Microsoft Excel is one of the most suitable spreadsheet functions that help us manage data, create optically logical charts, and thought-provoking graphs. Microsoft Excel is supported by both Mac and PC platforms. Microsoft Excel can also be used to balance a checkbook, create an expense document, build formulas, and edit them.
It mainly comprises tabs, groups of commands, and worksheets. The worksheet is made of rows and columns that intersect each other to form cells where data is entered. It is capable of performing multiple tasks like calculations, data analysis, and integrating data.
Microsoft Office button, ribbon, and quick access toolbar are the three main features of excel that you need to focus on while learning excel.

Microsoft Excel Features

There are several features that are available in Excel to make our task more manageable. Some of the main features are:

AutoFormat – lets us choose many preset table formatting options.
1. AutoSum: It helps us to add the contents of a cluster of adjacent cells.
2. List AutoFill: It automatically develops cell formatting when a new component is added to the end of a list.
3. AutoFill: It feature allows us to quickly fill cells with a repetitive or sequential record such as chronological dates or numbers, and repeated document. AutoFill can also be used to copy function. We can also alter text and numbers with this feature.
4. AutoShapes: Autoshapes toolbar will allow us to draw some geometrical shapes, arrows, flowchart items, stars, and more. With these shapes, we can draw our graphs.
5. Wizard: It guides us to work effectively while we work by displaying several helpful tips and techniques based on what we are doing. Drag and Drop feature will help us to reposition the record and text by simply dragging the data with the help of the mouse.
6. Charts: These features will help us in presenting a graphical representation of our data in the form of Pie, Bar, Line charts, and more.
7. PivotTable: It flips and sums data in seconds and allows us to execute data analysis and generating documents like periodic financial statements, statistical documents, etc. We can also analyze complex data relationships graphically.
8. Shortcut Menus: These commands that are appropriate to the function that we are doing occur by clicking the right mouse button.

How to Open Microsoft Excel?

When you open Excel 2016 for the first time, the Excel Start Screen will occur. From here, we’ll be able to create a new workbook, choose a template, and access our recently edited workbooks.
1. From the Excel Start Screen, locate and select the Blank workbook to create the Excel interface.
2. To click Open Other Workbooks to work on an existing workbook.

To set up Excel, so it automatically accessible a new workbook
1. Click File then Options.
2. On the General tab, under the Startup option, uncheck the display the Start screen when this program starts box.
3. The next time we start Excel, it opens a blank workbook automatically same to older versions of Excel.

Excel Interface

After starting Excel, we will see two windows – one within the other. The outer window is the Application Window, and the inner window is a Workbook Window. When maximized, the Excel Workbook Window composite in with the Application Window.
After completing this module, we should be able to:
o Identify the components of the Application Window.
o Identify the components of the Workbook Window.

Application Window

The Application Window provides the space for our worksheets and workbook items, such as charts. The components of the Application Window are defined below.

Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar lets us access common commands no matter which tab is selected.
By default, it involves the Save, Undo, and Repeat commands. We can add other commands depending on our preference.
To add the command to the Quick Access toolbar
1. To click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Quick Access toolbar.
2. Select the command we wish to add from the drop-down menu. To choose from more commands, select More Commands.

3. The command will be joined to the Quick Access toolbar.

The Ribbon
Excel 2016 utilizes a tabbed Ribbon system instead of traditional menus. The Ribbon includes multiple tabs, each with several groups of commands. We will use these tabs to perform the most common function in Excel.

To minimize and maximize the Ribbon
The Ribbon is designed to respond to our current function, but we can choose to minimize it if we find that it takes up too much screen space.
1. To click the Ribbon Display Options arrow in the upper-right corner of the Ribbon.

2. Select the desired minimizing options from the drop-down menu:
o Auto-hide Ribbon: Auto-hide shows our workbook in full-screen mode and completely hides the Ribbon. To show the Ribbon, click Expand Ribbon command at the top of the screen.

o Show Tabs: This option hides all command groups when not in use, but tabs will remain clear. To show the Ribbon, simply click the tab.
o Show Tabs and Commands: This option maximize the Ribbon. All of the tabs and command will be clear. This option is selected by default when we open Excel for the first time.
To Customize the Ribbon in Excel 2016
We can customize the Ribbon by creating your tabs with whichever commands we want. Commands are always housed within a group, and we can create as many groups as we want to keep our tab organized. If we want, we can even add commands to any of the default tabs, as long as we create a custom group in the tab.
1. Right-click the Ribbon and then choose Customize the Ribbon from the drop-down menu.

2. The Excel Options dialog box will occur. Locate and select New Tab.

3. To make sure the New Group is selected, select a command, and then click Add. We can also drag commands directly into a group.
4. When we are done adding commands, click OK. The commands will be added to the Ribbon.

The Formula Bar
In the formula bar, we can enter or edit data, a formula, or a function that will occur in a specific cell.
In the image below, cell C1 is selected, and 2000 is entered into the formula bar. Note how the data contains in both the formula bar and in cell C1.

The Name Box
The Name box present the location or “name” of a selected cell.
In the image below, cell B4 is selected. Noted that cell B4 is where column B and row 4 intersect.

The Backstage View (The File Menu)
Click the File tab on the Ribbon. The Backstage view will emerge.

The Worksheet Views
Excel 2016 has a variety of displaying options that change how our workbook is showed. We can choose to view any workbook in the Normal view, Page Layout view, or Page Break view. These views can be useful for several tasks, especially if we’re planning to print the spreadsheet.
To change the worksheet views, locate and choose the desired worksheet view command in the bottom-right corner of the Excel window.

Zoom Control
To use a Zoom control, click and drag the slider. The number to the right of the slider reverse the zoom percentage.

Getting Started with Excel

This chapter teaches you how to start an Excel application in simple steps. Assuming you have Microsoft Office 2010 onwards installed in your PC, start the excel application following the below mentioned steps in your PC.
Step 1 − Click on the Start button.

Step 2 − Click on All Programs option from the menu.

Step 3 − Search for Microsoft Office from the sub menu and click it.

Step 4 − Search for Microsoft Excel from the submenu and click it.

This will launch the Microsoft Excel application and you will see the following excel window.

Explore Window in Excel

The following basic window appears when you start the excel application. Let us now understand the various important parts of this window.

File Tab

The File tab replaces the Office button from Excel 2007. You can click it to check the Backstage view, where you come when you need to open or save files, create new sheets, print a sheet, and do other file-related operations.

Quick Access Toolbar

You will find this toolbar just above the File tab and its purpose is to provide a convenient resting place for the Excel’s most frequently used commands. You can customize this toolbar based on your comfort.

Ribbon

Ribbon contains commands organized in three components −
• Tabs − They appear across the top of the Ribbon and contain groups of related commands. Home, Insert, Page Layout are the examples of ribbon tabs.
• Groups − They organize related commands; each group name appears below the group on the Ribbon. For example, group of commands related to fonts or group of commands related to alignment etc.
• Commands − Commands appear within each group as mentioned above.

Title Bar

This lies in the middle and at the top of the window. Title bar shows the program and the sheet titles.

Help

The Help Icon can be used to get excel related help anytime you like. This provides nice tutorial on various subjects related to excel.

Zoom Control

Zoom control lets you zoom in for a closer look at your text. The zoom control consists of a slider that you can slide left or right to zoom in or out. The + buttons can be clicked to increase or decrease the zoom factor.

View Buttons

The group of three buttons located to the left of the Zoom control, near the bottom of the screen, lets you switch among excel’s various sheet views.
• Normal Layout view − This displays the page in normal view.
• Page Layout view − This displays pages exactly as they will appear when printed. This gives a full screen look of the document.
• Page Break view − This shows a preview of where pages will break when printed.

Sheet Area

The area where you enter data. The flashing vertical bar is called the insertion point and it represents the location where text will appear when you type.

Row Bar

Rows are numbered from 1 onwards and keeps on increasing as you keep entering data. Maximum limit is 1,048,576 rows.

Column Bar

Columns are numbered from A onwards and keeps on increasing as you keep entering data. After Z, it will start the series of AA, AB and so on. Maximum limit is 16,384 columns.

Status Bar

This displays the current status of the active cell in the worksheet. A cell can be in either of the four states (a) Ready mode which indicates that the worksheet is ready to accept user input (b) Edit mode indicates that cell is editing mode, if it is not activated the you can activate editing mode by double-clicking on a cell (c) A cell enters into Enter mode when a user types data into a cell (d) Point mode triggers when a formula is being entered using a cell reference by mouse pointing or the arrow keys on the keyboard.

Dialog Box Launcher

This appears as a very small arrow in the lower-right corner of many groups on the Ribbon. Clicking this button opens a dialog box or task pane that provides more options about the group.
So, this brings us to the end of blog. This Tecklearn ‘Overview of Microsoft Excel’ blog helps you with commonly asked questions if you are looking out for a job in Microsoft Excel. If you wish to learn Excel and build a career in Business Intelligence domain, then check out our interactive, Microsoft Power BI Training, that comes with 24*7 support to guide you throughout your learning period. Please find the link for course details:

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