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Spreadsheet Uses

1. Spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel can be used for accounting, budgeting, sales forecasting, financial analysis, tracking grades or personal budgets, and scientific calculations and basic database functions. 2. To start Excel, click the Start button and select Microsoft Excel Starter. A blank worksheet will open where data can be entered into columns and rows. Various tabs allow formatting and inserting graphics. 3. Excel workbooks contain worksheets where data is entered into cells organized in columns and rows. Workbooks are saved to the computer. Basic formatting and copying/moving of data can customize the appearance and organization.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
206 views

Spreadsheet Uses

1. Spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel can be used for accounting, budgeting, sales forecasting, financial analysis, tracking grades or personal budgets, and scientific calculations and basic database functions. 2. To start Excel, click the Start button and select Microsoft Excel Starter. A blank worksheet will open where data can be entered into columns and rows. Various tabs allow formatting and inserting graphics. 3. Excel workbooks contain worksheets where data is entered into cells organized in columns and rows. Workbooks are saved to the computer. Basic formatting and copying/moving of data can customize the appearance and organization.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 31

1.

SPREADSHEET USES
Spreadsheets can be used in any area or field that works with numbers and are
commonly found in the accounting, budgeting, sales forecasting, financial
analysis, and scientific fields. Teachers can use them to store and average
grades, while other individuals can use them to track a personal budget or
store sports team statistics. Scientists mostly use spreadsheets for math
calculations and some basic database functions and for creating charts of - for
example - time series data.

2. STARTING MICROSOFT EXCEL

1.the Start button   . If Excel Starter is not included among the list of


programs you see, click All Programs, and then click Microsoft Office
Starter.
2. Click Microsoft Excel Starter 2010.
The Excel Starter startup screen appears, and a blank spreadsheet is
displayed. In Excel Starter, a spreadsheet is called a worksheet, and
worksheets are stored in a file called a workbook. Workbooks can have
one or more worksheets in them.

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1. Columns (labeled with letters) and rows (labeled with numbers) make up the
cells of your worksheet.
2. Clicking the File tab opens the Backstage view of your workbook, where you
can open and save files, get information about the current workbook, and perform
other tasks that do not have to do with the content of the workbook, such as
printing it or sending a copy of it in e-mail.
3. Each tab in the ribbon displays commands that are grouped by task. You'll
probably spend most of your time using the Home tab, when you're entering and
formatting data. Use the Insert tab to add tables, charts, pictures, or other graphics
to your worksheet. Use the Page Layout tab to adjust margins and layout,
especially for printing. Use the Formulas tab to make calculations on the data in
your worksheet.
4. The pane along the side of the Excel Starter window includes links to Help and
shortcuts to templates and clip art, to give you a head-start on creating workbooks
for specific tasks, such as managing a membership list or tracking expenses. The
pane also displays advertising and a link to purchase a full-feature edition of
Office.

3. Create a new workbook


When you create a workbook in Microsoft Excel Starter 2010, you can start from
scratch or you can start from a template, where some of the work is already done
for you.

1.Click File, and then click New.

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2. If you want to start with the equivalent of a blank grid, click Blank workbook.

If you want a head-start on a particular kind of workbook, choose one of the


templates available on Office.com. Choose from budgets, event planners,
membership lists, and more.

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4. Excel Starter opens the blank workbook or template, ready for you to add
your data.

Save a workbook
-When you interrupt your work or quit, you must save your worksheet, or
you will lose your work. When you save your worksheet, Excel Starter creates a
file called a workbook, which is stored on your computer.
1. Click the Save button save button on the Quick Access Toolbar.
(Keyboard shortcut: Press CTRL+S.)
If this workbook was already saved as a file, any changes you made are
immediately saved in the workbook, and you can continue working.
2. If this is a new workbook that you have not yet saved, type a name for it.
3. Click Save.
Enter data

To work with data on a worksheet, you first have to enter that data in the cells on
the worksheet.

1. Click a cell, and then type data in that cell.


2. Press ENTER or TAB to move to the next cell.

Tip     To enter data on a new line in a cell, enter a line break by pressing
ALT+ENTER.

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3. To enter a series of data, such as days, months, or progressive numbers,
type the starting value in a cell, and then in the next cell type a value to establish a
pattern.

For example, if you want the series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5..., type 1 and 2 in the first two
cells.

Select the cells that contain the starting values, and then drag the fill
handle   across the range that you want to fill.

Tip    To fill in increasing order, drag down or to the right. To fill in decreasing
order, drag up or to the left.

Make it look right

You can format text and cells to make your worksheet look the way you want.

 To wrap text in a cell, select the cells that you want to format, and then on
the Home tab, in the Alignmentgroup, click Wrap Text.

 To adjust column width and row height to automatically fit the contents of
a cell, select the columns or rows that you want to change, and then on
the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format.

Under Cell Size, click AutoFit Column Width or AutoFit Row Height.

Tip    To quickly autofit all columns or rows in the worksheet, click the Select
All button, and then double-click any boundary between two column or row
headings.

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 To change the font, select the cells that contain the data that you want to
format, and then on the Home tab, in the Font group, click the format that you
want.

 To apply number formatting, click the cell that contains the numbers that
you want to format, and then on the Home tab, in the Number group, point
to General, and then click the format that you want.

For more help with entering and formatting data, see Quick start: Format numbers
in a worksheet

Copy, move, or delete data

You can use the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands to move or copy rows, columns,


and cells. To copy, press CTRL+C to use the Copy command. To move, press
CTRL+X to use the Cut command.

1. Select the rows, columns, or cells you want to copy, move, or delete.

To select a row or column, click the row or column heading.

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1. Row heading

2. Column heading

To select a cell, click the cell. To select a range of cells, click click and drag, or
click and use the arrow keys while holding down the SHIFT key.

2. Press CTRL+C to copy or CTRL+X to cut.

If you want to delete a row or column, pressing DELETE while the row or
columns is selected clears the contents, leaving an empty row or cell. To delete a
row or column, right-click the row or column heading, and then click Delete
Row or Delete Column.

Note    Excel displays an animated moving border around cells that have been cut
or copied. To cancel a moving border, press ESC.

3. Position the cursor where you want to copy or move the cells.

To copy or move a row or column, click the row or column header that follows
where you want to insert the row or column you copied or cut.

To copy or move a cell, click the cell where you want to paste the cell you copied
or cut.

To copy or move a range of cells, click the upper-left cell of the paste area.

4. Paste the data in the new location.

For rows or columns, right-click the row or column heading at the new location,
and then click the Insert command.

For a cell or range of cells, press CTRL+V. The cells you copied or cut replace
the cells at the new location.

For more information about copying and pasting cells, see Move or copy cells and
cell contents

3. PARTS OF EXCEL SCREEN

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The Excel window

Many items you see on the Excel XP screen are standard in most other Microsoft
software programs like Word, PowerPoint, and previous versions of Excel, while
some elements are specific to Excel XP.

Workbook

Also called a spreadsheet, the workbook is a unique file created by Excel XP.

Title bar

The title bar displays both the name of the application and the name of the
spreadsheet.

Menu bar

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The menu bar displays all of the menus available for use in Excel XP. The
contents of any menu can be displayed by left-clicking the menu name.

Toolbar

Some commands in the menus have pictures or icons associated with them. These
pictures may also appear as shortcuts in the toolbar.

Column headings

Each Excel spreadsheet contains 256 columns. Each column is named by a letter
or combination of letters.

Row headings

Each spreadsheet contains 65,536 rows. Each row is named by a number.

Name box

This shows the address of the current selection or active cell.

Formula bar

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The formula bar isplays information entered—or being entered as you type—in
the current or active cell. The contents of a cell can also be edited in the formula
bar.

Cell

A cell is an intersection of a column and row. Each cell has a unique cell address.
In the picture above, the cell address of the selected cell is B3. The heavy border
around the selected cell is called the cell pointer.

Navigation buttons and sheet tabs

Navigation buttons allow you to move to another worksheet in an Excel


workbook. They are used to display the first, previous, next, and last worksheets
in the workbook.

Sheet tabs separate a workbook into specific worksheets. A workbook defaults to


three worksheets. A workbook must contain at least one worksheet.

Workbooks and worksheets

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A workbook automatically shows in the workspace when you open Microsoft
Excel XP. Each workbook contains three worksheets. A worksheet is a grid of
cells consisting of 65,536 rows by 256 columns. Spreadsheet information—text,
numbers, or mathematical formulas—is entered into different cells.

Column headings are referenced by alphabetic characters in the gray boxes that
run across the Excel screen, beginning with column A and ending with column
IV.

Rows are referenced by numbers that appear on the left and then run down the
Excel screen. The first row is named row 1, while the last row is named 65536.

Important terms

 A workbook is made up of three worksheets.


 The worksheets are labeled Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3.
 Each Excel worksheet is made up of columns and rows.
 In order to access a worksheet, click the tab that says Sheet#.

The cell

An Excel worksheet is made up of columns and rows. Where these columns and
rows intersect, they form little boxes called cells. The active cell—or the cell that
can be acted upon—reveals a dark border. All other cells reveal a light gray
border. Each cell has a name. Its name is comprised of two parts: the column
letter and the row number.

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In the following picture, the cell C3—formed by the intersection of column C and
row 3—contains the dark border. It is the active cell.

Important terms
 Each cell has a unique cell address composed of a cell's column
and row.
 The active cell is the cell that receives the data or command you
give it.
 A darkened border, called the cell pointer, identifies it.

Moving around the worksheet

You can move around the spreadsheet in several ways.

To move the cell pointer:

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 To activate any cell, point to a cell with the mouse and click.
 To move the pointer one cell to the left, right, up, or down, use the
keyboard arrow keys.

To scroll through the worksheet:

The vertical scroll bar located along the right edge of the screen is used to move
up or down the spreadsheet. The horizontal scroll bar located at the bottom of
the screen is used to move left or right across the spreadsheet.

The PageUp and PageDown keys on the keyboard are used to move the cursor up


or down one screen at a time. Other keys that move the active cell are Home,
which moves to the first column on the current row, and Ctrl+Home, which
moves the cursor to the top-left corner of the spreadsheet, or cell A1.

To move between worksheets:

As mentioned, each workbook defaults to three worksheets. These worksheets are


represented by tabs—named Sheet1, Sheet2 and Sheet3—that appear at the
bottom of the Excel window.

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To move from one worksheet to another:

 Click the sheet tab—Sheet1, Sheet2 or Sheet 3—you want to


display.

4. NAVIGATING THE WORK SHEET


Navigating Worksheets in Excel: Overview
            -Navigating worksheets in Excel lets you view different worksheets in a
workbook. To move from one worksheet to another, click the worksheet name tab
of the worksheet to view. The worksheet name tabs appear in the lower-left
corner of the workbook.

            -You can also use keyboard shortcuts to navigate worksheets in Excel.
Pressing “Ctrl” + “PageUp” moves to the previous worksheet. Pressing “Ctrl” +
“PageDown” moves to the next worksheet.

-If you have many worksheets in a workbook or give worksheets very


long names, you may not be able to see all the worksheet name tabs. This is
because they begin to slide underneath the horizontal scroll bar to the right. Only
when this occurs can you then click the “Previous Sheet” and “Next Sheet”
buttons to the left of the worksheet name tabs. Doing this then moves the
worksheet tab names out from underneath the horizontal scroll bar. Keep clicking
until you see the one you want to view. At that point, then click its worksheet
name tab to view it.

            -Alternatively, you can also right-click either the “Previous Sheet” or
“Next Sheet” buttons. Then select the name of the worksheet to view in the
“Activate” dialog box that appears. After selecting the sheet name to view, click
the “OK” button to activate the selected worksheet.

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Navigating Worksheets in Excel: Instructions

1. To move from one worksheet to another in Excel, click the worksheet


name tab of the worksheet to view from the set of worksheet name tabs in
the lower-left corner of the workbook.
2. Alternatively, to move to the previous worksheet using a keyboard
shortcut, press “Ctrl” + “PageUp” on your keyboard.
3. Alternatively, to move to the next worksheet using a keyboard
shortcut, press “Ctrl” + “PageDown” on your keyboard.
4. Only after you have worksheet name tabs that have slid underneath
the horizontal scroll bar can you then click the “Previous Sheet” and
“Next Sheet” buttons to the left of the worksheet name tabs to move the
names of the worksheet tabs out from underneath the horizontal scroll bar
until you can see the one you want to view.
5. At that point, then click its worksheet name tab to view it.
6. Alternatively, right-click either the “Previous Sheet” or “Next Sheet”
buttons to select the name of the worksheet to view from the “Activate”
dialog box that appears.
7. After selecting the sheet name to view, then click the “OK” button to
activate the selected worksheet.

5. ENTERING THE FORMULAS

-You can create a simple formula to add, subtract, multiply or divide


values in your worksheet. Simple formulas always start with an equal sign (=),
followed by constants that are numeric values and calculation operators such as
plus (+), minus (-), asterisk(*), or forward slash (/) signs.

Let's take an example of a simple formula.


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1. On the worksheet, click the cell in which you want to enter the formula.
2. Type the = (equal sign) followed by the constants and operators (up to
8192 characters) that you want to use in the calculation.

For our example, type =1+1.

1. Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac).

Let's take another variation of a simple formula. Type =5+2*3 in another cell and
press Enter or Return. Excel multiplies the last two numbers and adds the first
number to the result.

Use AutoSum

You can use AutoSum to quickly sum a column or row or numbers. Select a cell
next to the numbers you want to sum, click AutoSum on the Home tab,
press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac), and that's it!

When you click AutoSum, Excel automatically enters a formula (that uses


the SUM function) to sum the numbers.

Note: You can also type ALT+= (Windows) or ALT+   += (Mac) into a cell, and
Excel automatically inserts the SUM function.

Here’s an example. To add the January numbers in this Entertainment budget,


select cell B7, the cell immediately below the column of numbers. Then
click AutoSum. A formula appears in cell B7, and Excel highlights the cells
you’re totaling.

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Press Enter to display the result (95.94) in cell B7. You can also see the formula
in the formula bar at the top of the Excel window.

6. USING EXCEL’S BUILT IN FUNCTIONS

Built In Functions

MS Excel has many built in functions, which we can use in our formula. To see
all the functions by category, choose Formulas Tab » Insert Function. Then
Insert function Dialog appears from which we can choose the function.

Functions by Categories
Let us see some of the built in functions in MS Excel.

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 Text Functions
o LOWER − Converts all characters in a supplied text string to
lower case
o UPPER − Converts all characters in a supplied text string to upper
case
o TRIM − Removes duplicate spaces, and spaces at the start and
end of a text string
o CONCATENATE − Joins together two or more text strings.
o LEFT − Returns a specified number of characters from the start of
a supplied text string.
o MID − Returns a specified number of characters from the middle
of a supplied text string
o RIGHT − Returns a specified number of characters from the end
of a supplied text string.
o LEN − Returns the length of a supplied text string
o FIND − Returns the position of a supplied character or text string
from within a supplied text string (case-sensitive).
 Date & Time
o DATE − Returns a date, from a user-supplied year, month and
day.
o TIME − Returns a time, from a user-supplied hour, minute and
second.
o DATEVALUE − Converts a text string showing a date, to an
integer that represents the date in Excel's date-time code.
o TIMEVALUE − Converts a text string showing a time, to a
decimal that represents the time in Excel.
o NOW − Returns the current date & time.
o TODAY − Returns today's date.
 Statistical
o MAX − Returns the largest value from a list of supplied numbers.
o MIN − Returns the smallest value from a list of supplied numbers.
o AVERAGE − Returns the Average of a list of supplied numbers.
o COUNT − Returns the number of numerical values in a supplied
set of cells or values.
o COUNTIF − Returns the number of cells (of a supplied range),
that satisfies a given criteria.

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o SUM − Returns the sum of a supplied list of numbers
 Logical
o AND − Tests a number of user-defined conditions and returns
TRUE if ALL of the conditions evaluate to TRUE, or FALSE
otherwise
o OR − Tests a number of user-defined conditions and returns
TRUE if ANY of the conditions evaluate to TRUE, or FALSE
otherwise.
o NOT − Returns a logical value that is the opposite of a user
supplied logical value or expression i.e. returns FALSE if the
supplied argument is TRUE and returns TRUE if the supplied
argument is FAL
 Math & Trig
o ABS − Returns the absolute value (i.e. the modulus) of a supplied
number.
o SIGN − Returns the sign (+1, -1 or 0) of a supplied number.
o SQRT − Returns the positive square root of a given number.
o MOD − Returns the remainder from a division between two
supplied numbers.
7. CREATING GRAPHICS
Creating charts
With Excel 2013, you can create charts quickly by using the Quick Analysis
Lens, which displays recommended charts to summarize your data. To display
recommended charts, select the entire data range you want to chart, click the
Quick Analysis button, and then click Charts to display the types of charts that
Excel recommends.

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You can display a live preview of each recommended chart by pointing to the
icon that represents that chart. Clicking the icon adds the chart to your worksheet.

If the chart you want to create doesn’t appear in the Recommended Charts
gallery, select the data that you want to summarize visually and then, on the Insert
tab, in the Charts group, click the type of chart that you want to create to have
Excel display the available chart subtypes. When you point to a subtype, Excel
displays a live preview of what the chart will look like if you click that subtype.

When you click a chart subtype, Excel creates the chart by using the default
layout and color scheme defined in your workbook’s theme.

Keyboard Shortcut

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Press Alt+F11 to create a chart of the default type on the current worksheet or
press F11 to create a new chart sheet. Unless you or another user changed the
default, Excel creates a column chart. For a complete list of keyboard shortcuts,
see Appendix B at the end of this book.

If Excel doesn’t plot your data the way that you want it to appear, you can change
the axis on which Excel plots a data column. The most common reason for
incorrect data plotting is that the column to be plotted on the horizontal axis
contains numerical data instead of textual data. For example, if your data includes
a Year column and a Maintenance column, instead of plotting maintenance data
for each consecutive year along the horizontal axis, Excel plots both of those
columns in the body of the chart and creates a sequential series to provide values
for the horizontal axis.

You can change which data Excel applies to the vertical axis (also known as
the y-axis) and the horizontal axis (also known as the x-axis). To make that
change, select the chart and then, on the Design tab, in the Data group, click
Select Data to open the Select Data Source dialog box.

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-As shown in the preceding graphic, the Year column doesn’t belong in
the Legend Entries (Series) pane, which corresponds to a column chart’s vertical
axis. To remove a column from an axis, select the column’s name, and then click
Remove. To add the column to the Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels pane, click
that pane’s Edit button to display the Axis Labels dialog box, which you can use
to select a range of cells on a worksheet to provide values for an axis.

-In the Axis Labels dialog box, click the Collapse Dialog button at the
right edge of the Axis Label Range field, select the cells to provide the values for
the horizontal axis (not including the column header, if any), click the Expand
Dialog button, and then click OK. Click OK again to close the Select Data Source
dialog box and revise your chart.

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After you create your chart, you can change its size to reflect whether the chart
should dominate its worksheet or take on a role as another informative element on
the worksheet. For example, Gary Schare, the chief executive officer of
Consolidated Messenger, could create a workbook that summarizes the
performance of each of his company’s business units. In that case, he would
display the chart and data for each business unit on the same worksheet, so he
would want to make his charts small.

To resize a chart, select the chart, and then drag one of the handles on the chart’s
edges. By using the handles in the middle of the edges, you can resize the chart in
one direction. When you drag a handle on the left or right edge, the chart gets
narrower or wider, whereas when you drag the handles on the chart’s top and
bottom edges, the chart gets shorter or taller. You can drag a corner handle to
change the chart’s height and width at the same time; and you can hold down the
Shift key as you drag the corner handle to change the chart’s size without
changing its proportions.

Just as you can control a chart’s size, you can also control its location. To move a
chart within a worksheet, drag the chart to the desired location. If you want to
move the chart to a new worksheet, click the chart and then, on the Design tool
tab, in the Location group, click Move Chart to open the Move Chart dialog box.

To move the chart to a new chart sheet, click New Sheet and enter the new sheet’s
name in the accompanying field. Clicking New Sheet creates a chart sheet that
contains only your chart. You can still resize the chart on that sheet, but when
Excel creates the new chart sheet, the chart takes up the full sheet.

To move the chart to an existing worksheet, click Object In and then, in the
Object In list, click the worksheet to which you want to move the chart.

In this exercise, you’ll create a chart, change how the chart plots your data, move
your chart within a worksheet, and move your chart to its own chart sheet.

SET UP

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You need the Yearly Package Volume workbook located in the Chapter09
practice file folder to complete this exercise. Open the workbook, and then follow
the steps.

1. On the Data worksheet, click any cell in the Excel table, and then


press Ctrl+* to select the entire table.
2. In the lower-right corner of the Excel table, click the Quick
Analysis button to display tools available in the Quick Analysis gallery.
3. Click the Charts tab to display the available chart types.
4. Click Line to create the recommended line chart.

5. Press Ctrl+Z to undo the last action and remove the chart from your
worksheet.
6. On the Insert tab, in the Charts group, click Bar and then, in the 2D
Bar group, click the first chart subtype, Clustered Bar. Excel creates the chart,
with both the Year and Volume data series plotted in the body of the chart.

7. On the Design tab, in the Data group, click Select Data to open the Select


Data Source dialog box.

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8. In the Legend Entries (Series) area, click Year.
9. Click Remove to delete the Year series.
10. In the Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels area, click Edit to open
the Axis Labels dialog box.
11. Select cells A3:A9, and then click OK. The Axis Labels dialog box
closes, and the Select Data Source dialog box reappears with the years in
the Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels area.

12. Click OK. Excel redraws your chart, using the years as the values for the
horizontal axis.
13. Point to (don’t click) the body of the chart, and when the pointer changes
to a four-headed arrow drag the chart up and to the left so that it covers the Excel
table.
14. On the Design tab, in the Location group, click Move Chart to open
the Move Chart dialog box.
15. Click New sheet, enter Volume Chart in the sheet name box, and then
click OK. Your chart appears on a chart sheet named Volume Chart.

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8. PRINTING EXCEL WORKSHEETS

Print one or several worksheets

1. Select the worksheets that you want to print. 

2. Click File > Print, or press CTRL+P.

3. Click the Print button or adjust Settings before you click


the Print button.

Print one or several workbooks

All workbook files that you want to print must be in the same folder.

1. Click File > Open.

2. Hold down CTRL click the name of each workbook to print, and then
click Print.

Print all or part of a worksheet

1. Click the worksheet, and then select the range of data that you want to
print.

2. Click File, and then click Print.

3. Under Settings, click the arrow next to Print Active Sheets and select the
appropriate option.

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4. Click Print.

Note: If a worksheet has defined print areas, Excel will print only those print
areas. If you don't want to print only the defined print area, select the Ignore
print area check box. Learn more on setting or clearing a print area.
Print an Excel table

1. Click a cell within the table to enable the table.

2. Click File, and then click Print.

3. Under Settings, click the arrow next to Print Active Sheets and


select Print Selected Table.

4. Click Print.

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5. Print a workbook to a file

1. Click File, and then click Print, or press Ctrl+P.

2. Under Printer, select Print to File.

3. Click Print.

4. In the Save Print Output As dialog box, enter a file name and then
click OK. The file will be saved in your Documents folder

9. BEST PRACTICE FOR SPREADSHEET MODELS

The Best Practice Spreadsheet Modeling Standards and Conventions aim to


provide the model development and business communities with:

 Freely-available, universally-applicable and definitive principles against


which the quality of spreadsheet models can be assessed; and
 A platform for the standardization of spreadsheet model development
processes.

Importantly, these standards and conventions provide a comprehensive and


detailed set of guidelines relating to every stage of the spreadsheet model
development process, but do not limit the customisability of spreadsheet-based
analysis in any way. Put simply, these standards and conventions explain how to

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develop best practice spreadsheet models, not what to include in spreadsheet
models.

The Best Practice Spreadsheet Modeling Standards and Conventions empower


both model developers and model users with the knowledge to improve the
quality and efficiency of spreadsheet modeling activities. In this regard, the
primary spreadsheet modeling benefits of adopting these standards and
conventions are:

1. Improved quality and transparency;


2. Decreased development time and costs;
3. Minimization of error risk;
4. Facilitation of efficient sharing of model development methodologies;
5. Prevention of model redundancy; and
6. Alignment of the needs of model developers and model users.

A Comprehensive Corporate Policy

The Best Practice Spreadsheet Modeling Standards are an off-the-shelf corporate


policy document which is continuously developed and maintained by the
collaborative efforts of the world's best spreadsheet modellers. Organization-wide
spreadsheet standardization can be freely achieved by simply downloading the
Standards and providing access to the online documentation and training
tutorials provided via this website.

Encourage some of your spreadsheet users to try implementing best practice and
learn why so many of the world's most respected organizations are using the Best
Practice Spreadsheet Modeling Standards as their primary spreadsheet modeling
corporate policy document.

A Simple Example

To demonstrate the benefits of the implementation of a standard, consider


three area ranges within a sheet with the first area range containing constants,
the second area range containing pure formulae and the third area range
containing formulae which double the values in the second area range. These
ranges are shown in the right-hand images, with the first image displaying the
range values and the second image displaying the range formulae. Without the

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application of a font colouring standard, all three of these ranges appear
identical but for the fact that the values in the third area range are different to
those in the first two area ranges - i.e. it is impossible to distinguish the cells
containing formulae from those containing values.

To address this limitation, BPMS 1-6 has been included in the Standards,
which stipulates that the font colour property of cells should be set consistently
to visually identify cells with different cell content:

In addition to this standard, a corresponding convention has been included in the


Standards which recommends that blue, black and green font colouring be used
to differentiate constant, pure formula and mixed cell content respectively:

Importantly, the implementation of this convention is not required to implement


best practice - i.e. it is simply a recommendation made by the SSRB based on
the most widely held view of the contributors to the Standards. Hence, pink,
purple and orange may instead be chosen as the three font colours used to
differentiate cell content with the underlying spreadsheet remaining best practice
as long as these colours are used consistently as per BPMS 1-6.

This is one simple example of the implementation of a standard and its


corresponding convention, and the benefits of doing so are irrefutable. In this

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way, the Best Practice Spreadsheet Modeling Standards are simply a listing of
generally-agreed best approaches to each area of the spreadsheet model
development process, with corresponding recommendations on how to
implement these approaches

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