INTRODUCTION

Until you save the workbook in which you are working, the data in the file is not stored on disk. You should regularly save your workbooks as you work in them so you don't lose your data. After you save a workbook, you can retrieve it later to work on. You can save a workbook as many times as you like, and you can even save it under another name if you want to keep track of multiple versions of your workbook.

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Clicking the Save button

If you have already saved and named your file, you can resave it after making additional changes by clicking the Save button on the Standard toolbar.

INTRODUCTION

When you finish working on a workbook, you can close it—with or without saving changes—and continue to work in the application. If you have been working in a workbook and try to close it, Excel asks you whether you want to save the workbook before it closes.

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Program window

Make sure you click the Close button in the document window, not the program window. Otherwise, you'll wind up closing all open workbooks in Excel.

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Available buttons

When Excel has no workbooks open, only a few buttons are available on the Standard toolbar. Notice that as soon as you create a new workbook or open a workbook, the buttons are available again.

INTRODUCTION

When you are finished working on your workbooks, you can exit Excel in a flash. If you haven't saved your work before you try to exit the program, Excel will remind you to do so. You don't have to, but if you want to keep any changes you made to your workbooks, this is the time.

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Quick exit

Another way to exit Excel is to simply click the Close (X) button in the upper-right corner of the Excel screen. If you haven't saved the spreadsheets you are currently working on, Excel will display the message box from step 2.

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Closing a spreadsheet versus exiting Excel

Sometimes people get closing a workbook confused with exiting the entire Excel application. If all you want to do is close the workbook you are working in and work in a different one, refer to the preceding task.

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Excel presents a new blank workbook each time you start the application. You can create another new workbook at any time, however. For example, when you save and close one workbook, you might want to begin a new one.

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Saving a new workbook

When you go to save the new workbook you created based on a current workbook (in step 4), you will automatically be asked to save the workbook as a new filename in the Save As dialog box.

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Understanding default filenames

The default filename for each new workbook (Book1, Book2, Book3, and so on) increases sequentially as you open new books. If you exit and restart Excel, the numbers begin at 1 again.

INTRODUCTION

Any time you want to work with a particular Excel workbook, you must open it first. The Open dialog box has many options. If necessary, click the Look In drop-down arrow and select a folder from the list. To move up a folder level, click the Up One Level button on the Open dialog box's toolbar.

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Is the workbook already open?

If the workbook you are trying to open is already open, Excel asks whether you want to reopen the file. Unless you are trying to undo any recent changes, click No and switch to the open file instead.

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Viewing multiple workbooks

Instead of constantly switching between workbooks, you can simultaneously view multiple workbooks onscreen in Excel. For more information, see the task "Viewing Multiple Workbooks" later in this part.

INTRODUCTION

You can have multiple workbooks open at the same time and switch between them whenever you want. For example, you might be using two different workbooks to create one report. You can use the Windows taskbar to quickly move from one workbook to another or to a completely different Office application.

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Switching between multiple applications

You aren't limited to switching between open documents in a single application; you can also switch between multiple applications. Before you can switch between applications, you need to have more than one application open at a time. Press Alt+Tab to toggle through the open files and applications.

INTRODUCTION

In addition to having multiple workbooks open at a time and switching between them whenever you want, you can switch between data and information stored on separate worksheets within a single workbook.

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Scrolling through sheets

If your workbook contains more than the default three worksheets, you can scroll among the tabs using the scroll buttons in the far-left bottom corner of the worksheet.

INTRODUCTION

Instead of constantly switching between workbooks, you can view multiple workbooks onscreen in Excel, and resize their windows as needed. This is a convenient feature if you are comparing two or more workbooks, or working on multiple workbooks at the same time. The workbook displaying a darker title bar is considered the active workbook. The active cell is visible in the active workbook.

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Maximizing one workbook

To return to viewing only one workbook (maximizing the workbook), double-click on the title bar of the workbook in which you want to work.

INTRODUCTION

There might be times when you need to compare two worksheets, perhaps to see similarities or differences, or to simply verify data. Excel allows you to compare workbooks easily, and even lets you scroll through both worksheets simultaneously so you don't have to keep switching between the visible worksheets to scroll down.

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Back to one workbook

To return to viewing only one workbook (maximizing the workbook), double-click on the title bar of the workbook in which you want to work. You can also open the Window menu and choose Close Side by Side.

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There might be times when the default three worksheets per workbook just aren't enough. You will likely need to insert additional worksheets and sometimes even delete ones you no longer use. Just be sure when you delete worksheets, that you definitely no longer need the information they contain.

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Inserting worksheet

As an alternative, you can open the Insert menu and choose Worksheet to automatically insert a worksheet into your workbook in front of the currently selected worksheet. If you need to rearrange the worksheets, check out the task "Moving or Copying Worksheets."

INTRODUCTION

The default worksheet names, Sheet1, Sheet2, and so on, aren't all that descriptive. If you use several sheets in a workbook, you should rename them so that you know what each sheet contains. Providing more descriptive names for your worksheets makes switching from one worksheet to another easier, too.

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Saving workbook names

Don't confuse worksheet names with workbook (file) names. They aren't the same. You still need to name and save the workbook, as described in the task "Saving a Workbook" earlier in this part.

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Scrolling through tabs

If you have several worksheets in a single workbook, you can scroll among the tabs using the scroll buttons in the bottom-left corner of the worksheet.

INTRODUCTION

The more you work in Excel, the more you will need to organize and keep track of your worksheets and the data they contain. If you want to indicate something specific about a worksheet (for example, if a worksheet contains information on a particular sales region that is not doing well), you can assign it a tab color.

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Renaming tabs

You can double-click on a worksheet tab to rename it. Simply type in the new name and continue working.

INTRODUCTION

When Excel inserts a new worksheet, it always places it in front of the currently selected worksheet. If you aren't in the correct worksheet tab before you insert the worksheet, however, you can simply move it. In addition, Excel understands that many times data in one worksheet can be used as a starting point in new worksheets and even other workbooks (or perhaps you need multiple sets of data), so you can copy a worksheet.

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Drag move

You can also click on a worksheet tab and drag it in front of or after another worksheet tab to change its location. This is a lot faster if all you want to do is move around your worksheets.

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Moving a worksheet to a new workbook

If you select (new book) from the To book drop-down list in the Move or Copy dialog box from step 2, your worksheet will be placed in a new workbook as the only worksheet available.

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Moving a worksheet

If you choose to move a worksheet to another location instead of copying the worksheet, it will no longer be accessible in the current workbook. Make sure you really want to remove the worksheet.

INTRODUCTION

If you want to zoom in and get a closer look at data in your worksheet, you can select a higher percentage of magnification. On the other hand, if you want to zoom out so more of the worksheet shows on the screen at one glance, select a lower percentage of magnification.

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Print Preview zoom

You also can zoom in Print Preview. To do so, simply click on the worksheet to zoom in; click again to zoom out. You also can click the Zoom button in the Print Preview toolbar.

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Typing the percentage

Besides selecting one of the Zoom percentage options, you can click in the list box area and type the exact percentage.

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Moving from cell to cell with the mouse or keyboard is fine when you want to move a short distance. If you want to move farther, however, you might want to investigate the Go To command. This command enables you to move quickly to any cell in the worksheet.

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Quick Go To

Press the Ctrl+G shortcut key to quickly open the Go To dialog box.

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Quick home

Press the Ctrl+Home shortcut key to quickly return to the beginning of the worksheet at cell A1.

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Many worksheets are large enough that you cannot view all their data onscreen at the same time. In addition, if you have added row or column titles, and you scroll down or to the right, some of the titles are too far to the top or left of the worksheet for you to see. For example, if you are reviewing data in column FF, it would be nice to see the row title of the cell you are referencing. To help, you can freeze the heading rows and columns so they're always visible.

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Splitting a worksheet

By splitting a worksheet, you can scroll independently into different horizontal and vertical parts of a worksheet. This is useful if you want to view different parts of a worksheet or copy and paste between different areas of a large worksheet. Simply unfreeze the panes, and then open the Window menu and choose Split. You can move the split bars by clicking and dragging them as is necessary.

INTRODUCTION

By splitting a worksheet, you can scroll independently into different horizontal and vertical parts of a worksheet. This is useful if you want to view different parts of a worksheet or copy and paste between different areas of a large worksheet.

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Moving the split bars

By moving the split bars, you can simultaneously view different portions of your workbook. For example, if you need to reference data in cells AA20 through AD30 and compare them with the data in cells A1 through D10, you can move the split between the locations and scroll until you see both sets of cells in the split areas. If you want to keep row and column labels visible as you work and scroll, see the task "Freezing Rows and Columns" earlier in this part for more information.

INTRODUCTION

When you share files with other users, you might find it useful to protect your workbooks. You can protect your workbooks by restricting access to the workbook and preventing changes being made within each particular workbook. The three protection options are Protect Sheet, Protect Workbook, and Protect and Share Workbook. Don't forget any passwords you assign to your workbooks; otherwise, you are not able to access the workbook.

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Alternative file-sharing options

There are two other file-sharing options in Excel. Protect Sheet allows you to protect the contents, objects, and scenarios in a worksheet (and assign a password). Protect Workbook allows you to protect the structure and windows in a workbook (and assign a password).

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Password protection

After you have protected your workbook with a password, send the file to someone else and have him try to open the file with and without the password. If he enters the correct password, the file opens; if he enters an incorrect password, he is denied the ability to open the file.