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Advanced Spreadsheets with Excel

Skills and Operative Competence

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Learning objectivesLearning ObjectivesLearning objectives

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Know the difference between absolute and relative cell references.

Know how to use the sort function.

Be able to create charts and graphs from spreadsheet data.

By the end of this unit you should:

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When formulae and functions have been replicated, Excel changes the cell reference so that they are relative the new positions.

Cell references

Sometimes a formula refers to a specific cell (like a VAT figure) that should not be altered when it is replicated. This is an absolute cell reference and is indicated by placing a ‘$’ in front of the appropriate cell reference in the formula.

For example, if cell A1 contains the formula =B1+C1 and thisis copied to cell A2, it will become =B2+C2.

This is a relative cell reference.

For example, if cell A1 contains the formula =$B$1+C1 and thisis copied to cell A2, it will become =$B$1+C2.

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Cell references

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Sorting

Sorting within a spreadsheet is easy:

Highlight the area you wish to sort.Select Sort from the Data menu.Select your sorting options.

Excel automatically sorts the data that has been entered into alphanumerical order, but you can select whether this is to be in ascending or descending order.

You can also sort on more than one criteria,e.g. sort first by points and then by surname.

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Sorting in Excel

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Spreadsheets are excellent for producing charts to displayyour data in an understandable and easily interpreted format.

Graphs

Make sure you choose the most appropriate graph type for your data. Using the wrong graph type can cause confusion.

To create a chart or graph:

Organize and highlight the data you wish to use.Select Chart from the Insert Menu.Follow the instructions of the Chart Wizard.

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Once you have created your chart you can add titles and data labels. A chart has different menu options depending on where you click your mouse.

Labelling charts

Right-clicking on a blank space within the chart area will allowyou to select chart options. From here you can add a titleand axis labels.

Title

X axis label

Y axis label

Double-clicking on areas of the graph itself will allow you to change its colours and the thickness of its lines.

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Legends

A chart is of no value if you do not know what the colours of each section or bar represent. Therefore, it is important to create a key or legend which tells the user the informationthey need in order to interpret the graph properly.

Excel will automatically create a legend if you include the column heading in your chart data selection, or you can manually add a legend in the chart options pop-up menu.

This does not tell the user what the datameans.

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Advanced functions and charts

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As with word processing documents, you can insert headers and footers into spreadsheets to let users know important details like page numbers, dates and who the author was.

You can add headers and footers by:

Opening the View menu.

Selecting Header and Footer.

Or, you can create your own headers and footers by clickingon Custom Header or Custom Footer.

You can then select from a range of preset headers and footers (which will automatically add page numbers, dates, etc. to your document).

Headers and footers

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Unlike most other applications, spreadsheets do not always fit onto a single page. This can make printing difficult as youmay end up with data spilling over onto many pages.

To select a specific area of your spreadsheet for printing:

Printing

Try to keep your spreadsheets concise by using small font sizes and minimizing the width of columns.

Highlight the area youwant to print.Go to the File menu.Click on Print Area.Select Set Print Area.

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Printing

You can also change the print area by selectingPage Break Preview from the View menu.

This will bring up a view of your spreadsheet, with blue lines representing where the page breaks will be.

You can move these lines around until you are happy with the selected print area.

Remember: your spreadsheet may look better if it is printedin landscape rather than portrait view. Check Print Previewfirst before printing, to be sure the data will print clearly.

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Summary quiz

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Glossary