Excel - Recordkeeping

Charts

Charts allow you to present data entered into the worksheet in a visual format using a variety of graph types. Before you can make a chart you must first enter data into a worksheet. This page explains how you can create simple charts from the data.

Chart Wizard

The Chart Wizard brings you through the process of creating a chart by displaying a series of dialog boxes.

• Enter the data into the worksheet and highlight all the cells that will be included in the chart including headers.
• Click the Chart Wizard button on the standard toolbar to view the first Chart Wizard dialog box.

• Chart Type - Choose the Chart type and the Chart subtype if necessary. Click Next .
  
• Chart Source Data - Select the data range (if different from the area highlighted in step 1) and click Next .
  

• Chart Options - Enter the name of the chart and titles for the X- and Y-axes. Other options for the axes, grid lines, legend, data labels, and data table can be changed by clicking on the tabs. Press Next to move to the next set of options.
  

• Chart Location - Click As new sheet if the chart should be placed on a new, blank worksheet or select As object in if the chart should be embedded in an existing sheet and select the worksheet from the drop-down menu.

•  Click Finish to create the chart.

Resizing the Chart

To resize the chart, click on its border and drag any of the nine black handles to change the size. Handles on the corners will resize the chart proportionally while handles along the lines will stretch the chart.

Moving the Chart

Select the border of the chart, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the chart to a new location. Elements within the chart such as the title and labels may also be moved within the chart. Click on the element to activate it, and use the mouse to drag the element to move it.

Chart Formatting Toolbar

Chart Objects List - To select an object on the chart to format, click the object on the chart or select the object from the Chart Objects List and click the Format button . A window containing the properties of that object will then appear to make formatting changes.

Chart Type - Click the arrowhead on the chart type button to select a different type of chart.

Legend Toggle - Show or hide the chart legend by clicking this toggle button.

Data Table view - Display the data table instead of the chart by clicking the Data Table toggle button.

Display Data by Column or Row - Charts the data by columns or rows according to the data sheet.

Angle Text - Select the category or value axis and click the Angle Downward or Angle Upward button to angle the the selected by +/- 45 degrees.

Copying the Chart to Microsoft Word

A finished chart can be copied into a Microsoft Word document. Select the chart and click Copy . Open the destination document in Word and click Paste .

Page Properties and Printing

Page Breaks

To set page breaks within the worksheet, select the row you want to appear just below the page break by clicking the row's label. Then choose Insert|Page Break from the menu bar. You may need to click the double down arrow at the bottom of the menu list to view this option.

Page Setup

Select File|Page Setup from the menu bar to format the page, set margins, and add headers and footers.

• Page
  Select the Orientation under the Page tab in the Page Setup window to make the page Landscape or Portrait. The size of the worksheet on the page can also be formatting under Scaling . To force a worksheet to print only one page wide so all the columns appear on the same page, select Fit to 1 page(s) wide .
• Margins
  Change the top, bottom, left, and right margins under the Margins tab. Enter values in the header and footer fields to indicate how far from the edge of the page this text should appear. Check the boxes for centering horizontally or vertically on the page.

• Header/Footer
  Add preset headers and footers to the page by clicking the drop-down menus under the Header/Footer tab.
  
  To modify a preset header or footer, or to make your own, click the Custom Header and Custom Footer buttons. A new window will open allowing you to enter text in the left, center, or right on the page.

Format Text - Click this button after highlighting the text to change the font, size, and style.

Page Number - Insert the page number of each page.

Total Number of Pages - Use this feature along with the page number to create strings such as "page 1 of 15".

Date - Add the current date.

Time - Add the current time.

File Name - Add the name of the workbook file.

Tab Name - Add the name of the worksheet's tab.

• Sheet
  Check Gridlines if you want the gridlines dividing the cells to be printed on the page. If the worksheet is several pages long and only the first page includes titles for the columns, select Rows to repeat at top to choose a title row that will be printed at the top of each page.

Print Preview

Select File|Print Preview from the menu bar to view how the worksheet will print. Click the Next and Previous buttons at the top of the window to display the pages and click the Zoom button to view the pages closer. Make page layout modifications needed by clicking the Page Setup button. Click Close to return to the worksheet or Print to continue printing.

Print

 

To print the worksheet, select File|Print from the menu bar.

• Print Range - Select either all pages or a range of pages to print.
• Print What - Select selection of cells highlighted on the worksheet, the active worksheet, or all the worksheets in the entire workbook.
• Copies - Choose the number of copies that should be printed. Check the Collate box if the pages should remain in order.

Click OK to print.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts can save time and the effort of switching from the keyboard to the mouse to execute simple commands. Print this list of Excel keyboard shortcuts and keep it by your computer for a quick reference.

Action Keystroke   Document actions Open a file CTRL+O New file CTRL+N Save As F12 Save CTRL+S Print CTRL+P Find CTRL+F Replace CTRL+H Go to F5   Cursor Movement One cell up Up arrow One cell down Down arrow One cell right Tab One cell left SHIFT + Tab Top of worksheet (cell A1) CTRL + Home End of worksheet (last cell with data) CTRL + End End of row Home End of column CTRL + left arrow Move to next worksheet CTRL + Page Down   Formulas Apply AutoSum ALT+= Current date CTRL+; Current time CTRL+: Spelling F7 Help F1 Macros ALT+F8

Action Keystroke   Selecting Cells All cells left of current cell SHIFT + left arrow All cells right of current cell SHIFT + right arrow Entire column CTRL + Spacebar Entire row SHIFT + Spacebar Entire worksheet CTRL +A   Text Style Bold CTRL+B Italics CTRL+I Underline CTRL+U Strikethrough CTRL+5   Formatting Edit active cell F2 Format as currency with 2 decimal places SHIFT+CTRL+$ Format as percent with no decimal places SHIFT+CTRL+% Cut CTRL+X Copy CTRL+C Paste CTRL+V Undo CTRL+Z Redo CTRL+Y Format cells dialog box CTRL+1