How to Use Excel

Install Microsoft Office if it is not already on your computer. Microsoft Excel is not available as a standalone program; it is part of the Microsoft Office suite.

Open any Excel document by double-clicking on the file. The document will open in an Excel window.

• Skip this step if you want to create and open a new Excel document.

Launch Excel. Click or double-click the white 'X' icon on a dark blue background to open the Excel application.

Select a template if needed. If you'd like to use an Excel template (such as a budget template), scroll down to find the one you want and click on it to open in the workspace window.

• If you only want to open a blank Excel document, click on the Blank option at the top-left of the page and skip the next step.

Wait for the Excel workspace to open. This may take a few seconds. Once the blank page or template appears, you can start entering data into the spreadsheet.

Get familiar with the ribbon tabs in Excel. At the top of the Excel window, the green "ribbon" contains numerous tabs. These provide access to various Excel tools. Key tabs include:

• Home — Contains options for text formatting, changing cell background color, and similar tasks.
• Insert — Includes options for tables, charts, graphs, and equations.
• Page Layout — Offers options for margins, page orientation, and themes.
• Formulas — Includes a formula menu with many formula options.

Consider using the top cells as headers. When adding data to a blank spreadsheet, you can use the first cells (like A1, B1, C1, etc.) to serve as column headers. These are useful when creating tables that require labels.

Select a cell. Click on the cell where you want to enter data.

• For example, when using a budget template, click on the first empty cell to select it.

Enter text. Type the content you want to add to the selected cell.

Edit your data. To go back and edit your data, click on the cell you wish to edit, then adjust as needed in the text box located above the spreadsheet's first row.

Format text if necessary. If you want to change the format of a cell's content (for example, switch from currency format to date format), click the Home tab, open the dropdown box in the "Number" section, and select your preferred format.

• You can also use conditional formatting to change the appearance of cells based on certain conditions (e.g., automatically turning red if the cell's value is below a certain threshold).

Select a cell for your formula. Click on the cell where you want to create the formula.

Thực hiện những phép toán đơn giản. Bạn có thể cộng, trừ, nhân, chia giá trị các ô theo những công thức sau:

• Cộng — Gõ =SUM(ô+ô) (ví dụ: =SUM(A3+B3)) để cộng giá trị hai ô với nhau hoặc gõ =SUM(ô, ô, ô) (ví dụ: =SUM(A2,B2,C2)) để cộng giá trị một dãy ô với nhau.
• Trừ — Gõ =SUM(ô-ô) (ví dụ: =SUM(A3-B3)) để trừ giá trị một ô cho giá trị của ô còn lại.
• Chia — Gõ =SUM(ô/ô) (ví dụ: =SUM(A6/C5)) để chia giá trị một ô cho giá trị của một ô khác.
• Nhân — Gõ =SUM(ô*ô) (ví dụ: =SUM(A2*A7)) để nhân giá trị hai ô với nhau.

Cộng các số của cả cột. Nếu muốn cộng toàn bộ các số có trong một cột (hay một phần của cột), bạn có thể gõ =SUM(ô:ô) (ví dụ: =SUM(A1:A12)) vào ô mà bạn muốn dùng để hiển thị kết quả.

Chọn ô để thao tác với công thức nâng cao. Với công thức phức tạp hơn, chúng ta sẽ dùng đến công cụ Insert Function (Chèn Hàm). Hãy bắt đầu bằng cách nhấp chuột vào ô mà bạn muốn hiển thị công thức.

Nhấp vào thẻ Formulas ở đầu cửa sổ Excel.

Nhấp vào tùy chọn Insert Function ở xa bên trái của thanh công cụ Formulas. Một cửa sổ mới sẽ xuất hiện.

Select a function. In the newly opened window, click on the function you wish to use, then press OK.

• For example, to choose the formula for finding the tangent of an angle, scroll down and click on the TAN option.

Fill in the function's arguments. When prompted, enter the number (or select a cell) for which you want to apply the formula.

• For instance, when choosing the TAN function, you'll need to input the angle size for which you wish to calculate the tangent.
• Depending on the selected function, you might be required to follow additional on-screen instructions.

Press ↵ Enter to apply and display the function in the selected cell.

Set up the data for your chart. For example, to create a line or bar chart, you should have one column of data for the x-axis and another column for the y-axis.

• Typically, the left column is used for the x-axis and the column immediately to the right for the y-axis.

Select the data. Click and drag the mouse from the top-left cell down to the bottom-right cell of the data block.

Go to the Insert tab at the top of the Excel window.

Click on the Recommended Charts option in the "Charts" section of the Insert toolbar. A window will appear with a variety of chart templates.

Choose a chart template. Click on the chart style that you would like to use.

Click the OK button at the bottom of the window to create your chart.

Edit chart title. Double-click the title at the top of the chart, delete the current title, and replace it with your own custom title.

Change axis titles. To add axis titles to the chart, go to the "Chart Elements" menu by clicking the green ＋ symbol on the right side of the selected chart and make the changes.

Click the File tab in the top left corner of the Excel window (Windows) or screen (Mac). A new menu will appear.

Click Save As option. On Windows, this option appears on the left side of the page.

• On Mac, this option appears in the dropdown File menu.

Double-click the This PC (My Computer) found in the center of the page.

• For Mac users, this will be labeled as On my Mac.

Enter the name of your project. Here, feel free to choose any title for your worksheet and input it into the "File name" field (Windows) or "Name" field (Mac) in the Save As dialog box.

Select the folder to save your file. Click on the folder where you'd like to save the worksheet.

• On a Mac, you may need to click on the "Where" dropdown menu first before selecting the file destination.

Click Save at the bottom of the window to save your worksheet into the selected folder with the chosen file name.

Save subsequent changes with the "Save" shortcut. If you plan to make further edits to the Excel document later, simply press Ctrl+S (Windows) or ⌘ Command+S (Mac) to save changes without returning to the Save As dialog box.