Excel 101: Spreadsheet Basics

1. Introduction
2. Topics At A Glance 00:01:38
3. Questions Are Welcome Any Time 00:03:00
4. Presenting with Microsoft 365 for Windows 00:04:30
5. Section 1: Orienting in Excel and Saving Workbooks 00:06:27
6. Getting Oriented in Excel 00:06:41
7. Saving Excel Files 00:13:33
8. Section 2: Entering and Formatting Texts and Numbers 00:20:10
9. Working Within a Cell 00:20:56
10. Entering Text Into Worksheet Cells 00:25:47
11. Managing Column Widths 00:32:30
12. Formatting Percentages 00:
13. Formatting Numbers 00:39:01
14. Section 3: Formatting Worksheet Cells 00:49:22
15. Formatting Worksheet Cells 00:49:57
16. Using the Fill Handle 00:54:10
17. Creating a Series of Dates 00:59:43
18. Writing Formulas with Insert Function 01:05:15
19. Using Relative and Mixed References 01:13:44
20. Copying Formulas with the Fill Handle 01:23:13
21. Creating Instant Totals with AutoSum 01:27:06
22. Understanding Excel's Order of Operations 01:31:09
23. Section 4: Freezing Row/Columns On Screen and In Print 01:38:28
24. Visually Locking Rows/Columns Onscreen 01:38:29
25. Setting Rows/Columns to Print On Every Page 01:39:38
26. Section 5: Using Templates and Managing Worksheets 01:41:33
27. Using Built-In Excel Templates 01:41:43
28. Deleting and Renaming Excel Worksheets 01:42:46
29. Thanks For Attending! 01:44:05
30. Presentation Closing 01:45:06

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  David H. Ringstrom, CPA

  David H. Ringstrom, CPA, is a nationally recognized instructor who leads dozens of Excel webinars each year. He is the author of Microsoft 365 Excel for Dummies and several other books. With over 30 years of consulting and teaching experience he empowers users to work more efficiently in E [...]

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• .XLSM 00:4:03
• .XLSX 00:13:53
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) 00:27:38
• AutoSave 00:15:44
• AutoSum 01:27:23
• Cell 00:07:09, 00:13:00, 00:20:37, 00:26:00, 00:27:38, 00:29:31, 00:50:18, 00:54:28, 01:01:01, 01:08:51, 01:27:31
• Cell Reference 00:58:22, 01:13:44, 01:17:36
• Column 00:02:32, 00:08:02, 00:26:40, 00:32:51, 01:27:44
• Column Headings 00:50:02, 01:38:40
• Currency Format 01:16:45
• Dialog Box 00:14:59, 00:40:51, 01:10:34, 01:39:52
• Fill Handle 00:49:29, 01:02:00, 01:23:15
• Format 00:01:55, 00:20:43, 00:29:23, 00:33:02
• Formula 00:01:33, 00:02:30, 00:07:44, 00:10:24, 00:58:20, 01:01:16, 01:17:25, 01:23:16, 01:31:44
• Formula Bar 00:10:02, 00:22:34, 00:26:06, 01:06:19
• Freeze Panes 01:38:54
• Insert 01:06:02
• Keyboard Shortcut 00:09:07, 00:51:05
• Macro 00:00:14:00
• Microsoft 365 00:04:26
• Name Box 00:07:28
• Number Formatting 00:41:06
• Order of Operations 01:31:17
• Page Layout Menu 01:39:44
• PDF 00:14:10
• PMT Function 01:05:33
• Present Value (PV) 01:11:03
• Quick Access Toolbar 00:16:07, 00:28:33
• Redo Command 00:28:55
• Ribbon 00:09:47, 00:10:50, 00:45:01
• Row 00:02:31, 00:08:12, 00:24:22, 01:14:01, 01:23:45
• Spreadsheet 00:00:56, 00:02:49, 00:20:13, 01:14:21
• Tab key 00:22:48
• Undo Command 00:28:26
• Workbook 00:01:48, 00:06:48, 00:09:31, 00:13:40
• Worksheet 00:06:51, 00:08:48, 00:09:30, 00:12:15, 00:21:12, 00:23:03, 00:49:24, 01:08:51, 01:31:56

.XLSM : The .XLSM file extension signifies a Macro-Enabled Excel Workbook. Such workbooks may contain programming code that can automate repetitive tasks in Excel. If prompted, do not enable macros in .XLSM workbooks of unknown provenance because viruses and malware are sometimes transmitted by tricking users into opening such workbooks.

.XLSX: A file with the. xlsx file extension is a Microsoft Excel Open XML Spreadsheet (XLSX) file created by Microsoft Excel. You can also open this format in other spreadsheet apps, such as Apple Numbers, Google Docs, and OpenOffice.

AutoSave: Excel AutoSave is a tool that automatically saves a new document that you've just created, but haven't saved yet. It helps you not to lose important data in case of a computer crash or power failure.

AutoSum: The AutoSum feature appears on both the Home menu and the Formulas menu as a Greek sigma symbol. When you click AutoSum, or press Alt-= Excel adds a sum function to the current cell or cells that you've selected.

Cell: In spreadsheet applications, a cell is a box in which you can enter a single piece of data. The data is usually text, a numeric value, or a formula. The entire spreadsheet is composed of rows and columns of cells.

Cell Reference: A cell reference refers to a cell or a range of cells on a worksheet and can be used in a formula so that Microsoft Office Excel can find the values or data that you want that formula to calculate. There are three types: Relative, Absolute, and Mixed

Column: A column is a vertical series of cells in a chart, table, or spreadsheet in Excel.

Column Headings : The column heading or column header is the gray-colored row containing the letters (A, B, C, etc.) used to identify each column in the worksheet. The column header is located above row 1 in the worksheet.

Currency Format: The Currency format places the dollar sign right next to the number.

Dialog Box: A dialog box in Excel is a screen where you input information and make choices about different aspects of the current worksheet or its content, such as data, charts, and graphic images.

Fill Handle: The little notch in the bottom right-hand corner of the selected cell or block of cells. You can drag the fill handle to copy the contents to other cells, double-click to copy contents down a column, or right-drag to reveal a hidden context menu.

Filter: The Filter feature in Excel allows you to show or hide rows within a list of data by making selections from drop-down lists. The Filter feature is available on the Data tab of all versions of Excel as well under the Sort & Filter command on the Home menu.

Format: When we format cells in Excel, we change the appearance of a number without changing the number itself. We can apply a number format (0.8, $0.80, 80%, etc) or other formatting (alignment, font, border, etc). By default, Excel uses the General format (no specific number format) for numbers.

Formula: A formula is an expression which calculates the value of a cell.

Formula Bar: A toolbar at the top of the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet window that you can use to enter or copy an existing formula into cells or charts. It is labeled with function symbol (fx). By clicking the Formula Bar, or when you type an equal (=) symbol in a cell, the Formula Bar will activate.

Freeze Panes: This command on the View tab of Excel’s ribbon interface, or the Window menu in Excel 2003 and earlier, allows you to ensure that one or more rows and/or columns always remain on-screen as you scroll down through a worksheet.

Insert: When you click the Insert Function button, Excel displays the Insert Function dialog box. You can then use its options to find and select the function that you want to use and to define the argument or arguments that the function requires in order to perform its calculation.

Keyboard Shortcut: A keyboard shortcut is a series of one or several keys that invoke a software program to perform a preprogrammed action. This action may be part of the standard functionality of the operating system or application program, or it may have been written by the user in a scripting language.

Macro: One or more lines of programming code that automate tasks. The Macro Recorder allows users to automate tasks without seeing the underlying programming code.

Microsoft 365: Microsoft 365, formerly Office 365, is a line of subscription services offered by Microsoft which adds to and includes the Microsoft Office product line.

Mixed Reference: A mixed reference in Excel is a type of cell reference different from the other two absolute and relative. We only refer to the cell's column or row in the mixed cell reference. So, for example, in cell A1 if we want to refer to only the A column, the mixed reference would be $A1.

Name Box: The Name Box is the box to the left of the formula bar that displays the cell that is currently selected in the spreadsheet. If a name is defined for a cell that is selected, the Name Box displays the name of the cell. You can use the Name Box to define a name for a selected cell as well.

Number Formatting: Number formats are used to control the display of cell values that contain numeric data. This numeric data can include things like dates, times, costs, percentages, and anything else expressed as a number. To apply a number format, just select one or more cells and choose a format.

Order of Operations : The sequence with which Excel carries out arithmetic operations. Unless superseded by enclosing portions of a calculation in parentheses, Excel first divides, then multiplies, then adds, and finally subtracts.

PDF: Portable Document Format, a universal document format created by Adobe that allows cross-platform compatibility of documents.

PMT Function: The PMT function enables you to calculate a loan payment based on providing an interest rate, period of the loan, and amount to be borrowed or lent. The interest rate must be on the same footing as the term of the loan, so if the loan period is expressed in months, be sure to divide the interest rate by 12.

Page Layout Menu: The Page Layout Tab holds all the options that allow you to arrange your document pages just the way you want them. You can set margins, apply themes, control of page orientation and size, add sections and line breaks, display line numbers, and set paragraph indentation and lines.

Present Value (PV): The current value of a future sum of money based on a specific rate of return. Present value helps us understand how receiving $100 now is worth more than receiving $100 a year from now, as money in hand now has the ability to be invested at a higher rate of return. See an example of the time value of money here.

Quick Access Toolbar: A customizable shortcut toolbar that appears above the ribbon in Office 2007 and later.

Redo Command: Like the undo action, redo can be performed multiple times by using the same keyboard shortcut over and over. The Excel Ribbon also has a redo button right next to the undo button; it is represented by an icon with an arrow pointing to the right. After using the Undo button on the Quick Access toolbar, Excel 2010 activates the Redo button to its immediate right. If you delete an entry from a cell and then click the Undo button or press Ctrl+Z, the ScreenTip that appears when you position the mouse pointer over the Redo button appears as Redo Clear (Ctrl+Y).

Ribbon: The "ribbon" is the strip of buttons and icons located above the work area that was first introduced in Excel 2007. The ribbon replaces the menus and toolbars found in earlier versions of Excel. Above the ribbon are a number of tabs, such as Home, Insert, and Page Layout.

Row: A row is the range of cells that go across (horizontal) the spreadsheet/worksheet. Rows are identified by numbers e.g. row 1, row 5. Examples of use. A row might contain the headings of a table e.g. product ID, product name, price, number sold.

Spreadsheet: Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation or computation capabilities, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. Excel forms part of the Microsoft Office suite of software.

Tab Key: The tab key Tab ↹ on a keyboard is used to advance the cursor to the next tab stop

Undo Command: The Undo feature in Excel 2010 can quickly correct mistakes that you make in a worksheet. The Redo button lets you “undo the Undo.” The Undo button appears next to the Save button on the Quick Access toolbar, and it changes in response to whatever action you just took; the Redo button becomes active whenever you use Undo.

Workbook: In Microsoft Excel a workbook is a collection of one or more spreadsheets, also called worksheets, in a single file.

Worksheets: A worksheet is a collection of cells where you keep and manipulate the data. Each Excel workbook can contain multiple worksheets.