Introduction

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application used to store, organize, calculate, analyze, and present data. It is widely used in offices, schools, businesses, institutes, accounting, banking, and data management.

Excel allows users to work with numbers and text using rows, columns, cells, formulas, functions, tables, and charts.

1. What is Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program developed by Microsoft. It helps users manage large amounts of information in an organized format.

Common Uses of Excel

Excel is used for:

• Student marksheets
• Attendance records
• Salary calculations
• Expense management
• Sales records
• Invoices
• Stock management
• Budget planning
• Financial calculations
• Data analysis
• Reports and charts

2. Starting Microsoft Excel

Steps

1. Click the Start button.
2. Search for Microsoft Excel.
3. Open Excel.
4. Select Blank Workbook.

A new Excel workbook will appear.

3. Understanding the Excel Interface

The main parts of Excel include:

Title Bar

Displays the name of the workbook.

Quick Access Toolbar

Provides quick access to frequently used commands such as Save and Undo.

Ribbon

Contains Excel commands organized into tabs.

Common tabs include:

• Home
• Insert
• Page Layout
• Formulas
• Data
• Review
• View

Name Box

Displays the address of the currently selected cell.

Example:

A1

Formula Bar

Displays or allows you to enter the contents or formula of the selected cell.

Worksheet Area

The main area where you enter and work with data.

Status Bar

Displays information about the workbook and selected data.

Zoom Control

Allows you to increase or decrease the worksheet display size.

4. Workbook and Worksheet

Workbook

An Excel file is called a Workbook.

Example:

Student_Record.xlsx

A workbook can contain multiple worksheets.

Worksheet

A Worksheet is an individual spreadsheet inside a workbook.

For example:

• Sheet1 – Student Data
• Sheet2 – Attendance
• Sheet3 – Fees

5. Rows and Columns

Excel organizes data using rows and columns.

Rows

Rows run horizontally and are identified by numbers:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

Columns

Columns run vertically and are identified by letters:

A, B, C, D, E...

6. Cells

A Cell is the intersection of a row and a column.

For example:

• A1
• B2
• C5
• D10

Example

If you select column B and row 5, the cell address is:

B5

The selected cell is called the Active Cell.

7. Cell Range

A Range is a group of cells.

For example:

A1:A10

represents cells from A1 through A10.

Another example:

A1:C5

represents a rectangular range covering columns A to C and rows 1 to 5.

8. Entering Data

Excel can store different types of data.

Text

Examples:

• Student Name
• Delhi
• Computer Course

Numbers

Examples:

• 100
• 2500
• 75.50

Dates

Examples:

• 08/09/2026
• 8-Sep-2026

Time

Examples:

• 10:30 AM
• 4:45 PM

Formulas

Examples:

=A1+B1

9. Entering Data in a Cell

Steps

1. Select a cell.
2. Type the required information.
3. Press Enter.

Example:

10. Editing Cell Data

You can edit information already entered in a cell.

Methods

• Double-click the cell.
• Select the cell and press F2.
• Click the Formula Bar.
• Select the cell and type new information to replace the existing content.

11. Selecting Cells

You can select:

Single Cell

Click a cell.

Multiple Cells

Click and drag across the required cells.

Entire Row

Click the row number.

Entire Column

Click the column letter.

Entire Worksheet

Click the button at the top-left corner between the row and column headings.

12. Copy, Cut and Paste

Excel allows you to easily duplicate or move data.

Copy

Ctrl + C

Cut

Ctrl + X

Paste

Ctrl + V

Example

You can copy a student’s course name from one cell and paste it into another cell.

13. Undo and Redo

Undo

Ctrl + Z

Used to reverse the previous action.

Redo

Ctrl + Y

Used to restore an action that was undone.

14. Autofill

AutoFill helps you quickly copy data, formulas, or patterns into adjacent cells.

Example

Enter:

• January
• February

Select the cells and drag the Fill Handle downward. Excel can continue the series:

• March
• April
• May
• June

It can also be used for:

• Numbers
• Dates
• Days
• Months
• Formulas

15. Basic Formulas

Excel formulas are used to perform calculations.

A formula normally begins with an equal sign (=).

Addition

=A1+B1

Subtraction

=A1-B1

Multiplication

=A1*B1

Division

=A1/B1

Example

If:

• A1 = 100
• B1 = 50

Then:

=A1+B1

will return:

150

16. Basic Excel Functions

Excel provides built-in functions for performing calculations.

SUM

Adds numbers.

=SUM(A1:A10)

AVERAGE

Calculates the average.

=AVERAGE(A1:A10)

MAX

Returns the largest value.

=MAX(A1:A10)

MIN

Returns the smallest value.

=MIN(A1:A10)

COUNT

Counts cells containing numbers.

=COUNT(A1:A10)

17. Formatting Basic Data

Excel provides formatting tools to make data easier to read.

You can change:

• Font
• Font size
• Font color
• Bold
• Italic
• Underline
• Cell fill
• Borders
• Alignment

Example

A marksheet heading can be formatted as:

STUDENT MARKSHEET

with bold text, a larger font, and suitable alignment.

18. Number Formatting

Excel provides different number formats.

Common formats include:

• General
• Number
• Currency
• Accounting
• Percentage
• Date
• Time

Example

2500

can be displayed as:

₹2,500.00

when an appropriate currency format is applied.

19. Adjusting Column Width and Row Height

Sometimes data does not fit properly inside a cell.

You can change the size of rows and columns.

Column Width

Drag the boundary between column headings.

Row Height

Drag the boundary between row numbers.

AutoFit

Double-click the boundary of the column heading to automatically adjust the width to fit the content.

20. Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns

Insert Row

1. Right-click a row number.
2. Select Insert.

Delete Row

1. Right-click the row number.
2. Select Delete.

The same process can be used for columns.

21. Renaming a Worksheet

By default, Excel may create sheets named:

• Sheet1
• Sheet2
• Sheet3

You can rename them.

Steps

1. Right-click the worksheet tab.
2. Select Rename.
3. Enter a new name.
4. Press Enter.

Example

Rename:

Sheet1

to:

Student Data

22. Adding a New Worksheet

Steps

1. Click the + button near the worksheet tabs.
2. A new worksheet will be created.

You can create separate sheets for:

• Students
• Attendance
• Fees
• Results

23. Saving an Excel Workbook

Steps

1. Click File → Save As.
2. Select the location.
3. Enter a file name.
4. Select the Excel Workbook format.
5. Click Save.

The common Excel workbook extension is:

.xlsx

Shortcut

Ctrl + S

24. Opening an Existing Workbook

Steps

1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. Select File → Open.
3. Browse to the required file.
4. Select the workbook.
5. Click Open.

Shortcut

Ctrl + O

25. Useful Excel Shortcuts

26. Practical Activity

Create a Student Marksheet

Create an Excel workbook named:

ADCA_Student_Marks.xlsx

Create the following table:

Perform These Tasks

1. Enter all student data.
2. Apply bold formatting to the headings.
3. Adjust column widths.
4. Add borders to the table.
5. Use the SUM function to calculate Total.
6. Format marks as numbers.
7. Rename the worksheet to Student Marks.
8. Add a second worksheet named Course Details.
9. Save the workbook as:

ADCA_Student_Marks.xlsx

10. Open the workbook again and verify the data.