If you haven’t used Microsoft Excel before, then you haven't used one of the most valuable tools for storing, manipulating, and analyzing data. And don’t think you need to be a number-crunching CPA with computer programming skills to take advantage of this spreadsheet program’s powerful capabilities. Anyone can learn to use Excel like a pro.

Spreadsheet Basics

A spreadsheet is a grid of intersecting rows and columns, with each intersection creating a small rectangle called a cell. A cell is where you place information. And Excel has plenty of them—16,777,216 to be exact.

When you open an Excel spreadsheet, you’ll notice that columns are assigned letters, and rows are assigned numbers. This is important because a cell’s position is referenced by its column/row designation. For example, the cell in the first column of the first row is referred to as A1. Similarly, the cell in the second column of the first row is referred to as B1, and so on. Therefore, if you want to access that cell in the 345th row of the 10th column, you would refer to it as J345.

Often, you’ll want to work with a group of two or more cells at a time. In Excel, this is known as a range. And ranges can be different sizes, too. They can be as large as all of the cells in your spreadsheet (16,777,216, remember?), or as small as a couple of cells.

To reference a specific range, place a colon between the column/row designation of the first and last cells in the range. For example, a range consisting of all cells between A12 and G78 would be referred to as A12:G78.

Moving Around

There’s plenty of real estate to cover in a spreadsheet, so it shouldn’t surprise you that Excel has several ways to move from one cell to another.

A scroll bar is a strip that helps you navigate from screen to screen. Each bar has tiny arrows on both ends pointing in opposite directions. To move in that direction, just click on the arrow until you reach your destination. An Excel spreadsheet has two scroll bars: a horizontal one (on the bottom) for moving left or right, and a vertical one (on the right) for moving up or down.

Of course, feel free to use the arrow keys on your keyboard to travel up, down, left, and right one cell at a time. But to really race through a spreadsheet, try these keys:

• [Home] – Moves to first cell in current row.
• [Ctrl] and [Home] – Moves to first cell in first row (A1).
• [Page Up] or [PgUp] – Moves up one screen at a time.
• [Page Down] or [PgDn] – Moves down one screen at a time.

Entering Data

Entering information in an Excel spreadsheet is easy. First, place your mouse pointer over any cell and click on it. You’ll immediately see a thick, dark border surrounding the cell. This means the cell is the active cell in the spreadsheet and is ready to receive some data. Next, type in a number or some text, and press the [Enter] key. What you typed now resides in that cell’s location, and the cell below becomes the active cell.

Want to edit your entry? Click on the cell again and press the [F2] key; it’s one of the many function keys at the top of your keyboard. Now press the [Backspace] key. Do it again. Observe the contents of the cell being erased one letter at a time. To get rid of the entire entry in one shot, click on the cell and press the [Delete] key. See? All gone.

Creating Formulas and Functions

An Excel formula is a calculation that’s placed in a cell using mathematical operators:

• + (addition)
• - (subtraction)
• * (multiplication)
• / (division)
• ^ (exponentiation)
• = (equal sign)
• ( ) (parenthesis)

All formulas must begin with an equal sign. For example, this formula adds the contents of G46 and U23:

=G46+U23

You can also combine operators to create more complex formulas. The following formula multiplies the sum of the values contained in G46 and U23 by five and divides the result by 2:

=(5 * (G46+U23))/2

A function is a little computer program that performs a calculation or specific task. And Excel has plenty of functions available. Use them in your formulas to save you some valuable time. Many functions require arguments, which are just values you give to the function so it will work properly. To use a function in a formula, type the function’s name and place any required arguments in parenthesis.

Given a range extending from A23 to G89, here are a few examples of how to use some of Excel’s most common functions:

• Adds all of the values within the range: =SUM(A23:G89)
• Averages all of the values within the range: =AVERAGE(A23:G89)
• Finds the largest value within the range: =MAX(A23:G89)
• Finds the smallest value within the range: =MIN(A23:G89)
• Returns the number of values within the range: =COUNT(A23:G89)

Using Menus and Toolbars

Excel has many commands-- most of which can be executed through menus and toolbars.

The Menu bar is located at the top of the spreadsheet. It contains a row of nine menus that handle a unique set of tasks:

• File menu – controls file operations.
• Edit menu – rearranges data.
• View menu – provides different ways to look at your spreadsheet.
• Insert menu – Adds charts, pictures, and other objects.
• Format menu - changes the appearance of cells.
• Tools menu – analyzes and protect your data.
• Data menu – manipulates your information.
• Window menu - displays your open spreadsheets.
• Help menu – provides information about all of Excel’s features.

Click on a menu name to see a drop-down list of its items. Some items contain other menus. And others trigger the opening of special forms called dialog boxes. Dialog boxes request additional information before carrying out a command.

Below the Menu bar are the Standard and Formatting toolbars. A toolbar is a row of mostly buttons with pictures on them. By simply clicking on a toolbar’s button, you can instantly perform a variety of tasks. The Standard toolbar has buttons for saving, opening, and printing spreadsheets. And the Formatting toolbar has ones for aligning data and changing the color of an entire cell.

It’s pretty hard to remember what each button does. But don’t worry. If you place your mouse pointer over a button, a little box describing the button’s purpose will appear.

By default, the Standard and Formatting toolbars are both available when you open a spreadsheet. But you can add other toolbars to help you draw pictures and shapes, track revisions, or find errors. Adding a toolbar to your spreadsheet is simple. Go to the Menu bar, click on the View menu and choose Toolbars. You can now select the toolbar of your choice.

Practical Uses for Spreadsheets

Here are just a few ways you can use Excel:

• Keep your spending habits under control by creating a budget. You can track your monthly income and expenditures--and know when you’re headed for trouble.
• Instead of buying an expensive accounting program, or buying several ledgers, you can set up all of your accounting statements in Excel. Balance sheets and income statements can be connected or “linked” to keep your finances in order.
• Before you take out a loan, set up a spreadsheet to calculate your monthly payments at different interest rates.

Spreadsheets are simple to use. And although Excel has lots of features to learn, it shouldn’t take long to master the most important ones. Just have a little patience, and you’ll be an expert in no time.