For quite some time Microsoft has been the leading designer of programs used by computers and similar devices. This is greatly due to the easy usage of the Microsoft Office programs.

Excel 2010 is one of the most important Microsoft 2010 Office programs. It enables users to carry out calculations, study information and analyze them by using visual representations such as graphs and spreadsheets. For instance, some businesses use Excel 2010 for creating data tables for their incomes, while others use Excel 2010 to do expanded calculations. Excel 2010 has many great new features that provide users with a high quality experience. In addition, you will discover that you do not have to be an expert to use the Excel 2010 program.

 

New Features of Excel 2010

Excel 2010 has many of the features from previous Excel forms; however, the features have been placed where users can access them easily. But before exploring these features you should first open a new Excel 2010 work sheet. You can use the screenshot below as a reference:

 

Opening a New Excel 2010 document

To open a new Excel 2010 use this route and you can easily open a new Excel 2010 document and start working on it.

Start >All Programs >Microsoft Office >Microsoft Excel 2010

If you use of Microsoft Excel 2010 frequently, you may want to pin Excel 2010 to your start menu and access with only the click of a button. Simply follow the route above, then right click, then select Pin to Start Menu.

You can also just drag Excel 2010 to the start menu and place it to anywhere you like. To unpin something from the Start Menu, follow the same route as before, and select Unpin from Start Menu.

 

File Tab of Excel 2010

The File tab of Excel 2010 has the following buttons:

  1. Save
  2. Save As
  3. Open
  4. Close
  5. Info
  6. Recent
  7. New
  8. Print
  9. Save and Send
  10. Help
  11. Options
  12. Exit

Here is a brief explanation of each of the buttons:

  1. Save allows users to save their works.
  2. Save As enables already saved document to be saved with a different name again.
  3. Open and close enables users to open already saved Excel 2010 worksheet or close it.
  4. Info gives basic information about the worksheet such as the date it was modified, the author, size of the document and so on.
  5. Recent provides easy access to most recent documents.
  6. New enables you to open a new worksheet of Excel 2010.
  7. Print you can print out your work on paper.
  8. Save and Send allows you to send your saved document via email.
  9. Help is for those who are not familiar with using Excel 2010.
  10. Options allow one to make some changes to your spreadsheet.
  11. Exit enables users to exit from Excel 2010 worksheet.

 

MS Excel 2010 Save and Send

The Save and Send button lets users send work to someone else. Just select File and then the Save and Send button and you will have the below screenshot like screen. Next, choose the Send Using Email button, Save to Web button, the Save to Share Point button or whatever option you need.

If you choose to send your Excel 2010 worksheet via email, you will have the same screen as below. You can send your documents as an attachment, a PDF, as an XPS, send an internet fax or send a link to your document; however, for this last option to work you will have to save the Excel 2010 worksheet saved in a shared location. 

 

What are Options in Excel 2010?

The options button found in the File tab are very useful ones to discover. Its options include the following:

  1. General
  2. Formulas
  3. Proofing
  4. Save
  5. Language
  6. Advance
  7. Customize Ribbon
  8. Quick Access Toolbar
  9. Add-Ins
  10. Trust Center

These features allow you to customize how Excel 2010 works, based on your usage preferences.

 

Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar enables Excel 2010 users to access frequently used buttons and to customize those buttons based on your preferences. Simply click on the Quick Access Toolbar and choose the icons you want to see in the Quick Access Toolbar of Excel 2010.

Along with the Quick Access Toolbar, you can select the Customize Ribbon button in Excel 2010 and change it as you wish. Here is a Customize Ribbon button of Excel 2010:

 

Ribbon and Insert Tab of Microsoft Excel 2010

Components of the Ribbon of Excel 2010 are File, Home, Insert, Page Layout, Formulas, Data, Review and View. The Home tab is most frequently used and it has the following groups: Clipboard, Font, Alignment, Number, Styles, Cells and Editing, which are used to modify data easily to look more professional. 

The Insert tab of Excel 2010 Ribbon has many visually attractive features that will allow users to produce professional looking graphs and tables. The Insert tab consists of Tables, Illustrations, Charts, Sparklines, Filter, Links, Text and Symbols.

 

Charts Group of Microsoft Excel 2010

Found under the Insert tab, this is one of the most useful groups of Microsoft Excel 2010. Once you have entered your data, chose the type of chart you need then select the data you wish to include on one of the following charts: Column, Line and Pie, Bar, Area, Scatter or Other Charts. Once you have generated your chart and clicked on it there will appear a Chart Tools option, which consists of Design, Layout and Format groups.

To simplify the procedure of adding a chart to Excel 2010 you can follow the below route.

Enter the data >Select the entered data (click)> Insert >Select the chart type

 

Inserting a Table in the Excel 2010 Worksheet

Tables are one of the most widely used features of Microsoft Excel 2010 as they enable users to analyze related data. It is very easy to insert or draw a table in Excel 2010 since all that is required is to click on Insert and then click on the Table button.

Sparklines is a group within the Insert tab that show trend information without taking too much space. It features the choices Line, Column and Win/Loss. Sparkline allows users to insert a Line, Colum or Win/Loss charts within a single cell by entering the data to be used. When the data is entered to Excel 2010 worksheet to insert Sparklines, one has to select the data as shown.

After the data is selected and the Sparkline to be used is chosen, the window shown in the above screenshot will come up. You will then see two areas: the Data Range and the Location Range. The Location Range is selected by the user and indicates where the Sparkline will be placed. The dashed area is the selected location for the Sparkline to be inserted into Excel 2010 worksheet. Finally, once the location is selected, click OK button and the Sparkline will be inserted to the Excel 2010 worksheet.

Once the Sparkline is inserted into the Excel 2010 worksheet, there will be a Tools tab to enable formatting. For instance, the colors of the lines could be changed or one may opt to show the highest or lowest points of the Sparklines—whatever is necessary for one to analyze the data more clearly.

 

Microsoft Excel 2010 Formulas Tab

Formulas are one of the most frequently used aspects of Excel worksheets as it is easy and quick to enter formulas and do your calculations. After selecting the Formulas tab, you will see the screen below, which shows the Function Library, Defined Names, Formula Auditing and Calculation. These are the most needed and used formulas and functions used with Excel 2010.

The Function Library in 2010 Excel is one of the handiest one of all, providing these actions: Insert Function, Auto Sum, Financial, Logical, Text, Date and Time, Lookup and Reference, Math and Trig and More Functions. Here is a look at Excel 2010 formulas tab.

This is but a cursory look at Microsoft Excel 2010. If you are interested in learning more, then the following links are good ones to check out:

Related Resources on Excel 2010

Microsoft Excel 2013 Tutorial

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