Workbook and Worksheet Navigation Tools


Before continuing learning how to enter numeric values and formulas, it will benefit you to learn to break your workbook into separate worksheets. Individual worksheets make good sense. They allow you to organize your data on separate sheets. The workbook in Figure 44.7 is a good example; the first worksheet holds the total vacation days and total sick days for each employee, and each monthly worksheet tracks the time by days and hours.

Figure 44.7. Multiple worksheets inside a single workbook enable you to organize data better.

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You can add or delete as many worksheets to a workbook file as you want. By default, Excel names the sheets with a number. The name is displayed on the worksheet's tab. Most times, the names Sheet 1 , Sheet 2 , and so on aren't descriptive of the sheet's purpose; you can easily change the sheet names to be more descriptive.

Moving around a large workbook requires a few simple navigational skills. Clicking a worksheet's tab brings that worksheet to the front of the screen and makes it active. If your workbook contains many sheets or the sheet names are long, it's hard to see all the tabs.

Each workbook file is set up with worksheet scroll arrow buttons, located at the far end of the horizontal scrollbar. The arrow buttons always appear, no matter which worksheet you're working in. Use the arrow buttons to scroll through the individual sheet names. When the sheet name you want appears, click its tab to make the sheet active.

In the following steps, you add worksheets to your My Budget workbook. You also learn how to rename a worksheet. You also copy data from one worksheet to another, using a range name. Make sure the My Budget workbook file is open and visible on the screen before you begin.

  1. Double-click the first tab of the My Budget workbook that currently reads Sheet 1 . The name is highlighted.

  2. Type Summary and press Enter. The new name now appears on the worksheet tab.

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    Although worksheet names can contain up to 256 characters , keep the names descriptive, short, and simple. Short names are easier to read as you scroll through the worksheets. Additionally, formulas that reference a cell in a worksheet are easier to construct and edit if the name is short.


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    You can rename a worksheet from a shortcut menu. Right-click the tab you want to rename and choose Rename from the shortcut menu. Type the new name and press Enter.


  3. Add a new worksheet by clicking the worksheet tab that's before the position in which you want to insert the new sheet. In this case, click the tab that reads Sheet 3.

  4. Click the Insert menu and choose Worksheet. Excel inserts a new tab with a default name. Double-click the tab of the new worksheet and type Detail .

  5. The second worksheet is not needed in the current workbook. Right-click the tab that reads Sheet 2 and choose Delete. A box appears to ask you to confirm the deletion. Click OK.

  6. Click the Summary tab to make that worksheet active. When the Summary worksheet appears on the screen, select the cells that contain the names of the months ( cells B3 through M3) by dragging the mouse across them.

  7. When the cells appear highlighted, click the Copy button on the Standard toolbar.

  8. Click the Details tab and click cell B3 in the Details worksheet.

  9. Click the Paste button on the Standard toolbar. The month labels now appear on both the Details worksheet and the Summary Sheet.

  10. Save the My Budget worksheet by clicking the Save button on the Standard toolbar.



Sams Teach Yourself Office Productivity All in One
Sams Teach Yourself Office Productivity All in One (Sams Teach Yourself All in One)
ISBN: 0672325349
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 474
Authors: Greg Perry

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