Some of the options in the File [and other] drop-down menus are also available directly from the icons on the standard toolbar, e.g. Save and Print [quick option only].

However, Save As…, Page Setup…, Print Area, Print Preview, and Print… [full option] are only accessible here.

We'll look at Page Setup…   first.

Page Setup… > Page

Note the four tabs at the top.
    Portrait is the default orientation, but Landscape may be better if you have many columns.

    Scaling is useful for fitting a whole worksheet on a single page or several pages. Leaving one of the Fit to options blank [e.g., tall] gives priority to the other option.

    Don't hit "OK" yet if you plan on changing settings under another tab, or you'll have to reopen Page Setup.

Page Setup…  > Margins

    Margins can [and often should] be made smaller than the default settings. The minimum bottom margin is usually dictated by your printer's capabilities.

    If you will be using headers and/or footers, try not to overlap them with the margins or they may overprint the edge of your data section.

Page Setup…  > Header/Footer

Headers and Footers are useful for conveying additional information. Click on "Custom Header" or "Custom Footer" to access a more detailed dialog box.

As you can see, there are left, center, and right sections [the same is true for Custom Footer].

Click in a particular section to enter information there. When done with all sections, click OK.

The File [Book] name, [Worksheet] Tab name, Date, and Page Number options are very useful. You can also change the Font for the header or footer from its defaults.

Page Setup…  > Sheet

    You can set many characteristics here. I prefer to print the gridlines, so that box is checked [default is unchecked]. On the KINLAB example earlier, I had also checked the "Row and column headings" box.

    Specifying the print area will prevent wasting paper if you have been lazy and formatted an entire row or column with color or heavy borders. More on print areas later.

File > Print

    A single worksheet can cover many pages, and you may not always want to print them all. You can specify here which pages you want printed.

    A useful alternative is to highlight [click-hold-drag] on the worksheet only the area you want to print, then choose the "Selection" button here.

File > Save As…    lets you specify exactly where you want to save a file, the particular file name [HINT: not as "Book 1.xls"] and the type of file [specific Excel format, see the bottom box]. Do all three options before hitting the "Save" button.

The Edit menu:

    The Cut, Copy, and Paste options are also available from the standard toolbar or by right-clicking on a highlighted area.

    Delete will remove an entire highlighted row or column – DO NOT USE this option to delete cell contents!!!  Use the keyboard "delete" button instead.

    Delete sheet does just what it says – be careful!!!

    Move or Copy Sheet will transfer the sheet to another already-open workbook or to a new workbook. If you want to copy the sheet, be sure to check the "Create a Copy" option in the dialog box that pops up.

The View menu:

    Page Break Preview is very useful for changing what will be printed – you can move the cursor over the blue boundaries; when it changes to a double-headed arrow, click and drag to the desired location. Use Normal to return to the regular view.

    Zoom changes the viewing size, but not the size when printing.

    Toolbars lets you select or unselect which toolbars you want to see.

View > Toolbars

   The more toolbars you select, the smaller your visible work area will be. The five options checked at the left are all that I normally need.

On top above is the standard toolbar, with the formatting toolbar below it. Buttons can be added or additional choices made by using the ▼ icons.

The drawing toolbar shown below usually appears below the work area and has lots of neat stuff for customizing the appearance of a worksheet by adding lines, arrows, shapes, text boxes, etc.  I used it to make the flowcharts for the qualitative analysis web pages.

    Use the Insert menu to add additional Rows [added above the highlighted row] or Columns [added to the left of the highlighted column].

    Worksheet adds an extra blank worksheet.

     Chart… opens the Chart Wizard. An icon for this is also usually available on the standard toolbar. More on charts will be forthcoming in yet another handout!

    Page Break can be useful at times.

    Name was discussed in the first Excel handout.

    The Function f_x option is also on the formula bar right before the edit line.

The Format menu:

Format > Cells options are shown on the tabs in the next picture. These options can be applied to an entire row, column, or group.

Format > Cells > Number

"Number" is usually the best format option for data cells, but if you use Excel for other purposes, the additional options can be quite useful. Note that you can specify the number of decimal places [2 is the default].

Font options were shown in the prior handout.

Alignment has several useful options which are pretty much self-explanatory.

Border options can also be selected from an icon on the formatting toolbar.

The Tools menu:

    So far, the Options… choice at the bottom is the only one listed that I generally use.

Tools > Options

And are there ever options!!!!!

The Data menu:

The Sort AàZ or ZàA options are useful for rearranging selected data. They are also available from icons on the standard toolbar. I haven't used most of the other options shown here.

The Window menu:

    This menu is mostly useful to "unsplit" an extra window created by someone else!

The Help menu:

    It's usually faster to just click on the Office Assistant directly [I prefer the 'hazmat diamond' version shown below the menu] when you want help…. You'lll get the popup shown below.

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