Spreadsheet Terms

1. Spreadsheet Terms • Cursor • Row • Column • Cell • Current Cell / Active Cell • Cell Address • Range, Block or Selection

2. This square box is called the cursor.

3. Rows in a spreadsheet are numbered. Microsoft Excel has 65,536 rows.

4. Columns in a spreadsheet are labeled with letters. A thru Z, then AA thru AZ, and so on. The last column is usually IV, which makes the spreadsheet 256 columns wide.

5. The cursor is highlighting cell C7 (the intersection of column C and row 7). Whatever cell is being highlighted is by definition the “current cell” and the row and column are the “cell address” The Name Box displays the cell address. If a range has been named, its name will be displayed here instead of the cell address.

6. The range, block or selection always is a rectangular shape. Ranges are designated by the upper left and lower right cell addresses. Therefore, we can identify the range to the left as being C7:E12

7. The contents of cell C7 is a label because it begins with a letter. The $45.00 is not considered a number and can’t be used in any calculations. Beginning spreadsheet users make this mistake when they start working with a spreadsheet.

8. Spreadsheet Terms • Label • Value • Formula • Math Operators • Workbook • Sheet Tab • Toolbar

9. The contents of cell C7 is a label because it mixes a number with a word. Any number that is mixed in is just a label and can’t be included in any formulas.

10. The contents of cell C7 is a value. It can be used in a calculation or a formula

11. This cell has a formula in it. Note that 5280 is displayed at C7 but the cell actually contains a formula that adds C4 and C5 together.

12. =SUM() is one of many functions that make writing formulas much easier. This function just needs to be supplied with the beginning and ending cells and it will add the contents or range or block of cells. This formula is: =sum(C1:C6)

13. A collection of several spreadsheets in one file is called a workbook. Each individual spreadsheet or sheet is identified and accessed by a sheet tab, which is visible along the bottom border of the screen. The user moves from one sheet to another by clicking on the sheet tab.

14. Toolbar name A collection of buttons for related spreadsheet commands is called a toolbar. Each toolbar can be moved around on the spreadsheet to a more convenient place. This toolbar is “floating” or “hovering” over the surface of the spreadsheet. When it is hovering it is easy to see the name of the toolbar, and the handle is a lot bigger. Toolbar handle is the entire title bar area.

15. Spreadsheet Terms • Title Bar • Status Bar • Name Box • Menu Bar • Formula Bar

16. The title bar is at the top of the spreadsheet screen and indicates the name of the program being used and the name of the file being accessed. “Book1” is an automatic name assigned when you have the spreadsheet create a new file. It would be best to rename it to something more descriptive.

17. The status bar shows that we are in edit mode, and that the numlock key is pressed. The status bar also would show “Ready” or “Enter” when putting in new information in cells. (Look at the previous few slides)

18. The name box is on the same line as the formula bar, above the column letters. It displays the address of the current cell or selection. If the selection has been named, that name is displayed. In this example we have named the selected range “Named_Range_Alpha”

19. The formula bar is located directly above the column letters and displays the contents of the active cell. The user can edit the cell contents here or in the actual cell. The select function button is also on this toolbar.

20. The menu bar is the toolbar with the common commands such as File, Edit, View, etc. If the menu is floating, the handle is very large. If it is docked to the side of the spreadsheet, the handle is on the left side of the toolbar.

21. Cell Properties • Cell Properties are conveniently arranged as tabs along the top of a menu. The six cell properties that can be modified are: • Number • Alignment • Font • Border • Pattern • Protection

22. Cell properties are changed by first selecting the range of cells to change, then accessing the formatting toolbar or by going to Format => Cells

23. The format cells menu lets the user change six different kinds of cell properties. Number – This property controls the display of numbers, including: Dollar signs, commas, the number of decimals to display, and how to display a negative number.

24. The alignment tab allows control of the contents of a cell are displayed. Left, right, centered, at an angle, etc.

25. The font tab allows control of the font, style, size, and color of the displayed font, as well as other effects such as super- and sub-scripts.

26. The border tab controls which edges have borders and the thickness and color of the line.

27. The Patterns tab controls the pattern or background color in a cell or block of cells. This is frequently used to indicate cells not intended for data entry.

28. The Protection tab is used to determine whether the cell or block of cells will be hidden or locked when cell protection is turned on.

29. Cell Protection The concept of protecting cells is a difficult one for beginning spreadsheet users. Here is a guide: • Determine the cells that should be unprotected, here in Format => Cells => Protection • Then you activate a “switch” that is turned on to protect the spreadsheet. That switch is found in Tools => Protection => Protect Sheet

30. Survival Commands Four Survival Commands are: • File => Save As • File => Print • File => Open • File => Exit

31. File => Save As This command is used to save the file that is open and gives you a chance to change the name of the file. Once you click on Save as …

32. …you have an opportunity to change the folder it will be saved in and the name to save it to.

33. File => Print This command will print out the spreadsheet. Once clicking on Print, you will be able to specify…

34. …the destination printer, the number of copies to print and whether to collate the pages.

35. File => Open This command lets you find and open a file that has already been saved. Once you click File => Open…

36. You can select the folder to look in, and select the file to open.

37. File => Exit This command will let you out of the program. If you try to exit before saving the file you have been working on, the program will ask you whether you want to save the file.

38. Essential Spreadsheet Tools • Cut • Copy • Paste • Undo • Insert • Delete • Edit • Fill Handle

39. The area to cut is highlighted first. The cut tool (Edit => Cut) erases the selected range of cells, but holds a copy of it in memory (on the clipboard) to paste later.

40. The copy tool (Edit => Copy) copies the selected range of cells to the clipboard leaving the original range as it was.

41. The paste tool (Edit => Paste) replaces the selected range of cells with what was last placed on the clipboard by the cut or copy command. The cells will be pasted where the H7, where the cursor is. The dotted lines show the cells that have been copied.

42. The cells are pasted in the target location.

43. The undo (Edit => Undo) command reverses the last command or keystroke typed; continued clicking on undo will step further back in time. This command may not always work… if you have saved the file, and then try to undo a command, it will not work.

44. The insert tool allows the user to: insert a row above the current cell; insert a column left of the current cell; and to insert another worksheet into the file. Note that we missed “Apr” in this list. We will insert a row and put it in. The new row will be inserted above the highlighted row.

45. This is how the screen looks immediately after inserting the row.

46. The delete command allows a person to delete a cell or range of cells without putting the contents on the clipboard. If you know the contents of the cell are just wrong, the delete command is much easier. Start with the cursor in the cell you want to delete. The delete command also works with the Delete key on the keyboard

47. The edit command allows the user to edit the content of the cell by either highlighting the cell and then clicking on the formula bar, or pressing the F2 key. (Don’t be confused by the Edit Menu at the top of the menu toolbar).

48. The edit command allows you to correct a typing or spelling error without having to start from scratch. This may not be a big deal for simple words, but when you are writing complex formulas, it is great to be able to edit the cell and fix errors.

49. Fill Handle The fill handle is used to fill several cells with new content, based on a pattern that you specify with a sample. For instance if you want rows labeled with the months of the year, start off by typing Jan in the first row, Feb in the second row. Select the two cells, then click and hold the fill handle, and drag it down a few cells. The other cells will follow the pattern and should be listed to the right of the column. See the next slide.

50. We are still holding down the mouse button. Note that the “May” is listed off to the right.