Getting started with Microsoft Excel

• To run Excel, click Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Excel.

The screen should look like this:

Creating, opening, and saving files

• To make a new document, click File > New, or click the [New] button on the toolbar.

• To open an existing document, click File > Open, or click the [Open] button on the toolbar, then browse for the file.

• To save a document, click File > Save, or click the [Save] button.  If you have not previously saved the file, you will need to give it a name.  Make sure you save it in a good place (i.e., in your P: drive or in the Save Here folder on the desktop) so that it is not deleted when the computer restarts.

Navigating the workspace

Excel’s workspace is based on a “lab book”, which can store multiple spreadsheets and graphs in a single file.  You can switch between pages in the book using the tabs at the bottom of the screen (‘Sheet1,’ ‘Sheet2,’ etc.).

Most of your work will be done on the spreadsheet, which is a document composed of data cells arranged in vertical columns and horizontal rows.

• You can change the height and width of rows and columns by mousing over the gray area along the edge of the spreadsheet, then clicking and dragging the edge of one of the rows or columns.