Lessons

Resources

Full Course Outline
Skills Test Quiz - Under Construction
Certificate of Completion
Post-Class Survey

Questions?

Please feel free to post your questions or comments below. If you have questions about a specific lesson, please specify the lesson number and the time index in the lesson where the issue occurs. Thank you!

Subscribe for Updates

If you would like to be notified whenever changes are made to this page, new lessons are posted, or comments are made, click on the subscribe button.

Subscribe to Excel 2003 Beginner 104
Get notifications when this page is updated

Intro

In lesson 104 you will learn how to format cells in Microsoft Excel, including working with number formats, alignment, fonts, borders, and patterns. We will cover how to use conditional formatting, spell check, find and replace, and auto format. You will also see how to build a simple financial calculator to calculate loan payments, as well as how to protect your worksheets from unauthorized changes. This lesson is designed for beginners and is based on material in Microsoft Excel 103.

Transcript

Welcome to Microsoft Excel 104 using Microsoft Excel. Brought to you by 599CD.com. I am your instructor Richard Rost.

Let's talk about the objectives for today's class. We are going to learn all about format cells, including the Number tab, the Alignment tab, fonts, borders, patterns, and so on.

We are going to learn about conditional formatting, changing the format of a particular cell based on the data in that cell. We will learn how to spell check. We will use the find and replace feature. We will see how to auto format a spreadsheet.

Then we will have some fun building a financial calculator to figure out the monthly payment for a loan. We will teach you how to protect your worksheets against tampering from unauthorized users.

This class has a prerequisite: Microsoft Excel 103. We strongly recommend you take 101, 102, and 103 before beginning this class. The material in this class builds on all the stuff we have learned so far in our Microsoft Excel series.

We will be using Microsoft Excel XP and Windows XP in this lesson. However, the material is valid for all previous versions of Excel, including Excel 2000 and Excel 97, with very few differences. The version of Windows that you are using does not matter for this class.

We recommend you sit back and watch the lessons. Then go through the lessons a second time following along with the examples. Do not try to apply what you learn immediately. Instead, go over the examples that we teach you in class, and then try to apply the material taught to what you are working on in Excel.

Most importantly, remember to have fun. Find something that you enjoy doing outside of work and do it in Excel, whether it is your baseball card collection or simply your list of names and addresses for friends. Put it in Excel and you will find that you will learn much more if it is fun and not work.

Quiz

Q1. What is one of the main topics covered in Microsoft Excel 104 according to the video?
A. Formatting cells including number, alignment, fonts, borders, and patterns
B. Writing macros with VBA
C. Importing data from Access
D. Creating pivot charts

Q2. What does conditional formatting allow you to do in Excel?
A. Automatically save your work
B. Change the format of a cell based on its data
C. Protect your workbook with passwords
D. Merge and center cells

Q3. What is the purpose of the financial calculator example mentioned in the class?
A. To calculate tax rates
B. To create monthly payment calculations for loans
C. To determine exchange rates
D. To track inventory

Q4. What feature helps in correcting spelling errors in your spreadsheet?
A. AutoSum
B. Spell check
C. Track changes
D. Goal seek

Q5. What should you do after watching the video lessons for the first time?
A. Apply the material right away to your own projects
B. Memorize every example
C. Watch them a second time and follow along with the examples
D. Skip to the final project

Q6. What advice does the instructor give for making learning Excel more enjoyable?
A. Only use Excel for work-related tasks
B. Practice only the exercises provided
C. Use Excel for something you enjoy, like tracking a hobby
D. Focus just on the theoretical concepts

Q7. What versions of Excel is the course content valid for?
A. Only Microsoft Excel XP
B. Only Microsoft Excel 97
C. Excel XP, Excel 2000, and Excel 97
D. Excel 2010 and later only

Q8. What prerequisite should you complete before taking Excel 104?
A. Only Excel 101
B. Only Excel 102
C. Excel 101, 102, and 103
D. No prerequisite needed

Answers: 1-A; 2-B; 3-B; 4-B; 5-C; 6-C; 7-C; 8-C

DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Summary

Today's video from Excel Learning Zone focuses on the objectives for Microsoft Excel 104. In this class, we're going to explore a wide range of formatting tools within Excel. You'll learn how to work with the Format Cells dialog, including the Number and Alignment tabs, and how to adjust fonts, borders, patterns, and other aspects of cell appearance.

We'll also cover how to use conditional formatting, which lets you automatically apply different formatting to a cell based on its content. The lesson will show you how to spell check your spreadsheet, use find and replace to quickly locate data, and apply the auto format feature to quickly style your worksheets.

After we master formatting, we will take a practical turn and build a financial calculator. This will allow us to calculate monthly payments for loans, giving you a useful real-world application for your Excel skills. I'll also walk you through the steps required to protect your worksheets, so you can prevent unauthorized users from changing your data.

Before starting this class, you should have completed Microsoft Excel 103. Ideally, you should have already taken Excel 101 and 102 as well, since this course builds directly on the concepts and techniques covered in those earlier lessons.

For this course, I'm using Microsoft Excel XP and Windows XP, but you can use Excel 2000, Excel 97, or any similar version with almost no differences. The particular version of Windows you have will not affect your learning in this class.

I recommend that you begin by watching the lessons all the way through. Once you've seen everything, watch it a second time and follow along step by step with the examples. Try not to immediately jump in and apply the techniques to your own work. Instead, practice first using the classroom examples, then move on to your own projects.

Most importantly, try to make your Excel learning experience enjoyable. Work with data that you're passionate about, whether that's organizing your personal baseball card collection or keeping a contact list for friends and family. If you use Excel for things you enjoy, you'll find it much easier and more enjoyable to master.

You can find a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything discussed here on my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends.

Topic List

Formatting cells with the Number tab
Using the Alignment tab in cell formatting
Changing cell fonts
Applying borders to cells
Adding patterns and cell shading
Using conditional formatting
Performing spell check in Excel
Using the find and replace feature
Auto formatting a spreadsheet
Building a financial calculator for loan payments
Protecting worksheets from unauthorized changes