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Introduction

Congratulations! You're using Microsoft Excel 2003, an exciting spreadsheet program. With its tie-in to the Web and other Microsoft Office programs, Excel is fun to use. Excel is the most popular spreadsheet program on the market, so you have lots of company. Excel 2003 is designed to work the way you do. After you've worked with its intuitive features and exciting graphics, Excel will probably become your favorite software program. If you're a new Excel user or have worked with previous versions of Excel or another spreadsheet program, Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Office Excel 2003 in 24 Hours is the best book you can buy. The lessons avoid computer jargon, and are designed for both the home and office user. In fact, because so many Excel users work on Excel in the office, issues relating to computer networks and work groups are identified and discussed.

This book is divided into 24 segments, and each one takes roughly an hour to complete. You can work through the lessons in the space of a day (if you don't plan to eat or sleep), or you can take your time and work through the lessons an hour at a time.

At the end of each hour, you'll be able to carry out a new set of tasks . The lessons contain clear explanations of the program features and how they work. In addition, each hour includes To Do exercises that are designed as tutorials. In general, the To Do steps reinforce previously explained concepts. On occasion, however, To Do exercises introduce a new concept and enable you to work with it first hand.

Conventions Used in This Book

Features used in this book include the following:

Notes provide comments and asides about the topic at hand.

Tips offer shortcuts and hints on getting the task done.

Cautions explain roadblocks you might encounter in Excel and tell you how to avoid them.

New terms are introduced in the text and explained below.

At the end of each hour, a question-and-answer section focuses on real-life concerns about the material covered in the hour .

Part I: Excel Basics

Hour

1 Getting Started

2 Entering Data

3 Organizing Your Files

4 Managing Your Files and Workbooks

5 Letting Excel Do the Math

6 Using Excel Templates

7 Printing Your Workbook

Hour 1. Getting Started

The highlights of this hour include the following:

What Excel can do for you
How to start Excel
How to use Excel's toolbars , menus , and dialog boxes
Where to find online help
The best ways to navigate Excel
How to exit Excel

In this hour, you'll start and exit Excel, get a tour of the Excel screen, examine Excel's components such as the toolbars, menus, dialog boxes, and task panes, explore online help, and navigate a workbook and worksheet.

What Is Excel?

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that's designed to record and analyze numbers and data. Excel takes the place of a calculator, a ruled ledger pad, pencils and pens, and a green eyeshade. The program makes it easy for you to juggle numbers , formulas, and text. Excel's advanced publishing tools enable you to present your work in a polished, professional-looking format.

Spreadsheet program ” A computer program used primarily for accounting and financial purposes. Data in spreadsheet programs is organized by rows and columns .

No job is too large or small for Excel. You can use the program to add a column of numbers or to create a complex budget or sales model for your company. You can create exciting charts . You can set up a modeling program and play "what if?" using various forecasting scenarios. You can also use Excel as a database program and create a standard form to collect and record data.

Excel's collaborative features make it a great program on which colleagues can work together. You can work with your co-workers , located across the floor or across the world, to develop and design a budget or analysis of profits. You can even save your work as a Web page and publish it to the Web for others to view. With the Web as a backdrop, people who have never worked with Excel can contribute to the design and development of a file.

Use Excel anytime you want to work with numbers. Like any other software, you need to have some idea of what you expect before you begin. Do you want to create a complex analysis or simply total a row of numbers? The data you record needs to be accurate; the old saying "garbage in, garbage out" definitely applies. For example, if you're using Excel to keep track of your checking account balance and you enter an incorrect amount for a check you've written, you'll probably soon be hearing from the bank!

Store Your Data in Workbooks

The files you create in Excel are called workbooks . In turn , your workbook consists of individual worksheets . A workbook can contain one or multiple worksheets. Worksheets can relate to other worksheets, or they can be independent entities. Within each worksheet, you can enter text and numbers, perform calculations, organize data, and more.

Worksheet ” The place where you enter your data.

Figure 1.1 shows a workbook that contains three worksheets. In the example, the first worksheet contains detailed product sales information.