Advanced Microsoft Excel Handout

A. Controlling Page Setup, including headers and footers

Page setup helps determine how a printed page will appear.
Page Layout > Page setup box (lower right)
To change orientation, select the Orientation command, then choose either Portrait or Landscape
from the drop-down menu.
Portrait orients the page vertically, while Landscape orients the page horizontally.
The header is a section of the workbook that appears in the top, while the footer appears in the bottom
part. They generally contain page number and name.
Insert > Text group > Header and Footer
B. Setting print titles and page breaks
Print titles specify rows and columns in Excel that will be printed on each printed page.
Page Layout > Print Titles command
Inserting a Page Break lets you print different parts of your workbook across separate pages.
Two types of page breaks: vertical (separate columns) and horizontal (separate rows)
Select Page Break Preview, its at the lower right of Excel.
Select the row/column where you want the page break to appear.
Page Layout > Breaks > Insert Page Break.
Page Break is represented by a grey line.
C. Charts
Select the data that you want to chart.
Insert >Charts > Select the appropriate chart
Use the Chart Tools to modify the chart such as titles and data labels, and to change the design, layout,
or format of your chart.
D. Freezing Panes
Freezing panes lets you scroll through your content while continuing to view the frozen cells.
For freezing rows: Select the row below the row(s) you want to freeze. (Ex: If you want to freeze rows
1 and 2, youll need to select row 3.)
For freezing columns: Select the column on the right of the column(s) you want to freeze. (Ex: If you
want to freeze column A, you'll need to select column B.)
View > Freeze Panes command > Freeze Pane
To unfreeze rows or columns, Freeze Panes command, then select Unfreeze Panes from the dropdown menu.
E. Splitting worksheets
The Split command allows you to divide the worksheet into multiple panes that scroll separately.
Select the cell/row/column where you want to split the worksheet.
View > Split command
You can scroll through each pane separately using the scroll bars, allowing you to compare different
sections of the workbook.
To remove the split, click the Split command again.
F. Hiding and Unhiding
To hide columns/rows, select the column(s)/row(s) to be hidden.
Right-click on that selection, then select Hide from the popup menu.
To unhide columns, you must first select the columns both on the left and right of the hidden column(s),
right-click the selection, and select Unhide from the popup menu.
To unhide rows, you must first select the rows both above and below the hidden row(s), right-click the
selection, and select Unhide from the popup menu.
G. Navigating multiple worksheets
In the bottom-left corner of the Excel workbook, youll see four navigation buttons to the left of the
worksheet tabs.
Right-clicking on these buttons will display a list of all the worksheets, identified by name, in the current
workbook. Selecting a name in this list will take you to that worksheet.

H. Renaming and color-coding worksheet tabs

For color-coding, right-click on the worksheet tab you want to change.
Choose Tab Color from the popup menu.
Select a color to use for the tab.
For renaming, right-click on the worksheet tab you want to change.
Choose Rename from the popup menu.
Type in the new name, then press Enter.
I.

Inserting, copying, moving, and deleting worksheets

To insert a new worksheet, click the (+) sign at the bottom of the screen.
To insert a new worksheet behind an existing worksheet, select that worksheet and then on the Home
tab, in the Cells group, click Insert, then click Insert Sheet.
To move a worksheet in the same workbook, just select and drag that worksheet to where you want to
move it.
To move a worksheet to another workbook, right-click the worksheet you want to move, click Move or
Copy, then choose the book where you want to move it.
To copy a worksheet in the same workbook, right-click the worksheet you want to copy, click Move or
Copy, then check Create a copy.
To copy a worksheet to another workbook, right-click the worksheet you want to copy, click Move or
Copy, choose the book where you want to copy it, then check Create a copy.
To delete a worksheet, right click on the worksheet tab, then click Delete.

J. Working on multiple workbooks

You can open as many workbooks as you like, and Excel keeps track of them individually. You can then
switch between workbooks by using the Windows menu.
K. Naming cells and ranges and using them in formulas
Select the cell/range of cells that you want to name.
Click the Name box at the left end of the formula bar.
Type the name that you want to use, then press Enter.
Now you can use this named range in your formulas. (Ex: sum(Prices) instead of sum(B4,C4).)
L. Modifying and deleting names
To delete or change a cell name, click the Formulas tab, then click Name Manager.
The Name Manager window displays and lists all of the cell names that have ever been defined in the
worksheets in that workbook.
To delete a cell name, click on the cell name and click Delete button.
To change a cell name, click on the cell name, click the Edit button, type the new name, then click OK.
M. Sorting and Filtering data
You can quickly reorganize a worksheet by sorting your data.
To sort a column, select a cell in the column you want to sort by. Select the Data tab on the Ribbon,
then click the Ascending command sort (ascending to Sort A to Z), or the Descending command sort
(ascending to Sort Z to A).
Filters can be used to narrow down the data in your worksheet, allowing you to view only the
information you need.
In order for filtering to work correctly, your worksheet should include a header row, which is used to
identify the name of each column.
Select the Data tab, then click the Filter command.
A drop-down arrow will appear in the header cell for each column.
Click the drop-down arrow for the column you want to filter.
The Filter menu will appear.
Uncheck the box next to Select All to quickly deselect all data.
Check the boxes next to the data you want to filter, then click OK.
The data will be filtered, temporarily hiding any content that doesn't match the criteria.
To clear a filter, click the drop-down arrow for the filter you want to clear. Choose Clear Filter From
<Column Name> from the Filter menu.

N. Advanced Filtering Options

Filtering with search.
In the filter menu, enter a search term into the search box. Search results will appear automatically
below the Text Filters field as you type. The worksheet will be filtered according to your search term.
Advanced date filters can be used to view information from a certain time period, such as last year,
next quarter, or between two dates.
In the filter menu, hover the mouse over Date Filters, then select the desired date filter from the dropdown menu. The worksheet will be filtered by the selected date filter.
Advanced text filters can be used to display more specific information, such as cells that contain a
certain number of characters, or data that excludes a specific word or number.
In the filter menu, hover the mouse over Text Filters, then select the desired text filter from the dropdown menu.
You can also use the Custom AutoFilter. By clicking it, a dialog box will appear. Enter the desired text
to the right of the filter, then click OK. The data will be filtered by the selected text filter.
O. Saving a workbook as a PDF file
Click the File tab
Click Export, then select Create PDF/XPS.
The Save As dialog box will appear. Select the location where you want to export the workbook, enter a
filename, then click Publish.
P. Protecting a worksheet
On the Review tab, click Protect Sheet.
In the Allow all users of this worksheet to list, select the elements you want people to be able to
change.
Enter a password in the Password to unprotect sheet box and click OK. Reenter the password in the
Confirm Password dialog box and click OK.
Q. More functions
FUNCTION

DESCRIPTION

SYNTAX

1. SUMIF

Sum numbers in a range that meet

supplied criteria

=SUMIF (range, criteria, [sum_range])

2. COUNTIF

Count cells that match criteria

=COUNTIF (range, criteria)

3. ROUND

Round a number to a given number of

digits

=ROUND (number, num_digits)

4. VLOOKUP

Lookup a value in a table by matching on

the first column

=VLOOKUP (value, table, col_index,

[range_lookup])

5. LEFT

Extract text from the left of a string

=LEFT (text, [num_chars])

6. RIGHT

Extract text from the right of a string

=RIGHT (text, [num_chars])

7. MID

Extract text from inside a string

=MID (text, start_num, num_chars)

8.
CONCATENATE

Join text together

=CONCATENATE (text1, text2,

[text3], ...)