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Spreadsheets...what are they
for, how do I use them
Spreadsheets (Wikipedia
article) were the first big productivity applications for personal
computers. They brought the power and flexibility of calculating numbers from
large main frame computers to the desktop.
Spreadsheet
Functions
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Number crunching
(calculations)
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Financial Management
(accounts receivable, ammortization tables, budgets, etc.)
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Data analysis (compare
yearly, quarterly, monthly data)
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Some people use them for simple data management (lists,
addresses, etc), but databases serve this purpose better.
Spreadsheet
Vocabulary
-
Spreadsheet - refers to
the entire file
-
Worksheet - one "page"
in a spreadsheet...most spreadsheets can contain 256 worksheets
-
Cell - one 'box' in a
worksheet. A cell is referenced with a letter and number to indicate its
location in the spreadsheet grid.
-
Row - collection of
cells horizontally arranged and referenced with a number. Microsoft Excel
has a limit of 65,536 rows.
-
Columns - collection of
cells vertically arranged and referenced with a letter or combination of
letters. Microsoft Excel has a limit of 256 columns.
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Formula - a calculation
the user asks the spreadsheet to perform.
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Charts - visual method
of looking and comparing spreadsheet data (bar graphs, pie charts, scatter
charts, etc)
Order of
Operations
When building formulas with a spreadsheet, math rules
apply...here is the order a spreadsheet uses to calculate values by looking at
the formula from left to right:
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() Parentheses
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- Negative number if used with one operand
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% Percentage
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^ Exponentiation
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* and / Multiplication and division
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+ and - Addition and subtraction
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& Connects two text values to produce a continuous text
value
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=,<,<=, >, >=, <> Comparison operators
Online
Spreadsheet Tutorials
For Microsoft Excel Power
Users, the most comprehensive site for online help is:
Mr. Excel
CLICK HERE
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