Creating A Basic Excel Formula

In order to create an Excel formula, begin by typing an equal sign: this distinguishes it from other types of data. A formula consists of groups of expressions. There are three key elements in these expressions: arithmetic operators, such as add and subtract; functions; and references to worksheet.

To create a formula which returns the total of two of the numbers in a spreadsheet (say 24 and 12), you simply type “=24 12″. When you press the Enter key, you would get the correct result. However, the formula would not be linked to the two cells containing the numbers. If the entry in either of the cells were to change, the formula would still give the old result.

Obviously, the best solution is to ensure that our formula contains a reference to the two cells in question. The simplest method of doing this is to click on the first cell having typed the equal sign. Excel then automatically creates a reference to the cell. Next type a plus sign and click the second cell. Excel puts in a reference to the second cell and we then enter the formula either by clicking on the Enter button (on the left of the formula bar) or pressing Enter on the keyboard.

Now that our formula contains a reference to these two cells, any time the cell contents change, the result returned by formula will be updated.

If this were the only way of performing calculations in Excel, formulas would become very long and extremely complex. To avoid this situation, we can use Excel’s built-in functions. Functions carry out complex mathematical calculations without the user having to worry about how the result is reached.

For example, imagine that we wanted to total the contents of a hundred different cells. If we relied purely on the “+” sign, we would end up creating a formula with a hundred different arguments; in other words, a reference to each of the cells containing the numbers. Instead, we can use the SUM function.

To use a function in a formula, type “=” followed by the name of the function. Next type open brackets and enter the arguments of the function. The arguments of the function are the values required by that function in order to return a result. In the case of the SUM function, we simply need to specify which cells contain the numbers we want to total. We can do this by clicking or dragging across the cells that contain those numbers.

When you have entered a reference to all cells containing numbers that we want to total, you can confirm entry of the formula by pressing the Enter key. You don’t even need to close the brackets. Excel will close them for you.

Using Speaker Notes In Microsoft PowerPoint 2007

If you want your PowerPoint presentation to go without a hitch, it is important that the speaker knows what to say when each slide appears. One of the tools that can be used to help speakers achieve this is speaker notes. Speaker notes are simply paragraphs of text which can be entered for each slide in the presentation. Although their principal use is to act as a reminder and prompt for the speaker while giving the presentation, they can be used for a variety of purposes.

In some scenarios, speaker notes can be used as an alternative to audience handouts. Naturally, this is only possible where the notes contain a summary of the information relevant to each slide rather than personal prompts such as “Remember to tell anecdote.” Secondly, they can be used during the development process to add reminders relevant to each slide. Before finalising the presentation, the creator(s) can then check the entries in the speaker notes to make sure that they have completed everything.

If you are planning to use speaker notes in the way Microsoft intended, they can of course be printed out and referred to as necessary. However, a more subtle approach is use a two-screen setup. Display the presentation on a large monitor while on your own computer, you can view the speaker notes.

There are two modes in which notes can be added and edited within PowerPoint. Firstly, in normal view, the speaker notes pane is displayed below the slide preview on the right of your screen. Simply click to position the cursor in the speaker notes pane and edited the notes as required. You can also drag the re-size bar at the bottom of the workspace to increase the size of the speaker notes pane.

The second editing mode allows you to concentrate on the notes themselves. In the View tab of the PowerPoint ribbon, click on the Notes Page View icon. This gives you a print preview of what your notes will look like when printed and allows you to edit the notes at the same time.

If you would like to personalise the appearance of the speaker notes when printed, you can always customise the Notes Master. Masters are a PowerPoint feature which allows you to customise the format of elements within a presentation by modifying a single master element. By default, the notes master features a miniature of the slide at the top of the page and the notes area at the bottom. It also features a header and footer, the date and page number. You can drag and resize these elements as you see fit. For example, you might make the slide smaller and increase the size of the notes text block or you might move the notes text above the slide.