Data Analysis with Excel: Tips and tricks to kick start your excel skills

CHAPTER 1

Getting Started with Excel

1.1 Workbook and Worksheets

When we talk about working in Excel, we basically work in a workbook, that is, the file that is created by Excel with the default extension ".xlsx". Each workbook contains one or more worksheets and by default, they are named as Sheet1, Sheet2, Sheet3, and so on, in the sequence in which they get created. The users can rename the worksheets by right-clicking on the sheet name and selecting Rename from the options, with a condition that each sheet name in a workbook is unique.

Sheets are structured as two-dimensional matrix with the columns named alphabetically (A-Z, AA-AZ, BA …, ZZ, AAA, AAB, and so on) and the rows numerically (1 through 1048576). Each sheet contains individual cells which can contain number, text, or formula. The intersection of a row and a column is a single cell which is referenced using the column letter and row number. For example, the first cell in the worksheet is referenced as A1, that is, column A row 1. A worksheet also has an invisible drawing layer which holds charts, images, and diagrams. Objects on the drawing layer sit over the top of the cells, however, they are not inside the cells like a number or a formula.

An open Excel workbook screen looks like the following screenshot. It also shows the important and useful elements that are often used:

Figure 1.1 Workbook Screen

1.2 Navigation with Keyboard

Users are quite familiar with and find it easy to navigate through the cells using their mouse. But you can also use the standard navigation keys on the keyboard to move around the worksheet. For example, the down arrow moves the active cell down by one row, the right arrow moves it one column to the right, and so on, the pgup and pgdn keys move the active cell up or down by one full window. There are a lot of useful keyboard shortcuts available which are listed in Chapter 2 Perform Functions with Shortcut Keys.

1.3 Tabs and Ribbons

The user interface of Excel, like all other Microsoft products such as Word, PowerPoint, and so on, has Tabs and Ribbons. Each tab (Home, Insert, Page Layout, and so on) has an associated Ribbon with several group of buttons for working. For example, if you click the Formulas tab, you get a Ribbon with buttons that are useful for working with formulas. Also, when you hover the mouse pointer over a Ribbon button, it will show the description that contains the command’s name along with a brief description.

Figure 1.2 Tabs and Ribbons

1.3.1 Contextual Tabs

In addition to the standard tabs, Excel includes contextual tabs. Whenever an object (such as a chart, a table, or a SmartArt diagram) is selected, specific tools for working with that object are made available in the Ribbon. For example, when you select a chart, two tabs (Design and Format) become visible in the Chart Tools tab:

Figure 1.3 Contextual Tabs and Ribbons

1.3.2 Tab and Ribbon Visibility

If you need more space, you can right-click on any Ribbon and select Collapse the Ribbon button, you can then restore it in the same way. Also, note that depending on the width of the Excel window, some Ribbons might not show fully, however, everything is still available. To toggle the Ribbon’s visibility, use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + F1 (or double-click a tab at the top). You can also change the Tab and Ribbon visibility option using a control named Ribbon Display Options (next to the Minimize button) on the title bar. The control has three options: Auto-Hide Ribbon, Show Tabs, or Show Tabs and Commands.

There is also an option for customizing the Ribbons, you can right-click on any Ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon.

Figure 1.4 Customizing Ribbons

1.4 File Menu

The File menu takes you to the backstage view where you can perform file operations. You can also open the Excel Options dialog box from there. To go back and leave backstage view, simply click on the back arrow at the top-left.

Figure 1.5 File Menu

1.5 Quick Access Toolbar

There is a Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) at the top-left corner of the Excel window. You can put your favorite buttons on this toolbar so that they are always visible and available. The QAT comes with a few favorite buttons, however, you can add more. The QAT can be customized by clicking on the drop-down arrow to the right of your QAT. You will see a list to the right of the most commonly used buttons, which you can then check to add them to your QAT. You can also click on the More Commands item in this list to launch the dialog box which contains several other buttons that you can add to your QAT.

Figure 1.6 Quick Access Toolbar

1.6 Excel Options

Excel has many options for changing the software’s behavior. Click on the File button in the upper-left corner of the screen and then on Options to see all the options. Options are grouped in categories: General, Formulas, and others. Though the option names are self-explanatory, for more details on what each option means, you can either click on the information icon or the help button on the upper-right corner of the screen.

For example, under the Advanced group, you will see many Editing options which you can change based on your style of working, such as using the Enter key to move the selection down, allowing Automatic flash fill, and so on.

Figure 1.7 Advance Editing options

Most of the options are for Excel as a whole, not for any particular workbook or worksheet you might have opened. However, there are a few that are workbook-specific or worksheet-specific. For example, in the Advanced group, there are two sets of options, ‘Display options for this workbook’ and ‘Display options for this worksheet’ that can be varied from one workbook/worksheet to another.

Figure 1.8 Advance Options at Worksheet & Workbook level

1.7 Create a New Workbook, Print and Save

1.7.1 Create New File

You can create a new Excel file in your Window’s explorer by going to the New option on the Home Tab or by right-clicking on any empty space in the explorer and choosing ‘New Microsoft Excel Worksheet’. You can also launch Microsoft Excel application, which will show you multiple options to choose from a Blank Workbook or use an existing Template, take a Tour, and so on, as shown in the following screenshot. You can also use the shortcut key CTRL+N, to create a new workbook:

Figure 1.9 Create New Excel file

You can create as many worksheets required in a workbook and rename them as discussed earlier. There are very useful keyboard shortcuts for working in a worksheet, as detailed in Chapter 2 Perform Functions with Shortcut Keys. Working with data within the worksheet will be discussed in the later chapters of this book.

1.7.2 Print File

You can print the entire workbook, active sheets, or the selected area. The Print option is available on the File menu or you also can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + P to launch the Print dialog box with all the print settings that can be configured, as in other Microsoft products.

Figure 1.10 Print Settings

1.7.2.1 1

Select the worksheets that you want to print. Click on the tab of the sheet for selecting a single worksheet or press the SHIFT key and click the tabs of the adjacent sheets for multiple sheets selection or in case you want to select multiple non-adjacent sheets then press the CTRL key and click on the sheet tabs.

Go to File Print menu or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + P to launch the Print dialog box, select Print Active Sheets in Settings and then click on Print.

1.7.2.2 Print Entire Workbook

Open the workbook and go to File Print, select Print Entire Workbook and click on Print. In case you want to print multiple workbooks, in the File Explorer, select the file, right-click and select Print option.

You can also Print the workbook as a file, using the Print to File option in the Print dialog box under the Printer setting.

1.7.2.3 Print Selection

Open the worksheet and select the range of data that you want to print. Next, go to File Print menu, in the Print dialog box, select Print Selection and click on Print.

Print Selection with defined Print Area

Another way to print selection is by defining print area. A worksheet can have multiple print areas defined and each print area will print as a separate page. When the print areas are defined, only those are printed when you print the worksheet. You can add cells to expand the print area as needed, and you can clear the print area to print the entire worksheet.

Open the worksheet and select a single data range or multiple data ranges by pressing the Ctrl key. Go to the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, select Print Area and click on Set Print Area to define the print area. Now, go to File Print to open the Print dialog box and select Print Active Worksheet which will print only the defined data ranges as the print area.

Figure 1.11 Set / Clear Print Area

Even if the file is closed and opened again, the defined print areas are saved and you do not need to do the selection again and define. Note that in order to remove the print area, you need to click on Clear Print Area.

Print Tables and Objects

When you select an Excel table in the worksheet and go to File Print menu, under Settings you will see a new option Print Selected Table.

Sometimes you may find that certain objects like text boxes, buttons, and arrows do not get printed. To correct that, right-click on any such object, select Size and Properties, and click on the Properties tab. This contains a Print object option that you can check or uncheck.

Figure 1.12 Print Object option

1.7.3 Save and Save As File

Saving the Excel file is as simple as printing and similar to what you see in other Microsoft products, with only difference that it shows the relevant file types. The first time you save an Excel workbook, Excel takes you to the Backstage screen that lets you choose the location for the file; online location or local computer and launches a Save dialog box. In the dialog box you can enter the Filename and the file type or extension you want to save the file in, click on Save button to save the file.

By default, Excel also saves a backup copy of your work automatically in every 10 minutes. AutoRecover setting can be changed, choose File Options and click on the Save tab of the Excel Options dialog box.

The default file extension is .xlsx, however, it also gives other files type options as well, as given below. If want to save in a version compatible with older Excel version, then you can choose Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls) or if you require a macro-enabled version, then choose Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm) or a comma delimited files as CSV UTF-8 (*.csv), and so on.

Figure 1.13 Save As options

1.8 Understanding Worksheet Basics

Worksheets are the playground for entering, editing, formatting, analyzing, and visualizing information or data. You can perform a lot of operations in the worksheet like renaming the sheet, adding/deleting a sheet, controlling the worksheet view, inserting/deleting rows and columns, grouping/ungrouping data, formatting data, and so on. In this section, we will learn the worksheet basics with the help of examples.

1.8.1 Commands for Entering/Editing Data

You can use mouse as well as keyboard to enter, modify, or delete data in the worksheet. There are many keyboard commands (see Chapter 2 Perform Functions with Shortcut Keys), but here, we will list only a few that are frequently used and will help you in your daily work with Excel and also in the following sections:

Edit a cell: Select the cell, double-click with the mouse or press F2 on the keyboard

Insert a new line within a cell: Press ALT+ENTER within the cell to insert a new line

Go to next cell: Single click with mouse to select or use arrow keys or press the ENTER key

Cut/Copy/Paste/Paste Special in cell: Select the source/destination cell, right-click with mouse for the desired options or press CTRL+X / CTRL+C / CTRL+V / CTRL+ALT+V on the keyboard

Add a new Table: Press CTRL+T to add a new table

Insert/Delete in Table: Press CTRL+’+’ and CTRL+’- ‘to insert or delete a table respectively

Copy same text in cells below: Select the cell, press CTRL+C and then select the cells below where you want to paste the value and press CTRL+D

Undo/Redo change: Press CTRL+Z to undo a change and CTRL+Y to redo a change

Flash fillcells : Select the cell with mouse, click on the ‘+’ sign at the lower-right corner and drag the mouse selecting the cells you want to fill with data

You can also change few settings like pressing the enter key will move the selection in the right side instead of down, using File Options Advanced Edit Options. In this book, we will assume the preceding commands hold true, unless specified.

1.8.2 Insert/Delete Cells

Excel gives options in the Home tab to insert new sheets, rows, columns, and even specific cells relative to the selection. Similarly, you can delete sheets, rows, columns, and cells.

Figure 1.14 Insert / Delete Rows & Columns menu options

These options are also available on right-click of the mouse.

Figure 1.15 Insert / Delete Rows & Columns options on right click

1.8.2.1 Insert/Delete/Rename Sheet

Open the workbook in which you want to insert/delete worksheets. By default, it has one worksheet named Sheet1. Go to the Home tab, in the Cells group and click on Insert Sheet. The new sheet gets added on the left of the existing sheet with name Sheet2.

The sheet number (in the sheet