BCCC Library
Microsoft Excel 2010 Basics
1. Start Excel – if the Excel 2010 icon is not on the desktop:
a. Click Start>Programs>Microsoft Office>Microsoft Excel 2010
b. The Ribbon- seen across the top of Microsoft Excel. The ribbon contains Tabs,
Groups, and Commands
i.
Tabs – sit across the top of the ribbon. Each tab contains core tasks you
do in the program (Home, Insert, Page Layout...)
ii. Groups – sets of related commands displayed in the tabs. (Clipboard,
Font, Alignment, Number, Styles...)
iii. Commands – a button, menu, or a box where you enter information.
2. Each square on the worksheet is called a cell. Enter (type) your data into each cell. Its
location is determined by the column letter and row number. In the example below,
January is typed in cell “C3”. After you enter the date, press the Enter key on your
keyboard so Excel accepts what you typed.
3. Type in a title,
column headings,
and row headings
for your data
you wish to enter
4. Formulas are used to calculate cells. All formulas must begin with an equals (=) sign.
Also, when creating formulas, use the cell location, not what is in the cell to create your
formula.
a. Example: =C4+D4+E4
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b. After you type in the formula, press the [Enter] key on your keyboard. The
formula will be replaced by the result in that cell.
c. When creating formulas, use
i.
+ for additon
ii. - for subtraction
iii. * for multiplication
iv.
/ for division
d. Sometimes you may need to copy the contents of one cell, into another cell. For
example, you wich to copy the contents of cell F5 into cell H6. To do this, in cell
H6, you would type in the formula =F5 and press the [Enter] key on your
keyboard.
5. Functions are prewritten formulas. The most common functions are
Sum, Average, Minimum, and Maximum. To Sum (add up cells),
click on the cell you wish to place the function. On the toolbar,
click on the AutoSum button
You will notice a marquee around some cells that Excel thinks you want to add. If Excel
guesses correctly, just press the [Enter] key. If Excel does not guess the correct cells you
want to add, click and drag over the cells you want and then press the [Enter] key.
a. Other popular functions:
i.
The average function – will give you the average for a range of cells.
1. Example: =AVERAGE(B3:E3) will give you the average for
cells B3, C3, D3 and E3
ii. The minimum function:
1. Example: =MIN(B3:E3) will give you the lowest number for cells
B3, C3, D3 and E3
iii. The maximum function:
1. Example: =MAX(B3:E3) will give you the highest number for
cells B3, C3, D3 and E3
iv.
The today function:
1. Example: =TODAY( ) will display today’s date (notice that no
cells are used in the set of parenthesis).
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6. Copy Formulas & Functions
a. To copy a formula or function to a new location,
i.
Click the cell that has the formula you want to copy.
ii. Click the Copy button
iii. Select the cell(s) that you want to paste the formula into and click Paste
b. If the cell that contains the formula is next to you the cell(s) you want to copy into
try using the Fill Handle.
. The fill handle is a small black square in the
lower-right corner of the selection.
i.
Click on the cell containing the formula you want to copy.
ii. Place your mouse over the the fill handle so the pointer changes to a
black cross.
iii. Drag the mouse to the cell you want to copy the formula into.
iv.
FYI: Fill handles are great when you need to copy a Month, Day or Year
from one cell to the next.
7. Absolute References. Use absolute references to refer to cells that you don't want to
change as you copy a formula.
a. For example, if I want to copy the following formula:
=C4+D4+E4
and I do not want the C4 in the formula to change when I copy it into a new location, I
just place dollar signs before the C and the 4 before I copy it into the new location.
=$C$4+D4+E4
8. Save your workbook. Save early, save often! Once you type in some data, it is a good
time to save your work. When you save your work, you need to tell Excel where to save
the file and what to name it.
a. Click the File Tab located on the upper left corner
i.
Select Save As
ii. The Save As Dialog Box appears
1. Change the Save in box to the location where you wish to save
your document (Flash drive)
2. In the File Name box, type in the file name for your workbook.
3. Click the Save button
b. Then give the workbook a name. Microsoft may offer you a suggested name.
You can delete it and type in any name you wish.
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c. Then click the Save button.
9. Formatting cells allows you to change the size, color, alignment, and font type you want.
Select the cells and click the appropriate button.
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10. Printing - Click the File tab located on the upper left corner
a. Click Print
b. The Print Dialog Box appears
i.
The Copies should be set to 1
ii. The Settings should be set to print All Active Sheets
1. You can change this to Entire Workbook which prints every sheet
iii. The orientation by default is Portrait. You can change the orientation to
Landscape if you need to display additional columns of data.
1. You can use the spin box to change the number of copies
iv.
Click the OK button.
9.Exit Excel - You can still loose your work if you do not exit properly. To close the Excel
application:
a. Click the
tab, and then select Exit.
i.
If you have not saved your work, you will be asked if you want to save it
– Click YES and save your work.
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