MS-Excel: Introduction:

MS Excel is a commonly used Microsoft Office application. It is a spreadsheet

program which is used to save and analyse numerical data

Basics of MS Excel
What is MS Excel?

MS Excel is a spreadsheet program where one can record data in the form of
tables. It is easy to analyse data in an Excel spreadsheet. The image given below
represents how an Excel spreadsheet looks like:

How to open MS Excel?

To open MS Excel on your computer, follow the steps given below:

 Click on Start
 Then All Programs
 Next step is to click on MS Office
 Then finally, choose the MS-Excel option
Alternatively, you can also click on the Start button and type MS Excel in the
search option available.

What is a cell?
A spreadsheet is in the form of a table comprising rows and columns. The
rectangular box at the intersection point between rows and columns forms a
cell. Given below is an image of a cell:

What is Cell Address?

The cell address is the name by which is cell can be addressed. For example, if
row 7 is interested in column G, then the cell address is G7.

Features of MS Excel
Various editing and formatting can be done on an Excel spreadsheet. Discussed
below are the various features of MS Excel.

The image below shows the composition of features in MS Excel:

 Home

 Comprises options like font size, font styles, font colour,

background colour, alignment, formatting options and styles,
insertion and deletion of cells and editing options

o
 Insert
  Comprises options like table format and style, inserting images and
figures, adding graphs, charts and sparklines, header and footer
option, equation and symbols

o
 Page Layout

 Themes, orientation and page setup options are available under the
page layout option

o
 Formulas

 Since tables with a large amount of data can be created in MS

excel, under this feature, you can add formulas to your table and
get quicker solutions

o
 Data

 Adding external data (from the web), filtering options and data
tools are available under this category

o
 Review

 Proofreading can be done for an excel sheet (like spell check) in

the review category and a reader can add comments in this part

o
 View

 Different views in which we want the spreadsheet to be displayed

can be edited here. Options to zoom in and out and pane
arrangement are available under this category
For those willing to learn more about MS Excel, can refer to the video given
below and understand every small aspect of this program in detail.
Benefits of Using MS Excel
MS Excel is widely used for various purposes because the data is easy to save,
and information can be added and removed without any discomfort and less
hard work.

Given below are a few important benefits of using MS Excel:

 Easy To Store Data: Since there is no limit to the amount of information

that can be saved in a spreadsheet, MS Excel is widely used to save data
or to analyse data. Filtering information in Excel is easy and convenient.
 Easy To Recover Data: If the information is written on a piece of paper,
finding it may take longer, however, this is not the case with excel
spreadsheets. Finding and recovering data is easy.
 Application of Mathematical Formulas: Doing calculations has
become easier and less time-taking with the formulas option in MS excel
 More Secure: These spreadsheets can be password secured in a laptop or
personal computer and the probability of losing them is way lesser in
comparison to data written in registers or piece of paper.
 Data at One Place: Earlier, data was to be kept in different files and
registers when the paperwork was done. Now, this has become
convenient as more than one worksheet can be added in a single MS
Excel file.
 Neater and Clearer Visibility of Information: When the data is saved
in the form of a table, analysing it becomes easier. Thus, information is a
spreadsheet that is more readable and understandable.

MS Excel
There are certain things which one must know with respect to MS Excel, its
applications and usage:

 An MS Excel file is saved with an extension of .xls

 Companies with large staff and workers use MS Excel as saving
employee information becomes easier
 Excel spreadsheets are also used in hospitals where the information of
patients can be saved more easily and can be removed conveniently once
their medical history is cleared
 The sheet on which you work is called a Worksheet
 Multiple worksheets can be added in a single Excel file
 This is a data processing application
Creating, editing, saving and printing spreadsheets

1. In your worksheet, click File > Print or press Ctrl + P. This will get you
to the Print Preview window.

2. In the Copies box, enter the number of copies you want to get.
3. Under Printer, choose which printer to use.
4. Under Settings, specify exactly what to print and configure the page
margins, orientation, paper size, etc.
5. Choose what to print: selection, sheet or entire workbook. To tell Excel
which data and objects should be included in the printout, under Settings,
 click the arrow next to Print Active Sheets, and choose one of these
options:

6.
7. Click the Print button

Sharing: to share a workbook with other simply click File > share. You can
share by saving to the cloud or onedrive or you can send as an attachement or
PDF file in an email. Another way is to click review tab > Share Workbook.
Make sure you mark the type of permission user will be granted like editing or
just viewing.
Saving: To save the file, click the File menu at the top-left corner, and then
select Save As. Depending on your version of Excel, you'll usually have the
option to save the file to your computer or OneDrive. Once its been saved once,
then you can just hit the save button in the quick access toolbar.

1. Creating a Spreadsheet:

 Open Microsoft Excel.

 Choose a blank workbook or select a template if you prefer.
 You'll see a grid with rows and columns. You can start entering data,
labels, or numbers into the cells.

2. Editing a Spreadsheet:

 To enter data into a cell, simply click on the cell and start typing.
 To edit existing data, double-click on the cell you want to edit, or select
the cell and make changes directly in the formula bar.
  You can also use formulas and functions to perform calculations or
manipulate data. Type "=" to start a formula.

3. Saving a Spreadsheet:

 To save your spreadsheet, click on the "File" tab in the top left corner.
 Choose "Save As" if you're saving the workbook for the first time or want
to save it with a new name. Otherwise, select "Save" to overwrite the
existing file.
 Choose the location where you want to save the file, enter a name for the
workbook, and select the desired file format (e.g., Excel Workbook
(.xlsx)).
 Click "Save" to save the workbook.

4. Printing a Spreadsheet:

 Click on the "File" tab and select "Print".

 You'll see a preview of how the spreadsheet will look when printed.
 Adjust print settings such as the number of copies, page orientation, and
paper size.
 You can also customize the print area, adjust margins, and choose
whether to print gridlines and headings.
 Click "Print" to send the spreadsheet to the printer.

working with functions & formulas, modifying worksheets with color &
auto formats

**1. Functions and Formulas:**

- **Entering Formulas:** Start by selecting the cell where you want the result
to appear. Then, type the equal sign "=" followed by the desired formula or
function. For example, "=SUM(A1:A10)" adds the values in cells A1 through
A10.

- **Common Functions:** Excel offers a vast array of functions for different

purposes. Here are a few commonly used ones:

- **SUM:** Adds up the values in a range of cells.

- **AVERAGE:** Calculates the average of the values in a range.

 - **IF:** Allows for conditional evaluation; returns one value if a condition is
true and another if false.

- **VLOOKUP:** Searches for a value in the first column of a table and

returns a value in the same row from another column.

- **CONCATENATE:** Joins multiple text strings into one.

- **AutoFill:** Excel's AutoFill feature allows you to quickly fill cells with
data or formulas. After entering a value or formula in a cell, hover your cursor
over the bottom right corner of the cell until you see a small square (the fill
handle). Click and drag this handle to fill adjacent cells with the pattern.

**2. Modifying Worksheets with Color and Auto Formats:**

- **Cell Formatting:** Select the cells you want to format, then navigate to the
Home tab on the ribbon. Here, you can change the font, font size, font color, cell
borders, and fill color using the formatting options provided.

- **Conditional Formatting:** This feature allows you to dynamically format

cells based on specific conditions. To apply conditional formatting, select the
cells you want to format, then go to the Home tab > Conditional Formatting.
Choose the desired formatting rule, such as highlighting cells that contain
certain values or are within a specified range.

- **Color Scales, Data Bars, and Icon Sets:** These are advanced types of
conditional formatting that provide visual representations of data. Color scales
apply color gradients to cells based on their values, data bars display bars
proportional to cell values, and icon sets add icons based on cell values.

- **Cell Styles:** Excel offers predefined cell styles that you can apply to
quickly format cells with a consistent look and feel. Access these styles from the
Home tab > Cell Styles.
**Additional Tips:**

- Use the Formula Auditing tools (found in the Formulas tab) to trace precedents
and dependents, evaluate formulas, and identify errors in your calculations.

- Utilize named ranges to make formulas more readable and maintainable.

- Explore Excel's extensive library of functions to perform complex calculations

and data manipulations efficiently.

- Practice using different formatting options and conditional formatting rules to

enhance the visual appeal and clarity of your worksheets.

By mastering functions and formulas, as well as leveraging formatting options

effectively, you can unlock the full potential of Microsoft Excel for data
analysis, reporting, and decision-making. Experiment with these features to
become more proficient and efficient in Excel.
graphically representing data: Charts & Graphs

Graphically representing data using charts and graphs is a powerful feature of

Microsoft Excel. Here's a guide on creating various types of charts and graphs
in Excel:
**1. Selecting Data:**
Before creating a chart, you need to select the data you want to represent
graphically. Ensure that your data is organized in columns or rows, with labels
in the first row or column.
**2. Creating a Chart:**
- **Select Data:** Click and drag to select the range of data you want to
include in the chart.
- **Insert Chart:** Go to the Insert tab on the ribbon and choose the type of
chart you want to create from the Charts group. Common chart types include
Column, Bar, Line, Pie, Scatter, and Area.

- **Customizing Chart:** Once the chart is inserted, you can customize it

further by adding titles, legends, data labels, and more. Right-click on different
elements of the chart to access formatting options.

**3. Common Types of Charts:**

- **Column Chart:** Suitable for comparing values across different categories.

- **Bar Chart:** Similar to a column chart, but with horizontal bars. Useful for
comparing values of different categories.

- **Line Chart:** Shows trends over time or other continuous categories.

- **Pie Chart:** Represents proportions of a whole. Best for showing

percentages or proportions.

- **Scatter Plot:** Displays the relationship between two sets of data points.
Useful for identifying correlations.

- **Area Chart:** Similar to a line chart but with the area beneath the line filled
in. Good for visualizing cumulative totals over time.

**4. Formatting and Customization:**

- **Chart Styles:** Excel offers various pre-designed chart styles that you can
apply to change the appearance of your chart quickly.
- **Chart Elements:** Customize chart elements such as titles, axis labels,
legends, gridlines, and data labels to enhance clarity.

- **Data Series:** You can modify the appearance of individual data series
within a chart, including colors, markers, and line styles.

**5. Updating Data:**

If your underlying data changes, you can easily update your chart to reflect
those changes. Simply right-click on the chart and choose "Select Data" to
adjust the data range.

**6. Recommended Charts:**

Excel's Recommended Charts feature suggests suitable chart types based on
your data. To use this feature, select your data and click on the Recommended
Charts button in the Charts group on the Insert tab.

**7. PivotCharts:**
If you're working with PivotTables, you can create PivotCharts to visualize your
summarized data dynamically.

What is a Graph in Excel?

In simple terms, a graph is a visual element that represents data in a worksheet.

You will be able to analyze the data more efficiently by looking at a graph in
Excel rather than numbers in a dataset. Excel covers a wide range of graphs that
you can use to represent your data. Creating a graph in Excel is easy. The graph
below depicts the sum of active COVID cases that are grouped by WHO region.
What are the Types of Graphs Available in Excel?

Excel has most of the common graphs that are used for statistics. The types of
graphs in Excel include:

1. Bar/Column Graphs

A bar graph shows information about two or more groups. Bar graphs are
mainly used to make comparisons across a range.
2. Pie Graphs

A pie chart is nothing but a circular graph representing data in the form of a
pie/circle. It is divided into different sections, each one representing a
proportion of the whole.
3. Line Graphs

A line graph is formed by connecting a series of values/data points using

straight lines. A line graph can be used when you want to check whether the
values are increasing or decreasing over some time.
4. Scatter Plot

A scatter plot, also called a coordinate graph, uses dots to represent the data
values for two different variables, one on each axis. This graph is used to find a
pattern/ relationship between two sets of data.
5. Area Chart

An area chart depicts the change of two or more data points over time. They are
similar to the line charts, except the area charts are filled with color below the
line. This chart is useful to visualize the area of various series relative to each
other.

Formatting worksheets
Formatting worksheets in Microsoft Excel allows you to enhance the
appearance, readability, and organization of your data. Here's a guide on
formatting worksheets effectively:
**1. Cell Formatting:**

- **Font:** Change the font style, size, and color using options in the Font
group on the Home tab. Make sure to choose a font that is easy to read.

- **Alignment:** Align text horizontally (left, center, right) and vertically (top,
middle, bottom) using options in the Alignment group on the Home tab.

- **Number Formatting:** Apply number formats such as currency, percentage,

date, and time to cells using options in the Number group on the Home tab.

**2. Cell Styles:**

- Excel provides predefined cell styles that combine various formatting options.
Access these styles from the Cell Styles group on the Home tab.

**3. Borders and Fill:**

- **Borders:** Add borders around cells or cell ranges to visually separate data.
Use options in the Font group on the Home tab to apply borders.

- **Fill Color:** Change the background color of cells to highlight important

information or group related data. Use options in the Font group on the Home
tab to apply fill colors.

**4. Conditional Formatting:**

- Apply conditional formatting to highlight cells based on specific conditions or

rules. Access conditional formatting options from the Conditional Formatting
button in the Styles group on the Home tab.
**5. Merge and Center:**

- Merge multiple cells into one and center the content across the merged cells.
Use the Merge & Center option in the Alignment group on the Home tab.

**6. Row Height and Column Width:**

- Adjust the height of rows and the width of columns to accommodate different
content. Hover over the boundary between row or column headers, then click
and drag to resize.

**7. Freeze Panes:**

- Freeze rows or columns to keep them visible while scrolling through large
datasets. Use the Freeze Panes options in the Window group on the View tab.

**8. Page Layout:**

- Configure page layout settings such as margins, orientation, and page size for
printing. Access these options from the Page Layout tab.

**9. Themes:**

- Apply built-in themes to quickly change the overall look of your worksheet.
Access themes from the Themes group on the Page Layout tab.

**10. Comments:**
- Add comments to cells to provide additional information or context. Use the
New Comment option in the Comments group on the Review tab.

**11. Protecting Worksheets:**

- Protect worksheets to prevent accidental changes to the data or formatting.

Use the Protect Sheet option in the Changes group on the Review tab.