Overview

1
LESSON SKILL MATRIX
Skills Exam Objective Objective Number
Starting Excel Create a workbook. 1.1.1
Working in the Excel Window Customize the Quick Access Toolbar. 1.4.3
Changing Workbook and Window Change workbook views. 1.4.4
Views Change window views. 1.4.5
Working with an Existing Workbook Navigate to a named cell, range, or workbook element. 1.2.2

SOFTWARE ORIENTATION
Microsoft Excel’s Opening Screen
Microsoft Office Excel 2016 provides powerful tools that enable users to organize, analyze, man-
age, and share information easily. The foundation of Excel and locations where you do your work
are cells, rows, and columns within a worksheet, and worksheets as part of a workbook. Many of
the tools you use while working in Excel are located on the ribbon that displays across the top
of the window. The ribbon is organized into task-oriented command tabs. Each tab is divid-
ed into task-specific command groups with commands and options that relate to the group
name. Because you can customize the ribbon and new tabs might appear, such as the Developer
and Add-Ins tabs, your screen might appear different than Figure 1-1.

Quick Access Toolbar Command tabs Title bar

File tab
Ribbon

Name Box

Active cell Formula bar Column labels

Row labels

Worksheet tab

Figure 1-1
Excel’s Blank workbook

1
2 Lesson 1

STARTING EXCEL
To work efficiently in Microsoft Excel, you need to become familiar with its primary user inter-
face. You can open Microsoft Excel 2016 in Windows 10 by moving to the lower-left corner of
your screen, clicking on Start, clicking All apps, and then clicking Excel 2016.

Excel opens to a list of templates and in most cases you choose Blank workbook or open a previous
file. A workbook, or spreadsheet file, is shown in Figure 1-1. Think of a workbook as a physical
book with many pages. The filename (Book1) and the program name (Excel) appear in the title
bar at the top of the screen. Book1 (or Book2, Book3, and so on) is a temporary title for your
workbook until you save the workbook with a name of your choice. The new workbook contains
one worksheet (Sheet1) by default—similar to the first page in a book—where you enter infor-
mation. If a workbook has more pages (or worksheets), you use the sheet tabs that are located just
above the Status bar and are identified as Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3. You can rename worksheets
to identify their content and add worksheets with the New sheet (+) button as needed.

Opening Excel
In this exercise, you learn to use the Start menu to open Excel and view the new workbook’s blank
worksheet.

STEP BY STEP Start Excel

GET READY. Be sure Microsoft Excel is installed on your computer. Then perform the
following steps:
1. With the Windows desktop displayed, click the Start button in the lower-left corner of
the Windows 10 screen.
2. Click All apps near the bottom of the Start menu.
3. In the list of applications, scroll down as necessary and click Excel 2016. The Excel
window opens to display recent Excel files you’ve opened and examples of templates
you can use (see Figure 1-2).

Click Blank workbook to start a new file. Click to learn more about Excel.

Figure 1-2
Microsoft Excel’s opening
screen

Recent files you’ve opened (if any) Click other templates to see what you can
do in Excel or to start with an example.
 Overview 3

4. Click Blank workbook. A blank workbook opens, and the worksheet named Sheet1 is
displayed as shown previously, in Figure 1-1.

PAUSE. LEAVE the workbook open for the next exercise.

Take Note If you use Excel often, you will want to pin the application to the Start menu. From the All apps
menu, right-click the app name, and choose Pin to Start. You can also choose More and then Pin
to taskbar to allow you to click the icon in the Windows taskbar at the bottom of the screen to
start Excel.

A worksheet is a grid composed of rows, columns, and cells. Each worksheet column starts at the
top of the worksheet and goes to the bottom of the worksheet and is identified by a letter. Each
row starts at the left edge of the worksheet and continues to the right and is identified by a num-
ber. Each box, or cell, on the grid is identified by the intersection of a column and a row. Thus,
the first cell in an open worksheet is A1. You enter information by typing it into the selected or
active cell, which is outlined by a bold rectangle. This is also called the current or highlighted cell.

WORKING IN THE EXCEL WINDOW

When you launch Excel and click Blank workbook, the program opens a new workbook and dis-
plays a blank worksheet. You just learned about some of the most important components of the
Excel worksheet such as rows, columns, and cells. In this section, you explore the Excel window
and learn to identify and customize the Quick Access Toolbar, the ribbon, and other important
onscreen tools and components. You also learn to open and use Backstage view, which provides
access to file management commands.

Using the Onscreen Tools

The Quick Access Toolbar gives you fast and easy access to the tools you use most often in
any given Excel session. It appears on the left side of the title bar, above the ribbon (although you
can move the toolbar below the ribbon if you want it closer to your work area). You can add and
remove commands to and from the toolbar so that it contains only those commands you use most
frequently. In this lesson, you learn to move and customize the Quick Access Toolbar by adding
and removing commands. You also learn how to use ScreenTips, which are small, onscreen
boxes that display descriptive text when you rest the pointer on a command or control.

STEP BY STEP Use the Onscreen Tools

GET READY. USE the blank workbook you opened in the previous exercise to perform
these steps:
1. Point to each icon on the Quick Access Toolbar and read the description that appears
as a ScreenTip.
Take Note Use ScreenTips to remind you of a command’s function. Enhanced ScreenTips display in a larger
box that contains more descriptive text than a ScreenTip. Most Enhanced ScreenTips contain a
link to a Help topic.

2. On the right side of the Quick Access Toolbar, click the drop-down arrow. From the
drop-down list, select Open. The Open icon is added to the Quick Access Toolbar. Click
the down arrow again and select Quick Print from the drop-down list (see Figure 1-3).
4 Lesson 1

Figure 1-3
Customizing the Quick
Access Toolbar

3. Next, right-click anywhere on the Quick Access Toolbar and then select Show Quick
Access Toolbar Below the Ribbon.
4. Right-click the Home tab and click Collapse the Ribbon. Now, only the tabs remain on
display, increasing the workspace area.
5. Right-click the Home tab again and choose Collapse the Ribbon to uncheck the option
and make the ribbon commands visible again.
6. On the right side of the Quick Access Toolbar, which now appears below the ribbon,
click the drop-down arrow. Click Show Above the Ribbon from the drop-down list.
7. Right-click the Open command and select Remove from Quick Access Toolbar.
8. On the right side of the Quick Access Toolbar, click the drop-down arrow and click
Quick Print to remove the checkmark from the menu and thus remove the Quick Print
icon from the Quick Access Toolbar.
Take Note To add commands to the Quick Access Toolbar that do not appear in the drop-down list, click
More Commands on the drop-down list. The Excel Options dialog box opens. You can also right-
click the Quick Access Toolbar or any ribbon tab and select Customize Quick Access Toolbar to
open the Excel Options dialog box.

PAUSE. CLOSE Excel.

By default, the Quick Access Toolbar contains the Save, Undo, and Redo commands. As you work
in Excel, customize the Quick Access Toolbar so that it contains the commands you use most of-
ten. Do not, however, remove the Undo and Redo commands. These commands are not available
on the ribbon’s command tabs.
 Overview 5

CHANGING WORKBOOK AND WINDOW VIEWS

On the ribbon, the View tab holds commands for controlling the appearance of the displayed
workbook. You can also open and arrange new windows and split windows for side-by-side views
of different parts of your workbook.

Changing the Workbook View

Some groups on the ribbon tabs have an arrow in their lower-right corner called a Dialog Box
Launcher. Clicking the arrow opens a dialog box or a task pane containing more options for that
particular group of commands. In this exercise, you learn how to use the View tab commands in
the Workbook Views group to change Excel’s workbook view.

STEP BY STEP Change the Workbook View

GET READY. Launch Excel and start a new workbook.

1. If necessary, click the Home tab to activate it.
2. Select cell A1 to make it active. Then type 456 and press Tab.
3. In the lower-right corner of the Font group, click the Dialog Box Launcher arrow. The
Format Cells dialog box shown in Figure 1-4 opens. In most cases, your default font in
Excel will be Calibri, 11 point, without bold or italic.

Figure 1-4
Format Cells dialog box

4. Notice that the Font tab of the dialog box is active. Scroll down in the Font list, click
Cambria, and then click OK. Cell B1 is the active cell now.
5. Type 456 in this cell and then press Tab. Notice the difference in appearance between
this number and the one you entered in cell A1.
6. Click the View tab.
7. In the Workbook Views group, click Page Layout. In this view, you can see the margins,
where pages break, and you can add a header or footer (see Figure 1-5).
6 Lesson 1

Right pane displays additional cells that would print

Horizontal ruler on a second page if it contained entries

Figure 1-5
Page Layout view

Vertical ruler

8. In the Workbook Views group, click Normal to return the worksheet to the view that no
longer shows rulers, headers, footers, or page breaks.

PAUSE. LEAVE the workbook open for the next exercise.

As demonstrated in this exercise, you can preview your printed worksheet by clicking the ribbon’s
View tab, and then clicking Page Layout in the Workbook Views group. This view enables you
to fine-tune pages before printing. You can change your worksheet’s layout and format in both
this view and Normal view. You can also use the rulers to measure the width and height of your
window and determine whether you need to change its margins or print orientation.

Splitting the Window

When a worksheet contains a lot of data, you can see only a small portion of the worksheet in Ex-
cel’s Normal and Page Layout views. The Split command enables you to overcome this limitation
by viewing the worksheet in two panes or four quadrants. After issuing this command, you can
use the scroll bars on the right and at the bottom of the window to display different sections of
the worksheet at the same time so that you can more easily compare or contrast data or see what
effect a change in one part of the worksheet might have on a distant part of the worksheet. In this
exercise, you learn to split the Excel window and use the scroll bars to view different sections of
a worksheet. You also practice entering data into cells in the split windows, and you learn how to
remove the split to return to single-window view.

STEP BY STEP Split the Window

GET READY. USE the worksheet you left open in the previous exercise or type 456 in cells
A1 and B1 in a new workbook.
1. Click cell F1 to make it active.
2. On the View tab, click Split. Notice that the screen is split vertically in two different
panes.
 Overview 7

3. In the horizontal scroll bar of the right pane, hold down the right arrow until you see
cell AA1. Notice that you can still see cells A1 and B1 in the left pane.
4. Click Split again. The screen is no longer split.
5. Click in cell A17 and click Split. The screen is split horizontally in two different panes.
6. Click Split again. The screen is no longer split.
7. Click in cell F14 and click Split. The screen is split into four panes this time.
8. Choose the lower-right quadrant by clicking any cell in that pane, and then scroll down
to display row 40.
9. In cell H40, type 236 and press Enter. The data you entered in cells A1 and B1 should be
visible along with what you just entered in cell H40 (see Figure 1-6).
Figure 1-6
Split command
Working in a split window

Scroll bars

10. Click Split to remove the split. The data in cell H40 is no longer visible.

PAUSE. CLOSE the workbook and do not save. LEAVE Excel open.

Take Note The Split command is especially useful when you need to compare various portions of a long
worksheet.

When you use a worksheet that contains a small amount of data, it is easy to scroll through the
worksheet and focus on specific cells. As you become experienced in working with Excel, however,
you might find yourself working on much larger worksheets. The ability to view more than one
section of a worksheet at the same time by using split windows is especially useful when you need
to compare different sections of data.

WORKING WITH AN EXISTING WORKBOOK

Many workbooks require frequent updating because existing data has changed or new data must
be added. Workers frequently open an existing workbook, update information, and then save the
workbook to be revised again at a later time. Often, files are created by one person, and then used
or updated by others. Filenames should reflect the type of data contained in the file. A descriptive
filename enables you to locate and retrieve files quickly. Filenames can be up to 255 characters
long, including the filename extension. However, most workers use short descriptive filenames
that clearly identify the content of the workbook.
8 Lesson 1

Navigating a Worksheet
An Excel worksheet can contain more than one million rows and more than sixteen thousand
columns. There are several ways to move through worksheets that contain numerous rows and col-
umns. You can use the arrow keys, the scroll bars, or the mouse to navigate through a worksheet.
In the following exercises, you explore the different methods for moving through a worksheet.

Take Note A worksheet can be very large or quite small depending on your needs. Available columns go from
A through XFD, and available rows can go from 1 through 1,048,576.

STEP BY STEP Navigate a Worksheet

GET READY. Click the File tab, click Open, and then click Browse. In the Open dialog box,
choose the location of your Lesson01 data files, select 01 Contoso Employee Info, and then
click Open.
1. Press Ctrl+End to move to the end of the worksheet (cell D27).
2. Press Ctrl+Home to move to the beginning of the worksheet (cell A1).
3. Click in the Name Box, type A3, and then press Enter to make the cell active.
4. Press Ctrl+Down Arrow to go to the last row of data (cell A27).
Take Note Ctrl+Arrow shortcuts allow you to move to the start and end of ranges of data. The worksheet title,
which spans all of the columns, is not considered part of the worksheet’s data range.

5. Press Ctrl+Right Arrow. Cell D27, the last column in the range of data, becomes the
active cell.
6. Press Ctrl+Down Arrow. The last possible row in the worksheet displays.
7. Press Ctrl+Home.
8. Use the vertical scroll bar to navigate from the beginning to the end of the data.
9. If your mouse has a wheel button, roll the wheel button forward and back to quickly
scroll through the worksheet.

PAUSE. LEAVE the workbook open for the next exercise.

Navigating Data with the Go To Command

The workbook used in these exercises is neither long nor particularly complicated. When you be-
gin dealing with much larger databases, or longer sets of workbooks, you might wish you had some
easier means to get around the data than just scrolling. The Name Box indicates the current cell
you are in as well as gives you the opportunity to name the cell or a range. The Go To command
can take you to particular points in a worksheet, including cells and cell ranges that you name
yourself.

STEP BY STEP Navigate Data with the Go To Command

GET READY. USE the 01 Contoso Employee Info workbook from the previous exercise.
1. Select cell A17.
2. In the Name Box to the left of the formula bar, select A17.
3. Delete A17, type MedAssts, and then press Enter.
4. Select cell M11.
5. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find & Select. Click Go To. The Go To
dialog box appears (see Figure 1-7).
 Overview 9

Figure 1-7
Go To dialog box

6. In the Go to list, click MedAssts and then click OK. Cell A17 becomes the active cell.
7. Click Find & Select again and then click Go To Special. The Go To Special dialog box
appears (see Figure 1-8).

Figure 1-8
Go To Special dialog box

8. In the Go To Special dialog box, click Last cell.

9. Click OK. Cell D27 becomes the active cell. The last cell is the lower-right cell in the
worksheet with contents or formatting.

PAUSE. CLOSE the workbook and do not save. CLOSE Excel.

10 Lesson 1

Knowledge Assessment

Multiple Choice
Select the best response for the following statements.
1. An arrow in the lower-right corner of a group on the ribbon tells you that which of the
following is available?
a. A dialog box or task pane
b. An additional workbook
c. A list of worksheets
d. An additional part of the current range
2. Which feature enables you to preview headers and footers, page breaks, and other
features that will print?
a. Page Layout
b. Print Layout
c. Synchronous Scrolling
d. ScreenTips
3. When you split a window, the window is divided into how many panes?
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. two or four
4. Which of the following is the intersection of a row and column?
a. range
b. tab
c. bar chart
d. cell
5. Which of the following starts off with Save, Undo, and Redo and can be customized to
contain the commands you use most frequently?
a. A worksheet
b. The Help window
c. The Quick Access Toolbar
d. The ribbon
6. How many worksheets does a new Excel 2016 workbook open with?
a. one
b. two
c. three
d. four

True / False
Circle T if the statement is true or F if the statement is false.

T F 1. The Quick Access Toolbar appears on the right side of the title bar, above the
ribbon.
T F 2. The columns in a worksheet are identified by numbers.
T F 3. The active cell in a worksheet is outlined by a bold rectangle.
T F 4. Page Layout view is useful when preparing your data for printing.