Spreadsheet Basics (Tutorial Plus)
Covid19 has restricted most people around the world from doing their work or studies outside their home. Many are bored because of the quarantine. But to those who love to learn new things, they might be enjoying this moment.
I am writing this blog for those kinds of students who are not yet familiar with spreadsheets.
What is a spreadsheet?
According to Dictioary.com, “spreadsheet [spred-sheet] -noun 1. Accounting. a worksheet that is arranged in the manner of a mathematical matrix and contains a multicolumn analysis of related entries for easy reference on a single sheet. 2. Computers. a. a type of software that offers the user a visual display of a simulated multi column worksheet and the means of using it especially for financial plans and budgets. b. a single document created with this software”
In this article, I’ll focus on the 2nd definition in letter b. The software I used in the samples is WPS Office. I chose that because it’s free and I can easily open or create a new document (word, presentation, etc.) with it. Microsoft Excel was the software I used back then, but the installer I have is outdated and won’t work with Windows 10. I looked for a software that works similarly with Microsoft (MS) Office and is free. That’s how I found WPS and it even exceeded my expectations. It works almost similar with MS including the shortcuts.
The Keyboard Shortcuts
The shortcuts I often use with this software are Ctrl C (to copy texts), Ctrl V (to paste the copied or cut texts), Ctrl X (to cut the texts), Ctrl Z (to undo the changes made), Ctrl B (to make the texts bold), Ctrl I (to italicize the chosen texts), Ctrl U (to underline some texts) and Shift plus the letter I want to use (to make it a capital letter). I also use some keys to easily navigate like “Tab” or “Enter” to go to the next cell, the arrow keys (to go to the cell I want to change instead of a mouse) and Ctrl F (to easily find the part I want when the spreadsheet is full of data).
Spreadsheet makes us productive
If you want to do your job effectively and efficiently and become a productive employee or entrepreneur, this is the right time for you to learn more about spreadsheet (if you are not that familiar with it). Knowing the shortcuts lets you finish your task early giving you more time to rest or do more tasks (if you are a workaholic).
With my aim of becoming productive in everything I do, I was able to discover some office tricks that my former colleagues (from the older generations to Gen Z) are not aware of. They include computing numbers, merging cells, wrapping texts and more.
Let’s begin with adding numbers easily.
To get the sum of the numbers, you need to type the = key, next to it is an open parenthesis “ ( '' chose a cell you want to add, use a comma with space to separate the code name of the columns. When you’re done choosing the numbers you want to add, type the close parenthesis “ ) “ then hit “Enter” or “ Tab'' button. The sum will appear as you click those keys. When you click the cell with the sum and look at it’s content, the texts behind the sum may look like this : = sum (A1, A2, A3).
Another way to do this is to use the + key instead of typing “sum”, parenthesis and comma. If the numbers you want to add are in the same column and the rows are not separated, you can automatically get the sum by choosing all the numbers in the column and a blank cell then click the “AutoSum '' with the symbol that looks like letter E which is called summation.
You don’t have to type again the formula on the next cell if your aim is the same as the previous one (to get the sum). You can just copy that formula and paste it on a blank cell (under the last number of the column you want to add) unless there’s a number (or cell) you do not want to include). Watch this video (at 9:40) to see how it's done.
Beneficial Fact
Did you know that you can still edit a protected sheet (unless the creator uncheck all the lock options)?
To do that, you need to select all the content of that spreadsheet then copy and paste them on a new spreadsheet (that isn't protected).
You can also remove the content of the spreadsheet while retaining the formula.
