UNIT 5 INTRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEETS

Introduction to
Spreadsheets

Structure
5.1

Introduction
Objectives

5.2

Starting MS Excel

5.3

Excel Screen Layout

5.4

Excel Menu
5.4.1 File Menu
5.4.2 Edit Menu
5.4.3 View Menu
5.4.4 Insert Menu
5.4.5 Format Menu
5.4.6 Tools Menu
5.4.7 Data Menu
5.4.8 Window Menu
5.4.9 Help Menu

5.5

Summary

5.6

Answers to SAQs

5.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit seeks to introduce you, to MS Excel. In this unit, you will learn about
MS Excel menus and its commands. This unit will also cover the basic commands
and steps required to create, save, print, open, and modify worksheets. These
worksheets can be used for creating analytical reports, simple databases, graphs
etc.

Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to

identify the MS Excel screen layout and its components, and

identify various menus and there functions.

5.2 STARTING MS EXCEL

MS Excel is a powerful spreadsheet program through which you can create tables
of any kind. These tables may contain numeric values, text data or formulas. You
can use Excel to automate simple tasks like giving lists or to create sophisticated
analysis tables for calculating the future trends in the stock market. The four
major uses of Excel are given below.
Worksheets
Excel is a very powerful worksheet, which, is great in organizing text or
numeric data. It not only allows you, to store and manage data but it also
helps you in analyzing and querying data. With this powerful spreadsheet
program you can calculate, manipulate and analyses any data.

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Charts
Excel has an in-built feature, which allows you to represent your data in
pictorial forms called charts. It gives you a variety of options to create
two-dimensional or three-dimensional charts.
Database
Excel helps you not only manage your data but it also has features to
analyze and query your data. You can sort your data, search for specific
data or select data that satisfies a particular criteria.
Web Support
Excels web support feature allows you to save workbooks or parts of
workbook in HTML format, which can be viewed and manipulated in using
a web browser. You also, can access real-time data using web-queries.
A spreadsheet (also called a worksheet) comprises a grid of rows and columns.
The intersection of a row and a column is called a cell. In Excel, the rows are
numbered numerically, i.e. 1, 2, 3
And the columns are labeled alphabetically, i.e. A, B, C. and after Z they start
with AA, AB, AC, BA, BB, BC and so on.
The real power of Excel lies in its feature of storing complex formulas, to perform
the simplest to the most complex calculations. In Excel, you can also do
mathematic with dates.
It has a user-friendly graphical user interface, which makes the most sophisticated
tasks very simple and easy to do.
All these in-built features will make MS excel a full-featured powerful
spreadsheet for all your data management and analysis needs. For most tasks,
Excel offers several ways of completing a same task. For instance, you can give
commands by choosing them from a menu or by clicking on the appropriate icon
or by pressing the designated key combinations. For the purpose of this course, it
is not possible to cover all the methods for the same task as this would not only
be monotonous but also supercilious. We have taken the liberty of covering what
we consider the most user friendly method. As you gain proficiency in using
MS Excel, you will yourself learn alternative methods of doing the same task.

SAQ 1

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(a)

What is a spreadsheet?

(b)

What are the major uses of the Excel software?

5.3 EXCEL SCREEN LAYOUT

Introduction to
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5.4 EXCEL MENU

Like a restaurant menu, a menu is a program that offers you to command that are
available to you, to select from. MS Excel has several menus, which offer group
of related commands. We shall cover all the basic commands of MS Excel in the
next few pages, so that you get a general idea of what all is available. Do not try
to memorize commands or menus, since you will automatically do so while of
doing your exercises.

5.4.1 File Menu

New
Creates a new Blank Document based on the default Template.
Open
Opens an existing Document or a Template.
Close
Closes the active document without exiting MS Excel and prompts you to
save any unsaved changes.
Save
Saves the active document with the same file name, format and location.
Save As
Saves the active document with the different file name or format and
location, as desired.
Save as Web Page
Saves the current document as a Web Page in the form of a Internet file.

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Save Work Space

Introduction to
Spreadsheets

Saves a list of the open workbooks, their sizes, position on a workspace file,
so that the screen will look same as the next time you open the file.
Web Page Preview
Shows you, your active document as a web page in your browser.
Page Setup
Allows you to set the margins, orientation, paper size and source, and other
layout options for your document.
Print Preview
Shows you the exact preview of your document, exactly the way it will look
on the paper.
Print Area
Defines the selected range as the print area, which is the only portion of the
worksheet, will be printed too.
Print
Allows you to, print and define the print settings of your current document
to the defined printer.
Send To
Sends the active document as an email or a fax to the desired receipt.
Properties
Displays the properties of the current document, i.e. the creation date, the
title, author, number of paragraphs, lines, words, characters, pages etc. in
the file.
Exit
Closes the MS Excel software after you have finished saving any unsaved
documents.

5.4.2 Edit Menu

Undo Typing
Reverses the last command or typing.
Redo Typing
Restores the last command or typing.
Cut
Removes a word, line or a block, as selected and place it in the special
memory called the clipboard, from where it can be retrieved.
Copy
Copies the content, of the clipboard (which could be a word, line or a
block) at the current cursor location.
Office Clipboard
Displays the contents of the office clipboard.
Paste
Inserts the cut or copied selection, at the defined point or replaces any
active selection.

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Paste Special
Inserts the cut or copied, selection at the defined point or replaces any
active selection in the specified format.
Paste as Hyperlink
Defines the inserted cut or copied selections as a link to another document.

Fill
Fills the specified range with a series of numbers, date or other item.
Clear
Directly removes the selected character, word, line or block without putting
it on the clipboard.
Delete
Deletes the selected cell or cells that contain the insertion point. If you
select an entire row or column, the command deletes the entire row or
column.
Delete Sheet
Deletes the selected sheet from the entire workbook.
Move or Copy Sheet
Moves or copies the selected sheet to another workbook or to a different
location, within the same workbook.
Find
Searches for a specified character and word in an active document.
Replace
Searches for a replaces a specified character and word in active document.
Go To
Moves the cursor to the desired page, section line bookmark, comment etc.
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Links

Displays or changes information for each link in the current document,

including the name and location of the source file, the item, the type, and
also define the updating of the link.

Introduction to
Spreadsheets

Objects
Activate the application in which the selected object was created so that you
can modify it.

5.4.3 View Menu

Normal
Shows the Normal Document view, which displays the default document
view.
Page Break Preview
Switches to page layout or page break preview, which is an editing view
that displays your document as it will print.
Task Pane
Window which pops out on the right side of the document screen and has
the options to choose from the recently opened documents, new documents,
WebPages or e-mails, the clip board menu, basic search menu, etc.
Tool Bars
Gives you the option to display the required tool bar in the form of buttons,
menus or a combination of both, making the commands available to you at
a single click. The most important toolbar is the Menu bar, which
permanently stays on the top of the screen and the rest of the tool bars like
standard toolbar, formatting toolbar, drawing toolbar, picture toolbar can be
added or removed from the screen.
Formula Bar
Displays or hides the formula bar.
Status Bar
Displays or hides the status bar.
Header and Footer
Defines a common text, picture or both which has to appear on the top
(header) and bottom (footer) of every page. It can be page numbers, dates,
references, company logo etc.
Comments
Displays all comments made by all reviewers.
Custom View
Creates different views of a worksheet. A view provides an easy way, to see
your data with different views, without saving them as spreadsheets.
Full Screen
Once this option is on, the entire menu and tool bars are hidden and you can
view the whole document on the screen without any rulers, startup bar and
tool bars etc.
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Zoom
With this option, you can reduce or enlarge the view of your document with
a options to zoom to page widths, text width, whole page etc.

5.4.4 Insert Menu

Cells
Inserts the number of cells you select.
Rows
Inserts the number of rows you select.
Column
Inserts the number of columns you select.
Worksheet
Inserts a new worksheet to the left of the selected sheet.
Chart
Starts the chart wizard, which guides you to go through, the steps for
creating an embedded chart on a worksheet or modifying an existing chart.
Symbol
Inserts special characters and symbols from the installed fonts in your list.
Page Break
Inserts a page break above a selected cell. This command, changes to
Remove Page Break if you have a cell selected, that is adjacent to manually
inserted page break.
Function
Displays a list of functions and their formats and allows you, to set value
for arguments.
Name
Creates, pastes and applies names.

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Comment

Inserts a comment at any desired insertion point.

Introduction to
Spreadsheets

Picture
Inserts picture, clip arts, Word Art, charts, diagrams, auto shapes from the
libraries, scanners cameras or other documents.
Diagram
Inserts diagrams in the form of organization charts, Cycles, Radial, Venn,
and Target diagrams.
Object
Inserts an object such as image, media clip, presentation, table, chart, slide,
picture, video, sound etc.
Hyperlink
Inserts a link through which, you can directly connect to a location in the
current document, webpage, or a file created in a different program.

5.4.5 Format Menu

Cell
Applies formats to the selected cells. The command might not be available
if the sheet is protected.
Row
Changes the height of the row or hides it or unhides selected rows.
Column
Changes the height of the column or hides it or unhides selected rows.
Sheet
Formats worksheets renames, hides or unhides sheets.

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Auto Format
Applies the default format values to a cell or a pivot table.
Conditional Formatting
Applies formats to the selected cells that meet the specific criteria based on
the values or formulas you specify.
Style
Defines or applies a combination of formats called styles.

5.4.6 Tools Menu

Spelling and Grammar
Checks the writing style, spelling and grammar of the active document and
suggests the possible corrections.
Error Checking
Checks the active worksheet for errors.
Speech
Displays or removes the text to speech software.
Share Workbook
Switches to shared workbook account, which allows you and other users on
the network to edit and save changes to the same workbook.
Track Changes
It marks all the changes in your current document and keeps a track of each
change by the reviewer name.
Compare and Merge Document
You can compare your document with any other document with the option
to merge the two and display the changes as markup in a new document or
any of the old ones.
Protection
It gives you an option to protect your document or part of your online form
except as specified. It also gives you the option to protect it with a password
so that any user can make changes to the document, mark revisions, or fill
in the online form.
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Online Collaboration

It starts a spontaneous online net meeting by sending an invitation to other

participant, who is also online using Microsoft Net meeting on their
computers. It also has the feature of scheduling an online meeting by using
names from the address book of your email program, and displays the
discussions toolbar, where you can insert a new discussion.

Introduction to
Spreadsheets

Goal Seek
Adjust the value in the specified cell until a formula that is dependent on
that cell reaches the target value.
Scenarios
Creates and saves scenarios, which are sets of data you can use to view the
results of what-if analysis.
Formula Editing
Draws tracer arrows from the cell, that supply value directly to the formula
in the active cell and vice-versa. It also draws tracer arrows on error values.
It displays the auditing tool bar, where you have the option to evaluate the
formula one step at a time and shows or hide error value tracers arrow.
Tools on the Web
It connects you to the Microsoft Office tools available online for further
information and integrated e-services of Microsoft.

Macro
Is a series of action, which you can record for repetitive set of commands.
With the Macro dialog box you can edit, run or delete a macro. You can
record a new macro in the visual basic Editor also.
Add-ins
It attaches a different template to the active document with an option to load
add-in programs and update document styles.
Auto Correct Options
It sets the option to automatically correct text as soon as you type an error
and it also stores and reuses frequently used text.
Customize
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It gives you an option to customize toolbar buttons, menu commands and

shortcut key assignments including the icon size, font, and the menu
animation etc.
Options
Gives you an option to customize the Microsoft Office Programs default
settings such as the screen appearance, printing, editing, spell check, file
location, typography, track changes etc.

5.4.7 Data Menu

Sort
Arrange the information in the selected rows or list, alphabetically,
numerically or by date.
Filter
Filters data in a list so that only the rows that meet a condition you specify
by using a criteria arrange are displayed.
Form
Displays a list of Data Form in a dialog Box. You can use the data form to
see, change, add, delete and find records in a list of data base.

Subtotal
Calculates subtotals and grand totals for the labeled columns that you
select.
Validation
Defines which Data is valid for individual cells or cell range : restricts the
data entry to a particular type such as whole numbers, decimal numbers, or
text : and sets limits on the valid entries.
Table
Creates a table based on input values and formula you define. Data labels
can be used to show the result of changing values in the formula.
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Text to Columns

Converts the selected text to a table.

Introduction to
Spreadsheets

Consolidate
Summarizes the data from one or more source areas and displays it in form
of a table.
Group and Outline
Defines the selected row or column of detail data as a group in an outline. It
groups and outlines a selected range of cells of the entire worksheet, based
on the formulas and direction of reference.
Pivot Table and Pivot Chart Reports
Starts the pivot table and pivot chart wizard, which guides you through
creating or modifying a pivot table or a pivot chart report.
Import External Data
Imports data from selected external source.
Refresh Data
Applies a built in combination of formats, called an Auto Format, to a cell
range or a pivot table.

5.4.8 Window Menu

New Window
Opens a new window with exactly the same contents making it easier for
you to view different parts of the file at the same time.
Arrange All
Displays all the windows on the screen making it easier for you to cut, copy
and paste between them.
Hide
Hides the active workbook window.

Unhide
Displays the hidden workbook window.
Split
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Splits the active window into panes or remove the split from a already split
window.
Freeze Panes
Freezes the top pane, left pane, or both on the active sheet. Use this option
to keep column or row titles view while you are scrolling the worksheet.
Freezing on a worksheet does not affect printing.
Currently Open Files
Displays a list of currently open files, and the tick marks shows the
currently active file.

5.4.9 Help Menu

Microsoft Excel
It launches the MS Office Assistant, which provides help and tips to
accomplish your tasks.
Hide the Office Assistant
Displays or hides the office assistant from the active screen.
Whats This
Provides help on the topic clicked on.
Office on the Web
Connects to Microsofts web site, from where you can get help and updated
information of Office Programs.
Active Product
Launches the activation wizard so that you can activate or update your copy
of Microsoft Office.

Lotus 1-2-3 Help

Helps you to learn the MS Excel, equivalent for Lotus 1-2-3 Commands
and key combinations.
Detect and Repair
Automatically finds and fixes all the errors in Microsoft Office.
About Microsoft Excel
Displays, the basic information about your computer and operating system,
along with the version details, copyright, legal and licensing notices, the
user name, organization name and the software serial number.
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5.5 SUMMARY

Introduction to
Spreadsheets

In this unit you have studied about MS Excel, the full featured easy to use
spreadsheet. You have studied the following menus, their submenus and the
corresponding commands in detail.

The File menu displays the commands to open a new or an existing

file, save and close the file, print and define the page settings. It also
has an option to display the file properties along with a list of the four
most recently used files.

The Edit menu displays the commands to edit your text or formatting
and find or find and replace a particular word or a line. It also has an
option to cut-copy and paste a part or the complete text displays the
file properties.

The View menu displays the commands to select the toolbars to be

displayed, each time you open the word window, to hide or show the
task pane, gridline, header footer, paragraph marks etc.

The Insert menu displays the commands to insert page breaks, text
breaks. It also displays the options to insert pictures, diagrams, text
boxes, files, objects, bookmarks and mark hyperlinks. The commands
of the insert menu are explained in detail below.

The Format menu displays the commands to open a new or an

existing file, Save and close the file, print and define the page
settings. It also has an option to display the file properties along with
a list of the four most recently used files.

The Tools menu displays the commands to check for spelling

mistakes and grammatical errors, languages, fix broken text, compare
and merge documents, track changes etc.

The Data menu displays the commands to organize, sort, filter data
and define the formulas for calculations in the tables.

The Windows menu displays the option to create a new window, split
an existing window or arrange all the open Windows. It also displays
the currently open files.

The Help displays the commands to launch the MS Excel help, hide
or show the office assistant.

5.6 ANSWERS TO SAQS

SAQ 1
(a)

A spreadsheet or a worksheet is a grid of rows and columns. The rows

are numbered numerically 1, 2, 3, etc. and columns are labelled
alphabetically, i.e. A, B, C . . . etc. An intersection of a row and a
column is called a cell and can uniquely identified using its column
and row address, e.g. Z10.

(b)

The power of Excel lies in its feature of storing and performing

simple to the most complex calculations. The four major uses that it
usually, put to are :

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(i)

Organizing text and/or numeric data and performing

calculations, manipulation and analysis of such data.

(ii)

Representing data pictorially, commonly understood as

charts.

(iii) Performing database operations like sorting, querying and

selecting data that satisfies the particular criteria.
(iv) Excels web support feature allows to save workbooks in
HTML format which can be viewed and manipulated
using a web browser.

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