Jan's Working with Numbers

    Excel Basics: Summary

There are many choices for you to consider when setting up Excel to work in a way that is convenient for you. Options for the way Excel behaves are found on the Excel Options dialog. The Region and Language section of the Control Panel for WinXP, Vista, and Windows 7 controls the measurement system, default currency, and format for dates and time. 

Cell contents can be edited on the Formula bar, or, if you double-click the cell, in the cell itself. Column Width and Row Height have default sizes but can be AutoFit to the cell contents or sized by dragging the boundary between two columns or rows or with a dialog.

AutoFill can copy cell contents to other cells or will extend a pattern, even for formulas. An absolute reference is needed to keep a cell reference fixed when copying it to another cell.  AutoSum makes helpful suggestions for creating totals. If AutoSum guesses wrong, you can drag across the cells you really want to add to change the formula.

The Sort dialog lets you do a many-level sort. You can even use a Custom List if you don't want the data in alphabetical or numerical order.

The ribbon buttons make it easy to create or edit a chart.

Excel will print the whole sheet or just a selection or certain pages. By setting a Print Area you can keep part of the sheet from printing at all. You manage the look of the printed page with the choices on the Margins and Sheet tabs of the Page Setup dialog.