DEFINITION Excel

Describe Excel.

Microsoft’s Excel spreadsheet program is a part of the Office family of business software programs. Users of Microsoft Excel may format, arrange, and compute data in a spreadsheet.

Data analysts and other users can make information simpler to examine when data is added or altered by organizing data using tools like Excel. The boxes in Excel are referred to as cells, and they are arranged in rows and columns. These cells are used to store data.

The Microsoft Office and Office 365 suites include Excel, which works with the other Office programs. The spreadsheet application may be used on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices.

Typical Excel usage cases

Excel is most frequently utilized in professional contexts. It is utilized, for instance, in operations management, performance reporting, human resource management, and business analysis. Excel employs a sizable group of prepared cells to arrange and edit data as well as perform mathematical operations. Utilizing formulae, pivot tables, and graphing tools, users may organize data on the spreadsheet. Visual Basic for Applications is a macro programming language that is integrated into the spreadsheet application.

Microsoft Excel is used by businesses for the following things:

• Data collection and verification
• business analysis
• data input and storage
• performance reporting
• strategic analysis
• accounting and budgeting
• administrative and managerial management
• account management
• project management
• office administration are all examples of business data processing.

Terminology and elements used in Excel

The nomenclature used by Excel for its parts may not be immediately clear to novice users. These are some of the phrases and elements, for example:

1. Cell. A cell, which is where a column and a row connect, is where a user enters data.
2. Allusion to a cell. The location of a cell is indicated by this set of coordinates. While columns are vertical and given a letter, rows are horizontal and numbered.
3. Cell in motion. The cell that is now chosen is indicated by a green box.
4. Workbook. This Excel document includes one or more worksheets.
5. Worksheet. These are the several papers that make up a Workbook.
6. Workbook tab. These are the tabs on the spreadsheet’s bottom left.
7. Row and column headers. These are the cells with numbers and letters that are situated close to the edges of the columns and rows. When a header is chosen, the entire row or column is highlighted.
8. Formula. For a cell to create a value, a formula can be any mathematical equation, cell reference, or function. Formulas must begin with the equals symbol (“=”).
9. Bar formula. This is the lengthy input field used to enter formulas or values into cells. It is situated next to the “fx” label at the top of the worksheet.
10. Address field The number and letter coordinates of an active cell are displayed in this bar, which is to the left of the formula bar.
11. Filter. A user can use these rules to choose which rows in a worksheet to show. Under “Sort & Filter,” in the top right corner of the home bar, is where you’ll find this choice. Rows that match particular values will be displayed if the auto filter option is used.
12. AutoFill. Users can automatically copy data to several cells using this functionality. A user can choose both cells in a sequence of two or more cells and drag the bottom right corner downward to automatically fill the remaining cells.
13. AutoSum. Users may add several values with the help of this functionality. Users can press the Alt and Equal keys while selecting the cells they wish to add. Additionally, there is a button to turn on this function in the upper right corner of the home page, just below “Fill” and across from “Sort & Filter.”
14. PivotTable. This data summarizing tool automatically organizes and computes data. This may be found on the far left, underneath the insert tab.
15. PivotChart. This chart provides graph representations of the data as a visual help for the PivotTable. It is situated next to the maps under the center of the insert page.
16. Data sources. This data is what is utilized to build a pivot table.

This image shows key features of Excel.

Excel’s advanced skills

Excel’s more sophisticated capabilities include the following:

TREND feature. Using a collection of Y or X values, this utility calculates linear trend lines. It may be applied to forecasting future trends or time series trend analysis. Charts can make use of trendlines.

VLOOKUP. The VLOOKUP function, which searches for values in a bigger data set, may be used to extract that data into a new table. The cell input instruction VLOOKUP appears as =VLOOKUP (). The user can specify an approximate or exact match by specifying True or False in the parenthesis, along with the data they wish to search for, where to look for it, and the column number containing the value to return.

Array Table. This is an amalgamation of two or more tables having connected and related data and values. This pertains to VLOOKUP.

Col index num. The column from which data is being extracted is specified by yet another value when establishing a table array.

Range lookup. When none of the other variables match, this value in VLOOKUP gives results that are the closest to what a user is looking for. Whether it is true or false is used to describe this. False returns the precise value that the user is seeking, but True returns results from a variable data range.

MIN and MAX operations. The maximum and lowest values from particular data sets are provided by these functions. In a function tab, MAX is used to find the highest value, while MIN is used to discover the lowest value.

AND operate. When looking for variables, this function has many criteria in place. A variable’s value will be returned as true if it meets the requirements; otherwise, it will be returned as false. The function’s input must resemble this: =AND (logical1, [logical2], …).
Subtract, multiply, divide, count, median, concatenate, and other logical operations like AND, like OR, are more Excel functions that may be used.

XLS and Excel files

A spreadsheet file that may be produced by Excel or other spreadsheet applications is known as an XLS file. The Excel Binary File format is represented by the file type. A compound file, an XLS file holds data in binary streams. The file’s streams and substreams include details on the structure and content of an Excel workbook.

After Excel 2007, XLSX files are used by default since they are a more open and organized format. However, later versions of Excel continue to allow XLS file generation and reading. Additionally, workbook data may be exported in the following file types: PDF, TXT, HTML, XPS, and XLSX.

Macro-enabled The XLSM file extension is used for Excel files. In this instance, macros are a collection of rules that automate Excel operations. Similar to XLM files, XLSM files are based on the Open XML format used by newer versions of Microsoft Office software.

Competitors who excel

Even though Excel may be one of the most well-known spreadsheet tools, other manufacturers have rival offerings. Several examples are as follows:

Chrome Sheets With comparable designs and capabilities to Excel, Google Sheets is a free alternative. Google Sheets is available to everyone with a Gmail account. Users of Google Sheets may view their spreadsheets from any location and on a variety of devices since they are stored in the cloud. Additionally, several users may work together on the same spreadsheet.

Numbers. Every Mac has a free spreadsheet software from Apple that includes prebuilt layouts, charts, and graphs. Although Microsoft Excel is better at handling huge data sets, Numbers shines with visuals and charts. Additionally, Numbers is only available on Apple devices. However, users may save spreadsheets as Excel files, allowing Windows users to still browse spreadsheets created in Numbers in Excel.

Apache Calc in OpenOffice. This open source spreadsheet program is free and allows for multiple user collaboration. It also includes DataPilot, which pulls data from corporate databases, natural language formulas, which let users create formulas using words, and style and formatting features, which let users choose different cell formatting options. The software offers fewer chart possibilities than Excel and utilizes a distinct macro scripting language. On Windows and macOS systems, OpenOffice Calc is functional. With relatively limited support for Microsoft’s XLSX format, OpenOffice Calc additionally employs the Open Document Format as its default file format.

Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel are compared in this graphic.

Excel’s past and future

In 1985, Microsoft introduced Excel as Microsoft Multiplan. At the time, Microsoft’s spreadsheet application competed against other comparable programs including Lotus 1-2-3 from the Lotus Development Corp. Multiplan had a graphical user interface and allowed users to point and click with a mouse, despite the fact that Lotus 1-2-3 is thought to have been the first spreadsheet to include cell names and macros. Spreadsheet data manipulation, processing, and viewing became simpler thanks to Multiplan.

When competing with Lotus 1-2-3 on Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) platforms, Multiplan initially lost appeal. Microsoft unveiled Excel 2.0 in 1987, two years after the program’s debut. By 1988, Lotus 1-2-3 and other comparable spreadsheet applications were being outsold by this improved version, which was now running on Windows systems.

Version 3 of Excel, which included toolbars, 3D charts, drawing and outlining tools, and other features, was published by Microsoft in 1990. Two years later, version 4, which included the auto-fill feature, was released. Version 5 of Excel was made available in 1993. This version allowed for the automation of routine activities with Visual Basic for Applications macros.

Version 12 of Excel, which was published in 2007, was one of the following significant improvements. The new Ribbon menu system was used in this release. A SmartArt collection of diagrams, better named variable management, and increased formatting flexibility were some of the capabilities that were improved. The more open and organized XLSX files are now also used by Excel. Power View, Power Pivot, and Flash Fill were among the new capabilities added in version 15, which was published in 2013. Additionally, multithreading performance was enhanced in this version.

Version 16 of Excel, which is the most recent version, was published in 2019. Since its creation, Microsoft Excel has grown to be one of the most popular business software programs. It frequently works in tandem with other Microsoft programs like Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Microsoft no longer releases new versions of Excel, but instead pushes out new features and improvements gradually over time.

One of the most widely used spreadsheet programs is Microsoft Excel, which has long been used in enterprises. But Excel is now seeing more competition as alternative spreadsheet programs gain popularity. According to the website askwonder.com, Google Suite, which includes Google Sheets, has 2 billion monthly users, compared to Microsoft Excel’s estimated 750 million to 1.2 billion monthly users worldwide. It is challenging to determine values because Google and Microsoft don’t release monthly usage data for either spreadsheet software.