Getting Started with Data Management

The workshop Excel 2016: The Basics demonstrated how Excel can be used to organize information in worksheets and perform calculations on data using formulas and functions. We also created and modified simple charts from data.

Today's workshop will show how Excel can be used to import, extract, and manipulate data. In this workshop, we will explore some of Excel's table-related features, use the Auto Fill feature, specify data validation criteria, sort and filter data, and create a simple PivotTable. We will also use some Excel tools to help us manage multiple worksheets and to visually compare workbooks. Our focus will be learning how to work more efficiently in Excel.

Launching Excel

Let's start creating the first Excel spreadsheet we will be using in today's workshop.

Step1. Launch Excel.

Excel opens, and presents options for what to initially display. Let's choose a Blank workbook.

Step1. To open a new workbook,

Click the Blank workbook

NOTE for MacOS Users: To open a new workbook, Double-Click the Blank Workbook.

A new, blank workbook appears in Excel.

Now we will want to begin setting up this workbook to have at least three worksheets, and to specifically name those worksheets.

Naming a Worksheet

Providing meaningful names for worksheets is a good practice. Sheet names can be up to 31 characters, and spaces are allowed. Certain symbols, such as the colon, slash, back slash, question mark, and asterisk, are not allowed.

Let's rename the worksheets in this workbook now.

Step1. To begin to change the worksheet name,

Double-Click the Sheet1 worksheet tab name

Step2. To rename the worksheet as desired, type:

Jan Enter

NOTE for MacOS Users: To rename the worksheet as desired, type: Jan Return.

The worksheet is now named Jan.

NOTE: The number of worksheets which will appear by default in a new workbook is a setting which can be changed in the Excel Options in Excel 2016 for Windows, or the Excel Preferences in Excel 2016 for Mac.

We want this workbook to have at least three worksheets in it, if they do not already exist.

Step3. To add a new worksheet, if necessary, in the worksheet names area,

Click

Step4. Add and rename worksheets as follows:

Step5. Save the workbook on the Desktop, with the filename Grouped.xlsx.

Now that we have our named worksheets in this workbook, we will perform some actions upon them simultaneously, by grouping them together.