Microsoft Office

Introduction
Excel commands
Excel 2007 features a brand new “menu-less” user interface. In place of a menu system, Excel uses a context-sensitive
Ribbon system. The words along the top (such as Home, Insert, Page Layout, and so on) are
known as tabs. Click a tab, and the Ribbon displays the commands for the selected tab. Each command has
a name, which is (usually) displayed next to or below the icon. The commands are arranged in groups, and
the group name appears at the bottom of the Ribbon.
The convention I use is to indicate the tab name, followed by the group name, followed by the command
name. So, the command used to toggle word wrap within a cell is indicated as:
Home@@-->Alignment@@-->Wrap Text
You’ll learn more about using the new Ribbon user interface in Chapter 1.
Filenames, named ranges, and your input
Input that you make from the keyboard appears in bold. Named ranges appear in a monospace font.
Lengthy input usually appears on a separate line. For example, I may instruct you to enter a formula such
as the following:
=”Part Name: “ &VLOOKUP(PartNumber,PartList,2)
Key names
Names of the keys on your keyboard appear in normal type. When two keys should be pressed simultaneously,
they’re connected with a plus sign, like this: “Press Ctrl+C to copy the selected cells.” Here are the key
names as I refer to them throughout the book:
Alt down arrow Num Lock right arrow
Backspace End Pause Scroll Lock
Caps Lock Home PgDn Shift
Ctrl Insert PgUp Tab
Delete left arrow Print Screen up arrow
Functions
Excel’s built-in worksheet functions appear in uppercase, like this: “Enter a SUM formula in cell C20.”
Mouse conventions
You’ll come across some of the following mouse-related terms, all standard fare:
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Mouse pointer: The small graphic figure that moves on-screen when you move your mouse.
The mouse pointer is usually an arrow, but it changes shape when you move to certain areas
of the screen or when you’re performing certain actions.
Point: Move the mouse so that the mouse pointer is on a specific item: for example, “Point to the
Save button on the toolbar.”
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