USING SPREADSHEET

COVERS: - definition and types of spreadsheets

- components of electronic spreadsheets
- benefits of spreadsheets
- types of data
cell referencing
- Formatting workbooks & worksheets
- editing workbooks & worksheets
- keyboard shortcuts in excel
-freezing and unfreezing panes
- working with formula and functions
- printing a worksheet

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 A SPREADSHEET
-Is a financial accounting ledger book in which data
is organised in rows and columns

CATEGORIES /TYPES OF SPREADSHEETS

1. Manual or traditional spreadsheets
2. Electronic spreadsheets

Manual or traditional spreadsheet

- Is a collection of sheets of paper divided into
rows and columns on which data is entered
manually

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USES OF MANUAL SPREADSHEET
-Organise data into tabular, for reading and
calculations
-Book keeping in financial accounting where by
numeric figures are entered on income and
expenditure
-Financial analysis in stock management

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ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEETS
-Is an application software consisting of rows and
columns, used to organise, calculate and analyse
numeric data

EXAMPLES OF ELECRONIC SPREADSHEETS

1. Microsoft excel
2. Open office Calc
3. Lotus 1-2-3
4. Corel Quattro pro
MAIN COMPONENTS OF ELECTRONIC
SPREADSHEET
5. Work sheets 2. Database 3. Graphs
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ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEETS
MAIN COMPONENTS OF ELECTRONIC
SPREADSHEET
1. A Work sheet
- Is a work area made up rows and columns
where data is entered
- Rows are labeled with numbers 1,2,3…
- Columns are labeled with letters A,B,C…
- A row is the horizontal arrangement of cells
- A column is the vertical arrangement of cells
- A cell is the intersection of row and column
2. A database
- Is a collection of related data items or records
on a worksheet e.g. school results for term1

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ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEETS
MAIN COMPONENTS OF ELECTRONIC
SPREADSHEET
3. Graphs / charts
- A graph is a pictorial representation of the
relationship between two or more values on a
worksheet
- Electronic spreadsheet contain different graphs/
charts to choose from

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USES OF SPREADSHEETS
1. Arranging information
- Rows and columns makes data entry and
organization easy i.e. in a presentable tabular layout
2. Preparation of budgets
- They manipulate numeric entries mathematically
hence good for budgeting
3. Interest calculation
- Can be used to compute both simple and compound
interest by entering a relevant formulae correctly
4. Statistical analysis
- Have tools for computing mean, mode, standard
deviation, sum product, variance , regressive
analysis etc.

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BENEFITS OF ELECTRONIC
SPREADSHEETS OVER MANUAL
1. Utilize powerful aspects of computers namely
speed, accuracy and efficiency
2. Offers a larger virtual sheet for data entry and
manipulation
3. Provide auto complete and autocorrect features ,
making data entry easy
4. Enable a user to produce network i.e. all the work is
edited on screen
5. Have better editing and formatting features
6. Have inbuilt formulae called functions
7. Supports automatic recalculation
8. Have graphs sued for visual representation of data
which is easy to interpret
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DISADVANTAGES OF
ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEETS
1. high start up costs e.g. purchasing computer and
software
2. Learning how to use require effort and cost
3. Files need to be protected against unauthorized
access and malware like viruses

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STARTING MS EXCEL
1. click on the start menu
2. Point to all programs
3. Point to Microsoft office
4. Click excel -> the excel application window opens
OR
5. Locate and click the windows search icon
6. In the search box, begin typing “excel”
7. Click on the excel icon/ file that appears on the
search results

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FEATURES OF THE EXCEL APPLICATION
WINDOW

1. Rows
- A row is the horizontal arrangement of cells in a
worksheet
- Are labeled using numbers 1,2,3…n
2. Columns
- A column is a vertical arrangement of cells
- Are labeled using letters A,B,C….
4. A cell
- Is the intersection between a column and a row
- The active cell pointer is that highlighted with bold
outline
5. Worksheets
- A worksheet is the work area made up of rows and
columns where data is entered
6. Formula bar
 is an input box where a cell entry or a formula is
displayed before it is inserted into the active cell.
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FEATURES OF THE EXCEL
APPLICATION WINDOW
7.labels
- Column labels are A-Z,AA-AZ,IA-IZ
- Row labels are members 1,2,3,…
8. Cell address
- Is a reference to a particular cell
- Is given by column label followed by row number
- Example, cell A1, is a cell in column A, row1 in the
worksheet
- The process of referring to a particular cell using its
address is called cell referencing
9. Name box
- Displays the address of the active cell

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FEATURES OF THE EXCEL APPLICATION
WINDOW
10. File tab/ office button (2007)
- Displays the dropdown menu which has common
commands like new , open, save As, Print, Close etc.
11. Command ribbon
- Displayed by clicking any of the tabs
- Has a set of commands in groups
- E.g.. Home tab has commands: paste, copy, cut, Bold,
underline etc.
12. Work sheet tabs
- Located at the bottom of a spreadsheet, labeled sheet1,
sheet2…
- Sheets can be renamed as follows:
 Double clicking it, and typing a new name

13. Work book

- Spreadsheet file that consists of one of more related
worksheets.
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NAVIGATING/MOVING AROUND A
WORKSHEET
a. Using the keyboard
1. arrow keys
2. Tab key
b. Using a mouse
1. Clicking the desired cell or using a touch pad
NB: To move to the first cell labeled A1, press ctrl +
Home key

TYPES OF DATA ENTERED IN A

WORKSHEET
1. Labels 3. Function
2. Values 4. Formula
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TYPES OF DATA ENTERED IN A
WORKSHEET
1. Labels
- A label refers to alphanumeric characters entered in
a cell
- Are aligned to the left by default
- Can not be manipulated mathematically
- Are mainly used as column and row headings to
describe numeric content
- numeric values can be formatted as labels by
adding an apostrophe before the most significant
digit in the number
2. Values
- A value is a numeric data that can be manipulated
mathematically In a spreadsheet e.g. currency,
numbers 0-9 and date

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TYPES OF DATA ENTERED IN A
WORKSHEET
1. Labels
- A label refers to alphanumeric characters entered in
a cell
- Are aligned to the left by default
- Can not be manipulated mathematically
- Are mainly used as column and row headings to
describe numeric content ( if a column contains
names of students for example, the label can be
student name)
- numeric values can be formatted as labels by
adding an apostrophe before the most significant
digit in the number
2. Values
- A value is a numeric data that can be manipulated
mathematically In a spreadsheet e.g. currency,
numbers 0-9 and date 16
TYPES OF DATA ENTERED IN A
WORKSHEET
3. Formula
- A formula is a mathematical expression used to
calculate and return a new value from numeric data
- Must start with an equal sign
- E.g. =B3+D4, adds contents of B3 and D4 and
returns the sum of an active cell
- Arithmetic operators used in excel: add (+),
subtraction (-), multiplication (*) and division (/)
4. Functions
- A function is an inbuilt formulae that can be quickly
used
- Ms excel has several fuctions e.g. SUM 
=SUM(A1,B1()

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CELL REFERENCING
- Is the use of cell addresses
IMPORTANCE /ADVANTAGE OF CELL
REFERENCING
- Enables Ms excel to keep calculations accurate
and automatic recalculation
TYPES OF CELL REFERENCING
1. Relative
2. Absolute
3. Mixed referencing
RELATIVE REFERENCING
- Is the one that changes depending on its
position of reference in the worksheet
- E.g. if =A1+B1 in cell C1 is copied to cell c2,
the formula reference changes to A2 + B2

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CELL REFERENCING
ABSOLUTE REFERENCING
- In this one the reference is made to a specific
address and does not change with position
- It is made by placing a dollar sign before the
column and/or row label e.g. $A$2
- E.g. if the result in cell C1 is 170 and absolute
reference is used , 170 will be copied to C2
MIXED CELL REFERENCING
- Is a combination of relative and absolute
referencing on a specific cell address
- E.g. A$3 referencing , the column is absolute
while the row is relative

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PRACTICAL EXAMPLE ON
RELATIVE REFERENCE
- Open a new work book
- Create a worksheet as below

- Type a formula in cell =B2+C2

- Copy it to the rest of the cells
- In the formula tab, click on show formula button, In
the formula Auditing group to see the copied
formula 20
 PRACTICAL EXAMPLE ON
RELATIVE REFERENCE
- You will note that, the formula will be changing
based on the position, as shown below

- This is the relative reference

- Click on the show formula button to see the
values 21
 PRACTICAL EXAMPLE 1 ON
ABSOLUTE REFERENCE
- Change the formula in D3 to: =$B$2+$C$2
- Copy the formula to the rest of the cells

- See , the formula does not change with position

- Click on the show formula button to see the values,
you get 78, in all the cells, reference is made to the
same cell
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 PRACTICAL EXAMPLE 2 ON
ABSOLUTE REFERENCE
- Create a worksheet as below
- Each entry is supposed to multiply by 2 in cell A1,
therefore it should be made absolute, and the other
cells should be relative as below

- Copy the formula to the other cells

- See, the left part changing , while the right does not
change with position
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 PRACTICAL EXAMPLE 2 ON
ABSOLUTE REFERENCE
- It should be as below, click the show formula button,
to see the formula

- When you click, show formula button, you will get

2,4,6,8

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RETRIEVING A WORKBOOK
- To open an existing workbook:
1. Click on file or office button
2. Click on open
3. Scroll to the workbook
4. Double click it
SAVING A WORKBOOK
5. Press Ctrl + s
6. In the save AS dialog, specify the location
7. Type the name
8. Click the save button
CLOSING A WORKBOOK
9. Click file tab or office button
10. Click on close
EXITING EXCEL click file menu->click exit or
press ALT + F4

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WORKSHEET AND WORKBOOK
FORMATTING
- Refers to enhancing the appearance of cells content
to make it more readable and appealing to the
reader
WHY FORMATTING A WORKSHEET
1. To place emphasis
2. To catch attention i.e. make it more readable
3. To reveal hidden details of a worksheet
FORMATTING A SINGLE CELL
4. Make it active
5. Click home tab
6. Click the down arrow on the right of the format
button in cells group
7. Click the format options you wish to apply on
numbers, alignment , font , cell borders or
background

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WORKSHEET AND WORKBOOK
FORMATTING
- FORMATTING FONTS
1. Highlight the cells that have the cell content
2. Click format then format cells command
3. Select the font tab by clicking it
4. Select the font type, size, style, underline and
colour
5. Click ok
FORMATTING NUMBERS
6. Highlight the cells that have the numbers
7. Click format then format cells on the home tab
8. click the number tab
9. Choose the desired number formats

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WORKSHEET AND WORKBOOK
FORMATTING
- FORMATTING BORDERS
1. Highlight the range you wish to insert borders
2. Click format then format cells command
3. Select the Borders tab by clicking it
4. Specify the type of line, colour, and border style
to be applied
5. Click ok button
FORMATTING COLUMNS (resizing)
6. Point t the border that separates column
headers
7. Once the arrow changes to black double- edged
cross , drag to adjust the column width to the
desired size
8. release the mouse

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WORKSHEET AND WORKBOOK
FORMATTING
- FORMATTING ROWS (Changing row height)
1. Point to the border that separates two row
headers
2. Once the arrow changes to black double- edged
cross , drag to adjust the row height to the
desired size
3. release the mouse
GLOBAL FORMATTING
- This refers to formatting the entire or whole
worksheet
PROCEED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Press CTRL + A
2. Use the Format cells dialog box to format the
content

 USE THESE TECHNIQUES TO WORK ON THE

EXERCISE ON THE NEXT SLIDE
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FORMATTING WORKSHEETS &
WORKBOOKS
EXERCISE ONE
- Formatting worksheets :

1. Open a new workbook and save the file with the

name “pay roll”
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FORMATTING WORKSHEETS &
WORKBOOKS
EXERCISE ONE
- Formatting worksheets :
2. Enter the labels and values in the exact cells
locations as desired
3. Use auto fill to put the employee numbers in to cells
A6:A8
4. Set the column width and row height appropriately
5. Set labels alignment appropriately
6. Use wrap text and merge cells as desired
7. Format cell B2 to short date format
8. Format cell e4:G8 to include dollar sign with two
decimal places
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FORMATTING WORKSHEETS &
WORKBOOKS
EXERCISE ONE
- Formatting worksheets :
9. Calculate the Gross pay for employee , enter the formula
in cell E4 multiply hourly Rate by hours worked
10. Calculate the social security tax (SS Tax), which is 6% of
the gross pay: enter a formula in cell F4 to multiply Gross
pay by 6%
11. Calculate the net pay: enter a formula in cell G4 to
subtract Social Security Tax from Gross pay
12. Set the font type to be times new roman, size 12, font
color for date and payroll labels should be white
13. Save your work book
NB: After the exercise, be able to: format font, borders ,
columns and rows
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PROTECTING A WORKBOOK
- Techniques of protecting a workbook:
1. Making a work book read only
2. Encrypting using password
3. Restricting access by adding digital signature
ENCRYPTING WITH PASSWORD
― for office 2007
1. While the workbook is open office button
2. Choose save As
3. Choose tools dropdown (left of the save button) and choose
general options
4. You can now set two passwords:
i. one to open the workbook
ii. to modify
5. Enter one or both passwords and click OK
6. Confirm the password (s) and click ok
7. Click save (find out how it is done in office 2013_excel bk3)
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PROTECTING A WORKSHEET
1. Navigate to the review tab
2. Click protect sheet, in the window enter a
password that is required to unprotect the sheet
3. Click ok
TASK
Discuss how you can lock specific cells in an excel
work sheet 4mks

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 SETTING MODIFICATION RESTRICTIONS
• Excel provide for the owner of the spreadsheet
to specify users who can open to read only, copy
or print a workbook. Use the protection options
such as Mark as Final that sets the workbook
read-only.
• To make a workbook read-only, proceed as
follows:
1. Click the file tab, point to info and then check
the protect workbook button.
2. On the drop down menu, select Mark as Final
option.
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EXCEL KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

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FREEZING PANES
FREEZE PANES
― Is a feature in spreadsheet that freezes a row or
column, so that is always displayed.
IMPORTANCE/REASON FOR FREEZING PANES
― Helps the user to track what the data in a particular
row or column stands for.
• locked or frozen rows /columns are not moved when scrolling
a document
TO FREEZE PANES
1. Move a pointer in a cell you want to freeze rows
above it or columns on its right
2. Click freeze panes on the view tab, in the windows
group
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FREEZING PANES
TO UNFREEZE THE PANES
1. Click view tab
2. In the windows group, click freeze panes, then select
unfreeze
###remember the class practice
HIDE/UNHIDE COLUMNS OR ROWS
3. Select the columns or rows you want to hide
4. On the home tab, click format cells in the cells group
5. Select the command to hide or unhide rows and
columns

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FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS
A FORMULA
― Is a mathematical expression used to perform
calculations
A FUNCTION
― Is an inbuilt or a predefined formula
PERFORMING CALCULATIIONS ON WORKSHEET DATA
― Select a range of cells first
― The range or cell range is a group of cells within a
row or column
― e.g. =sum(A1:A10), the cells in column A1 through
A10 are the range of cells that are added together

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FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS
SELECTING A RANGE OF CONTIGUOUS CELLS
1. click the top left cell of the range to be selected
2. hold down shift key, and then click the bottom right
cell of the range
SELECTING A RANGE OF NON CONTIGUOUS CELLS
3. Click the top left cell of the range to be selected
4. Hold down the Ctrl key and then click individual cells
to be selected
## Demonstrated using a projector, in class
CREATING A NAMED RANGE OF CELLS
5. Select the range to be named
6. Click inside the name box, replace the cell address
by typing a name for the range, then press enter
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CREATING A FORMULA
― ELEMENTS OF A USER DEFINED FORMULA
1. An equal sign
2. Operands (values, cell references, names etc.)
3. Operators
TYPES OF OPERATORS USED TO CREATE A FORMULA
a. Arithmetic operators
– Addition, subtraction , division and multiplication
– They follow precedence rule similar to mathematical concept of
BODMAS
SYMBOL Description Example
/ Division =A2/B2
* Multiplication =A2*B2
+ Addition =A2 + B2
- Subratction =B2-A2

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USING IN-BUILT FUNCTION
Function start with equal sign(=) then function
name and arguments.
Arguments
Are cell addresses, numeric, logical or text
values enclosed in parenthesis.
For example.
=SUM(A3:F3), SUM is the function name while
the range A3 to F3 is the argument.

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Categories of in-built functions
Functions are categorized according to nature of
calculation.
1. Math & Trig
2. Statistical
3. Logic
4. Date and time
To use a function from any of these categories,
proceed as follows:

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1. On the formulas tab, click insert function.
Alternatively, click the fx button on the
standard toolbar.
2. In the function dialog box displayed , select
the category
3. In the function list box, select a function.
4. Specify the function argument then click OK.

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Math & Trig functions
This acronym math & trig stands for mathematics and
trigonometry.
Commonly used mathematical functions
SUM(). Adds the values in the selected range of
cells. For example if A3, B3 and C3 contains 20, 50,
80 respectively, =SUM(A3:C3) returns 150.
Round(). Rounds a number to specified number of
decimal places. If the second argument is 0, the
number is rounded off to the nearest integer. E.g.
=ROUND(49.769, 1) returns 49.8 While
=ROUND(49.769, 0) returns 50.
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PRODUCT(). Multiplies a list of arguments
separated by commas. For example
=PRODUCT(40,3,2) returns 240.
QUOTIENT(). Returns the integer part of a
division. The function is used when you want
to discard the remainder of a division. E.g.
=QUOTIENT(5,3) returns a value of 1.

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Statistical functions
The following are some of the commonly used statistical
functions:
• AVERAGE ( ). Returns the arithmetic mean of its arguments.
For example, if A3, B3 and C3 contains 20, 50 and 80
respectively, = AVERAGE (A3:C3) returns 75.
• COUNT ( ). Counts the number of cells that contain numeric
values within a range. If a cell contains non-numeric value, it is
ignored. For example, = COUNT (A3:C3) returns 3.
• MAX ( ). Returns the largest number from a range of cells. For
example, = MAX(A3:C3) in a range containing 20,35, 80, 68 and
79. returns 80 as the maximum value.
• MIN ( ). Returns the smallest number from a range of cells. For
example, = MIN(A3:C3) on 20, 35, 80, 68 and 79 returns 20 as
the minimum value.
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Logical functions
• Logical functions return either true or false from
an expression. Examples of logical functions
include IF, COUNTIF, AND, OR, and NOT.
• IF ( ). Returns a value or a label if a condition
you specify evaluates to TRUE and another if it
evaluates to FALSE.

• For example, if C5 holds a mean score then if we

wish to display a comment PASS if mean is
greater than 50 or FAIL if otherwise then we can
use IF(C5>50, “PASS”, “FAIL”).
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Let us take another example. If A3, B3, C3, D3,
and E3 contain a set of marks 35, 50, 80, 60 and
45 and grades are to be awarded as follows:
• 80 to 100 A
• 60 to 79 B
• 40 to 59 C
• Below 40 Fail,
To assign a grade use,
• = IF(A3>=80, “A”, IF(A3>=60, “B”, IF(A3>=40,
“C”, “FAIL”)))
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• COUNTIF ( ). Counts the number of cells within a range
that satisfies a certain criteria. For example, = COUNTIF
(A1:D5,”>50”) returns the number of cells in the range
that have a value greater than 50.
• SUMIF ( ). Calculates the sum of values in a range of
cells that satisfy a certain criteria. For examples =SUMIF
(A1:D5,”>1000”) selects cells that have values greater
than 1000 and calculate them.
• NB: In Excel, COUNTIF and SUMIF are found under
statistical Maths and Eng categories respectively.
• AND ( ). Returns true if both expressions in a comma
separated list of arguments evaluates to true. For
example, = AND (3+2=5, 2+2=4) returns true.
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OR() returns true if one of the expression in
the comma separated list of arguments
evaluates to true. For example, =OR(3+2=7,
2+2=4) returns true.
NOT ( ). This is unary operator that reverses
the value of a Boolean expression from true to
false and vice versa. For example, =NOT
(3+2=5) returns false.

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Date and Time functions
Some date and time functions include:
• TODAY ( ). Returns a number that represents today’s date.
This function takes no arguments. For example, by the time
of writing this function, =TODAY ( ) returned 07/02/2016.
• NOW ( ). Returns the current date and time formatted as date
and time. It takes no arguments. For example, = NOW ( )
returned 07/12/2016 16:21 by the time of writing this book.
• DATE ( ). Returns a serial number that represents a particular
date. Ms Excel uses year 1900 as serial number 1. For
example, =DATE (107, 1, 4) returns January 4, 2007. Year =
(1900 + 107), month = 1, day = 4.
• HOUR ( ), MINUTE ( ) or SECOND ( ) Function returns the
current hour as number 0 to 23, minute from 0 to 59 and
seconds from 0 to 59 respectively.
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ERRORS THAT APPEARS IN SPREADSHEET

1. #####
This occurs when the width of the column is too
narrow. In the case of numbers, if a column is
too narrow to hold all the digits, the data will be
display as (######).
2. #DIV/0! ( DIVIDE BY ZERO)
Occurs when a formula attempts to divide by
zero or when a formula references a cell that is
blank
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3. #N/A!
Error means no value available and it occurs when a formula or
a function inside a formula cannot find the referenced data.
4. #NAME?
Error occurs when text in the formula is not recognized
5. NULL!
Error occurs when two or more cell references are not
separated correctly in a formula. For example typing the
formula =B3+C3+D3 E3 results into a #NULL! Error. The space
between D3 and E3 in the formula instead of a plus sign causes
the #NULL! Error.
6. #NUM!
Error occurs when a formula has invalid numeric data for the
type of operation.
54
7. #REF! ( invalid cell reference)
error occurs when a spreadsheet formula
contains incorrect cell references.
8. #VALUE!
Error occurs when a wrong type of operand or
function argument is used. For example,
misspelling a function name or omitting a colon
(:) when referring to a range of cells.

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