Now that we have a basic understanding of what spreadsheet software is available, and why spreadsheets might be a useful tool for a Data Analyst, let’s get started on looking at some of the basics of using a spreadsheet application. In these videos we will be using the full ‘desktop’ version of Excel, but the majority of the tasks that we will perform can also be done using Excel ‘on the web’, also known as Excel Online, and other spreadsheet applications such as Google Sheets. Let’s first cover some basic spreadsheet terminology. When you open Excel, you have the option of creating a new blank workbook or opening an existing workbook. We’re going to choose New, and then Blank workbook. Workbooks are the highest-level component in Excel and are represented as a .XLSX file. So, when you open an existing workbook or create a new workbook you are in fact working with a .XLSX file. The workbook contains all your data, calculations, and functions, and contains several other underlying elements that make up a workbook. A workbook consists of one or more worksheets, each of which is represented by a tab in Excel. Each worksheet is given a name which is displayed on the corresponding tab for the worksheet. By default, each tab is named Sheet1, then Sheet2, and so on. To make these worksheet tabs more meaningful it is usual to rename them, so they make more sense in relation to the worksheet’s purpose. For example, you might call a worksheet January Sales, or perhaps the name of a region or store, or even an office or department. To do this, right-click the tab and choose Rename. Instead of right-clicking to rename, you can also just double-click the name of a worksheet tab to rename it. Essentially, worksheet tabs can be named anything you want to fit your particular needs to make it easier to understand what that worksheet represents. Note that a worksheet that is highlighted, as the Tire Sales worksheet tab is here, is referred to as the active worksheet. If you want to order your worksheets in a different way, that is very simple to do. Either drag a worksheet tab to the left or right and drop it in the place you want, which is represented by the little black arrow, or if you are not comfortable with dragging and dropping, then the longer way of doing that is to right-click the worksheet tab, select Move or Copy, and then in the list titled Before sheet, select where you want your worksheet tab to be placed, and click OK. Every worksheet is made up of a lot of rectangular boxes called cells. These cells will contain your data, which may be text, numbers, formulas, or calculation results. Cells are organized in columns, which run vertically down the screen and use a letter system; this is column B for instance. And rows, which run horizontally across the screen and use a numeric system; this is row 7 for example. Each cell is represented by a cell reference which is essentially just its column letter and row number. For example, if we click somewhere near the center of this worksheet, we now have the cell M20 selected. This is usually referred to as the ‘active cell’. This is not only indicated by the highlighted edges of the cell but also if you look in the top left corner of the worksheet, you will see its cell reference is noted in the little box. Here you can see it says M20. One important thing to note here is that cells are always referenced by their column letter first then their row number; so, column M, and row 20. The last element of a workbook I want to mention is a cell range. This identifies a collection of several cells selected together; that could mean a few cells in the same row or the same column, or it could mean several rows and columns together. This can either be done using the mouse by selecting the first cell then ‘dragging’ down or across to include other cells; or you can use SHIFT+ arrow keys. This range of cells is often referred to as an array, and it’s most commonly used as a reference in calculations and formulas. For example, if you wanted to add up all the values in a column between cells D9 and D19 you would specify this cell range within a formula. Note that cell ranges are notated using a full colon (:) between the cell references; so, in this example it would be D9:D19, or to specify a few cells in the same row it might be D9:H9, or to select several rows and columns it might be D9:H19. We will see this notation in use later in this course when we start looking at calculations and formulas. These cell ranges could even be a reference point to cells contained on another worksheet; this is usually referred to as a 3D reference. We can now close this workbook and we don’t need to save it. In this video, we learned about some of the basic terminology of spreadsheet elements. In the next video, we will discuss how to navigate around a spreadsheet, how to use the ribbon and menus, and how to select data.