1.1 Overview of Microsoft Excel
Learning Objectives
- Examine the value of using Excel to make decisions.
- Learn how to start Excel.
- Become familiar with the Excel workbook.
- Understand how to navigate worksheets.
- Examine the Excel Ribbon.
- Examine the right-click menu options.
- Learn how to save workbooks.
- Examine the Status Bar.
- Become familiar with the features in the Excel Help window.
Microsoft® Office contains a variety of tools that help people accomplish many personal and professional objectives. Microsoft Excel is perhaps the most versatile and widely used of all the Office applications. No matter which career path you choose, you will likely need to use Excel to accomplish your professional objectives, some of which may occur daily. This chapter provides an overview of the Excel application along with an orientation for accessing the commands and features of an Excel workbook.
Making Decisions with Excel
Taking a very simple view, Excel is a tool that allows you to enter quantitative data into an electronic spreadsheet to apply one or many mathematical computations. These computations ultimately convert that quantitative data into information. The information produced in Excel can be used to make decisions in both professional and personal contexts. For example, employees can use Excel to determine how much inventory to buy for a clothing retailer, how much medication to administer to a patient, or how much money to spend to stay within a budget. With respect to personal decisions, you can use Excel to determine how much money you can spend on a house, how much you can spend on car lease payments, or how much you need to save to reach your retirement goals. We will demonstrate how you can use Excel to make these decisions and many more throughout this text.
Figure 1.1 shows a completed Excel worksheet that will be constructed in this chapter. The information shown in this worksheet contains sales data for a hypothetical merchandise retail company. The worksheet data can help a retailer analyze the business and determine the number of salespeople needed for each month for example.
Starting Excel
- Locate Excel on your computer.
- Click Microsoft Excel to launch the Excel application where you are presented with workbook options to help get you started.
- Click the first option; “Blank Workbook”.
Excel for Windows vs Excel for Mac
The Excel for Windows and Excel for Mac software versions are very similar. Most of the features, tools and commands are available in both versions. There are, however, some differences with the Excel interface. There are also a few features that are not available in the Excel for Mac version. The screenshots and step-by-step instructions in this textbook are specific to Excel for Windows. We have attempted to provide alternate screenshots and instructions for the Mac version when the differences are significant. When you see this icon , it means we are providing information specific to Mac users.
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