When you open Excel for the first time, the Excel Start Screen will appear. From here, you'll be able to create a new workbook, choose a template, and access your recently edited workbooks.

 1. From the Excel Start Screen, locate and select Blank workbook to access the Excel interface.
2. Click Open Other Workbooks to work on an existing workbook.
To set up Excel so it automatically opens a new workbook

1. Click File then Options.

2. On the General tab, underStart up options, uncheck the Show the Start screen when this application starts box.

3. The next time you start Excel, it opens a blank workbook automatically similar to older versions of Excel.

2.1. The Excel Interface

After starting Excel, you will see two windows - one within the other. The outer window is the ApplicationWindow and the inner window is the Workbook Window. When maximized, the Excel Workbook Window blends in with the Application Window.

After completing this module, you should be able to:

Ø Identify the components of the Application Window.

Ø Identify the components of the Workbook Window.




2.1.1. The Application Window

The Application Window provides the space for your worksheets and workbook elements such as charts.

The components of the Application Window are described below.

Ø The Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar lets you access common commands no matter which tab is selected.

By default, it includes the Save, Undo, and Repeat commands. You can add other commands depending on your preference.

To add commands to the Quick Access toolbar

1. Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Quick Access toolbar.

2. Select the command you wish to add from the drop-down menu. To choose from more commands, select More Commands.
3. The command will be added to the Quick Access toolbar.




Ø The Ribbon

The Ribbon contains multiple tabs, each with several groups of commands. You will use these tabs to perform the most common tasks in Excel.




To minimize and maximize the Ribbon

The Ribbon is designed to respond to your current task, but you can choose to minimize it if you find that it takes up too much screen space.

1. Click the Ribbon Display Options arrow in the upper-right corner of the Ribbon.




2. Select the desired minimizing option from the drop-down menu:

Auto-hide Ribbon: Auto-hide displays your workbook in full-screen mode and completely hides the Ribbon. To show the Ribbon, click the Expand Ribbon command at the top of screen.






Show Tabs: This option hides all command groups when not in use, buttabs will remain visible. To show the Ribbon, simply click a tab.

Show Tabs and Commands: This option maximizes the Ribbon. All of the tabs and commands will be visible. This option is selected by default when you open Excel for the first time.

To Customize the Ribbon in Excel

You can customize the Ribbon by creating your own tabs with whichever commands you want. Commands are always housed within a group, and you can create as many groups as you want in order to keep your tab organized. If you want, you can even add commands to any of the default tabs, as long as you create a custom group in the tab.

1. Right-click the Ribbon and then select Customize the Ribbon... from the drop-down menu.




2. The Excel Options dialog box will appear. Locate and select New Tab.




3. Make sure the New Group is selected, select a command, and then click Add. You can also drag commands directly into a group.

4. When you are done adding commands, click OK. The commands will be added to the Ribbon.





Ø The Formula Bar

In the formula bar, you can enter or editdata, a formula, or a function that will appear in a specific cell.

In the image below, cell C1 is selected and 1984 is entered into the formula bar. Note how the data appears in both the formula bar and in cell C1.




Ø The Name Box

The Name box displays the location, or "name" of a selected cell.

In the image below, cell B4 is selected. Note that cell B4 is where column B and row 4 intersect.




Ø The Backstage View (The File Menu)

Click the File tab on the Ribbon. Backstage view will appear.







Ø The Worksheet Views

Excel has a variety of viewing options that change how your workbook is displayed. You can choose to view any workbook inNormal view, Page Layout view, or Page Break view. These views can be useful for various tasks, especially if you're planning to print the spreadsheet.

To change worksheet views, locate and select the desired worksheet view command in the bottom-right corner of the Excel window.




Ø Zoom Control

To use the Zoom control, click and drag the slider. The number to the right of the slider reflects the zoom percentage.




Challenge!

1. Open Excel.
2. Click through all of the tabs, and review the commands on the Ribbon.
3. Try minimizing and maximizing the Ribbon.
4. Add a command to the Quick Access toolbar.
5. Navigate to Backstage view, and open your Account settings.
6. Try switching worksheet views.
7. Close Excel (you do not have to save the workbook).

2.1.2. The Workbook Window

In Excel, when you open up a new workbook it now contains only 1 worksheet There can be a max of 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns in an excel work sheet.

Ø The Worksheet

Excel files are called workbooks. Each workbook holds one or more worksheets (also known as "spreadsheets").

Whenever you create a new Excel workbook, it will contain one worksheet named Sheet1. A worksheet is a grid of columns and rows where columns are designated by letters running across the top of the worksheet and rows are designated by numbers running down the left side of the worksheet.




When working with a large amount of data, you can create multiple worksheets to help organize your workbook and make it easier to find content. You can also group worksheets to quickly add information to multiple worksheets at the same time.

To rename a worksheet

Whenever you create a new Excel workbook, it will contain one worksheet named Sheet1. You can rename a worksheet to better reflect its content. In our example, we will create a training log organized by month.

1. Right-click the worksheet you wish to rename, then select Rename from
the worksheet menu.



2. Type the desired name for the worksheet.




3. Click anywhere outside of the worksheet, or pressEnter on your keyboard. The worksheet will be renamed.


To insert a new worksheet

1. Locate and select the New sheet button.


2. A new, blank worksheet will appear.

TIP: To change the default number of worksheets, navigate to Backstage view, click Options, and then choose the desired number of worksheets to include in each new workbook.





To delete a worksheet

1. Right-click the worksheet you wish to delete, then select Delete from the worksheet menu.




2. The worksheet will be deleted from your workbook.




Alternatively, from the Home Tab in theCells Group click on Delete and select Delete Sheet.

Warning: The Undo button will not undo the deletion of a worksheet.

To copy a worksheet

If you need to duplicate the content of one worksheet to another, Excel allows you to copy an existing worksheet.

1. Right-click the worksheet you want to copy, then select Move or Copy from the worksheet menu.




2. The Move or Copy dialog box will appear. Choose where the sheet will appear in the Before sheet: field. In our example, we'll choose (move to end) to place the worksheet to the right of the existing worksheet.

3. Check the box next to Create a copy, then click OK.



4. The worksheet will be copied. It will have the same title as the original worksheet, as well as a version number.

TIP: You can also copy a worksheet to an entirely different workbook. You can select any workbook that is currently open from the To book: drop-down menu.


To move a worksheet

Sometimes you may want to move a worksheet to rearrange your workbook.
1. Select the worksheet you wish to move. The cursor will become a small worksheet icon .

2. Hold and drag the mouse until a small black arrow appears above the desired location.




3. Release the mouse. The worksheet will be moved.

To change the worksheet color

You can change a worksheet's color to help organize your worksheets and make your workbook easier to navigate.

1. Right-click the desired worksheet, and hover the mouse over Tab Color. The Color menu will appear.

2. Select the desired color. A live preview of the new worksheet color will appear as you hover the mouse over different options. In our example, we'll choose Red.




3. The worksheet color will be changed.




The worksheet color is considerably less noticeable when the worksheet is selected. Select another worksheet to see how the color will appear when the worksheet is not selected.

Challenge!

1. Open an existing Excel workbook.
2. Insert a new worksheet and rename it.
3. Delete a worksheet.
4. Move a worksheet.
5. Copy a worksheet.

Ø The Scrolling Buttons

These buttons scroll the display of sheet tabs one at a time or to display the first and last grouping of sheet tabs and are located to the left of the sheet tabs.




Ø The Scroll Bars

Your spreadsheet may frequently have more data than you can see on the screen at once. Click, hold and drag the vertical or horizontal scroll bar depending on what part of the page you want to see


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