California State University, Northridge Information Technology Training Guide

Microsoft Excel 2003 for Beginners

Getting Started with Microsoft Excel 2003

Excel 2003 is a very powerful and capable program; however, unless you
understand the basics of using Excel, you won’t get much out of it.
This guide introduces you to the basics of Excel so that you can begin to make
use of this popular spreadsheet program. The important elements of the Excel
screen are shown to you so that you can get a quick idea of what’s going on.
Then it will show you how to create a simple spreadsheet, move around in Excel,
edit your data, enhance the look of your spreadsheet, and use some of Excels
great features.
The following pages present a brief introduction to selected features in Excel
2003. Those who use an Apple Macintosh computer for Excel can also utilize this
documentation. There is very little difference between platforms once the
application is open. Just remember that this document is written for Excel 2003
and may contain updated features that may not exist in previous versions. Note
that the document is not intended to cover all ways in which the basic features
can be used or accessed.
Have fun Excelling at work and remember that with practice, this program will
become very simple to use.

Table of Contents
1. Overview
• What is a Spreadsheet program
• Microsoft 2003
• Excelling at Work with Excel 2003

2. Getting Started with Microsoft Excel 2003

• Launching your Excel 2003 Application
• Understanding the Excel Environment
3. Entering Data
4. Understanding Formula Basics
5. Editing Cell Content
6. Copying & Pasting Cell Content
7. Moving Cell Content
8. Deleting Cell & Range Content
9. Using AutoFill
10. Inserting & Deleting Rows and Columns

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11. Changing Row Height or Column Widths

12. Naming your Worksheet
13. Formatting with Borders
14. Font & Fill Coloring
15. Creating Basic Charts
16. Page Setup
17. Saving & Printing
18. Closing & Exiting Excel

Overview

When you start a new learning experience, the first task is to learn the language.
You need to know what the basic elements are and where to find them. This
document will help you learn the language of Microsoft Excel 2003 by
understanding the basics of spreadsheet functions, capabilities, and the tools
necessary.
What is a Spreadsheet Program?
A spreadsheet program uses worksheets and workbooks. A worksheet is like a
traditional accounting ledger. It is divided into a grid of columns and rows. You
can use an array of numbers and text on a worksheet. Spreadsheet programs
have the ability to perform an assortment of functions. They are popular because
they represent a better alternative to manually computing mathematical
calculations and can be more accurate and time saving. In addition, with Excel
numerical data in a spreadsheet can be converted easily into a chart for
graphical presentation of the data.

Microsoft Excel 2003

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that allows you to perform various
calculations, estimations, and formulations with data. Excel 2003 is designed to
work with texts and numbers by storing them in columns and rows. It makes
core spreadsheet functionality more accessible to all users. Formula creation,
printing, and formatting allow easy access to the basic operations of the program.
Excel 2003 permits a wide selection of fonts and options to be used in the
creation of worksheets and allows you to create an impressive spreadsheet
presentation. Microsoft Excel includes a varied library of chart types that can be
incorporated into spreadsheets to visually display data. It also has basic
database capabilities. Databases can be used in conjunction with spreadsheets.
Simple databases can be constructed directly in the Excel program. The primary
focus of this document is on Excel’s spreadsheet capabilities and functions and
the basics about using Excel 2003.

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Excelling at Work with Excel 2003

This document is a guide to Excel 2003 basics. It presents an overview that will
help a beginner build a simple worksheet and understand the basics of Excel
2003. Your Excel application has a complete and useful on-line help available
through the Help pull-down menu as well. This document assumes that you have
a working knowledge of the Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT or XP environment
including the use of a mouse. For our Macintosh users, this document can be
utilized for MS Excel 98 through 2004 for the basics of Excel. There is relatively
little difference in the platforms and the versions at the basic level.

Getting Started

Launching Your Excel Application

1. Click the Start icon button on the Taskbar at the bottom left corner of your
screen.
2. Point to Programs.
3. Click Microsoft Office 2003 from the submenu, and then select Microsoft
Excel.

Understanding the Excel Environment

What is a Workbook?
A workbook is a file that contains worksheets. It is the electronic equivalent of
a three ring binder. A single workbook can contain many, many worksheets.
It is the normal document or file type in Excel.
What is a Worksheet?
Think of a worksheet as a page within a binder. A worksheet is divided into a
grid of columns and rows in which you input your data.

The Workbook Window

An Excel workbook window is shown in Figure 1.

The Worksheet Window

The worksheet window displays the Excel worksheet. It is comprised of rows
and columns. The columns are labeled with the letters of the alphabet, i.e., A,
B, C, etc. The rows are numbered down the left side. Rows and columns
intersect to form cells. Each cell can be referenced via its column name
followed by its row number. For example, the intersection of row 2 and column
B is cell B2 (as shown in Figure 1).

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Figure 1 - The Excel Workbook Window

• Menu Bar. The Menu Bar at the top of the screen gives you access to
different commands that are used for such tasks as opening and closing files,
printing documents, formatting data, and other operations.

• Toolbars. On the sample window in Figure 1 (above), immediately below the

Menu Bar is a row of icon buttons called the toolbars. There are two toolbars
that provides quick access to a number of the most commonly used Excel
features. The first bar is the Standard Toolbar; the second is the Formatting
Toolbar. By positioning the mouse pointer on a toolbar icon (without
clicking), a yellow box will appear next to the icon with a brief description of
that icons purpose.

Figure 2 – Standard Toolbar

Figure 3 – Formatting Toolbar

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• Formula (or Function) Bar. The Formula Bar displays the contents of the
active cell or the active block. It includes text, numbers, formulas, and
functions.

• A Row - runs horizontal on the worksheet. Each row heading begins with a
number i.e. 1, 2, 3, which is found in the far left hand side of the worksheet.

• A Column - Columns run from top to bottom on the worksheet. A column

heading is identified by the letters A, B, C, etc.

• A Cell - is the intersection of a row and a column and has a unique address
or reference.

• Active Cell - The active cell is the currently selected cell. A thick border
block, called the Cell Pointer, surrounds the active cell. Data is entered in the
active cell.

• Active Sheet - Often a file consists of more than one worksheet. Each sheet
contains a tab you click to move from one sheet to another. You can rename
sheets to make it easier to remember what each one contains. You may do
so by double-clicking the sheet name, e.g., Sheet1, typing a new name, and
tapping the ENTER key.

• Worksheet Window - The worksheet window displays the Excel worksheet.

It is comprised of rows and columns. The columns are across the top of the
worksheet and are labeled with the letters of the alphabet, i.e., A, B, C, etc.
The rows are numerically numbered down the left side of the worksheet.
Rows and columns intersect to form cells. Each cell can be referenced via its
column name followed by its row number. For example, the intersection of
row 2 and column B is cell B2 (as shown in Figure 1).

Navigating In a Workbook

• At the bottom of the workbook window (where the sheet tabs are located) are
a number of controls you can use to move from worksheet to worksheet
within a workbook.
Four tab scrolling arrow buttons Tab split box

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• Use the four tab scrolling arrow buttons in the lower left corner only when you
have more worksheets in a workbook than can be displayed at once.
• The tab split box can be dragged to change the number of the sheet tabs
displayed. To reset the tab display, simply double-click the tab split box.
• The scroll bars located to the right of the worksheet and at the bottom of the
worksheet is another way to navigate in a worksheet.
• The down arrows allow you to move forward and backward in your document.

Selecting a Range (or Block) of Cells

1. Click the first cell you want to include in the range

2. While holding the mouse button down, drag the mouse to include all cells
you want to include in the range.
3. Release the mouse button. The range selected will appear highlighted
except for the first cell of the range.

Entering Data into Excel

Entering Data and Using Formulas

There are three kinds of data you can enter into an Excel worksheet:
1. text (a label),
2. a number (a value), or
3. a formula.

Entering a Label (Text) or a Value (Number)

1. Click the cell where you want to enter a label or a value.
2. Type a label (text) or a value (number). A label can include uppercase
and lowercase letters, spaces, punctuation, and numbers. When typing
values, do so without commas and dollar signs. You can format them
later using the Format menu.
3. Tap ENTER

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Understanding Formula Basics

Formulas are what make a spreadsheet so useful. You use formulas in your
Excel spreadsheet to calculate results from the data stored in the worksheet.
When data changes, those formulas produce updated results without extra effort
on your part.

To add a formula to a worksheet, you enter it into a cell. You can delete, move,
copy formulas just like any other item of data. Formulas use arithmetic operators
to work with values, text, worksheet functions, and other formulas to calculate a
value in the cell.

Creating a Formula
A formula entered into a cell can consist of any of these elements:
• Operators such as + (for addition) and * (for multiplication)
• Cell references (including named cells and ranges)
• Values or txt
• Worksheet functions (such as SUM or AVERAGE)

Benefits to using formulas

When using a formula in your spreadsheet, (a cell containing a formula that

references other cells), the sum will automatically change as other cell values
referenced in the formula change. This feature is very valuable when editing or
adding information to your worksheet. You do not have to remember to update
other cells that rely on that cells information.

A formula always begins with an equal sign (=) followed by some combination of
numbers, text, cell references, and operators. If a formula is entered incorrectly,
an ERROR IN FORMULA message will appear.

Formula Operators
An operator is a symbol that represents a mathematical or a logical operation.
The most commonly used operators are addition, subtraction, multiplication
or division. However, there are many more operators that can be used. Tables 1
and 2 (below) list the operators that can be used in Excel formulas and
functions.

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Arithmetic operators are used in conjunction with numbers to create

mathematical formulas. An example of a simple mathematical formula in Excel
would be =23+5. When this formula is entered into a cell in the worksheet, the
contents of the cell will read 28, while the Formula Bar will show the formula as
=23+5. If the operator is changed to read =23-5, the cell contents will change to
read 18.

Cell references may also be used in formulas. For instance, assume you want
the content of cell C5 to be the sum of values in cells A5 and B5. Instead of
entering the values contained in cells A5 and B5 (and changing the formula each
time those values change) you can enter the formula as =A5+B5. Excel will
automatically take the values of A5 and B5 and enter them into the formula. The
benefit of using cell references in your formula is that as the values change in
the cells you reference in your formula, the value in C5 will automatically change
to reflect the correct answer.

How to Enter a Formula

(See Figure 4, below, for an example)
1. Click a cell where you want to enter a formula.
2. Type = (equal sign) to begin the formula.
3. Type the first argument. Remember, an argument can be a number or a
cell reference. You can type in the number or if referencing a cell, you can
single click on the cell location to have the cell reference automatically
included in your formula.
4. Next, type an arithmetic operator (see Table 2).
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5. Next, enter the next argument.

6. Steps 4 and 5 can be repeated as many times as needed to add to the
formula.
7. Last, tap the ENTER key. The result of the formula appears in the cell

while the formula itself appears in the Formula Bar.

Worksheet Functions
Some formulas may be simplified by using worksheet functions. A worksheet
function is a pre-written formula, a keyword that tells Excel what to do. For
example, instead of typing =A1+A2+A3+A4+A5, you may type =SUM(A1:A5).
(The colon indicates the range from A1 to A5.) In this example, SUM is a function
that Excel knows about. It is important to use the correct syntax and format
of a function for correct results.

To enter a function, do the following:

Click the cell where you want to enter the function.
1. Type = (an equal sign), then type the name of the function, followed by an
opening parenthesis.
2. Type or click the cell or range you want to insert in the function.
3. Press ENTER. Excel will automatically add the closing parenthesis to
complete the function and will display the results in the cell.

Parentheses are used to separate different parts of a formula. For example,

in the formula =SUM(A1:A5), the parentheses separate the worksheet function
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from the cell references that the function is referring to. This is particularly
important in longer or more complicated functions, e.g., =((A2/4)+(A5-B3))*5. If a
mistake is made and the parentheses in a formula do not match, an error
message will appear.

The parts of a formula contained inside parenthesis are calculated first.

Otherwise the order of operation is as shown in Table 3 (see below).

If there are operators of equal precedence, the order of operation is from

left to right.

Adding a Range Using the AutoSum Function

The AutoSum function is a great tool to use when you want to quickly add
contents of a range of cells. It allows you to add cell content without having to
manually input the formula or function.

1. Click the cell where you want the total to appear (usually the last cell in the
column or row of cells that you want to add. The cell must be blank).

2. Click the AutoSum icon button on the Standard Toolbar.

AutoSum inserts a formula that uses the SUM function. It displays a
moving border that looks like scrolling lines around the selected range of
cells. This is called a marquee. Excel puts this around the range of cells it

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“thinks” you want to add up, and inserts the range reference in the formula.

3. If this is the correct range, press Enter. If not, type or highlight the correct
range and press Enter.

Editing Cell Contents

There are several ways Excel allows you to edit cell content.
• In-Cell Editing
• Function Bar Editing
In-Cell Editing
Allows you to edit the information right in the cell itself.
To do this:
1. Double-click the cell you wish to edit. The insertion point appears
within the cell.
2. Make corrections. You may use the mouse pointer or the arrows,
HOME, and END keys to position the insertion point where you want. You
may also use the BACKSPACE and DELETE keys to erase unwanted
characters.
3. Type new characters if necessary.
4. Press Enter to accept the edit, or press ESC to cancel it.

Function Bar Editing

Edits can also be performed right in the formula bar. The function bar is located
in the toolbar section.

1. Select the cell you wish to edit.

2. Single click within the function bar. The insertion point appears within the
bar.
3. Make necessary corrections or additions.
4. Press Enter to accept the edit or addition.

Copying & Pasting Cell Contents

The Microsoft Office software allows for many ways to copy cell contents. Using
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the icons on the toolbar, using the right click on your mouse, and using the edit
menu are just a few. Which way you choose is your personal preference.

Using Icon buttons on the toolbar

1. Select the cell or the range that contains the data you want to copy.

2. Click the Copy button on the Standard Toolbar. An outline of the

selected cells, called a marquee (looks like scrolling lines around the
selected range of cells), shows the boundary of the selected cells.

3. Click the first cell where you want to paste the data.

4. Click the Paste button on the Standard Toolbar

Using the Right-Click button on your mouse

1. Select the cell or the range that contains the data you want to copy.
2. Right-Click your mouse.
A pop-up shortcut menu appears. See Figure below.

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3. Click on Copy.
4. Select the cell where you want to paste the data.
5. Right-Click again.
6. Click Paste.

Moving Cell Contents

You can avoid retyping information by using the Move feature in excel. It is
very simple to perform and can save you many keystrokes.

1. Highlight the cell or the range that contains the data you want to move.
2. Move your mouse cursor to one of the thick black outside lines
surrounding your selection. Your cursor will change from a white plus sign
to a black arrow.
3. Click and hold your mouse button down and drag the selected range
of data to where to want to relocate it
4. Release the mouse button.

Note: Excel has moved the entire contents of the cell as well as any formatting
that was applied to the cell or range of cells.

Deleting Cell and Range Contents

Excel allows you to delete the contents of a single cell or the contents of a range
of cells at one time.
Delete unwanted information from a range of cells

1. Select the cell or the range in which you wish to delete the information.

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2. Right-click the mouse button anywhere in the boundary of the highlighted

range
3. Select Clear Contents in the pop-up shortcut menu that appears.

The contents of the cell or cells selected are now cleared.

Using AutoFill
Copying a Formula to Other Cells Using AutoFill
The AutoFill function will allow you to quickly and easily continue a formula
down and across a range of cells relative in a worksheet. This function can save
a lot of time where you would have to manually input the formula otherwise.

1. Click the cell that contains the formula you want to copy or continue.
2. Move the mouse pointer over the small black box, called the Fill
Handle (see Figure 7, below), located in the lower right corner of the
active cell. The mouse pointer will turn into a black plus sign shape when
you are properly over the handle.

3. Click and hold the mouse button down while you drag the Fill Handle to
highlight the range you want to copy the formula to.
4. Release the mouse button. The formula is copied into the cells in the
selected range.

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Inserting & Deleting Rows and Columns

Inserting a blank row or column
Sometimes when setting up a worksheet you realize that you did not have a row
where you needed it or you have a need for an additional column after you
created your worksheet. To insert a blank row or column into your worksheet:

1. Move the mouse pointer to the row or column heading where you want
to insert the blank row or column. The row or column heading area is the
grey area where the row numbers are to the left, or the column headings
A,B,C are located at the top of the worksheet. The mouse pointer will
turn to a black arrow pointing down the row or column. See Figure
below.

2. Click on the row or column heading.

The row or column will highlight. See Figure 9 & 10 Below.

3. Select Insert on the Menu Bar, and then click Rows or Columns on the
sub menu.
• For Rows - a blank row will be inserted above the selected row.
• For Columns - a blank column will be inserted to the left of the
column.

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NOTE: Multiple rows or columns can be inserted in the same steps when
highlighting the range of rows or columns you want to insert. For example, if
you highlight a range of 3 rows, then proceed with the insert rows command,
Excel will insert 3 blank rows.

Deleting a row or column

Any row or column can be deleted from a worksheet. When a row or column is
deleted, all the information that was contained in the row or column is also
deleted. To delete rows or columns follow these steps:

1. In the row or column headings, highlight the range of rows or columns

to clear. See Figure 11 below.

2. Select Edit from the menu bar and Delete from the submenu. The rows or
columns that were selected will be deleted.

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Changing Row Heights or Column Widths

Changing Row Heights & Column Widths

Sometimes, you may need to manually adjust a column or rows width or height in
order to accommodate the information within the row or column.

There are several ways to change the width of a column(s) or height of a row(s).
Select the range of rows or columns that you want to affect. It could be one or ten
or more rows or columns.

Changing a Column Width

1. While holding the left mouse button down, Drag the right-column
border (the vertical line break between the columns) with the mouse until
the column is the desired width.
OR
2. Double-click the right border of the column header to set the column
width automatically to the widest entry in the column.

Changing Row Heights

Excel adjusts row heights automatically to accommodate the tallest font in the
row. However, you can set the row height manually by using several techniques.
As with columns, you can select multiple rows.

1. Drag the lower row border with the mouse until the row is the desired
height.
OR
2. Double-click the bottom border of the row to set the row height
automatically to the tallest entry in the row.
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To select multiple rows, either click and drag in the row header or press Ctrl
while you individually select the rows.

Naming your Worksheets

Changing the name of a Worksheet

Excel uses a default naming convention such as Sheet1, Sheet2, and so on.
These are not very descriptive, that’s why providing more meaningful names for
your worksheets is usually a good idea.

To change a sheet’s name:

1. Double-click the sheet tab

Excel highlights the name on the sheet tab so that you can edit or replace the
name.

2. Type the name.

3. Select Enter

Formatting with Borders

Borders are lines that go from cell boundary to cell boundary as opposed to
underlining which only underlines the content of the cell.

Inserting Borders

To insert a border line in a selected range of cells, rows or columns:

1. Select or highlight the range of cells to apply the border.

2. Select Format from the menu bar and Cells from the submenu.

Excel will display the Format Cells dialog box. (Figure 15 below)

3. Select the Border tab to display the borders selections.

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4. The selected border style can be applied by clicking on any of the three
options under the Presets category OR by clicking on the Border options
boxes.
5. Click the OK button when finished.

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Font & Fill Coloring

Color can be very effect in your worksheet presentation. It can be used to

emphasize a point or point out information or it can also be used to help remind
you of certain points in a worksheet. With Excel, you can colorize the text or the
background color of a cell.

Font Color

It is very simple to colorize the text in your worksheet.

Just follow these simple steps:

1.Select the cell or range of cells.

2.Click the Font Color icon on the formatting toolbar. See Figure 17.

3. Click on the small black drop down arrow just to the right of the icon. Excel
will display a color palette to choose from.

4. Click on the desired color.

Fill Color

Colorizing the background of a cell or range of cells can help make items stand
out. The steps are similar to those of font colorizing.

1.Select the cell or range of cells.

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2.Click the Fill Color icon on the formatting toolbar. See Figure 19.
3. Click on the small black drop down arrow just to the right of the icon. Excel
will display a color palette to choose from.
4. Click on the desired color.

Creating Basic Charts

Charts are a graphical means of making data more understandable. Charts are
particularly useful for understanding a lengthy series of numbers and their
interrelationships. A chart can help you to spot trends and patterns that would be
nearly impossible to identify when examining a range of numbers. You create
charts from data in a worksheet.

Creating your first chart the easy way

If you’re new to chart making, you may well wonder how much work is involved in
creating a chart in Excel. As you’ll see in this section, the whole process can be
very simple and easy.
1. Enter data to be charted into a worksheet. Typically, you want to include
several rows and columns of data, as well as labels to indicate what the
data represents.
2. Select a cell in the range of data that you entered in Step 1
• Excel will automatically determine the size of the range.
3. Click on the Chart Wizard Icon on the Standard Toolbar.
• Excel will display the chart wizard dialog box.

4. From the Categories section, select the kind of chart you wish to make.
( See Figure 21 below)
5. Next, in the Chart sub-type section, select the chart type you want to
display. (See Figure 21 )

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6. Click on the Next button.

The chart wizard will display the next step. Step 2 of 4. See Figure 22.

7. Step 2 displays what your chart will look like and has the predefined data
range. See Figure 22 below. Click the “Next”.

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8. Step 3 (Figure 23 below) again displays your chart. Click “ Next ”.

9. Step 4 is the final step. Simply click the Finish button. See Figure 24
below.

Excel will create your chart and place it on your worksheet.

Note: Charts are objects. Objects do not have a cell location. They float on top
of a worksheet, on the worksheet’s draw layer. As with all objects, you can move
a chart, resize it, change its proportions, adjust its borders, and perform other
operations.

A chart is not stagnant. You can always change its type, add custom formatting,
add new data series to it, or change an existing data series so that it uses data in
a different range.

To make any changes to the actual chart, you must click it to select the chart.

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Page Setup
The page setup is very important to the layout and printing of your worksheet.
You may wish to perform the Page Setup function first, prior to inputting
data on your worksheet.

1. Select File from the menu bar and Page Setup from the submenu.

Excel will display the Page Setup window.

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2. The Page tab (figure 25b below) allows you to:

• Change the page Orientation to either Portrait or Landscape.
• Scale the printing size of your document.

3. The Margins Tab (see Figure 25c below) allows you to:
• Set the left, right, top, and bottom margins.
• Center your print on the page either vertically or horizontally.

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4. The Header/Footer tab (see Figure 25d below) allows you to:
• Use preset or create custom Headers and Footers for your document.
¾ A Custom Header or Footer is something you create. It will
then print on each page of your document.
¾ A preset Header or Footer is available for you to use from
the Header or Footer drop down arrow list. It will also print
on each page of your document.

Saving and Printing

Saving a Worksheet

1. Click the Save icon button on the Standard Toolbar.

2. (Optional) If you want to save the worksheet to a different folder, click File
from the menu bar and click “Save as” box, then select the disk drive and
folder that you wish to store your file in.
3. Type the new workbook name in the “File name:” text box.
4. Click Save. The new name appears in the Title Bar. Remember: the title
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bar is the bar at the very top of your application window.

Printing the Entire Worksheet

To print an entire spreadsheet, click the Print button on the Standard

Toolbar.

Printing a Section of a Worksheet

1. Highlight the range you wish to print.

2. Click File on the Menu Bar and select Print to display the Print
dialog box.
3. Under the “Print What” section, in the lower left of the dialog box,
click on Selection. Make sure the circle is filled in.
4. Click OK.

Note: You may select other options in the Print window before you print your
spreadsheet. For instance, you may print certain pages of your spreadsheet by
filling the “From:” and “To:” boxes in the “Print range” area. You may also print
several copies of your worksheet by selecting the ”Number of copies:” option in
the Print dialog box.

Closing and Exiting Excel

Closing a File
To close a worksheet:

1. Click File on the Menu Bar and select Close.

2. Alternatively, you can click the Close button (X) on the upper right corner
of the worksheet window (this is the lower and smaller of the two buttons
marked with an X).

Exiting Excel
To exit the program:

Click the Close button on the Excel program window Title Bar (the upper and
larger of the two buttons marked with an X ), or click File on the Menu Bar and
click Exit.
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Note: If there are any open files that have not been saved since you last
changed the worksheet, a dialog box will ask if you want to save the changes.
Click Yes to save or No to ignore any changes you might have made. If no files
are open or have been saved, Excel will close automatically.

How to Learn More

Microsoft on the Web

Microsoft on the Web provides links to Web locations where you can find out
more about Microsoft Excel. It is a great source for learning. You need Internet
connectivity and a Web browser in order to make use of this feature.

Printed Material

There are numerous books available to help you learn how to use Microsoft
Excel 2003. Check your local bookstore.

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