Excel also allows you to insert a worksheet at a given position within the workbook. For example, let\’s say that we have a workbook containing all of the invoices issued by our company for each month of the year. There would be twelve worksheets named \”January\”, \”February\”, and so forth. Suppose we now want to insert quarterly analysis sheets at the end of each quarter.

As is the case with columns, Excel inserts new worksheets to the left of the currently selected tab. Therefore, in order to insert the first quarterly analysis sheet, we would select the April tab. However, as we have seen, we can\’t use the Insert Worksheet button to insert the new sheet since it will always go at the end. We would therefore use the Insert command in the Cells section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon.

We could also right-click on the \”April\” tab and choose Insert. Excel then allows us to choose the type of sheet we want to insert. As well as worksheet, we can insert a chart sheet, a backwardly compatible macro sheet or dialog sheet. These are useful for Excel developers. In addition we can insert a spreadsheet solution such as the billing statement or sales report. To insert a worksheet, in the General tab of the Insert dialogue, click on worksheet then click OK.

Next, we would rename the sheet; let\’s say \”Qtr1 Analysis\” and then repeat the same procedure to insert analysis sheets to the left of the \”July\” and \”October\” tabs. Since the analysis sheet of the fourth quarter will be the last sheet in the workbook, we can only add a worksheet in this position by using the Insert Worksheet button.

To delete the selected worksheet, use the Delete Sheets command in the Cells group of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon. It is also possible to delete a sheet by right-clicking the sheet tab and choosing Delete from the context menu. To delete several sheets at once, highlight the relevant tabs and then using the Delete Sheet command.

Selecting multiple sheets involves the use of the classic Windows techniques of Shift-click and Control-click. To select a contiguous range of sheet tabs, click on the first, hold down the Shift key and click on the last. To select a non-contiguous range of tabs, click on the first, hold down the Control key and click on each of the others.

To deselect a selected range of tabs, click on a tab which isn\’t selected. If all tabs are selected, just click on the name of any tab to select only that tab.

The writer of this article is a developer and trainer with OnSiteTrainingCourses.Com, an independent computer training company offering Microsoft Excel training courses in London and throughout the UK.

We set the text angle to 45 degrees by choosing \”Angle Counter Clockwise\” from the Alignment section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon. Let\’s say that we also want to centre the text horizontally and vertically, change the text colour and make the text bold and slightly larger. Having chosen the relevant options, to create a style which has all these attributes, simply highlight a cell that contains these formats and choose \”New Cell Style\” from the Cell Styles drop-down menu in the Styles Tab of the Excel Ribbon.

The Style dialogue box will then appear. Here, we can specify a name for our new style: let\’s say we call it \”Angled Heading\”. The Style dialogue box contains six categories of formatting information which can be activated or deactivated via a series of checkboxes. We can switch off any categories of formatting that don\’t apply. Thus, for our heading style, we can deactivate the categories \”Number\”, \”Border\”, \”Fill\”, or \”Protection\”; so we can uncheck all of them. Next to each of the categories, Excel lists the relevant attributes of the highlighted cell(s); so it\’s not necessary to click on each category to set any options; all we need to do is click OK.

When creating a style in this way, bear in mind that Excel does not apply the style to the cell or cells on which the style was based. To apply the style to the cell(s), you need to do so explicitly by highlighting the cell and choosing the name of your new cell style from the Cell Styles drop-down menu in the Styles section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon. Having created a cell style, you\’ll notice that Excel has an extra category called custom in the Cell Styles drop-down menu and it is here that you can choose the style that you just created. Although the highlighted cell doesn\’t change appearance, it will now be associated with the new style.

We can then proceed to apply the style wherever it is needed throughout our workbook. This, in itself, is a good time-saver. However, in addition, if we decide to change the format of our heading, all we need to do is to modify the attributes of our cell style and all of our headings will be automatically updated.

The author is a trainer and developer with Macresource Computer Solutions, a UK IT training company offering Microsoft Excel 2007 Classes in London and throughout the UK.

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There are workbooks, which hold worksheets. These worksheets calculate, collate and store data and graphics; an extremely versatile organizational tool. You can learn as many of the functions you want or as few as you need.

A tool used not only by secretaries but also engineers and designers to calculate and modify their designs. An engineering blueprint can be drawn in an hour using its workbook feature inserted with visual basic for applications.

Teachers can quickly detect areas needing improvement and can help the student. The program uses individual cells that store formulas and performs the calculations. This feature connects directly to the other application.

The training helps design a simple delivery tracking system using the conditional formatting feature, shapes and functions like Vlookup. Learn to use the SmartArt graphics, which offer a number of graphic elements and click sheets, which are seven formatted worksheets. There are formula name and formula auto-complete features that make all problems with formulas easier.

Microsoft Excel training helps learn the Formula Builder feature, which simplifies formulas, and then a description of each element of the formula too is displayed in the input boxes. If the formula in the cells match or are common then they become color-coded to indicate the commonality. This is a useful feature to store the formula you will not use often and otherwise a great time saver when it comes to calculations.

The writer of this article is a developer and trainer with an independent computer training company offering Microsoft Excel 2007 Classes, as well as Excel VBA training in London and throughout the UK.

To create a formula which returns the total of two of the numbers in a spreadsheet (say 24 and 12), you simply type “=24 + 12″. When you press the Enter key, you would get the correct result. However, the formula would not be linked to the two cells containing the numbers. If the entry in either of the cells were to change, the formula would still give the old result.

Obviously, the solution is to ensure that our formula contains a reference to the two cells in question. The simplest way of doing this is to click on the first cell having typed “=”. Excel then automatically creates a reference to that cell. Next type the plus sign and click on the second cell. Excel creates a reference to the second cell and we then confirm the formula either by clicking on the Enter button (on the left of the formula bar) or pressing the Enter key on the keyboard.

Once your formula contains a reference to these two cells, any time the contents of the cells change, the result produced by formula will be updated.

If this were the only way of performing calculations in Excel, formulas would become very long and extremely complex. To avoid this situation, we can use Excel’s built-in functions. Functions carry out complex mathematical calculations without the user having to worry about how the result is reached.

For example, imagine that we wanted to add up the contents of a hundred different cells. If we relied purely on addition, we would end up creating a formula with a hundred different arguments; in other words, a hundred cell references to each of the cells containing the numbers. Thankfully, we can use the SUM function instead.

To insert a function into a formula, type an equal sign followed by the name of the function. Next, type open parentheses and enter the arguments of the function. The arguments of a function are the parameters required by that function in order to return a result. When using the SUM function, the arguments are the references of the cells contain the numbers we want to total. We can generate these references by clicking or dragging across the cells in question.

Having entered references to all the cells containing numbers that we want to total, press the Enter key to add the formula to the worksheet. You don’t even need to put in the closing parentheses. Excel will close them automatically.

Author is a developer and trainer with Macresource Computer Solutions, a UK IT training company offering Microsoft Excel Classes at their central London training centre.

To create a formula which calculates the total of two of the numbers in a spreadsheet (say 3 and 34), we could simply type “=3 + 34″. When we press the Enter key, we would see the correct result. However, the formula would have no link to the two cells which contain the numbers. If the data in the cells were to change, the formula would still calculate the old result.

Obviously, the best solution is to ensure that our formula contains a reference to the two cells in question. The simplest method of doing this is to click on the first cell having typed the equal sign. Excel then automatically creates a reference to the cell. Next type a plus sign and click the second cell. Excel puts in a reference to the second cell and we then enter the formula either by clicking on the Enter button (on the left of the formula bar) or pressing Enter on the keyboard.

Now that our formula contains a reference to these two cells, any time the cell contents change, the result returned by formula will be updated.

If this were the only way of performing calculations in Excel, formulas would become very long and extremely complex. To avoid this situation, we can use Excel’s built-in functions. Functions carry out complex mathematical calculations without the user having to worry about how the result is reached.

For example, imagine that we wanted to add up the contents of a hundred different cells. If we relied purely on addition, we would end up creating a formula with a hundred different arguments; in other words, a hundred cell references to each of the cells containing the numbers. Thankfully, we can use the SUM function instead.

To use a function in a formula, type “=” followed by the name of the function. Next type open brackets and enter the arguments of the function. The arguments of the function are the values required by that function in order to return a result. In the case of the SUM function, we simply need to specify which cells contain the numbers we want to total. We can do this by clicking or dragging across the cells that contain those numbers.

Having entered references to all the cells containing numbers that we want to total, press the Enter key to add the formula to the worksheet. You don’t even need to put in the closing parentheses. Excel will close them automatically.

The author is a trainer and developer with Macresource Computer Solutions, an independent computer training company offering Microsoft Excel Classes at their central London training centre.

In order to create an Excel formula, begin by typing an equal sign: this distinguishes it from other types of data. A formula consists of groups of expressions. There are three key elements in these expressions: arithmetic operators, such as add and subtract; functions; and references to worksheet.

To create a formula which calculates the total of two of the numbers in a spreadsheet (say 3 and 34), we could simply type “=3 + 34″. When we press the Enter key, we would see the correct result. However, the formula would have no link to the two cells which contain the numbers. If the data in the cells were to change, the formula would still calculate the old result.

Obviously, what we need to do is to ensure that our formula contains a reference to the two cells in question. The easiest way of doing this is to click on the first cell having typed “=”. Excel then automatically creates a reference to that cell. Next type the “+” sign and click on the second cell to pick up its reference. Excel puts in a reference to the second cell and we then enter the formula either by clicking on the Enter button (on the left of the formula bar) or pressing Enter on the keyboard.

Now that our formula contains a reference to these two cells, any time the cell contents change, the result returned by formula will be updated.

If this was the only way of performing calculations in Excel, formulas would very quickly become extremely long and very complex. To avoid this, we can use Excel’s built-in functions. Functions perform complex mathematical calculations without us having to worry about how the result is arrived at.

For example, imagine that we wanted to total the contents of a hundred different cells. If we relied purely on the “+” sign, we would end up creating a formula with a hundred different arguments; in other words, a reference to each of the cells containing the numbers. Instead, we can use the SUM function.

To use a function in a formula, type “=” followed by the name of the function. Next type open brackets and enter the arguments of the function. The arguments of the function are the values required by that function in order to return a result. In the case of the SUM function, we simply need to specify which cells contain the numbers we want to total. We can do this by clicking or dragging across the cells that contain those numbers.

Having entered references to all the cells containing numbers that we want to total, press the Enter key to add the formula to the worksheet. You don’t even need to put in the closing parentheses. Excel will close them automatically.

Often, when you enter numbers into a spreadsheet, you need to ensure that the number format is consistent. For example, if these numbers are prices, you may want to display the currency symbol or you may simply want to specify that the number of decimals displayed is always two.

Unless otherwise specified, all numbers in Excel are rendered in the “General” format. This means that numbers are formatted exactly as you enter them: if you enter two decimals, two decimals are displayed; if you went to a single decimal, a single decimal is displayed; and so on.

To specify the number format, the best idea is usually to select the entire column. To do this, simply click on the letter or letters representing the column. (If text is contained in the selection, it will not be affected by the number format you specify.)

Number formats are found in the “Numbers” section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon. There are three principal formats related to numbers: the first is “Number”, the second “Currency” and the third “Accounting”. To access the full range of number formats, choose “More Number Formats” from the “Numbers” drop-down menu. Another method of accessing the same dialog box is to click on the launch button in the “Numbers” group of the Home Tab.

When you click on each of the number formats, you are presented with a series of choices which enable you to refine the way that the format will work. For example, if our numbers refer to an hourly rate, we would probably click the “Number” category in the left column and then specify two decimal places. The option labelled “Use Thousands Separator” will insert the appropriate separator to demarcate thousands. The separator which Excel uses will depend on your locality: for example, if you are in the UK or USA, a comma will be used; if you are in a European country, a dot will be used.

The final option in the “Number” category lets you control the display of negative numbers. The default is to preced the number with a minus sign and to leave the colour of the text unchanged. However, you can also suppress the minus sign and change the colour of negative numbers to red; or, if you prefer, you can change the colour of negative numbers to red as well as displaying the minus sign.

When we click the “Currency” category, we have pretty much the same choices with the addition of the currency symbol. We can specify which currency symbol is used or we can dispense with the symbol altogether.

The “Accounting” category is pretty much the same as “Currency”. Once again, you can choose a particular currency symbol. However, you will notice that you do not have any choices relating to negative numbers. The convention in accountancy circles is to always place negative numbers in brackets.

As an alternative to using the number dialog box, you can also click on one of the series of handy buttons which are used to apply each of the number formats with single click. There are also two buttons for decreasing and increasing the number of decimals displayed in the highlighted cells.

Finally, there will be times where you enter a number into a cell but do not want Excel to regard it as a number. For example, if you have a column of data with an ID of some sort, although the ID may be numeric, you may not want Excel to see it as a number or to change it in any way. You will probably want the ID to simply stay exactly as it was entered. In this scenario, it’s best to format the number as “Text”. The easiest way of doing this is to highlight the appropriate column and in the number dialog box select the “Text” category.

Because Microsoft Excel 2007 has so many differences from Excel 2003, when you or your staff upgrade, you will almost certainly need training. But what kind of training will work best? Do you need an upgrade course that shows you the new features? Do you need a training course that compares Excel 2003 and 2007 and shows you how features have changed and evolved in the new version? Or do you need Excel training to take your skills to a new level, whatever the version?… Well, why not find a course that does all of the above?

One of the key benefits you should look to derive from any training on Excel 2007 will be to regain the confidence level you achieved when using the previous version. You need to be shown the logic of the new interface, where your favourite features have been moved to, and how you can start working as quickly in Excel 2007 as you did in Excel 2003.

In addition to this, however, you will want to learn the new features that Excel 2007 has to offer: the stuff that either wasn’t available in previous versions or which has undergone considerable enhancement.

The number of cells in an Excel 2007 worksheet is now about 1000 times bigger than in previous versions. If you book training on Excel 2007, you should learn ways of taking advantage of this new space and also pick some tips on efficient navigation and management of this huge area.

Pivot tables are a key area where Excel 2007 has made improvements. Ensure that any Excel 2007 training that you book includes first of all an explanation of pivot table essentials (pivot tables often confuse users) and then moves on to the new ways of creating and manipulating pivot tables offered in Excel 2007.

Charts and graphics are a great way to add impact to your Excel reports. Does your organisation use them? If so, make sure that your Excel 2007 training course incorporates gives you plenty of practice examples in using Excel 2007′s new features to create and manipulate charts and graphics. You should become a dab hand at using the new charting ribbons: the format ribbon, the design ribbon and the layout ribbon. Do you need advanced features too? If so, you should also be looking to learn about pivot charts, scatter charts and adding trendlines to your charts.

Another feature that has been developed in Excel 2007 is conditional formatting. Be sure that any training you have on Excel 2007 includes some insight into the use of Excel 2007′s powerful new conditional formatting features especially Data Bars and Color Scale.

An Excel spreadsheet without formulas and functions is not much use to anyone. Functions are what Excel is all about. Microsoft have improved the way in which function are entered and edited and added several new functions. When you book training on Excel 2007, make sure that your course will include coverage of new functions like SumIfs, IfError and AverageIf as well as a demonstration of the improvements to the editing of formulas.

Because Microsoft Excel 2007 has so many differences from Excel 2003, when you or your staff upgrade, you will almost certainly need training. But what kind of training will work best? Do you need an upgrade course that shows you the new features? Do you need a training course that compares Excel 2003 and 2007 and shows you how features have changed and evolved in the new version? Or do you need Excel training to take your skills to a new level, whatever the version?… Well, why not find a course that does all of the above?

One of the first things you should look for in having training on Excel 2007 is a full explanation of how the new interface works. You should be shown the new way of working and learn useful tips and shortcuts which will enable you to become at least as productive in Excel 2007 as you were in 2003.

However, after being trained on 2007, you will want to do more than just get back to where you were with 2003. You will want the training to show you what new features have been added to Excel 2007 and how these new features can benefit you.

The Excel 2007 worksheet is much bigger than its 2003 counterpart; about a thousand times bigger in fact. Your Excel 2007 training should show you how you can exploit this huge area when designing your spreadsheets. Some decent navigation tips would also be helpful.

Pivot tables are a key area where Excel 2007 has made improvements. Ensure that any Excel 2007 training that you book includes first of all an explanation of pivot table essentials (pivot tables often confuse users) and then moves on to the new ways of creating and manipulating pivot tables offered in Excel 2007.

Charts have been given a big overhaul in version 2007. So be sure your training includes coverage of the special effects available in Excel 2007 charting and graphics. Your training course should cover such features as the format, design and layout ribbons and how to use SmartArt graphics and shapes. If charting is particularly important in your organisation, then make sure your training covers things like trendlines, scatter charts and pivot charts.

Your Excel 2007 training course should also cover conditional formatting. This is a feature that has been much enhanced in Excel 2007 and your training should show you how to exploit the new features available. Make sure you will come away from the training knowing all about Data Bars and Color Scale.

The ability to enter formulas and functions into the cells of an Excel spreadsheet is the key feature that has made the program so essential to so many organisations. Excel 2007 has added several new features relating to functions and several new functions. You should insist that any training course you book on Excel 2007 demonstrates these new features and functions such as IfError, SumIfs and AverageIf.

Each Excel document is referred to as a workbook and each workbook can contain up to 255 worksheets. To activate a particular worksheet, click on one of the tabs displayed at the bottom of your screen.

To the left of the worksheet tabs will find four navigation icons. These are useful where you have a workbook that either contains lots of worksheets or has worksheets with very long names. The very first icon makes the name of the first worksheet visible; the very last icon makes the name of the last worksheet visible. The left pointing arrow reveals the name of the previous worksheet and of course the right pointing arrow reveals the name of the next worksheet. These icons do not actually activate a worksheet; they simply make its name tab visible. To activate a worksheet, you still have to click on that particular tab.

Worksheets can also be activated from the keyboard. To activate the next worksheet to the right, hold down the Control key and press Page Down. This moves you forward through your worksheets are naturally holding the Control key and pressing Page Up moves you back to the left.

Once you have navigated to a particular worksheet, you will need to go to a particular cell or a particular section of that worksheet. Firstly, you can use the scrollbars to make different parts of the worksheet visible. Secondly, you can move around the worksheet using the arrows on your keyboard: down, right, up and left.

Excel also has some useful keyboard shortcuts for moving to the edges of a given body of data. To get to the right-most cell of your current range, hold down the Control key and press the right arrow key and of course to get to the bottom cell, hold down Control and press the down arrow.

It’s also possible to do exactly the same thing using the mouse. Position the cursor on one of the edges of the selection rectangle (the bold highlight which is displayed around the currently active cell) and then simply double-click. Double-clicking on the right hand edge of the selection rectangle moves you to the extreme right of the current range. Double-clicking on the bottom edge moves the cursor to the bottom of the range, and so forth.

There are two final navigation key combinations which should be mentioned: Control-Home and Control-End. Hold down the Control key and press the End key to move to the bottom right of the current range. Hold down Control and press Home to move to the top left of the current range.

As well as navigating through worksheets, most Excel users make frequent use of the Ribbon. Excel offers a series of handy keyboard shortcuts when working with the Ribbon.

To access Ribbon keyboard shortcuts simply press the Alt key once. A series of numbers and letters is then displayed. These represent the shortcuts that you should type to activate that part of the Ribbon. For example, “W” is the shortcut key for activating the View Tab.

When you press “W” and the View Tab becomes active, another series of badges is displayed on each of the commands within the View Tab. For example, the “Arrange All” command has “A” as its keyboard shortcut, so simply typing “A” is equivalent to clicking the Arrange All button.

Once you’ve typed a letter to execute a command, the Ribbon loses focus and the shortcut badges disappear. To access Ribbon commands via the keyboard once more, simply press the Alt Key and the badges will reappear. This means that you never have to worry about learning keyboard shortcuts. All you have to remember is to press the Alt key on your keyboard and Excel will prompt you from there.