Click here to redo your
last undo
Click here to undo from a Click here to redo from a
list of 16 previous actions list of 16 previous undos
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Click and drag to highlight the actions you want to undo
Click and drag over
the actions you
want to undo
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
Click and drag
over the actions
you want to redo
Click here to
edit the text
3. Enter or amend the text
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
4. Press Enter (Return) or click on the green tick
3.21 Formulae
To work out the surplus, we need to do a calculation by taking away the expenditure from the
salary. You can see this being entered on the left hand side. On the right hand side, you can see
what happens after the formula has been entered.
Here is the formula from the example above, which found us the surplus (or money left over).
Starts with the The cell which
equals sign
=B3B13 contains the
total
expenditure
Cell which contains
the income The subtraction sign
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ECDL Spreadsheets Getting Started
The worksheet below shows mixed cell references in action. There is a list of newspapers on the
left hand side with the price shown in Sterling. You need to find the price in the other currencies
listed. The exchange rate of the currencies is shown in row 1. We have already found the cost of
Computer Weekly in Rupees. We multiply the price in sterling (Cell B4) by the exchange rate for
Rupees (Cell C1).
Cost of
Computer
Weekly in
francs
We need to AutoFill this across, to get the price of Computer Weekly in Rupees, Yen and
Dollars. However, we also need to AutoFill it down to get the price of the other newspapers in
Rupees. We could use absolute cell references to copy it in one direction, but this would be time
consuming. Instead you can use mixed cell references.
Think about what will happen if you AutoFill the formula across. The column letters are going to
be adjusted, which is fine for the exchange rate, but it means that you will move away from the
price in Sterling. (See below).
The second cell reference
adjusts as necessary,
moving to the different
exchange rates
The first cell reference moves away from B4 (the price in Sterling),
which means that you get a very silly answer for Dollars. The
formula to find Dollars is currently the price of Computer Weekly in
Pesetas multiplied by the exchange rate for Dollars. So Excel is
telling you that you Computer Weekly costs 1931.63 dollars!
But, if you make the price in Sterling absolute, you can’t AutoFill it down as the cost of Computer
Weekly will always be used.
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Think about what will happen if you AutoFill the same formula down. The row numbers are going
to be adjusted which is fine for the cost of the newspapers, but a disaster for the exchange rates!
(See below)
The second cell reference moves down from
the exchange rate for francs, so your
answers are useless. There is nothing in cell
Formulae C2 which is why you are getting 0 in the
B4*C1 second formula, and there is text in cell C3
B5*C2 which is why you are getting #VALUE!
B6*C3
B7*C4
B7*C5 The first cell reference adjusts as necessary
moving to the different newspaper costs.
You could make the Exchange rate for Francs absolute, and copy it down, but then you wouldn’t
be able to copy the formula across as you would always be using the exchange rate for francs.
In fact, in order to AutoFill this formula both across and down, you only need to fix half of the cell
references. The row that the exchange rates are in, and the column that the prices in Sterling are
in! (See below)
Column B is fixed, so Row 1 is fixed so that
that you never leave the you never move down
price in sterling from the exchange rates
5. Press Enter (Return) or click on the
green tick
6. AutoFill the formula across as normal
7. Select all of the formulae you have AutoFilled
8. AutoFill all the formulae down whilst they are selected
Existing formulae can be changed to have mixed cell references
Just edit the contents of the cell and follow the instructions from step 3 above!
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Not sure whether you need mixed cell references?
Mixed cell references are only needed when you want to AutoFill a formula both
across and down. If you aren’t sure, just AutoFill your formula both across and
down and see if it works. If you find that you are getting strange answers, you
may very well need a mixed cell reference.
Another clue may be that you have created a lot of formulae with absolute cell
references on your worksheet, which you are then AutoFilling in one direction.
You may be able to achieve the same effect a lot quicker with mixed cell
references.
#DIV/0! You have attempted to divide by zero – check the cells being used in the formula have
numbers in them.
#N/A! Part of your formula is using a cell that does not have information in it, or the
information is not yet available.
#NAME? There is some text in the formula that does not mean anything to Excel. There may be
a range name in the formula that Excel does not recognise.
#NULL! Two areas do not intersect. You may have forgotten to include a comma between two
ranges of cells.
#NUM! You have used text instead of numbers whilst performing a function, or the formula’s
result is too big or too small to be shown by Excel.
#REF! One of the cells being used in the formula does not exist. It may have been deleted
after you created the formula.
#VALUE! A cell containing text has been used in the formula.
You may also see error messages about circular references (see next page).
e.g.
3. Amend the formula as required (see below)
4. Press Enter (Return)
or
Click on the green tick
Amending the formula
You can delete the parts of the formula you do not want with the Delete or
Backspace keys on the keyboard. If you want to enter new cell references, you
can either type them in, or click on the cells you require.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
This can happen when you correct AutoSum after it has put flashing lights around the wrong
figures. You will see this error message after you confirm the formula.
The diagram below shows an example of a sheet with a circular reference…
Cell B12 is
included in the
formula
The cell that
contains the
formula is B12
To correct a circular reference…
4. Click on the cell which contains the formula
5. Press Delete
6. Enter the formula again, without including any reference to the cell that the formula
is in!
4 Editing a Worksheet
Page 40
ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
When you hover the mouse over the border of the cell whose
contents you wish to move your mouse should look like this cross
arrow
4. Click on the Paste icon
With the menu
1. Select the text you want to move
2. Click Edit
3. Click Cut
4. Place the cursor where you want to place the text
5. Click Edit
6. Click Paste
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
With the mouse
1. Select the text you want to move
2. Right click over the selected text
3. Click Cut
4. Place the cursor where you want to place the text
5. Right click at the position you want to paste into
6. Click Paste
With the keyboard
1. Select the text you want to move
2. Press CTRL and X
3. Place the cursor where you want to place the text
4. Press CTRL and V
With the menu
1. Select the text you want to copy
2. Click Edit
3. Click Copy
4. Place the cursor where you want to copy the text
5. Click Edit
6. Click Paste
With the mouse
1. Select the text you want to copy
2. Right click over the selected text
3. Click Copy
4. Place the cursor where you want to copy the text
5. Right click at the position you want to paste into
6. Click Paste
With the keyboard
1. Select the text you want to copy
2. Press CTRL and C
3. Place the cursor where you want to copy the text
4. Press CTRL and V
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
1. Copy the information you need
2. Click on the drop down arrow next to the Paste icon
3. Choose the Paste option you require
Getting rid of the extra bits!
Excel is so eager to help you in your copying and pasting with its flashing lines
round cells and the Paste Options button. If they get in the way, then ignore
them or press Esc to get rid of them.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
1. Click on the cell you wish to copy
2. Hover the mouse over the blob in the bottom right hand corner
Your mouse will change to the small
plus sign
Hold down control when you AutoFill
If you hold down the Control key when AutoFilling a number, Excel will go up by
one number at a time, e.g. 1,2,3 rather than just copy the same number again
and again
1. Type the first date or number you require
2. Type the second date or number you require in an adjacent cell
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
e.g.
3. Select both of the cells
4. AutoFill as normal
Hold down CTRL while you AutoFill!
If you hold down Control when AutoFilling a number, Excel will go up by one
number at a time, e.g. 1,2,3, rather than just giving you the same number again
and again!
Use the right mouse button to AutoFill!
Instead of dragging the AutoFill handle with the left mouse button, you can use
the right. When you let go, you will be presented with a menu of options that
you can pick from (such as creating a sequence of dates that go a month at a
time)
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
6. Keep clicking Find Next until you have found what you are looking for
7. Click Close
Type in what
you want to
search for
Type what you
are looking for
Type what you
want to
replace the
text with
3. Click on Replace
4. Type what you are searching for into Find what
5. Type what you want to replace them with into Replace with
6. Click Find Next and Replace to replace individual occurrences
7. Keep clicking Find Next until you have found what you are looking for
Or
Click Replace All to replace all occurrences
8. Click Close
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
4. When Excel finds a mistake….
Click Ignore to leave it alone
Or
Click Ignore all to leave all occurrences of this word alone
Or
Choose a suggested replacement, and click Change to correct the spelling
Or
Choose a suggested replacement, and click Change All to correct all the
spellings
5. Keep checking the spellings, or click Cancel to finish
4.7 Symbols
Another feature that is long overdue is the ability to insert symbols and special characters in
Excel. To insert a symbol...
1. Select the cell where you want to put the symbol
2. Click on the Insert menu
3. Click on Symbol
4. Click on the Symbol tab to insert a symbol (shape) or the Special characters tab to
insert a special character (like the copyright symbol ©, etc)
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
5. Select the symbol you wish to insert
6. Click Insert
7. Click Close
4.8 Sorting
1. Click into any cell in the column you wish to sort (do not select the whole column)
2. Click Sort Ascending icon
or
Click Sort Descending icon
What is the difference between ascending and descending?
If you are sorting this… Ascending means… Descending means…
Text A to Z Z to A
Numbers Lowest to highest Highest to lowest
Dates Earliest to latest Latest to earliest
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
If you select an entire column before you click on Sort you will see this message:
Selecting this option will
make sure that all your data
is sorted.
1. Make sure that Expand the selection option is selected
Excel will expand your selection so that
2. Click Sort all your data is sorted
1. Click into any cell within the worksheet you wish to sort
2. Click Data menu
3. Click Sort The text in the sheet will become highlighted
4. Click the down arrow underneath Sort by
5. Click on the field you wish to sort
6. Click next to Ascending or Descending for the first field
7. Click on the down arrow underneath Then by
8. Click on the next field you wish to sort
9. Click next to Ascending or Descending for the second field
10. Enter sort information for a third field if required
11. Click in the circle next to Header row if the fieldnames are held in the top row
12. Click OK
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
Click down arrow and choose first field to sort
(This should be the field you are grouping by,
e.g. Department, Gender, etc)
Click down arrow and choose second field to
sort
Click down arrow and choose third field to sort
Make sure Header row is chosen if your
fieldnames are in the top row
If, however, you set up similar sheets for each year, or even for each month, then it becomes a
lot easier to find the information you are looking for.
Goes to first sheet in the book Goes to last sheet in the book
Goes one sheet to the left Goes one sheet to the right
2. Click on the sheet tab you require
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ECDL Spreadsheets Editing a Worksheet
Choose the
workbook you
Click on the sheet wish to copy to
you wish to put here
the copied sheet
before
Click the box
next to Create
a copy
4. Click in the box next to Create a copy so that it is ticked
Page 52
ECDL Spreadsheets Functions and Cell References
5. Click on the sheet that you wish to place the copied sheet before
or
Click (move to end)
6. Click OK
Or
1. Click on the sheet tab you wish to copy
2. Hold down the Control (Ctrl) key on the keyboard
3. Click and drag the sheet to its new position
The sheet below shows an absolute cell reference in action. Everyone’s salary is due to increase
by 10%. The first formula, to find Blogg’s new salary, has been created. We multiply his current
salary (cell C4) by the 10% (cell B1).
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ECDL Spreadsheets Functions and Cell References
Formula
entered here
is =C4*B1
However, everyone’s salary is being increased by 10%. If we AutoFill the formula as it is, then
the cell reference B1 will be adjusted to B2, then B3 etc, and we’ll end up with some funny
answers…
Autofill has
adjusted the
reference to the
10% in cell B1
The answers don’t make sense
because Excel has altered the
formula incorrectly
We actually need cell B1 to remain constant or absolute as it is AutoFilled down. In other words,
we need to tell Excel that this is an absolute cell reference! The diagrams below show what
happens when you make B1 absolute.
B1 stays the same all the way down Answers make sense!
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ECDL Spreadsheets Functions and Cell References
2. Enter the formula as normal (see section 3.18).
3. Position the cursor next to the cell reference which is to be absolute
4. Press F4 on the keyboard Dollar signs will appear around the cell reference
5. Press Enter (Return) or click on the
green tick
6. AutoFill the formula as normal
Existing formulae can be changed to have absolute cell references
Just edit the contents of the cell and follow the instructions from step 3 above!
Not sure whether you need an absolute cell reference?
Absolute cell references are only needed when you want to AutoFill formulae. If
you aren’t sure, just AutoFill your formula and see if it works. If you find that you
are getting strange answers, you may very well need an absolute cell reference.
e.g. = AVERAGE(A1:A6)
Or
1. Select the cell where you require the answer
2. Click the drop down arrow next to the AutoSum/Function icon
3. Click Average in the list Formula should be entered automatically
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ECDL Spreadsheets Functions and Cell References
1. Select the cell where you require the answer
2. Type =COUNT
3. Type an open bracket
4. Type the first cell reference you require
5. Type a colon
6. Type the last cell reference you require
7. Press Enter (Return)
or
Click on the green tick
e.g. =COUNT(A1:A6)
IF the total expenditure is over a certain level, then enter ‘Over Budget’ into the cell. But IF total expenditure
is not over a certain level, then enter ‘Within Budget’ into the cell.
The true condition should be entered before the false condition. So a formula including the IF
function will take this format…
=IF(logical test, “value if true”, “value if false”)
e.g. =IF(A10>450, “Over Budget”, “Within Budget”)
The above formula will have the results below, depending on the value of cell A10.
Value of A10 is Value of A10 is
more than 450 less than 450
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ECDL Spreadsheets Functions and Cell References
8. Inside quotation marks, type the data to be entered into the cell if the condition is false
9. Press Enter (Return)
or
Click on the green tick
Or you can use the dialog box to enter an IF function…
1. Select the cell where you require the answer
2. Click Fx icon on the formula bar
3. Choose the Logical category
4. Choose IF from the list of functions
5. Type the condition for the function into the Logical Test box
6. Type the data or expression to be entered into cell if the logical test is true into the
Value_if_true box
7. Type the data or expression to be entered into cell if the logical test is false into the
Value_if_false box
8. Click OK
Enclose text in quotation marks…
For example, if you want Excel to display the text Yes if the logical test is true,
you must enclose “Yes” in quotation marks.
1. Select the cell where you require the answer
2. Type =MIN
3. Type an open bracket
4. Type the first cell reference you require
5. Type a colon
6. Type the last cell reference you require
9. Press Enter (Return)
or
Click on the green tick
e.g. =MIN(A1:A6)
1. Select the cell where you require the answer
2. Type =MAX
3. Type an open bracket
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ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
4. Type the first cell reference you require
5. Type a colon
6. Type the last cell reference you require
7. Press Enter (Return)
or
Click on the green tick
e.g. =MAX(A1:A6)
6 Printing Workbooks
Click Print Preview
Or
1. Click File menu
2. Click Print Preview
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ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
Click on Next and Previous icons to move through the pages
Or
Use the scroll bar on the right hand side of the screen
Header margin
Top margin of
the
spreadsheet
Left margin
Right margin
Bottom
margin of
spreadsheet
Footer margin
2. Position your mouse over a dotted line so that it changes to a cross arrow
3. Click and drag to increase or decrease the margin
The mouse
becomes a
cross arrow
Page 59
ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
For more information on page setup see section 6.3
Be patient with your printer!
Sometimes it can take a while for your sheet to print out, and it is tempting to
click the Print icon again. If you do, you will get two copies!
1. Click on the Print Preview icon
2. Click on the Page Break Preview icon
The dotted
lines show
you where the
current
automatic
page breaks
are.
This shows
These lines show
you the page
you the edge of the
numbering
area which will
print.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
Click and drag
the page break
1. Click and drag the page break to where you want it to where you
want it
2. The pages will renumber themselves
Page numbering
will update
automatically
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ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
Click and drag the blue lines so that they enclose the area you wish to print The white areas are
the parts that will
print, the grey areas
will not print
The white
areas will print
Edge of new
print area Page Break The grey areas
won’t print
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ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
5. Click OK
Use the up and down arrows to change the number
Or
Click into the box and type the number you require
Tick Collate if you wish to print out in the order page 1,
page 2, page 3, page 1, page 2, page 3 etc
Or
Do not tick collate if you wish to print out in the order
4. Tick the Collate box if required page 1, page 1, page 1, page 2, page 2, page 2, etc
5. Click OK
1. Click File
2. Click Print
3. Click in the box next to Print to file A tick will appear in the box
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ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
4. Click OK
5. Type a name for the file in the File name box
6. Select a location for the file from the Save in box
7. Click OK or Save
From Print Preview…
Click on Setup icon
From Normal view
1. Click File menu
2. Click Page Setup
1. Bring up the Page Setup dialog box (see above)
2. Click Margins tab
3. Type the margins you require into the boxes
or
Use the up and down arrows next to the margin sizes
Page 64
ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
The dotted
lines
represent
the margins
3. Click and drag
5. Click OK
3. Click in the circle next to Portrait or Landscape
4. Click OK
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ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
1. Bring up the Page Setup dialog box (see section 6.3.1)
2. Click on Page tab
3. Increase or decrease the percentage next to Adjust
or
If you want to fit the sheet onto one or more pages…
Click on Fit to
Enter the number of pages you would like to adjust it to
4. Click OK
4. Click OK
4. Click OK
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ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
4. Click the red arrow to the right of this box
5. Select the rows you would like to repeat at the top of each page
6. Click red arrow again
7. Click OK
3. Click on Header/Footer tab
4. Click on the down arrow underneath Header
5. Click on the header you require
6. Click on the down arrow underneath Footer
7. Click on the footer you require
8. Click OK
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ECDL Spreadsheets Printing Workbooks
3. Click on Header/Footer tab
4. Click on the down arrow underneath Header or underneath Footer
5. Scroll to the top of the list
6. Click (none)
7. Click OK
1. Go to Print Preview
2. Click on Setup
3. Click on Header/Footer tab
4. Click Custom Header
or
Click Custom Footer
5. Click into the section you require
6. Enter the text you require
or
Click on one of the icons shown to enter text (see below)
7. Click OK
8. Click OK
Inserts Inserts
sheet picture
name
Changes the
font
Formats
picture
Inserts page number
Inserts file name
Inserts number of pages
Inserts file
Inserts date name and path
Inserts time
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
What do the codes mean?
When you enter information from the toolbar, such as the date, you will see a
code rather than the actual information, e.g. &[PAGES] for number of pages,
and &[TAB] for the name of the sheet.
When you look at your sheet in Print Preview, or print it out, however, the real
information will appear!
7 Formatting
Worksheets
If you select row 5: A new row is inserted above row 5.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
If you select column B A new column is inserted to the left
1. Select six rows below where you require six new ones
2. Click Insert menu
3. Click Rows Six new rows will be inserted above the selection
Or
1. Select six rows below where you require six new ones
2. Press Control (Ctrl) and + on the keyboard
Adjust the figure from six to the number of columns or rows you need.
Pressing Delete on the keyboard doesn’t work.
This will only delete any text that the row or column contains, rather than the
row or column itself.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
This will resize
column A This will resize
row 3
2. Click and drag to the size you require
If you make a column too narrow for the text it contains…
You will see hash signs inside the cells. If you make the column a bit wider,
you’ll be able to read the text clearly again.
1. Position your mouse to the right of the column letter you wish to resize
or
Position your mouse below the row number you wish to resize
2. Double click
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
2. Click on the down arrow next to Font Colour icon
3. Click on the colour you require
4. Deselect the cells! The colour may look strange until
you deselect!
Click drop
down arrow to
change the
colour
Click drop
down arrow to
change the
underline style
Page 73
ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
4. Make any changes you require
5. Click OK
· Currency
· Percentage
· Commas
· Dates
· Negative Numbers in Red
Currency
e.g. £5.00 Decrease number of decimal
places
Increase number of decimal
places
Percentage,
e.g. 5% Commas around thousands e.g. 5,000,000
1. Select the cell(s) you wish to change
2. Click Format menu
3. Click Cells
4. Click Number tab
5. Click on the category you require from the left hand side
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
7. Click OK
7. Click on the currency symbol you wish to use
8. Click OK
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
2. Click the Format Painter icon on the Formatting toolbar
or
Double click the Format Painter icon to copy formatting more than once
3. Select the cell(s) you wish to copy the formatting to
4. If required, click the Format Painter icon again to turn it off
1. Select the cell(s) you wish to rotate
2. Click Format
3. Click Cells
4. Click Alignment tab
Click on vertical text to
make the text vertical
Click and drag the line to change the degree
Use the up and down arrow to change the degree
Or
Type the degree into the box
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
5. Change the rotation as desired (see below)
6. Click OK
6. Click OK
· Left (usually for text)
· Right (usually for numbers)
· Centre (usually for headings)
Right
Left
Centre
Page 77
ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
1. Select the cell containing the text, and the cells you wish to put it in the middle of
2. Click on Merge and Centre icon
1. Select the cell(s) to change
2. Click Format menu
3. Click Cells
4. Click Alignment tab
5. Click down arrow next to Vertical Alignment box
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
6. Click on alignment you require
7. Click OK
1. Select the cell(s) you wish to rotate
2. Click Format menu
3. Click Cells
4. Click Alignment tab
5. Change the rotation as desired (see below)
6. Click OK
Click and drag the line to change the degree
Click on vertical text to
make the text vertical
Use the up and down arrow to change the degree
Or
Type the degree into the box
Select the type
of border you
require from
here
2. Select Draw Borders from the choices offered
3. Use the Pencil icon to draw a border around the cells you need to outline
Page 79
ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
Choose the
line colour
Draw borders
Erase borders Choose the
line style
Click on the Line Style Selector icon and select the style you require
1. Click on the Eraser icon
2. Move the eraser over the borders you wish to remove
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
5. Click on the line style you require from the right hand list
6. If you would like to change the colour, click the down arrow next to the colour box
7. Click on the preview to set the borders you require (see above)
8. Click OK
Click here to
choose the
Use these line style
icons to decide
which borders
to apply
These icons
show which
line to apply if
you only want
one of them
Click here to
choose the
colour if
required
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
5. Click on the colour you wish to use
6. Click OK
6. Click on the pattern you want to use
7. Click OK
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ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
This is useful if you have a large sheet, which you have to scroll through to see all the details. No
matter which area of the sheet you are working on, you will always be able to see the titles for
the sheet.
Page 83
ECDL Spreadsheets Formatting Worksheets
Click here and type in the
name of the file location you
wish to use
5. Type in the drive and folder you wish to save to, e.g. C:\work
6. Click OK
Page 84
ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
Click here and type in
the user name you
want associated with
the program
5. Type in the new user name
6. Click OK
8 Charts
Page 85
ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
Area chart
Use this when you want to emphasise change over time.
In the example on the right, the contribution of several
states to sales is shown from 1994 to 1996. Washington
has increased the most over time.
Surface
A surface chart is a bit like a topographic map. Colours
and patterns indicate areas that are in the same range of
values. In this chart, temperature and time are plotted
together to show the tensile strength they produce.
Bar chart
A bar chart compares values with each other. The
example chart shows expenditure figures over six months.
Radar chart
In this chart, each category of information has it’s own line
radiating out from the centre. In the example shown there
are three brands of vitamin, each represented by a line.
The further the line reaches out from the centre the more
vitamins it has in it.
Column chart
A column chart is very similar to a bar chart, except the
bars reach vertically instead of horizontally. The example
chart compares expenditure figures over six months.
Bubble chart
A bubble chart shows three sets of variables, represented
by the two axes and the size of the bubble. In the example
chart, market share is plotted. The axis show the number
of products and the sales, and the size of the bubble
shows the market share.
Line chart
A line chart is useful for comparing trends. In the example
chart, expenditure figures are shown over six months.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
Scatter graph
A scatter graph is useful for comparing a set of values with
the average or predicted values. In the example chart, one
set of dots shows predicted temperatures, and another set
of dots shows the actual temperatures around it. This type
of chart is commonly used for scientific data.
Pie chart
A pie chart can compare members of one set of figures. In
the example chart, expenditure in January is shown.
Doughnut chart
A doughnut chart is very similar to a pie chart, except that
it can show more than one set of figures. Each ring of the
doughnut represents a set of figures. In the example chart,
one set represents Gasoline revenues and the other
property revenues.
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ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
2. Click on the Chart Wizard icon
3. In Step One of the Chart Wizard choose the chart type you require (see below)
Choose a
Choose a format for
chart type your chart
here here
Click here to
see a preview
of your chart
4. Click on Next
5. In Step 2 of the wizard, check that the cells you selected have produced the
expected chart
This is a
preview of
your chart
Change the
options here
to swap
whether the
bars represent These are the
the figures in cells you
the rows or in selected
the columns
Page 88
ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
6. Click on Next
7. In Step 3 of the wizard, change the chart options if required
Click the
gridlines tab to
see major and
minor gridlines
Click data
labels to show
values or
Add titles percentages
here around the bars
8. Click on Next
9. In Step 4 of the wizard decide whether you wish your chart to appear on a new
sheet or as an object next to your figures
10. Click on Finish
Click here if
you wish to
have a
separate
worksheet for
your chart
Click here if you
want the chart to be
next to your figures Click here to
finish off the
chart
11. Here is the finished chart placed underneath the figures it relates to:
Page 89
ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
Page 90
ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
Page 91
ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
Chart
Gridlines
Chart
Area
Value Axis
Legend
Plot Area –
area in grey
here
Category Axis
Data Table
Changes the
format of the Show data by
selected part Changes the Show or hide column
chart type. E.g data table
from bar to pie
Show data by
row
Page 92
ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
1. Click on the View menu
2. Click on Toolbars
3. Click on Chart
Click on the part of the chart you wish to select (see below)
or
Use the Chart Toolbar (see section 8.4.3)
Title
Chart Area
(background)
Series
Legend
If you want to select one piece of pie…
You may have to click on it twice. When you first click, you will probably get the
whole pie, but if you click again on the piece you want, you will get just that bit.
Boxes around the whole pie, Boxes around just one piece,
indicate that the whole pie is indicate that just that piece is
selected selected
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ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
Click on the
down arrow
next to the
chart type
icon
3. Click on the chart type you require
(For more information about chart types see page 86)
3. Click on the colour you require
3. Click on the colour you require
Page 94
ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
Click down
arrow and
Click on font choose a style
style you
for background,
require
e.g. transparent
Click down
arrow and Click down
choose arrow and
choose a
underline style
colour
Tick the box next to the effect you require
5. Make any changes you require
6. Click OK
2. Click on an Orientation icon on the Chart toolbar
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ECDL Spreadsheets Charts
5. Click on the series you wish to see a trend line for
6. Click OK
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1. Select the axis you wish to change
2. Click on the Format icon on the Chart toolbar
3. Click on the Scale tab
4. Change the options next to Minimum and Maximum
Changing the Line Styles…
Click Patterns tab
Click in circle
next to
position
Click circle required for
next to Axis tick mark
option you
require
Click in circle
next to
Click down position
arrows to required for
change style, tick mark
colour or
thickness
(weight) of the Click in the
line circle next to
the Labels
option you
require
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Changing the Scale…
Click Scale tab
Change the number to
the category at which
you wish the two axes
to intersect
Choose the number of
labels you require
1 will label every
category
Change Maximum and Minimum to the highest
Choose the number of and lowest numbers you require on the axis
tick marks you require Change Major and Minor unit to the interval you
require between the labels on the axis
Changing the Number Format…
1. Click Number tab
2. Click Category you require
3. Change options as required on right
There are different options for different categories
For more information about number formats
See section 7.4
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Changing the Alignment…
Click Alignment tab
Click and drag
line to
required angle
…or use the up and
down arrows to change
the angle
Click on the
colour you
Click next to would like to
the border you change to
require: None
or Custom
Click the down
arrows to
change the
style, colour
and weight
5. Click on colour you require (see above)
6. Change borders as required (see above)
7. Click OK
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Click down
arrow and
Click on font choose a style
style you
for background,
require
e.g. transparent
Click down
arrow and Click down
choose arrow and
choose a
underline style
colour
Tick the box next to the effect you require
11. Make any changes you require
12. Click OK
1. Select the part of the chart you wish to change (see section 8.4)
2. Position the mouse over a black box Mouse will change to a double headed
arrow
3. Click and drag to resize
Choose which box you resize from carefully!
Boxes at a corner will allow you to resize both the height and the width. Boxes
that are not in the corners will allow you to resize the height or the width only.
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Changing the Borders and Fill Colour… see section 8.5.2
If you want to change the labels around a piece of pie…
Click Data Labels tab
Click in the circle
next to the data
label you wish to
show
Click Show legend
key… to label the
piece of pie with its
colour in the legend
Click Show leader
lines to have a line
from the label to the
piece of pie
To rotate the pie chart…
1. Click Options tab
2. Click on the arrows in the Angle of first slice box
2. Click on Format icon on Chart toolbar
For more information about formatting, see page 72.
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2. Click on down arrow next to Chart Type icon on Chart toolbar
3. Click on Chart Type you require
2. Click on Show/Hide Legend icon
2. Click on Show/Hide Data Table icon
2. Click on By Row icon
or
Click on By Column icon
2. Click on Angle Text Upward icon
or
Click on Angle Text Downward icon
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2. Click on the Print icon
2. Click on Print icon
1. Open the workbook, containing the sheet you wish to save as a web page
2. If required, select the range of cells you wish to save
3. Click on the File menu
4. Click on Save as Web Page
5. Use the arrow on the right of the Save in box to select a location to save to
6. Click in the circle before Entire Workbook
or
Cllick in the circle before Selection: Sheet
What if I only want a part of my worksheet as a web page?
Make sure you select the range of cells required in step 2. There will be a
Selection option instead of the Sheet option in the Save as dialog box.
Click into the circle before Selection.
7. Click in the File name box
8. Type in a File name
9. Click on Save
9.2 Templates
Templates are stored in a special template folder and when you open one you are opening a
copy of the original. You can then fill in all the detail you need. This allows you to create as many
new workbooks as you like, based on just one model.
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1. Click on File
2. Click on New
3. The New Workbook task pane opens on the right
4. Under the Templates subheading, click on On my Computer
5. Click on the General tab
There are two tabs in the dialog box: the General tab and the Spreadsheet Solutions tab.
Excel provides you with other templates in the Spreadsheet Solutions dialog box to allow you to
create invoices, expense statements and purchase orders. All you need to do is customise these
templates.
When you open up the templates supplied with Excel you can see a button that will allow you to
add your own information to customise the template for your organisation. Just follow the on
screen tips and you will not go wrong.
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14. Type a name for your template
15. Click Save
When you wish to use your new template…
1. Click on File
2. Click on New
3. Click on On my Computer
4. Click on the General tab if necessary
5. Double click on the template you wish to use A copy of your template will open
Microsoft Excel stores the templates you create in the Templates folder. To open this folder you
need to navigate to;
C:\Windows\ Application Data \ Microsoft \Templates
Where are my templates?
When Microsoft Office was installed the templates may have been put in a
different place! Ask the person who installed it.
1. Click on the Open file icon
2. Change to the C: drive
3. Click Windows
4. Double click on Application Data
5. Double click on Microsoft
6. Double click on Templates
7. Double click the template you wish to open
8. Make the changes to your template
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9. Click the Save icon
10. Close the template
You may wish to open a document based on your modified template to see the changes.
There are four ways to share data between different applications.
§ Use Cut, Copy and Paste
§ Paste with a Link
§ Embed a document
§ Open a file in a different file format
What is the difference between the four ways of sharing data?
· Copy and Paste will put a picture of the data you wish to copy in your
document.
· Paste Link will connect your document to the source file and it will be
updated when the source file changes.
· Embedding a document puts the document you wish to copy right into your
application. The toolbars will change and you can edit your document where
you are.
· Open a file in a different format – check which file formats are supported by
both applications.
3. Select the information you wish to copy
4. Click on Copy icon
5. Switch to Word using the task bar
6. Move the cursor to the position you wish to insert your Excel Spreadsheet
7. Click on Paste icon
8. A picture of your spreadsheet is pasted in
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3. Select the information you wish to copy
4. Click on Copy icon
5. Switch to Word using the task bar
6. Move the cursor to the position you wish to insert your Excel Spreadsheet
7. Click on Edit menu
8. Click on Paste Special
9. Click in the Paste link circle
10. Select a format
11. Click in the box before Display as Icon
12. Click OK
Excel will
usually
choose the
correct format
If you click here
you will see an
icon in your
Click here worksheet and
to create a when you click
link to the on it you will be
Excel taken to Excel
spreadsheet
Your spreadsheet will be pasted into a Word document…
Fields are grey and will be
updated when you change
any information in Excel
What will happen when I change information in Excel?
When you make any changes in Excel they will be reflected in the copy in your
Word document.
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What happens if the original spreadsheet is moved or renamed?
Your link will be lost! You may need to perform the copy and paste again.
Click here to
choose the
document you
wish to find
Choose how to
display your
document here
6. Click OK
What if my workbook has more than one sheet?
You will only be able to save the active sheet. Click OK to the message that
appears.
2. Close the Excel file you have just saved (without saving it again)
3. Switch to Word using the task bar
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4. Click on Insert menu
5. Click on File
6. Change the Files of type box to Text Files
7. Locate the Text (Tab delimited) file you have just saved
8. Click on OK Your spreadsheet will be pasted into Word
The Excel Information is pasted into the Word document like a table
as long as you choose Text (Tab delimited).
6. If required, click in the cell you wish to paste into
7. Click on Edit
8. Click on Paste The text is pasted into Excel
It doesn’t look the same!
Some formatting may be lost when copying between Word and Excel.
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6. If required, click in the cell you wish to paste into
7. Click on Edit menu
8. Click on Paste Special
9. Click into the circle next to Paste link
10. Click OK
Your Word document or selected text will now be pasted and any changes made in
Word will be reflected in Excel
Double click to edit the text
You will be taken to the Word document automatically where you can make
your changes.
Double click to edit the text
Rulers will appear around the text and you will be able to edit it as if you were in
Word! Click away from the text when you have finished.
What has happened to the toolbars?
When you paste link or embed a document the toolbars of the host application
change to reflect those of the document you are copying.
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8. Follow the wizard to import the document into Excel
Choose
Delimited to
separate
columns with
tabs
You can
preview your
layout here
9. Click Next to continue
Select which Sometimes
kind of you may have
delimiters you pressed the
wish to see tab key twice
to separate
the columns
10. Click Next to continue
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You can set the data format for each column here…
Select which
format options
you require
Click here to select
the data you want to
import
11. Select each column in turn
12. Click into the Data Preview box to select the data that you want to import
13. Click Finish to import the data
Your data is now entered into the Excel Spreadsheet…
It’s all a bit cramped!
To make sure that it all fits a bit better…
1. Select the columns that contain the data
2. Click on Format menu
3. Click on Column
4. Click on AutoFit Selection
6. Click on the File menu
7. Click on Save As
8. Click on down arrow at the end of Save as type box
9. Click the version of Excel you require (e.g. Excel 5.0/95 Workbook)
10. Click Save
9. Click the file format you require (dBASE IV, Quattro, Text (Tab delimited) etc.)
10. Click Save
10 Appendices
10.1.1 An analogy…
· The Computer’s filing system is very much like an ordinary filing cabinet
· The whole of the filing cabinet is your computer
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· The drawers in the filing cabinet are known as DRIVES
· DRIVES are represented by letters of the Alphabet (see below)
· Inside the drawers are FOLDERS that hold your documents
· Inside some of the folders may be SUBFOLDERS to make things more organised
· Inside the folders are the pieces of paper that you have written on, known as FILES. Excel
files are known as workbooks.
Drawers are known as
drives. Each drive is Whole filing cabinet is
represented by a letter the computer. It
contains drawers
known as DRIVES
Inside the drives are
folders which can
contain subfolders
and files
Imagine you are filing your work documents inside these drives. You may have a main folder
which contains all of your work. Inside that you may have subfolders to contain your budgets,
invoices and timesheets. Inside those subfolders are the actual files that you have written on
Main folder
Invoices Budgets Timesheets
The files, or Excel
workbooks that
you have created
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· A network is a group of computers connected to each other
through a server. If you save onto a network drive, the
information will go to the server and everyone else who is
connected to the network will be able to access your
document
This is the folder
you are in, here it is
“Excel Proficient”
These are the
files and sub
folders
contained
inside that
folder.
Drives are represented by grey boxes
Folders are represented by yellow boxes
Excel Workbooks or files are represented by a white piece of paper with the Excel
icon at the top left
1. Click on the down arrow next to the “look in” or “save in” box
Click here and a list of
the drives will drop
down
1. Click on the drive you require
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The folders on
the hard disk
drive
Doubleclick the folder you require A list of the subfolders and files inside
that folder will appear in the middle
Open a workbook (Page 21)
Save the current workbook (17)
Restrict access to your document (not covered on this course)
Print the active sheet (58)
Print preview the active sheet (Page 58)
Research icon (not covered on this course)
SpellCheck (not covered on this course)
Cut the selected cells (Page 41)
Copy the selected cells (Page 41)
Format Painter (Page 41)
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Paste (Page 75)
Undo and Redo(Page 33)
Insert a hyperlink to another location (Page 112)
AutoSum (Page 30)
Sort ascending (Page 49)
Sort descending (Page 49)
The Chart Wizard (Page 88)
Displays the drawing toolbar (Not covered on this course)
Zoom control (Page 23)
Displays the help task pane (Page 5)
Changes the size of the selected cells (Page 72)
Adds/Removes Bold from the selected cells (Page 72)
Adds/Removes italics from the selected cells (Page 72)
Adds/Removes underlining from the selected cells (Page 72)
Left aligns the selected cells (Page 77)
Centre aligns the selected cells (Page 77)
Right aligns the selected cells (Page 77)
Merge and centre (Page 77)
Applies the currency format (Page 75)
Applies the percentage format (Page 75)
Applies the comma format (Page 75)
Increases the decimal places (Page 75)
Decreases the decimal places (Page 75)
Increases the indent (Not covered on this course)
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Decreases the indent (Not covered on this course)
Adds borders (Page 79)
Adds shading (Page 81)
Changes the font colour (Page 73)
11 Glossary
11.1 Glossary
11.1.3 AutoFill
This feature allows you to enter a series of numbers, dates or formulae.
11.1.4 AutoFormat
This will automatically format your table, for example adding heavy lines to form a box around
the date.
11.1.5 AutoSum
This feature allows you to select the cell range containing the values that you wish to add
together. It then adds those figures up.
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11.1.6 Cell
This is the basic building block of the Excel worksheet. A cell is formed by the intersection of the
row and column gridlines. Each cell is identified by the letter of the column and the number of the
row. e.g. B7.
11.1.11 Formulae
Formulae are the basis of Excel. Formulae will do all the calculations that will normally be done
by a calculator. You can use formulae to do simple calculations such as additions, subtractions,
multiplication, and division as well as statistical, financial and scientific calculations.
11.1.13 Gridlines
These are the lines that you see in your sheet. You can choose to print them using the Tools
menu, then the Options dialog box.
11.1.14 Label
This is the text which usually appears next to the figures in a sheet, and identifies what the
figures mean.
11.1.15 Legends
A legend (also known as a key) is used in charts and graphs. Excel actually creates legends
from the labels on the worksheet. The legends can be customised with borders, patterns and
different fonts.
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11.1.19 Sheets
It is possible to insert, delete, rename, move and copy sheets in Excel. The sheet can be a
worksheet, chart sheet, module sheet or dialogue sheet. A worksheet is the most often used.
11.1.20 Worksheet
This is also called a spreadsheet. The worksheet is one page of an Excel workbook. A
worksheet is made up of cells in columns and rows.
12 Consolidation
Exercises
1. Start Excel, and open the spreadsheet called Consolidate.xls
2. On the sheet called Primary, select cell Z80, scrolling down and over to find it. Edit the
contents so that it has the current year instead of 1999.
3. Change the zoom level to 90%.
4. Delete the figure in cell G15, and cell G20. Undo both deletions, then redo the first
deletion.
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5. Add your name to cell A5, and today's date to cell A6.
6. In cells A7 to A10, enter the numbers 50, 97, 34, and 27.
7. Hide the formatting toolbar, and show it again. Change the default Excel user name to
Gladys Stoat.
8. Make the header in cell A1 font size 20, bold, italic, and font name Tahoma. Remove the
underline.
9. Freeze the top two rows.
10. Go to the sheet called Secondary, and make all the margins 2.2cm. Change the
orientation to Landscape.
11. Resize column A so that the heading in cell A1 fits into it properly. Resize row A so that it
is tall enough for the heading.
12. Copy cells B5 to G10, and paste them into cells C26 to H31.
13. Do a spell check, fixing any errors.
14. Do a print preview, make sure the sheet looks okay, then print one copy.
2. Go to cell B20 and decrease the decimal place of the figure there to one decimal place.
3. Change the number format of the figure in C22 to Currency, showing pound sterling (£).
4. Apply a light blue shading to the cells holding the title text “Happy NHS Trust”.
5. Use the Format Painter to copy the formatting in cell A19 to cell A20.
6. Centre the alignment of the text in cells A4 and A5
7. Change the orientation of the text in cells A4 and A5 so they point upwards by 45
degrees.
8. Apply a red border to around the outline and inside of cells A19 and A20.
9. Go to Sheet 2. Insert a custom header, with the text Confidential on the left hand side,
and the current date on the right hand side.
10. Delete row 31.
11. Use Find and Replace to change all instances of Woman to Female.
12. Change the name of this worksheet to GP Patients, then move the worksheet so that it
appears after the Finances sheet (in other words, just to the right of Finances).
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13. Sort the data in this spreadsheet ascending alphabetically by the patient’s surname.
14. Go to Page Break Preview and adjust the page break so that all the data in this
spreadsheet will print on one page.
15. Go to the Finances spreadsheet. Use the Chart wizard to create a chart of the data
there. The Chart should be:
• a Column chart
• the Clustered Column subtype
• with a data range of cells A3 to G8
• series in rows
• given the title of Ward Finances
• placed as an object in the Finances sheet
16. Change the colour of the Cleaning bars to red.
17. Change the chart type to a bar chart with a Clustered Bar sub type.
18. Move and resize the chart so that it covers the area of cells A10 to D31.
2. In cell B10, use Autosum to add up the figures in cells B4 to B8. Then use Autofill to
copy the formula across cells C10 to G10.
3. Go to the Salaries sheet. Find the average salary and enter it in cell F3. Use the
functions to find the minimum and maximum salaries and enter them in cells F4 and F5.
4. In cell B25, use the COUNT function to enter the total number of employees listed.
5. All employees earning less than £25,000 are eligible for a travelling allowance. Use the
IF function to add the text Yes or No in cells C4 to C22 depending on whether the employee is
entitled to a travelling allowance or not.
6. Create a formula in cell D4 that calculates the London Weighting figure for Anthony
Davies. (The London Weighting figure is calculated by multiplying an employee’s salary by the
figure in cell D2.)
7. Edit the formula so that it contains an absolute cell reference which allows you to Autofill
the formula down to cell D22. Go ahead and Autofill the formula down.
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13 Index
13.1 Index
#DIV/0! ....................................................39 Resizing Parts................................... 100
#N/A! .......................................................39 Selecting ............................................. 93
#NAME?..................................................39 selecting parts of ................................. 91
#NULL! ....................................................39 Titles ................................................. 102
#NUM!.....................................................39 Toolbar.............................................. 101
#REF!......................................................39 Type.................................................. 102
#VALUE! .................................................39 Types.................................................. 85
Absolute Cell References ........................53 Checking Your Spreadsheet ................... 58
Adding Up ......................................... 30, 31 Circular Reference.............................30, 40
Alignment ................................................77 Closing
AutoFill Excel................................................... 10
Absolute Cell References.....................54 Workbooks .......................................... 22
Special Lists.........................................45 Colour
Using ...................................................44 Of Charts............................................. 99
AutoFit.....................................................71 Of Font................................................ 73
AutoSum .................................................30 Columns
Average...................................................55 Deleting............................................... 70
Bold.........................................................72 New .................................................... 69
Borders ...................................................79 Resizing .............................................. 70
deleting................................................80 Selecting ............................................. 28
drawing ................................................79 Commas................................................. 74
using the menu ....................................81 Copying
Calculations.............................................32 Sheets................................................. 51
Cells Using AutoFill ...................................... 44
Adding Patterns ...................................82 With Cut, Copy and Paste ................... 42
Changing Colour ..................................82 with drag and drop............................... 41
Centring Corrections
Merge and Centre ................................78 Deleting............................................... 35
Spreadsheet ........................................65 Editing................................................. 35
Charts Entering Text and Numbers................. 27
adding a title ........................................96 Replacing............................................ 35
adding a trendline ................................96 Undo ................................................... 33
adding data labels................................97 Creating Charts
adding gridlines....................................96 using the chart wizard.......................... 87
chart toolbar.........................................92 using the keyboard .............................. 87
Colour..................................................99 Currency................................................. 74
deleting................................................91 Cut ......................................................... 41
Font ...................................................100 Data Table............................................ 102
Fonts ...................................................95 Database .................................................. 9
formatting.............................................94 Dates...................................................... 27
moving.................................................90 Decimals................................................. 74
Moving Parts......................................100 Default Folder ......................................... 84
orientation of text .................................95 Deleting
Printing ..............................................103 Cell Contents....................................... 35
resizing...............................................90 Columns.............................................. 70
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