Week 1 - Taking Charge of Excel
Describe key components of the Excel user interface
Operate essential navigational controls
Perform the basics of data entry in Excel
Explain basic Excel terminology
Notes – Video 1: Take Charge
Ribbon - Home tab - arranged in groups
Font group, for example, has a small dialogue launcher which gives you additional options.
Can collapse a ribbon by double clicking it in order to free up some space. Click any of the ribbon
tabs to get it back.
Quick Access Toolbar – has save, undo and redo. We can add the commands we want to this
toolbar. Drop down arrow and click – more options e.g. sort ascending. If you want to add
something that isn’t the dropdown, we can right click on that item and add it to the toolbar.
Formula Bar
Workbook – worksheet – rows and column – cells
Status Bar- bottom of workbook – select numeric data and it gives average, count and sum.
Fill Handle – small black square on the bottom right hand corner of the active cell.
Quiz:
1. Excel is an example of what type of software? Spreadsheet software
2. Which of the following is not a part of the Ribbon? Tools
3. My Ribbon has disappeared – how do I get it back? Double click on any of the ribbon tabs and
right click on one of the tabs and untick collapse the ribbon.
4. Clicking on the File tab takes you to the Backstage View. From here you can: Close a file, set up
excel options, create a blank notebook and open a file.
5. The tools on the far right of the status bar (at the bottom of the screen) allow you to: use the
zoom slider, toggle between different view options and set a specific zoom percentage.
Notes – Video 2: Select and Navigate
Page up and down – next page, continues from last row number
Ctr Home: beginning of the spreadsheet
Cross icon white – select cells
Black arrows pointing outwards: click and drag, move the data
Skinny cross with no arrows: copies the data
Between rows and columns: selects all data
Select larger data: click on first cell, then press select and click on last cell or control A
Non-contiguous data: Select two sets of data that are not next to each other – select the first
set of data and press the control key then select the next set of data.
Notes – Video 3: View Options
Status Bar: Zoom Slider, View Options
View Tab on Ribbon – can untick gridlines. S
Split – select a cell and press split – divided in 4 parts. Can double click gray line on middle split -
if we don’t want it split column wise for example.
Freeze Panes – select the first cell you would get had the panes been frozen the way you would
like – given the rows and columns