Select the Blank Workbook option from the New section. This opens a new workbook, as shown:
Alternatively, you can hold down the Ctrl key and press the N key to create a workbook.
By default, the first cell A1 in a new worksheet is active when you create a new workbook.
Opening a Workbook
When you start Excel, it opens a blank workbook. To open an existing workbook, perform the following steps:
Select the File à Open command from Microsoft Excel Window to display the Open dialog box
From the Look in drop-down list, select the folder that contains the file you want to open
An alternative way to browse to the required location of the file is to click the Up one level icon ()
Select the required file(s) from the list of files displayed in the dialog box
Click the Open button to open the selected file(s)
To open multiple adjacent files, select the first file in the block from the Open dialog box, press the Shift key, and select the last file
Creating a Workbook Using Templates
Excel provides many pre-defined template files to store data such as Invoice information, Expense statements, Purchase orders, etc. Template files have the extension .xlt. Steps to create Microsoft Excel files using a template:
Select General Templates option from the New from template section of the New Workbook task pane, as shown
The Templates dialog box is displayed (not shown)
Options are:
General: Displays the general template and is selected by default.
Spreadsheet Solutions: Displays various types of spreadsheet samples, such as Balance Sheet, Expense Statement, Loan Amortization, Purchase Order, Sales Invoice, and Timecard
Select the required template and click the OK button
Saving the Workbook
Saving a workbook is similar as in saving any file in microsoft office (word, power point, etc). After adding data to a workbook, you need to save it for future use. Steps to save a workbook
Select the File à Save command from the Microsoft Excel Window (Save As dialog box is displayed)
From the Save in list, select the folder in which you want to save the workbook
Enter a file name in the File name text box of the Save As dialog box
Select the type of file that has to be saved from the Save as type drop-down list
Click the Save button to save the workbook
Alternatively, you can hold down the Ctrl key and press the S key to save a workbook
Closing the Workbook
You need to close a workbook after you finish working on it. To close a workbook, perform the following steps:
Select the File à Close command.
If the workbook has any unsaved changes, the Microsoft Excel message box appears as shown in the following figure:
Click the Yes button to save the changes before closing the workbook. Click the No button to close the workbook without saving the changes. Click the Cancel button to return to the active worksheet without saving the workbook.
Performing Operations on Data
You can perform the following operations on the data in worksheets and workbooks:
Entering data
Moving and Copying data
Deleting data
You can enter text, numbers, and date and time entries in a worksheet
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