Table of Contents
Table of Contents
A header is text that appears at the top of every page of your printed worksheet. A footer is text that
appears at the bottom of every page of your printed worksheet. You can use a header or footer to display
among other things titles, page numbers, or logos. Once you have completed your Excel worksheet, you
may want to print it. This lesson teaches you how to use functions, how to create a series, how to create
headers and footers, and how to print.
Create a Chart
Apply A Chart Layout
Add Labels
Switch Data
Change the Style of a Chart
Change the Size and Position of a Chart
Move A Chart to a Chart Sheet
Change the Chart Type
Lesson 1: Entering Text and Numbers
The Microsoft Excel Window
Microsoft Excel is an electronic spreadsheet. You can use it to organize your data
into rows and columns. You can also use it to perform mathematical calculations
quickly. This tutorial teaches Microsoft Excel basics. Although knowledge of how
to navigate in a Windowsenvironment is helpful, this tutorial was created for
the computer novice.
This lesson will introduce you to the Excel window. You use the window to
interact with Excel. To begin this lesson, start Microsoft Excel 2007. The
Microsoft Excel window appears and your screen looks similar to the one shown
here.
Note: Your screen will probably not look exactly like the screen shown. In Excel
2007, how a window displays depends on the size of your window, the size of your
monitor, and the resolution to which your monitor is set. Resolution determines
how much information your computer monitor can display. If you use a low
resolution, less information fits on your screen, but the size of your text and images
are larger. If you use a high resolution, more information fits on your screen, but
the size of the text and images are smaller. Also, settings in Excel 2007, Windows
Vista, and Windows XP allow you to change the color and style of your windows.
The Microsoft Office Button
In the upper-left corner of the Excel 2007 window is the Microsoft Office button.
When you click the button, a menu appears. You can use the menu to create a new
file, open an existing file, save a file, and perform many other tasks.
Next to the Microsoft Office button is the Quick Access toolbar. The Quick Access
toolbar gives you with access to commands you frequently use. By default, Save,
Undo, and Redo appear on the Quick Access toolbar. You can use Save to save
your file, Undo to roll back an action you have taken, and Redo to reapply an
action you have rolled back.
Next to the Quick Access toolbar is the Title bar. On the Title bar, Microsoft Excel
displays the name of the workbook you are currently using. At the top of the Excel
window, you should see "Microsoft Excel - Book1" or a similar name.
The Ribbon
You use commands to tell Microsoft Excel what to do. In Microsoft Excel 2007,
you use the Ribbon to issue commands. The Ribbon is located near the top of the
Excel window, below the Quick Access toolbar. At the top of the Ribbon are
several tabs; clicking a tab displays several related command groups. Within each
group are related command buttons. You click buttons to issue commands or to
access menus and dialog boxes. You may also find a dialog box launcher in the
bottom-right corner of a group. When you click the dialog box launcher, a dialog
box makes additional commands available.
Worksheets
Formula Bar
If the Formula bar is turned on, the cell address of the cell you are in displays in
the Name box which is located on the left side of the Formula bar. Cell entries
display on the right side of the Formula bar. If you do not see the Formula bar in
your window, perform the following steps:
1. Choose the View tab.
2. Click Formula Bar in the Show/Hide group. The Formula bar appears.
Note: The current cell address displays on the left side of the Formula bar.
The Status bar appears at the very bottom of the Excel window and provides such
information as the sum, average, minimum, and maximum value of selected
numbers. You can change what displays on the Status bar by right-clicking on the
Status bar and selecting the options you want from the Customize Status Bar menu.
You click a menu item to select it. You click it again to deselect it. A check mark
next to an item means the item is selected.
By using the arrow keys, you can move around your worksheet. You can use the
down arrow key to move downward one cell at a time. You can use the up arrow
key to move upward one cell at a time. You can use the Tab key to move across the
page to the right, one cell at a time. You can hold down the Shift key and then
press the Tab key to move to the left, one cell at a time. You can use the right and
left arrow keys to move right or left one cell at a time. The Page Up and Page
Down keys move up and down one page at a time. If you hold down the Ctrl key
and then press the Home key, you move to the beginning of the worksheet.
EXERCISE 1
Press the down arrow key several times. Note that the cursor moves
downward one cell at a time.
Press the up arrow key several times. Note that the cursor moves upward
one cell at a time.
Hold down the Shift key and then press Tab. Note that the cursor moves to
the left one cell at a time.
1. Press the right arrow key several times. Note that the cursor moves to the
right.
2. Press the left arrow key several times. Note that the cursor moves to the left.
1. Press the Page Down key. Note that the cursor moves down one page.
2. Press the Page Up key. Note that the cursor moves up one page.
Go To Cells Quickly
The following are shortcuts for moving quickly from one cell in a worksheet to a
cell in a different part of the worksheet.
EXERCISE 2
Go to -- F5
The F5 function key is the "Go To" key. If you press the F5 key, you are prompted
for the cell to which you wish to go. Enter the cell address, and the cursor jumps to
that cell.
Go to -- Ctrl+G
1. Hold down the Ctrl key while you press "g" (Ctrl+g). The Go To dialog box
opens.
2. Type C4 in the Reference field.
3. Press Enter. Excel moves to cell C4.
You can also use the Name box to go to a specific cell. Just type the cell you want
to go to in the Name box and then press Enter.
1. Type B10 in the Name box.
2. Press Enter. Excel moves to cell B10.
Select Cells
If you wish to perform a function on a group of cells, you must first select those
cells by highlighting them. The exercises that follow teach you how to select.
EXERCISE 3
Select Cells
1. Go to cell A1.
2. Press the F8 key. This anchors the cursor.
3. Note that "Extend Selection" appears on the Status bar in the lower-left
corner of the window. You are in the Extend mode.
4. Click in cell E7. Excel highlights cells A1 to E7.
5. Press Esc and click anywhere on the worksheet to clear the highlighting.
You can also select an area by holding down the left mouse button and dragging
the mouse over the area. In addition, you can select noncontiguous areas of the
worksheet by doing the following:
1. Go to cell A1.
2. Hold down the Ctrl key. You won't release it until step 9. Holding down the
Ctrl key enables you to select noncontiguous areas of the worksheet.
3. Press the left mouse button.
4. While holding down the left mouse button, use the mouse to move from cell
A1 to C5.
5. Continue to hold down the Ctrl key, but release the left mouse button.
6. Using the mouse, place the cursor in cell D7.
7. Press the left mouse button.
8. While holding down the left mouse button, move to cell F10. Release the
left mouse button.
9. Release the Ctrl key. Cells A1 to C5 and cells D7 to F10 are selected.
10.Press Esc and click anywhere on the worksheet to remove the highlighting.
Enter Data
In this section, you will learn how to enter data into your worksheet. First, place
the cursor in the cell in which you want to start entering data. Type some data, and
then press Enter. If you need to delete, press the Backspace key to delete one
character at a time.
EXERCISE 4
Enter Data
Edit a Cell
After you enter data into a cell, you can edit the data by pressing F2 while you are
in the cell you wish to edit.
EXERCISE 5
Edit a Cell
You can also edit the cell by using the Formula bar. You change "Jones" to "Joker"
in the following exercise.
1. Move the cursor to cell A1.
2. Click in the formula area of the Formula bar.
3. Use the backspace key to erase the "s," "e," and "n."
4. Type ker.
5. Press Enter.
Typing in a cell replaces the old cell entry with the new information you type.
When you type text that is too long to fit in the cell, the text overlaps the next cell.
If you do not want it to overlap the next cell, you can wrap the text.
EXERCISE 6
Wrap Text
To delete an entry in a cell or a group of cells, you place the cursor in the cell or
select the group of cells and press Delete.
EXERCISE 7
Save a File
Close Excel
In Microsoft Excel, you can specify the direction the cursor moves when you press
the Enter key. In the exercises that follow, the cursor must move down one cell
when you press Enter. You can use the Direction box in the Excel Options pane to
set the cursor to move up, down, left, right, or not at all. Perform the steps that
follow to set the cursor to move down when you press the Enter key.
3. Click Advanced.
4. If the check box next to After Pressing Enter Move Selection is not checked,
click the box to check it.
5. If Down does not appear in the Direction box, click the down arrow next to
the Direction box and then click Down.
6. Click OK. Excel sets the Enter direction to down.
In Microsoft Excel, you can enter numbers and mathematical formulas into cells.
Whether you enter a number or a formula, you can reference the cell when you
perform mathematical calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, or
division. When entering a mathematical formula, precede the formula with an
equal sign. Use the following to indicate the type of calculation you wish to
perform:
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
^ Exponential
In the following exercises, you practice some of the methods you can use to move
around a worksheet and you learn how to perform mathematical calculations. Refer
to Lesson 1 to learn more about moving around a worksheet.
EXERCISE 1
Addition
Note: Clicking the check mark on the Formula bar is similar to pressing Enter.
Excel records your entry but does not move to the next cell.
Subtraction
1. Press F5. The Go To dialog box appears.
2. Type B1 in the Reference field.
3. Press Enter. Excel moves to cell B1.
4. Type Subtract.
5. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
6. Type 6 in cell B2.
7. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
8. Type 3 in cell B3.
9. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
10.Type =B2-B3 in cell B4.
11.Click the check mark on the Formula bar. Excel subtracts cell B3 from cell
B2 and the result displays in cell B4. The formula displays on the Formula
bar.
Multiplication
1. Hold down the Ctrl key while you press "g" (Ctrl+g). The Go To dialog box
appears.
2. Type C1 in the Reference field.
3. Press Enter. Excel moves to cell C1
4. Type Multiply.
5. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
6. Type 2 in cell C2.
7. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
8. Type 3 in cell C3.
9. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
10.Type =C2*C3 in cell C4.
11.Click the check mark on the Formula bar. Excel multiplies C1 by cell C2
and displays the result in cell C3. The formula displays on the Formula bar.
Division
1. Press F5.
2. Type D1 in the Reference field.
3. Press Enter. Excel moves to cell D1.
4. Type Divide.
5. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
6. Type 6 in cell D2.
7. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
8. Type 3 in cell D3.
9. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
10.Type =D2/D3 in cell D4.
11.Click the check mark on the Formula bar. Excel divides cell D2 by cell D3
and displays the result in cell D4. The formula displays on the Formula bar.
When creating formulas, you can reference cells and include numbers. All of the
following formulas are valid:
=A2/B2
=A1+12-B3
=A2*B2+12
=24+53
AutoSum
You can use the AutoSum button on the Home tab to automatically add a
column or row of numbers. When you press the AutoSum button , Excel selects
the numbers it thinks you want to add. If you then click the check mark on the
Formula bar or press the Enter key, Excel adds the numbers. If Excel's guess as to
which numbers you want to add is wrong, you can select the cells you want.
EXERCISE 2
AutoSum
1. Go to cell F1.
2. Type 3.
3. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
4. Type 3.
5. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell.
6. Type 3.
7. Press Enter. Excel moves down one cell to cell F4.
8. Choose the Home tab.
9. Click the AutoSum button in the Editing group. Excel selects cells F1
through F3 and enters a formula in cell F4.
10.Press Enter. Excel adds cells F1 through F3 and displays the result in cell
F4.
By default, Microsoft Excel recalculates the worksheet as you change cell entries.
This makes it easy for you to correct mistakes and analyze a variety of scenarios.
EXERCISE 3
Automatic Calculation
Make the changes described below and note how Microsoft Excel automatically
recalculates.
When you type text into a cell, by default your entry aligns with the left side of the
cell. When you type numbers into a cell, by default your entry aligns with the right
side of the cell. You can change the cell alignment. You can center, left-align, or
right-align any cell entry. Look at cells A1 to D1. Note that they are aligned with
the left side of the cell.
EXERCISE 4
Center
Right-Align
Note: You can also change the alignment of cells with numbers in them by using
the alignment buttons.
Perform Advanced Mathematical Calculations
EXERCISE 5
Advanced Calculations
To change the order of calculation, use parentheses. Microsoft Excel calculates the
information in parentheses first.
Note: Microsoft Excel adds 3 plus 3 plus 12, divides the answer by 2, and then
multiplies the result by 4. The answer, 36, displays in cell A7.
In Excel, you can copy data from one area of a worksheet and place the data you
copied anywhere in the same or another worksheet. In other words, after you type
information into a worksheet, if you want to place the same information
somewhere else, you do not have to retype the information. You simple copy it and
then paste it in the new location.
You can use Excel's Cut feature to remove information from a worksheet. Then
you can use the Paste feature to place the information you cut anywhere in the
same or another worksheet. In other words, you can move information from one
place in a worksheet to another place in the same or different worksheet by using
the Cut and Paste features.
EXERCISE 6
In addition to typing a formula as you did in Lesson 1, you can also enter formulas
by using Point mode. When you are in Point mode, you can enter a formula either
by clicking on a cell or by using the arrow keys.
Compare the formula in cell A12 with the formula in cell B12 (while in the
respective cell, look at the Formula bar). The formulas are the same except that the
formula in cell A12 sums the entries in column A and the formula in cell B12 sums
the entries in column B. The formula was copied in a relative fashion.
Before proceeding with the next part of the exercise, you must copy the
information in cells A7 to B9 to cells C7 to D9. This time you will copy by using
the Mini toolbar.
Keyboard shortcuts are key combinations that enable you to perform tasks by using
the keyboard. Generally, you press and hold down a key while pressing a letter.
For example, Ctrl+c means you should press and hold down the Ctrl key while
pressing "c." This tutorial notates key combinations as follows:
Press Ctrl+c.
Now copy the formula from C12 to D12. This time, copy by using keyboard
shortcuts.
You use mixed cell addressing to reference a cell when you want to copy part of it
absolute and part relative. For example, the row can be absolute and the column
relative. You can use the F4 key to create a mixed cell reference.
1. Move to cell E1.
2. Type =.
3. Press the up arrow key once.
4. Press F4.
5. Press F4 again. Note that the column is relative and the row is absolute.
6. Press F4 again. Note that the column is absolute and the row is relative.
7. Press Esc.
5. Click the Paste button . Excel moves the contents of cells D9 to D12 to
cells G1 to G4.
The keyboard shortcut for Cut is Ctrl+x. The steps for cutting and pasting with a
keyboard shortcut are:
You can insert and delete columns and rows. When you delete a column, you
delete everything in the column from the top of the worksheet to the bottom of the
worksheet. When you delete a row, you delete the entire row from left to right.
Inserting a column or row inserts a completely new column or row.
EXERCISE 7
To insert a column:
To insert rows:
You can use borders to make entries in your Excel worksheet stand out. You can
choose from several types of borders. When you press the down arrow next to the
Border button , a menu appears. By making the proper selection from the
menu, you can place a border on the top, bottom, left, or right side of the selected
cells; on all sides; or around the outside border. You can have a thick outside
border or a border with a single-line top and a double-line bottom. Accountants
usually place a single underline above a final number and a double underline
below. The following illustrates:
EXERCISE 8
Create Borders
EXERCISE 9
1. Go to cell B2.
2. Type Sample Worksheet.
3. Click the check mark on the Formula bar.
4. Select cells B2 to E2.
5. Choose the Home tab.
6. Click the Merge and Center button in the Alignment group. Excel
merges cells B2, C2, D2, and E2 and then centers the content.
To make a section of your worksheet stand out, you can add background color to a
cell or group of cells.
EXERCISE 10
EXERCISE 11
EXERCISE 12
Move to a New Worksheet
Click Sheet2 in the lower-left corner of the screen. Excel moves to Sheet2.
When creating an Excel worksheet, you may want to emphasize the contents of
cells by bolding, italicizing, and/or underlining. You can easily bold, italicize, or
underline text with Microsoft Excel. You can also combine these features—in
other words, you can bold, italicize, and underline a single piece of text.
In the exercises that follow, you will learn different methods you can use to bold,
italicize, and underline.
EXERCISE 13
Microsoft Excel provides two types of underlines. The exercises that follow
illustrate them.
Single Underline:
Whenever you type text that is too long to fit into a cell, Microsoft Excel attempts
to display all the text. It left-aligns the text regardless of the alignment you have
assigned to it, and it borrows space from the blank cells to the right. However, a
long text entry will never write over cells that already contain entries—instead, the
cells that contain entries cut off the long text. The following exercise illustrates
this.
EXERCISE 14
You can increase column widths. Increasing the column width enables you to see
the long text.
EXERCISE 15
You can also change the column width with the cursor.
1. Place the mouse pointer on the line between the B and C column headings.
The mouse pointer should look like the one displayed here , with two
arrows.
2. Move your mouse to the right while holding down the left mouse button.
The width indicator appears on the screen.
3. Release the left mouse button when the width indicator shows
approximately 20. Excel increases the column width to 20.
Format Numbers
You can format the numbers you enter into Microsoft Excel. For example, you can
add commas to separate thousands, specify the number of decimal places, place a
dollar sign in front of a number, or display a number as a percent.
EXERCISE 16
Format Numbers
This is the end of Lesson 2. You can save and close your file. See Lesson 1 to learn
how to save and close a file.
Lesson 3: Creating Excel Functions, Filling Cells, and
Printing
By using functions, you can quickly and easily make many useful calculations,
such as finding an average, the highest number, the lowest number, and a count of
the number of items in a list. Microsoft Excel has many functions that you can use.
A range reference refers to all the cells between and including the reference. A
range reference consists of two cell addresses separated by a colon. The reference
A1:A3 includes cells A1, A2, and A3. The reference A1:C3 includes cells A1, A2,
A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, and C3.
Understanding Functions
Enclose arguments within parentheses. Arguments are values on which you want
to perform the calculation. For example, arguments specify the numbers or cells
you want to add.
=SUM(2,13,A1,B2:C7)
In this function:
The equal sign begins the function.
After you type the first letter of a function name, the AutoComplete list appears.
You can double-click on an item in the AutoComplete list to complete your entry
quickly. Excel will complete the function name and enter the first parenthesis.
EXERCISE 1
Functions
Format worksheet
1. Move to cell A4.
2. Type the word Sum.
3. Select cells B4 to C4.
4. Choose the Home tab.
5. Click the down arrow next to the Borders button .
6. Click Top and Double Bottom Border.
As you learned in Lesson 2, you can also calculate a sum by using the AutoSum
button .
Calculate an Average
You can use the AVERAGE function to calculate the average of a series of
numbers.
In Microsoft Excel, you can use the AutoSum button to calculate an average.
1. Move to cell C6.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the down arrow next to the AutoSum button .
4. Click Average.
You can use the MIN function to find the lowest number in a series of numbers.
1. Move to cell A7.
2. Type Min.
3. Press the right arrow key to move to cell B7.
4. Type = MIN(B1:B3).
5. Press Enter. The lowest number in the series, which is 12, appears.
Note: You can also use the drop-down button next to the AutoSum button to
calculate minimums, maximums, and counts.
You can use the MAX function to find the highest number in a series of numbers.
You can use the count function to count the number of numbers in a series.
1. Move to cell A9.
2. Type Count.
3. Press the right arrow key to move to cell B9.
4. Choose the Home tab.
5. Click the down arrow next to the AutoSum button .
6. Click Count Numbers. Excel places the count function in cell C9 and takes a
guess at which cells you want to count. The guess is incorrect, so you must
select the proper cells.
7. Select B1 to B3.
8. Press Enter. The number of items in the series, which is 3, appears.
Fill Cells Automatically
You can use Microsoft Excel to fill cells automatically with a series. For example,
you can have Excel automatically fill your worksheet with days of the week,
months of the year, years, or other types of series.
EXERCISE 2
1. Click the Auto Fill Options button. The Auto Fill Options menu appears.
2. Choose the Copy Cells radio button. The entry in cells A1 and B1 are copied
to all the highlighted cells.
3. Click the Auto Fill Options button again.
4. Choose the Fill Series radio button. The cells fill as a series from Sunday to
Saturday again.
5. Click the Auto Fill Options button again.
6. Choose the Fill Without Formatting radio button. The cells fill as a series
from Sunday to Saturday, but the entries are not bolded.
7. Click the Auto Fill Options button again.
8. Choose the Fill Weekdays radio button. The cells fill as a series from
Monday to Friday.
Some of the entries in column B are too long to fit in the column. You can quickly
adjust the column width to fit the longest entry.
1. Move your mouse pointer over the line that separates column B and C.
The Width Indicator appears.
After you complete the remainder of the exercise, your worksheet will look like the
one shown here.
Fill Times
Fill Numbers
1. Grab the fill handle and drag with your mouse to highlight cells D1 to D14.
The number 1 fills each cell.
2. Click the Auto Fill Options button.
3. Choose the Fill Series radio button. The cells fill as a series, starting with 1,
2, 3.
1. Go to cell E1.
2. Type Lesson 1.
3. Grab the fill handle and drag with your mouse to highlight cells E1 to E14.
The cells fill in as a series: Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3, and so on.
You can use the Header & Footer button on the Insert tab to create headers and
footers. A header is text that appears at the top of every page of your printed
worksheet. A footer is text that appears at the bottom of every page of your printed
worksheet. When you click the Header & Footer button, the Design context tab
appears and Excel changes to Page Layout view. A context tab is a tab that only
appears when you need it. Page Layout view structures your worksheet so that you
can easily change the format of your document. You usually work in Normal view.
You can type in your header or footer or you can use predefined headers and
footers. To find predefined headers and footers, click the Header or Footer button
or use the Header & Footer Elements group's buttons. When you choose a header
or footer by clicking the Header or Footer button, Excel centers your choice. The
table shown here describes each of the Header & Footer Elements group button
options.
Both the header and footer areas are divided into three sections: left, right, and
center. When you choose a Header or Footer from the Header & Footer Elements
group, where you place your information determines whether it appears on the left,
right, or center of the printed page. You use the Go To Header and Go To Footer
buttons on the Design tab to move between the header and footer areas of your
worksheet.
EXERCISE 3
There are many print options. You set print options on the Page Layout tab. Among
other things, you can set your margins, set your page orientation, and select your
paper size.
Margins define the amount of white space that appears on the top, bottom, left, and
right edges of your document. The Margin option on the Page Layout tab provides
several standard margin sizes from which you can choose.
There are two page orientations: portrait and landscape. Paper, such as paper sized
8 1/2 by 11, is longer on one edge than it is on the other. If you print in Portrait, the
shortest edge of the paper becomes the top of the page. Portrait is the default
option. If you print in Landscape, the longest edge of the paper becomes the top of
the page.
Portrait
Landscape
EXERCISE 4
The simplest way to print is to click the Office button, highlight Print on the menu
that appears, and then click Quick Print in the Preview and Print the Document
pane. Dotted lines appear on your screen, and your document prints. The dotted
lines indicate the right, left, top, and bottom edges of your printed pages.
You can also use the Print Preview option to print. When using Print Preview, you
can see onscreen how your printed document will look when you print it. If you
click the Page Setup button while in Print Preview mode, you can set page settings
such as centering your data on the page.
If your document is several pages long, you can use the Next Page and Previous
Page buttons to move forward and backward through your document. If you check
the Show Margins check box, you will see margin lines on your document. You
can click and drag the margin markers to increase or decrease the size of your
margins. To return to Excel, click the Close Print Preview button.
You click the Print button when you are ready to print. The Print dialog box
appears. You can choose to print the entire worksheet or specific pages. If you
want to print specific pages, enter the page numbers in the From and To fields.
You can enter the number of copies you want to print in the Number of Copies
field.
EXERCISE 5
This is the end of Lesson 3. You can save and close your file.
Lesson 4: Creating Charts
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In Microsoft Excel, you can represent numbers in a chart. On the Insert tab, you can
choose from a variety of chart types, including column, line, pie, bar, area, and
scatter. The basic procedure for creating a chart is the same no matter what type of
chart you choose. As you change your data, your chart will automatically update.
Create a Chart
You select a chart type by choosing an option from the Insert tab's Chart group.
After you choose a chart type, such as column, line, or bar, you choose a chart sub-
type. For example, after you choose Column Chart, you can choose to have your
chart represented as a two-dimensional chart, a three-dimensional chart, a cylinder
chart, a cone chart, or a pyramid chart. There are further sub-types within each of
these categories. As you roll your mouse pointer over each option, Excel supplies a
brief description of each chart sub-type.
To create the column chart shown above, start by creating the worksheet below
exactly as shown.
After you have created the worksheet, you are ready to create your chart.
EXERCISE 1
1. Select cells A3 to D6. You must select all the cells containing the data you
want in your chart. You should also include the data labels.
2. Choose the Insert tab.
3. Click the Column button in the Charts group. A list of column chart sub-
types types appears.
4. Click the Clustered Column chart sub-type. Excel creates a Clustered Column
chart and the Chart Tools context tabs appear.
Context tabs are tabs that only appear when you need them. Called Chart Tools,
there are three chart context tabs: Design, Layout, and Format. The tabs become
available when you create a new chart or when you click on a chart. You can use
these tabs to customize your chart.
You can determine what your chart displays by choosing a layout. For example,
the layout you choose determines whether your chart displays a title, where the
title displays, whether your chart has a legend, where the legend displays, whether
the chart has axis labels and so on. Excel provides several layouts from which you
can choose.
EXERCISE 2
Add Labels
When you apply a layout, Excel may create areas where you can insert labels. You
use labels to give your chart a title or to label your axes. When you applied layout
5, Excel created label areas for a title and for the vertical axis.
EXERCISE 3
Add labels
Before After
1. Select Chart Title. Click on Chart Title and then place your cursor before the
C in Chart and hold down the Shift key while you use the right arrow key to
highlight the words Chart Title.
2. Type Toy Sales. Excel adds your title.
3. Select Axis Title. Click on Axis Title. Place your cursor before the A in
Axis. Hold down the Shift key while you use the right arrow key to
highlight the words Axis Title.
4. Type Sales. Excel labels the axis.
5. Click anywhere on the chart to end your entry.
Switch Data
If you want to change what displays in your chart, you can switch from row data to
column data and vice versa.
EXERCISE 4
Switch Data
Before After
EXERCISE 5
EXERCISE 6
By default, when you create a chart, Excel embeds the chart in the active
worksheet. However, you can move a chart to another worksheet or to a chart
sheet. A chart sheet is a sheet dedicated to a particular chart. By default Excel
names each chart sheet sequentially, starting with Chart1. You can change the
name.
EXERCISE 7
Any change you can make to a chart that is embedded in a worksheet, you can also
make to a chart sheet. For example, you can change the chart type from a column
chart to a bar chart.
EXERCISE 8
You have reached the end of Lesson 4. You can save and close your file.