Zoom Call 6.06.23 Craig Daniels  Tech Smorgasbord

Zoom Call 6.06.23 Craig Daniels  Tech Smorgasbord

The Zoom call this week was a learning lesson with Craig Daniels on using Excel spreadsheets. He initiated the tutorial by preparing a list of attendees with names only and offered a link to straw poll where one could get details on using spreadsheets.

https://strawpoll.com/polls/poy9WPpDOgJ  

This was essentially a poll to determine people's familiarity with using spread sheets.

Spread sheets are a useful tool for assembling data. People are familiar with the terminology of spread sheets and also Google sheets. Google sheets are kept online and spread sheets can be kept in document files to be added to at a later date or to be printed out and shared. The file extension can be seen as .xls unlike a word file that has a file extension of .doc

He then shared a link to a Google sheet on screen and each attendee completed the details of their names in the spaces provided. He allowed each editor access to do this. This was a new feature to me as no other Zoom call had been this detailed in the interaction.

The call continued with Craig showing how the spread sheet can be cleaned by extending spaces to fit text, deleting extra rows, and offering a professional looking spreadsheet. In the photo above, it is highlighted by a circle.

Blank rows can be deleted by highlighting several rows and just raising it to meet the next full row.

This is shown with the blur in the empty rows.  It can also be done by grabbing the edge of the box on a particular row and moving it up to the desired area.

He then talked about the way a full sheet would be tough to read as all rows and columns are the same.

He discussed conditional formatting.  It can be done by creating a rule for the sheet such that a particular word may be the key for the sheet to apply a selected color to make the data stand out from the rest.

He also offered that through the wonders of YouTube, all of his discussion could be detailed with video to get better acquainted with the process.

A case study using his stats page on ActiveRain was used to demonstrate some of the features of formatting a spread sheet.  He exported all of his data onto a blank spread sheet. It came up as a wall of words separated by lines. Using his scribe, he began to widen the columns to allow for easier reading of the data. This was accomplished by sliding the separation bar of each column right to widen the columns.  This is shown in the photo above.

If one were to look at the alphabetical column headers and the line that separates, E|F, by placing the scribe on that vertical separation bar, the entire column width will be changed to whatever is desired.

He then briefly discussed converting all of the data on the spread sheet into a table format as it would be easier to view. This he did by hitting Control T, which created a shaded box around all of the data with headers as well. The different commands would allow for color shading the rows as well.

As a way of demonstrating further some of the abilities and uses of a spread sheet, he set up a file to be used to purchase a new laptop. 

He started by selecting a model. Then adding a camera as well as an extra large screen which was a 24" monitor. This also required an additional cable.

To complete the wish list of items, he added a webcam. He set all up on the spread sheet and included the necessary taxes for each item. Now came the time to total it all up and as people have an issue with creating formulas, he offered his shortcut.

Setting up format, he highlighted a number and using the toolbar, hit the dollar sign symbol, $, and the numbers became prices. 

In the cell below, he added the location where he found the computer and after including the site, he added a hyperlink to the Amazon, Control K, and the location of the computer was included on his spreadsheet so he could easily find it when he wanted to buy it.

Now to make the calculations easy, he highlighted the numbers he wanted to add in a row or column, and from the tool bar, found Auto Sum. If one were to see the calculations, the total was shown in the text bar at the top of the spread sheet..

Craig is most generous with his knowledge and shared it on the call.

I had issues with an angry chihuahua and apologize for not offering this post sooner.

Zoom Call 6.06.23 Craig Daniels  Tech Smorgasbord