Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Introduction:

Microsoft Excel is the most widespread program for creating spreadsheets on the market today. Spreadsheets allow you to organize information in rows and tables (which create cells), with the added bonus of automatic mathematics. Spreadsheets have been used for many, many years in business to keep track of expenses and other calculations. Excel will keep track of numbers you place in cells, and if you define cells to refer to each other, any changes made in one cell will be reflected in these referring cells. It sounds a bit complicated, but Excel makes it all a breeze.

Opening Excel:
Start >> Programs >> Microsoft Office >> Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Microsoft Excel will automatically open with a blank spreadsheet spanning many columns and rows. You will notice a number of toolbars with many more options included.

Standard Toolbar:

1. New:
   Create a new, blank spreadsheet
2. Open:
   Open a previously saved spreadsheet
3. Save:
   Save your current spreadsheet
4. Permission:
5. Print:
   Prints the current document.
6. Print Preview:
   Preview the potential print of the current document.
7. Research:
   Microsoft has enabled Information Rights Management (IRM) within the new version of Excel, which can help protect sensitive documents from being copied or forwarded.  Click this for more information and options.
8. Copy:
   Copies the current selection to the clipboard, which can then be pasted elsewhere in the document.
9. Paste:
   Takes the current clipboard contents and inserts them.
10. Undo:
    Undoes the last action in the document, reverting “back” a step in time.
11. Insert Hyperlink:
    Inserts a hyperlink to an Internet location.
12. AutoSum:
    A drop-down menu of available mathematical operations to perform.
13. Sort Ascending:
    Sorts the current selection in ascending order.
14. Chart Wizard:
    Opens the “Chart Wizard,” which will walk you through the creation of a chart / diagram using the currently selected information.
15. Microsoft Excel Help:
    Brings up the Excel Help window, which will allow you to type in a key-word for more information, or click anything on screen to directly bring up further information on that subject.
16. More Options:
    There are a variety of extra options you can call or add to the toolbar, such as Spell Check, Sort Descending, Cut, Redo, etc.  By clicking the triangle, you can access these options; at the same time, you can drag this toolbar outwards more to make more available space for these options directly on the toolbar.

Formatting Toolbar:

1. Font:
   Change the font of the selected cell(s)
2. Size:
   Change the font size of the selection
3. Bold:
   Put the selection in bold face
4. Italics:
   Italicize the selection
5. Underline:
   Underline the selection
6. Align Left:
   Align the current selection to the left
7. Center:
   Align the current selection to the center
8. Align Right:
   Align the current selection to the right
9. Merge & Center:
   Combine two selected cells into one new cell that spans the width of both and center the contents of this new cell
10. Currency Style:
    Change the style in which currency is displayed
11. Percent Style:
    Change the style in which percents are displayed
12. Decrease Indent:
    Decrease the indent of a cell by approximately one character
13. Border:
    Add or alter the style of borders to format a cell with
14. Fill Color:
    Select a color to fill the background of a cell with
15. Font Color:
    Select a color to apply to a selection of text

You now have a basic understanding of the toolbars, but still have a huge window of cells in front of you. What can you do with them? Cells can contain text, numbers, or formulas (don't worry about formulas quite yet). To refer to a particular cell, you call it by its column letter, and then by its row letter. For example, the cell in the uppermost left corner would be "A1." The current cell(s) will always be listed in the "Name Box," which appears on the left below the toolbars.

Navigating the Spreadsheet:
You can use the "Up," "Down," "Left," "Right," to move (one cell at a time) throughout the spreadsheet. You can also simply click the cursor into a cell). The "tab" button will move one cell to the right. The "Enter" button will confirm the entered information and move one cell down.
If you enter text or numbers that span further than the column allows, simply place your cursor on the line dividing two columns next to their respective letters, and drag to the right or left until the desired width is achieved. You can also double-click this dividing line to have Excel automatically choose the best width.

A Simple Spreadsheet:

This is what a basic spreadsheet may look like, keeping track of the grades for five students. As you'll notice, numbers automatically align to the right, while text automatically aligns to the left. Room has been allowed at the top and the left for column and row headings, which have been placed in bold.

Simple Formulas:

"92.67" was not entered as the contents for cell "E2." The "formula bar" has the following entered into it:
=(B2+C2+D2)/3
By following the normal order of operations, the contents of the three cells in parenthesis (B2, C2, and D2) are all added to each other, and then divided by 3. This gives an average of the three grades, which is then shown in the cell "E2" (where the formula was entered).
If you wanted to do the same for students 2 through 5, you would enter in similar formulas for each cell from "E3" to "E6" replacing the column and row numbers where appropriate.
An easy method to replicate formulas is to select the cell which contains the original formula ("E2" in this case), click the bottom right corner of the selection box, and drag down several rows (to "E6" in this example). The formula will be copied down in each cell, and will change itself to reflect each new row.

Insert Rows & Columns:
You may find that you need to insert a new, blank row where there isn't a blank row any more. To insert a new blank row, place your cursor directly below where you would like a new row. Select Insert >> Rows. To insert a new column, place the cursor in a cell directly to the right of where you would like the column. Select Insert >> Columns.

Sorting:
One of Excel’s powerful features is its ability to sort, while still retaining the relationships among information.  For example, let’s take our student grade example from above.  What if we wanted to sort the grades in descending order?  First, let’s select the information we want to sort.

Now let’s select the “Sort” option from the “Data” menu.

A new window will appear asking how you would like to sort the information.  Let’s sort it by the average grade, which is in Column E; be sure to set by “Descending” order.  If there were other criteria you wished to sort by as secondary measures, you could do so; let’s select “Then by” as “Grade 3” just for the practice of doing so (“Descending” order, as well).

Excel will sort your information with the specifications you entered.  The results should look something like this:

Cell Formatting:
You may notice that, by default, Excel will leave as many decimal points as possible within the cell’s width restraints; as you increase the cell’s width, the number of decimal points increases.

Select “Cells” from the “Format” menu.  A new window will appear with a wide variety of ways in which to customize your spreadsheets.

For example, if we wanted to set the percentages fixed to only two decimal points, you can make this selection under the “Number” category within the “Number” tab.  You can also set the formatting for things such as the date, time, currency, etc.

The “Font” tab will also allow you to change the default font used on the spreadsheet.  The other tabs provide even more ways to customize your spreadsheet and its appearance; experiment with the settings to see what works best for you.

Chart Wizard:
Excel allows you to create basic – to – intermediate charts based off of information and data within your spreadsheets.  Let’s create a column chart from the student grade data from before.  First, highlight the data.

Next, select “Chart” from the “Insert” menu.

A new window will appear asking which type of chart you would like to create.  For this example, let’s do a basic pie chart.  Select “Column” from the “Chart Type” on the left side, and pick the first sub-type on the right (a normal, 2D column chart).

Click “Next.”  In this window, you’ll be asked to select your “data range”; this is the area of your spreadsheet that you wish to generate a chart from.  Since you’ve already selected the area before, it should already be entered into the appropriate area.  “Series in” allows you to choose by which value you want to arrange the chart.  Let’s arrange it by rows; this will break it down by “Grade” (such as Test 1, Test 2, etc.) and comparing the student scores next to each other.

Click “Next.”  In step three you can give the chart a name (“Chart Title”), label the X and/or Y axis, etc.

Click “Next.”  The final step will ask whether you want the chart as an object in your current spreadsheet or in a new one; generally, you will place it within the same spreadsheet.

Click “Finish,” and your chart will appear in your spreadsheet!

Microsoft Office Word 2003: Collaboration

Introduction:
In your work, you may find that you need to create and edit text documents with another person, or with a group, or you may wish to create collaborative exercises for your class. Fortunately, Word takes into consideration this potential, and comes equipped with several features that make the group reviewing process easier.

Reviewing toolbar:
In order to edit and work in a collaborative setting, you should use the "Reviewing toolbar." You can bring this toolbar up by navigating to the “View” menu bar, and select “Toolbars” >> “Reviewing.” Once the toolbar appears, you will see a set of icons that you should start to learn.  Note that the toolbar contains many other buttons and options that may not immediately be available.  Depending upon which version of Word you are using, these icons may appear slightly different.

1. Display for Review:
   Choose which version of the document you wish to view for review.
2. Show:
   Choose which items you wish to have shown in your document while reviewing.
3. Previous:
   View the previous change.
4. Next:
   View the next change.
5. Accept Change:
   Accept the current change.
6. Reject Change / Delete Comment:
   Reject the current change, or delete the current comment.
7. Insert Comment:
   Insert a comment while reviewing.
8. Highlight:
   Highlight a certain section of the document; default color is yellow.
9. Track Changes:
   Toggle on/off the ability to track changes while working on a document.
10. Reviewing Pane:
    Open a new (large) window at the bottom of the screen that keeps track of all changes made to a document.

Commenting:
When reviewing someone else's work, you may find it useful to make annotations in the document without actually changing the document itself. It is also useful, for example, in reading drafts or grading online. To insert a comment, you must first select text with the cursor. When the desired text is highlighted, navigate to the menu bar and select “Insert” >> “Comment” (or click the “Insert Comment” button).

"Comment" areas will appear in the margin. Word will highlight the text you wish to comment on, and allow you to type in the comments regarding the highlighted text. Each comment you make will be numbered by Word, and appear in the “Comments” area in the margins.

To remove a comment, first click the “Comment” area, and click “Reject Change / Delete Comment” on the Revision toolbar.

More about Track Changes:
This feature allows you to keep track of the changes you make to a document while you edit or make suggestions for revisions. Make sure a document is open in Word. Go to the “Tools” menu and select “Track Changes.”

To change the highlight color and other formatting that Word uses to identify changes, go to the menu bar and select Tools >> Options, and then select the "Track Changes" tab.

In this menu, you can change colors, and other formatting options.  If you want to indicate deletions without revealing exact text, make sure you are in the "Track Changes" tab under Tools >> Options.  For example, as a way to alter the way Word displays the changes, in the "Markup" drop down menus under "Deleted Text," replace the default "strikethrough" formatting with # or ^. The character # or ^ will replace deleted text.


Merging Tracked Changes:
When you are working in a group in which a document is being revised and edited by several people, you may want to consolidate all the changes and comments made by others. Different reviewers will be modifying the same document. So, by merging tracked changes, you can merge all changes into the original document.
To merge track changes, you must make sure you have the original document open in Word. Then, go to the “Tools” menu and select “Compare and Merge Documents.”

Open a document that has changes in it that you wish to merge with the original document. Repeat this processes until you have merged all of the desired documents to the original documents. After you have merged all the tracked changes, you can review comments made by other people, and then accept or reject their changes.


Creating Master Documents:
In terms of collaborative work, master documents are an important concept to understand. A master document contains a collection of related documents, so you can use master documents to organize large documents. When working with a group, you can save a master document for the purpose of sharing it with others, so that different people can work on the document at the same time.
Open the document you want to save as the master document in Word. First, you must make sure you are in the "Outline View." To access this view, go to the “View” menu and select “Outline.”

Here, you must assign headings, since Word will recognize the headings as the beginnings of the subdocuments. To add a heading, select the desired text and select a heading option from there “Heading” drop-down of the Standard Toolbar. This will insert the heading, and Word will recognize it as a subdocument within a master document. When you save the master document, Word assigns names to each subdocument based on the text you use in the outline headings. You can also convert an existing document to a master document and then divide it into subdocuments, or you can add existing documents to a master document to make them subdocuments.

You can navigate through a master document by using the toolbar that appears when you are in the Outline view. The "Promote" and "Demote" arrows turns selected text into different types of headings, whereas the "Demote to body text" arrow removes the Heading attribute from text, turning it into standard body text. There are also buttons that allow you to create, insert and remove subdocuments. The "Lock Document" button allows you to make the document viewable, but not writable. You can make an area of a master document unlocked by expanding the subdocuments, selecting the desired subdocument, and an on the Outlining toolbar, selecting "Lock Document.”


Versioning:
When working with several people on one document, you may have the need to save multiple versions of the same document. This is helpful in situations where you may need to go back and refer to an older revision of a document, or if you need a backup of an old version of a file. Using versioning in Word will help you to accomplish such tasks.
To save the current version of a document, go to the “File” menu and select “Versions.” Click on "Save Now." In the text box "Comments on version," type in some text that will describe the currently save version of the document.

Please note that since you will, in essence, be saving versions of documents to be archived, you cannot go back and modify older versions. If you want to be able to go back and revise the document, then you should save it as its own separate document rather than a version.

Microsoft Office Word 2003: Templates

Introduction:
Making specific kinds of documents using Microsoft Word can be made a lot easier by using templates. Templates take you step-by-step through the creation process of making a specific kind of document using pre-made layouts. This guide will introduce you to this helpful feature and some of the more useful templates available in Word.

Starting a New Document:
The only way you can start a new document from a template is by going to the menu bar, and clicking on “File” >> “New.”

Clicking on the "New Blank Document" icon button located on the standard toolbar or using the "Ctrl+N" keyboard shortcut will not bring up the menu for templates. These methods will simply begin a new blank document without giving you any options. It's important to remember that the only way start a new document by working through a template is to begin a new document from “File” >> “New” on the menu bar.

The “New Document” panel will appear on the right side of the Word window.  Underneath the section named “Templates,” click “On my computer…”

The “Templates” window will appear, and ask for your selection.  There are a wide variety of templates to choose from, especially in the “Letters and Faxes” tab.  Use the tabs to cycle through the different categories of templates available to you.

Some of the more common templates have previews available. If you would like to see a preview of the layout of the template, click on one of the template names/icons under the tab menus, and look for the preview image on the right side of the window under the "Preview" section. When you find a template you like, select the template, and then click on the "OK" button.

Installing Templates
Some templates may not be currently installed on your computer. In these cases, Word will prompt to insert the installation disk. If you do not have this disk, then you will not be able to use that template. However, you can also visit the Microsoft Template Gallery to download and install new templates.

Using the Template Wizard:
When you decide on a template to use to make a document, you will then be taken step-by-step through the template wizard. The template wizard goes through each step of the document creation process, and will ask you to input certain information along the way. You navigate through the template wizard by inputting the necessary information at each step, and then click on the "Next" button to proceed to the next step. Once you are done going through the template wizard, press the "Finish" button. Then you can go into the finished document based on the template, and edit the document as you see fit.
Note: Not all of the templates offer wizards for going through the step-by-step creation process. Rather, the template loads up a specific layout into Word, and you can edit the template directly.

Microsoft Office Word 2003: Tables

Introduction:
Creating documents using Microsoft Word allows for the manipulation and display of text and other information. Tables, which are made up of rows and columns that form cells, can be utilized to organize information in your document. Formatting text, structuring your document, and adding a little bit of aesthetic appeal to your document are just a few ways in which you can use tables in Word. By using tables, you can turn an otherwise dull and unorganized document into a more well-designed and laid-out project. This guide will provide some basic information on the creation and manipulation of tables.


Open a Document:

Before you can begin working with tables, you must first open up a document in Word. You can either start a new blank document (File >> New, or Ctrl+N), or open up a previously saved document from your computer (File >> Open, or Ctrl+O). Once the file is opened in Word, you can insert a table.

Creating a Table:
There are different methods you can use to insert a table into your Word document. If you are less experienced with tables, then you might want to consider using the "Insert Table" option. Otherwise, you can use "Draw Table," which lets you make a table by scratch by drawing it freehand using the Draw Table tool.

Insert Table:
In your document, place your cursor where you wish to insert a table. Then, go to the menu bar and select Table >> Insert >> Table.

After you make this selection, the "Insert Table" window will pop up.

Input the necessary information needed to create your table. Decide on a number of rows and columns. "AutoFit" refers to the space that the table takes up in your document. For your initial table, you might want to set the "Fixed column width" to "Auto." This sets the width to all of the columns in your table to an equal amount, and the table itself will take up the entire width of the document. When you have decided on all of your table options, click on the "OK" button. The table will then be automatically inserted into your document.

Draw Table:
If you'd like to draw your own table for scratch, go to the menu bar and select “Table” >> “Draw Table.”

Once this option is selected, the "Tables and Borders" toolbar will pop up (we will cover this toolbar more in-depth in a little bit).

Click on the first icon on this toolbar, the "Draw Table" tool (looks like a pencil drawing a line), to begin drawing a table. Then, navigate to the location in your document where you want to draw your table. Using the "Draw Table" tool, click and drag to form the outside border of the table, determining its width. When you are finished, let go of the mouse button so that the outside border of the table can be rendered.

You can draw rows and columns by using the "Draw Table" tool to draw vertical lines to create columns, and horizontal lines to form rows. Continue to draw your table as you see fit.
Now that you have the initial table inserted into your Word document (either by using the "Insert Table" or "Draw Table" method), you can begin to modify your table as needed.

The Tables and Borders Toolbar:
You'll primarily be using the Tables and Borders toolbar for formatting and modifying the appearance of your table. To open the toolbar, go to the “File” menu and select “Toolbars” >> “Tables and Borders.”

1. Draw Table: Lets you create a table by drawing it freehand (see above section).
2. Eraser: You can remove parts of your table by using the eraser to click and drag on lines, rows and columns.
3. Line Style: Click on the small triangle to show the drop down menu. From here, you can choose a line style for your borders, such as solid, dotted, dashed, and more.
4. Line Weight: Click on the small triangle to show the drop down menu. Using this, you can choose a line thickness for your table line borders. The bigger the line weight, the thicker the line.
5. Border Color: By clicking on this button, you can access the color template that will allow you to apply a color to your line borders.
6. Borders: To apply a certain border style to the borders of specific cells, or to remove the borders from specific cells completely, use your mouse to select the desired cells. Then, use the Borders menu to apply or remove borders from those selected cells. You can identify the cells that have borders by the border type icons that are a light shade of gray in the Borders menu.
7. Shading Color: You can apply a background color to cells, rows, and columns by accessing the color palette that appears when you click on the small triangle next to the paint bucket.
8. Insert Table: Clicking on this icon brings up the "Insert Table" window which allows you to input specific information about the look and design of your table (see above section on "Insert Table").
9. Merge Cells: Merging cells is the act of selecting more than one separate cell and merging them so that they become one. First, select the cells that you want to merge with your mouse (by clicking and holding within one cell and dragging the mouse across the cells you want to select), and then click on the "Merge Cells" icon. Word will automatically merge the two cells together.

     10. Split Cells: Splitting a cell is the act of selecting a specific cell, and dividing it into one or more rows or columns. Select the cell that you want to split, and then click on the "Split Cells" icon. Once you do this, the "Split Cells" window will appear. From here, you can decide how many rows or columns you wish to create from the one cell.

1. Align: Choosing an alignment from the drop-down menu allows you to format the text or content within a cell. From here, you can make your text right, left, and centered aligned. There are also other alignments to choose from, such as different horizontal and vertical alignments.
2. Distribute Rows Evenly: Makes the heights between rows equally spaced. Select the desired rows that you wish to format, and then click on the "Distribute Rows Evenly" icon.
3. Distribute Columns Evenly: Makes the widths between columns equally spaced.
4. Table AutoFormat: Clicking on this icon brings up the Table AutoFormat window. There are a number of pre-made design table templates you can use to apply to your table. You can customize colors, fonts, borders, and other table features.

1. Change Text Direction: This allows you to modify the orientation of text within a cell. The default setting is horizontal, but by clicking on this icon, you can change the orientation of the text to display vertically.
2. Sort Ascending: Sort a selection of text in cells in ascending order.
3. Sort Descending: Sort a selection of text in cells in descending order.
4. AutoSum: Automatically calculates formulas within cells.

Inserting Text and Content into a Table:
To begin adding text to a table, click your cursor in the cell where you want the text to be placed. Begin typing (or paste text from another source) into the cell. To move from one cell to another, hit the "Tab" button on your keyboard, and continue typing in the cell as needed. You can format the text within the cell using the Formatting toolbar, just as you would edit any other text in Word (see Word Introduction tutorial).
Inserting an Image into a Table:
Place your cursor into the cell where you wish to insert an image. Then, go to the menu bar, and select Insert >> Picture, and then choose from "Clip Art" or "From File." Locate a picture, and click on "Insert" to put the image into a cell.

Modifying a Table:
Not only can you edit your table using the Tables and Borders toolbar, but you can also use your mouse to physically alter a table.
Move a Table:
To move an entire table to a new location in your document, move your cursor over the table until you see the icon that appears in the upper left-hand corner of the table, shaped like a square with crosshair arrows inside.

When you see this appear, click on it. You will see that it selects the entire table. With the table selected, you can drag it to any new place in your document.
Change Row/Column Heights/Widths:
If you need to increase or decrease the height or width of a row or column, you can do so by clicking and dragging the borders of rows or columns. Drag the borders until you create the desired amount of space between rows or columns.
Table Properties:
At any time, you are free to change the properties of your table.  Right-click inside of any table and select “Table Properties.”

A new window with four tabs will appear.  Within these tabs, you can adjust every minor detail about the table including alignment, spacing, text wrapping, etc.