Excel Guide ~ Introduction & Formatting

Excel is a computerized spreadsheet application used to analyze, evaluate, and store information to support
business decisions.

Columns are vertical lines represented by letters and rows are horizontal lines represented by numbers. The
intersection of the row and column is a cell address with the column first (example cell address A1)

Excel Mouse Symbols

Active Cell
The selected cell in which data is entered when typing.

Select
Click on a cell to select. To highlight multiple cells, click on hold the mouse and
highlight the area.

Move
Click on a cell(s) to select. Hover the mouse over the cell edge to view the four-pointed
arrow. Click and drag to move the contents of the cell.

Column Width Indicator

Place mouse pointer over the line separating the columns to view the arrows pointing
left and right. Click and drag to resize. Double click to resize to longest entry in
column.

AutoFill
AutoFill in Excel is a feature that allows users to quickly fill a series of cells with data,
such as numbers, dates, or text, based on a pattern or existing data. This feature saves
time when working with repetitive data or sequences.

AutoFill can be particularly handy for tasks like filling a column with a series of numbers
(e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4) or dates (e.g., January 1, January 2, January 3), copying formulas, or repeating patterns of
text or numbers.

Place mouse pointer bottom-right corner of the cell to view the plus sign. Click and
hold the mouse and drag to the required cells to extend data series or fill. Data will fill
based on the select cell(s) (example days of the week, fill a formula, fill selected
values)

Data Entered into a Cell

 Labels ~ combination of letters, symbols, numbers and spaces (default cell alignment at the left)
 Values ~ numbers (quantity), dates and times (default cell alignment at the right)
 Formulas ~ performing a calculation (arithmetic operator, function, combination; default cell alignment
at the right)

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Arithmetic Operators

An arithmetic operator indicates the type of calculation to be performed on the elements of a formula.

Arithmetic Operations Arithmetic Operator Example

Addition + =C1+C2
Subtraction - =B7-B8
Multiplication * =A4*A5
Division / =D8/D9

Formulas

Formulas are equations that perform calculations, return information, and manipulate the contents of cells.

Formulas begin with an equal sign (=) and combine numbers, cell references, arithmetic operators, and/or
functions

Parentheses are used to change the order of the calculation - example =(C5+C6)*D7
Excel will calculate the operation within the parentheses first
The order of operation and predefined rules follows the acronym PEMDAS
(Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction)

Click the Formulas tab

Function Example
Sum =SUM(B5:B10)
Average =AVERAGE(B5:B10)
Minimum (lowest value) =MIN(B5:B10)
Maximum (highest value) =MAX(B5:B10)
Count (counts the number of cells in a range with numbers in it) =COUNT(B5:B10)
Counta (counts the number of cells in a range that are not empty) =COUNTA(B5:B10)
If (logical test, value if true or value if false) =IF(B5>=500,B5*1.17,B5+200)
SLN (calculates the straight-line depreciation) =SLN(B5,B6,B7)

Displaying Formulas

Display formula in each cell instead of the resulting value

Click on the Formulas tab, click on Show Formulas

Another option is press & hold the Ctrl key and click on the ` key
Key is located to the left of the number 1 in the upper-left hand corner of keyboard

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Relative and Absolute Addressing

Relative addressing indicates that a cell reference will change when a formula is copied. For example, =B2 *
C2 will change to =B3 * C3 if the formula is copied down the rows. Therefore, the cell addresses within the
formula change relative to the new address.

Absolute addressing indicates that a cell reference will remain constant when the formula is copied. For
example, =B2 * $C$2 will change to =B3 * $C$2 if the formula is copied down the rows. Therefore, the $C$2
remains absolute/remains the same. (Note, pressing the F4 key on a keyboard/laptop will add the $ in the cell
reference).

A mixed cell reference contains both relative and absolute components. Cell $A3 indicates the column
component is absolute, and the row component is relative. Cell A$3 indicates the column is relative, and the
row component is absolute.

Clear All

Clear all clears all contents, formatting, and comments from the selected cells.
Select the cell(s) to clear.
Click on Clear in the Editing group.
Select the desired feature.

Cancel Editing an Existing Cell

Press Escape (Esc) button on keyboard/laptop or press the red x on the formula bar to ‘cancel’ editing the
active cell.

Documentation Sheet within an Excel Workbook

A documentation sheet is a title page (first sheet) for Excel

workbooks (optional). Information contained on a documentation
sheet are (but not limited to): Company name, date, created by,
purpose, and any other relevant information.
Rename the sheet tab to Documentation.

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Quick Menu

The Quick Menu (right-mouse click on a cell/selection) allows access to frequently used items within Excel for
the current selection.

Excel Guide ~ Formatting

Applying Cell Formats

Various formats such as accounting number format, currency, percentage, comma, increase/decrease
decimal and other formatting.

Features include:
• Currency adds the dollar sign including 2 decimals to the cell entry.
• Comma adds a comma including 2 decimals to the cell entry.
• Percentage multiplies the cell by 100 and adds the percentage icon

Highlight the cell(s) to be formatted

From the Home Tab, select the appropriate formatting

To access the Format Cells dialog box, click on

the Group icon located in the bottom-right
corner.
Click on the Tab within the Format Cells dialog
box to select the variety of features available
such as Number, Alignment, Font, Border, Fill
and Protection. One or more format features can
be applied to the cell selection.
Once format is complete, click on OK

Note: The Number tab is displayed.

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Format Painter

To apply the same formatting from one cell to one or multiple cells.
Select the cell that contains the format to be copied.

Click once on the Format Painter to replicate formatting on one area.

Double click on the Format Painter to replicate formatting on more than one area.

Cell Alignment

Select the cell(s) to apply cell alignment.

Click on the appropriate icon from the alignment group.

The default cell alignment is as follows:

Labels – left align
Values – right align
Formulas – right align

Decrease Indent will move the cell content closer to the cell border.
Increase Indent will move the cell content farther from the cell border

Merge & Centre

Combine and centre the contents of selected cells in a new larger cell. This feature is frequently used for
worksheet titles.

• Highlight the cells to be merged (example A1 to E1)

• Click on the Merge and Centre icon from the Alignment group

Wrap Text

Wrap extra-long text within one cell to multiple lines within the same cell.

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Fill Colour and Font Colour

Select the cell(s) to apply the cell colour

Click on the triangle pointing down (more) to the right of the icon
Select the colour from the fill colour or font colour

Accounting Number Format, Currency, Percent, and Comma Style

Select the cell(s) to apply the style

Click the Number group, select the desired number format

Accounting Number Format places the $ to the left of the cell with thousand
separator and two decimals

Currency places the $ to the left of the value with thousand separator and two
decimals

Comma style displays the cell with a thousand separator and two decimals

Increase Decimal and Decrease Decimal icons shows more or less decimals for a precise value

Page Layout

Various printing options may be selected by using the Page Setup group.

Features include:
Page tab – Landscape/Portrait, Fit-to-One Page.
Margins tab – Centre on Page Horizontally and Vertically

Header/Footer tab – Create a custom footer with the following

information:

Example:
Left Section Centre Section Right Section
Your Full Name Date Code Filename Code
Your Program Time Code

Sheet tab – Print area allows a specify a print range to print (example:
A1:D9). Print gridlines will print workbook gridlines as shown on the
worksheet.

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Hide and Unhide Row(s) and Column(s)

Select the row(s) or column(s) to hide

From the Home tab, click on the triangle to the right of
Format under the Cells group
Move to the Visibility section, and select Hide & Unhide

(Note: right-mouse click on the selected row(s) or

column(s) to also hide/unhide. Select the rows/columns on
both sides that are hidden to unhide)

Dates within a Workbook

Date as a function
=now() Displays date and time
=today() Displays date

Date as a label
‘September 31, 2024 Type the apostrophe prior to typing the date
Date as a value
September 31, 2024 (Excel will format based on control panel setup 09-31-24)

Widen Column(s) #####

The number sign, hash, or pound symbols ##### appears in a cell when the column width requires larger
resizing due to a value or formula contained in the cell. Click and drag between columns to resize column
widths or double click between the columns to resize to the longest entry in the column.

Click on Home tab, click on Format option within the Cells group.

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