EXCEL: How to Turn the Heading Row “On” or “Off”

When we work in Excel (Spreadsheets) whether for numbers or data management, it's always best to be sure that we've typed in a heading row, so that when we sort a column - it will be easier to understand the meaning of the data. By default, the value in the heading is not included in the sort operation.

<div>

&nbsp;</div>

Occasionally, you may need to turn on or off the heading so that the value in the heading is or is not included in the sort operation. Do one of the following:

<ul>

<li>To exclude the first row of data from the sort because it is a column heading, on the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Sort &amp; Filter, click Custom Sort, and then select My data has headers. </li>

<li>To include the first row of data in the sort because it is not a column heading, on the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Sort &amp; Filter, click Custom Sort, and then clear My data has headers.</li>

</ul>

What is Excel? And why would I use a spreadsheet?

Most of us understand that word processing software makes it much easier to create documents such as letters, forms, invitations, greeting cards and anything that contains text. Well – Excel does the same thing for us – making it easier to work lists, figures, numbers for list management, budget, statistics, data – anytime any type of calculation needs to be done. Although Excel spreadsheets/worksheets used to be used primarily for accounting and other analytical information where calculations needed to be made easily; but many of us find them a wonderful resource for list and other data management.

Like so many software application programs, Excel opens with a blank document – but in Excel that blank document is a blank worksheet, which is actually a grid of rows and columns.

In Excel, the rows of you spreadsheet/worksheet are serially numbered 1,2,3 .... and the columns are serially lettered A,B,C..... This numbering enables each space or cell to have its unique address; thus D15 represents the cell in the 4th column and the 15th row.

In Excel, using the ‘=’ sign, simple mathematical equations or formula can be used and sums, differences, products etc. calculated. Thus typing say, ‘=23+56’ in any cell will give the result of 79. The same work can be done by typing in the numbers 23 in cell A1, 56 in A2 and ‘=A1+A2’ in cell A3 and in fact what you have done is create a “formula”

Using a formula with cell references allows us to change the value in either cell A1 or A2 to get the revised result. This has significant advantages when using a complex formula or the same formula across multiple cells. The more recent your version of Excel, the easier it is to create and/or use formulas included in the software command list.

So many of the basic commands that we use all the time in Word Processing whether you use Microsoft Word Pad, Word or Word Perfect, such as Open, Save, Copy, Paste, Find, Replace Undo, Redo, Center, Left, Right etc.. are also available and work the same in Excel, Excel also offers a variety of basic commands that are designed to work with spreadsheets – whether you are managing a list of data or one with numbers and some of those are Paste Special, Filter, Sort, Wrap Text, Autofill, and Freeze panes.

And with the newer versions - Excel 2003, 2007 and 2010 - each new version adds more and more "templates" so that we don't have to recreate the wheel - so whether you are creating a budget for the holidays, a special event, your vacation or next years income & expenses - or various lists for managing data - there are hundreds of templates to choose from with the formulas already built in...

So whether you are trying to create a basic budget or want a way to quickly and easily maintain you all of your contact lists in one document – Excel is the answer.. So give it a try... it's easier than you think and can be used for so many things..

Excel – Counting “X’s” in a Column

A question that comes up quite often with respect to Excel spreadsheets – is how to create a formula that will add up/count the number of cells in a column containing "X’s":

If you have a specific column or columns, that you have put an X in and want to count the total # of X’s in a specific column, for example for attendance or other criteria, the formula you would enter in the “total cell” is noted below. Be sure however to enter the correct column & line ID’s…

Example – In your excel spreadsheet – Column C, you have put several X’s in Rows 1 thru 28, and want to now count the # of X’s in Column C, the correct formula that would be noted in the total cell C29 would be:

=COUNTIF(C1:C28,"X")

Excel – what do the “auto’s” mean

When you are working in Excel – there are several “auto” functions and they can be confusing as to how and why they are different.. Hopefully this will help…

AutoFill – creates and/or completes a series of values in an Excel spreadsheet – for example you can type January at the top of a column, and if you then drag the + auto handle from the bottom right corner of the cell that January is typed in across the rows to the right of January, Excel will now “auto-fill” February, March, April etc and continue on…

AutoFormat – adds chosen attributes to your spreadsheets, such as font styles and sizes, borders and even ranges of numerical styles – so highlight the table or area you want to format and when you choose format, auto format various styles, colors etc will appear – choose the one you like and Excel will now format that portion of the table or spreadsheet that you have highlighted – don’t like what you’ve chosen – change it

AutoSum – this adds up a column or several columns or a row of figures in a spreadsheet. This is the icon for Auto Sum “S” – So if you put your cursor in a cell at the end of a row or column (or you can highlight the range of cells” and then click on this icon on the toolbar – once you have clicked on the icon, press enter on your keyboard and Excel will calculate the total for the selected range (By the way the keyboard shortcut for this that does the same thing is: Alt + =)

Speeding Up Spreadsheet "Excel" Data Entry

When you are using spreadsheet software, such as Excel, and have a lot of data entry work to do for your mailing list or budget - try to use your keyboard instead of reaching for your mouse.

Using the mouse, is the slow way of doing anything on a computer. It's fine if you have only a small amount of data to enter or if you're not in a hurry. To speed up your data entry use the keyboard. Below is a list of keys that you can use when you want to quickly enter your data.

• Enter key: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight down to the next cell in the current column
• Tab key: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next cell in the current row
• Arrow keys: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next cell in the direction of the specific arrow key pressed. For example, if the up arrow is pressed, the active cell highlight moves up to the next cell in the current column
• Esc key: cancels the current data entry

What is Excel?

EXCEL – is the #1 spreadsheet program used in the world today - typically it is part of the Office Suite with Word, Power Point etc. Fir those of you with WORKS, yours is called spreadsheet and works very much the same way. Many icons and features seem the same as in WORD - they are and work the same. At first excel may seem intimidating, but once you learn the basics you will find countless uses for it. Excel is just a large table – having more columns (256) and rows (16,000). When a column and row meet – that area is called a “cell”

WORKBOOK VS. WORKSHEET - In Excel, a workbook can consist of any number of worksheets (similar to a word document having a number of pages). Each worksheet has a tab that appears at the bottom of the workbook window in the left corner. To activate a different worksheet, just left click on the tab. To rename a worksheet, right click on the tab, choose rename & type the new name – To change the order of the worksheets, just drag the worksheet to the location you want it.

THE MORE COLUMNS THE BETTER – whenever we are working in excel. When you work with lists/texts – such as contact lists, the more information you separate the more flexibility you will have for sorting your information later on.