How to Learn Excel for Free on the Computer

1. Click 'Start,' click 'All Programs,' click 'Microsoft Office' and then click 'Microsoft Office Excel 2007' to display its Book1 - Microsoft Excel window.
2. Click the blue question mark — Microsoft Office Excel Help — button to display the Excel Help window. Scroll to 'Training' and then click on it to display a list of Training Topics. Click on 'Excel 2007 training courses' to display its window, which is subtitled: A roadmap to Excel 2007 training. Click on the title of any course listed here to display its website, read its title page, click 'Start this course' to display page 2, and then click 'Back' and 'Next' to navigate through its web pages. Most of these courses include practice exercises and self-evaluation tests. When you have finished a course, simply close your browser to redisplay the Excel 2007 training courses window in help.
3. Scroll to '1. GET FAMILIAR WITH EXCEL,' click 'UP TO SPEED WITH EXCEL 2007' to display its web page and then work through the course as described in step 2. Click 'Get to know Excel 2007: Create your first workbook' and then work through its course. Click 'Get to know Excel 2007: Enter formulas' and then work through its course. Click 'Learn how to figure out dates using formulas in Excel 2007' and then work through its course. Completing these four courses should help learn how to use the basic features of Excel 2007.
4. As needed, you can continue with the other courses in: 2. CREATE CHARTS IN EXCEL, 3. CREATE PIVOTTABLE REPORTS, 4. SHARE DATA WITH OTHER PEOPLE, and 5. LEARN GENERAL OFFICE SKILLS.

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How to Spell Check Multiple Worksheets in Excel

1. Open Excel by double-clicking on the program's icon. Open the document with multiple worksheets that you want to spell check.
2. Click on the first bottom tab while holding down the 'Shift' key. Continue holding down the 'Shift' key and click on the remaining tabs to highlight all worksheets that need checking for spelling or grammatical errors.
3. Select the 'Tools' menu option and then choose 'Spelling.' A popup box appears asking, 'Do you want to continue checking at the beginning of the sheet?' Click 'Yes.'
4. Review each word that the computer doesn't recognize. The spell check takes you through each worksheet. The popup box gives you options for each spelling mistake: 'Ignore,' 'Change,' 'Add,' 'AutoCorrect,' 'Ignore All' or 'Change All.'
5. Choose the option that fits your needs for each word. Clicking on that option takes you to the next error.
6. Go through each potential error that pops up. A popup box then appears stating, 'The spelling check is complete for the selected sheets.' Click on 'OK.'
7. Hit 'Save' to save any changes you made to your worksheets. Then, click on one of the tabs highlighted so further changes you make don't affect multiple worksheets.

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How to Calculate Compound Interest for Excel 2003

1. Title cell A1 'Principal,' cell A2 'Compounding Periods,' cell A3 'Yearly Rate,' cell A4 'Time Period,' cell A5 'Periodic Rate' and cell A6 'Total Interest.'
2. Enter the value for the amount of money you started with in cell B1, the number of times interest compounds each year in cell B2, the yearly interest rate in cell B3 and the number of years you will leave the money in the account in cell B4.
3. Enter the formula '=B3/(B2*100)' in cell B5 to calculate the periodic interest rate. You have to divide by 100 to convert from a percentage to a decimal.
4. Enter the formula '=B1*(1 B5)^(B2*B4)-B1' in cell B6 to find the total interest. Once you have entered the formula, the total interest for your specified time period will be displayed.

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How to Merge or Split Cells Data in Microsoft Excel

1. Open Excel 2010. Type some random numbers in cells A1, B1 and C1. Highlight cells A1, B1 and C1.
2. Click the 'Home' tab and select 'Merge and Center.' The cells will merge as one large cell displaying information from cell A1.
3. Split the merged cells by selecting the newly merged cell. Click 'Merge and Center' icon. The cells will split displaying three separate cells again.

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How to Create a Dropdown List in Excel 2007

1. Type a list of entries for the drop-down list in a single column. For example, if you want a drop-down list for the days of the week, type 'Monday' in cell A1, 'Tuesday' in cell A2, 'Wednesday' in cell A3, 'Thursday' in cell A4, 'Friday' in cell A5, 'Saturday' in cell A6, and 'Sunday' in cell A7.
2. Click on the cell where the drop-down list will go.
3. Click on the 'Data' tab, then click on 'Data Validation,' then click on 'Data Validation' again.
4. Click on the 'Settings' tab in the dialog box.
5. Click on 'List' from the 'Allow' box.
6. Enter the cell references into the 'Source' text box. In the above example, you would type '=A1:A7.' The 'in-cell dropdown' check box should already be checked. If it isn't, make sure to check it.
7. Click on the 'OK' button. Excel will insert a list into the chosen location.

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How to Create a Spreadsheet Template in Excel

1. Create a workbook file with all the basic settings you use: sheets, default text (such as column and row labels and page headers and footers), formulas, macros and anything else you want in new workbooks based on the template. You probably don't want to enter a lot of data into the template, but you might.
2. Open the File menu and select Save As.
3. In the 'Save as type' box, click Template (*.xlt).
4. In the 'Save in' box, select the folder where you want to store the template. To create a normal template, select the Templates folder, which should have automatically opened when you chose the Template type in the previous step.
5. To make this template the default (so that it's automatically selected), save the folder in the XLStart folder. The XLStart folder should be located in the following place: C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLStart.
6. In the 'File name' box, type a name for the template (like 'Budget template'). Use the name 'book' if you want this template to be the default.
7. Click Save.

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How to Add Comments to an Excel Worksheet

1. Open the Excel spreadsheet you wish to change.
2. Select the cell into which you'll write your comment.
3. Choose Comment under the Insert menu.
4. Type your comment into the resulting box.
5. Finish typing and click outside the box to save your comment.

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How to Make a Gantt Chart in Excel

1. Open a new Excel worksheet. For the purposes of this article, enter 'Task' in cell A1, 'Start Date' in cell B1 and 'Length' in cell C1. Type in a few lines of chart data under the appropriate headings. The first column names the tasks, the second column provides a start date, and the third column lists the number of days each task is expected to take.
2. Select the data table by clicking the first cell and dragging across all the cells you typed data into. Go to the Insert tab and select 'Bar' from the Chart panel. Click on 'Stacked Bar' under the 2D heading as the chart subtype.
3. Click on 'Select Data' in the Design tab under Chart Tools; the Select Data Source window will open. Remove any entries listed under Legend Entries (Series) by selecting them and clicking 'Remove.'
4. Click on 'Add' to bring up the Edit Series dialog box. Type 'Start Dates' in the Series name field. Delete any values in the Series values field. Click inside the field, then drag your mouse from the first data cell to the last data cell in the Start Dates column; you will see the data range appear in the field. Click on 'OK' to return to the Select Data Source window.
5. Repeat Step 4 to add a new data series. Name it 'Length' and select the data in the Length column. Return to the Select Data Source window.
6. Click on 'Edit' under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels and drag your mouse from the first data cell to the last data cell in the Tasks column (not including the heading). Click on 'OK' to return to the Select Data Source window, and 'OK' again to return to the worksheet.
7. Double-click on the colored area in the left side of any of the bars. The Format Data Point box will open. Click on 'Fill' and change it to 'No Fill.' Click on 'Border Color' and change it to 'No Line.' Click 'Close' to apply the changes. The first color in the bars will be gone.
8. Double-click the category axis, which is the area where the task names are listed. The Format Axis dialog box will open. Under Axis Options, click the 'Categories in Reverse Order' check box. The chart order will be flip-flopped.
9. Double-click the value axis, which is the white area where the start dates are shown. The 'Format Axis' dialog will open. Under Alignment, change the Custom Angle to 45 degrees. Click 'OK' to apply these changes.
10. Click on the chart legend and press the 'Delete' key to remove it.

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How to Create a Template in Excel 2007

1. Open Microsoft Excel 2007 on the computer.
2. Click the 'Microsoft Office' button from the main program menu, and then click 'Open.' Browse to and double-click the existing Excel workbook or worksheet that you want to use as a template. If you don't have an existing spreadsheet, click 'New' to create a new Excel document to use as a template.
3. Enter the information and add the elements that you want to include in the Excel template. This should include all the data, graphics, text, macros and formulas that the template requires to work properly.
4. Click the 'Microsoft Office' button on the main menu, and then click 'Save As.'
5. Type a name for the template in the 'File Name' box.
6. Click 'Excel Template' in the 'Save As Type' box. If the workbook contains macros that you need to include in the template, click 'Excel Macro-Enabled Template' in the 'Save As Type' box. Click 'Save.'

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How to Expand a Row in Excel 2003

1. Click the Windows 'Start' button and select 'All Programs.' Click 'Microsoft Office,' then click 'Microsoft Excel' to open the software.
2. Click 'File,' then click 'Open.' Double-click the Excel file with the rows you want to edit. The file loads in the Excel editor.
3. Hover the mouse over the line below the row you want to expand. Notice the cursor displays an arrow. Click the row's grid line and expand the height.
4. Click the 'Save' button to save the changes. Repeat these steps for each row you want to edit.

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How to Print in Excel 2007

Print Whole Worksheet
1. Open your document in Microsoft Excel. Click on a cell within the table to activate it.
2. Click the Microsoft Office button at the top of the worksheet. The Microsoft Office button will appear as a light blue circle with the Office logo inside. Click 'Print' or use the keyboard shortcut 'Ctrl' and 'P,' followed by 'OK.'
3. Click 'Table' under the 'Print What' option that will appear. Clicking 'Table' will print the entire chart.
Print Part of a Worksheet
4. Click on a cell and drag your mouse cursor to the rest of the table you wish to print. The table will highlight in a shaded color to indicate the highlighted cells.
5. Navigate your cursor to the 'Page Setup' group located inside the new 'Page Layout' tab at the top of the worksheet. Click 'Print Area.'
6. Click 'Set Print Area' to set the highlighted cells for printing. Print the worksheet by pressing 'Ctrl' and 'P,' followed by 'OK.'

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How to Use Security Features in Excel

1. Enable security alerts from suspicious website links. Click the Microsoft Office button and choose 'Excel Options.' Choose 'Trust Center,' then click 'Trust Center Settings' and select 'Privacy Options.' Make sure you have 'Check Office documents that are from or link to suspicious Web sites' checked.
2. Select 'Enable Content' on the message bar if your workbook has external content. Choose to unblock the external content when the security dialog box appears.
3. Access the Trust Center to view your security and privacy settings for Active-X controls, add-ins and macros. Click on the Microsoft Office button and go to 'Excel Options.' From there, go to 'Trust Center' and then 'Trust Center Settings.'
4. Password-protect your workbook. You can choose to require a password before anyone can open or modify your workbook. Select 'Tools' from the 'Save As' dialog box. Click 'General Options' and input your passwords in the designated area.
5. Set the VBA / Macro Security to determine how VBA code and XML macros are executed. Go to 'Tools,' then 'Macros.' Set the security setting to at least medium.
6. Protect your worksheet from unauthorized editing by using Worksheet Protection. This allows other people to view most of the worksheet, but only edit certain cells. Click 'Tools,' go to 'Protection' and select 'Worksheet Protection.'

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How to Include Grand Totals in Excel Pivot Charts

1. Open the PivotChart.
2. Click the 'Field List Button' image on the PivotChart toolbar if the Field List Button is not showing.
3. Click the field and go to 'Totals.'
4. Click 'Row Area' to add the grand total to the row area and 'Column Area' to add it to the column.

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How to Insert a Template in Excel 2007

1. Hold the 'Windows' key down and press 'E' to open Windows Explorer.
2. Navigate to where you saved the template you want to insert into Excel.
3. Open another Windows Explorer window, type 'C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates' in the top address field and press 'Enter.' When typing the address, change 'USERNAME' to your Windows username, which is listed beneath your picture on the 'Start' menu.Do not try to navigate into this folder by clicking folders. If you maintain Windows 7's default settings, you will not find the 'AppData' folder because it is a hidden system folder. However, by directly typing the location in the address bar, you bypass the hidden nature of the folders, which saves you the trouble of changing your Windows configuration.
4. Hold the 'Alt' key and press 'Tab' to return to the previous Windows Explorer window.
5. Click and begin dragging the Excel template file, which should have the XLTS extension.
6. Hold the 'Alt' key and press 'Tab' again to return to the template folder. Do not release your left mouse button yet.
7. Continue dragging the template file and drop it into the right pane by releasing the left mouse button. This inserts the template into Excel and makes it available for use.

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How to Upgrade Microsoft Excel

1. Insert the install CD or DVD into the disk drive.
2. Enter your product key when prompted. This will occur after the install screen has popped up. If the install screen does not come up automatically, then navigate to your CD/DVD drive through 'My Computer' and double click on the Microsoft Office disk icon. The product key can be found on a sticker on the CD case inside your Microsoft Office box.
3. Accept the Microsoft License agreement.
4. Select 'Install Now' or 'Customize.' 'Install Now' will upgrade all previous versions of the Microsoft Office program that correspond to your recently purchased Office software. 'Customize' will allow you to specify which applications and features are upgraded.
5. Activate your product after the installation is completed. Activating over the internet is the quickest method if you have an internet connection. If you decline activation at this time, you will be prompted to activate each time you open an Office program.

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