Excel tools and features

Excel tools and features

Following table describes what each item is and very briefly its function:

Item/ Feature	Description
Address bar/Name box	This shows the address of currently active cell with reference to row and column
Program icon	A program icon. On left click a usual application menu will be displayed with minimize, maximize, restore, close etc options.
File menu button	This button acts like a file button in many other windows application and gives options to save file, access to document information, excel options, print options etc.
Quick Access toolbar	As the name suggests holds icons to functions that are often used and this bar make them readily available to be accessed quickly. It can be customized to suit users’ needs.
Active tab	The tab which is currently in front and the contents under this tab are displayed and other tabs are hidden. By default home tab is an active tab. But clicking other tabs name will make them active which gives access to different options. The contents of active tab are shown as Ribbon
Tabs	These are the tabs in which different functions are organized with relevant functions for easy access.
Functions button	Pressing this button opens up dialogue box where you can select different formulas available in excel. Frequently used formulas are listed but user can also search for formula easily
File name	This is the name of excel file that user has input while saving it. By default excel files are named as Book 1, Book 2 etc
Formula bar	If user has inserted a formula in a cell then it will be shown in this bar or field.
Group	A subdivision inside ribbon where icons of relevant features having similar purpose are placed together for easy access.
Ribbon minimize button	This minimizes the excel ribbon upwards increasing the workspace for user. Shortcut to minimize excel ribbon Ctrl+F1 does the exact same function
Application minimize button	This minimizes the excel window/application to windows taskbar
Excel help button	Clicking this button will open excel’s interactive help feature where user can search for different topics in which help is required.
Application maximize button	This button will maximize the excel window/application to whole screen.
Excel window minimize button	This button will minimize only the excel workbook/window inside excel without minimizing excel’s main application window
Excel window maximize button	This will stretch the specific excel workbook/window completely inside excel
Application close button	This will shut down the excel program including all the opened workbooks and windows
Excel window close button	This will only close the relevant workbook or window without exiting excel application
Select all button	Clicking this button will select all the cells in the worksheet.
Active row/row address	The numbers at the left of worksheet are row numbers. The active row is highlighted with changed colour which is golden that helps easy identification
Sheet tabs scroll button	If you have many sheets open in the workbook then due to limited space only few worksheets’ tabs will be visible. These buttons scroll through worksheets tabs.4will scroll to next tab whereas : button will scroll to last worksheet tab. 3will scroll to previous 9 will scroll to first worksheet tab
Macro recorder status	Macro is one function in excel. This icon indicates the status of macro activity.
Active worksheet	The worksheet which is on screen at the moment. The active one appears brighter than others.
Sheets tabs	Group of worksheet tabs that a workbook holds.
Status bar	This place is used to display information which is most of the time of quantitative nature concerning the selected cells. And if the options are selected this bar also provide information whether num lock, scroll lock, CAPS lock is active. As the name suggests this displays the status of different important features.
Insert worksheet button	Clicking this button will add one more worksheet to workbook.
Active cell	Excel’s worksheets are divided into cells. Each cell is an entity that can hold its own information or from other sources. The cell that is active has black border or enclosed in a box with a small extension at the bottom right corner called handler.
Column	Vertical collection of cells is called column and is each column has its own name in terms of alphabets which serves as its address.
Row	Horizontal collection of cells is called row and is designated with specific number called row number.
Horizontal scroll bar resizer	Dragging it will expand or reduce the size of horizontal scroll bar.
Workbook view options	Three viewing options from which user can select and switch to another view on the go by clicking each option. Options are Normal, Page layout and Page break preview.
Zoom level	In percentage this provides information how big the data is being displayed in relation to its real size. 100% is default value
Zoom out button	This decreases the size of the worksheet and its contents
Horizontal scroll bar	This bar helps scroll the worksheet right or left.
Zoom handler	Dragging this handle will zoom in or out the worksheet
Vertical scroll bar	This bar helps scrolling the worksheet up or down
Zoom in button	This increases the size of worksheet and its contents
Vertical split bar	This splits the workspace into two quadrants vertically
Application window resizer	If excel application is not maximized than this option is available at the bottom right corner that help resize the window according to user’s needs
Horizontal split bar	Dragging this will split the workspace in two horizontal quadrants one over the other
Formula bar expander	This expands and collapses the formula bar that helps in reading long formula

And this is just a start. There are other tabs and each tab has few groups and each group has many different buttons to know and explore. And by the way there are many things that are not even on the ribbon. And secretly there is one tab that is turned off by default. In short, Excel has a lot to offer and its just up to you how much you benefit from it.

 

Certainly, here's a table describing some common Excel tools and features, along with their functions:

Excel Tool/ Feature	Function
Formulas	Used to perform calculations and data manipulation.
Functions	Pre-built formulas for specific calculations (e.g., SUM, AVERAGE).
Cell Formatting	Customize cell appearance (e.g., fonts, colors, borders).
Data Validation	Restrict input to certain values or formats in cells.
Sorting	Organize data by arranging it in ascending or descending order.
Filtering	Display specific data by applying filters to columns.
PivotTables	Create summary tables for data analysis and reporting.
Charts	Visualize data through various chart types (e.g., bar, pie, line).
Conditional Formatting	Format cells based on specific conditions (e.g., color cells with values > 50).
Data Tables	Perform "What-If" analysis by changing variables and observing results.
Data Consolidation	Combine data from multiple sources into a single table.
Goal Seek	Find the input required to achieve a specific result in a formula.
Scenario Manager	Create and compare different sets of input values for a formula.
Solver	Solve optimization and linear programming problems.
Macros	Automate repetitive tasks by recording and running macros.
Data Analysis ToolPak	Provides various advanced data analysis tools.
Power Query	Import, transform, and combine data from various sources.
Power Pivot	Create data models for more complex analysis.
Data Validation	Ensure data consistency by defining validation rules.
Named Ranges	Assign names to cell ranges for easier reference in formulas.

These are just some of the many tools and features available in Microsoft Excel. Each one serves a specific purpose to help users manage and analyze data effectively.