Microsoft Excel Basics
- Aleeshya Broome-Cordon
This page will guide you through basic functions in Microsoft Excel. This is intended to assist you as you complete tasks in Excel related to the Install Curriculum or Installer Scorecards.
Common Excel Terms & Definitions
Edit a Cell
Highlight a Group of Cells
Copy and Paste Data
Duplicate a Tab
Rename a Tab
Fill/Autofill a Grouping of Cells
Wrap Text
Insert a New Column or Row
Expanding a Column or Row
Common Excel Terms & Definitions
Click on the cell or navigate to the cell using your keyboard’s arrow key
To finish editing:
Click outside of the cell or
Use the ‘Tab' key on your keyboard or
Use the ‘Return/Enter’ key on your keyboard
Double click on the cell to select a specific position for your cursor
OR
Click on the cell or navigate to the cell and click on the text in the formula bar
To finish editing:
Click outside of the cell
Use the ‘Tab' key on your keyboard
Use the ‘Return/Enter’ key on your keyboard
With your mouse, click on the first cell in the group to highlight and drag to cover all applicable cells
Right click to view a menu of options, or use keyboard shortcuts to copy, paste, or format the data.
Click on the cell to copy
Right click and select ‘Copy’ or use the Ctrl + C shortcut on your keyboard (Cmd + C for Mac Users)
Click on the cell to paste the data into
Right click and select ‘Paste’ or use the Ctrl + V shortcut on your keyboard (Cmd + V for Mac Users)
To reset the copied cells, use the Esc key on your keyboard
Click and highlight the cells to copy
Right click and select ‘Copy’ or use the Ctrl + C shortcut on your keyboard (Cmd + C for Mac Users)
Click on the empty area to paste the data into
Right click and select ‘Paste’ or use the Ctrl + V shortcut on your keyboard (Cmd + V for Mac Users)
To reset the copied cells, use the Esc key on your keyboard
Click on the column to copy
Right click and select ‘Copy’ or use the Ctrl + C shortcut on your keyboard (Cmd + C for Mac Users)
Click on the column to paste the data into
Right click and select ‘Paste’ or use the Ctrl + V shortcut on your keyboard (Cmd + V for Mac Users)
To reset the copied cells, use the Esc key on your keyboard
Click on the row to copy
Right click and select ‘Copy’ or use the Ctrl + C shortcut on your keyboard (Cmd + C for Mac Users)
Click on the row to paste the data into
Right click and select ‘Paste’ or use the Ctrl + V shortcut on your keyboard (Cmd + V for Mac Users)
To reset the copied cells, use the Esc key on your keyboard
Hover over the tab you would like to duplicate
Right click
Select Move or Copy…
Select where in the workbook you would like to place the tab/sheet
Select Create a copy
Select OK
Right click the tab you would like to rename
Select Rename
Enter the name for the new sheet
Click anywhere in the sheet or select Return on your keyboard
Tab Names cannot include special characters such as " / \ : ? * "
Tab Names have a character limit of 31
Fill/Autofill a grouping of cells
Select the cell you would like to duplicate
Hover your cursor over the small square in the bottom right corner of the cell
Click, hold, and drag down over the cells you want to fill with the text
Release the mouse over the last cell
Click anywhere in the worksheet to exit
This process also works for autofilling horizontally across a sheet
Establish a sequence of numbers (or text) with at least 2 unique cells
Highlight all cells in the sequence
Hover your cursor over the small square in the bottom right corner of the last cell in the sequence
Click, hold, and drag down over the cells you want to fill with the sequence
Release the mouse over the last cell
Click anywhere in the worksheet to exit
This process also works for autofilling horizontally across a sheet
NOTE: To create a repetitive pattern of numbers rather than continuation of numbering, establish a sequence with 2 instances of the pattern:
Cell A1: 1
Cell A2: 2
Cell A3: 1
Cell A4: 2
Select the cell with the number/date you would like to duplicate
Hover your cursor over the small square in the bottom right corner of the cell
Click, hold, and drag down over the cells you want to fill with the number
Release the mouse over the last cell
Click anywhere in the worksheet to exit
This process also works for autofilling horizontally across a sheet
If the cell you are editing contains text longer than the size of the cell, you can wrap the text to show on multiple lines.
Select the cell to wrap
In the Home ribbon at the top of the page, select Wrap Text
Highlight the column to the right of where you would like to insert a new column
Right click
Select Insert
Highlight the row below where you would like to insert a new column
Right click
Select Insert
At the top of the sheet, hover over the line on the right side of the column
Click, hold, and drag the column to the desired width
OR
To expand based on the greatest length of text in the column:
At the top of the sheet, hover over the line on the right side of the column
Double click on the line. It will auto-size to the greatest length of text
On the left side of the sheet, hover over the line on the bottom of the row
Click, hold, and drag the column to the desired height
OR
To expand based on the largest paragraph of text in the column (only if text is wrapped):
At the top of the sheet, hover over the line on the bottom of the row
Double click on the line. It will auto-size to the largest paragraph of text in the row
