Excel 2010 Just the Steps For Dummies
Overview
Pick your Excel task, find it fast, and get it done with Just the Steps!
If you want to see how to do a particular Excel task, this is the perfect book. Each page includes step-by-step instruction in one column and illustrations and screenshots in the other column, so you have all the information you need in one place—no flipping pages!
Improve your Excel skills with just the steps for entering spreadsheet data, building formulas, protecting excel data, formatting cells, designing spreadsheets with graphics, managing workbooks, changing worksheet values, sorting and filtering data, creating charts, creating PivotTables, building macros, integrating Excel into other Office programs, and—whew!—still more.
- Explains essentials tasks for Excel 2010, the spreadsheet
application that is part of the Microsoft Office 2010 suite
Make your tasks easier, improve your Excel skills, and get better results with this step-by-step guide.
Read More
About The Author
Diane Koers owns and operates All Business Service, a software training and consulting business formed in 1988, that services the central Indiana area. Her area of expertise has long been in the word-processing, spreadsheet, and graphics areas of computing. She also provides training and support for Peachtree Accounting Software. Diane's authoring experience includes over 40 books on topics, such as PC security, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, WordPerfect, Paint Shop Pro, Lotus SmartSuite, Quicken, Microsoft Money, and Peachtree Accounting. Many of these titles have been translated into other languages, such as French, Dutch, Bulgarian, Spanish, and Greek. She has also developed and written numerous training manuals for her clients.
Diane and her husband enjoy spending their free time fishing, traveling, and playing with their four grandsons and their Yorkshire Terrier.
Sample Chapters
excel 2010 just the steps for dummies
CHEAT SHEET
View Cheat Sheet
View Cheat Sheet
HAVE THIS BOOK?
View Book Companion Site
Access practice tests
Additional Book Resources
Articles from
the book
In addition to performing a basic find and replace operation in Excel 2010, you can use advanced options (in the expanded Find and Replace dialog box) to carry out a more detailed search operation. For example, you can choose to display all found items within the dialog box, and you also can perform a search based on the cell formatting.
Excel
In Excel 2010, the worksheet consists of a grid of columns and rows that form cells. You enter three types of data in cells: labels, values, and formulas.
Labels (text) are descriptive pieces of information, such as names, months, or other identifying statistics, and they usually include alphabetic characters.
If your Excel 2010 table includes columns with dates or times, you can filter the table to display a subset of the data with the dates or times you specify. The rows that do not match the criteria you specify are hidden temporarily.
Excel 2010 tables automatically display filter arrows beside each of the column headings.
Excel 2010 provides several different formats in which to display dates and times in a worksheet. Some date formats appear automatically based on how you type a date entry in a cell. For example, if you type 9/10 in a cell, Excel interprets this as a date and changes the entry to 10-Sep (or whatever your default date format is).
You can add data labels to an Excel 2010 chart to help identify the values shown in each data point of the data series. Excel provides several options for the placement and formatting of data labels.
Use the following steps to add data labels to series in a chart:
Click anywhere on the chart that you want to modify.
In Excel 2010, you can instantly apply data visualizations to cells using data bars, color scales, and icon sets that help you understand data variations in your tables. Excel provides several options as thumbnails that you simply click to apply the visualization, but you also can specify your own rules with which to apply the visual formatting.
You can add titles to an Excel 2010 chart to help describe its purpose. By default, titles are not added when you create a basic chart, but you can add them later manually. In addition to a main chart title that is generally displayed above a chart, you can add descriptive titles to the x-axis (category axis) and the y-axis (value axis).
In Excel 2010, data tables display the chart values in a grid beneath the chart. They are helpful if you need to see exact values along with a graphical display, such as when using a 3-D chart. Also, they may be preferable to data labels, which can be difficult to read within some charts.Click anywhere on the chart you want to add a data table to.
Excel
In Excel 2010, you can change the horizontal and vertical alignment of cell data. By default, text is left-aligned, and values and dates are right-aligned. Use the buttons in the Alignment group of the Home tab to alter the alignment.
Values formatted as Accounting can only display as right-aligned. You can change alignment on all other formatting styles.
Excel
When you're working with multiple objects or shapes in Excel 2010, you may need to align the objects in certain ways to improve their appearance in the worksheet. Excel provides several alignment options through the Align menu on the Drawing Tools Format tab.
Follow these steps to align graphic objects in a worksheet:
Select the first object and then hold down the Ctrl key and select the other objects.
Text boxes in Excel 2010 are graphical boxes that you can use to add explanatory text or commentary to a worksheet or chart. Text boxes can be positioned wherever you like and can be formatted to match the chart or worksheet data that they accompany.
Inserting a text box
Follow these steps to insert a text box in a chart or worksheet:
On the Insert tab, click the Text Box button in the Text group.
Excel
Excel 2010's conditional formatting lets you change the appearance of a cell based on its value or another cell's value. You specify certain conditions, and when those conditions are met, Excel applies the formatting that you choose. You might use conditional formatting to locate dates that meet a certain criteria (such as falling on a Saturday or Sunday), to call out the highest or lowest values in a range, or to indicate values that fall under, over, or between specified amounts.
Excel
In Excel 2010, you can change any column widths or row heights in your worksheets to improve the readability and appearance of data. For example, if your worksheet contains many numbers, you can widen the columns to make the worksheet less cluttered. You should always widen columns that contain cells with truncated text entries or numbers that Excel shows as ######.
Excel
By default, Excel 2010 uses the 11-point Calibri font for cell entries, but you can change this to another font or font size of your choice for all new workbooks.
Changing the default font doesn't affect the fonts used in existing workbooks.
Click the File tab and then click Options.
The Excel Options dialog box appears.
Excel
Use the Format Painter button on the Home tab of the Excel 2010 Ribbon to save time when copying formatting between cells in your worksheets. You also can use Format Painter to quickly copy the width of one column to another column. Just select the heading of the first column, click the Format Painter button, and then click the heading of the column where you want to apply the column width.
Excel
Use the Custom AutoFilter dialog box in Excel 2010 to locate records that either match all criteria or meet one or the other criteria. You can use this method when you want to filter data based on a range of values (for example, you can filter for values that are greater than or equal to 1,000 in a specified column).
Excel
Use the Custom AutoFilter dialog box in Excel 2010 to locate records that either match all criteria or meet one or the other criteria. You can use this method for more flexibility when filtering text (for example, last names beginning with S rather than a specific cell entry such as Smith).
Excel 2010 tables automatically display filter arrows beside each of the column headings.
Excel
Although Excel 2010 provides standard header and footer text that you can select from drop-down menus, you also can create a custom header or footer. In addition to typical header or footer items such as the page number, filename, and date or time, you can insert and format a picture. Also, you can format the text in a header or footer just as you would any cell data.
If you’re working in Microsoft Excel 2010 and want to begin work in a new Excel workbook file, you can easily create a new workbook. To do so, you can use a command on the File tab or a keyboard shortcut.
Click the File tab.
Excel displays Backstage view, where you can access file-related commands.
Choose New.
Excel 2010 includes several options for enhancing 3-D charts, such as changing the rotation and perspective, and using 3-D options that format the chart border. These and other related options can be found on the 3-D Rotation and 3-D Format tabs of the Format Chart Area dialog box.
After yuo've created a three-dimensional chart, select it and then click the 3-D Rotation button in the Background group on the Chart Tools Layout tab.
If you’re working with a large table of data in Excel 2010, you can apply number filters to columns that contain values to temporarily hide unwanted values. Excel provides several options for filtering numeric data, including filtering for top or bottom values (using the Top 10 option) or filtering for values that are above or below the average in a column that contains numeric data.
Excel
Use the AutoFilter feature in Excel 2010 to hide everything in a table except the records you want to view. Filtering displays a subset of a table, providing you with an easy way to break down your data into smaller, more manageable chunks. Filtering does not rearrange your data; it simply temporarily hides rows that don't match the criteria you specify.
If you've applied color to fonts or cells in an Excel 2010 table, you can filter the table to display a subset of the data with the colors you specify. The rows that do not match the criteria you specify are hidden temporarily.
Excel 2010 tables automatically display filter arrows beside each of the column headings.
Excel 2010 includes several ways to format the fonts in your worksheets. You can change the font face, font size, and font color using the commands in the Font group on the Home tab.
You can make additional font-related changes by using the Font tab in the Format Cells dialog box. To access these settings, click the Font dialog box launcher (that little icon in the lower-right corner of the Font group on the Home tab).
After you create a SmartArt graphic in a worksheet, Excel 2010 provides many ways to format the graphic on the SmartArt Tools contextual tabs. For example, you can change the color scheme and style of the graphic, and you can make formatting changes to the individual shapes in the graphic.
Change the color scheme and style
To change the color scheme and style of the SmartArt graphic, follow these steps:
On the SmartArt Tools Design tab, click the Change Colors button in the SmartArt Styles group.
The Freeze Panes command in Excel 2010 lets you freeze portions of a worksheet, typically column and row headings, so that you can view distant parts of the worksheet while the headings remain in place. Freezing panes only affects the current worksheet. If you want to freeze other worksheets, you must select them individually and freeze them.
In Excel 2010, you can hide any worksheet in a workbook to remove it from view so that others cannot see the data it contains. You can unhide the worksheet at any time.
All formula references to a hidden worksheet are still valid even when a worksheet is hidden.Click anywhere on the worksheet that you want to hide.
Excel
You can hide and unhide rows or columns in Excel 2010 when you don’t want part of the worksheet to be visible or when you don’t want certain data (such as salary information) to appear in printed reports — hidden rows and columns do not print.
You cannot hide selected cells; only entire columns or rows.Select the column or row headings you want to hide.
In Excel 2010, use the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent buttons in the Alignment group on the Home tab to change the indentation of cell contents. This feature is commonly used to enhance the appearance of table data by indenting subordinate text.
Indenting cell data
Follow these steps to indent data in cells:
Select the cells containing text you want to indent.
Excel
You can insert a hyperlink in Excel 2010 that anyone can click to jump to a different cell in the current workbook. The hyperlink can appear in a worksheet cell, or it can be associated with a graphic object, such as a shape or clip art object.
Follow these steps to insert a hyperlink to another cell in a worksheet:Select a cell or graphic to which you want to attach a hyperlink.
Excel
You can insert a hyperlink in Excel 2010 that anyone can click to jump to Web sites or open other files. The hyperlink can appear in a worksheet cell, or it can be associated with a graphic object, such as a shape or clip art object.
Follow these steps to insert a hyperlink to a file or Web site in an Excel 2010 worksheet:Select the cell or graphic you want to attach a hyperlink to.
Excel
You can insert a "mailto" hyperlink in Excel 2010 that anyone can click to create an e-mail to a specific address. The hyperlink can appear in a worksheet cell, or it can be associated with a graphic object, such as a shape or clip art object.
Follow these steps to insert a link to send an e-mail in a worksheet:Select a cell or graphic to which you want to attach a hyperlink.
Use WordArt — stylized text objects — to add pizzazz and emphasis to headings and other text in your Excel 2010 worksheets. WordArt objects can be moved, resized, arranged, rotated, and formatted just like other graphic objects in Excel.
Follow these steps to create a WordArt object in a worksheet:
On the Insert tab, click the WordArt button in the Text group.
Assign a descriptive name to a cell or range in Excel 2010 to help make formulas in your worksheets much easier to understand and maintain. Range names make it easier for you to remember the purpose of a formula, rather than using obscure cell references.
For example, the formula =SUM(Qtr2Sales) is much more intuitive than =SUM(C5:C12).
The Ribbon interface in Microsoft Office Excel 2010 may seem tricky to navigate until you get used to how commands are organized. The File tab on the left side of the Ribbon provides access to commands related to file management, such as opening, saving, printing, sharing, and closing files.
Let’s take a tour of the Ribbon:Click the File tab in the Ribbon.
Excel
In Excel 2010, you can print gridlines or row numbers and column letters on the page. Printing gridlines and row and column headings results in a printout that closely resembles what you see on-screen. This feature is useful if you need to examine the cell references of printed data and then more easily make any necessary corrections in the worksheet.
Excel
You can use macros in Excel 2010 to save time by automating tasks that you perform frequently. A macro is a series of commands grouped together that you can run whenever you need to perform the task.
Although you can write your own complex macros in the Visual Basic programming language, the easiest method for creating many macros is to use the macro recorder.
Excel
In Excel 2010, you may want to reorder objects in a worksheet or group multiple objects together so that they act as one unit. Reorder objects if you want to move an object in front of or behind other objects. When you group objects, you combine them; therefore, any changes you make affect all objects in the group.
Use the Orientation button on the Home tab in Excel 2010 to rotate data in cells. You can rotate data clockwise, counterclockwise, or vertically. Use the Format Cells dialog box to set a more precise orientation by specifying the number of degrees to rotate the text.
To rotate cell data, follow these steps:
Select the cells you want to format.
Before you can enter your worksheet data in Microsoft Office Excel 2010, you must know how to select cells in a worksheet. The cell cursor is a black border that surrounds the active cell (sometimes called the current cell) in a worksheet.
The Name box at the left end of the Formula bar displays the cell address — the active cell location.
Excel
Excel 2010, like the Office versions before it, has a lare number of built-in keyboard shortcuts that let you choose any Excel command without removing your fingers from the keyboard. The most common Excel commands have always had Ctrl-key shortcuts (such as Ctrl+S to Save), and those shortcuts still work. But now you can use keyboard shortcuts to access uncommon Excel commands.
Excel
Security is an important issue when working with Excel 2010 macros. If you open workbooks containing macros from outside sources, these macros can be harmful to your computer. By default, Excel protects you from running macros, but if you're creating your own macros, you'll probably want to change the protective security settings.
If your Excel 2010 worksheet has become quite large, using the Sort dialog box to sort on multiple columns can make it easier to find the data you need. The Sort dialog box lets you tell Excel what column to sort on next if two cells in the main sort column contain the same value or data.
Although the most common sort is by rows, you can also sort by columns.
You may find data in Excel 2010 worksheets easier to view if it's sorted on a particular column, in ascending or descending order. Excel sorts in the following pattern: numbers, spaces, special characters (such as ! " # $ % & * ) and finally, alphabetic letters.
Sorting data in ascending order sorts text from A to Z; numeric information from low to high; and dates with the earliest date first.
Excel
Use the Convert Text to Columns Wizard in Excel 2010 when you need to split combined data into separate columns, such as a first name and last name; or city, state, and zip code. This type of combined data often results when you open or import files created in another application.If necessary, insert blank columns to the right of the cells you want to convert into multiple columns.
Excel
Excel 2010's Find and Replace feature can be a powerful tool. Use Find and Replace to search for — and optionally replace — text or values in a worksheet. You can narrow the search results by specifying formatting to look for as well as other search options, including Match Case.
Finding data
Follow these steps to locate data in a worksheet:
Choose Find & Select in the Editing group on the Home tab, and then select Find (or press Ctrl+F).
Excel
Use the Scale to Fit settings in Excel 2010 if you need to make a worksheet fit when you must get a few last rows or columns on a single page. You can use the Width, Height, and Scale options in the Scale to Fit group of the Page Layout tab to change these settings. These options are also available on the Page tab of the Page Setup dialog box.
Excel 2010 includes access to a thesaurus via the Research task pane if you need to find a word with a similar meaning to a word on your worksheet. Using the thesaurus is a simple process.Select the word you want to replace with another word.If multiple words appear in the cell, double-click the cell and then drag over the word you want to look up.
If you’ve created a number of range names in an Excel 2010 worksheet, you can use the Name Manager to work with these names. The Name Manager provides a list of all names assigned in the current workbook, and you can filter, modify, or delete them as needed. You also can use the Name Manager to create new range names.
Excel 2010 provides many tools that let you manipulate graphic objects in your worksheets. You can delete, move, resize, rotate, flip, and crop objects, for example. Cropping an image or picture allows you to remove unwanted portions of the picture.
Manipulating graphics
To manipulate graphic objects in the worksheet, follow these steps:
Select the object you want to modify by clicking it.
Excel
In Excel 2010, you can transpose worksheet data if you want to change the data structure so that the row headings appear as column headings, or vice versa. Excel 2010 provides the Transpose command in the Paste drop-down menu to simplify this procedure. Follow these steps to transpose data in Excel 2010:
Select the cells you want to transpose.
Excel
When working with macros in Excel 2010, you save and open workbooks in a new macro-enabled workbook format (.xlsm) that provides added security. When you create a macro, you must use a macro-enabled format to save your workbook or the macro won't be saved.
If you open a macro-enabled workbook, a Security Warning message states that the workbook contains macros.
In Excel 2010, you can use the Document Information Panel to add or change workbook properties such as the Author, Title, Keywords, Status, and Comments that relate to a specific workbook. Adding metadata such as this can help you to better identify and manage your workbook files.Click the File tab, and from the Info panel, choose Properties.
Excel
Use Excel 2010's AutoFill feature to quickly create a series of entries based on the data you enter in one or two cells. AutoFill works with days of the week, months of the year, and yearly quarters. If you want to use AutoFill for a series of numbers, enter two values in two adjacent cells, select both cells, and then use the AutoFill handle to drag through the remaining cells you want to fill.
With Excel 2010's advanced filtering methods, you can specify complex filtering criteria and designate a specific area of your worksheet to manage your criteria selections when filtering table data; for example, you can filter by date. Use the following directions to filter data that has been formatted as a table in Excel 2010.
You can add a cell comment — an electronic version of a sticky note — to any cell in an Excel 2010 worksheet. Comments allow those reviewing a worksheet to provide instruction, for example, noting how a complex formula works, entering thoughts, questions, and even specifics about the type of information that the end user should enter into the cells.
Load More Articles
Related Books
0:00
0:00
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6630d85d73068bc09c7c436c/69195ee32d5c606051d9f433_4.%20All%20For%20You.mp3
Frequently Asked Questions
No items found.
