Introductionto Microsoft Excel 2010

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Introduction

This booklet contains tasks for you to work through. All tasks have a picture of a mouse next to them.

Aims

Navigate Excel worksheets Apply a variety of formats to cells

Navigate the Excel 2010 Ribbon Rename worksheets

Understand simple formulae Save and print your Excel files

Create charts using Chart Wizard Understand when to use different

chart types

1. Download the file to use with this workbook

1. Go to http://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk2. Click on Information Technology, shown in Fig 1, right.

This will open the Information Technology home page.

3. Click on the IT Self Study Booklets link, shown in Fig 2.This will open the IT Self Study Booklets page.

4. Click on the link ‘files to download for use with the workbooks’ shown in Fig 3.

This will open the web page with the downloadable files, shown in Fig 4.

5. Click on the Office 2010 Files tab.6. Click on UsingExcel.xlsx

This will open the Open/Save dialogue box, shown in Fig 5 on page 3.

Fig 4

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3

1. Download the file to use with this workbook

7. Click on Open with. 8. Click on OK to open

the file.

In your own time

To open Excel without opening a file:

1. Click on the Start button, shown in Fig 6 right. This opens the Programs menu, shown in Fig 7.

2. Click on Excel in the list of programs.

Fig 7

Fig 5

Fig 6

The Excel worksheet

If you’ve opened an existing Excel spreadsheet, as for this manual, it will open the worksheet containing your data as shown in Fig 8. Excel displays and manipulates data and gives you formatting and layout options that make data easier to view. It also allows you to display data as charts and graphs.

Note - if you open Excel itself, it opens a blank worksheet ready for you to use.

The Excel worksheet is made up of a number of cells arranged in rows and columns to form a grid, as shown in Fig 8. The rows are numbered and the columns are lettered. When you make calculations in Excel, you reference the cells by the column letter followed by the row number. For example, in Fig 9, if you wanted Excel to add up the figures shown, the calculation would be A1+B1. Calculations are covered in more detail in task 15.

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Fig 9

Fig 8

The Excel Ribbon

The ribbon runs horizontally across the top of the Excel window and provides a range of command buttons that allow you to carry out tasks. The left hand side of the ribbon is shown in Fig 9. Note how the Ribbon displays the Home tab by default.

Different commands are contained within the different tabs across the Ribbon and the tasks in this manual will use some of the tabs. Related commands are displayed together in groups across the Ribbon. Don’t feel that you need to know every command button; some are for more specialist use. The name of the spreadsheet being worked on is always displayed in the middle of the Ribbon. It is circled in Fig 9 above (remember Fig 9 shows the left side of the Ribbon).

Navigating Excel

There are a number of ways to navigate the Excel worksheet. Click the mouse in any cell you want to navigate to, or use the arrow keys on the keyboard, shown in Fig 10, to move up, down, left and right. You can also use the Tab key, shown in Fig 11, to move to the right.

2. Enter a title into the worksheet

1. Click the mouse inside cell A1. 2. Type in ‘Pots and Pens Stationery’.3. Click on the tick symbol to confirm the

entry, as shown in Fig 12. Note - you can also press the Enter key on the keyboard to confirm the entry.

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Fig 12

Fig 9

Fig 11

Fig 10

Fig 14

3. Display the title inside a single cell

The title Pots and Pens Stationary looks as if it spans two cells. This is the way Excel displays long text. To display the title inside a single cell:

1. Double click the mouse on the line between columns A and B, as shown in Fig 13.

2. Column A has expanded to display the full title of the worksheet, as shown in Fig 14.

4. Align the text within a cell

If you have a lot of data in a lot of columns, you might not want to expand them all. Another option is to force some of the text onto a new line to save space.1. Click the mouse inside cell A2.2. Type in ‘Monthly Income by Region’.3. Click on the tick symbol to confirm the entry. 4. Click the mouse on cell A2 to select it.5. Click on the Home tab on the Ribbon if it’s not already open.6. Click on the Format button, in the Cells group shown in Fig 15.

This will open a drop down menu.7. Click on the last option, Format Cells, shown in Fig 16.

This will open the Format Cells dialogue box, shown in Fig 17.

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Fig 13

Fig 16

Fig 15

4. Align the text within a cell continued…

1. Click on the Alignment tab, shown in Fig 17.

2. Click the Wrap Text box so that a tick shows next to it.

3. Click on OK.The text should now look like the text in Fig 17.

5. Format text within cells

Excel uses the same formatting tools as Word and PowerPoint. Click on the cell to apply formatting to the text it contains.

1. Click inside cell A1. 2. Click on the Home tab if it’s not

already selected.3. In the Font group, change the font size

to 20, as shown in Fig 19.4. Click on the Bold icon.

6. Merge cells and centre the text

1. Click inside cell A1.2. Keep the mouse button pressed and drag to cell C3.3. Look for the Alignment group on the Home tab,

shown in Fig 20.4. Click on Merge & Centre.

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Fig 17

Fig 18

Fig 20

Fig 19

7. Enter and amend text in cells

1. Click the mouse inside cell A12.2. Type in ‘Glasgow’.

To overwrite text within a cell:3. Click the mouse inside cell A54. Type in ‘Lancaster’.

Note - there is no need to delete the text first.To amend text within a cell:

5. Click the mouse inside cell A8.6. Double click the mouse so that the cursor flashes inside the cell.

Double clicking allows you to amend instead of overwrite.7. Use the mouse or the right arrow key to move to the end of the text.8. Type in ‘- Central’.

8. Use the Auto Fill function

The Auto Fill function saves you a lot of time if you have to add repetitive data such as months, days or dates.

1. Click in cell B3. 2. Click on the mouse directly over the bold black square in

the bottom right of the cell (the ‘fill handle), shown in Fig 21.

3. Keep the mouse pressed and drag across to cell M3.4. Let go of the mouse.

Cells B3 to M3 should now contain the names of the twelve months.

Use the Auto Sum function

Excel has ready-made functions for commonly carried out tasks, for example, adding figures together or calculating the average of a set of figures. Use AutoSum to total the income across regions for January.

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Fig 21

9. Use the AutoSum function

1. Highlight the cells containing data in column B.a. Click in cell B4.b. Keep the mouse

pressed and drag it down to cell B12.

2. Click on the Home tab if it’s not already selected.

3. Click on the AutoSum icon, in the Editing group on the right of the tab, shown in Fig 22. The total for January’s income is displayed in cell B13.

4. Click in Cell A13 and type in ‘Total income’. This indicates that anything in row 13 relates to the total income for a particular month.

In your own time – calculate the average income for January

1. Highlight the cells containing data in column B. Note - don’t include cell B13 as that is the total. Select B4 to B12.

2. Click on the arrow next to AutoSum, shown in Fig 23.3. Click on Average.

Excel automatically displays the average in cell B14. 4. Click in cell A14 and type in ‘Average monthly income’.

In your own time – use Auto Fill to repeat dates, numbers and formulas

The AutoFill also works for formulas. For example, you can use it to calculate the total income for all months.

1. Click inside cell B13. 2. Click on the Auto Fill handle and keep the mouse pressed.3. Drag the mouse across to cell M13.

Cells C13 to M13 should now also contain monthly totals for regional income.

Now use the AutoFill function with:

1. Days of the week.

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Fig 22

Fig 23

2. Number series 1, 2, 3, 4 or 2, 4, 6, 8 etc. Note – put in three numbers from the series and highlight ALL cells with the mouse. Now move the mouse to the autofill handle and drag across.

10. Save your spreadsheet file regularly

It is good practice to save your files regularly. You can save to USB stick (memory stick) but also save a copy of your spreadsheet onto the University network in case you lose the stick.

1. Click on the File tab, shown in Fig 24. 2. Click on Save As.

This will open the Save As dialogue box, shown in Fig 25.3. Click on Personal to save to the University network

Note – to save to USB/memory stick from University PCs, click on the F drive4. Click on Save every fifteen minutes to save all updates.

Once you’ve saved a file, clicking on Save will save any changes you make without opening the Save As dialogue box again.

Saving backup copies of your work

Even if you use a USB/memory stick regularly it is worth saving a copy to your space on the student network. If you lose your USB this ensures you have a copy to

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Fig 25

Fig 24

retrieve. To avoid confusion about which location has the most recent version, put the date after the file name.

11. Format the cells to display currency

1. Click on the triangle above cell A1 to select the spreadsheet, as shown in Fig 26.

2. Click on the Home tab of the Ribbon.3. In the Cells group, click on Format, shown in Fig 27.4. Click on Format Cells, as shown in Fig 27.

The Format Cells dialogue box will open, shown in Fig 28.

5. Click on the number tab.

6.

6. Click on currency in the category list. The default setting is 2 decimal places. Keep this setting.

7. Click on OK.Note - the £ sign is also the default setting for the currency category.

12. Fill colour cells, rows and columns

Use the fill colour to highlight parts of your spreadsheets (for example, sales or income totals).

1. Click in cell B4. Note – click on the column letter or row number to highlight the entire column or row.

2. Click on the Home tab

13Fig 29

Fig 26

Fig 27

Fig 28

3. In the Font group, click on the arrow next to the fill colour icon, shown in Fig 29.

4. Click on the colour you want. Use a light colour so the text is still visible.

13. Rename the worksheet

By default Excel names the worksheets sheet1, sheet2 etc. You can change this to a more meaningful name. This is especially useful if you have a lot of worksheets and charts in the same Excel workbook file.

1. Double click on the Sheet 1 tab at the bottom left of the screen, shown in Fig 30.A bold band will appear around the name.

2. Type in ‘Region Sales’.The worksheet should now display its new name.

14. Sort the data alphabetically

1. Click on row number 4.2. Keep the mouse pressed and

drag down to row number 12.Note – we don’t want to include the titles of the spreadsheet in our data sort so we select only the data that needs to be included.

3. Click on the Home tab to select it.4. Click on Sort and Filter, as shown in Fig 31.5. Click on ‘Sort A to Z’

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Fig 30

Fig 31

Equals

(B4:B12)SUM=

Add the

figures

In cells B4 to B12The colon - : - means

include every cell between B4 and B12

(B5, B6, B7 etc.)

Calculations and Formulas in Excel

Each calculation in Excel has to begin with an equals sign ‘=’. For example, to add 2 and 3 in Excel the formula is = 2+3. This is the opposite way round to the way it is written in maths. It is important to remember the equals sign as without it Excel can’t carry out calculations or analyses and will treat the cell entry as text.

Cell references

Calculations in Excel use cell references rather than the actual numerical values. To see how this works, look at the AutoSum function used earlier.

15. Understand the AutoSum function

1. Click in cell B13.The AutoSum formula is now visible in the Function bar, shown in Fig 32.

If we look at each part of that formula in turn:

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Fig 32

Order of operations in Excel

Excel also carries out calculations on data in a specific order (order of operations), shown in Fig 33. If you are carrying out mathematical calculations on your data, they must be in the order Excel recognises:

Operator Description Example Result

( ) Brackets (parentheses)

(3+2)*3 15

^ Exponential (also known as powers)

10^2 100

/ Division 15/3 5

* Multiplication 3*5 15

+ Addition 5+9 14

- Subtraction 9-5 4

You can remember the order of operations by the mnemonic shown in Fig 34:

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Fig 33

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Brackets

Exponential

Division

Multiplication

Addition

Subtraction

Fig 34

Charts in Excel

Charts allow you to display the data contained in your spreadsheet in a way that has more visual impact. You can use different types of chart for representing and comparing series of data in different ways.

16. Create a Pie chart

A pie chart is a circular chart that displays the different parts of a whole amount. Each item is a percentage of the whole and is shown as a segment of the pie and its size depends on the percentage of the whole. This task creates a pie chart displaying the percentage of each region in relation to total sales in January.

1. Click the mouse in cell A4.2. Keep the mouse button pressed and drag

across and down to cell B12.Note – make sure you don’t include cell B13. This is the total figure and would skew the data.

3. Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon, shown in Fig 35. 4. Click on ‘Pie’.

This will open a drop down menu.5. Click on the 2-D pie, shown in Fig 36.

This will place the chart in the same worksheet as the data. However, Excel allows to change and amend all aspects of all charts you create until you get the chart you want.

In your own timeMove the chart:

1. Click on the chart.This will open the Chart Tools menu at the top of the Ribbon, shown in Fig 37.

2. Click on the Design tab3. Click on Move Chart on the

right of the menu.

This will open the Move Chart dialogue box, shown in Fig 38.

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Fig 36

Fig 37

Fig 35

Move the chart:

4. Click

the radio button next to ‘New sheet’.5. Type in ‘Jan Sales Pie’.6. Click on OK.

The pie chart will now appear in its own worksheet with the name ‘Jan Sales Pie’.

Change the chart type

1. If needed, click on the chart worksheet to open it.2. Click on the Design tab on the

Ribbon (previously shown in Fig 36).

3. Click on Change Chart Type, on the left side of the Ribbon, shown in Fig 39.This will open the Change Chart Type dialogue box, shown in Fig 40.

4. Click on the 3D exploded pie type, shown in Fig 40.

The chart has now changed to a 3D type.

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Fig 39

Fig 40

Change the colour and design of the pie chart

1. Click on Design on the Chart Tools tab.

2. Click on the arrow next to Chart Styles, shown in Fig 41. This will open a drop down menu of chart styles to choose from, some of which are shown in Fig 42.

3. Click on the chart style you want.

Change the colour of segments in the pie

1. Click on one of the pie segments.2. Click again to ensure only that

segment is highlighted, as shown in Fig 43.Note - check that the handles only appear round the segment itself.

3. Right click and select Format Data Point, as shown, right. This will open the Format Data Point dialogue box, as shown in Fig 44.

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Fig 41

Fig 43

Change the colour of segments in the pie

4. Click on Fill, shown in Fig 44.

5. Click on Solid Fill, circled in Fig 44.

6. Click on Colour, circled in Fig 44.

7. Click on the colour you want to change to.

8. Click on Close.Repeat for any other segments you wish to re-colour.

Put data labels onto the pie

You can put percentage or value labels onto your pie segments.

1. Click on the chart.The Chart Tools menu will open at the top of the Ribbon (previously shown in Fig 37).

2. Click on the Layout tab, as shown in Fig 45.

3. Click on Data Labels.This will open a drop down menu.

4. Click on More Data Label Options.This will open the Format Data Labels dialogue box, shown in Fig 46.

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Fig 45

Fig 44

Put data labels onto the pie

5. Click the box next to value, shown in Fig 46.

6. Click the box next to percentage, shown in Fig 46.The amount and percentage that each segment represents is now displayed.If you prefer, choose to display either value or percentage.

In your own time

Experiment with the data label options and check your chart for the result. Click the box next to Category Name (shown in Fig 46) and see how that affects your chart.

Insert a title for your chart

1. Click on the Chart to open the Chart Tools menu.

2. Click on the Layout tab (shown previously in Fig 37).

3. Click on Chart Title, shown in Fig 47.4. Click on the final menu option, ‘Above

‘Chart.Note – you can choose the middle option if you want. It’s a matter of personal preference.

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Fig 46

Fig 47

Move the legend key for your chart

1. Click on the Chart to open the Chart Tools menu.2. Click on the Layout tab (shown previously in Fig

37).3. Click on Legend, shown in Fig 48.

You can place the legend to the left of the chart, to the top or the bottom of the chart.

4. Choose the option you want.

Task 17 Cut and paste the Pie Chart into Word or PowerPoint

Often data in Excel is linked to reports or other documents created in Word. To display Excel charts in word documents:

1. Click on the chart worksheet to open it.2. Click on the Home tab on the Ribbon.3. In the Clipboard group, click on Copy, shown in Fig 48.4. Open your Word document or PowerPoint file and scroll

to the document page/slide where you want the chart to go.5. Right click the mouse.6. Select Paste from the drop down menu.

Note – for more information on working with images in Word, consult the ‘Images and Tables in Word and PowerPoint’ manual.

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Fig 48

Fig 47

In your own time - create a column chart

The following steps will create a column chart that visually compares sales between Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge and Cardiff across the first six months of the year

1. Click on the Budget worksheet tab to open the worksheet.

2. Click the mouse in cell A43. Keep the mouse pressed and

drag it down and across to cell G7 (don’t go past June)

4. Click on the Insert tab on the Ribbon.

5. Click on Column, as shown in Fig 49.

6. Click on the first option, as shown in Fig 49. The chart is now inserted under the data in the Budget worksheet.

Use the options outlined for the Pie Chart above to change the location of the chart and to format it to your preference.

In your own time – explore the chart and graph options

Create a line graph that compares sales in London and Yorkshire across the year

Create a pie chart that displays the breakdown of sales across the year for Cardiff.

Create a column graph that compares sales of all the regions across the last six months of the year.

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Fig 49

Further Help

The ‘For Dummies’ series of books are very widely used as they are clear and easy to use. They are available in the Library:

Wang, W. (2010) Office 2010 for Dummies. New Jersey, Wiley.Headingley Location 005.5 WAN Civic Quarter Location 005.5 WAN

There is also a Excel 2010 manual available.

Curtis, F (2010) Microsoft Excel 2010 plain & simple. Sebastopol, Calif. : O'Reilly Media.

Headingley Location 005.54 FRYCity Campus Location 005.54 FRY

Workshops and the Skills for Learning website

A range of workshops on using Excel are provided throughout the academic terms. For the most up to date timetable see the Skills for Learning website:http://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/workshops/Timetables.shtmlIf you can’t attend a workshop due to a clash with your academic timetable, or you want help in vacation period, contact Skills for Learning for a tutorial:skillsforlearningtutorials@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Video Tutorials

Leeds Beckett has comprehensive video tutorials on Excel available for Leeds Beckett students and staff. You can access them via the Skills for Learning Information Technology section.

http://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/local/information_technology/category_homepage.shtml

Microsoft Tutorials

Microsoft has a set of Excel tutorials. The Excel basics tutorial is listed below. There are also related tutorials that build up your Excel skills.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/meet-the-spreadsheet-RZ101773335.aspx?CTT=1&section=2

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