SECTION - B MS-EXCEL 2010 C Offi ce automation-MS-Excel 2010 H INTRODUCTION TO A P MS-EXCEL 2010 T E R 1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES To understand the basics of spreadsheet application To create a worksheet fi le To enter and edit data in the worksheet fi le 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO MS-EXCEL A Spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper worksheet. It displays multiple cells that together make up a grid consisting of rows and columns, each cell containing either alphanumeric text or numeric values. A spreadsheet cell may alternatively contain a formula that defi nes how the contents of that cell is to be calculated from the contents of any other cell (or combination of cells) each time any cell is updated. Spreadsheets are frequently used for fi nancial information, because of their ability to re-calculate the entire sheet automatically, after a change to a single cell is made. Examples of popular spreadsheet software are MS-Excel, Gnumeric, KSpread, ZCubes-Calci, Lotus Symphony (2007) and Resolver One. Microsoft Excel consists of a proprietary spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft. Excel 2010 needs Windows Vista or Windows 7 as operating system to run on an IBM PC. However, it can also be used with Windows XP operating system, if service pack 3 is installed. MS-Excel features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables and, a macro programming language called VBA(Visual Basic for Applications). A typical blank Microsoft Excel 2010 spreadsheet is shown in the Fig. 1.1.1. Fig. 1.1.1: A typical blank Microsoft Excel 2010 spreadsheet 184 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Introduction to MS-Excel 2010 Excel also allows multiple sheets, so a spreadsheet could be split over several pages, say one for input, one page for calculations, and another for output. This collection of pages is known as a Workbook. By default, a workbook opens with three worksheets and it can contain a maximum of 255 worksheets. In addition to powerful calculations, Excel is also able to produce a wide range of high quality charts to make presentation of data more effective. Spreadsheet programs are developed to automate tasks such as technical calculations, inferential statistics, analyzing data etc. They also have a powerful program for graphical preparation of numerical data. They are commonly used in Production, Planning, Personnel Management, Marketing, Payroll and Accounting. Moving Around an Electronic Spreadsheet : Users can move the cursor around the electronic spreadsheet, changing the current cell. Most spreadsheets allow many more rows and columns than can be displayed at a time on the screen. If the user moves the cursor off the screen, the program will reveal columns or rows that were previously kept in memory but not displayed on the screen. Entering Data on an Electronic Spreadsheet : To enter data into a cell, the user can move the cursor to the cell and type in the data. If the data consists of a formula, the formula appears only at the top of the screen and not in the cell itself. The electronic spreadsheet automatically calculates the value of the formula and inserts the value into the cell. At the same time, the values of all other cells that depend on the value of the current cell are recalculated. Changing the Content of a Cell : To change the content of a cell, the user must move the cursor to the cell and enter the new content. The old content of the cell is lost, and the new cell value is inserted (or computed, if the new cell value is determined by a formula). Any cell values that depend on the value of the changed cell are recalculated. This ability to change the content of a cell easily and to see the effects of the change on the other cells in the spreadsheet immediately is what makes electronic spreadsheets so useful. Editing the Electronic Spreadsheet : Electronic spreadsheets allow the user to save the current contents of the spreadsheet on a disk and to recall the spreadsheet at a later time. They also include a number of editing features that make it simpler to create and change spreadsheets. The editing features allow the user to erase the content of a single cell or of an entire rectangular block of cells. They allow the user to add or remove rows or columns, and they automatically adjust the formula from one cell to another. The editing features even allow users to merge spreadsheets and to add and subtract spreadsheets on a cell by cell basis. They also make it simple to enter or alter the data in the cells. Spreadsheets are too large to appear completely on the screen. A number of editing features compensate for this limitation. One such feature, Freeze Panes freezes titles on the screen so that when the user brings a remote section of the spreadsheet onto the screen, the horizontal or vertical titles remain on the screen. 1.2 SPREADSHEET DETAILS Worksheet is a grid made up of horizontal rows and vertical columns. The Excel 2010 worksheet contains 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns.Each intersection of a row and a column forms a cell, in which the user can store data (see Fig. 1.2.1). INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 185 Offi ce automation-MS-Excel 2010 Quick Access Toolbar Ribbon Formula Bar Name Box Column Letter Active Cell Row Number Sheet Tab Fig. 1.2.1: Spreadsheet Details Row number Identifi es a horizontal row in the worksheet. It appears on the left border of the worksheet. Column letter Identifi es a vertical column in the worksheet. It appears on the top border of the worksheet. Columns are lettered A-Z, then AA-AZ, then BA-BZ, and so on to 16,384th column. Active Cell In an Excel 2010 worksheet, the active cell can be identifi ed with the black outline. Data is always entered into the active cell. FormulaBar Located above the worksheet, this area displays the constant value or formula used in the active cell. It can also be used for entering or editing data and formulas. Name Box Located at the left of the formula bar, the Name Box displays the cell reference or the name of the active cell. Sheet Tab Displays the names of the worksheets. Switching between worksheets is done by clicking on the sheet tab at the bottom of the screen. Quick Access Toolbar This customizable tool bar allows user to add frequently used commands. Click on the down arrow at the end of the toolbar to display the toolbar’s options. 186 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Introduction to MS-Excel 2010 Ribbon The Ribbon is the strip of buttons and icons located above the work area in Excel 2010. In Ribbon, commands are organized in logical groups, which are collected together under tabs. We can hide the ribbon by double-clicking the active tab. In Excel 2010, the ribbon is completely customizable meaning the tabs and groups can be created by the user as well as the order of the built-in tabs and groups can be renamed or changed. Also, user can add or remove commands from the tabs. A new tab File Tab has been added in the Excel 2010 ribbon. It replaces the Offi ce Button in Excel 2007. It leads to a full-window fi le menu, known as the Backstage View, giving easy access to task- centered functions such as printing and sharing. Fig. 1.2.2: File Tab Cell reference A cell reference is the name of some cell in a spreadsheet. Most cell references indicate another cell in the same spreadsheet, but a cell reference can also refer to a cell in a different sheet within the same spreadsheet, or (depending on the implementation) to a cell in another spreadsheet entirely, or to a value from a remote application. A typical cell reference consists of one or two case-insensitive letters to identify the column followed by a row number. Either part can be relative (it changes when the formula in it is moved or copied), or absolute (indicated with $ sign in front of the part concerned of the cell reference). A cell on the same“sheet”is usually addressed as:- = A1 A cell on a different sheet of the same spreadsheet is usually addressed as:- =SHEET2!A1(that is; the fi rst cell in sheet 2 of same spreadsheet) Some spreadsheet implementations allow a cell reference to another spreadsheet (not the current open and active fi le) on the same computer or on a local network. It may also refer to a cell in another INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 187 Offi ce automation-MS-Excel 2010 open and active spreadsheet on the same computer or network that is defi ned as shareable. These references contain the complete fi le name, such as:- =’C:\Documents and Settings\Username\My spreadsheets\[main sheet] Sheet 1’!A1 In a spreadsheet, references to cells are automatically updated when new rows or columns are inserted or deleted. Formula A formula identifi es the calculation needed to place the result in the cell it is contained within. A cell containing a formula therefore has two display components; the formula itself and the resulting value. The formula is normally only shown when the cell is selected by “clicking” the mouse over a particular cell; otherwise it contains the result of the calculation. A formula assigns values to a cell or a range of cells, and typically has the format: =Expression Example:=sum(A2..B2) Where the expression consists of: values, such as 2,9.14 or 6.67E-11; references to other cells, e.g., A1 for a single cell, B1:B3 or B1..B3 for a range; arithmetic operators, such as +,-,*,/, and others; relational operators, such as >, =,<, and others; and, functions, such as SUM(), AVG(), and many others.