Introduction

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows,

macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and
a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Application. It has been a very
widely applied spreadsheet for these platforms, especially since version 5 in 1993, and it
has replaced Lotus 1-2-3 as the industry standard for spreadsheets. Excel forms part
of Microsoft Office.

Basic Operation
Microsoft Excel has the basic features of all spreadsheets, using a grid
of cells arranged in numbered rows and letter-named columns to organize data
manipulations like arithmetic operations. It has a battery of supplied functions to answer
statistical, engineering and financial needs. In addition, it can display data as line graphs,
histograms and charts, and with a very limited three-dimensional graphical display. It
allows sectioning of data to view its dependencies on various factors for different
perspectives (using pivot tables and the scenario manager). It has a programming
aspect, Visual Basic for Applications, allowing the user to employ a wide variety of
numerical methods, for example, for solving differential equations of mathematical
physics, and then reporting the results back to the spreadsheet. It also has a variety of
interactive features allowing user interfaces that can completely hide the spreadsheet
from the user, so the spreadsheet presents itself as a so-called application, or decision
support system (DSS), via a custom-designed user interface, for example, a stock
analyzer, or in general, as a design tool that asks the user questions and provides
answers and reports. In a more elaborate realization, an Excel application can
automatically poll external databases and measuring instruments using an update
schedule, analyze the results, make a Word report or PowerPoint slide show, and e-mail
these presentations on a regular basis to a list of participants. Excel was not designed to
be used as a database. Microsoft allows for a number of optional command-line switches
to control the manner in which Excel starts.

Vocabulary

 3-D Reference -- A reference to the same cell or range in multiple worksheets that
you use in a formula.
 Absolute Cell Reference -- A cell reference that does not change when copied or
moved to a new cell.
 Active Cell -- The cell in the worksheet in which you can type data.
 Active Worksheet -- The worksheet that is displayed in the work area.
 Adjacent Range -- A range where all cells touch each other and form a rectangle.
 Align -- To specify how the contents of a cell are lined up horizontally or vertically
within the cell.
 Argument -- The value the function uses to perform a calculation, including a
number, text, or a cell reference that acts as an operand.
 Ascending Sort -- To arrange data with letters in alphabetical order (A to Z), data
with numbers from lowest to highest, and data with dates from earliest to latest.
 Attributes -- Styling features used to change the appearance of text.
 AutoFit -- An automatic determination of the best width for a column or the best
height for a row, based on its contents.
 Automatic Page Break -- A page break Excel inserts whenever it runs out of room
on a page.
 Average -- Function that finds the average of a range of cells.
 Axis -- A horizontal or vertical line that establishes the relationship between data
in a chart.
 Borders -- A line around the edges of a cell.
 Cell -- The intersection of a column and a row in a table or worksheet.
 Cell Reference -- A unique identifier for a cell, which is formed by combining the
cell's column letter and row number.
 Cell Style -- A collection of formatting characteristics you apply to a cell or range
of data.
 Clear -- To remove all the formatting applied to a cell or range of cells.
 Chart -- A visual representation of numerical data, which can be in the form of lines,
bars, wedges in pies, or other graphics.
 Chart Area -- The entire chart and all other chart elements.
 Chart Layout -- An arrangement that specifies which elements are included in a
chart and where they are placed.
 Chart Sheet -- A separate sheet in the workbook that stores a chart.
 Chart Style -- Formatting applied to a chart based on the colors, fonts, and effects
associated with the workbook's theme.
 Column -- Appears vertically in the worksheet; identified by letters at the top of the
worksheet window.
 Column Chart -- A chart that uses bars of varying heights to illustrate values in a
worksheet.
 Column Heading -- The column letter.
 Comment -- A note attached to a cell that explains or identifies information
contained in the cell.
 Conditional Formatting -- Formatting that changes the look of cells that meet a
specified condition.
 Conditional Formula -- A formula that makes calculations based on certain
conditions.
 Copy -- To place a copy of selected text on the Clipboard or the Office Clipboard.
 Currency Format -- Allows you to set the format of the cell to a dollar value.
 Cut -- To move cell contents from the original position and place in the new
location.
 Data Label -- Text or numbers that provides additional information about a data
marker.
 Data Marker -- A symbol (such as a bar, line, dot, slice, and so forth that represents
a single data point or value from the corresponding worksheet cell.
 Data Series -- A group of related information in a column or row of a worksheet
that is plotted on the chart.
 Data Source -- The chart data stored in a range of cells in the worksheet.
 Data Table -- A grid that displays the data plotted in the chart.
 Date and Time Functions -- Functions that convert serial numbers to a month, a
day, or a year, or that insert the current date or the current date and time.
 Date Format -- Allows you to set the format of the cell to a date.
 Descending Sort -- To arrange data with letters from Z to A, data with numbers
from highest to lowest, and data with dates from oldest to newest.
 Destination -- The location where data will appear.
 Dialog Box -- A box that opens when you strike a command that allows you to
choose more options.
 Dummy column/row -- an empty column or row in a spreadsheet between the data
and the totals line. Used in case more values need to be entered at a later time.
 Electronic Spreadsheet -- used to create professional-looking documents that
perform numeric calculations rapidly and accurately.
 Embedded Chart -- A chart inserted in the center of the worksheet.
 Exploded Pie chart -- A pie chart with one or more slices pulled away from the pie
to distinguish them.
 Fill -- The background color of a cell.
 Fill Handle -- The black square in the lower-right corner of the active cell or range
that you drag over the cells you want to fill.
 Filling -- Copying a cell's contents and/or formatting into an adjacent cell or range.
 Filter -- To display a subset of the data that meets certain criteria and temporarily
hide the rows that do not meet the specified criteria.
 Filter Arrow -- An arrow that appears in a column heading cell that opens the
AutoFilter menu.
 Financial Functions -- Functions that are used to analyze loans and investments.
 Fixed -- allows you to set the number of decimal places shown on a value.
 Font -- The design of text.
 Font Size -- The height of characters in points.
 Font Style -- A formatting feature you can apply to a font to change its appearance.
Common font styles are bold, italic and underlining.
 Footer -- Text that is printed at the bottom of each page.
 Format Painter -- A feature that copies format attributes such as colors, borders,
and fill effects from an object, text, or cell in order to apply the same formatting to
another object, text, or cell.
 Formula -- An equation that calculates a new value from values currently in a
worksheet.
 Formula AutoComplete -- A tool to help you enter a formula with a valid function
name and arguments.
 Formula bar -- The box to the right of the Name Box that displays a formula when
the cell of a worksheet contains a calculated value (or the results of a formula.)
 Freeze Panes -- To keep selected rows and/or columns of the worksheet visible
on the screen as the rest of the worksheet scrolls.
 Function -- A shorthand way to write an equation that performs a calculation.
 Header -- Text that is printed at the top of each page.
 Hyperlink -- Text, cell, or an object that when clicked "jumps to" another location,
such as another file location or a Web site.
 Indent -- To shift data within a cell and insert space between the cell border and
its content.
 Landscape Orientation -- A page or worksheet rotated so it is wider than it is long.
 Legend -- A list that identifies patterns, symbols, or colors used in a chart.
 Line Chart -- A chart that uses points connected by a line to illustrate values in a
worksheet.
 Logical Functions -- Functions that display text or values if certain conditions exist.
 Logical Test -- a stated condition that is a question that can be answered with true
or false.
 Manual Calculation -- Lets you determine when Excel calculates formulas in the
worksheet.
 Manual Page Break -- A page break you insert to start a new page.
 Margin -- Blank space around the top, bottom, left, and right sides of a page.
 Mathematical Functions -- Functions that manipulate quantitative data in a
worksheet.
 Maximum -- Function that finds the highest value in a range of cells
 Menu Ribbons -- contains icons and menus from which you select Excel
commands
 Merge -- To combine multiple cells into one cell.
 Minimum -- Function that finds the lowest value in a range of cells.
 Mixed Cell Reference -- A cell reference that contains both relative and absolute
references.
 Name Box -- The cell reference area located below the Ribbon, which displays the
cell reference of the active cell.
 Nonadjacent Range -- A range that includes two or more adjacent ranges and
selected cells.
 Normal View -- The worksheet view best for entering and formatting data in a
worksheet.
 Number Format -- Changes the way data looks in a cell.
 Object -- Anything that appears on the screen that you can select and work with
as a whole, such as a shape, picture, or chart.
 Office Clipboard -- a temporary storage area that holds what you cut or copy. You
can collect up to 24 items on the Clipboard.
 Operand -- A constant (text or number) or cell reference used in a formula.
 Operator -- A symbol that indicates what mathematical operation to perform on the
operands such as a plus sign (+) for addition.
 Order of Operation -- The sequence used to calculate the value of a formula.
 Orientation -- Rotates cell contents to an angle or vertically.
 Page Break Preview -- The worksheet view for adjusting page breaks in a
worksheet.
 Page Layout Preview -- The worksheet view that shows how the worksheet will
appear on paper.
 Paste -- To copy an item stored on the Clipboard or the Office Clipboard to a
location in a file.
 Percentage Format -- Allows you to set the format of the cell to a percentage value.
 Picture -- A digital photograph or other image file.
 Pie Chart -- A chart that shows the relationship of a part to a whole.
 Plot Area -- The graphical representation of all of the data series.
 Point-and-click Method -- In a formula, to click a cell rather than type its cell
reference.
 Portrait Orientation -- A page or worksheet rotated so it is longer than it is wide.
 Precedence -- order of operations
 Print area -- The cells and ranges designated for printing.
 Print titles -- Designated rows and/or columns in a worksheet that print on each
page.
 Range -- A group of selected cells.
 Range Reference -- The unique identifier for a range, which is the cell in its upper-
left corner and the cell in its lower-right corner, separated by a colon.
 Relative Cell Reference -- A cell reference that adjusts to its new location when
copied or moved.
 Research Task Pane -- A task pane that provides access to information typically
found in references such as dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias.
 Rows -- Appears horizontally in the worksheet; identified by numbers on the left
side of the worksheet window.
 Row Heading -- The row number.
 Scale -- To resize a worksheet to print on a specific number of pages.
 Scatter Chart -- A chart that shows the relationship between two categories of data;
sometimes called an XY chart.
 Screen Clipping -- The area you choose to include in a screenshot.
 Screenshot -- A picture of all or part of something you see on your monitor, such
as a Word document, an Excel workbook, a photograph, or a Web page.
 Shape -- Rectangles, circles, arrows, lines, flowchart symbols, or callouts that can
help make a worksheet more informative.
 Sheet tabs -- The name of each worksheet at the bottom of the worksheet window.
Three is the default number of worksheets and you can have as many as 255.
 SmartArt Graphic -- A graphic diagram that visually illustrates text and includes
formatted graphics.
 Sort -- To arrange a list of words or numbers in ascending or descending order.
 Source -- The location data is being transferred from.
 Sparklines -- A mini chart you can insert into a cell.
 Split -- To divide the worksheet window into two or four panes that scroll
independently.
 Spreadsheet -- A grid of rows and columns in which you enter text, numbers, and
the results of calculations.
 Statistical Functions -- Functions that are used to describe large quantities of data.
 Status bar -- located at the bottom of the Excel window. Left side provides a brief
description of the active command or task in progress. The right side of the status
bar shows the status of important keys such as Caps Lock and Num Lock.
 Style -- A combination of formatting characteristics such as alignment, font, font
size, font color, fill color, and borders that are applied simultaneously.
 Sum Button -- Inserts the SUM function to add long columns or rows of numbers.
 Task pane -- an organizational tool that allows you to perform routine tasks quickly
and easily.
 Template -- A predesigned workbook file that you can use as the basis or model
for new workbooks.
 Text Functions -- Functions that are used to format and display cell contents.
 Tick Marks -- marks on the y axis that create a scale of measure for each value.
 Title bar -- displays the program name and filename of the open worksheet. Also
contains a control menu box with a close button and resizing buttons.
 Theme -- A preset collection of design elements, including fonts, colors, and other
effects.
 Toolbars -- contain buttons for frequently used Excel commands
 Trigonometric Functions -- Functions that manipulate quantitative data in a
worksheet.
 Truncate -- To hide text that does not fit in a cell.
 Worksheet -- A computerized spreadsheet in Excel
 Worksheet Range -- A group of adjacent worksheets.
 Workbook -- A group of adjacent worksheets.
 Wrap Text -- To move data to a new line when the cell is not wide enough to display
all the contents.
Microsoft Excel’s History – from 1982 until today

The electronic spreadsheet has been in existence since 1978, but it was 1982 that
Microsoft became involved.

The first major leap occurred in 1978 when VisiCalc was created by Dan Bricklin,
a student at Harvard Business School. It was basic software, capable of producing a
spreadsheet of only 5 columns by 20 rows. Bob Frankston partnered with Bricklin to
create the version that eventually hit the markets and became a major success.

The next major spreadsheet success after VisiCalc was Lotus 1-2-3, created by a
team headed by Mitch Kapor in 1983. Lotus 1-2-3 improved on VisiCalc by including
charting and basic database functions in addition to VisiCalc’s calculation capabilities. It
became a huge success, far outshining VisiCalc.

In 1982, while major progress was being made by Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft
developed their own spreadsheet application called MultiPlan. Developed to work on
CP/M and MS-DOS based systems it was roundly beaten by Lotus 1-2-3 on MS-DOS
based platforms.

MultiPlan was improved, then in 1985 was renamed Excel and, for the first time,
included a graphical interface. It was usable only on the Apple Mac, which first came into
production in 1984.

After Microsoft produced (and stabilised) the Windows operating system, Excel
was re-engineered for this new platform and in 1987 Microsoft produced the first version
of Excel for windows, called Excel 2.0.

Here’s a timeline created by John Walkenbach at his excellent website www.j-

walk.com. We recommend you bookmark John’s site – as well as being the author of
many authoritative books on Excel, it’s an excellent resource for Excel users.
Version Released Comments

1 1985 Version 1, for the Macintosh was released.

The first Windows version was labelled “2” to

2 1987 correspond to the Mac version. This included a run-
time version of Windows.

Included toolbars, drawing capabilities, outlining,

3 1990 add-in support, 3D charts, and many more new
features.

The first “popular” version. Included lots of usability

4 1992
features.

A major upgrade. Included multi-sheet workbooks

5 1993
and support for VBA.

Known as Excel 95. The first major 32-bit version of

7 1995
Excel**. Feature-wise, it’s very similar to Excel 5.

Known as Excel 97. A new interface for VBA

8 1997 developers, UserForms, data validation, and lots
more.

Known as Excel 2000. Can use HTML as a native file

9 1999 format, “self-repair” capability, enhanced clipboard,
pivot charts, modeless user forms.
 Known as Excel 2002, this is part of Office XP. It has
a long list of new features, but most of them will
10 2001 probably be of little value to the majority of users.
Perhaps the most significant feature is the ability to
recover your work when Excel crashes.

It’s called Microsoft Office Excel 2003.

The new features in this version are: (a) improved
11 2003 support for XML, (b) a new “list range” feature, (c)
Smart Tag enhancements, and (d) corrected
statistical functions. Most users will not find the
upgrade worthwhile.

Finally, some major changes in Excel. For some, the

12 2007
changes may actually be too major.

New features include sparkline graphics, pivot table

14 2010
slicers, an updated Solver, and a 64-bit version.

New features include a single-document interface,

15 2013 charting enhancements, and recommended charts
and pivot tables.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Excel

https://sites.google.com/a/siren.k12.wi.us/mrs-peterson-s-classroom/Downhome/computer-
applications/ca-vocabulary-lists

https://www.exceldimensions.com.au/microsoft-excel/microsoft-excels-history-from-1982-until-today/
 A
RESEARCH PAPER
IN
MICROSOFT EXCEL

Submitted to: Sir Maykell Velasquez Submitted by: John Kenneth V. Ereso

Subject: Computer 5 Course & Section: BSA 4-A