Continuation of excel.

ENTERING NUMBERS:

Numbers are basic raw material for spreadsheets. You can type numbers either by using the number keys on top of letter keys or by using extended pad on the keyboard. Pressing the Num lock key toggles the numeric key pad between numbers and cursor movement mode. In addition to numbers 0 to 9, you can also enter various mathematical symbols like

/ Division

* Multiplication

+ Addition

- Subtraction

% Percentage

. Decimals

^ Exponents

( ) Parentheses

And various comparison operators like

= Equal to

> Greater than

< Lesser than

>= Greater than or equal to

<= Lesser than or equal to

Not equal to

ENTERING FORMULAS:

The real power of Excel lies in it being able to store complex formulas. You can either build formulas using absolute numbers (like =4+2) or use relative cell address (like =A1+B1). As a general rule of thumb, you must always use relative cell referencing because in case the values change in future, the formula in the cell in which you want to see the result. Start by activating the cell where you wish to place the formula, start a formula. You can then either type the formula, one character at the time in the formula bar, or assemble it using mouse or keyboard. For instance, you could either type =A1-B1 in the cell C1 and press Enter, or place the mouse pointer in cell C1 and type =sign, point and click A1, type -, point and click at cell B1 and press Enter. During this process when you point and click at cell A1, this cell would be surrounded by a dashed outline (some call it marching ants!) and simultaneously this address would appear in the formula bar. The same happens while pointing to cell B1. This process not only makes it unnecessary for you to type the cell addresses in the formula bar but also ensures that no mistakes are committed in specifying cell addresses.

ENTERING DATES:

In Excel you can not only enter dates but can also do mathematics on them. How? Why? In Excel dates are stored as numbers, i.e. number of days that have elapsed since 1^st January 1900. This means that the date like 5^th June 1997 is actually stored and understood as number 35555, i.e. if you count all the days that have elapsed since 1^st January 1900 (taking into account leap years), it would be 35555^th day. This has a great advantage. Suppose you wish to find out how many days elapsed between two dates, you can give a formula to subtract the two dates just like any other number.

ALIGNMENT:

Any text that you type is always left aligned within the cell. Any number that you type is always right aligned within the cell. Like most other default settings, these alignments can be changed as per your requirements.

SOME DO’s AND DON’Ts

• Whenever possible (read as ‘always’!) plan, organize and visualize your work in your mind, before doing it on the computer. As they say “If I had eight hours to cut a tree, I would take six to sharpen my axe” it is always easier if you have visualized your data in terms of adjacent rows and columns, before creating a spreadsheet. I recommend that you start by top left corner and work downwards, rather than across the table. As in most cases, you need to fill up all the column details only for the first row, the rest of the rows can always be filled up by copying the formulas down.
• When you create any table, NEVER leave any blank columns or rows in between, just to “space out” the table. You shall see very shortly how you can create as much space between columns and rows, as you want and much more easily by increasing column width and row heights. Blank rows and columns cause a lot problems while copying or even defining formulas (which is what you would be doing most often. That why you choose Excel being with!) and unnecessarily slow down your work
• As a general rule always leave three rows blank at the top before typing your data entries. The first row would later be used for typing a title for your table, the second row for the sub title and the third row for column headings. Similarly leave a blank column on the left side of your table. This would be used for the row headings.
• When typing a title do not try to manually spread out the matter. Instead use the ‘center across columns’ commands to perfectly center the text across the width of your table.
• When typing any text in a table, unless specifically desired, type all the entries in the same case i.e. either in CAPITAL, or lowercase or Title case letters. Whichever case you follow, follow it uniformly so that sorting, searching and grouping would become easier. Remember, for the computer John Doe is not the same person as JOHN DOE.
• Another important thing to remember – always select the cell range BEFORE you choose any command. In Excel, the cell selection has to be made before applying any command, even while typing any text or numbers you have to place the cell pointer in the correct cell, before you begin typing.
• Last but not the least ‘the golden rule – Save your work as frequently as possible and take regular backups of your work’.