Among all the programs that Microsoft developed, Excel is one of the most important programs. Developed by Microsoft in 1985, MS Excel is a spreadsheet program that is primarily used to compute and help businesses compile financial data. As part of the Microsoft 365 (formerly called Office 365) suite, Excel is a spreadsheet program that is used to store and organize information into cells and sheets.
Though MS Excel can quickly perform calculations with the data given and compute the answer, it is not that easy to learn. It has complicated applications, features and capabilities that you need to understand and master to maximize its full computing power. Aside from its features of flash fill, pivot tables, and conditional formatting, learning Excel will equip you to prepare and manage complex reports, and also perform situational analysis on data. But the journey is not that easy. You will have to understand the basic functions and features first before you can harness Excel’s full potential.
How do you begin?
First, you have to understand what the program does. Microsoft Excel is used to create grids of text, numbers and formulas specifying calculations. Using this program is extremely valuable for data analysis, filtering, and for businesses, because it records expenditures and income, plan budgets, chart data and fiscal results.
The main uses of Excel also include data entry, data management, accounting, financial analysis, charting and graphing. Going further, it is also used for programming, time management and even task management. It is a very versatile program that can help you analyze complex data then simplify it.
Learning Excel requires time, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at how it operates.
When you open Excel, it doesn’t automatically open a blank page. Instead, it will bring you to Excel’s Home page which will contain or display the spreadsheets you used, pinned, or have been shared with you for easy access. Now if you don’t want any existing template or Excel file, just choose “Blank workbook.”
A workbook refers to an Excel which contains your spreadsheet and will be composed of one or more worksheets. In Excel, you will be working with cells and how to format them – like converting them to bold, italic, underline, font size options, colour text and cell backgrounds. The cells will contain the text and you can change the width of a cell by dragging its right edge. You will learn how to wrap, align the text to make it fit within the cell.
Now after setting up your worksheet, you have to learn how to perform simple calculations in Excel. Excel works like a calculator that lets you perform calculations using different cells. You need to learn how to perform arithmetic operations in Excel like addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. In Excel, you will do common calculations like adding up numbers in a row or column then learn how to use formulas next.
Excel has tons and hundreds of formulas that you can apply to values in your spreadsheet. You have the choice to use some of it to perform specific calculations, while others return information about them. There is no need to master all of the formulas but it will come in handy if you know them and how to apply when the need should arise.
Excel is also all about graphs and charts. This is beneficial because it helps you visualize your data. And the good thing about this program is Excel is home to more than a dozen charts which you can use according to your need – like a pie chart or a line graph. Once you are done computing for the needed data, save your workbook in a cloud or the computer.
In Excel, you have the choice to print a worksheet from the File tab. Just choose “Print” and select what you want to print in the Settings section. You can print selected parts of the spreadsheet or you can print the entire workbook.
Mastering MS Excel takes time. You have to start at the beginners level, intermediate then advance level. When attending these classes or if you are learning it on your own, you need to concentrate and understand all the functionalities then slowly, start memorizing useful formulas that you will need. But once you gain full control of the program, expect to produce amazing reports and charts that will be very beneficial to report, analyze and predict data which will be valuable to grow your business and ensure work productivity.
Despite its complexities, MS Excel is now the most commonly used program for creating graphs and pivot tables. After all, it wouldn’t be named Excel if it wasn’t meant to impress or do presentations that are “exceptional” or “excellent.”
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