Excel 2016: Microsoft Quick Start

Create a workbook with a template

1. Open Excel.
2. Select a template, such as the Sales invoice tracker.
3. In the template description window, select Create.
4. For a wider selection of templates, next to Suggested searches, select a category (such as Business, Personal, or Industry), select a template, and then select Create.

For more information, see Featured Templates for Excel.

Enter data

To manually enter data:

1.  Select an empty cell, such as A1, and then type text or a number.
2. Press Enter or Tab to move to the next cell.

To fill in a data series:

1. Enter the beginning of the series in two cells: such as Jan and Feb; or 2014 and 2015.
2. Select the two cells containing the series, and then drag the fill handle  across or down the cells.

Fill column data with Flash Fill

Use Flash Fill to automatically fill a column, such as First Name, derived from another column, such as Full Name.

1. In the cell under First Name, type Molly and press Enter.
2. In the next cell, type the first few letters of Garret.
3. When the list of suggested values appears, press Return.
4. Select Flash Fill Options  to take further action.

Try it!    Select File > New, select Take a tour, and then select the Fill Tab.

Save a workbook to OneDrive

Save a workbook to OneDrive for Business or OneDrive (personal) to access the workbook from different devices and share and collaborate with others.

1.  Select File > Save As.
   To save to OneDrive for Business,
   – choose OneDrive – <Company name>.
   – To save to OneDrive (personal), choose OneDrive – Personal.
2. Enter a name for the file, and then choose Save.

You may need to sign in to your work or school account, or your Microsoft account. For more information, see Save your workbook.

Quickly calculate with AutoSum

1. Select the cell below the numbers you want to add.
2. Select Home > AutoSum  (in the Editing group).
3. In the selected cell, press Return to see the results.
4. To do other calculations, select Home, select the down arrow next to AutoSum, and then choose a calculation.

Tip    You can also select a range of numbers to see common calculations in the status bar. For more information, see View summary data on the status bar.

Analyze data with conditional formatting

1. Highlight important data or show data trends with the Quick Analysis tool.
2. Select the data you want to conditionally format.
3. Select the Quick Analysis button  in the bottom-right corner of the selection.
4. Select Formatting, hover over a conditional format, such as Icon Set, and then pick the one you prefer.

Try it!    Select File > New, select Take a tour, and then select the Analyze Tab.

Choose the right chart

Easily pick the right chart for your data with the Quick Analysis tool.

1. Select the range of cells that contain the data you want to show in a chart.
2. Select the Quick Analysis button  in the bottom-right corner of the selection.
3. Select Charts, hover over each recommended chart, and then pick the chart you prefer, such as Stacked.

Try it!    Select File > New, select Take a tour, and then select the Chart Tab. For more information, see Create charts.

Freeze the top row of headings

When you have many rows, you can freeze the top row of column headings so that only the data scrolls.

1. Open Excel.
2. Make sure you have finished editing in a cell. To cancel cell editing mode, press Enter or Esc.
3. Select View > Freeze Top Row (in the Window group).

For more information, see Freeze panes.