10 Minute Guide to Excel for Windows 95

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Examining the Excel Window

In this lesson, you'll learn the basics of moving around in the Excel window and in the workbook window.

Navigating the Excel Window

As you can see in Figure 2.1, the Excel window contains several elements that allow you to enter commands and data:

Menu bar Displays the names of the available pull-down menus. When you select a menu, it drops down over a portion of the screen, presenting you with a list of options.

Toolbars Contain several icons, buttons, and drop-down lists that give you quick access to often-used commands and features.

Formula bar To enter information in a cell, you select the cell and type the information in the cell. The data appears in the cell and in the formula bar as you type. When you press Enter, the information is inserted in the selected cell.

Workbook window Contains the workbook where you will enter the data and formulas that make up your workbook and the worksheets it contains.

Status bar Displays information about the current activity, including help information and keyboard and program modes. A keyboard mode, for example, is the CAPS indicator on the status bar which tells you that your CAPS LOCK key is on. A program mode such as READY indicates that Excel is ready for you to enter data or perform a command.

Figure 2.1
Elements of the Excel window.


Timesaver Tip: Sizing Windows When you run Excel, it starts in full-screen mode. You can resize the window at any time. Click on the Restore button in the upper right corner of the program window and then drag the window border to size the window.

Navigating the Workbook Window

Inside the Excel program window is a workbook window with the current worksheet in front. In this window, you will enter the labels (text), values (numbers), and formulas (calculations) that make up each worksheet. Figure 2.2 illustrates the various parts of the workbook. Table 2.1 describes these parts.

Figure 2.2
Elements of the workbook window.

Table 2.1 Workbook window items

Item Function
Tabs A workbook starts with 16 worksheets, and you can add or delete sheets as needed. You can use the tabs to flip worksheets.
Tab scrolling buttons Allow you to scroll through the worksheets in the workbook.
Scroll bars Allow you to view a section of the current worksheet that is not displayed.
Column heading Identifies the column by letters.
Row heading Identifies the row by numbers.
Selector Outline that indicates the active cell (the one in which you are working).
Split bars Let you split the workbook window into more than one pane to view different portions of the same worksheet.


Plain English: What's a Cell? Each page in a workbook is a separate worksheet. Each worksheet contains a grid consisting of alphabetized columns and numbered rows. When a row and column intersect, they form a box called a cell. Each cell has an address that consists of the column letter and row number (A1, B3, C4, and so on). You will enter data and formulas in the cells to form your worksheets. You will learn more about cells in Lessons 4 and 5.

Flipping Worksheets

Because each workbook consists of 16 worksheets, you need a way to move from worksheet to worksheet. If you are using the keyboard, you can flip among worksheets by pressing Ctrl+PgDn and Ctrl+PgUp. If you are using the mouse, there are easier ways to flip worksheets. If a tab is shown for the worksheet you want to move to, click on the tab for that worksheet (see Figure 2.3). If the tab is not shown, use the scroll buttons to bring the tab into view, and then click on the tab.

Moving on a Worksheet

Once the worksheet you want to work on is displayed, you need some way of moving to the various cells on the worksheet. Keep in mind that the part of the worksheet displayed on-screen is only a small part of the worksheet, as illustrated in Figure 2.4.

Figure 2.3
You can move from worksheet to worksheet with tabs.

Figure 2.4
The worksheet area displayed on-screen is a small portion of the worksheet.


To move around the worksheet with your keyboard, use the keys as described in Table 2.2.

Table 2.2 Moving around a worksheet with the keyboard.

Press To Move
[arrowup] [arrowdown] <- -> One cell in the direction of the arrow.
Ctrl+[arrowup] or Ctrl+[arrowdown] To the top or bottom of a data region (an area of the worksheet that contains data).
Ctrl+<- or Ctrl-> To the leftmost or rightmost cell in a data region.
PgUp Up one screen.
PgDn Down one screen.
Home Leftmost cell in a row.
Ctrl+Home Upper left corner of a worksheet.
Ctrl+End Lower left corner of a worksheet.
End+[arrowup], End+[arrowdown], If the active cell is blank, moves to
End+<-, End+-> the next blank cell in the direction of the arrow. If the active cell contains an entry, moves in the direction of the arrow to the next cell that has an entry.
End+Enter Last column in row.
If you have a mouse, moving on a worksheet is easier. Use the scroll bars to scroll to the area of the screen that contains the cell you want to work with. Then, click on the cell. To use the scroll bars:

Windows 95: Scroll Bars The size of the scroll box within the scroll bar in Excel for Windows 95 depicts how much of a window is not visible. When you drag the scroll box in a scroll bar, Excel's new ScrollTips feature displays the row or column you will move to.


Timesaver Tip: F5 (Goto) for Quick Movement! To move to a specific cell on a worksheet, pull down the Edit menu and select Go To, or press F5. Type the cell's address in the Reference text box; the address consists of the column letter and row number that define the location of the cell, for example m25. To go to a cell on a specific page, type the page name, an exclamation point, and the cell address (for example, sheet3!m25). Click on the OK button.

In this lesson, you learned how to move around in the Excel window and move around in workbooks. In the next lesson, you will learn how to use Excel's toolbars.


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