5.

LESSON 5

Working with Rows,

Columns, Worksheets,
and Workbooks
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Hide and unhide rows and columns.

Freeze and unfreeze rows and columns.

Move between worksheets in a workbook.

Add and delete worksheets in a workbook.

Create a three-dimensional formula.

Link workbooks.

Limit the data that appears on the screen.

As you work with Microsoft Excel, you will probably create worksheets that
contain more data than can be viewed all at once on screen. You might also
find that you need to distribute related data among several worksheets and
workbooks. Fortunately, Excel provides you with several methods to work with
the content in large worksheets or spread across multiple worksheets and
workbooks. These methods include assorted viewing options, the ability to add
or delete worksheets in a workbook, and ways to link worksheets and
workbooks.
The viewing options are particularly useful if you have a lot of data in your
worksheet. You can magnify a worksheet to enlarge cells and see the content
more easily, or you can shrink a worksheet so that you can see more of the
content in the worksheet at once. Hiding worksheet rows and columns lets you
focus on specific information in your worksheet by concealing nonrelevant
data. When you want to see those rows and columns again, you unhide them.
You can freeze one or more rows or columns so that they always remain in
view, no matter how far you scroll down or across the worksheet. This is
helpful when you want to keep data labels in sight. You can easily unfreeze the
rows or columns to restore the look of your worksheet.
If you want to include related, but somewhat different, data in an existing
workbook, you can add one or more worksheets. This allows you to keep the
data in one workbook without creating overly large or complex worksheets.
You can easily delete worksheets that are no longer necessary. Also, if you
want to link different worksheets in a workbook, you can include formulas in a
cell that will refer to data in one or more worksheets in the same workbook.
You can also link one or more workbooks in a similar fashion.
5.2 Spreadsheet Fundamentals

An important aspect of working with large amounts of data is the ability to

focus on the most important data in a worksheet, whether that data represents
the best ten days of sales in a month or slow-selling product lines that you may
need to reevaluate. In Microsoft Excel, you have a number of powerful, flexible
tools with which you can limit the data displayed in your worksheet. In this
lesson, you’ll learn how to limit the data that appears in your worksheets.
To complete the procedures in this lesson, you will need to use the files Sports
Income05.xls, Food.xls, Budget.xls, and Filter.xls in the Lesson05 folder in the
Spreadsheet Fundamentals Practice folder located on your hard disk.

Hiding and Unhiding Rows and

Columns
Sometimes you have more rows or columns in a worksheet than you want to
see at one time. In such situations, you can hide rows or columns so that they
don’t appear on your screen or in worksheet printouts. When you want to see
them again, you unhide them.
For example, the activities coordinator at Adventure Works wants to focus on
equipment rented during December, January, and February. On the worksheet,
she hides the columns for the rest of the year. She already knows that no one
rents kayaks during the winter, so she hides that row as well. When she’s
finished viewing the winter rentals, she reveals the hidden columns and the row
so she can view the rentals for the entire year.
In this exercise, you hide and unhide worksheet rows and columns.
1 Open the Sports Income 05 workbook.
2 Click the column selector for column D (Feb), and drag the mouse
pointer to the column selector for column L (Oct).
Excel selects the columns.
3 On the Format menu, point to Column, and click Hide.
Excel hides the columns. Notice that the column labeling has not
changed and shows a gap between columns C and M.
Lesson 5 Rows, Columns, Worksheets, and Workbooks 5.3

4 Click the row selector for row 3 (Kayaks).

Excel selects the row.
5 On the Format menu, point to Row, and then click Hide.
Excel hides the row. Notice that the row numbering has not
changed and shows a gap between rows 2 and 4.
6 Click the column selector for column C, hold down the Shift key,
and then click the column selector for column M.
Excel selects columns C and M.
7 On the Format menu, point to Column, and click Unhide.
Excel reveals columns D through L on the screen.
8 Click a blank area of the worksheet outside of the selected area.
The columns are deselected.
9 Click the row selector for row 2, hold down the Shift key, and click
the row selector for row 4.
Excel selects rows 2 and 4.
10 On the Format menu, point to Row, and then click Unhide.
Excel reveals row 3 on the screen.
11 Close the workbook without saving your changes.
5.4 Spreadsheet Fundamentals

Freezing and Unfreezing Rows and

Columns
When your worksheet is larger than you can display on screen at once, you
need to scroll right and down to see all your columns and rows. If your left-
most column and top row contain labels, scrolling can make the labels
disappear off the edge of your screen—leaving you to wonder exactly what is
in the cells you’re seeing.
To remedy this problem, you can freeze rows and columns so that they remain
on the screen even when you scroll down and across the worksheet. For
example, the chef at Adventure Works uses a workbook to track the amount of
food that is prepared by the popular restaurant at the resort. Doing this helps
him determine what supplies to order from month to month. He freezes the
rows and columns that have labels so he can keep them in view as he scrolls
down and across a worksheet.
In this exercise, you freeze and unfreeze rows and columns.
1 Open the Food workbook.
2 Scroll the worksheet to the right and then back to column A.
When you scroll the worksheet to the right, the left-most columns
disappear.
3 Click cell B3.
This cell is just below the row you want to freeze and just to the
right of the column you want to freeze.
4 On the Window menu, click Freeze Panes.
The month row and Type of Food column are now frozen.
5 Scroll the worksheet to the right.
The left-most column, with the category labels, remains visible on
the screen.
6 Scroll down the worksheet.
The month row remains visible on the screen.
Lesson 5 Rows, Columns, Worksheets, and Workbooks 5.5

7 Press Ctrl+Home.
Excel scrolls to the top-left unfrozen cell.
8 On the Window menu, click Unfreeze Panes.
The panes are unfrozen.
Keep this file open for the next exercise.

Moving Between Worksheets in a

Workbook
Storing related worksheet data in one workbook file has many organizational
benefits. By using this method of organization, you can open all associated
worksheets in a workbook at once, which saves time and ensures that all
necessary data is available for a specific task. This also lets you quickly view
related information and copy necessary data from one worksheet to the next
without having to open and close various workbooks. You can navigate from
worksheet to worksheet by using the sheet tabs at the bottom of the worksheet
window.

The chef at Adventure Works uses several worksheets in one workbook. He

orders different types of foods from different suppliers: one supplier provides
meat, such as beef and poultry; another provides dry goods, such as flour and
sugar; and a third provides produce. The chef tracks all the food that he orders
from each supplier on a separate worksheet in the same workbook. He can view
each worksheet in the Food workbook by clicking the appropriate sheet tab.
5.6 Spreadsheet Fundamentals

In this exercise, you navigate between multiple worksheets in a workbook.

1 Click the Dry Goods tab.
The Dry Goods worksheet is displayed.
2 Click the Produce tab.
The Produce worksheet is displayed.
3 Click the Meats tab.
The Meats worksheet is displayed.
Keep this file open for the next exercise.

Adding and Deleting Worksheets in a

Workbook
By default, each new workbook contains three blank worksheets. If you don’t
need all three worksheets, you can easily delete the unnecessary ones. If you
want more worksheets, you can insert as many new ones as you need. You can
also insert and delete worksheets in your existing workbooks. For example, the
chef at Adventure Works decides to add a new worksheet to the Food
workbook. Because he wants this new worksheet to contain summaries of
figures from the other three worksheets, he names this worksheet Summary.
In this exercise, you add and delete a worksheet.
1 Click the Produce tab.
Excel displays the Produce worksheet.
2 On the Insert menu, click Worksheet.
Excel inserts a new worksheet named Sheet1 to the left of
Produce.
3 Select any cell, type Test, and press Enter.
4 On the Edit menu, click Delete Sheet.
Excel displays an alert.

5 Click Delete.
Excel deletes the new worksheet and redisplays the Produce
worksheet.
6 Click the Meats tab.
Excel displays the Meats worksheet.
7 On the Insert menu, click Worksheet.
Excel inserts a new worksheet named Sheet2 to the left of Meats.
Lesson 5 Rows, Columns, Worksheets, and Workbooks 5.7

8 Double-click the Sheet2 tab.

Excel selects the tab.
9 Type Summary, and press Enter.
Excel changes the name of the worksheet.
Keep this file open for the next exercise.

Creating a Three-Dimensional
Formula
When using a workbook with multiple worksheets, you can create a three-
dimensional formula (also referred to as a 3-D reference) in which a cell in
one worksheet refers to data in one or more other worksheets. When data is
adjusted on a worksheet, any formula that references that data is also adjusted.
One use for three-dimensional formulas is creating a summary sheet that totals
figures from different sheets in a workbook file. For example, the chef at
Adventure Works wants to see how much the restaurant has paid for food in a
year. To calculate the total amount spent, he uses a three-dimensional formula
on the Summary worksheet. The formula refers to the cells in each worksheet
that contain the amount spent in a particular food category and adds these
amounts together.
As with any formula, you can specify a reference by typing the cell
coordinates. The references in the formula, however, must begin with the name
of the worksheet to which the formula is linking, followed by an exclamation
point, and finally, the cell coordinates. Commas separate the references.
In this exercise, you create a formula in one worksheet that adds together data
in other worksheets.
1 Click cell A3 on the Summary worksheet, type Total Cost of Food,
and press the down arrow key.
Excel adds the text to cell A3 and moves the insertion point to cell
A4.
 5.8 Spreadsheet Fundamentals

When a worksheet has a

2 Type =sum(Meats!P36,‘Dry Goods’!P26,Produce!P28) and press
name consisting of two or Enter.
more words, the name must Excel enters the formula in the cell and displays the sum of the
be put in single quotation
marks in the formula.
figures that are in cells P36 in the Meats worksheet, P26 in the Dry
Goods worksheet, and P28 in the Produce worksheet.

Keep this file open for the next exercise.

Linking Workbooks
Another powerful feature in Excel is the ability to link data in two or more
workbooks. This is useful when it would be impractical to have several large,
complex worksheets in one workbook. It is also useful when you need to
include the same data in more than one workbook. That way, if you want to
update the data, you need to do so only in the original workbook. The data will
be updated automatically in the rest of the workbooks.
To create a link between workbooks, you enter a formula in one workbook that
refers to one or more cells in another workbook. The workbook that contains
the formula is called the dependent workbook, and the workbook that contains
the referenced information is called the source workbook.

When a workbook containing Building a formula to link workbooks is similar to the process of building a
an external reference formula formula to link worksheets within the same workbook. The references in the
is saved, the name of the formula to link workbooks, however, must begin with the name of the source
source workbook is also
saved. You should save all
workbook to which the formula is linking, enclosed in square brackets,
source workbook files first, followed by the worksheet name and an exclamation point.
and then you should save the
dependent workbook. The accountant at Adventure Works links workbooks when he creates the
yearly budget for the resort. He bases the budget on expenditures in each
department for the previous year. To save himself the effort of typing all that
information into the Budget workbook, he links his workbook to other
workbooks that are kept by employees who track expenses for their
departments.
In this exercise, you link data from two workbooks to a third workbook.
1 Open the Sports Income05 workbook in the Spreadsheet
Fundamentals Practice folder on your hard disk.
2 Open the Budget workbook in the Spreadsheet Fundamentals
Practice folder on your hard disk.
3 On the Window menu, click Arrange.
Excel displays the Arrange Windows dialog box.
 Lesson 5 Rows, Columns, Worksheets, and Workbooks 5.9

4 Click OK.
Excel displays the three workbooks.
5 Click cell A4 in the Budget workbook.
6 Type Food, and then press Tab.
Excel moves the insertion point to cell B4.
7 Type =[Food.xls]Summary!A4, and press Enter.
Excel enters the formula in the cell and displays the contents of cell
A4 from the Summary worksheet in the Food workbook.

8 Click cell A3 in the Budget workbook.

9 Type Activity Equipment, and press Tab.
Excel moves the insertion point to the A4 cell.
10 Type = to start a formula.
You will probably have to
scroll to the right to see cell 11 Click the Sheet1 tab in the Sports Income05 workbook if necessary,
P18. scroll and click cell P18.
5.10 Spreadsheet Fundamentals

In the formula you started in the Budget.xls workbook, Excel inserts

a reference to the cell in the Sports Income05 workbook. In the
Sports Income05 workbook a flashing marquee appears around cell
P18.
12 Press Enter.
Excel enters the formula into the cell in the Budget workbook and
displays the value.

13 Hold down the Shift key while you open the File menu.
14 Click Close All on the File menu to close all the open worksheets.
Do not save your changes.
Leave Excel open for the next exercise.

Limiting the Data That Appears on the

Screen
Excel spreadsheets can hold as much data as you need them to, but you may not
want to work with all of the data in a worksheet at the same time. For example,
you might want to see the sales figures for your company during the first third,
second third, and final third of a month. You can limit the data shown on a
worksheet by creating a filter, which is a rule that selects rows to be shown in a
worksheet.
To create a filter, you click the cell in the group you want to filter and use the
Data menu to turn on AutoFilter. When you turn on AutoFilter, which is a
built-in set of filtering capabilities, a down arrow button appears in the cell that
Excel recognizes as the column’s label.
Lesson 5 Rows, Columns, Worksheets, and Workbooks 5.11

tip
When you turn on filtering, Excel treats the cells in the active cell’s column
as a range. To ensure that the filtering works properly, you should always
add a label to the column you want to filter.

Clicking the down arrow displays a list of values and options. The first few
items in the list are filtering options, such as whether you want to display the
top ten values in the column, create a custom filter, or display all values in the
column (that is, remove the filter). The rest of the items on the list are the
unique values in the column—clicking one of those values displays the row or
rows containing that value.
Choosing the Top 10 option from the list doesn’t just limit the display to the
top ten values. Instead, it opens the Top 10 AutoFilter dialog box. From within
this dialog box, you can choose whether to show values from the top or bottom
of the list, define the number of items you want to see, and choose whether the
number in the middle box indicates the number of items or the percentage of
items to be shown when the filter is applied. Using the Top 10 AutoFilter
dialog box, you can find your top ten salespeople or identify the top five
percent of your customers.
When you choose Custom from the AutoFilter list, you can define a rule that
Excel uses to decide which rows to show after the filter is applied. For instance,
you can create a rule that only days with total sales of less than $2,500 should
be shown in your worksheet. With those results in front of you, you might be
able to determine whether the weather or another factor resulted in slower
business on those days.
In this exercise, you create a filter to show the top five sales days in January,
show sales figures for Mondays during the same month, and display the days
with sales of at least $3,000.
1 Open the Filter workbook in the Lesson05 folder of the
Spreadsheet Fundamentals Practice folder on your hard disk.
2 If necessary, click the January sheet tab.
3 Click cell P5.
4 On the Data menu, point to Filter, and then click AutoFilter.
A down arrow appears in cell P5.
5.12 Spreadsheet Fundamentals

5 In cell P5, click the down arrow and click (Top 10...) from the list
that appears.
The Top 10 AutoFilter dialog box appears.

6 Click in the middle box, delete 10, type 5, and click OK.
Only the rows containing the five largest values in column P are
shown.

7 On the Data menu, point to Filter, and then click AutoFilter.

The filtered rows reappear.
8 Click cell B5.
9 On the Data menu, point to Filter, and then click AutoFilter.
A down arrow appears in cell B5.
10 In cell B5, click the down arrow and, from the list of unique column
values that appears, click Mon.
Only rows with Mon in column B are shown in the worksheet.
11 On the Data menu, point to Filter, and then click AutoFilter.
The filtered rows reappear.
12 Close the workbook without saving your changes.

Lesson Wrap-Up
In this lesson, you learned how to work with view options, including how to
magnify and shrink a worksheet, hide and unhide rows and columns, and freeze
and unfreeze rows and columns. You learned how to work with multiple
worksheets in a workbook, including how to move between worksheets in a
workbook, add and delete worksheets, and create formulas that refer to cells in
other worksheets and in other workbooks. You also learned how to limit the
data that appears in your worksheets through filtering.
Lesson 5 Rows, Columns, Worksheets, and Workbooks 5.13

If you are continuing to other lessons:

■ Save and close all open workbooks.
If you are not continuing to other lessons:
1 Save and close all open workbooks.
2 Click the Close button in the top-right corner of the Excel window.

Quick Quiz
1 How do you navigate between multiple worksheets in a workbook?
2 How can you create linked workbooks?
3 How can you display a worksheet on your screen at 60 percent of
normal size?
4 How can you create a three-dimensional formula in a worksheet?
5 If your worksheet is so large that rows and columns with data labels
disappear when you scroll down and to the right, what should you
do?
6 If you want simultaneously to display certain columns or rows on
your screen but columns or rows in the middle make it impossible,
what should you do?

Putting It All Together

Exercise 1: Open the Sports Income05.xls workbook. Zoom in on Sheet1 by
50%, and zoom out by 100%. Hide and then unhide column B. Freeze column
B and row 3, and then unfreeze them.
Exercise 2: Open the Food.xls workbook. In the Summary worksheet, write a
formula that sums the total weight of meat, poultry, and seafood ordered. Open
the Budget.xls workbook, and create a formula on the first worksheet that sums
the cost of all the produce ordered.
Exercise 3: In the course of linking workbooks you used the Arrange
Windows feature to tile multiple windows. What other options are available
with this feature? In what circumstances, other than linking workbooks, might
it be useful to arrange multiple windows? Other than closing the open
workbooks, how do you return to a full screen of a specific workbook?
Exercise 4: In this lesson, you learned how to insert and delete worksheets.
You know that the default number of worksheets in a workbook is three, but is
there a limit to the number of worksheets that can be added? If there is a limit,
what determines this limit? Is there a limit to the number of rows or columns in
a workbook? Use the Ask A Question box to determine the answer to these
questions.
5.14 Spreadsheet Fundamentals

Exercise 5: As you explored AutoFilter, you may have noticed the Custom
option in the AutoFilter list. Use the Filter workbook to explore the Custom
option. What could it be used for? If necessary, use Excel’s Help files to
determine the filtering possibilities made available through the Custom option.
Briefly describe your findings.