Concept
[SS-1: full Excel window with numbered callouts 1-6]
Six parts of the screen matter:
1. Ribbon — the tab strip at the top. The tab order isn't random; it follows a workflow.
| Tab | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Home | Formatting, sort/filter, find — 80% of daily work |
| Insert | Tables, charts, pivot tables, pictures |
| Page Layout | Print settings, margins, print area |
| Formulas | Function library, Name Manager, calculation options |
| Data | Import, sort, filter, remove duplicates, Power Query |
| Review | Spell check, comments, protect sheet |
| View | Freeze panes, zoom, gridlines toggle |
Ctrl + F1 hides and shows the ribbon. Useful on a small screen.
2. Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) — the small strip above the ribbon. It is Excel's most under-used feature. Whatever you put there becomes available as Alt + 1, Alt + 2, Alt + 3, and so on.
Right-click any ribbon button → "Add to Quick Access Toolbar". Five worth adding:
- Paste Values (
Alt+1) - Freeze Panes (
Alt+2) - Filter (
Alt+3) - Format Painter (
Alt+4) - And remove Merge & Center if it's there — merged cells cause problems later
3. Name Box — immediately left of the formula bar. It does two things:
- Shows the current cell address (like
C5) - Type an address and press Enter to jump straight there. Type
A1000, and you're there. - You can also select a range and give it a name (covered in M2)
4. Formula Bar — shows the cell's actual content. This distinction matters: what a cell displays and what it contains are often different. A cell may show 1,250 while the formula bar shows 1250 — the comma is only formatting. It may show ₹5,000 while it actually contains =B2*C2.
Ctrl + Shift + U expands the formula bar so you can read long formulas.
5. Sheet tabs — at the bottom. Right-click to rename, colour, move or copy. Ctrl + Page Down / Page Up jumps between sheets.
6. Status bar — the very bottom. Select some cells and Sum, Average and Count appear automatically. Right-click it to add Min, Max and Numerical Count. For a quick calculation you never need to write a formula at all.
[SS-2: status bar close-up showing Sum/Average/Count after selecting a range]
Pro tip: Press
Altand release it — a letter appears on every ribbon button.Alt→H→O→Iautofits column width. These are called KeyTips. You don't need to memorise them; you just need to remember to pressAlt.