Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology, and Ninja Tips Part 2

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Windows Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support pages | Mac Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support pages

CTRL + Z — Undo the previous action

F4 (fn + F4 / CMD + T) — Cycle through all 4 types of cell references. (Absolute, Mixed x2, Relative)

CTRL + ~ (CTRL + `) — Show formulas in the worksheet

SHIFT + F3 (CTRL + A) — Open Formula Builder/ Function Wizard

CTRL + PgUp (CMD + PgUp) — Go to the previous sheet.

CTRL + PgDn (CMD + PgDn) — Go to the next sheet.

Excel Terminology

Formula

A formula is entered into a cell to perform a calculation. A formula always starts with an equal sign (=) and once committed (press Enter), the result is displayed in that cell. At its most basic, formulas can be simple mathematical calculations with values much like you would type into a calculator. An example of a formula would be =A1+B1 which would take whatever value was entered into cell A1 and add it to the value that was typed into B1. After typing the formula and pressing the Enter key, the resulting value will be displayed in the cell in which you entered the formula.

Function

A function is what we referred to in the videos as a 'mini-program' that you can use to make more complex calculations. Functions are used inside formulas and therefore, you need to start with an equal sign (=). Formulas operate with cell references and are very powerful. One commonly used function is SUM, which will add up the values in a defined range. The function: =SUM(A1:A12) will sum up all values contained in cells A1through to A12 and return the result once you commit the function by pressing the ENTER key.

Formula Bar

The formula bar is located underneath the ribbon. The first edit line shows cell reference of the currently active cell - this is called the Name Box. The second edit line provides space to enter cell content and a helper tool to enter formulas:

Once you enter an equal sign into the active cell, frequently used functions appear in the Name Box on the left - a drop-down menu offers more options.

Value

Values are numeric data that is entered into a cell. When text is entered into a cell without being assigned a number format, we refer to them as labels. When data is formatted as a value type, it can be referred to in formulas and functions and used in calculations.

Range

A range refers to two or more cells. When these cells are together, we call this an adjacent range. Consider this example:

This adjacent range covers all the cells from A1 through to C2 - or in Excel syntax, this is written as A1:C2. The colon (:) basically stands for 'through to'. Whenever we want to define a range of cells that are not all in one place, we talk about non-adjacent ranges:

This range includes cells A1:A2 and C1:C2. In Excel syntax, this is written as A1:A2, C1:C2.

Reference, relative

A relative cell reference is one that changes relative to the direction in which it is copied. Consider this example:

A2 and B2 are relative cell references. When we copy the formula in C2 downwards into C3 and C4 with the fill handle, then Excel will assume that you want to conduct the same calculation in rows 3 and 4 as you did in row 2. In other words, Excel will perform the calculations A3*B3 in C3 and A4*B4 in C4. Excel effectively updates the row number in each of the cell references for every row that you copy your formula downwards.

Reference, absolute

Or, as we like to fondly call it, the dollar thingy. A cell reference is absolute when it does not change whenever it is copied. To make a cell reference absolute, you must include a $ before each element of the cell reference: $A$1. This can be a bit cumbersome. The keyboard shortcut to turn a cell reference into an absolute cell reference is to press F4.

Ninja Tip for the Week

Order of basic mathematical operations

Calculations in Excel follow the general mathematical rules for calculations, in other words, Multiplication (*) and Division (/) come before Addition (+) and Subtraction (-). So, when you are using these arithmetic operators in your calculations, you need to keep these general rules in mind.

Example: =3+4*5

Excel reads the formula from left to right, so one might assume that it adds 3 and 4 together before it multiplies the result by 5. However, as multiplication takes precedence over addition, Excel will calculate 3 plus the result of 4 multiplied by 5. If you wanted Excel to choose the first path, you need to 'tell' this to Excel with the help of parentheses. The formula should look like this: =(3+4)*5