Creating a Simple Spreadsheet

Now that you know your way around the spreadsheet window, you’re ready to create a simple spreadsheet. You might be surprised to find out how easy it is—even if numbers aren’t your favorite things.

When you first start Excel, a blank worksheet opens automatically and the task pane appears on the right side of the window. (If the task pane does not open automatically on your system, press Ctrl+N to display it.) If you want to open an existing worksheet instead of creating a new one, choose the worksheet you want to use from the Open A Workbook area. If you don’t see the file you want in the task pane, click More Workbooks to display the Open dialog box so that you can navigate to the folder in which the file you want is stored.