M365 Excel Desktop: Getting Started

Level: Beginner

Duration: 1 day or two 3-hour sessions

Prerequisites: None

About: A hands-on introduction to creating, organizing, formatting, calculating, reviewing, saving, sharing, and printing professional workbooks.

Learning Objectives

• Navigate the desktop interface
• Enter, edit, format, and organize data
• Create simple formulas and essential functions
• Manage worksheets and workbook views
• Prepare accessible printed and PDF output

Course Topics

Desktop Environment

• Start screen and templates
• Ribbon, Formula Bar, Name Box, Status Bar, Quick Access Toolbar, Microsoft Search
• Workbook views, Zoom, New Window, and Arrange All

Workbook Management

• Create, open, save, Save As, close, and recover workbooks
• XLSX, XLSM, CSV, and PDF formats
• Local, network, OneDrive, and SharePoint locations
• AutoSave and AutoRecover

Data Entry and Formatting

• Text, values, dates, times, AutoFill, Flash Fill, Paste Special, Find and Replace
• Number formats, fonts, fills, borders, alignment, Wrap Text, Styles, and Themes

Formula Foundations

• Operators and order of operations
• AutoSum; SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT, and COUNTA
• Relative and introductory absolute references
• Common formula errors

Worksheets and Printing

• Insert, rename, copy, move, hide, and colour worksheets
• Freeze Panes and Split
• Margins, orientation, scaling, print areas, print titles, headers, footers, and PDF export

Accessibility

• Meaningful labels and worksheet names
• Avoid merged cells and blank records in structured data
• Accessible colour, alternative text, and Accessibility Checker