Excel 2002 Basics
Getting Started
An Excel spreadsheet is just a really big table, with lots of rows
and columns. Information is entered in cells, or squares in the table.
Each cell has a location, or cell reference, which is determined by the
combination of letter in the column headings and the number of the row.
For example the cell reference for a cell located in column G in row
number 5 is G5. Arithmetic operations can be performed on an individual
cell, or on groups of cells.
- Find the Standard and Formatting Toolbars
- In the Excel Menu Bar
 , go to View.
- Select Toolbars.
- Click in the box beside Standard , if not already checked.
- Repeat for Formatting.
- Display Toolbars and Drop-Down Menus
- In the Excel Menu Bar, go to Tools.
- Select Customize.
- Click on the Options tab.
- Click in the box beside Show Standard and Formatting toolbars in two rows.
- Click in the box beside Always how full menus.
- Click on Close.
This is what the top of your screen should look like:
- Entering Information in a Cell
Double click on the cell and type.
- Fixing Mistakes
In the Standard Tool bar, click on the Undo button  .
- Navigating in the Table
- To move through the table cell by cell: use the Arrow keys or the Tab key.
- Go the beginning of a row: press the Home key.
- Go to the end of a row: press the End key.
- Go to the top of the table: hold down the CTRL key and press the Home key.
- Go to the end of the table: hold down the CTRL key and press the End key.
- Selecting Information in the Table
- To select text, double click in the box and drag the mouse pointer across the text.
- To select multiple cells, click once in the first cell to select it, then drag the mouse pointer across the desired cells.
- To select a row, click on the row number.
- To select a column, click in the letter at the top of the column.
- To select the entire table, click in the empty box in the upper
left corner, which divides the row numbers from the column letters.
- To remove the "dancing ants" after performing a copy or paste, press the Esc key.
Modifying Table Structure
- Changing the Width Of the Columns
Drag the left or right cell border of the column letter to the left or right.
- Inserting Rows or Columns
Note: rows will be inserted above the row in which the cursor is located, and to the left of the column.
- In the Excel Menu Bar, go to Insert.
- Select Row or Insert Column.
- Deleting Rows or Columns
- Click in a cell in the row or column to be deleted.
- In the Excel Menu Bar, go to Edit.
- Select Delete.
- Select Entire Row or Entire Column.
Sorting Data
- In the Excel Menu Bar, go to Data.
- Select Sort.
- In the Sort by column you can chose up to three columns to sort.
- Click in the radio buttons beside the desired sort order for each column.
- Click on the OK button.
Formatting Your Table
- Font: Face, Size, Bold, Underline, Italic, Color, Effects
- Select the desired text, row, or column.
- In the Excel Menu bar, go to Format.
- Select Cells.
- Click on Font tab.
- Make the desired changes.
- Click on the OK button.
- Aligning Text: Left, Center, Right
Justification is the alignment of the text on the left margin, in the center between margins, or on the right margin.
- Select the text to be changed.
- Click on the “Left”, “Center”, or “Right” justification button
 on the Formatting Toolbar .
- Merge Cells Together (Rows 1 and 2 Of Sample Table Below)
- Select the desired cells.
- Click on the Merge and Center button
 on the Formatting Toolbar.
- Format the Entire Table
- Choose a Format
- In the Excel Menu Bar, go to Format.
- Select Autoformat.
- Click on the table with the desired format.
- Click on the OK button.
- Remove a Format
- To remove a the Autoformat, in the Excel Menu Bar, go to Format.
- Select Autoformat.
- Scroll to the bottom of the list of selections, and choose None.
Performing Arithmetic Computations
Sample Table
| Operation |
To Do This |
Enter This in the Cell |
| Addition |
To calculate the total for the row in cell H6 in the sample table |
=SUM(B6:G6) |
| Average |
To calculate the average for the column in cell B11 |
=AVERAGE(B6:B9) |
| Division |
To calculate the Percentage Of Total for the row in cell I6 (how to format the answer will be discussed below) |
=H6/H10 |
| Subtraction |
To calculate the change between cells B7 and C7 |
=C6-B6 |
| Multiplication |
To find 5% of the Total in column B12 (how to format the answer will be discussed below) |
=B10*.05 |
- Copy a Function or Equation To Several Other Cells in a Row or Column
- Double click on the cell which contains the function or equation
you want to copy. a little square appears in the lower right corner of
the cell.
- Put the mouse on that little square and drag the mouse down to copy down the column, or across to copy across the row.
- Formatting the Results Of Your Computations
- Percentages
- Click once on the cell containing the number you want to format.
- Click on the Percentage button
 in the Formatting Tool Bar.
- Decimal Places
- Click once on the cell containing the number you want to format.
- Click on the Increase or Decrease Decimal button
 in the Formatting Tool Bar.
Printing Tables
Small Tables (Like the Sample Table)
- Format the Table For Printing
- Printing the Table Grid Lines
- In the Excel Standard Tool Bar , click on the Page Setup button
 .
- Click on the Setup button.
- Click on the Sheet tab.
- Make sure that the box beside Gridlines is checked.
- Printing the Table Landscape
- Click on the Page tab.
- Click in the radio button beside Landscape.
- Setting the Margins
- Click on the Margins tab.
- Click in each box and type in the desired width for the margin.
- Center the Table On the Page Vertically or Horizontally
- Click on the Margins tab.
- At the bottom of the page is a Center on page section.
- Make your selections.
- Click on OK.
- Printing the Table
- Click on the Page tab.
- Click on the OK button.
- Click On the Close Button To Exit Print Preview.
Printing Large Tables
Printing large tables is one of the most challenging aspects of
Excel, if one doesn't know the tricks. Use one or any combination of
the following techniques to print only those parts that you need.
- Selecting the Parts of the Table To Print
- Hide Unneeded Columns
- Click in the column letter to select the column.
- Click the right mouse button while in that column.
- Select Hide from the drop-down menu.
- Unhide the columns later following the same procedure.
- Make the Table Fit On One Page in Page Break View
- In the Excel Menu Bar , go to View.
- Select Page Break View.
- This view lets you see how the pages will print. the dotted blue
lines indicate page breaks, and the page numbers can be seen in each
section.
- To force Excel to print a table that breaks into to several pages
on one page, drag the dotted blue line across the columns and rows you
want to include.
- To return to the Normal View later, click on Normal after following the same procedure.
- Select a Print Area
- Select the desired portion of the table.
- In the Excel Menu Bar go to File.
- Select Print Area.
- Click on Set Print Area. Only the area outlined by the "dancing ants" will be printed.
- The print area can be Cleared later following the same procedure.
- Format the Table For Printing
- Printing the Table Grid Lines
- In the Excel Standard Tool Bar , click on the Page Setup button .
- Click on the Setup button.
- Click on the Sheet tab.
- Make sure that the box beside Gridlines is checked.
- Printing the Table Landscape
- Click on the Page tab.
- Click in the radio button beside Landscape.
- Setting the Margins
- Click on the Margins tab.
- Click in each box and type in the desired width for the margin.
- Center the Table On the Page Vertically or Horizontally
- Click on the Margins tab.
- At the bottom of the page is a Center on page section.
- Make your selections.
- Click on OK.
- Printing the Table
- Click on the Page tab.
- Click on the OK button.
- Click On the Close Button To Exit Print Preview.
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