Most people try to limit their Excel exposure to the bare minimum (and even actively avoid it like that one weird relative we all have). But whether it be a project at work or just a personal budget, you need to know basic Excel to get things done right and done quickly. To help you get the most out of Excel, we’ve put together a batch of the best Excel tips for beginners.

1. Excel For Beginners Step By Step
2. Excel For Beginners 2020

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Excel is an incredibly powerful tool for getting meaning out of vast amounts of data. But it also works really well for simple calculations and tracking almost any kind of information. The key for unlocking all that potential is the grid of cells. Cells can contain numbers, text, or formulas. Let's begin with two popular keyboard shortcuts that allow us to fill down, or fill to the right: To fill adjacent cells with the contents of the cell above, select the cell with the data and the cells to be filled. To fill adjacent cells with the contents of the cell to the left, select the. Looking around any version of Excel you’ll notice there’s an endless array of tools at your fingertips. But most beginners use just a few of these repetitively. Instead of switching between the different tabs of the ribbon every time, you can add your personal favorites to what’s known as the Quick Access Toolbar. 'Excel for Beginners: Learn The Essentials in 50 Minutes' is designed for Microsoft Excel beginners who want to get to grips with the software in a short amount of time. If you've not used Excel before, have limited experience with it, or need a refresh of the basics then this class will be perfect for you!

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1. Adding frequent actions to quick access toolbar

Looking around any version of Excel you’ll notice there’s an endless array of tools at your fingertips. But most beginners use just a few of these repetitively. Instead of switching between the different tabs of the ribbon every time, you can add your personal favorites to what’s known as the Quick Access Toolbar.

Microsoft offers several ways to make this happen but the easiest way is to right-click on what you want to add and select “Add to Quick Access Toolbar”. One of my personal favorites in my QAT is the Sort & Filter function as I usually work with a lot of data.

Before:

After:

Once you have your favorites added, you can also rearrange your QAT shortcuts by right-clicking on it and then clicking “Customize Quick Access Toolbar...” in the menu. With your customized QAT you’ll be blazing through your next spreadsheet with ease.

2. Filtering data

Speaking of a lot of data, Microsoft has amazing tools to handle it all, which probably explains why it became the most important workplace computer program around the world. Excel’s basic function for handling all this information is the Sort & Filter function. This is so useful because it allows you to rearrange and summarize data in a way that’s actually useful.

To do this, highlight all the data you want included in the filter (a quick way to do this is Ctrl + A). Then, click the funnel icon in the top left of the Home ribbon.

Now there will be a drop-down arrow at the top of each column in the filter. Here, you can select different values in the table and sort them. For example, let's say you wanted to see how many orders were made in a certain time frame. Just filter on the date column and select your desired time frame.

From our example, you can quickly see there were only two orders in September 2014.

3. Adding dynamic header/footers

While it seems everything is going paperless, sometimes there’s still a need to print. One of the best ways to keep track of what's printed out of Excel is by adding page numbers, timestamps and file paths to the header or footer. To make sure you don’t have to update these values every time you need to print a spreadsheet, you can add formulas that update automatically.

First, change your view of Excel so you can see the header and footer.

Next, add the following text to your header footer:

Before:

After:

4. Setting print areas on sheets

Now that you know how to automatically update what prints in the margin, another time-saving trick is set up print areas for your tabs to update what prints within the margins. If you like to keep all your work on one spreadsheet but only need to print out a certain portion, setting the print area is a great way to save time when you hit Ctrl + P.

To set your print area, highlight the cells you want printed. On the Page Layout ribbon, click the drop-down under Print Area and select Set Print Area.

In the same drop-down menu, there’s the option to clear the print area. This is useful if you’ve changed your spreadsheet and want to add more to printable area.

5. Paste Special settings

There are so many different ways to accomplish tasks in Excel. Consider the simple copy and paste functions. As if Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V didn’t make copying easy enough, Microsoft built Paste Special.

Here’s how it works. Say you want to copy and paste something but not everything like a just a number or format. Instead of copying everything and removing what you don’t want, you can use Paste Special. To do this, copy your information as usual, but instead of using Ctrl + V, right click and select Paste Special from the menu.

Some of the more popular Paste Special options include:

• Values - use this option if you only want to paste the text you see in the cells. It will leave all formatting unchanged.
• Formulas - Need to keep that formula but don’t need the formatting? Formulas allow you to do just that.
• Formats - Use this option to duplicate formats while leaving existing values and formulas.
• Column Widths - For when all your columns need to be a uniform width, this option saves a ton of time instead of adjusting them manually.

6. Group/ungroup columns to hide detail data

Spreadsheets with a bunch of complicated and detailed information can be hard to read and analyze. Luckily, Excel provides an easy way to collapse and expand the messy details to create a more compact and legible view.

Grouping in Excel works best for structured worksheets that have column headings, no blank rows or columns, and data is sorted by at least one column.

Select all the data you want to summarize in the group. Then, go to the Data tab > Subtotal. This will bring up a pop-up in which you can select how the data should be grouped and summarized. In the example below, we grouped by the change in OrderYear and summed on Total. This will show us total sales for each year and in total.

Here is the result:

Now with just a few clicks, you can go from meaningful summaries to fine detail on the same spreadsheet.

7. Protect sheets and workbook

When it comes time to send your Excel spreadsheet, it's important to protect the data that you're sharing. You might want to share your data, but that doesn't mean it should be changed by someone else. Luckily, Excel has built-in features to protect your spreadsheets.
To protect a sheet, click on the Review tab in the ribbon then Protect Sheet. This will bring up a pop-up box where you’ll add the unlock password and what functions users can still perform while the sheet is protected.

Once you click Ok, you are prompted to confirm the password and save the workbook. Now, if anyone tries to alter the information they will need that password. If you have a bunch of sheets you want protected, click on Protect Workbook follow the same procedure.

9. Trace precedent/dependent formulas

Have you ever used a worksheet that someone else set up? If you need to update the formulas and functions but do not know what other calculations will be affected you can spend a lot of time clicking around in the workbook with nothing to show for. Or you’re looking for a miscalculation and need to see where the data is flowing from.
Excel offers a simple way to review which cells are dependent upon others with Trace Precedents, and which cells contribute to others using Trace Dependents.

Both functions only work on the active cell selected so, unfortunately, it's one cell at a time. Click the Trace Precedents or Trace Dependents button in the Formula Auditing group of the Formulas tab to generate the blue arrows. Data flow follows the direction of the arrow with the blue dot being the precedent and the arrow being the dependent.

Below, Trace Dependents for cell E2 shows it only flows to cell G2.

And Trace Precedents for cell I4 shows cells E2 and F2 are the only cells flowing to it.

These functions work across tabs of the same workbook and different workbooks with one exception. Trace Dependents won’t work for external links for workbooks unless they are open.

9. Data validation for drop-down menus in cells

Using the drop-down list is a great way to impress your co-workers and boss with your Excel skills. At the same time, it’s a very user-friendly way to make sure custom Excel sheets function properly.

This tool is used to enter data in a spreadsheet from a predefined list of criteria. The main purpose of using drop-down lists in Excel is to limit the number of choices available for the user. Apart from that, a dropdown prevents spelling mistakes and makes data input faster.

This also gives you the possibility of controlling exactly what can be entered into a cell. This makes it perfect at validating inputs. First Select Data on the Ribbon and the Data Validation.

Next, select your parameters. Below we used the months of the year to populate OrderMonth.

Once you click Ok, click on the drop-down arrow next to the cell and select from the list.

Note: now that one cell is set up, it can be copy and pasted in the remaining cells below.

10. Text-to-column - splitting data in one cell to multiple cells

Have you seen data in excel that you need but there’s other information in those cells that won’t work with your formulas? While there are some complex formulas that will help you split your text into new columns, it can consume a lot of valuable time. The speedy way to split this up is Text to Columns which splits all the selected cells at exactly the same point and puts the results in separate columns.

You can use Text to Columns in two different modes: fixed-width and delimited. Fixed-width is useful if can separate your data using a straight line through all the rows while delimited splits the text based upon the text such as every comma, tab, or space.

For example, let’s look at a delimited Text to Columns to remove cents from our total column.

Like most functions on the Data Ribbon, first, highlight your data and then click Text to Columns. Once here you’ll choose between fixed-width or delimited.

On the next screen, set your splitting criteria. In our example, we used the period.

On the final screen, you have the option to exclude sections and change the formatting. This will save you crucial steps later. Then click Finish.

And finally the results! All of the cents were placed in the column just to the right.

11. Creating simple graphs

One of the best ways to improve your Excel skills is being able to communicate your results to others. Graphics, images, and charts are great ways to visualize and represent your data to end users, and Excel does a great job of automating this process. Let’s take a look at how to set up a simple chart using our sample sales data.

A simple graph starts with two sets of data, your independent (date) and dependent (results) variables. Below we have selected OrderDate and Total.

Clicking on Insert in the Ribbon you’ll see all the graphing options. For this example, a simple line graph will show us the total sales for each date.

Excel makes graphing so simple the results even include the title! So the next time you’re called into a last minute meeting you can create a simple graph on the fly in the meeting.

Bonus: Check out this lesson on how to create column charts in Excel:

Conclusion

Now that you’ve learned more about Excel it's time to put that knowledge into action. These helpful tricks will make your work so much faster you’ll wish you knew about them so much sooner.

For more helpful Excel tips for beginners, check out our articles on the best Excel hacks, Excel essentials, and the best Excel shortcuts. You can even take our free crash course to quickly cover some Excel basics.

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In this tutorial, you'll learn about workbooks and the different parts of an Excel worksheet (spreadsheet), such as rows, columns, and cells. We'll discuss how to insert rows and columns, and how to move around in a worksheet.

We'll also learn how to enter data into cells, move and copy data, propagate cell contents, and more. We'll tell you everything you need to know to get started using Microsoft Excel. We encourage you to open the Excel program and take the steps we outline below in your own worksheet.

What is Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is a program that provides worksheets comprised of rows and columns. Data can be stored in the worksheet, also called a spreadsheet, similarly to a Microsoft Word table, but the power of Excel is its ability to perform simple to complex mathematical calculations, and other functions. When you are ready to create some math formulas, see Excel Math Basics.

The Excel Worksheet (Spreadsheet) and Workbook

An Excel worksheet, or spreadsheet, is a two-dimensional grid with columns and rows. Look at the spreadsheet below. The column names are letters of the alphabet starting with A, and the rows are numbered chronologically starting with the number one. The cells in the first row are A1, B1, C1, and so on. And the cells in the first column are A1, A2, A3, and so on. These are called cell names or cell references.

We use cell references when creating math formulas or functions. For example, the formula to add the contents of cells B2 and B3 together is: =B2+B3.

Structure of a Microsoft Excel Worksheet (Spreadsheet)

The Name Box is located in the area above Column A, and displays the cell reference of the selected cell - the cell where the cursor is resting. In our spreadsheet above, the selected cell is C2. Notice that the column letter (C) and the row number (2) change color.

The beginning of the Formula Bar can be seen in the area above Column D on our worksheet. The Formula Bar displays the contents of the selected cell.

A workbook is a collection of worksheets or spreadsheets. When the Excel program is opened, a workbook opens with three blank worksheets. The names of the worksheets are displayed on tabs at the bottom of the Excel window. For more information, see our separate tutorial Excel: Managing Workbooks and Worksheets.

How to Move From Cell to Cell

The arrow keys can be used to move left, right, up, and down from the current cell. Press the Enter key to move to the cell immediately below the current cell, and press the Tab key to move one cell to the right.

How to Select Cells

There are a variety of ways to select cells in an Excel spreadsheet:

• To select one cell, click in the cell.
• To select one or more rows of cells, click on the row number(s).
• To select one or more columns of cells, click on the column letter(s).
• To select a group of contiguous cells, click in one corner cell and drag the mouse to the opposite corner. In the image at right we have selected cells A1 through B5 (written A1:B5 in formulas).
• To select multiple cells that are not contiguous, press and hold the Ctrl key while clicking in the desired cells .
• To select every cell in the worksheet, click in the upper right corner of the worksheet to the left of 'A.'

How to Enter Data into Cells

To enter data into a cell, just click in the cell and begin typing. What you type also displays in the Formula Bar. When entering dates, Excel defaults to the current year if the year portion of the date is not entered.

You may edit cell contents from the Formula bar, or from directly inside the cell. To edit from the Formula Bar, select the cell and click inside the Formula Bar. When done typing, either press the Enter key or click inside another cell. To edit directly inside a cell, either double click inside the cell, or select the cell and press the F2 key.

Each cell has a specific format. In Excel, a cell's format tells Excel how to display the contents of the cell. A cell's format may be different than the cell contents.

For example, you may have entered 8.9521 in a cell. But if the cell was formatted to display only two decimal places, Excel will display 8.95 in that worksheet cell. However, Excel will still use the real cell value that you entered, 8.9521 when performing calculations that involve that cell.

For more information, see our separate tutorial on Formatting Cells in Microsoft Excel.

Excel For Beginners Step By Step

How to Propagate Cell Contents

There are multiple ways to propagate or fill data from one cell to adjacent cells. Let's begin with two popular keyboard shortcuts that allow us to fill down, or fill to the right:

• To fill adjacent cells with the contents of the cell above, select the cell with the data and the cells to be filled and press Ctrl + D (the Ctrl key and the D key) to fill down.
• To fill adjacent cells with the contents of the cell to the left, select the cell with the data and cells to be filled and press Ctrl + R (the Ctrl key and the R key) to fill to the right.

To propagate in any direction, use the Fill Handle. Click in a cell with data to be copied, hover the cursor over the cell's lower right corner until the cursor changes to a thin plus sign (+) or a dark square, and drag up, down, left, or right to fill the cells. Excel's Fill Handle is powerful; see our How to Autofill Anything tutorial.

If the data to be copied is a date, number, time period, or a custom-made series, the data will be incremented by one instead of just copied when the Fill Handle is used. For example, to display the months of the year in column A, type January in cell A1, drag the Fill Handle down to cell A12, and the months will display, in order, in column A!

How to Move and Copy Cell Contents

To move cell contents, right-click in the selected cell and click Cut; then right-click in the new location and click Paste. Similarly, to copy cell contents, right-click in the selected cell and select Copy, and paste in the new cell.

You can copy the contents of a cell as described above, but paste and fill multiple adjacent cells. Just highlight the block of cells you want to paste in: click and hold the left mouse button in one corner of the cell range. Still holding the mouse button down, swipe the cursor over to the opposite corner until just the cells you want filled are highlighted. Then right-click and click Paste.

To remove the animated border around the original cell, press the ESC key, or start typing in a new cell.

How to Add and Delete Rows and Columns

To insert a new row in a spreadsheet, right-click on a row number, and click Insert. Excel always inserts the row ABOVE the row that was clicked on. If you want to continue inserting rows, press the F4 key to insert each additional row.

To delete a row, right-click on the row number, and click Delete. Contiguous rows can be deleted by highlighting them before clicking Delete. And non-contiguous rows can be selected by pressing and holding the CTRL key before clicking Delete. Don't press the Delete key on the keyboard unless you just want to delete the cell contents and not the actual row.

To insert a new column, right-click on a column letter and click Insert. Excel always inserts the column to the LEFT of the column that was clicked on. As with rows, if you want to add additional columns after inserting the first column, press the F4 key.

To delete a column, right-click on the column letter, and click Delete. Contiguous columns can be deleted by highlighting them before clicking Delete. And non-contiguous columns can be selected by pressing and holding the CTRL key. Don't press the Delete key on the keyboard unless you just want to delete the cell contents and not the actual column.

How to Lock Cells and Protect a Spreadsheet

There are two steps to preventing important cell content from being accidentally overwritten or deleted. First, the cell must be locked. Second, the worksheet must be protected. If you have any valuable data or complex formulas that you do not want to lose, and data DOES get accidentally erased(!), then you owe it to yourself to learn which cells to lock and which worksheet protection options to take. We provide detailed instructions in our separate tutorial, Protecting Worksheet Data in Microsoft Excel.

In Closing...

Microsoft Excel has many built-in functions that can greatly improve productivity and provide unique results that math formulas alone often cannot. See our alphabetical list of Excel functions for information and examples of how to use the most popular Excel functions.

If you see ##### in a cell, don't panic. It's just Excel's way of telling you that you need to make the column wider for the cell contents to display. To make the column wider, place the cursor on the right side of the column heading and drag the column edge to the right until the data displays.

Excel For Beginners 2020

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