Microsoft Office

Part I
Getting Started with Excel
Excel Remembers
When you do something with a complete column in a table, Excel remembers that and extends that “something”
to all new entries added to that column. For example, if you apply currency formatting to a column and
then add a new row, Excel applies currency formatting to the new value in that column.
The same thing applies to other operations, such as conditional formatting, cell protection, data validation,
and so on. And if you create a chart using the data in a table, the chart will be extended automatically if you
add new data to the table. Those who have used a previous version of Excel will appreciate this feature the
most.
Setting table options
The Table Tools ➪ Design ➪ Table Style Options group contains several check boxes that determine
whether various elements of the table are displayed, and whether some formatting options are in effect:
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Header Row: Toggles the display of the Header Row.
Totals Row: Toggles the display of the Totals Row.
First Column: Toggles special formatting for the first column.
Last Column: Toggles special formatting for the last column.
Banded Rows: Toggles the display of banded (alternating color) rows.
Banded Columns: Toggles the display of banded (alternating color) columns.
Working with the Total Row
The Total Row in a table contains formulas that summarize the information in the columns. Normally, the
Total Row isn’t turned on. To display the Total Row, choose Table Tools ➪ Design ➪ Table Style Options
and put a check mark next to Total Row.
By default, the Total Rows display the sum of the values in a column of numbers. In many cases, you’ll want
a different type of summary formula. When you select a cell in the Total Row, a drop-down arrow appears,
and you can select from a number of other summary formulas (see Figure 6.7):
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None: No formula
Average: Displays the average of the numbers in the column
Count: Displays the number of entries in the column (blank cells are not counted)
Count Numbers: Displays the number of numeric values in the column (blank cells, text cells,
and error cells are not counted).
Max: Displays the maximum value in the column
Min: Displays the minimum value in the column
Sum: Displays the sum of the values in the column
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