Welcome

The following videos provide an introduction to Excel. These videos were created by Bryce Martens, a veteran of the computer industry and long-time college computer science instructor.

Even though these tutorials are about Excel, most of the features that are shown will also work in other spreadsheet programs, such as Google Sheets, Mac Numbers, OpenOffice Calc, and a variety of other programs.

The links shown below are there so you can download the worksheets shown in the lessons. All of these files are in Excel format (the file extension is ".xlsx"). Note: If you are using another spreadsheet program, you can still use the sample files. You will need to download them from this site, and then import them into your program.

Tutorial 1 -- Basic concepts

This tutorial presents some basic concepts about Excel, including the general
layout (rows, columns, and cells), and information about what types of items
you can put in each cell. You will see how to put text, numbers, and formulas
in a worksheet, and will also see how you can easily view the formulas.
(Viewing time approximately 6 minutes.)

Click here to download the sample worksheet (demo1.xlsx).
Note: This worksheet is used in tutorials 1 through 4.

Tutorial 2 -- The SUM function

This tutorial shows how to use one of the most common math functions -- the
SUM function. This function adds a group of numbers together, and is easier
to use than multiple addition operations. This tutorial presents a very
practical example -- a household budget, where the totals are calculated
using the SUM function.
(Viewing time approximately 6 minutes.)

Tutorial 3 -- Basic math operations and functions

This tutorial shows how to use the basic arithmetic operations (addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and parentheses),
as well as some of the common math functions (COUNT, MIN, MAX, SUM,
AVERAGE, and standard deviation).
(Viewing time approximately 7 minutes.)

Tutorial 4 -- The PMT function

This tutorial shows how to use the PMT function to calculate a loan payment.
This tutorial presents a very practical example -- a car loan calculation
worksheet. You will see how to apply several of the operations and functions
that have been discussed in previous lessons, and see how those tools can
be combined into a fun example.
(Viewing time approximately 15 minutes.)

Tutorial 5 -- Adding hyperlinks

This tutorial shows how to add hyperlinks to a worksheet. There are two
basic types of hyperlinks: one for email addresses, and other for text
that appears anywhere on a worksheet. With a text hyperlink, you can
have your worksheet link to a web page, word processing document,
spreadsheet, presentation, digital media file, or PDF file. This video
shows you how. It ends by showing you how you can edit any of the links.
This is a very practical way to use a spreadsheet program.
(Viewing time approximately 13 minutes.)

Click here to download the sample worksheet (colleges.xlsx).

Tutorial 6 -- Pivot tables

This tutorial shows how to use pivot tables, a very powerful feature
for data analysis. With just a few clicks, you can see your data as
your've never seen it before -- and in ways you might never have imagined.
Pivot tables are very easy to use. This tutorial shows how with a
spreadsheet that contains nearly 1,500 rows of data. The best way to
learn how to use pivot tables is to practice. Towards that end, the
sample data is available from this site for you to download. Simply
click on the link and you will be able to get the sample worksheet.
(Viewing time approximately 7.5 minutes.)

Click here to download the sample worksheet (pivottables.xlsx).

Please send comments and suggestions to Bryce Martens.