A spreadsheet is referred to as a Worksheet and several worksheets in one document are called a Workbook.

Inserting rows and columns

In the spreadsheet you can click on the number at the side which will highlight the entire row, then right click and select Insert from the menu. A row will appear above the one highlighted. Another way is to go to the Home ribbon and click on the Cells group and select the Insert button. You are then able to select the appropriate option.

Charts

The Insert Ribbon contains all of the Chart icons which guide you through how to transform your information into a chart.

Formatting cells

This is your bread and butter command in Excel, if you cannot remember anything else make sure you remember the Format Cells command.

The tools for basic cell formatting are located on the Home ribbon, Font group.

The paint symbol or fill colour will colour in any cells that are highlighted, either by clicking on the icon (if the correct colour is already selected), or by clicking on the small arrow to the right of the icon which will open up into a drop down menu paint palette.

Wrapping, Merging cells and Cell alignment

There are no margin lines in Excel so the text will not automatically go on to another line once it reaches the end of the cell, so it will need to be wrapped. To wrap text either, highlight the whole spreadsheet, or the section you wish to wrap, right click on the highlighted content and click Format Cells.

The Format Cells box will appear. Click on the Alignment Tab, select the Wrap Text checkbox and press Ok.

Merging cells follow a similar process where text is highlighted, right click, select format Cells, select the Alignment tab, and select the Merge Cells checkbox.

To Autofit the cells click the Home Ribbon and select Format from the Cells group. The drop down menu will give you options to Autofit the contents to the cell width and/or cell height.

Autosum

If you needed to find the total of a list of numbers the Autosum calculates this quickly. To do this click in the cell that you would like the total to show in, which is normally the cell under a list of figures, and click on the Autosum button located on the Editing tab of the Home ribbon. A dashed line will flash around the information, this can be easily expanded if desired by dragging the flashing lines. The formula will appear in the top panel above the spreadsheet e.g. =SUM(D5:D10), these are the cells selected for calculation, press enter and the total will appear in the bottom cell.

Autofilter

The Sort & Filter button can be located on the Home ribbon under the Editing group. By clicking on the button a drop down menu will appear. If Filter is selected, a funnel symbol will appear next to the text on the column headings with an arrow.

Print Setup and Print Preview

Print preview in Excel is either on the Quick Access Toolbar, or it can be located by going to the Office button, Print and then Print Preview.

When in Print Preview, click on the Page Setup button. The Page Setup box will appear.

From this view you can adjust the percentage down to a size that allows the spreadsheet to fit on one page. You can also change the orientation, the print quality and the first page number. Click Ok for the changes to take effect. NB: If decreasing the percentage size it is best not to go below 65% otherwise it will be unreadable once printed out.

By Kelly Foxhall