The history of the Excel spreadsheet. What is Excel and how to use it correctly. Windows and Windows NT versions
Microsoft Excel is a program for performing calculations and managing so-called spreadsheets.
Excel allows you to perform complex calculations that can use data located in different areas of the spreadsheet and linked together by a certain dependency. To perform such calculations in Excel, it is possible to enter various formulas into table cells. Excel performs the calculation and displays the result in the formula cell. The available formulas range from simple addition and subtraction to financial and statistical calculations.
An important feature of using a spreadsheet is the automatic recalculation of results when cell values change. For example, you can use Excel to perform financial calculations, record and control the organization's personnel, etc. Excel can also build and update graphs based on entered numbers.
The file that Excel works with is called a book . A book, as a rule, consists of several worksheets, which may contain tables, texts, diagrams, and drawings.
The book is a good organizational tool. For example, you can collect all documents in one book ( worksheets), related to a specific project (task), or all documents maintained by one executor. The base of the worksheet (Fig. 1) is a grid of rows and columns. Cell formed by the intersection of a row and a column. The cell(s) selected by the mouse is called active (in Fig. 1 the active cell is highlighted with a frame).
A row in a worksheet is identified by a name (number) that appears on the left side of the worksheet.
A column in a worksheet is also identified by a name (letters of the Latin alphabet) that appears at the top of the worksheet.
An Excel worksheet can contain up to 65,536 rows and 256 columns. The cell - the main element of the table - has its own unique address, consisting of a column and row number, for example E4 .
Each cell contains one piece of information, be it a numeric value, text, or a formula.
When you open a previously created file, a workbook with the entered data appears in the Excel window.
Workbook in Excel, it is a file in which data is stored and analyzed. A workbook file consists of several worksheets that can contain tables, text, charts, or pictures. Each worksheet is identified by a name that appears on the worksheet label.
Let's look at specific elements of the Excel window (Fig. 2).
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| Rice. 2. Excel window |
Status bar contains information about the active document, the selected menu command, and keyboard mode indicators. In it, the user receives messages on how to complete the started command and view the intermediate results of some calculations.
Formula bar shows the formula (if present in the cell) or data contained in the active cell. You can enter and edit text, numbers, and formulas in the formula bar.
IN active cell You can enter and edit data directly in a cell or in the formula bar.
Scroll buttons The windows at the bottom left are used to view sheet shortcuts and to move between sheets in a workbook containing a large number of sheets.
You can save the Excel file in a different format by clicking file _Gt_ Save as. File formats available in the dialog box Save as" depend on what type of sheet is active (sheet, chart sheet, or other sheet type).
Note: When you save a file in a different format, some formatting, data, and functionality may be lost.
To open a file created in a different format, either in an earlier version of Excel or in another program, click file _gt_ Open. When you open an Excel 97-2003 workbook, it automatically opens in compatibility mode. To take advantage of the new features in Excel 2010, you can save your workbook in the Excel 2010 file format. However, you can also continue to work in compatibility mode, which preserves the original file format for backward compatibility.
Excel File Formats
Format | Extension | Description |
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Standard format Excel 2010 and Excel 2007 files, based on the XML language. Microsoft macro code cannot be saved in this format Visual Basic for applications (VBA) and macro sheets Microsoft Office Excel 4.0 (XLM). |
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Excel workbook with macro support (code) |
An XML-based, macro-enabled file format for Excel 2016, Excel 2013, Excel 2010, and Excel 2007. You can save VBA macro code and Excel 4.0 macro sheets (XLM) in this format. |
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Binary Excel Workbook |
Binary file format (BIFF12) for Excel 2010 and Excel 2007. |
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Default Excel template file format for Excel 2010 and Excel 2007. Does not allow saving VBA macro code or Microsoft Excel 4.0 macro sheets (XLM). |
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Template (code) |
Macro-enabled file format in Excel templates Excel 2010 and Excel 2007. VBA macro code and Excel 4.0 macro sheets (XLM) can be saved in this format. |
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Excel 97-2003 workbook |
Excel 97 - Excel 2003 (BIFF8) binary file format. |
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Excel 97-Excel 2003 template |
Excel 97 to Excel 2003 (BIFF8) binary file format for storing Excel templates. |
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Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 book |
Excel Binary File Format 5.0/95 (BIFF5). |
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XML 2003 table |
XML Table File Format 2003 (XMLSS). |
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XML Data |
XML data format. |
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Microsoft Excel add-in |
An XML-based Excel 2010 and Excel 2007 add-in file format with macro support. An add-on is a program that provides the ability to execute additional code. Allows you to use VBA projects and Excel 4.0 macro sheets (XLM). |
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Excel 97-2003 Add-in |
Excel 97-2003 add-in, an additional program designed to run additional code. Supports the use of VBA projects. |
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Excel 4.0 workbook |
Excel 4.0 file format that saves only regular, chart, and macro sheets. You can open a workbook in this file format in Excel 2010, but you cannot save an Excel file in this format. |
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Spreadsheet Works 6.0-9.0 |
Spreadsheet saved in Microsoft Works 6.0-9.0. Note: This format is only supported in Excel Starter. |
Text file formats
Format | Extension | Description |
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Format for Lotus, separated by spaces. Saves only the active sheet |
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Saves the workbook as a tab-delimited text file - for use in another operating system Microsoft Windows- and ensures that tabs, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet. |
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Text (Mac) |
Saves a workbook as a tab-delimited text file - for use on the Macintosh operating system - and ensures that tabs, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet. |
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Text (MS-DOS) |
Saves a workbook as a tab-delimited text file - for use on the MS-DOS operating system - and ensures that tabs, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet. |
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Unicode text |
Saves the book as text in Unicode, a standard character encoding developed by the Unicode Consortium. |
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CSV (comma delimited) |
Saves the workbook as a text file, separated by commas, for use in another operating room Windows system- and ensures that tabs, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet. |
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CSV (Mac) |
Saves a workbook as a comma-delimited text file - for use on the Macintosh operating system - and ensures that tabs, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet. |
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Saves the workbook as a comma-separated text file - for use on the MS-DOS operating system - and ensures that tabs, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet. |
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Data exchange format. Saves only the active sheet. |
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Symbolic Link format. Only the active sheet is saved. |
Note: If you save the workbook in any text format, all formatting will be lost.
Other file formats
Format | Extension | Description |
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dBase III and IV. Files in this format can be opened in Microsoft Excel, but Microsoft Excel files cannot be saved in dBase format. |
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OpenDocument table |
OpenDocument table. You can save Excel files 2010 so that they can be opened in spreadsheet applications that use the OpenDocument spreadsheet format, such as Google Docs and OpenOffice.org Calc. You can also open spreadsheets in ODS format in Excel 2010. Formatting may be lost when you save and open ODS files. |
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Portable Document Format (PDF). This file format preserves document formatting and includes general access to files. When you view a PDF online and print it, the original view is preserved. The data in the file cannot be easily changed. PDF format also useful for documents that will be reproduced using professional printing techniques. Note: |
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XPS document |
XML Documentation Specification (XPS). This file format preserves document formatting and enables file sharing. When you view an XPS file online or print it, it saves the data in the correct format and cannot be easily changed in the file. Note: This format is not supported in Excel 2007. |
File formats that use the clipboard
You can paste data from the Microsoft Office clipboard into Excel using the " command Insert" or "Special Insert" (tab " home", Group " clipboard", button " Insert") if the Office clipboard data is in one of the following formats.
Format | Extension | Clipboard Type Identifiers |
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Pictures in Windows Metafile (WMF) or Windows Enhanced Metafile (EMF) format. Note. If you copy a Windows Metafile (WMF) from another program, Microsoft Excel inserts the picture as an Enhanced Metafile (EMF). |
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Bitmap |
Pictures saved in bitmap format (BMP). |
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Microsoft Excel file formats |
Binary file formats for Excel versions 5.0/95 (BIFF5), Excel 97-2003 (BIFF8) and Excel 2010 (BIFF12). |
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Symbolic Link format. |
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Data exchange format. |
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Text (delimited by tabs) |
Text format with tabs as delimiters. |
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CSV (comma delimited) |
Comma-delimited format |
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Rich text (delimited by spaces) |
RTF. Only from Excel. |
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Embedded object |
GIF, JPG, DOC, XLS or BMP |
Microsoft Excel objects, objects from properly registered programs that support OLE 2.0 (OwnerLink), and drawings or other presentation format. |
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Linked object |
GIF, JPG, DOC, XLS or BMP |
OwnerLink, ObjectLink, Link, Picture or other format. |
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Office picture object |
Office or Picture Format (EMF) |
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Display text, OEM text |
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Web page in one file |
Web page in one file (MHT or MHTML). This file format combines embedded graphics, attachments, linked documents, and other supporting elements that are referenced in a document. Note: This format is not supported in Excel 2007. |
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Webpage |
HTML format. Note: If you copy text from another program, Microsoft Excel will paste that text in HTML format, regardless of the format of the source text. |
File formats that are not supported in Excel
The following file formats are no longer supported in Excel 2016, Excel 2013, Excel 2010, Excel Starter, and Excel 2007. You cannot open or save files in these file formats.
File formats that are not supported in Excel Starter
Additionally, the following file formats are no longer supported in Excel Starter. You cannot open or save files in these file formats.
Opening and viewing files in unsupported formats
If the file format you want to use is not supported in Excel, you can try the following:
Search the Internet for file formats that are not supported in Excel using file format converters.
Save a file in a format supported by another program and export it to a format supported by Excel.
additional information
You can always ask a question to an Excel Tech Community specialist, ask for help in the Answers community, and also suggest new feature or improvement on the website
Microsoft Office Excel is a spreadsheet program that allows you to store, organize and analyze information. You may be under the impression that Excel only uses certain group people to perform some complex tasks. But you are wrong! In fact, anyone can master this excellent program and use all its power to solve exclusively their everyday problems.
Excel- This universal program, which allows you to work with various data formats. In Excel, you can maintain a home budget, make both simple and very complex calculations, store data, organize various diaries, draw up reports, build graphs, diagrams and much, much more.
Excel program is part of the Microsoft Office suite, which consists of a whole set of products that allow you to create various documents, spreadsheets, presentations and much more.
Besides Microsoft programs Excel There are a number of similar programs that also rely on working with spreadsheets, but Excel is by far the most popular and powerful of them, and is rightfully considered the flagship of this area. I dare say that Excel is one of the most popular programs in general.
What can I do in Excel?
Microsoft Excel has many advantages, but the most significant is, of course, its versatility. The uses for Excel are almost endless, so the more knowledge you have about the program, the more uses you can find for it. The following are possible areas of application for Microsoft Office Excel.
- Working with Numeric Data. For example, drawing up a wide variety of budgets, ranging from home budgets, as the simplest, to the budget of a large organization.
- Work with text. A diverse set of tools for working with text data makes it possible to present even the most complex text reports.
- Creating graphs and charts. A large number of tools allow you to create a wide variety of chart options, which makes it possible to present your data in the most vivid and expressive way.
- Creating diagrams and drawings. In addition to graphs and charts, Excel allows you to insert many different shapes and SmartArt graphics into your worksheet. These tools significantly increase the data visualization capabilities of the program.
- Organizing Lists and Databases. Microsoft Office Excel was originally designed with a structure of rows and columns, so organizing work with lists or creating a database is an elementary task for Excel.
- Data import and export.Excel allows you to exchange data with a wide variety of sources, which makes working with the program even more versatile.
- Automation of similar tasks. Using macros in Excel allows you to automate the execution of the same type of time-consuming tasks and reduce human participation to a single mouse click to run the macro.
- Creating Control Panels. In Excel, you can place controls directly on the worksheet, which allows you to create visual, interactive documents.
- Built-in programming language. The Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language built into the Microsoft Excel application allows you to expand the program's capabilities at least several times. Knowledge of the language opens up completely new horizons for you, for example, creating your own custom functions or entire add-ons.
The features of the Excel application can be listed for a very long time; above I presented only the most basic of them. But it is already clear to see how useful knowledge of this program will be for you.
Who is Excel made for?
Initially, Excel was created exclusively for office work, since only an organization could afford such a luxury as a computer. Over time, computers began to appear more and more in the homes of ordinary people, and the number of users gradually increased. On this moment Almost every family has a computer and most of them have Microsoft Office installed.
There are hundreds of companies in Russia offering Microsoft Office courses. Excel is taught in educational institutions, hundreds of books and training courses have been published on Excel. Knowledge of Office is required when applying for a job or this knowledge is counted as an additional advantage. All this suggests that knowledge office programs, in particular Excel, will be useful to everyone without exception.
Real-time stock and currency rates now available in Excel
2017: Added function for collaborative editing of documents in real time
According to the corporation, this was a big step towards making remote work as convenient and comfortable as working in the office shoulder to shoulder with colleagues. With co-editing in Excel, users can easily see who else is working on a document and respond to changes immediately.
In addition to the co-editing feature in Excel, Microsoft announced support for AutoSave in Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Office 365 subscribers who store documents on OneDrive and SharePoint. Previously, these features were only available to members Office programs Insider, but now all users can use them. Now, regardless of whether one person or several are working with a document at the same time, everyone last changes automatically saved in
Almost everyone uses a computer these days, but not everyone has mastered the program. Excel. In general, users are divided into two categories: those who adore Excel and find it very useful, and those who also dislike this program very much. Let's try to figure out what is the reason for such different perceptions. As they say, there are always two sides of the same coin.
Excel started out as a simple spreadsheet. Its main feature was the ability to change the height and width of cells and columns, and apply different fonts and styles. For the first time, it became possible to intelligently count cells: for example, counting only those where changes were made.
The first prototype spreadsheet Excel programs, appeared in 1979 thanks to a Harvard student Dan Bricklin(on the picture). Students are known to have to do a lot of mathematical calculations, and Bricklin found this activity too tedious and time-consuming. Having invented the world's first spreadsheet, Brickman nevertheless proved that Harvard students are truly the best of the best.
The spreadsheet was named VisiCalc and immediately gained popularity. Its first version was intended for computers Apple. Yes - yes, it turns out that they already existed at that time and, by the way, it was the appearance of VisiCalc that Apple owed a significant jump in sales.
The next stage in the development of Excel was the spreadsheet presented by the company Lotus and intended for computers IBM. Once again, thanks to the spreadsheet, the company's turnover soon reached $50 million a year.
The version of Excel that is mostly already familiar to users was introduced in 1987 year by company Microsoft. The program had an improved interface and a wide range of functions.
The benefits you can enjoy if you decide to learn Excel:
- Instead of doing math verbally or using a calculator, Excel can easily do it for you. The program somehow knows all the rules of algebra that you didn’t like at school;
- You can sort and filter data by any parameters;
- You will be able to create charts and graphs and use them in presentations;
- Excel can identify the highs, lows, and averages of even a very large range of numbers (imagine how long it would take you to do this by hand!)
- Excel can even apply “what if” conditions, acting simultaneously as a psychologist and a financial analyst, especially when it comes to exchange rates, profit or loss.
Excel seems easy to use once you learn at least the basic operations. All frequently used functions are available from the toolbar. If Excel sheet needs to be printed, then, if necessary, all data can be placed on one page for convenience. Overall, the program was created to make our lives easier and more enjoyable, and only learning the program itself can be difficult. It’s hard to even imagine how many resources – not so much material as intellectual – were invested in the development of the Excel program. Those who did this certainly deserve admiration.