INPUTTING AND FORMATTING DATA
Are The Correct Toolbars On?
Now let's try creating a spreadsheet. Before we begin, check that both the STANDARD and the FORMATTING toolbars are at the top of the screen.
If they are not:
Click in the Standard and Formatting checkboxes
ENTERING DATA - START HERE!
Enter all the data as shown in the worksheet below. When you type in the title “PERSONAL SPENDING 2003” in cell A1, it doesn't matter if the cell doesn't appear wide enough to hold the text.
To let the computer know that you have finished a particular entry, you can either press the RETURN key, which will move you down to the next row, or press one of the Arrow keys, which moves you in the direction of the arrow.
NOTE: Don't worry if your spreadsheet looks different from the one below. You'll find out later how to change its appearance (for example, how to change column widths to fit your data).
Adjusting Column Widths & Row Heights
Some of the text in column A is too wide to fit the column. This is acceptable for a main heading (like PERSONAL SPENDING 2003 in row 1) but not for the text in other rows. If we want to change the width of the column so that we can see the whole text, there are various ways to do this:
Position your cursor on the line between A and B until it changes into a black cross with two arrowheads. You can then:
Either: click and drag until the column becomes the required width, then release the mouse button.
Or: simply double-click your mouse button. The column will automatically adjust to the width of the longest entry. You can also set a column width by selecting the whole column, going to the Format menu, then Column, Width and entering the exact size you require. Press OK.
Similarly, to adjust the height of a row, you can use the same click and drag method, or click on the number then Format, Row, Height, OK.
Try adjusting the width of column A, then the height of row 15.
Changing Data In A Cell
Although Excel looks quite different from Word, it has many of the same capabilities. Look at the Excel toolbars; you will see several icons that look familiar - CUT, COPY, PASTE, BOLD, ITALIC, UNDERLINE and so on.
If you know how to change the appearance of text in Word, you should be able to change the appearance of any data in Excel. Simply select the cell or block of cells and click on the appropriate icon. Try these changes:
Change the font size of the spreadsheet title (PERSONAL SPENDING 2003) to 14 point
Select all the month headings and make them Bold
Select all the expenses in column A and change their font from Arial to Times New Roman, size 12
Alignment
Notice how the spreadsheet has aligned the entries you have made. All text is aligned to the left while all numbers are aligned to the right. Try centering the heading in column E (OCT-DEC). First select the appropriate cells - in this case E4 to E14 - then click on the Centre icon.
Click somewhere else on the spreadsheet to deselect the cells E4:E14.
Centring Titles across a Number of Columns
We often centre the title across all the used columns. In this example we have used columns A to F. Position the cursor in cell A1 and select all the cells across to F1, using one of the methods explained in section 1.4. Click the “Merge & Centre” icon. Deselect the block of cells.
The six cells A1 to F1 have now been merged into one cell and the title is centered across this area:
Wrapping Text
Look at row 3: the last entry “Yearly Totals” is much wider than necessary. It would look better if the words were on top of each other instead of side by side.
To do this, select cell F3, then click on the FORMAT menu, followed by CELLS, then the ALIGNMENT tab.
Click in front of the checkbox called Wrap text, then on OK.
Changing Or Deleting Data In A Cell
It turns out that there is a data error in this spreadsheet. The figure for JAN-MAR Fares and Travel should be 127.63 not 217.63. There are two methods of changing the contents of a cell:
Select the cell (B5), press DELETE and type in the correct figures
Select the cell, position your cursor on the FORMULA bar and click. The cursor becomes an INSERTION BAR and you can now edit the entry as you would in Word. When you have finished, you can press the ENTER key.
Changing The Size Of The Screen View
If you find that your spreadsheet is so big that you can't fit all of it on the screen at the same time, you can adjust the PERCENTAGE VIEW of the sheet. Look at the percentage shown near the right-hand end of the Standard Toolbar. Click on the down arrow next to it and change to 75%.
If you prefer a percentage that is not in the list (e.g., 80%, 90%), click on the highlighted figure at the top, then type in your own preferred size. Press ENTER.
The spreadsheet on your screen should look like this:
Before continuing, make the following changes:
Change the title size to 12 points. (NOTE: Click in cell A1 to select the title)
Select all the month headings and turn off the Bold.
Select all of the expenses in column A and change their font from Times New Roman, size 12 to Arial, size 10
Change the figures for OCT-DEC back to right-aligned
Finally, save the file with the name SPEND.XLS
Close the document.
NEXT: Calculating Totals and Editing Formulae
