Page 47 - Computer Basics- Student Textbook

Study Section 7: Basic Principles in Creating Spreadsheets

7.1 Connect

Word processing programs manage letters, words, sentences, paragraphs, and reports. But they don’t
do well with numbers. So, software engineers created programs they call spreadsheets to manage
numeric data. They are created in columns where the user can select which fields in the column can
be added or multiplied, and so forth. The user can create his own formulas or functions which will
perform an arithmetic function on various numbers specified. In a sense, the user can create a very
robust sheet that figures out about anything desired, as long as they are numbers.

Today we are going to start to learn about a program called Microsoft Excel. It comes with Microsoft Word in a
package deal, along with several other handy programs. The entire bundle of programs is called Microsoft Office.
You can purchase a license to download the bundle and use all the products on your computer. More recently,
Microsoft and several other industry leaders have changed their financial platform from selling licenses to a user to
renting the license for a monthly fee called a lease. Now, if you use a more recent version of Office, you never own
it. You lease it to use and you never stop paying for using it. You can still obtain previous versions of Office to own,
but it will not be long before the industry ceases to “sell” their programs; they all plan to move to a “forever” lease
as it brings in tremendous profits to the software supplier.

7.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to explain the purpose for a spreadsheet program.

2. The student should be able to setup a spreadsheet and format the various cells.

3. The student should be able to describe the various functions available in Excel and how to use them.

7.3 Using Excel. (portions taken from BGSU University Libraries)

Getting Started
Microsoft Excel is one of the most popular spreadsheet applications that helps you manage data,
create visually persuasive charts, and thought-provoking graphs. Excel is supported by both Mac and
PC platforms. Microsoft Excel can also be used to balance a checkbook, create an expense report,
build formulas, and edit them. There are numerous other spreadsheet programs, but Excel is the
granddaddy of them all.

Creating a New Document

Opening Microsoft Excel
To begin Microsoft Excel, Go to Applications > Microsoft Excel. When opened a Dialogue box on the screen,
showing you a few templates and blank Excel sheets (below). If this does not happen click File > New Workbook.

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