Lesson 1 – Introduction to Excel Interface

MS Excel Course • Level 1 – Beginner Essentials • Lesson 1

In this first lesson, you will get comfortable with the Excel window, its main parts, and basic navigation.

What you will learn

• Main parts of the Excel window
• How to move inside the worksheet
• Saving, opening, closing workbooks

Requirements

• Microsoft Excel (any version)
• Basic mouse & keyboard skills

Step-by-step guide

1. Opening Excel

Open Excel → choose Blank workbook.

2. Main parts of the Excel interface

• Ribbon – main toolbar with buttons
• Formula Bar – shows and edits the cell’s content
• Name Box – shows the current cell (e.g., A1)
• Worksheet Grid – rows and columns
• Sheet Tabs – switch sheets
• Status Bar – shows sum, average, zoom

3. Moving around

• Mouse click → jump to any cell
• Arrow keys → move up/down/left/right
• Ctrl + → → jump to end of data
• Ctrl + Home → go to A1

4. Saving your file

• Press Ctrl + S
• Choose location
• Name file (e.g. lesson1.xlsx)

Save frequently using Ctrl + S.

Practice Task

• Open Excel
• Identify Ribbon, Formula Bar, Name Box
• Move around using mouse and keyboard
• Save a file named intro-practice.xlsx

Homework

• Try explaining the interface in your own words