Step-by-Step: Make Spreadsheets your Friend
Example 1: Getting Started
Enter basic data:
Begin with a new spreadsheet
Select A2
Enter your first name
Select cell B2
Enter your last name
Adjust the size of rows and columns:
To make the text fit in the rows and columns, adjust their sizes. Use either of the following methods:
If your name is longer than the width of the column, select and drag the right edge of the corresponding column until it fits.
To wrap text, select the cells, columns, or rows with text that you want to reformat.
Select the Format menu.
Under Wrapping, select Wrap.
Example 2: Add Labels
Add labels, or attributes, to help you keep track of the data:
Select cell A1.
Enter First Name.
Select cell B1.
Enter Last Name.
Select cells A1 and B1. To do this, select a single cell and drag your cursor over to the other cell to include it in the selection.
From the toolbar, select the bold icon.
Example 3: Add More Attributes and Data
Add more attributes and data to your spreadsheet:
Select cell C1 and enter Siblings.
Select cell D1 and enter Favorite Color.
Select cell E1 and enter Favorite Dessert.
Select all three cells and make them bold by selecting the bold icon from the toolbar.
Adjust the columns to fit the new text.
Enter the corresponding data in cells C2, D2, and E2 (your number of siblings, favorite color, and favorite dessert).
Add data about two more people in rows 3 and 4. These can be people you know or people you’ve just made up.
Example 4: Organize your Data
One way to organize your data is by sorting it.
Select all columns that contain data. There are a few ways to select multiple cells:
To select nonadjacent cells and/or cell ranges, hold the Command (Mac) or Ctrl (PC) key and select the cells.
To select a range of cells, hold the Shift key and either drag your cursor over which cells you want to include or use the arrow keys to select a range.
Select a single cell and drag your cursor over the cells you want to include in your selection.
Select the Data menu.
Select Sort range, then select Advanced range sorting options.
In the Advanced range sorting options window, select the checkbox for Data has header row. Make sure that A to Z is selected.
Select the Sort by drop-down menu, then select Siblings.
Select Sort. This will organize the spreadsheet by the number of siblings, from lowest to highest.
Example 5: Use a Formula
Spreadsheets enable data professionals to analyze data. In this example, the instructor uses a formula to calculate a sum.
Select the next empty cell in the Siblings column (C5).
Enter the formula =C2+C3+C4.
Press Enter on your keyboard to complete the formula.
The formula calculates the total number of siblings.
Additional Notes
Attribute — characteristic or quality of data used to label a column in a table
referred to as — column names, column labels, headers, or the header row
Observation — All of attributes for something contained in a row of a data table
Scenario
The scenario: Analyze patterns in monthly sales
To help determine optimal inventory and staffing levels, your company has asked you to analyze total sales trends for the last three years. Because your firm relies on tourists for the bulk of its sales, leaders know that demand for inventory and staffing requirements vary based on the tourist season. They have asked you to identify peak months to help with forecasting requirements for next year. To do this, you'll create a chart.