WHAT BEAT JOURNALISTS NEED TO KNOW SERIES Created by Debbie Wolfe dpwolfe@sptimes.

com
SPREADSHEETS -- Level I and Level II: Technology Training Editor 1-800-333-7505, 2919
St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, Fla. USA

Skills checklist for Excel97 revised August 1999

q launching the application (software) from a desktop icon and

via "Start à Programs"
q creating a new file via File à New
q terminology (10 new terms for Excel):
1. workbook 6. row/record Windows95 review:
2. worksheet 7. column/field 1. menu bar
3. cell 8. standard toolbar 2. title bar
4. cell address 9. formatting toolbar 3. vertical scrollbar
5. active cell 10. formula bar 4. horizontal scrollbar

Nerd notes: total number of columns in a worksheet = 256

total number of rows in a worksheet = 65,536
total number of characters per cell = 32,000
total number of cells in a worksheet = 16,777,216
size of one entire worksheet, if printed = approx. 21 feet wide
by 1,365 feet long
q data entry techniques based on a small data set:
Example: Reporter Salaries (fictitious data)

A B C D E F G H
1 Last name First name Beat Level 1998 1999 % 1999 %
salary salary change of total
2 Frakes Michelle City Council Reporter 2 28,450.70 31,680.40
3 Smith David City Council Reporter 3 29,730.40 32,300.60
4 Smith Dominique City Council Reporter 2 27,930.00 30,250.00
5 Appleton Delores County Reporter 2 27,485.20 29,732.80
6 Davies Michael County Reporter 2 27,300.40 28,620.00
7 Epps Stephen GA Reporter 3 29,854.30 32,648.20
8 Williams Barbara GA Reporter 1 23,267.60 24,840.30
9 Williams Chris GA Reporter 3 31,385.00 32,790.50
10 Benton Sally Police Reporter 1 24,670.90 27,360.00
11 VanHorst William Police Reporter 1 26,670.40 28,360.50
12
13 TOTAL
14 MEAN
15 MEDIAN

1. using the mouse to move the character insertion mark for data entry
2. Tab key to "lock data" and move across the worksheet
3. Enter key to "lock data" and move down the worksheet
4. naming and saving a workbook for the first time via File à Save as
5. after the first time you save a workbook, save changes to permanent memory via
File à Save or Ctrl s or by clicking the disk icon on the standard toolbar
6. data entry in teams of two
7. data entry form via Data à Form
q data formatting techniques:
1. click on a row number to highlight (define) a whole row to make formatting changes:
• make all column headers bold (click on the "B" button on the
formatting toolbar)
• make the column headers wrap as shown
Format à Cells à Alignment … click in the "Wrap text" box
• make the salary amounts look like dollars ...
Format à Cells à Number à Currency ... make sure the "$" symbol and two
decimal places are selected
2. change the number of decimal places by using the icons on the formatting toolbar
3. resize the width of a column by clicking and dragging on the vertical bar between
column letters
4. AutoFit the width of a column by double-clicking the vertical bar between column letters
5. AutoFit the width of a column by highlighting the column (click on the letter) then,
Format à Column à AutoFit
6. highlight blocks of cells to make formatting changes:
• define cells next to one another (contiguous) -- hint: use the Shift key
• define cells not next to one another (noncontiguous) -- hint: use the Ctrl key
• highlight the blocks of cells you will create then shade their backgrounds light gray
to differentiate them from data you have obtained from public officials -- hint: use
the drop-down arrow on the paint can icon on the formatting toolbar to locate a
color pallet (gray works on color and black and white printers)
7. change the font style of the column headers (pick a condensed font)

q data design and manipulation techniques:

1. insert a row by highlighting a row and then Insert à Row
2. insert multiple rows
3. insert a column by highlighting a column and then Insert à Column
4. insert multiple columns
5. delete a row by highlighting and Edit à Delete
6. delete a column by highlighting and Edit à Delete
7. delete the contents of a cell by highlighting and using the Del key
8. define the whole data area: start in the upper left corner of the worksheet (Ctrl Home),
then, click in the cell in the upper left corner of the data area, then, Ctrl down-arrow,
Ctrl right-arrow
9. define the whole worksheet using the "secret" button (good for use only with
Format à Column à AutoFit)
10. Hide and unhide a column or columns using the mouse method
11. Hide and unhide a column or columns using the menu bar method -- Unhide hint: define
the column letters on either side of the hidden area
12. Hide and unhide a row or rows using the mouse method
13. Hide and unhide a row or rows using the menu bar method
14. undo
15. redo
16. zoom
17. large icons

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q data calculation -- the basics:
1. AutoSum (total), Tab or Enter to lock in the formula
2. viewing the formula behind the number -- all formula's start with an "=" sign
3. using function wizard to do a mean
4. adjusting a cell range within a formula
5. using function wizard to do a median
6. why is it good to calculate both the mean and median to determine the average?
7. entering in your own custom formula part one: percent change (difference) -- formula
hint: (new-old)/old then click on the icon on the formatting toolbar to multiply the
decimal value by 100
8. copy the percent change formula down the column using the "special" fill handle
technique -- no dragging!
9. entering in your own custom formula part two: percent of total 1999 --
hint: you'll need to use the "$" symbol to anchor the appropriate cell address of the total
value (think of the anchor as an electronic thumb tack) -- Potential trap: What happens if
you omit the anchors in the cell address? formula hint: divide each % change value by
the total … think of this as a mathematical way to determine how big each slice of pie is
in relation to the whole
10. increasing and decreasing decimal places via the formatting toolbar or from the
menu bar via Format à Cells à (number/currency/percentage)
q simple sort (alphabetize the last names) via Data à Sort
q ascending vs. descending with characters and numbers
q sort the salary amounts from high to low
q multiple sorts (alphabetize "Beat" A to Z, then "Last name" A to Z, then "First name" A to Z)
q simple filter via Data à Filter
q the only sure fire way to turn off a filter and be 100 percent certain you are working with all your
data and not a subset -- Tip: Turn the filter process off and start over each time to make sure
you are always analyzing all of your data!
q custom filter via Data à Filter, drop-down arrow in selected column, choose custom
q custom filter wildcard searches -- filter so only those records associated with "City Council" are
visible -- review of mathematical operators as Excel understands them! (=, >, <, >=, <=, <>)
q filter so only those records associated with "City Council" and "Police" are visible
q custom filter "and" vs. "or"
q wildcard use in custom filters
q copying and pasting a filtered data set onto a new worksheet via Edit à Copy; Edit à Paste
q Ctrl c and Ctrl v keyboard shortcuts
q using "paste special" to paste just the data values -- no formulas!
q renaming a worksheet
q quiz questions: Which level(s) of reporters received the highest mean and median pay
increase? What was the total amount spent on raises?
q leave the reporter salary file open while you open an existing file to practice using a large data
set based on actual campaign finance records
q freeze and unfreeze panes; horizontal only; horizontal and vertical
q review quiz questions: How much money came from out-of-state contributions? Overall,
which contributor gave the most? How much money came from "legal" sources? What is the
influence of money from legal sources?

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q data clean-up tips:
• filter
• sort
• search and replace
• separating data using the "text to columns" function
• combining data using the "concatenate (&)" function
• other useful text functions: proper, replace, substitute, find
q display only those contributions that are $100 or more -- instead of using a custom filter, solve
this problem by creating a new column and using an IF statement in a formula so the results
are part of the permanent data area -- use Help to locate the tip sheet for IF formulas
q adding comments to cells
q editing comments
q how many contributions were over $100? -- use the COUNTIF function
q subtotals based on city names
q collapsing and expanding a subtotal outline
q in terms of total contributions, what are the top five cities?
q while a subtotal or filter is turned on...copying only visable cells via Edit à Go To... à
Special... à Visable cells only
q simple charts -- Trick: column order, sort order and highlighting make a difference; then, F11
q switching between workbooks via Window on the menu bar
q open a third file which contains fictitious data based on police records
q calculating a per capita murder rate
q formatting cells and/or columns for data entry of date values
q calculating date values -- how the serial numbers work and why they are helpful
q how Excel handles the year 2000 issue for dates (what you really need to know about
birthdays!)
q formatting cells and/or columns for data entry of time values
q calculating time values
q formatting cells and/or columns for data entry of ZIP codes, telephone numbers, etc.
q print preview:
• portrait vs. landscape
• percent reduction
• headers (sheet tab labels) and footers (Pg. 1 of ?)
• gridlines
• column headers
• printing comments
q closing workbooks
q Windows95 directory management -- creating new directories
q file downloading techniques:
• downloading data from the Web as an Excel file (Florida campaign finance data)
• downloading data from the Web as an Acrobat Reader (.pdf) file (Census data)
• downloading data from the Web as a text (ASCII) file (Census data)
q converting .pdf data to text files using Word
q importing text files into Excel using the text import wizard -- working with delimited data
q copying and pasting Acrobat Reader (.pdf) narrative into Excel

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q troubleshooting tips:
• to avoid large file sizes that may not fit on a standard floppy disk, turn off subtotals
before saving the file to permanent memory
• if your file size is larger than you expected, check to make sure any formatting changes
you made regarding shading do not extend beyond the actual data area
• if you see a series of ##### marks, your column width is not wide enough to display the
data
q transferring files between bureaus using a shared drive (Times 19 "S"; transfer)
q storage devices: LS-120 floppy disks, JAZ drives, ZIP disks, 3-1/2 HD floppy disks, etc.
q Excel via e-mail:
• e-mailing an Excel file as an attachment
• downloading an Excel e-mail attachment file
q interactive training sessions on networked PCs via NetMeeting and Virtual Network Computing
(VNC)
q mileage form on the News intranet
q trip reimbursement form on the News intranet
q BONUS topic: VLOOKUP
q review -- identify the key icons on the standard toolbar:

q review -- identify the key icons on the formatting toolbar:

q resource books you may want to purchase:

Microsoft Excel 97 by Karl Schwartz Crash Course Excel97 by Anne Prince
DDC Publishing; Visual Reference Basics Mike Murach & Associates
ISBN: 1-56243-459-4 ISBN: 0-911625-99-2
small paperback with spiral binding; paperback; 83 pp; $15.00
224 pp.; $15.00