Microsoft Excel Tutorial: Beginner to

Competent
1. Introduction to Excel
Excel is a spreadsheet program that allows you to store, organize, and analyze data. Its primary
function is to perform calculations, create charts, and handle data effectively. Let’s start from the
basics.

1.1 Excel Interface Overview

 Workbook: An Excel file that contains one or more worksheets.

 Worksheet: A grid of rows and columns where data is entered.
 Cell: The intersection of a row and a column (e.g., A1, B2).
 Formula Bar: Displays the data or formula in the selected cell.
 Ribbon: Contains tabs such as Home, Insert, and Data, where various tools are located.

2. Basic Functions and Formulas

2.1 Entering Data into Cells

 Text Entry: Just click on a cell (e.g., A1) and type John Doe.
 Number Entry: Enter a number, e.g., in cell B1 type 250.

2.2 Basic Calculations

 Addition: Type in =A1+B1 in another cell to sum the values in A1 and B1.
 Subtraction: Type =A1-B1 to subtract.
 Multiplication: Type =A1*B1 to multiply.
 Division: Type =A1/B1 to divide.

Example:

A B C
100 200 =A1+B1 → 300
150 50 =A2-B2 → 100

3. Formatting Cells
3.1 Number Formatting

 Currency: Select a cell (e.g., B1), go to the "Home" tab, and click on the currency
symbol.
 Percent: Click on a cell (e.g., B2) and select % to show the number as a percentage.
 Custom Formatting: Right-click a cell, choose Format Cells, and select the format like
Date, Time, Number.

3.2 Text Formatting

 Bold, Italics, and Underline: Highlight a cell and use Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, or Ctrl+U to
format the text.
 Change Font Color: From the Home tab, select the "Font Color" option.
 Text Alignment: Align text (Left, Center, Right) via the alignment options.

Example:

A B
$100.00 50%
John Smith

4. Working with Formulas

4.1 SUM and AVERAGE

 SUM: =SUM(A1:A3) adds up the numbers in the range A1 to A3.

 AVERAGE: =AVERAGE(A1:A3) calculates the average of the numbers.

Example:

A B
100 =SUM(A1
) → 450
200 =AVERAGE(A1
) → 150
150

4.2 IF Statements

The IF function performs a logical test and returns a value based on the result:

=IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)

Example:
=IF(A1>100, "Pass", "Fail") checks if A1 is greater than 100. If true, it returns "Pass",
otherwise "Fail."

1. SUM

Adds all the numbers in a range of cells.

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=SUM(A1:A5)

Example: If cells A1 to A5 contain 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, =SUM(A1:A5) will return 150.

2. AVERAGE

Calculates the average (arithmetic mean) of a range of numbers.

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=AVERAGE(A1:A5)

Example: If cells A1 to A5 contain 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, =AVERAGE(A1:A5) will return 30.

3. COUNT

Counts the number of cells that contain numbers.

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=COUNT(A1:A5)

Example: If A1 to A5 contain 10, Text, 30, "", 50, =COUNT(A1:A5) will return 3 (only
numeric cells are counted).

4. COUNTA

Counts the number of non-empty cells in a range (including text).

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=COUNTA(A1:A5)

Example: If A1 to A5 contain 10, Text, 30, "", 50, =COUNTA(A1:A5) will return 4.

5. IF

Performs a logical test and returns one value if TRUE and another if FALSE.

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=IF(A1>50, "Pass", "Fail")

Example: If A1 contains 70, the formula will return "Pass". If A1 contains 40, it will return
"Fail".

6. VLOOKUP

Looks for a value in the first column of a table and returns a value in the same row from another
column.

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=VLOOKUP(A1, B1:D10, 3, FALSE)

Example: If A1 contains 102 and in the table range B1:D10, 102 is in column B, this will return
the value in the 3rd column of the same row.

7. HLOOKUP

Similar to VLOOKUP, but searches horizontally across the top row of a table and returns a value
in the same column from a specified row.

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=HLOOKUP(A1, B1:F5, 3, FALSE)

Example: If A1 contains ID101 and it's found in the first row of the table in range B1:F5, this
will return the value in the 3rd row of that column.
8. CONCATENATE / CONCAT

Joins two or more text strings into one string.

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=CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1)

Example: If A1 contains John and B1 contains Doe, =CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1) will return
"John Doe".

9. LEFT

Returns the leftmost characters from a text string.

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=LEFT(A1, 3)

Example: If A1 contains "Excel", =LEFT(A1, 3) will return "Exc".

10. RIGHT

Returns the rightmost characters from a text string.

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=RIGHT(A1, 4)

Example: If A1 contains "Formula", =RIGHT(A1, 4) will return "mula".

11. MID

Returns a specific number of characters from a text string, starting at a specific position.

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=MID(A1, 2, 3)

Example: If A1 contains "Formula", =MID(A1, 2, 3) will return "orm".

12. LEN

Returns the number of characters in a text string.

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=LEN(A1)

Example: If A1 contains "Excel", =LEN(A1) will return 5.

13. TRIM

Removes extra spaces from text, leaving single spaces between words.

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=TRIM(A1)

Example: If A1 contains " Excel Tutorial ", =TRIM(A1) will return "Excel Tutorial".

14. MAX

Returns the largest value in a range.

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=MAX(A1:A5)

Example: If A1 to A5 contain 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, =MAX(A1:A5) will return 50.

15. MIN

Returns the smallest value in a range.

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=MIN(A1:A5)

Example: If A1 to A5 contain 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, =MIN(A1:A5) will return 10.
16. ROUND

Rounds a number to a specified number of digits.

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=ROUND(A1, 2)

Example: If A1 contains 23.456, =ROUND(A1, 2) will return 23.46.

17. SUMIF

Adds the cells specified by a given condition or criteria.

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=SUMIF(A1:A5, ">30")

Example: If A1 to A5 contain 10, 40, 50, 20, 70, =SUMIF(A1:A5, ">30") will return 160
(adds 40, 50, and 70).

18. COUNTIF

Counts the number of cells that meet a condition.

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=COUNTIF(A1:A5, ">30")

Example: If A1 to A5 contain 10, 40, 50, 20, 70, =COUNTIF(A1:A5, ">30") will return 3.

19. NOW

Returns the current date and time.

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=NOW()

Example: If today’s date is October 22, 2024, =NOW() will return something like 10/22/2024
12:30 PM.
20. TODAY

Returns the current date (without the time).

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=TODAY()

Example: If today’s date is October 22, 2024, =TODAY() will return 10/22/2024.

21. SUBTOTAL

Performs various calculations (like SUM, AVERAGE, etc.) on a filtered list.

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=SUBTOTAL(1, A1:A5)

Example: 1 represents AVERAGE, so this will calculate the average of the visible cells in the
filtered range A1

22. INDEX

Returns the value of a cell in a given range based on row and column numbers.

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=INDEX(A1:B3, 2, 2)

Example: If A1

contains data, this will return the value in the 2nd row and 2nd column.

23. MATCH

Searches for a specified item in a range and returns the relative position of that item.

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=MATCH(50, A1:A5, 0)
Example: If A1 to A5 contain 10, 20, 50, 70, 90, =MATCH(50, A1:A5, 0) will return 3 (the
position of 50 in the list).

24. TEXT

Converts a value to text in a specified format.

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=TEXT(A1, "mm/dd/yyyy")

Example: If A1 contains 44210 (Excel’s internal date format), =TEXT(A1, "mm/dd/yyyy") will
return 10/22/2024.

25. AND

Returns TRUE if all conditions are TRUE.

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=AND(A1>10, B1<100)

Example: If A1 is 15 and B1 is 90, =AND(A1>10, B1<100) will return TRUE.

26. OR

Returns TRUE if at least one condition is TRUE.

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=OR(A1>10, B1>100)

Example: If A1 is 15 and B1 is 50, =OR(A1>10, B1>100) will return TRUE.

These are some of the most frequently used Excel formulas. By mastering them, you’ll be able to
work more efficiently and perform a wide range of calculations and data analysis.
5. Data Management
5.1 Sorting and Filtering

 Sorting: Highlight your data, go to the Data tab, and click Sort to organize by ascending
or descending.
 Filtering: Select the data, click Filter, and use the dropdown arrows to filter values.

Example:

Name Score
Alice 75
Bob 90
Charlie 85

 Sort by score to arrange in ascending order.

5.2 Data Validation

To ensure only specific data can be entered:

 Highlight cells, go to the Data tab, click Data Validation, and set criteria (e.g., only
numbers between 1 and 100).

6. Charts and Graphs

6.1 Creating a Chart

 Highlight the data you want to plot.

 Go to Insert → Chart (Column, Line, Pie, etc.).

Example:

Month Sales
Jan 1000
Feb 1200
Mar 900
  Select this data and insert a Bar Chart to visualize sales trends.

7. Pivot Tables
7.1 Creating Pivot Tables

Pivot tables help you summarize large data sets:

 Highlight your data.

 Go to Insert → Pivot Table.
 Drag fields into the Rows and Values areas to analyze the data.

Example: If you have sales data for multiple regions, you can create a pivot table to summarize
total sales by region.

8. Conditional Formatting
Highlight cells based on specific conditions:

 Select cells, go to Home → Conditional Formatting, and choose rules like Highlight
Cells Greater Than....

Example:
You can use conditional formatting to highlight all sales greater than $1000.

9. Advanced Formulas
9.1 VLOOKUP

Used to search for a value in a column and return a corresponding value from another column:

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=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])

Example: If A1 contains an ID number, =VLOOKUP(A1, B1:D10, 3, FALSE) will return the

value from the 3rd column in the range B1

where the ID matches.

9.2 CONCATENATE

Combines data from multiple cells:

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=CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1)

Combines the first name and last name in cells A1 and B1.

10. Keyboard Shortcuts

 Ctrl + C: Copy.
 Ctrl + V: Paste.
 Ctrl + Z: Undo.
 Ctrl + Shift + L: Apply/remove filters.
 F2: Edit cell contents.

11. Macros (Automation)

11.1 Recording a Macro

 Go to the View tab → Macros → Record Macro.

 Perform actions (like formatting a range), then stop recording.

11.2 Running a Macro

 Use the View tab → Macros → View Macros to run your recorded macro.