Excel Basic – Welcome to the World of Microsoft Excel!

So, you’ve decided that it’s time to master Excel. Congratulations! Before diving into Excel functions and tools, let’s first cover the basics. Ready to begin? Let’s start our magical journey in Excel! 🙂

A Quick Introduction to Excel Basic

Excel is the world’s most popular spreadsheet software, developed by Microsoft. It debuted on September 30, 1985, and has evolved ever since to meet the growing needs of the spreadsheet community.

While most Excel versions require installation on your computer, Excel can now be used online via Excel Online!. The best part? Excel Online is completely free!

This website uses Excel Online to help you learn and practice Excel without needing to install it. Thanks, Microsoft! 😊

Now, let’s stop talking and start practicing!

Typing in Excel

While Excel is known for its powerful calculations, it can also be used to type regular text, just like Word or any other software.

To get started, simply select a cell and start typing. Try typing your name, your favorite pet, favorite movie, or even your lucky number! Once you’re done, hit the “Enter” key to exit the cell editing mode.

As you can see, you can type both text and numbers in Excel. Did you notice that certain parts of the sheet changed after typing your details? This is done using Excel formulas, which we will dive into in upcoming tutorials.

How Does Excel Work?

Let’s go over some basic Excel concepts:

Excel Cell
Excel Range
Excel Worksheet
Excel Workbook

1. Excel Cell

An Excel Cell is the smallest unit in Excel and is used to store data.

Excel is made up of rows and columns. Rows are represented by numbers, while columns are represented by letters.

To reference a specific cell in Excel, you use the format of the column letter followed by the row number. For example, “A1” refers to the first cell in the first column (A) and the first row (1):

Practice: Type your First Name in cell C3 and your Last Name in cell C4.

2. Excel Range

An Excel Range consists of two or more adjacent cells. These cells can be in the same row, column, or span multiple rows and columns.

A range is represented by the top-left cell and the bottom-right cell, separated by a colon. For example, Range A3:E7 includes the following cells:

Practice: Try selecting your own Excel ranges and get comfortable with this important feature.

3. Excel Worksheet

An Excel Worksheet is a grid made up of rows and columns. The default Excel Worksheet contains 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns. This vast space allows for handling a significant amount of data.

Example: Multiple Worksheets in Excel

In Excel, we can have multiple worksheets within a single workbook. Below is an example with four different worksheets:

Tip: Quickly navigate between worksheets by using the shortcut Ctrl+Page Up or Ctrl+Page Down.

4. Excel Workbook

An Excel file is also known as an Excel Workbook, and it contains one or more worksheets. The default Excel file type has the .xlsx extension.

You can also use data from one worksheet in another worksheet within the same workbook, or even link data across different workbooks.

Basic Calculations with Excel

Now that we have a basic understanding of Excel worksheets and workbooks, let’s dive into the fun part – calculations!

To perform calculations in Excel, simply type an equals sign = followed by your calculation.

Here are some of the basic operators you can use:

+ (Add)
- (Subtract)
/ (Divide)
* (Multiply)
^ (Power)

Example: Simple Addition (2 + 2)

Type =2+2 in a cell, and you’ll get the result:

Ok, now let’s practice!

Cell References

Once you know how to perform basic calculations, you can make your calculations much quicker and dynamic by using cell references.

A cell reference points to the data in another cell. Instead of typing numbers manually, reference the cells containing the numbers.

Example of Using Cell References:

In the image below, you can see how changing the data in the referenced cell automatically updates the calculation result in the other cell.

Ok, now let’s practice!

Reusing Cell References & Using Partial and Absolute References

One of the biggest advantages of using cell references in Excel is that you can reuse them in adjacent cells by copying and pasting or dragging the formula.

Example: Reusing Cell References

Absolute References

If you don’t want the reference to move when you copy the formula to other cells, you can use an absolute reference. This is done by pressing F4 after selecting the cell or manually adding dollar signs ($) in front of the row and column references.

Example: Using Absolute Reference

Partial References

You may sometimes prefer using partial references instead of absolute references. This means fixing only part of the cell reference, either the row or the column.

Press F4 to toggle between relative, absolute, and partial references.

Example: Multiplication Table Using a Formula

Here’s how you can use references to create a multiplication table with just one formula.

Now you are ready to continue your Excel journey! Keep practicing, and soon you’ll master Excel functions and formulas. Good luck! 🙂