Excel With Microsoft Excel: A Comprehensive Guide

Ohh!! Have I triggered rows and columns in your mind by calling out the word “Excel”?? We all know excel is about rows and columns, but this excel skill can actually help you excel, do you know this??

For some people Excel might be just a matrix made for rows and columns and for some it is part of their life on which they depend.

In this blog, Learn to Excel with Microsoft Excel and know how it can become an essential part of your day-to-day life.

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How To Get Started With MS Excel

Before doing the practical it’s important to learn the theory first right?? In the same way before we enter the world of excel it’s important to understand it before using.

1. Excel Interface-  Excel’s workspace consists of a grid/matrix of cells, identified by a letter and number combination (e.g., A1, B2). The ribbon at the top houses various tabs with tools for formatting, data manipulation, and calculations. The Quick Access Toolbar provides shortcuts to frequently used functions.

2. Entering and Editing Data- Cells can hold text, numbers, dates, and even formulas. To enter data, simply click on a cell and type. Editing is a breeze; double-click the cell and make your changes. Utilize the Undo/Redo buttons (or keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+Z/Ctrl+Y) to navigate any missteps.

3. Formatting-  Formatting goes beyond aesthetics. Use bold, italics, and font sizes to make your data stand out. Explore alignment options (left, right, center) to create a clean and organized sheet. Borders and shading can further enhance readability and separate different sections of your data.

4. Navigation keys- 

• Arrow Keys: These are your basic directional controls for moving between cells.
• Home/End Keys: Jump to the beginning or end of a row/column.
• Page Up/Page Down Keys: Quickly scroll through large datasets.
• Freeze Panes: Lock specific rows or columns in place while scrolling, keeping important reference points visible.

Essential Excel Formulas for Everyday Use

Now that you have successfully completed your 1st step into the world of excel, let’s learn some formulas that you might have to use on a regular basis and will help you excel with Microsoft excel.

1. SUM- This function adds up a range of cells. Perfect for calculating totals, like sales figures or inventory levels. (e.g., =SUM(A1:A10))

Tip: SUM can handle text values that represent numbers. For example, if cell A1 contains “100” and cell A2 contains “200”, =SUM(A1:A2) will return 300.

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2. AVERAGE- Find the central tendency of your data set. Ideal for understanding typical values, like average monthly sales. (e.g., =AVERAGE(B2:B10))

3. COUNT & COUNTA- Count the number of entries in a range. COUNT includes all entries (numbers, text, etc.), while COUNTA excludes blank cells. (e.g., =COUNT(A1:A10), =COUNTA(A1:A10))

Using COUNT with Criteria- Want to count only cells that meet a specific condition?  Combine COUNT with logical operators (AND, OR) to filter your data. For example, =COUNTIF(C1:C10, “>50”) counts the number of cells in C1:C10 that have values greater than 50.

How to Level Up Your Excel Skill

Wow!! Another Milestone completed. Now it’s time to level up your excel skill and learn to excel with Microsoft excel. 

1. Conditional Formatting- Apply formatting rules based on specific conditions. Highlight cells that exceed a certain value, color-code product categories, and more. This functionality allows for quick visual identification of trends and outliers within your data set.

Steps-

• Select column for conditional formatting. 
• Go to the “Home” tab and click on “Conditional Formatting.”
• Choose “Highlight Cells Rules” and then “Less Than.”
• Enter the number of cells in the formatting value box.
• Select a desired formatting style (e.g., fill color red).
• Click “OK.” Now, any cell in a selected column with a value less than given value will automatically appear red, making it easy to spot low performers at a glance.

2. PivotTables & Charts- It allows you to analyze data from different perspectives, while charts visually represent trends and patterns. A pivot table lets you instantly see how different regions perform for each product category. Charts like bar graphs or line graphs can then visually represent those trends.

Steps-

• Select your data table.
• Go to the “Insert” tab and click on “PivotTable.”
• Choose where you want to place the pivot table.
• In the PivotTable Fields pane, drag “Product Category” to the “Rows” area and “Sales” to the “Values” area.
• You’ll see a pivot table summarizing total sales for each product category.
• To create a chart, click anywhere within the pivot table and go to the “Chart Design” tab. Choose a chart type (e.g., bar chart) to visualize your sales data by product category.

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3. VLOOKUP & HLOOKUP- Use VLOOKUP for vertical data searches and HLOOKUP for horizontal searches. Imagine a massive employee database with names, ID numbers, and department codes. VLOOKUP can instantly find the department code for a specific employee by looking up their ID number.

4. Data Validation- Enforce data integrity and prevent errors by setting limitations on what type of data can be entered into specific cells. This is particularly useful for drop-down menus or restricting data to numbers or dates.

Steps-

• Select the cell where you want to restrict data entry.
• Go to the “Data” tab and click on “Data Validation.”
• In the “Allow” dropdown, choose “List.”
• In the “Source” box, enter the list of valid categories separated by commas.
• Click “OK.” Now, when a user tries to enter data in a selected cell, they’ll only be able to choose from the predefined list of product categories.

Conclusion: Excel with Microsoft Excel

In this Blog, we have learned to excel with Microsoft Excel. From exploring its interface to learning about advanced Excel techniques we have gone through everything. 

If you want Learn more useful excel formulas you can go to the given link.