A spreadsheet software package is a software package designed to enter a lot of information and do many calculations. It is set up in columns and rows and has a box called a CELL on the sheet where each column and row crosses.
Columns are vertical (up and down) and have LETTERS at the top of each column
Rows are horizontal (left and right) and have NUMBERS in the front of each row
Each box on the sheet is called a CELL.
Each cell has an address called a CELL ADDRESS. The cell address is indicated by the letter of the column followed by the number of the row, example A1.
You need to have 3 basic toolbars in order to work with Excel well. You need to see these on the screen. In order to see them follow these steps:
check marks
If a check mark is showing in front of the item you want then it is already on the screen.
Click on the item you want and watch the screen to see what appears or disappears.
If it was checked off, then it disappears; if it wasn t checked off, then it appears.
Click on the item a few times to practice making it appear and disappear.
End up by making it appear on your screen.
1. Click on the View menu
2. Click on Formula Bar (see if it has a check mark in front of it and see above)
Standard toolbar
1. Click on the View menu
2. Slide to Toolbars, click on Standard
Formatting toolbar
1. Click on the View menu
2. Slide to Toolbars, click on Formatting
Clicking on a cell will move you to that cell
Using the arrow (¬¯®) keys will move you to adjacent cells
Using the Page Up and Page Down keys will jump pages to the next rows
You can tell what cell you are in by:
Looking in the formula bar to see the cell address
The cell has a light blue/purple border around it
The column letter and row number you are in are highlighted in black
What you see in the cell is the actual typing of what has been entered into the cell OR it is the result of a formula that has been entered into a cell.
The way you see the information is called formatting, ie. Mar. 4, 1969 vs 3/4/1969, color, etc.
A Formula is a calculation of information or cell addresses starting with the equal sign, ie =9+2
A Function is a predefined calculation that has already been programmed in Excel, ie =today()
To format cells, click on the cell you want to format, then click on the Format menu, then Cells