Download practice files 

Download practice files 

Open the practice file Excel Practice One (Right click and choose Save Target As.)

Opening a file by Double clicking the file in its original location (i.e. "My Documents")  

Activity 1: Opening a file by Double clicking the file in its original location (i.e. "My Documents")  

1. Open the My Documents window (or other folder where Excel Practice One is stored)

2. Locate the file Excel Practice One

3. Double click to open the file in Excel

4. Close Excel when you are through

You can store documents in any folder on your hard disk or on a network, but it's good practice to store them together in a folder that you can find easily when you open or save documents. Microsoft Windows includes a folder named My Documents that can serve as a place to store the documents you use frequently. If you work with many documents or different types of documents, you can organize them in subfolders in the My Documents folder

 Opening a file from within a program

Activity 2:  Opening a file from within a program

1. Open Excel to a blank workbook (Start-Programs-Microsoft Excel. Click on the Office menu  and choose Open)

2. The Open dialogue box appears and by default displays the contents of the last folder you opened.

4. Find the file ExcelPracticeOne and double click. Close Excel when you are through.

The Open: window has a down arrow that allows you to switch to different drives and folders when locating a file. You will see this structure in the Save and Save As dialogue boxes as well.

Opening a file from the Recent Documents list in the File menu

Activity 3: Opening a file from the Recent Documents list in the Office menu

1. Open Excel to a blank workbook (Start-Programs-Microsoft Excel)

2. Click on the Office Menu

3. Select the document ExcelPracticeOne.xlsx

4. Close Excel

  Saving a workbook for the first time

Activity 4: Saving a workbook for the first time

1. Open Excel to a blank document (Start-Programs-Microsoft Excel)

2. Notice that the Title bar (the blue bar at the top of the Excel window) says Microsoft Excel-Book 1. This is the temporary name that Excel has given the document until you name it. You give it a name when you save for the first time

3. Click in the first cell and type your name

4. To save the document, choose Save from the File menu

7. After a document is saved for the first time, you may save changes you have made by choosing Save from the File menu, or clicking on the Save button on the Office toolbar . This resaves the document in the same location

A file format is the way in which information is stored in a file so that a program can open and save the file. A file's format is indicated by a three or four-letter extension after the file name. For example, when you save a new document in Microsoft Excel 2007, Excel by default stores it in Excel 2007 format with a .xlsx file extension. Earlier versions of Excel used the extension .xls

Saving a copy of a workbook in a different location or under a different name

Activity 5: Saving a copy of a workbook in a different location or under a different name

To save a document under a different name or to a different location, choose Save As from the Office menu and change the name in the File Name window and/or the location in the Save in window.

You have now completed this module. Take a few minutes to review and practice what you have learned.