EXCEL INTRODUCTION

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 Excel MODULE 2

(Manual – Version 5)

Page 2 of 12
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FORMULAS ........................................................................................................................ 4
HOW FORMULAS WORK ............................................................................................... 4
ORDER OF PRECEDENCE ............................................................................................ 5
ENTERING FORMULAS USING POINT AND CLICK ...................................................... 6
DISPLAYING FORMULAS IN THE WORKSHEET .......................................................... 7
USING AUTOSUM........................................................................................................... 7
USING THE AUTOSUM ICON FOR OTHER CALCULATIONS ....................................... 8
RELATIVE VS ABSOLUTE REFERENCES ..................................................................... 9
MOVING AND COPYING FORMULAS .......................................................................... 10
TO MOVE A FORMULA ................................................................................................. 11
EXCEL KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS.................................................................................. 12

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MODULE 2 EXCEL COURSE NOTES

FORMULAS

HOW FORMULAS WORK

Using formulas can help you analyse data on a worksheet. With a formula you can perform
operations such as addition, multiplication, division and subtraction. You need to use a
formula when you want to enter calculated values on a worksheet.

A simple formula combines cell contents and the mathematical operators, i.e. plus sign or
minus sign, in a cell to produce a new value from existing values. Excel does perform
mathematical calculations by using numbers in the worksheet, but it is better to use cell
references. It uses the contents of cells that will be numbers. This means that if the actual
number in a cell changes, the calculation is still correct, as any calculations using the cell
contents will automatically use the changed number.

Formulas appear in the formula bar when they are being entered and begin with an = sign.
The = sign tells the computer that what follows is a calculation and not just text.

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication And Division

You use operators to specify the operation, such as addition, subtraction or multiplication,
to perform a formula.

+ Addition

- Subtraction

/ Division

* Multiplication

% Percent

^ Exponential

These operators can be used in any mathematical calculation. A simple example of adding
cell contents would be as follows:

The formula in the formula bar would appear as follows =B3+C3 and the figure that would
result in D3 would be 49. If any of the original cell contents were to change for example, B3
changes to 27, the figure in F5 would now be 48. The same applies to all other
mathematical operators.

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MODULE 2 EXCEL COURSE NOTES

ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

The term precedence refers to the order in which Excel performs calculations in a formula.
Excel follows these rules:

1. Calculations in brackets are performed first.

2. Multiplication and Division are calculated before addition and subtraction.
3. Similar calculations are performed from left to right in the formula.

Example:

6 +12 / 6 = ?

If this was calculated from left to right the answer would be:

6 + 12 = 18 …… 18 / 6 = 3

But taking into account the order of precedence the division would be done first, so the
answer is:

12 / 6 = 2 …… 6 + 2 = 8

As you can see if you forget to take the order of precedence into account the answer will
be unpredictable.

In order to get the first answer we would use brackets, so the formula entered would have
to be:

= ( 6 + 12 ) / 6

Which would then give us the answer of 3.

BODMAS

BODMAS is an explanation to the steps of the order of precedence.

Brackets
Over
Division
Multipication
Addition
Subtraction

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MODULE 2 EXCEL COURSE NOTES

COMPARISON OPERATORS

Comparison Operators compare two values and produce the logical value TRUE or
FALSE.

= Equal

> Greater Than

< Less than

>= Greater than or equal to

<= Less than or equal to

<> Not equal to

For example the formula, =A1<25 produces the logical value TRUE if cell A1 contains
values less than 25, otherwise the formula produces the logical value FALSE.

ENTERING FORMULAS USING POINT AND CLICK

When using formulas it is easy to type in the wrong cell reference, this could be because
you hit the wrong key on the keyboard or misread the cell to be taken into consideration
when writing the formula. To narrow down the chances of making errors within formulas
you can use the point and click method.

1. Select the cell where you want the formula.

2. Type an equal sign (=).

3. Click on the first cell in the formula.

4. Type the operator required (e.g. + - * /).

5. Click on second cell in the formula.

6. Click the enter box or press Enter.

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MODULE 2 EXCEL COURSE NOTES

DISPLAYING FORMULAS IN THE WORKSHEET

A cell containing a formula normally displays the formula result value on the worksheet.
When you select a cell containing a formula, the formula is always displayed in the formula
bar. You can also set up the worksheet to display formulas instead of resulting values.

1. Press Ctrl + `, (left single quotation mark - to the left of the 1 key).

2. The formulas will be displayed throughout the spreadsheet.

3. To hide the formulas within the spreadsheet and return back to the values
being displayed, again, press Ctrl +` (left single quotation mark – to the left of
the 1 key)

USING AUTOSUM

AutoSum is technically a function however it is used often in basic calculations. It is the

most frequently used of all worksheet functions. Complex/Long formulas are made more
concise using AutoSum. The AutoSum Icon is as follows:

When you use AutoSum Excel types the calculation for you and even suggests the range
of cells you want to add.

To enter a sum formula:

1. Select a cell adjacent to a row or column of numbers you want to add.

2. Click the AutoSum button which can be located on the Formula tab of the ribbon
bar in the Function Library group.

3. Excel enters an equals sign and a SUM function, suggesting the range to sum.

e.g. =SUM(A3:A7)

4. Press Enter and the range will be summed automatically.

N.B. If the suggested range is incorrect, you can override this by selecting another range,
then pressing Enter.

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MODULE 2 EXCEL COURSE NOTES

USING THE AUTOSUM ICON FOR OTHER CALCULATIONS

In previous versions of Excel the AutoSum feature would only sum a range. Now there is a
drop down arrow that has been added to the icon which will now enable you to perform
other basic calculations using the AutoSum feature:

1. Select a cell adjacent to a row or column of numbers you want to calculate on.

2. Click the drop down arrow next to the AutoSum icon to produce the following sub
menu:

3. Click on the type of function required. Excel enters an equals sign followed by the
function name and suggests the range to calculate on.

4. e.g. =AVERAGE(A3:A7)

5. Press Enter and the range will be calculated automatically.

N.B. If the suggested range is incorrect, you can override this by selecting another range,
then pressing Enter.

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RELATIVE VS ABSOLUTE REFERENCES

When you ask for directions to the pub and the person replies by saying "Go up the street
and turn left at the top", they are giving you directions relative to your position. From any
other position those directions would be misleading.

If the person were to reply by saying "It's at No 6 Derngate, Northampton", then no matter
where we are the destination would be valid. This is an absolute location regardless of our
position.

Use a relative reference if you want to refer to cells relative to the cell containing the
formula. Otherwise use an absolute reference to refer to the same cell regardless of where
the formula is located in the worksheet. The difference will be most notable when you copy
a formula.

By default a cell reference will initially be relative, for example if we have the formula
=b1+b2 in cell b3 and copied that formula to cell a3 the formula would change relative to its
new position, to =a1+a2. If we want an absolute reference we must change it.

1. Select the cell containing the formula.

2. Select the cell reference in the formula bar, which needs to be made absolute.

3. Add a $ sign before the column reference as well as before the row reference,
for example $A$1.

4. Click the enter box or press Enter.

SHORTCUT

1. As steps 1 & 2 above.

2. Press F4.

3. Click the enter box or press Enter.

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MOVING AND COPYING FORMULAS

Formulas can be copied and moved.

Copying Formulas has an effect on relative and absolute references. Relative references
will automatically adjust in the area where you paste the copied cells. Absolute references
will remain referring to the original cells.

TO COPY A FORMULA:

1. Click in the cell containing the formula.

2. Click the Home tab.

3. Select the Copy button.

4. Point and Click in the cell you want to copy the formula to.

5. Click the Paste button.

The alternative method is to use the fill handle.

1. Select the cell that contains the formula.

2. Move the cursor over the bottom right corner until it changes to a hair-line cross.

3. Click and drag to copy the formula to adjacent cells.

Moving Cells has a different effect on relative and absolute references. When you move
cells, the values and the references they contain never change, regardless of whether they
are relative or absolute.

Excel automatically adjusts all references to cells that are moved so that the references
use the same cells even though they are in a new location.

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MODULE 2 EXCEL COURSE NOTES

TO MOVE A FORMULA

1. Click in the cell containing the formula.

2. Click the Home tab.

3. Select the Cut button.

4. Point and Click in the cell you want to move the formula to.

5. Click the Paste button.

The alternative method is to use the border.

1. Select the cell that contains the formula.

2. Move the cursor over the border until it changes to a four headed arrow.

3. Click and drag to move the formula to a different cell.

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MODULE 2 EXCEL COURSE NOTES

EXCEL KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Shortcut Key Action
Ctrl Home or End Jump to cell A1 or last populated cell on sheet
END, arrow key Move by one block of data in row or column
Ctrl + Enter Fill the selected range with the current entry
Ctrl Shift ~ Apply the default format
Ctrl C Copy
Ctrl X Cut
Ctrl V Paste
Ctrl B, I, U Bold, italics or underline
Alt Enter Start a new line within the same cell (text wrap)
Shift +  → Select cells or increase/decrease an existing selection
Ctrl A Select All
Ctrl + (numpad) Insert an entire row or column (select row/column first)
Ctrl – (numpad) Delete an entire row or column (select row/column first)
Ctrl (key Show or hide formulae on a worksheet
underneath ESC)
Ctrl D Duplicate (cells above)
Ctrl G Go to specific cell reference
Shift Click Sheet Group consecutive sheets
Tabs
Ctrl Click Sheet Group non consecutive sheets
Tabs
Ctrl Drag sheet Duplicate sheet
Ctrl ; Insert current date
Ctrl Shift ; Insert current time
Ctrl W Close Window (same as file close)
F2 Edit the current cell
F3 Paste Name
F4 Insert an absolute cell reference
F11 Create a chart based on the selected range
F12 Save As
=today() Insert current date (automatically updates)
=now() Insert current date and time (automatically updates)

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