Microsoft Excel course

Excel Lesson 7

Managing Worksheets and Cross-Sheet References

First-time setup and success checks

Lesson goal in plain language: Organize related information across worksheets and create a summary that refers to another sheet.

Prepare before step 1

  1. Open the correct application, website, or device screen and wait for its name to be announced.
  2. Open Excel manual and review the matching procedure if any command or term is unfamiliar.
  3. Use only fictional, public, disposable, or instructor-provided practice information. Make a copy before changing an important file.
  4. Read all numbered instructions once before performing them so you know the intended final result.

Commands used or referenced

Alt+Q, Enter, Shift+F11, Ctrl+Page, Insert+Spacebar,

For a plus-sign command, hold the modifier key, press and release the final key, then release the modifier. For a sequence, press and release each key in order. Stop after every command and listen for the result.

Work and verify

  1. Perform one numbered instruction and stop. Identify the active window, focused control, selected item, cell, slide, message, field, or device area before continuing.
  2. Compare the result with the lesson goal. A sound alone is not enough; verify the name, state, value, location, permission, or content.
  3. If the result is wrong, press Escape once to leave an unexpected menu, identify focus again, and use Undo only when the change is safely reversible.
  4. Save or synchronize at natural stopping points. Use the required filename Excel-Lesson-7.xlsx.
  5. Complete the “Before submitting” checklist from top to bottom. Correct missing items before marking the lesson complete.
  6. Close and reopen the practice item, or return to it from the product’s main screen, to prove you can locate and verify the result independently.

Success standard: Explain what each major command did, show the finished result, and recover from one harmless focus or navigation error without another person naming the next key.

Goal

Organize related information across worksheets and create a summary that refers to another sheet.

Skills practiced

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Create a blank workbook and rename Sheet1 to January. Use Alt+Q and search for Rename Sheet if ribbon KeyTips differ.
  2. Enter Category and Amount in A1 and B1.
  3. Enter five fictional January expenses in rows 2 through 6.
  4. Press Shift+F11 to insert a new worksheet and rename it February.
  5. Enter the same headers and five fictional February expenses.
  6. Press Shift+F11 again and rename the new worksheet Summary.
  7. Use Ctrl+Page Up and Ctrl+Page Down to move among the three worksheets.
  8. On January, calculate the total in B8 with =SUM(B2:B6). Do the same on February.
  9. On Summary, enter January Total in A1 and type =January!B8 in B1.
  10. Enter February Total in A2 and type =February!B8 in B2.
  11. Enter Combined Total in A3 and type =SUM(B1:B2) in B3.
  12. Save the workbook as Excel-Lesson-7.xlsx.

JAWS help: Press Insert+Spacebar, then J, to search JAWS commands when you forget a keystroke. Ribbon KeyTips can differ slightly by Microsoft 365 update, so Alt+Q search is included where useful.

Your assignment

Create January, February, and Summary worksheets. Enter expenses on the monthly sheets and show both monthly totals plus a combined total on Summary.

Save the finished assignment as Excel-Lesson-7.xlsx.

Before submitting