Excel 101: Introduction to Spreadsheets Part 1

Author: David H. Ringstrom

This on-demand course by Excel expert David Ringstrom, CPA, is designed for those who haven’t worked with Excel spreadsheets before or who haven’t used them in several years. He covers spreadsheet basics, different file types you can create, keyboard shortcuts to simplify repetitive tasks, and much more.

David demonstrates every technique at least twice: first, on a PowerPoint slide with numbered steps, and second, in Excel 2016. He draws your attention to any differences in Excel 2013, 2010, or 2007 during the presentation as well as in his detailed handouts. David also provides an Excel workbook that includes most of the examples he uses during the webcast.

Publication Date: January 2018

Designed For
Practitioners who need to learn the basics of working with Excel spreadsheets.

Topics Covered

• Using a custom number format to hide zero amounts within a specific area of a spreadsheet
• Becoming familiar with Excel's grid of rows and columns
• Jump-starting data visualization with the Quick Analysis feature
• Minimizing effort in Excel by only selecting cells when necessary
• Gaining control of long lists of data by filtering instead of sorting
• Exploring the Recommended Charts feature in Excel 2013 and later
• Simplifying repetitive tasks by creating your own keyboard shortcuts
• Mastering Excel's order of operations for mathematical formulas
• Understanding how to enter dates in an Excel spreadsheet
• Learning the nuances of copying formulas within Excel spreadsheets
• Learning about the different types of files you can create in Excel
• Using free, prebuilt templates in Excel to get a jump start on your spreadsheet projects

Learning Objectives

• Identify how to skip confusing menus by way of time-saving mouse tricks and keyboard shortcuts
• Define the structural basics of Excel worksheets and workbooks
• Recognize and apply basic data-analysis techniques
• Identify how to save different Excel formatted workbooks and their requirements
• Recognize acceptable Excel text entries
• Identify how to use the Freeze Panes feature
• Describe how to display a list of worksheets
• Recognize which command is used to save a document as a PDF file
• Identify Excel keyboard shortcuts
• Differentiate Excel formulas and how they are calculated
• Recognize ribbon tabs and how they function

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Computer Software & Applications (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None