Excel 2010 Bible

Part I: Getting Started with Excel

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Using the Task Pane ............................................................................................................

The final user interface element that I discuss is the task pane. The task pane appears automatically

in response to several commands. For example, to insert a clip art image, choose Insert ➪

Illustrations ➪ Clip Art. Excel responds by displaying the Clip Art task pane, shown in Figure

1.15. The task pane is similar to a dialog box except that you can keep it visible as long as you like.

There’s no OK button. When you’re finished using a task pane, click the Close button in the

upper-right corner.

By default, the task pane is docked on the right side of the Excel window, but you can move it any-

where you like by clicking its title bar and dragging. Excel remembers the last position, so the next

time you use that task pane, it will be right where you left it.

FIGURE 1.15

The Clip Art task pane.

Creating Your First Excel Worksheet ..................................................................................

This section presents an introductory hands-on session with Excel. If you haven’t used Excel, you

may want to follow along on your computer to get a feel for how this software works.

In this example, you create a simple monthly sales projection table along with a chart.

Getting started on your worksheet ............................................................................

Start Excel and make sure that you have an empty workbook displayed. To create a new, blank

workbook, press Ctrl+N (the shortcut key for File ➪ New ➪ Blank Workbook ➪ Create).