Microsoft Excel

Introduction to Microsoft Excel 2007

Microsoft Excel is a very powerful tool for you to use for numeric computations and analysis.

Excel can also function as a simple database but that is another class. Today we will look at

how to get starting with Excel and show you around the neighborhood sort of speak. I hope to

see you in one of the intermediate classes later on.

What do I see first?

When you start up Excel, the first thing that you see is this:

This is a workbook. A workbook is a collection of worksheets (spreadsheets) and macros. By

default, Excel creates 3 worksheets in a new workbook. The worksheets are designated at the

bottom part of the window where you see the file folder-like tabs. The tabs are named Sheet1,

Sheet2, and Sheet3. If you click on Sheet2, you will be in Sheet2 and not Sheet1 so you need to

be aware of which worksheet you are in.

Introduction to Excel - 3/20/2008

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Exercise 1: renaming a worksheet

I suspect that you will want to rename the worksheet(s) to something more relevant to your

needs. To rename a worksheet:

1. Double click on the sheet’s tab (notice the name becomes highlighted)

2. Type in the new name

3. Hit enter to complete the rename process

Office Fluent user interface

In Excel 2007, the new Office Fluent user interface replaces the traditional menus and toolbars

from previous versions of Excel with a single mechanism designed to help users find the right

features more efficiently. The interface contains three main components; The Office Button, The

Quick Access Toolbar, and The Ribbon.

Quick Access Toolbar

Ribbon

Office Button

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Exercise 2: customize the Quick Access Toolbar

By default, the toolbar only contains three basic functions; save, undo and redo. You can

customize the toolbar to include a shortcut to any pre-defined function in Excel.

1. Right click within the Quick Access Toolbar, and click on Customize Quick Access

Toolbar

2. Click on the name of...