Starting

Here’s how to use Excel version 4 for the IBM PC and Mac. Other versions are similar.

Copy Excel to the hard disk

Excel comes on floppy disks. To use Excel, you must copy it from those floppy disks to your hard disk. Here’s how.

Start Windows (by typing "win" after the C prompt). You’ll see the Program Manager Window.

Excel comes on five 5¼-inch high-density floppy disks. Put Excel Disk 1 in drive A. Type "a:setup" (and press ENTER).

If your Excel floppy disks were never used before, the computer will ask you to type your name. Type your name, press the TAB key, type the name of your company (if any), and twice press ENTER.

Press ENTER five more times.

The computer will say, "Please insert the following disk… Disk 2". Put Excel Disk 2 in drive A and press ENTER. When the computer tells you, do the same for Excel Disks 3, 4, and 5.

The computer will say, "Microsoft Excel Setup is Complete!" Press ENTER.

Close the Microsoft Excel 4.0 window (by double-clicking its control box). Close the Program Manager window.

The computer will say "Exit Windows". Press ENTER.

Then turn off the computer, so you can start fresh.

Turn on the Mac without any floppy in the drive. You’ll see the hard disk’s icon.

Excel comes on seven floppy disks. Put Excel Disk 1 in the floppy drive. Double-click the Microsoft Excel Setup icon.

If your Excel floppy disks were never used before, the computer will ask you to type your name. Type your name, press the TAB key, type the name of your company (if any), and press RETURN.

Then press RETURN twice. The computer will say, "Select Disk and Folder". Click the New Folder button. Type "Microsoft Excel", and press RETURN. Click the Setup button.

When the computer tells you, insert Excel Disks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

The computer will say, "Microsoft Excel Setup complete." Press RETURN.

Then shut down the computer by doing this procedure: choose Shut Down from the Special menu, turn off the computer, and turn off any external hard drive.

Launch Excel

Here’s how to start using Excel.

Double-click the Microsoft Excel 4.0 icon. You’ll see another Microsoft Excel icon; double-click it.

(If your copy of Excel was never used before, the computer will say "Introducing Microsoft Excel". To reply, click the button marked "Exit to Microsoft Excel".)

Turn on the Mac without any floppy in the drive. Double-click the hard disk’s icon. Double-click the Microsoft Excel folder’s icon. Double-click the Microsoft Excel program’s icon.

Fill in the cells

The screen shows a grid that begins like this:

The grid’s columns are labeled A, B, C, D, E, etc. How many columns do you see? That depends on what kind of screen you bought.…

A cheap Mac screen (9" mono or 12" color) shows columns A through F.

A cheap IBM screen (640-by-480 VGA) shows columns A through I.

A fancier Mac or IBM screen shows more columns.

The grid’s rows are labeled 1, 2, 3, etc.

A cheap Mac screen (9" mono or 12" color) shows rows 1 through 16.

A cheap IBM screen (640-by-480 VGA) shows rows 1 through 18.

A fancier Mac or IBM screen shows more rows.

Notice that the computer puts a box in column A, row 1. If you tap the right-arrow key, that box moves to the right, so it’s in column B. If you tap the down-arrow key, the box moves down, to row 2. By tapping the four arrow keys, you can move the box in all four directions, to practically anywhere on the grid. Try it!

Just move the box from cell to cell, and put into each cell whatever words or numbers you wish!

For example, suppose you run a small business whose income is $7000 and expenses are $5000. Those are the figures for January; the figures for February aren’t in yet. Let’s put the January figures into a spreadsheet, like this:

Press the down-arrow key, which moves the box down to cell A3. Type the word Expenses.

Press the down-arrow key (to move to cell A4). Type the word Profit.

Move the box to cell B1 (by pressing the up-arrow three times and then the right-arrow once). Type the word January.

Press down-arrow. Type 7000.

Press down-arrow. Type 5000.

Press down-arrow again.

The left-arrow key will not help you erase the last character you typed. Instead, the left-arrow key moves the box to a different cell.

Type a formula

Although the computer’s screen shows the words you typed (Income, Expenses, and Profit), the computer doesn’t understand what those words mean. It doesn’t know that "Profit" means "Income minus Expenses". The computer doesn’t know that the number in cell B4 (which represents the profit) ought to be the number in cell B2 (the amount of income) minus the number in cell B3 (the dollars spent).

You must teach the computer the meaning of Profit, by teaching it that the number in cell B4 ought to be the number in cell B2 minus the number in cell B3. To do that, move the box to cell B4, then type this formula:

=B2-B3

The formula "=B2-B3" remains in effect forever. It says that the number in cell B4 will always be the B2 number minus the B3 number. If you ever change the numbers in cells B2 and B3 (by moving the box to those cells, retyping the numbers, and pressing ENTER), the computer automatically adjusts the number in cell B4, so the number in cell B4 is still B2 minus B3 and still represents the correct profit.

For example, suppose you move the box to cell B2, then type 8000 (to change the January income to $8000), and then press ENTER. As soon as you press ENTER, the profit in cell B4 immediately changes to 3000, right in front of your eyes!

(The Mac permits this shortcut: instead of pressing the ENTER key, you can press the RETURN key, which is easier to reach. Throughout this chapter, whenever I say to press the "ENTER" key, you can typically press the "RETURN" key instead.)

A typical spreadsheet contains dozens of numbers, totals, subtotals, averages, and percentages. Each cell that contains a total, subtotal, average, or percentage is defined by a formula. Whenever you retype one of the numbers in the spreadsheet, the computer automatically readjusts all the totals, subtotals, averages, and percentages, right before your eyes.

Remember to begin each formula with an equal sign. The rest of the formula can contain these symbols:

It can also contain E notation and parentheses. For details about how to use those symbols, E notation, and parentheses, read pages 330-335, which explain BASIC’s fundamentals and math.

Instead of typing "B2", you can type "b2" without bothering to capitalize. When you’ve finished typing the entire formula ("=b2-b3"), press the ENTER key. Then the computer will capitalize your formula automatically!

Instead of typing "B2", you can move the mouse pointer to the middle of cell B2, then press the mouse’s button. That’s called "clicking cell B2". When you click cell B2, the computer automatically types "B2" for you! So to create the formula "=B2-B3", you can do this: type the equal sign, then click cell B2, then type the minus sign, then click cell B3. When you’ve finished creating the entire formula, press ENTER.

Instead of typing "B2", you can move the box to cell B2 by using the arrow keys. When you move the box to cell B2, the computer automatically types "B2" for you! So to create the formula "=B2-B3", you can do this: type the equal sign, then move the box to cell B2 (by using the arrow keys), then type the minus sign, then move the box to cell B3. When you’ve finished creating the entire formula, press ENTER.

On a Mac, you don’t have to type any plus signs. For example, to type the formula =B2+B3, you can type the equal sign, then click cell B2, then click cell B3 (without bothering to type the plus sign). The Mac will insert the plus sign automatically!

Edit old cells

To edit what’s in a cell, move the box to that cell. Then choose one of these editing methods.…

Method 1: press the BACKSPACE key. That makes the cell become totally blank. (If your Mac doesn’t have a key marked "BACKSPACE", press the key marked "DELETE" instead.)

Method 2: retype the entire text, number, or formula that you want to put into the cell.

Method 3: in the input area (at the top of the screen), look at what you typed, find the part of your typing that you want to change, and click that part (by using the mouse). Then edit your typing as if you were using a word processor: you can use the left-arrow key, right-arrow key, BACKSPACE key, DELETE key, and mouse. When you finish editing, press the ENTER key.

Sum function

To make a cell be the sum of cells B2 through B9, you can type this formula:

=B2+B3+B4+B5+B6+B7+B8+B9

Instead of typing all that, you can type just this:

=SUM(B2:B9)

Since the computer ignores capitalization, you can type:

=sum(b2:b9)

Here’s how to type the formula =sum(b2:b9) quickly.…

Begin by typing the "=sum(".

Drag from cell B2 to cell B9. To do that, move the mouse to cell B2, then hold down the mouse button while moving to B9. That makes the computer type the "B2:B9".

When you’ve finished, press the ENTER key, which makes the computer automatically type the ")".

Notice that the word SUM begins with the letter S, which in the Greek alphabet is called "sigma" and written "S ". That’s why, in math, the symbol for the word SUM is S . Near the screen’s top center, you’ll see the S .

To find the sum of cells B2 through H2 (which is B2+C2+D2+E2+F2+G2+H2), type this:

=sum(b2:h2)

To find the sum of all cells in the rectangle that stretches from B2 to C4 (which is B2+B3+B4+C2+C3+C4), type this:

=sum(b2:c4)

Average

To find the average of cells B9 through B13, you can type this:

=(b9+b10+b11+b12+b13)/5

But this way is shorter:

=average(b9:b13)

To type that quickly, begin by typing "=average(". Then drag from cell B9 to cell B13. Then press the ENTER key, which makes the computer automatically type the ")" for you.

To find the average of cells C7, B5, and F2, you can ask for (c7+b5+f2)/3, but a nicer way is to type:

=average(c7,b5,f2)

Hop far

Here’s how to be quick as a bunny and hop far in your spreadsheet.

Farther rows

The screen shows just a few rows, which are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. Row 1 is at the top of the screen. Row 15 is near the bottom of the screen.

Try this experiment. Move the box down to row 15 (by pressing the down-arrow key repeatedly). Then press the down-arrow key several more times. Eventually, you’ll get to row 30, and later to row 100, and much later to row 1000, and even later to row 10000. The largest row number you can go to is 16384.

To make room on the screen for those new rows, row 1 disappears temporarily. If you want to get back to row 1, press the up-arrow key repeatedly.

Farther columns

The screen shows just a few columns, which are lettered A, B, C, etc. If you press the right-arrow key repeatedly, you’ll eventually get to column Z.

Altogether, the computer lets you have 256 columns. The first 26 columns are lettered from A to Z. The next 26 columns are lettered from AA to AZ. The next 26 columns are lettered from BA to BZ. And so on. The last column — the 256th — is IV. That’s why people who use spreadsheets are called "IV league accountants".

Autorepeat

Here’s a shortcut: instead of pressing an arrow key repeatedly, just hold down the key awhile.

Mouse

To move the box to a distant cell even faster, use the mouse: just click in the middle of the cell you wish.

PAGE keys

Instead of pressing the down-arrow key repeatedly, try pressing the PAGE DOWN key. It makes the computer hop down to the next screenful. (The PAGE DOWN key is on the IBM keyboard and the Mac extended keyboard but not the Mac standard keyboard.)

To hop back up to the previous screenful, press the PAGE UP key.

Instead of pressing the right-arrow key repeatedly, try pressing the PAGE DOWN key while holding down the CONTROL key. It makes the computer hop right to the next screenful. To hop left, press the PAGE UP key while holding down the CONTROL key.

HOME key

If you press the HOME key while holding down the CONTROL key, the box moves to the spreadsheet’s first cell, which is cell A1.

CONTROL arrow

If you press an arrow key while holding down the CONTROL key (or the Mac’s COMMAND key), the box moves to the spreadsheet’s edge.

For example, if you press the right-arrow key while holding down the CONTROL key, the box moves to the spreadsheet’s right edge. That means the box moves to the right, until it reaches column IV or a boundary cell (a cell containing data and next to an empty cell).

F5 key

To move the box to a distant cell immediately, press the F5 key. Then type the cell’s name (such as C9) followed by ENTER.

(If your Mac doesn’t have an F5 key, tap the G key while holding down the COMMAND key.)

Adjust rows & columns

How many rows and columns are in your spreadsheet, and how big are they? Here’s how to adjust them.

Widen a column

When you start using Excel, each cell is wide enough to hold an 8-digit number on the IBM or a 10-digit number on the Mac.

Here’s how to make column D be wider, so each cell in column D can hold longer numbers and words. At the top of column D, you see the letter D; to the right of that letter D, you see a vertical gridline. Drag that line toward the right, until the column is as wide as you like! (If you want to make the column narrower, drag that line toward the left.)

If you double-click that line instead of dragging it, the computer will make the column just wide enough to hold the widest data in it. (If the column doesn’t contain data yet, the computer will leave the column’s width unchanged.)

Drag from the D to the G. All those columns turn black.

Look at the vertical gridline to the right of the D. Drag the top of that gridline toward the right. That widens column D; and when you release your finger from the mouse’s button, all the other columns you selected will widen also.

If you double-click the top of that gridline instead of dragging it, the computer will make the columns just wide enough to hold the data in them.

For example, try typing a long number in a cell that’s just 4 characters wide. Instead of displaying the long number, the IBM displays 4 number signs (####); the Mac displays 3 number signs that are extra-wide.

Although the cell displays just those symbols, the computer remembers the long number you typed. To see the long number, widen the cell (by widening its column).

So if you see number signs in a cell, the computer is telling you that the cell is too narrow and should be widened.

That cell, B1, might show just the first 4 letters (Janu). But if the next cell (C1) is blank, cell B1 will temporarily widen to hold "January", then contract to its original size (4 characters) when you enter data in cell C1.

Delete a column

Here’s how to delete column D.

Mac shortcut: click the D at the top of column D, then press COMMAND with K (which stands for "Kill").

IBM shortcut: using your mouse’s right button (instead of the left), click the D at the top of column D; then choose Delete from the menu that appears.

The computer erases all the data from column D, so column D becomes blanks, which the computer immediately fills by shifting some data from other columns. Here’s how.…

Into column D, the computer moves the data from column E. Then into column E, the computer moves the data from column F. Then into column F, the computer moves the data from column G. And so on.

At the end of the process, the top of the screen still shows all the letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, etc.); but now column D contains the data that used to be in column E; and column E contains the data that used to be in column F; etc.

After rearranging the spreadsheet, the computer fixes all formulas. For example, after column E’s data has moved to column D, the computer hunts through all formulas in the spreadsheet and fixes them by changing each "E" to "D". The computer also changes each "F" to "E", each "G" to "F", etc.

Standard method: choose Delete from the Edit menu.

Mac shortcut: press COMMAND with K (which stands for "Kill").

IBM shortcut: using your mouse’s right button (instead of the left), click the D at the top of column D; then choose Delete from the menu that appears.

Delete a row

Here’s how to delete row 2.

Standard method: click the 2, then choose Delete from the Edit menu.

Mac shortcut: click the 2, then press COMMAND with K (which stands for "Kill").

IBM shortcut: using your mouse’s right button (instead of the left), click the 2; then choose Delete from the menu that appears.

Then the computer erases all the data from row 2, so row 2 becomes empty; but then the computer immediately fills that hole, by shifting the data from other rows. Here’s how.…

Into row 2, the computer moves the data from row 3. Then into row 3, the computer moves the data from row 4. Then into row 4, the computer moves the data from row 5. And so on.

At the end of the process, the left edge of the screen still shows all the numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.); but now row 2 contains the data that used to be in row 3; and row 3 contains contains the data that used to be in row 4; etc.

The computer fixes all formulas.

Insert a column

Here’s how to insert an extra column in the middle of your spreadsheet.

The computer will move other columns out of the way, to make room for the extra column. The computer will also fix each formula.

Insert a row

Here’s how to insert an extra row in the middle of your spreadsheet.

The computer will move other rows out of the way, to make room for the extra row. The computer will also fix each formula.

Zoom

Panes

On your screen, you see a window that contains part of your spreadsheet. (That window is big enough to usually show columns A through F on a cheap Mac, columns A through I on a cheap IBM, and more columns on a computer having a fancier screen.)

Get column A onto the screen (by pressing the HOME key). At the screen’s bottom left corner, you see the scroll bar’s left-arrow pointing at a black vertical rectangle. Drag that rectangle to the right. As you drag, you’ll see a vertical line move across your spreadsheet. Drag until the vertical line is in the middle of the spreadsheet. (For best results, drag that line slightly to the right of column C’s right edge.)

That line splits the screen into two panes. The left pane shows columns A through C; the right pane shows columns D and beyond.

Click anywhere in the right pane. That puts the box in the right pane, and makes the right pane active. Press the right-arrow key several times, until you reach columns X, Y, and Z.

If you want to move the box back to the left pane, just click the left pane.

To stop using vertical panes, double-click the black vertical rectangle (or drag it back to the screen’s bottom left corner).

Get row 1 onto the screen (by pressing the PAGE UP key several times). At the screen’s top right corner, you’ll see the scroll bar’s up-arrow pointing at a black horizontal rectangle. Drag that rectangle down. As you drag, you’ll see a horizontal line move down your spreadsheet. Drag until the horizontal line is in the middle of the spreadsheet. (For best results, drag that line slightly under row 9’s bottom edge.)

That line splits the screen into two panes. The top pane shows rows 1 through 9; the bottom pane shows rows 10 through 18.

Click anywhere in the bottom pane. (That puts the box in the bottom pane, and makes the bottom pane active.) Press the down-arrow key several times, until you reach rows 97, 98, and 99.

If you want to move the box back to the top pane, just click the top pane.

To stop using horizontal panes, double-click the black horizontal rectangle (or drag it back to the screen’s top right corner).

So in a typical spreadsheet, the column titles are in row 1, and row titles are in column A.

Unfortunately, when you move beyond column I or beyond row 18 (by pressing the arrow keys repeatedly), the titles normally disappear from the screen, and you forget the purpose of each row and column. Here’s how to solve that problem.

Now the window is divided into four panes. The main top pane contains the column titles (January, February, etc.); the main left pane contains the row titles (Income, Expenses, etc.); a tiny pane in the upper-left corner contains a blank cell; and a huge pane contains all the spreadsheet’s data.

Click cell B2 (which is in the huge pane). Then move around that pane, by using the arrow keys or mouse. As you move, the column and row titles will stay fixed on the screen, since they’re in the other panes.

Move

On your spreadsheet, find these cells: B2, B3, B4, C2, C3, and C4. Those six cells are next to each other. In fact, they form a giant rectangular area, whose top left corner is B2.

Here’s how to take all the data in that rectangle and move it to a different part of your spreadsheet.

Surrounding the rectangle, you’ll see four walls. Those walls are the four sides of the rectangle.

That’s how you move a rectangle of data to a new place in your spreadsheet that had been blank.

Try it!

After moving the rectangle of data, the computer automatically adjusts all formulas mentioning the moved cells. For example, if the data in cell B2 has moved to cell E7, the computer searches through the entire spreadsheet and, in each formula, changes "B2" to "E7".

Copy

Excel lets you copy information in several ways.

Fill to the right

Here’s how to make lotsa love with the computer!

In a cell, type the word "love".

Then move the mouse until the mouse’s pointer is at that cell’s bottom right corner. When the pointer’s exactly at the corner, the pointer changes to this thin cross: Å.

Then hold down the mouse’s left button, and drag toward the right, until you’ve dragged across several cells.

When you lift your finger off the mouse’s button, all those cells will contain copies of the word in the first cell. They’ll all say "love"!

Go ahead! Try turning your computer into a lovemaking machine! Do it now! This is an important exercise to try before you get into more advanced computer orgies!

Here’s another example. In a cell, type the word "tickle". Then to make lotsa tickles, point at that cell’s bottom right corner (so you see Å) and drag it to the right. The cells you drag across will all say "tickle".

Fill down

When you point at a cell’s bottom right corner and drag, you usually drag to the right. But if you prefer, you can drag down, so you’re copying to the cells underneath (instead of the cells to the right).

Extend a series

You’ve learned that if the original cell said "love", the adjacent cells will say "love"; and if the original cell said "tickle", the other cells will say "tickle".

But if the original cell said "January", the adjacent cells will not say "January". Instead, the computer makes them say "February", "March", "April", "May", etc.

The computer is smart:

If you start with January, the computer will say February, March, April, etc.

If you start with October, the computer will say November, December, January, etc.

If you start with Jan, the computer will say Feb, Mar, Apr, etc.

If you start with 29-Jan, the computer will say 30-Jan, 31-Jan, 1-Feb, etc.

If you start with Oct-95, the computer will say Nov-95, Dec-95, Jan-96, etc.

If you start with 29-Dec-95, the computer will say 30-Dec-95, 31-Dec-95, 1-Jan-96, etc.

If you start with Monday, the computer will say Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc.

If you start with Mon, the computer will say Tue, Wed, Thu, etc.

If you start with 10:00 AM, the computer will say 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM, etc.

If you start with 10:00, the computer will say 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, etc.

If you start with 22:00, the computer will say 23:00, 0:00, 1:00, etc.

If you start with 1st, the computer will say 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.

If you start with 1st Idiot, the computer will say 2nd Idiot, 3rd Idiot, 4th Idiot, etc.

If you start with Idiot 1, the computer will say Idiot 2, Idiot 3, Idiot 4, etc.

If you start with Year 1991, the computer will say Year 1992, Year 1993, Year 1994, etc.

If you start with 1991 Results, the computer will say 1992 Results, 1993 Results, 1994 Results, etc.

If you start with 2nd Quarter, the computer will say 3rd Quarter, 4th Quarter, 1st Quarter, etc.

If you start with 2nd Qtr, the computer will say 3rd Qtr, 4th Qtr, 1st Qtr, etc.

If you start with 2 Q, the computer will say 3 Q, 4 Q, 1 Q, etc.

If you start with Quarter 2, the computer will say Quarter 3, Quarter 4, Quarter 1, etc.

If you start with Q2, the computer will say Q3, Q4, Q1, etc.

If you start with just a plain number (such as 1), the computer will just copy that number; it will not say 2, 3, 4, etc. If you start with just the plain number 1991, the computer will just copy that number; it will not say 1992, 1993, 1994, etc.

To make the computer do more than just copy, include a word. For example, instead of saying just 1, say "Idiot 1"; then the computer will say "Idiot 2", "Idiot 3", "Idiot 4", etc. Instead of saying just 1991, say "Year 1991" or "1991 Results" or "People We Accidentally Shot In 1991"; then the computer will generate similar headings for 1992, 1993, etc.

Copy a formula’s concept

If you ask the computer to copy a formula, the computer will copy the concept underlying the formula.

For example, suppose you put this formula in cell B4: =B2+B3. That means cell B4 contains "the sum of the two numbers above it". If you drag that cell’s bottom right corner to the right, the computer will copy that formula’s concept to the adjacent cells: C4, D4, E4, etc. For example, the computer will make C4’s formula be "the sum of the two numbers above it", by making C4’s formula be =C2+C3. The computer will make D4’s formula be =D2+D3. The computer will make E4’s formula be =E2+E3.

For another example, suppose cell B4 contains the formula =2*B3, so that B4 is "twice the cell above it". When the computer copies that concept to cell C4, the computer will make C4’s formula be "twice the cell above it"; the computer will make C4’s formula be =2*C3.

For another example, suppose cell B4 contains the formula =2*A4, so that B4 is "twice the cell to the left of it". When the computer copies cell B4 to C4, the computer will make C4’s formula be "twice the cell to the left of it"; the computer will make C4’s formula be =2*B4.

If you want to prevent those changes, put dollar signs in the original formula. For example, if you want to prevent B3 from turning into D3, put dollar signs around the B3, so cell B4 contains this formula:

=B2+$B$3

When you copy that cell to C4, the dollar signs prevents the computer from turning the B3 into C3; C4’s formula will become =C2+$B$3 (instead of =C2+C3).

After you’ve finished

Finished creating your spreadsheet? Here’s how to copy it to the disk and printer and move on to another task.

Here’s how to use them.

Save to disk

If you haven’t invented a name for the spreadsheet yet, the computer will say "Save As". Invent a name for your spreadsheet. The name can be fairly long: up to 8 IBM characters or 31 Mac characters. For example, if you want the spreadsheet to be named JENNIFER, type JENNIFER and press ENTER. That instructs the computer to put a file named JENNIFER into your hard disk’s EXCEL folder. (An IBM’s hard disk will name the file "JENNIFER.XLS"; the .XLS stands for "eXceL Spreadsheet".)

If the name you invented was already used by another file, the computer will interrupt the process and ask, "Replace existing JENNIFER?" If you click OK, the computer will copy your spreadsheet onto the hard disk and erase the previous file named JENNIFER. If you click Cancel instead, the computer will cancel your request to copy the spreadsheet onto the disk, so the original file named JENNIFER will remain intact.

After you’ve copied your spreadsheet onto the disk, if you change your mind and want to do more editing, go ahead! Edit the spreadsheet some more. When you finish that editing, click the disk icon again. This time, the computer won’t bother asking you for the spreadsheet’s name; the computer will assume you want to use the same name as before.

Print on paper

JENNIFER.XLS

Annual blood drive 1995 results by Count Dracula

Type the left part ("Annual blood drive"), press the TAB key, type the center part ("1995 results"), press TAB again, type the right part ("by Count Dracula"), and press ENTER.

When you finish expressing all your preferences to the computer, click OK. Then click the print icon.

Those preferences affect the printing of just the current spreadsheet. They don’t affect other spreadsheets you create later.

Close your spreadsheet

When you’ve finished using your spreadsheet, do the following.…

Mac shortcut: click the close box.

IBM shortcut: at the left edge of row 1, you see a 1; above it, you see an empty box; above it, you see a box containing a horizontal line; it’s your spreadsheet’s control box; double-click it.

If the computer asks "Save changes?", click No.

Your spreadsheet vanishes from the screen.

Then choose one of these activities:

Delete a spreadsheet

Quit Excel

Beautify your cells

Like an amoeba trying to wear a dress, you too can try to beautify your cells!

When doing one of those selections, use the mouse; to click, use the mouse’s left button (not the right).

After you’ve made your selection, tell the computer how to beautify it. Choose one of the following forms of beauty.…

Italics

Bold

To get bold italics, push in the bold button and also the italic button.

Grow

To make your spreadsheet easier to read, use big writing for the column headings (such as January), the row headings (such as Income, Expenses, and Profit), any totals, and the bottom-line results (such as the $2000 profit).

Shrink

Clear

To make all writing in the selection vanish (so it’s erased), do the following.…

IBM shortcut: press the DELETE key.

Mac shortcut: press the Del key; if your keyboard doesn’t have a Del key, press COMMAND with B (which means "Blank").

Then press ENTER.

Align

To nudge all writing in the selection slightly to the left or slightly to the right, click one of these three buttons:

Those buttons are near the top of the screen, just under the word Options or Window. Here’s what those buttons do:

┌───────────────────────────┐

└───────────────────────────┘

┌───────────────────────────┐

└───────────────────────────┘

┌───────────────────────────┐

└───────────────────────────┘

If you don’t click any of the buttons, here’s what happens: if the cell contains a word, the computer puts the word flush left; if the cell contains a number instead, the computer puts the number flush right.

Format the numbers

To make all numbers in the selection look better, click the down-arrow that’s just under the word Formula or Format. You’ll see this menu:

From that menu, choose whichever format you wish, by clicking it.

Here are more details about each format.…

Sort

This spreadsheet shows how Sue, Al, and Pedro scored on a test:

You can make the computer alphabetize the names, so the spreadsheet becomes:

You can make the computer put the scores in numerical order, so the spreadsheet becomes:

You can make the computer put the scores in reverse numerical order (from highest score to lowest score), so the spreadsheet becomes:

Do you want to sort by name or by score? The computer assumes you want to sort by the data area’s first column (the A column, the name column). If you want to sort by score instead, click anywhere in the score column (the B column).

Click OK. Then the computer will interchange the rows of data so that the data area becomes sorted!

Chart

For example, suppose you want to graph the data from a company you run. Your company sells Day-Glo Pink Hair Dye. (Your motto is: "To brighten your day, stay in the pink!")

You have two salespeople, Joe and Sue. Joe’s worked for you a long time, and sells about $8,000 worth of dye each month. Sue joined your company recently and is rapidly improving at encouraging people to turn their hair pink. (She does that by inventing slogans for various age groups, such as "Feminine babes wear pink!", "You look so sweet with your new hair style — spun, pink, cotton candy!", "Don’t be a dink! Go pink!", "Pink is punk!", "Pink: the color that says I’ll be your Valentine, but lighten up!", "Be what you drink — a Pink Lady!", "Let that sexy, slinky, pink panther inside you glow!", "Love is a pink Cadillac — with hair to match!", and "When you’re in a sour mood, look like a pink grapefruit!")

This spreadsheet shows how many dollars worth of dye Joe and Sue sold each month:

The spreadsheet shows that Joe sold $8000 worth of dye in January, $6500 in February, and $7400 in March.

Sue’s a trainee. She sold just $2000 worth in January, but her monthly sales zoomed up to $12500 by March.

Here’s how to turn that spreadsheet into a graph.

First, type the spreadsheet.

Then the computer draws the graph and make it part of your spreadsheet, so your spreadsheet looks like this:

If you click the print icon, your printer will print the entire spreadsheet, including the graph! If you click the disk icon, your hard disk will store a copy of the entire spreadsheet, including the graph.

Edit

You can edit the graph easily.

the graph will change too, automatically!

just point at the graph and drag it wherever you wish!

click it and then press the BACKSPACE key.