Category: <span>Cheat Sheets</span>

REMEMBER: EXCEL ISN”T AS SMART AS IT THINKS IT IS.

CHECK YOUR WORK

  • Excel Spreadsheet Files can consist of multiple Sheets/Worksheets (these are the ‘tabs’ at the bottom of the screen.
  • Every Cell can have a Formula or refer to another cell by adding an ‘=’ sign first. The formula can be seen & edited above the spread sheet when a cell is selected. Remember to hit ENTER when you are done editing a cell.
  • If you make a mistake in a cell, hit ESC. This will deselect the cell without the changes you had made.

  • UNDO gets you out of trouble. UNDO is CTRL-Z.
  • REDO is the opposite of UNDO. REDO is CTRL-Y. If you UNDO too many times, use REDO to get back to where you where.

  • Freeze the Top Row or Left-most Column by selecting it, then clicking VIEW Menu/Freeze Panes<row or column>
  • Split a spreadsheet for easier viewing by selecting a row or column, then clicking VIEW menu/Split. If you have a Cell selected, Split will split them both, giving you a ‘quad view’.

  • If a Cell contains a FUNCTION (i.e. SUM() , the function’s ‘arguments’ are enclosed within parenthesis, i.e. =SUM(a,b)
  • Parentheses are not necessary if the cell does not contain a FUNCTION, unless necessary because the math requires it, i.e. =(2+3)*(3+4)

  • A Cell’s ‘properties‘ can be edited by right-clicking on the cell. These include
    • Format (changing borders, background colors, text colors, type of text, font and text alignment, and text wrapping.
    • Many of these can be changed ALSO in the HOME menu at the top of the screen. This show a Ribbon with the many of the same items.

  • A NOTE can be added to a cell by right-clicking the cell, then selecting Add Note.

  • To DUPLICATE many rows or columns of a similiar function, select all the row(s) or column(s), CTRL-C (copy), then past the new rows or columns where you want and hit CTRL-V (PASTE). This will duplicate the rows or columns and ‘ripple’ the formulas in the cells accordingly.

  • Don’t forget to SAVE the spreadsheet when you’re done. Save with a number on the end of the name to save a new one and not delete your old spreadsheet.

Cheat Sheets