CHAPTER 1 ■ BECOMING ACQUAINTED WITH EXCEL

Figure 1-21. Options for optimizing Ribbon for using the Mouse or Touch Monitor

The Touch option is for those users who are using touch monitors. Selecting the touch option places
more space between the Ribbon buttons as shown in Figure 1-22, making it easier to select the correct
button with your finger.

Figure 1-22. Ribbon setup for Touch screen monitors

Changing the Touch/Mouse mode in any of the Microsoft Office products changes it for all the office
products.
You can easily remove a button from the QAT by either right-clicking the button you wish to remove and
selecting Remove from Quick Access Toolbar or you can click the drop-down button, then click the checked
item you wish to remove.
Your QAT is not limited to the items appearing in the Customize Quick Access Toolbar menu. Buttons
that are on the Ribbon can be added to the QAT by right-clicking a Ribbon button and then selecting Add to
Quick Access Toolbar from the menu. See Figure 1-23.

Figure 1-23. Adding button from Ribbon to the QAT

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CHAPTER 1 ■ BECOMING ACQUAINTED WITH EXCEL

The order in which the buttons appear on the QAT can be rearranged. You can save your QAT
customization to a file and then later import it into another workbook.
Three ways to get to the QAT customizations in the Excel options window are to
• Click the drop-down arrow on the QAT and then select More Commands…
• Right-click the Ribbon and then select Customize Quick Access Toolbar…
• Click the File tab on the Ribbon. Select Options. Select Quick Access Toolbar from
the left side of the Excel Options window.

EXERCISE 1-4: USING THE QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR

In this exercise, you will add command buttons to your QAT.

1. Click the drop-down button of the Quick Access Toolbar and then select Print
Preview and Print from the Customize Quick Access Toolbar menu.
2. Click the drop-down button of the Quick Access Toolbar and then select New.
3. Click the drop-down button of the Quick Access Toolbar and then select Open.
The Print Preview and Print, New, and Open buttons have been added to the end of
your Quick Access Toolbar. See Figure 1-24.

Figure 1-24. Quick Access Toolbar

Notice that the tools appear in the order that they were selected.

4. Right-click the Print Preview and Print button on the QAT and select Remove
from Quick Access Toolbar
5. Right-click the QAT and then select Show Quick Access Toolbar Below the
Ribbon.
6. Click the Review tab on the Ribbon. In the Proofing group, right-click the Spelling
button and select Add to Quick Access Toolbar. Your QAT should now appear as
follows. See Figure 1-25.

Figure 1-25. Quick Access Toolbar

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 CHAPTER 1 ■ BECOMING ACQUAINTED WITH EXCEL

Identifying the Current Cell

Columns are represented by letters. Rows are represented by numbers. A combination of a column letter
and a row number gives each cell a unique address. The first cell in a worksheet would have an address of
A1. A cell that is at the intersection of column G and row 5 would have a cell address of G5. The cell address
is also called a cell reference. Individual cells contain text, numbers, or formulas. The result of a formula is
displayed in the same cell where you inserted the formula.
The current (active) cell in Figure 1-26 is B6. The current cell can be identified by the following:
• Its border is bolded.
• Its column head and row head are highlighted.
• The address appears in the Name Box.
• The cell’s value or formula is displayed in the formula bar.

Figure 1-26. Different ways of identifying the current cell

Once you’ve identified the current cell, you are ready to start entering your data!

Entering Data into a Worksheet

The data you enter in a cell is not accepted until you do one of the following:
• Press the Tab key—cursor moves to the next cell
• Press the Enter key—cursor moves to the next cell
• Press any of the arrow keys—cursor moves to the next cell in the direction of the
arrow.
• Click the check mark icon on the formula bar—cursor remains in the cell.
• Pressing Ctrl + Enter—cursor remains in the cell.

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CHAPTER 1 ■ BECOMING ACQUAINTED WITH EXCEL

■ Note You can’t format the data in a cell until the data has been accepted.

If you want to overwrite all the data in a cell you can click the cell and type the new data. If you only
want to change part of the data in a cell you need to be in Edit mode. Double-clicking a cell puts it in Edit
mode; pressing F2 will do the same. As you are typing data in a cell, the data appears in both the active cell
and the formula bar. Because the data appears in both the cell and the formula bar, making changes in either
location will update the cell data.

EXERCISE 1-5: ENTERING AND ACCEPTING A CELL ENTRY

In this exercise, you will enter data in cells and use different options for accepting the entries.
1. First, enter some column headings and use the Tab key to accept them:
a. Type Assets in cell A1. Notice that as you’re typing the text in cell A1 it is also
being typed into the formula bar. Press the Tab key.
b. Type Cash in cell B1. Press the Tab key.
c. Type Supply in cell C1. Press the Tab key.
d. Type Land in cell D1. Press the Enter key. Cell A2 becomes Active,
2. Next, type Liability in cell A2 but don’t press the Tab key. Move your cursor over the
check mark in the formula bar. If the data in the cell hasn’t been accepted, it will
change color. See Figure 1-27. Click the Enter button (the check mark). The data is
accepted and the button becomes grayed out. See Figure 1-28.

Figure 1-27. Click the Enter button to accept the data

Figure 1-28. Once the data is accepted the button becomes grayed out

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 CHAPTER 1 ■ BECOMING ACQUAINTED WITH EXCEL

3. Press the Tab key.

4. Type Loan in cell B2 but don’t press the Tab key. Click the Cancel button on
the formula bar. The entry is cleared. Type Loan in cell B2 again. Press Ctrl + Enter.
Cell B2 remains the active cell. The cursor is still in cell B2 but you can’t see it.

■ Note Another way to cancel the text you are entering or to clear it even after it has been accepted is to
move your cursor over the square at the bottom right of the cell (see the cell on the left). The cursor will change
to cross-hairs. Drag the cursor toward the center of the cell. The text will fade, as in the cell on the right, and

when you let go of the mouse button the text will be gone.

5. Press the Tab key. Notice the word Ready in the bottom left corner of the status bar.
This means that the cell is ready for you to enter data into.

■ Note If you don’t see the word Ready, then right-click Excel’s Status bar at the bottom of the window and
select Cell Mode.

6. Type Wages into cell C2. When you start typing text in the cell the word Ready on
the status bar changes to Enter. Press the Tab key.
7. Double-click inside cell C1. Looking at the bottom left side of the status bar you
should see that you are in Edit mode. Change Supply to Supplies. It doesn’t matter if
you make the change in cell C1 or in the formula bar. Press Enter when you are done.
8. Click inside cell A2. Press the F2 key. This is another way of placing the cell in Edit
mode. Change Liability to Liabilities. Press Ctrl + Enter.
9. Click once inside cell D1. Since you didn’t double-click you are not in Edit mode.
The status bar still shows Ready. Notice that the cursor does not display. Type the
letter R. The word Land is cleared from the cell. Finish typing the word Replace.
Press Ctrl + Enter.
10. Type Use in cell C5. Press the down arrow key.
11. Type the in cell C6. Press the left arrow key.
12. Type arrow in cell B6. Press the up arrow key.
13. Type keys in cell B5. Press the right arrow key.

Getting Help
Excel provides help to the user within the program. Screen Tips and the Tell me what you want to do features
answer questions about formatting and entering data into your worksheet while you are working on it.
Smart Lookup enables you to search on cell contents.

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