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Excel How-Tos

Move Rows & Columns Sort Data Use The Sum Function  

Move Rows & Columns
  1. Select the rows or columns to be moved.
  2. Point the mouse at the border of the selected range
  3. Hold down the left mouse button
  4. Drag the selection to its destination
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Sort Data
We often need to sort the information that we have in the spreadsheet.
I've seen some very elaborate attempts to type this information in the order that we want to print it, rather than simply entering that information and then using Excel's Sort features to get the information in the order that we want it.

Here's an example:
We have a list of names and addresses.
We then type another list of names and addresses for our Christmas List, another one for invitations for a party, and so on.

Maintain these principles for your data:
  • Keep one list only!
  • Put a meaningful heading as your top row.
  • Keep each item of data (field) separate (first name, last name, street, etc.)
  • Type your information ONCE
To Sort Your List
  1. Click within your data, in the column that you want to sort on. Let's say you want to sort by Zip Code. Click anywhere in the column that you have typed the Zip Codes.
  2. Locate your Toolbar and Find the Sort Ascending Button.
    This button is just about the middle of the Toolbar, and it has A above Z with an up-arrow next to it. Click Sort Ascending.
  3. Note that all of the data in sorted by Zip Code.
  4. Excel is pretty smart here. It makes the assumption that the first Row contains the headings for each column. It does, doesn't it?
  5. You can do this with any column at all. Just Click in the column, somewhere within the body of data, and Click the Sort Ascending (or Sort Descending, to go from highest to lowest).
More Sophisticated Sorting
  1. Highlight all the data, including the Row and Column Headings.
  2. On the Menu Bar, Click Data, Sort. The Sort Dialog Box appears.
  3. Note that all of the data in sorted by Zip Code.
  4. This dialog box allows us to sort with greater detail. Let's say that we want to sort by state, then by Zip.
    Note the Sort window has three selection boxes.
    They say Sort By, Then By, Then By. We can, for example, sort by State, then by Zip, then by Last Name.
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Sum Function
When you click the AutoSum button on the Standard Toolbar, Excel does the following:
It looks up in the same column. If Excel does not find numeric data in the cell directly above the current cell, it looks left in the same row. When it finds a numeric value, it Keeps on Looking up or left until it finds an empty cell or a cell with text data.
It calculates a total based upon the data that it has found.

So What?
Let's say that you have a column of data in cells A1 through A10.
Perhaps you are beginning to keep a record of all of you home expenses.
The first row might be Rent, the second, Fuel, the third Telephone, the fourth, fifth and sixth are AMEX, MasterCard, and VISA, respectively.
Okay, you've entered this month's expenses in the column.
But, lucky for you, you don't have an AMEX bill this month so that cell is empty.
When you click in the empty cell below your list of expenses, and click on the AutoSum button on the Toolbar, Excel does exactly what I said above.
It look up. It finds data in, in our example, the VISA row. It keeps going and looking up. It finds data in the MasterCard row. It keeps going and looking up. It finds no data in the AMEX row. So it stops calculating.
This is not a big deal at all.
It's so simple to get around - just enter a zero (0) in the cells that have no data.
For Excel, 0 is a very valid value.
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