Launching Excel from StartèProgramsèMicrosoft Excel 

Activity 1: Launching Excel from StartèProgramsèMicrosoft Excel 

1. Start Excel by clicking on the Excel icon in the Start-Programs menu.

2. Excel opens a blank workbook based on the " Normal " template

Most programs can be opened from the Start-Programs menu. A single click starts the program.

Some programs are located within folders-in this shot you will notice black arrows beside Microsoft office Tools, Online Services, etc. When you point to one of these "Program Groups" a submenu will pop up. 

Creating a Shortcut to Excel on the Desktop  

Activity 2: Creating a Shortcut to Excel on the Desktop  

Create a shortcut to Excel on the Desktop. Follow the steps below to create a shortcut to Excel on your Desktop.

1.Go to Start - Programs and find the folder or icon you want (you may also open the My Computer window and navigate to the file location)

2. Right click and hold, then drag and drop onto the desktop

3. In the resulting pop-up menu choose "Create shortcut here"

4. To start Excel from the desktop icon, double click

When you start working in Excel XP, you begin using a workbook that contains screens called worksheets. They are identified as Sheet1, Sheet2, and so on.

You also will see the Task Pane on the right hand side. This provides a handy interface for opening existing workbooks and starting new ones.

Creating a Shortcut to Excel on the Quick-Launch Toolbar  

Activity 3: Creating a Shortcut to Excel on the Quick-Launch Toolbar  

1.Go to Start - Programs and find the folder or icon you want (you may also open the My Computer window and navigate to the file location)

2. Right click and hold, then drag onto the desktop (do not drop yet)

3. Drag "Ghost" icon down into the QuickLaunch toolbar and drop

3. In the resulting pop-up menu choose "Create shortcut here"

4. To start Excel from the QuickLaunch toolbar, click

In Windows 98 the QuickLaunch toolbar is located on the Taskbar. Shortcut buttons to any folder, file, or program can easily be created on this toolbar and the folder, file, or program can be launched with a single click.  

Start Button                        QuickLaunch Toolbar

Launching Excel from The New Office Document Menu  

Activity 4: Launching Excel from an Office Document Template  

Any Office program can be started from a template. Templates are found in the Task Pane.

1. To start Excel from a template, click on the File menu and choose New. The Task Pane appears. The Task Pane may also be summoned from the View menu.

2. Go to New From Template and click on General Templates.

3. Templates for Excel are located on the General tab and the Spreadsheet Solutions tab. The General Workbook template opens a blank workbook with default settings. The templates in the Spreadsheet Solutions tab are pre-designed and set up spreadsheets which can be used as is or customized. Explore some of the templates available to you.

The General tab contains templates which are opened when you launch a program. These are called the " Normal " templates and contain formatting options such as Font, Font color and size, margins, etc.

You may change the defaults in your Normal template but for this course we well leave them as they are: Arial, black, 10pt.

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