Amherst College IT : Excel : The Basics of Using Excel

Getting Started

In this tutorial you'll be working on a specific set of data, so the first step is to make your own copy.

Excel files are called workbooks, and have a file type of .xls (the older format) or .xlsx (the newer 2007/2008 format).

In your Web browser, visit this Web site and download its contents: https://ats.amherst.edu/software/excel/graphing/global_temperature_anomalies.csv .
In Windows, open the menu Start.
Click on the menu item All Programs and open either Excel or Microsoft Office> Excel.
Once Excel opens, click on the menu File, then click on the menu item Open, then on Computer, and navigate to the downloaded file and open it.
The banner PROTECTED VIEW will display across the top of the file; click the button Enable Editing.

Note: sometimes CSV files are assigned to other programs such as Numbers, so opening it from inside Excel may be necessary.

In your Web browser, visit this Web site and download its contents: https://ats.amherst.edu/software/excel/calculating/global_temperature_anomalies.csv .
In the Mac Finder, open the folder Applications , then the folder Microsoft Office, then double-click on Microsoft Excel.app.
Once Excel opens, click on the menu File, then click on the menu item Open, and navigate to the downloaded file and open it.

Note: sometimes CSV files are assigned to other programs such as Numbers, so opening it from inside Excel may be necessary.