Running Microsoft Office 2000

2017-07-07 02:10:07

Excel lets you enter the following types of information into a worksheet cell:

Numeric values, like the numbers 15,000, $29.95, and 33%

Text values, like the words Total, 1st Quarter, and 1820 Warren Avenue

Dates and times, like Feb-97, 11/19/63, or 1:00 PM

Comments to yourself or others, like This region leads in sales, or an appropriate recorded sound or voice message

Formulas, like =B5_*1.081 or =SUM(B3:B7)

Hyperlinks to Internet sites or other documents

Electronic artwork, like clip art, scanned photographs, maps, and illustrations

Each kind of information has its own formatting characteristics, meaning that Excel stores and displays each entry type differently. The following sections show you how to enter these values into a worksheet step by step.

CAUTION

When you use a slash to create a fraction in a numeric entry, be sure to include a leading zero (0) and a space if the fractional value is less than 1. If you don't, Excel interprets your fraction as a date. For example, Excel interprets the fraction 3/4 as the date March 4 unless you enter the fraction as 0 3/4. You'll learn more about date and time formatting in Chapter 17.

Entering Numeric Values

To enter a number in a cell, select the cell you want by using the mouse or keyboard, type the number, and press Enter. As you type, the number appears simultaneously in the active cell and on the formula bar above the worksheet. The formula bar serves as an editing scratch pad; if you make a mistake entering a long cell entry, you can click the formula bar and move the insertion point to locate the mistake in the entry and correct it, without having to retype the entry (and in so doing possibly making a new error). You can also double-click the active cell, and then move the insertion point within the cell to edit your entry. To the left of the formula bar is a Cancel button, which you can click to discard an unwanted entry on the formula bar (if you haven't already accepted the entry by pressing Enter), and an Enter button, which you can click to accept or lock in a revised entry. See Figure 15-4.

Figure 15-4. New values appear both on the formula bar and in the cell when you enter them.

A numeric value can be an integer (such as 32), a decimal number (such as 499.95), an integer fraction (such as 10 3/4), or a number in scientific notation (such as 4.09E+13). You can use several mathematical symbols in numbers, including plus (+), minus (-), percent (%), fraction (/), and exponent (E), as well as the dollar sign ($). If you enter a number that is too large to fit into a cell, Excel will automatically widen the cell to accommodate the number or adjust its display of the number by using scientific notation or by showing fewer decimal places. If Excel displays the number in scientific notation or places a row of number signs (#######) in the cell, you'll need to manually increase the column width to see the number in its entirety. (See "Changing Column Widths and Row Heights") Excel always stores the actual number you typed internally, no matter how it is displayed in the cell, and you can view this underlying value on the formula bar whenever the cell is active. By default (the preset arrangement), numeric values are aligned to the right edge of a cell.

Follow these steps to enter numeric values:

Select the cell in which you want to store the number. (You can click the cell with the mouse or use the keyboard to achieve this.)

Type the numeric value. (Notice how the number appears both in the cell and on the formula bar.)

Press Enter or select a new cell to enter the number.

TIP

Use Arrow Keys to Move from Cell to Cell

If you plan to enter additional numbers, you can use the arrow keys to enter a number and move to a new cell in one step. For instance, if you type a number and press the Down arrow key, the cell pointer moves down one line. The Left, Up, and Right arrow keys move the pointer one cell left, up, or right.

Entering Text Values

To enter a text value into a cell, select the cell, type your text, and press Enter. A text value or label can be any combination of alphanumeric characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Excel recognizes text values and aligns them to the left margin of each cell. If no information appears in adjacent cells, Excel allows longer text entries to overlap the cells on the right. If the adjacent cells do contain information, the display of the text is cut off, or truncated; however, just as with a truncated value, Excel correctly stores the full text internally, and you can see it on the formula bar when the cell is active.

Entering Dates and Times

If you want to store a date or a time in a worksheet cell, you should use one of Excel's predefined date and time formats to enter the value so that Excel will recognize the number as a chronological entity and you won't need to format it again by using the Cells command on the Format menu. Excel stores identifiable dates and times internally as serial numbers, which makes them easier to use in functions and formulas and allows you to change the way they appear in worksheet cells. (If you're interested, a serial number is determined by counting the number of days, starting with 1, between the date you enter in a cell and January 1, 1900. However, these numbers don't appear on your worksheet—they're just internal markers that allow you to perform calculations with dates and times and quickly change how they look.) As you'll learn in Chapter 17, Excel lets you change the format of times and dates with a few simple commands.

Format	Pattern	Example
Date	m/d/yy	10/1/99
Date	d-mmm-yy	1-Oct-99
Date	d-mmm	1-Oct
Date	mmm-yy	Oct-99
Date (four-digit year)	m/d/yyyy	10/1/1999
Date (four-digit year)	d-mmm-yyyy	1-Oct-2002
Time	h:mm AM/PM	10:15 PM
Time	h:mm:ss AM/PM	10:15:30 PM
Time	h:mm	22:15
Time	h:mm:ss	22:15:30
Time	mm:ss.0	15:30.3
Combined	m/d/yy h:mm	10/1/99 22:15

Entering Comments

If you plan to share your Excel worksheets with other users, you might want to annotate a few important cells by using comments to provide instructions or highlight critical information. You can add a pop-up comment to a cell by highlighting the cell and choosing Comment from the Insert menu. Choosing the Comment command displays a pop-up window that has a blinking pointer and your name in it, so you can type a short note in the cell. (See Figure 15-7.) When you're finished typing the comment, click another cell to lock in the note.

NOTE

To change the name that appears when you enter a comment, choose Options from the Tools menu, click the General tab, and change the name in the User Name text box.

Active comments are identified by tiny red dots in the upper right corner of a cell. To display a comment in a worksheet, hold the mouse pointer over the annotated cell until a pop-up comment box appears. Remember that because comments are cell annotations, they exist in addition to the other entries in cells—they don't replace them. To delete an existing comment, select the cell containing the comment in the worksheet, choose Clear from the Edit menu, and click Comments on the Clear submenu.

Figure 15-7. The Comment command allows you to add a descriptive note to a cell.

Managing Your Comments

You can view all the comments in your workbook by enabling the Comments command on the View menu. The Comments command is a toggle that is either off or on; when it is enabled, all the comments in your workbook appear in pop-up windows; when it is disabled, comments only appear when you hold the mouse over the cells in which they reside. The Comments command also activates the Reviewing toolbar, shown in Figure 15-8, which contains a number of useful command buttons. To edit an existing comment, click the Edit Comment button on the toolbar, or right-click the cell containing the comment that needs editing and choose Edit Comment from the shortcut menu.

Figure 15-8. The Reviewing toolbar helps you manage the comments in your workbook.

Remember that because comments are cell annotations, they exist in addition to the other entries in cells—they don't replace them. To delete an existing comment, select the cell containing the comment in the worksheet, choose Clear from the Edit menu, and click Comments on the Clear submenu.

Entering Formulas

To compute a calculation in a worksheet, you could find your pocket calculator and work the problem. Better yet, enter a formula into an Excel cell and have that formula available instantly, from any cell in your worksheet, for future calculations and modification. A formula is an equation that calculates a new value from existing values. For example, a simple formula could calculate the total cost of an item by adding its price, sales tax, and shipping costs. Formulas can contain numbers, mathematical operators, cell references, and built-in equations called functions. One of Excel's great strengths is its vast collection of powerful and easy-to-use functions. Entering a formula in a cell is the key to unlocking this potent ally.

Using Cell References in Formulas

Formulas can also contain worksheet cell references—cell names such as A1 or B5—so that you can include the contents of cells in formulas and combine them in any way you choose. You can use cell references along with numbers, mathematical operators, and built-in functions. To specify cell references in formulas, you can type in their names, highlight them individually using the mouse, or highlight them individually using the keyboard. (The procedures follow.) For example, to add the contents of cell B5 to the contents of cell C5, you would create the following formula:

=B5+C5

Figure 15-10 shows the results of such a calculation.

Figure 15-10. To use the contents of cells in a formula, include cell references in the equation.

Creating Cell References by Typing

Follow these steps to create a formula that includes cell references you type by hand:

Select the cell in which you want to place the formula.

Type an equal sign (=), and then type the formula you want to create. When it comes time to enter the cell references in your formula, type each cell name in column-first/row-next format. For example, to add cell B5 to cell C5, type =B5+C5.

Press Enter to store the formula. Excel calculates the result and displays it in the cell.

Creating Cell References by Using the Mouse

Follow these steps to create a formula that includes cell references you highlight with the mouse:

Select the cell in which you want to place the formula.

Type an equal sign (=) to start the formula. Click the first cell you want to place in the formula, and then type a mathematical operator. For example, click cell B5, and then press the plus (+) key to add B5+ to the formula bar. When you click the cell, a flashing border surrounds the cell, and its name appears on the formula bar. The border disappears when you type the operator.

Click the second cell you want to place in the formula. If the cell you want is not currently visible, use the scroll bars to locate it. If you want to include additional mathematical operators and cell names, you can add them now.

Press the Enter key to store the formula. Excel calculates the result and displays it in the cell.

Creating Cell References by Using Arrow Keys

Follow these steps to create a formula that includes cell references you highlight with the arrow keys (Right, Down, Up, Left) on the keyboard:

Select the cell in which you want to place the formula.

Type an equal sign (=) to start the formula. Use the arrow keys to highlight the first cell you want to include in the formula, and then type a mathematical operator. For example, highlight cell B5, and then press the plus (+) key to add B5+ to the formula bar. As you move the pointer around the worksheet, a flashing border surrounds the currently highlighted cell and its name appears in the formula bar.

Highlight the second cell that you want to place in the formula. If the cell you want is not currently visible, use arrow keys to locate it. (If you want to include additional mathematical operators and cell names, you can add them now.)

Press the Enter key to store the formula. Excel calculates the result and displays it in the cell.

Adding Artwork

After you enter your worksheet's basic facts and figures into Excel, you might want to spruce things up a bit by adding some electronic artwork such as clip art, scanned photographs, background images, organization charts, or hand-drawn illustrations. The basic mechanism for adding these items to worksheet cells is the same in all Office applications: click a command on the Picture submenu of the Insert menu.

Follow these steps to add a piece of electronic artwork to a worksheet:

Select the cell in which you want to place the artwork. (Allow some room in neighboring cells to accommodate the image.)

Point to the Picture command on the Insert menu.

Choose the artwork type you want to use from the Picture submenu. You'll see the following options:

Clip Art A picture gallery containing thousands of pieces of electronic art for presentations, reports, and brochures.

From File An Open dialog box that lets you locate preexisting artwork on your system.

AutoShapes A toolbar that lets you add arrows, lines, and other shapes.

Organization Chart A utility that helps you build corporate organization charts.

WordArt A wizard and toolbar that helps you build creative banners, headlines, and text elements.

From Scanner or Camera A utility that helps you insert scanned images and photographs into worksheet cells.

Move or resize the artwork as desired in the worksheet.

If you want to delete the image later, select the artwork object you inserted and press Delete.

TIP

If you're interested in geographic maps, you can also add a variety of map objects to your worksheet by using the Object command on the Insert menu and selecting the Microsoft Map object type on the Create New tab. You can customize these maps by adding regional information, labels, and data from your worksheet, to create reports that present the facts and figures in visually appealing ways.

Inserting a Background Graphic

If the worksheet you're creating will take center stage in a report or presentation, you might want to embellish it further by adding a subtle piece of artwork to the background. When you add background artwork, Excel places the image you specify behind (below) the current worksheet or chart. (The data in your worksheet cells will appear on top of the image.) If you specify a small pattern rather than a complete image, Excel automatically repeats, or tiles, the pattern to fill the entire worksheet or chart.

To add a bitmap, metafile, or other electronic image to the background of your worksheet, follow these steps:

Display the worksheet you want to customize by adding background artwork.

Choose Sheet from the Format menu, and then click Background on the Sheet submenu. The Sheet Background dialog box appears.

Browse the folders on your hard disk or network to locate the electronic artwork you want to display as a background graphic. When you find and select it, click the Insert button to insert the graphic. (You'll find several useful images in the Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Bitmaps\Styles folder, in the Windows folder, and in your clip art folders.)

TIP

Try to use simple, light-colored background images in your worksheets and charts so that the artwork doesn't overpower the text you're using for labels and numbers. Subtle, light gray images often work best.

Figure 15-11 shows what a piece of art named acsndstn.gif looks like as a background graphic in a worksheet. If you decide you don't want this image at some point, choose Delete Background from the Sheet submenu of the Format menu to remove it.

Figure 15-11. The Background command lets you add a background graphic to your worksheet or chart.