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Basics of Excel

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Importance of Microsoft Excel for Students

Students should know how to convert raw data into meaningful information, and how to perform calculations faster, how data can be visualized and how to do financial planning. All of this can be achieved by Excel.

 

Microsoft Office and its components, such as MS PowerPoint, MS Word, and MS Excel, must be familiar to all. Excel is significant not just for the school but also for all corporate offices and Industries. A crucial role in terms of data administration, storage, and the display is the work of such software.

 

MS Excel: An inseparable part of MS Office

It is not only about Excel; all software has a purpose. For example, PowerPoint is used to create presentations for meetings, but Word is used to write blogs, articles, and other relevant information based on the user’s needs. However, in this blog, we will be focusing on Excel’s basics as its use is increasing day by day. So let us start: 

Pro tips and tricks for using PowerPoint

 

What is MS Excel?

 

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet tool that is part of the Microsoft Office suite. Spreadsheets are rows and columns of numbers that may be changed numerically using simple, advanced arithmetic operations and functions. It was the definition of MS Excel, but before preceding any further, let us discuss why it is of such much use.

 

Use of MS Excel

 

  • Grids comprising text, numbers, and formulas detailing computations are one use of MS Excel. It allows users to track expenses and income, set budgets, chart data, and report financial outcomes effectively.
  • Workers regularly mail Excel spreadsheets and electronically share them to trade data and do different computations, and it has become an accepted standard in the corporate sector.
  • It gets easy to tackle complicated mathematical problems in a less time-consuming manner using this brilliant software. MS Excel has a wide range of formulae that are useful to do several operations on a massive quantity of data at once, such as computing the sum, average, and so on. As a result, while solving complicated mathematical issues, individuals turn to Microsoft Excel.
  • Excel files may be secured using MS Excel, allowing users to keep their data safe. Through basic coding or straight inside the excel sheet, all MS Excel files can support encryption. People maintain their vital data in MS Excel so that they may keep it structured and save time.
  • A user can access this software from anywhere and at any time, using any device. It allows a user to work more effortlessly, which implies that if he doesn’t have a workstation, the option for his phone to do tasks quickly and effortlessly is also available.

 

This was a general overview of the uses of MS Excel. There are many more uses that are helpful for advanced operations on this software. For basics, the above-stated points are enough and let us now discuss two of the terms of MS Excel.

 

  • Formulas: A formula is an expression that works with values in a cell or a group of cells, also known as Cell Range. For example, O1-O2 finds the value of the difference of digits present in both these cells.
  • Functions: In Excel, functions are pre-set formulae. They reduce the time-consuming process of manually entering them. =SUM (O1:O3), computes the sum of all values from O1 to O3. Users can solve it manually by entering O1+O2+O3, but this is time-consuming if they have more cells.

 

In the later parts of this blog, we will learn some formulas, but before that, understand some basics.

 

  • Workbook: Your Excel file refer to as a workbook. To start a new Excel workbook, select Blank workbook when you first open the program.
  • Worksheets: A worksheet is a set of cells in which you may store and edit data. Users can include Multiple worksheets in an Excel workbook.
  • Cell Formatting: We modify the look of a figure without affecting the number itself when we format cells in Excel.
  • Protect: Create a password-protected Excel file that requires a password to open.

 

These were some of the basics of Excel. Now understand some functions:

 

  • Sum: The addition of Values from a selection of columns or rows takes place using this formula. =SUM (number1, [number2]). You can choose the range according to your choice using this formula.
  • Average: Simple average of data, such as the average number of shareholders in a shareholding pool, should come to mind when using the AVERAGE function. = AVERAGE (number1, [number2], …).
  • MAX and MIN: The MAX and MIN functions assist in determining the maximum and minimum values within a range of values. =MIN (number1, [number2], …).
  • POWER: The “Power ()” method returns the result of raising an integer to a given power, and we can explain it with an example, = POWER (A2,3) will help to find the 3rd power of integer stored in A2 cell.
  • COUNT: COUNT () calculates the total number of cells in a range containing a number. It excludes the blank cells and those that have data in any other format than numeric.
  • MODULUS: When a given integer divides by a divisor, the MOD () function returns the residual.

 

Key Takeaways 

We have learned about basic terminologies of Excel, definitions, and some of the formulae. Excel is a spreadsheet program that is useful to organize, filter and visualize enormous quantities of data. Hence many functions like data entry are performed.


Also published on Medium.

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