Intermediate Microsoft Excel 2013:
Data Processing
Table of Contents
ADVANCED FORMATTING ................................................................................................................................................................. 2
FORMATTING NUMBERS .............................................................................................................................................................................. 2
WRAPPING TEXT ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
EXPANDING THE FORMULA BAR .................................................................................................................................................................... 3
THE MERGE AND CENTER FUNCTION .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
INSERTING COMMENTS ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
ADDING HEADERS AND FOOTERS TO WORKSHEETS ........................................................................................................................................... 6
FREEZE PANES ................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
SOLVING BIZARRE PRINTING PROBLEMS ...........................................................................................................................................8
FORMULAS ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 9
CHOOSING A FORMULA ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9
THE TEXT TO COLUMNS FEATURE ................................................................................................................................................................ 10
RELATIVE & ABSOLUTE REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................ 11
COPYING A FORMULA USING A RELATIVE REFERENCE ...................................................................................................................................... 12
COPYING A FORMULA USING AN ABSOLUTE REFERENCE ................................................................................................................................... 13
LINKING CELLS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
© Dianne Harrison Ferro Mesarch
ADVANCED FORMATTING
Excel makes it easy to display your data in a specific format through the Format Cells dialog. To access the Format Cells
dialog, follow the instructions below.
Formatting Numbers
1. Select the cell(s) you want to format.
2. Go to the Home tab.
3. Click on the dialog launcher of the Number group.
4. The Format Cells dialog will appear with the Number tab displayed.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Select a number type option from the Category section.
A list of corresponding format options will appear in the Type section.
Select the desired formatting option.
Click on the OK button.
Your numbers will be formatted accordingly.
Various Number Formatting Options
• To display the value as a regular number, select the Number option in the Category section. You can specify the
number of decimal places you want to display, the use of comma as a 1,000 separator, and the way in which a
negative value should be displayed.
• To display the value as a currency, select the Currency option in the Category section. You can specify the number
of decimal places, the type of currency symbol, and the way in which a negative value will be displayed.
• To display the value as a date or time, select the Date or Time option in the Category section and choose the desired
format.
• To display the value as a percentage, select the Percentage option in the Category section and choose the number
of decimal places you want to display.
• To display the value as a zip code, phone number or social security number, select the Special option in the Category
section and choose the desired format.
• To remove any and all number formatting, select the option General in the Category section.
2
Wrapping Text
Wrapping text deepens the row, rather than widening the column.
1. Select the cell in which you want to wrap text.
2. Go to the Home tab.
3. Click on the Wrap Text icon in the Alignment group.
4. The text will now be wrapped within the cell.
Note: The Wrap Text icon functions as a toggle. Click on it once to wrap text, click on it again to unwrap text. When the
Wrap Text feature is enabled, the icon will be a greenish color. When the Wrap Text feature is disabled, the icon will
return to the gray color of the ribbon.
Expanding the Formula Bar
You can resize the formula bar to view the entire contents of a cell. Simply click on the Expand Formula Bar icon to
expand or collapse it.
Above: the collapsed (normal) view of the Formula bar.
Above: the expanded view of the Formula bar.
3
The Merge and Center Function
You can merge and center the contents of one cell across several cells, which is very effective for titles.
1. Select the cell that contains the data that you want to merge and center.
2. Make sure the original cell is still selected, and drag your mouse horizontally across the other cells over which you
want the data merged and centered.
3. Go to the Home tab.
4. Click on the Merge and Center icon in the Alignment group.
5. The data within the cells will be merged and centered.
6. In the above example, the text in cell C3 has been merged and centered over the data chart that appears in cells C5
through I9.
Note: Once the cells are merged, the cell reference for the data within them will always be the original cell, or the upper
left-most cell. In the above example, even though the text is merged from C3 to J3, the cell reference is cell C3.
Note 2: The Merge & Center icon functions as a toggle. Click on it once to merge and center data across cells, and click
on it again to undo that action. When the Merge & Center feature is enabled, the icon will be a greenish color. When
the Merge & Center feature is disabled, the icon will return to the gray color of the ribbon.
4
Inserting Comments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Right-click on the cell in which you want to place a comment.
A submenu will appear.
Choose the Insert Comment option. (You can also go to the Review tab and click on the New Comment icon.)
A blank Comment will appear, displaying your user name.
Click underneath the name and type your comment.
6. When you finish typing, deselect by clicking outside of the Comment dialog.
7. The cell in which you added the comment will have a small, red triangle in its upper right-hand corner.
8. Hold your cursor over the cell for the comment to appear.
To Display or Hide All of Your Comments, go to the Review tab and click on the Show All Comments icon. The
Show All Comments icon functions as a toggle. Click on it once to show all of your comments, and click on it again to
hide all of them. When the Show All Comments feature is enabled, the icon will be a greenish color. When the Show All
Comments feature is disabled, the icon will return to the gray color of the ribbon.
To Edit a Comment, right-click in the cell that contains the comment and choose the Edit Comment option from the
sub menu. (You can also go to the Review tab and click on the Edit Comment icon.)
To Delete a Comment, right-click in the cell that contains the comment and choose the Delete Comment option from
the sub menu. (You can also go to the Review tab and click on the Delete icon.)
To Change your Excel User Name, click on the File tab, and choose the Options option. The Excel Options window
will open. Make sure the General category is selected. Type your name in the User Name field, located in the
Personalize Your Copy of Microsoft Office section. Click on the OK button. All new comments that you add will display
your name.
5
Adding Headers and Footers to Worksheets
1.
2.
3.
4.
Go to the desired worksheet.
Go to the Insert tab.
Click on the Header and Footer icon.
Your workbook will open in Page Layout View, your cursor will be positioned in the top center header area, and the
Header and Footer Tools Design contextual tab will appear.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Type or insert your header.
Click once anywhere within the worksheet when you are finished.
Go to the View tab.
Click on the Normal icon.
You will return to the normal view.
Note: The header and footer sections are divided into three areas: left, center, and right. You can click in any one of
these three areas to type or insert your header and/or footer.
6
FREEZE PANES
To keep an area of a worksheet visible while you scroll to another area of the worksheet, you can “freeze panes.”
1. Click the cell below and to the right of the rows and columns that you want to keep visible when you scroll.
2. Go to the View tab.
3. Click on the Freeze Panes icon.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Click on the Freeze Panes option that you want to use.
A faint line will appear, defining your frozen columns and rows.
You can now scroll vertically or horizontally, while keeping the frozen rows and columns constantly visible.
To unfreeze panes, click on the Freeze Panes icon and choose the Unfreeze Panes option.
7
SOLVING BIZARRE PRINTING PROBLEMS
The Page Setup dialog is incredibly handy. You can use it to solve almost any odd printing issue that you have in Excel.
To access the Page Setup dialog, follow the instructions below.
1. Go to the Page Layout tab.
2. Click on the Page Setup dialog launcher.
3. The Page Setup dialog will appear.
The table below illustrates some of the different setup commands that you can choose
Function
Portrait or Landscape
Paper Size
Margins
Center on Page
Print Area
Rows to Repeat at Top/
Columns to Repeat at Left
Gridlines
Row and Column Headings
Comments
Description and Comment
On the Page tab, choose the page orientation.
On the Page tab, choose the page size (legal, letter, etc.).
On the Margins tab, change the different margins of the page. Please note that the
minimum margin should be 0.3 inches, so that the printer can “grab” the paper.
On the Margins tab, choose whether the information should be centered
horizontally, vertically or both on the page.
On the Sheet tab, select the area on the spreadsheet that you want to print.
On the Sheet tab, set the header for a row, a column, or both if you want the
headers repeated on all of the workbook’s pages.
On the Sheet tab, enable the Gridlines option if you want the cell gridlines to be
printed.
On the Sheet tab, choose the Row and Column Headings option if you want the
printout to display row numbers and column letters. Please be advised that this is
different from the Rows to Repeat at Top/Columns to Repeat at Left option.
To print comments as displayed on the worksheet, you must go to the Review tab
and click on the Show All Comments icon first.
8
FORMULAS
Excel has a large collection of built-in formulas. The following table describes the functions that we will use in class.
Function
=SUM(A1:A3)
=AVERAGE(A1:A3)
=MIN(A1:A3)
=MAX(A1:A3)
=COUNTIF(A:A,"faculty")
=CONCATENATE(A1," ",B1)
Description
Totals all the values in the range A1 to A3.
Averages all the values in the range A1 to A3.
Returns the smallest value in the range A1 to A3.
Returns the largest value in the range A1 to A3.
Allows you to tell Excel to only count items that meet a certain criteria, i.e., in
column A, only count the number of times the word “faculty” is listed.
Joins several text strings into one text string.
Choosing a Formula
1. Choose the cell where you want the outcome of your formula calculation to appear. (The cell that contains the
formula CANNOT be used in the formula.)
2. Go to the Formulas tab.
3. Click on the function category icon that contains the formula you want to use and select the desired formula from
the dropdown menu.
4. A Function Arguments dialog will appear.
5. Excel will populate the Number 1 field with cell those cell references that it thinks should be part of the calculation.
You can change the data in the Number 1 field if it is incorrect.
6. Click on the OK button.
7. The calculation will now appear in the originally selected cell.
Note 1: To collapse the Function Arguments dialog, click on the icon with the red arrow to the immediate right of the
field. You can then select the cells that you want to include in your formula. Once done, click on the icon with the red
arrow again. The function dialog will expand to its original size, and you can click on the OK button.
Note 2: The cell that you choose to contain the outcome of a formula cannot be included in the formula itself. If it is,
you will receive a Circular Reference error that will prevent Excel from properly calculating your formula. The best way
to deal with this error is to delete the offending formula and start afresh.
9
The Text to Columns Feature
The Text to Columns option allows you to split the contents of one column into adjacent columns, such as splitting a
column of full names into separate first name and last name columns. As this is data manipulation, the cells that contain
the data are selected at the beginning. The additional columns will appear to the right of the original column.
1. Select the column that contains the data that you want to separate.
2. Go to the Data tab.
3. Click on the Text to Columns icon.
4. The Convert Text to Columns Wizard – Step 1 of 3 dialog will appear.
5. Select the correct file type. (For a column with spaces separating the names, choose the Delimited option.)
6. Click on the Next button.
7. The Convert Text to Columns Wizard – Step 2 of 3 dialog will appear.
8. Select the delimiter that separates your data within the column.
9. Click on the Next button.
10. The Convert Text to Columns Wizard – Step 3 of 3 dialog will appear.
11. Select your desired data format.
12. Click on the Finish button.
13. Your one column will be separated into two columns.
10
RELATIVE & ABSOLUTE REFERENCES
After adding a formula to your spreadsheet, you may want to copy it. When you copy a formula, you have the choice of
making it relative or absolute. The following table describes the differences between relative references, which adjust
relative to their location, and absolute references, which remain constant regardless of location:
Item
Relative References
Absolute References
Explanation
When you copy formulas from one place to another in a worksheet, Excel uses
Relative References by default, and adjusts the formula based on its new location.
For example, if you copy the formula =AVERAGE(C8:F8) from G8 to G9, Excel adjusts
the formula so that it reads =AVERAGE(C9:F9).
There may be times when you want Excel to continue to refer to a specific cell in
your formula, even if other variables change. For example, you might be adding
several different columns of numbers, but want the sums of each column to be
multiplied by a constant number.
You can enter a constant or Absolute Reference by placing a $ in front of the column
and row designation. For example, C7 is a relative reference, while $C$7 is an
absolute reference.
Note: If you select a cell reference within the formula bar and press the F4 key, an absolute reference will be
automatically created, without you having to manually insert the dollar signs.
11
Copying a Formula Using a Relative Reference
1.
2.
3.
4.
Select the cell that contains the formula you want to duplicate.
Point the cursor to the lower right hand corner of the cell until the cursor changes from an arrow to a solid cross (+).
Press down and hold down the left mouse button while dragging the mouse down a column or across a row.
The cells that you dragged the mouse through will now contain the repeated formula, which has been adjusted
based on every new cell location.
The original formula in cell B6
The copied relative reference formula in cell C6
The copied relative reference formula in cell D6
12
Copying a Formula Using an Absolute Reference
1. Select the cell that contains the formula you want to duplicate.
2. To create an absolute reference formula, place the dollar sign ($) in front of the row and column reference that you
do not want to change (i.e., =SUM(B15:B17)*$B$13).
3. Point the cursor to the lower right hand corner of the cell until the cursor changes from an arrow to a solid cross (+).
4. Press down and hold down the left mouse button while dragging the mouse down a column or across a row.
5. The cells that you dragged the mouse through will now contain the repeated formula, which contains the constant
cell location.
The original formula in cell
B18, with cell B13 marked as
absolute
The copied formula in cell
C18, with cell B13 still
marked as absolute
The copied formula in cell
D18, with cell B13 still
marked as absolute
Note: In the above example, the original formula is =SUM(B15:B17)*$B$13. When the formula is dragged into new
cells, the sum part of the formula changes because it is a relative reference. However, the constant rate value, $B$13,
stays the same no matter where the formula is dragged, as the dollar signs have made it an absolute reference.
13
LINKING CELLS
Excel allows you to link one cell to another, such that a given cell will always hold the same value as the specified cell to
which it is “linked”. Once the cells are linked, if the value of the original cell is changed, the value of the linked cell will
also change. This is very handy when there are a lot of numbers and calculations that need to be updated across
different cells and sheets simultaneously. To link cells, follow the instructions below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Enter data in the original cell.
Click on the cell that you want to link to the original cell.
Type an equal sign (=) in the new cell.
Click on the original cell containing the information or type in the original cell’s address.
Animated lines will surround the original cell and the newly linked cell will display the original cell’s address in the
formula bar.
The original cell’s address displays
in the formula bar when you click
on the linked cell.
6. Click on the Enter Formula icon (the checkmark in the Formula bar).
7. The data in the original cell and linked cell are identical.
8. You can test the cell link by changing the value of the original cell.
Note: You can link cells in the same worksheet, the same workbook and across different workbooks. You can also use
linked cells in formulas.
Note 2: If you link cells across workbooks, the cell values become absolute.
14