Day 1 (Basic): Microsoft Excel Fundamentals
Topic: Launching Excel
1. Opening Excel on Your Computer:
○ If you're using Windows:
■ Click on the Start Menu (Windows icon in the bottom-left corner).
■ Type Excel into the search bar and click on Microsoft Excel from the
results.
○ If you're using Mac:
■ Open the Finder.
■ Go to Applications and double-click Microsoft Excel.
2. Opening Excel from Office 365:
○ If you have an Office 365 subscription, you can launch Excel from your web
browser:
■ Visit the Office 365 homepage at office.com.
■ Log in with your Microsoft account.
■ Click on the Excel icon from the list of available Office apps.
Topic: Introduction to the Excel Interface
1. The Excel Workbook:
○ A workbook is the file where you work in Excel. It can contain one or more
worksheets (often referred to as "sheets").
2. The Ribbon:
○ The Ribbon is the toolbar at the top of the Excel window. It is divided into tabs,
such as:
■ Home: Common commands like formatting, copy/paste, and number
formatting.
■ Insert: Add charts, tables, and images.
■ Page Layout: Adjust page settings for printing.
■ Formulas: Work with formulas and functions.
■ Data: Sort, filter, and manage data.
■ Review: Check spelling, add comments, and protect sheets.
■ View: Change the display settings of the workbook.
3. Quick Access Toolbar:
○ Located in the top-left corner, this toolbar gives you quick access to commonly
used commands like Save, Undo, and Redo. You can customize it by adding or
removing buttons.
4. The Formula Bar:
○ Located below the Ribbon, the Formula Bar displays the contents of the active
cell. You can also type and edit formulas and data here.
5. The Name Box:
○ Found to the left of the Formula Bar, the Name Box shows the reference of the
currently selected cell (e.g., A1 for column A, row 1).
6. Worksheets and Tabs:
○ At the bottom of the Excel window, you will see Sheet Tabs. These tabs allow
you to navigate between different worksheets in your workbook (e.g., Sheet1,
Sheet2).
Topic: Customizing the Toolbar
1. Adding Commands to the Quick Access Toolbar:
○ Click the down arrow on the right of the Quick Access Toolbar.
○ Select More Commands to see a full list of available options.
○ Choose the commands you want to add and click Add.
○ Click OK to save your changes.
2. Customizing the Ribbon:
○ Right-click anywhere on the Ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon.
○ From here, you can add new tabs or commands to the existing tabs, or even hide
tabs you don’t use.
Topic: Workbook Structure
1. What is a Workbook?
○ A workbook in Excel is a collection of one or more worksheets. By default, a
new workbook contains one sheet, but you can add more.
2. Navigating Between Worksheets:
○ Use the Sheet Tabs at the bottom of the workbook to switch between sheets
(e.g., Sheet1, Sheet2).
○ Click the + icon next to the sheet tabs to add a new worksheet.
3. Renaming a Worksheet:
○ Double-click on the Sheet Tab (e.g., "Sheet1") and type the new name.
○ Press Enter to confirm.
4. Deleting a Worksheet:
○ Right-click on the sheet tab you want to delete.
○ Choose Delete from the context menu. Excel will prompt you to confirm before
deleting if the sheet contains data.
Topic: Saving and Opening Documents
1. Saving a Workbook:
○ To save a new workbook:
■ Go to the File tab.
■ Select Save As.
■ Choose a location (e.g., OneDrive, This PC, or Browse to pick a specific
folder).
■ Enter a file name and click Save.
○ To save an existing workbook, simply click Save (or press Ctrl + S on Windows
or Command + S on Mac).
2. Saving in Different Formats:
○ When saving, you can choose different file formats, such as:
■ .xlsx: The default Excel workbook format.
■ .xls: An older format used in earlier versions of Excel.
■ .csv: For saving data as a comma-separated values file.
○ To change the file format, go to File > Save As, then choose the desired format
from the Save as type dropdown.
3. Opening an Existing Workbook:
○ To open a file, go to the File tab.
○ Click Open and select Recent to open a recently accessed file.
○ Alternatively, select Browse to locate the file on your computer or OneDrive.
4. Closing a Workbook:
○ Go to the File tab and click Close, or simply click the X at the top-right corner of
the workbook window.
