Entering Data
Spreadsheets are made up of lots of Cells, data can be entered into these cells. Text will automatically align to the left of the cell, numbers will align to the right
Numbers will only
align to the right of the cell when it is no longer active. This will happen after you press enter,
use the arrow keys on the keyboard or click on another cell with the mouse
1.
Each
cell has a name, when you click into a cell
the name of the cell will appear in
the Name Box and the grey column and row headers will become highlighted to let you know which cell is
currently in use i.e. B3
2. The data you enter will appear in the Formula Bar
3. Clicking on the cross will cancel and remove the data showing in the formula bar at the side
4. Clicking on the tick will Enter the data
Moving
around the spreadsheet
To move down the column press enter or the down arrow on the keyboard
Using the arrows will allow you to move left, right, up or down through the cells
You can move into any cell by using the mouse to click in the one you want to use
Spreadsheets are enormous and can hold a massive amount of data. Sometimes you can accidentally end up in cell a long way from where you should be working e.g. cell CT143. If this happens press the Home key on your keyboard – it will take you back to the right place
The cell you are working in is called an active cell, it will remain active until you move out of it by
pressing enter, using the arrows or clicking in another cell with the mouse
Sheet
Tabs
1.
A
spreadsheet is made up of more than one sheet or worksheet. You can access
these sheets by clicking on their Tab. These can be seen at the bottom left corner
of the screen. You can tell which sheet you are working in
2. To move to another sheet click on one of the other tabs
3.
The
tabs can be renamed to help you remember their contents. Right click on the page tab you want to re-name
4.
Select rename from the menu
5. Type the new name
6.
Press enter
Adding Extra Sheets
1.
Right
click with the mouse on the last tab
2.
Select Insert from the menu
3.
Select
Worksheet from the dialogue box then
click on OK
Editing Data
If you make a mistake when working in a cell you can edit it using the usual way. Once you have moved out of the cell it becomes more difficult.
If you click back into the cell and try to edit it you will overwrite the contents of that cell and all the data entered in it will be lost
1.
Click
in the cell you want to edit
2.
Click in
the formula bar
3. Make the changes to your data in the formula bar in the usual way
Merging
cells
Cells can be merged together
1. Highlight the cells you want to merge by clicking and dragging the mouse
2. Click on the merge and centre button on the toolbar
3. The cells will now merge and text can be added, this will automatically be centred
Altering the width of columns
If the text you want to
enter is too wide for the cell then you can alter the width of the whole column
1.
Move the mouse pointer to the grey bar at the top of the column you
want to alter
2.
The pointer will change, when it touches the edge of the column, to a
double sided arrow.
3.
Click and drag with the
mouse to make the column wider to fit the text
Rows can be altered in the
same way
Altering
the width of more than one column or row
1.
Hold down the left mouse button and drag across the grey column header bar, highlighting the columns you want to alter and
release the mouse button
2. Move the mouse pointer to the edge of one of the columns – it will now change to a double sided arrow
3. Click with the left mouse button and drag the column to the left or the right to alter the width
4. When you release the mouse button you will find that all the highlighted columns have been altered to the same width
Rows can be altered in the same way
Inserting a
Row or Column
Rows and columns can be inserted into a
spreadsheet.
Rows will be inserted above the selected row.
Columns will be inserted to the left of the selected column
1.
To insert a row at the top of the
spreadsheet, right click on the number 1
on the grey row bar. This will
select the whole row and a menu will appear
2. Select Insert from the drop down menu
A new row will be inserted at the top of the spreadsheet
To insert a column, right click on the letter at the top of the column, then select Insert from the drop down menu, a new column will be inserted to the left of the selected column.
Hide and
Unhide
Rows and columns can be hidden from view
1. Right click on the header of the row or column you want to hide.
2. Select hide from the drop down menu
3. To hide more than one row or column highlight them first then right clicking on one of them
4. To show the columns again, highlight the 2 columns either side of the hidden ones, right click, select unhide from the drop down menu.
Use the same procedure to unhide hidden rows
Changing
numbers to currency
Method 1
Highlight the numbers you want to change and click on the currency button on the toolbar at the top of the page. The numbers will now be converted to British
£’s
Method 2
Select
the whole column by clicking on the grey bar at the top of the column (i.e.
column B), the whole column will now be highlighted
Click
on the currency button.
All
the the numbers in that column will now convert to currency.
All
new numbers entered into this column will automatically be entered as currency.
When entering money make sure that you enter the value correctly. Twenty pence should be entered as a decimal ie 0.2 or 0.20. If you enter 20 this will become £20.00 when converted British currency
X Ö
Using other Currency
To use other currencies you will need to format the cells and select the alternative currency you wish to use.
1. Highlight the numbers you want to convert
2. Click on Format
3. Select Cell from the menu
4. Select Currency from the Category menu
5. Select the currency you want to use from the symbol menu
6. Click on OK
Using Formula
A formula is used to add, subtract, multiply and divide the contents of individual cells.
You can also calculate the total of a long column or row of numbers
All formulae start with the = symbol
Adding the contents of two cells
Example: The
total contents of cells A1 and B1
Click in cell where you want the total to appear and enter the formula =A1+B1
Subtracting the
contents of two cells
Example: Subtract the
contents of cell B2 from B3
Click in the cell where
you want the answer to appear and enter the formula =B3-B2
Multiplying the contents of 2 cells
Adding a row or column of cells – finding the sum
When you have a lot of cells to add together you could spend a lot of time working out a long formula to find the total
Example: Add together the contents of cells A1+A2+A3+A4+A5+A6+A7+A8
This formula could be =
A1+A2+A3+A4+A5+A6+A7+A8 but this would take
too long to enter
You are adding the contents of
cells A1 to A8
The correct formula for this would
be =sum(A1:A8)
Finding the average
This is similar to finding the sum
Example: Finding the
average of cells B1 to B9
The formula would be =average(B1:B9)
Quick method for entering formulae
This
can be used for quick addition, subtraction, multiplication or division when
you are familiar with using formulae in spreadsheets
Example: add the contents of cells A1 and B3
1. 
Click
in the cell you want to enter the formula and type =
2. 
Click
on the first cell you want to add, dotted lines will appear around it and it
name will appear in the formula bar and in the cell where the formula is being
entered
3. 
Enter
the function you want eg +
4. 
Click
in the second cell, the dotted line will now appear around this cell and its
name will also appear in the formula bar and the cell you are entering the
formula
5. Press the enter key on the keyboard. The calculation will now appear
By changing the function to - * or / you can subtract, multiply or divide using this method
AutoSum
AutoSum will calculate the formula for you. It is very quick to use but should only be used when you are familiar with using the formula yourself
Example: to add the contents of cells
A1 to A12
1. Click in the cell A13
2. Click on the AutoSum button on the menu bar,
3. The formula will appear in the cell and in the formula bar, press the enter key on the keyboard
The
answer will now be displayed
More AutoSum
AutoSum
works by adding the contents of the cells next to it in a row or column. It can also be used if you want the cell
containing the formula to be in a different part of the spreadsheet
1. Click in the cell you want to use to enter the formula
2. Click on the AutoSum button
3. 
The
formula will appear in the cell and in the formula bar =sum()
4. 
Use
the mouse to highlight the cells you want to add together – the dotted line
will appear around all the cells
5. The range of cells to be added will appear between the brackets in the active cell and in the formula bar
6. Press
enter
7. The calculation will appear
Using the
Drag Handle
The drag handle has many uses; it can be used to copy the contents of the cell down the column or across the row, transfer formulae or to make consecutive lists
1. 
When
a cell is active you will notice a black box around it, in the bottom right
hand corner of that box is a small black
square – this is the drag handle
2. When you move your mouse onto the drag handle it will change from a thick white cross to a thin black one
3. When the mouse pointer has changed to a thin black cross, hold down the left mouse button and drag the handle either down the column or across the row
Making a
column or row of consecutive numbers
This
can be repeated with any two numbers
Making a row
of consecutive numbers by copying a formula
2.
In
cell A2 enter this formula =A1+1
3.
Use
the drag handle to transfer the formula down the column
The formula entered into cell A2 will now be copied to all the highlighted cells.
The consecutive list will appear
As you use
the drag handle to transfer the formula down the column the formula will change
In cell A2 you entered the formula =A1+1
This will become =A2+1 in the cell below
In the next cell it will become =A3+1
This will continue to
change as you drag down the column
1.
To view the formula in any of the cells just click
on it and the formula will be displayed in the formula bar
Try this-
Change the number 1 in cell A1 to a 4 to make a new consecutive list i.e. 4,5,6,7,8 etc
or
Enter a 5 in cell
A1. Enter this formula into cell A2
=A1+5
Copy the formula down the column to cell A10
Making a
consecutive list of Data
1. Type the word Monday in a cell A1
2. Copy down the column or across the row by using the drag handle
3. This will produce a list of the days of the week
The consecutive lists you can use are days of the week and months of the year
You can even use the short version e.g. Mon or Jan and it will produce a consecutive list of the shortened names of the days of the week or months
You could type 1st or 1st March then copy down or across
Using the spreadsheet to produce a graph
7.
Select a
graph type from the menu and click on Next
9.
Enter
a title in the Chart title box
10. 
Label
the x-axis
11. 
Label the
y-axis
12. 
Click
on Next
The
graph will now appear as a new sheet in the Workbook
Editing
Charts
Charts
can be edited once they have been produced by a right click on the chart area (the white bit surrounding the chart)
A menu will appear
By selecting different options from the menu you can make lots of changes to your chart
Examples:
1. You can change the location of the chart by selecting Location form the menu. Select As an object in if you want the chart to appear in the spreadsheet next to your data
2.
You
can change your chart by selecting Chart
Options; you can add gridlines and data labels etc
3. Chart Type
Selecting this option from the drop down menu can change the chart type.
Select a new chart type from the dialogue box
Sorting Data in Ascending and Descending Order
1.
Enter a column of
figures
2.
Highlight the data
Click on
the Sort Ascending or Sort Descending button on the toolbar
The data
will now appear in ascending or descending numerical order
Text can
also be arranged in alphabetical order in the same way