Microsoft Excel 2007: Ribbons And Tabs
The Microsoft Excel 2007 Ribbon is the most vital part of the Microsoft Excel interface and contains the majority of the program’s features. The Ribbon is arranged into a series of Tabs, each of which contains groups of related commands. Tabs are accessed simply by clicking on the name of each Tab. Within each Tab, commands are divided in groups: the name of each group is shown at the bottom of that group.
The Home Tab features the most frequently used commands. Here you’ll find those commands that are used frequently; commands related to the clipboard such as Cut Copy and Paste; commands for changing the format of the data within your cells; changing the font; setting the alignment and the appearance of numbers; commands for modifying cells such as adding rows and columns; and finally commands for sorting and editing information.
The Insert Tab, as the name suggests, is used to add or insert elements into your worksheets. Some of these elements are part and parcel of Excel such as charts; other elements need to be inserted from outside the program like images, for example, adding a company logo to an Excel form.
The Page Layout Tab contains options for controlling the appearance of your worksheets as a whole. Here, you’ll find settings relating to margins, orientation, size of paper and the area of the worksheet to be printed. You will usually go to the page layout Tab before printing worksheets.
The Formulas Tab contains controls for dealing with the most powerful aspect of Excel: formulas and functions. Here you can insert functions, search for errors in formulas and control the way in which Excel works with formulas and carries out calculations.
In the Data Tab you will find commands for importing information into Excel from sources such as databases; sorting information and also filtering (in other words returning data which matches certain criteria).
Here you’ll also find advanced tools for consolidation, validating data and performing “What if?” analysis. Also, in the outline section, there are commands for assigning different levels to the different columns and rows of the worksheet. Excel’s powerful outlining commands make large worksheet easier to manage and to navigate.
The general theme of the Review Tab is protection and checking. It is here that you will find the spell-checker as well as facilities for users to add their comments to a worksheet. There are also commands for protecting workbooks and worksheets.
The View Tab houses controls relating to the way in which your workbooks and worksheets are viewed on screen. It contains commands for zooming in and out on your work and for displaying several worksheets and workbooks simultaneously.
The Developer Tab relates to automation. It is here that you’ll find commands for creating macros. Macros enable you to write Visual Basic code which can automate just about every aspect of Microsoft Excel.
Tags: Software
