Session 2: Basic Operations
Objective: Teach students how to create, open, and save workbooks, enter, and edit
data, and apply basic cell formatting.
Duration: 1 hour
1. Review of Session 1 (5 minutes)
- Quick recap of key points from the previous session.
- Answer any lingering questions.
2. Creating, Opening, and Saving Workbooks (15 minutes)
- Creating a New Workbook:
- Using the "File" menu or the shortcut (Ctrl + N) to create a new workbook.
- Opening an Existing Workbook:
- Using the "File" menu or the shortcut (Ctrl + O) to open existing files.
- Navigating through file directories to locate workbooks.
- Saving Workbooks:
- Saving a new workbook using "Save As" (Ctrl + Shift + S).
- Understanding different file formats (Excel Workbook (.xlsx), Excel 97-2003
Workbook (.xls), etc.).
- Saving updates to an existing workbook using "Save" (Ctrl + S).
- Introduction to "AutoSave" and its importance.
3. Entering and Editing Data (20 minutes)
- Entering Data:
- How to enter text, numbers, and dates into cells.
- Understanding data alignment (left-aligned text, right-aligned numbers).
- Editing Data:
- Selecting a cell and editing its contents directly.
- Using the formula bar for editing.
- Clearing Data:
- Clearing cell contents vs. clearing cell formatting.
- Using Undo and Redo:
- Undoing actions (Ctrl + Z) and redoing actions (Ctrl + Y).
4. Basic Cell Formatting (15 minutes)
- Formatting Text:
- Changing font type, size, and color.
- Applying bold, italics, and underline.
- Cell Borders and Fill Colors:
- Adding and customizing cell borders.
- Applying fill colors to cells for better visualization.
- Text Alignment:
- Horizontal and vertical alignment of text within cells.
- Wrapping text within a cell for multi-line display.
- Merging cells to create headings or titles.
5. Hands-on Practice (5 minutes)
- Practical Exercise:
- Create a new workbook and enter sample data (e.g., a simple budget or contact
list).
- Apply basic formatting to the data (e.g., bold headings, colored cell
backgrounds).
- Save the workbook with an appropriate name.
6. Detailed Steps and Demonstrations:
1. Creating, Opening, and Saving Workbooks:
- Creating a New Workbook:
1. Click on "File" in the top left corner.
2. Select "New" from the drop-down menu.
3. Choose "Blank workbook" to create a new, empty workbook.
4. Alternatively, use the shortcut Ctrl + N.
- Opening an Existing Workbook:
1. Click on "File".
2. Select "Open".
3. Browse to the location of the workbook you want to open.
4. Double-click the file to open it.
5. Alternatively, use the shortcut Ctrl + O.
- Saving Workbooks:
1. Click on "File".
2. Select "Save As".
3. Choose the location to save the file.
4. Enter a file name and select the desired file format.
5. Click "Save".
6. For subsequent saves, use "Save" or Ctrl + S.
2. Entering and Editing Data:
- Entering Data:
- Click on a cell and start typing to enter text, numbers, or dates.
- Press Enter to move to the next cell below, or use Tab to move to the next cell to
the right.
- Editing Data:
- Double-click on a cell to edit directly.
- Alternatively, click on the cell and make changes in the formula bar.
- Clearing Data:
- Select the cell(s) and press the Delete key to clear contents.
- For clearing formatting, go to the "Home" tab, click "Clear", and select "Clear
Formats".
3. Basic Cell Formatting:
- Formatting Text:
- Select the cell(s) to format.
- Use options in the "Home" tab under the "Font" group to change font type, size,
color, and apply bold, italics, or underline.
- Cell Borders and Fill Colors:
- Use the "Borders" button in the "Home" tab to add or customize borders.
- Use the "Fill Color" button to apply background colors to cells.
- Text Alignment:
- Select the cell(s) and use the alignment buttons in the "Home" tab to change
horizontal and vertical alignment.
- Use "Wrap Text" to display multi-line text within a cell.
- Use "Merge & Center" to merge selected cells and center the text.
4. Hands-on Practice:
- Create a new workbook.
- Enter sample data, such as:
A1: Name
B1: Age
C1: City
A2: John Doe
B2: 30
C2: New York
- Format the headings (A1, B1, C1) to be bold and with a background color.
- Save the workbook as "SampleData.xlsx".
