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About this lesson

How to create a new Google spreadsheet and introduction to ‘file, edit, view’ options.

Exercise files

The exercises below will open in a new tab. When signed in to your Google account, go to File --> Make a copy to get an editable copy of the file.

Google Sheets Basic Controls Solution Template
Link Google Sheets Basic Controls Solution
Link Google Sheets Basic Controls
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Quick reference

Creating sheets and basic controls

Google Sheets is a spreadsheet editor app for organizing information.

When to use

Google Sheets has many uses, including organizing finances, scientific data, lists, and calendars.

Instructions

Creating a spreadsheet with a template

  • Create a new Google Sheets file
  • Click the green symbol in the top left corner to open “Sheets Home”
  • Click “more” in the dark area at the top of the screen
  • Scroll down to see all the templates and click on the template you want to use

Cells, Rows, and Columns

  • A box is called a “cell”
  • A horizontal line of cells is called a “row”
  • A vertical line of cells is called a “column”
  • Rows have numbers and columns have letters

Selecting cells

  • Click and drag cells to select them

Changing the sizes of cells

  • Click the line between two rows or columns where it displays the column letters or row numbers
  • Drag the line to change the size of the row or column
  • Double click the line to resize the row or column to fit the cell with the most text

“File” options

  • Share - Share the file
  • New - Create a new file
  • Open - Open a file from Google Drive
  • Rename - Change the file name
  • Make a copy - Make a copy of the file
  • Move to - Move the file to a different folder
  • Move to trash - Remove the file from Drive
  • Import - Add data from another spreadsheet
  • See revision history - See all changes made to the file over time
  • Spreadsheet settings
    • Locale: Changes format of functions, dates, currency, etc.
    • Time zone: Changes time zone for all time-related functions
    • Recalculation: Changes when the NOW, TODAY, RAND, and RANDBETWEEN functions are updated.
  • Download as - Download the file as various file types
  • Publish to the web - Make the file available to view publicly online
  • Email collaborators - Email the people the file has been shared with
  • Email as attachment - Send the file as an attachment to an email
  • Document details - See where a file is located in Drive, who created the file, when, and when it was last edited
  • Print - Print the presentation

 “Edit” options

  • Undo - Undo the last action
  • Redo - Undo an undo
  • Cut - Cut text
  • Copy - Copy text
  • Paste - Paste text
  • Paste special
    • Paste values only: Paste text and numbers in the format of the destination cell
    • Paste format only: Apply the format of the copied cell to the destination cell
    • Paste all except borders: Paste text and numbers and format, but keep the borders of the destination cell
    • Paste column widths only: Apply the width of the copied cell to the destination cell
    • Paste formula only: Paste the formula of the copied cell to the destination cell
    • Paste data validation only: Paste the data validation rules of the copied cell to the destination cell
    • Paste conditional formatting only: Paste the conditional formatting rules of the copied cell to the destination cell
    • Paste transpose: Paste the copied cells, but make rows into columns and columns into rows
  • Find and Replace - Find text and replace it with different text
  • Delete values - Delete the contents of the selected cell, but not the formatting or borders
  • Delete rows - Delete selected rows
  • Delete columns - Delete selected columns
  • Clear notes - Delete notes made on the selected cells
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  • 00:05 Google Sheets is the spreadsheet application within Google Drive.
  • 00:09 Spreadsheets are ideal for
  • 00:11 managing quantitative information such as dates, numbers or money.
  • 00:17 But spreadsheets can be used for many, many different purposes.
  • 00:21 For example, if you would like to manage a large quantity of information,
  • 00:25 perhaps a long list of names.
  • 00:28 Spreadsheets can be an excellent way to manage, filter, and
  • 00:32 sort those pieces of information.
  • 00:35 Now when we are dealing with a spreadsheet,
  • 00:38 we wanna become familiar with some particular terminology.
  • 00:42 Each and every square within a spreadsheet is referred to as a cell,
  • 00:49 and a cell intersects a column and a row.
  • 00:53 Columns are vertical and
  • 00:55 are identified by the letter of the alphabet at the top of the screen.
  • 01:00 Rows are horizontal and
  • 01:03 are identified by numbers on the left hand side of the screen.
  • 01:07 So when I select this particular cell
  • 01:10 I can reference it by saying I have selected cell C4.
  • 01:15 And that's gonna become very helpful,
  • 01:18 very handy as we start to look at the relationships between cells, and
  • 01:23 as we create formulas within a combination of cells.
  • 01:28 Now you can start a spreadsheet from scratch or you can start with a template.
  • 01:35 To select a template,
  • 01:36 select the Sheets home icon in the top left hand corner of your screen.
  • 01:43 Here we can preview some of the templates within the Template Gallery.
  • 01:48 Let's say, for example, I would like to create an expense report,
  • 01:53 here's an Expense report template that we can use.
  • 01:56 By selecting it, it will open up a new sheet here within Google Drive.
  • 02:03 And at first glance, this may look a little bit like a Google Document.
  • 02:08 Something that is ready to be printed on a regular piece of paper.
  • 02:13 It's important to note that you can edit information within Google Sheets so
  • 02:17 that it can be print ready just like we see here.
  • 02:21 But even though this may look much more like a word processor document,
  • 02:26 it is actually made up of individual cells as you see here.
  • 02:31 And right away, I can start entering pieces of information or
  • 02:35 editing this sample information that we see here.
  • 02:40 Although most of the options within the file and
  • 02:43 edit menus are the same as we've seen in other Google Drive applications.
  • 02:48 I would encourage you to review the reference guide as a part of this lesson.
  • 02:52 So now that you know a little bit more about spreadsheets Let's take
  • 02:57 a deeper dive on how we can use and maximize the use of Google Sheets.

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