Microsoft Excel 2007 is very much different from any Microsoft Excel in the previous version. Basically most of the menus being replaced with a new interface called Ribbon. The ribbon is a powerful interface that helps you to find and apply function/tools more easily, this is particularly useful for new users (who never use Microsoft Excel before). This is a major breakthrough since the introduction of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet interface.
If you used Excel before, you may not get used to this version of Excel, give yourself some time, you will adapt to it eventually. There are a lot more buttons than the previous version of Microsoft Excel, they are grouped in tabs. Tabs consist of ribbons.
Please bear in mind that the ribbons are designed to facilitate easier usage for the users, new users will definitely find it extremely user friendly. You will find the most often used functions are resided at the left side of the tab, which decreasing importance in terms of usage tendency to the right hand side of the tabs.
Some basic features:
Office buttons- on the top left side of the ribbon, consists of save, save as, new, opening and closing files. When you put your cursor on the Office buttons, you will see a list of most recently used file at the right side of the bar.
Quick Access Toolbar – can be customized with buttons that you use most frequently. I will show you how to use it in the video attached below.
Tabs – contains ribbons where you could find most of the functions at. You may click on it once to activate the tab. Or you may use arrow button (to the right) on the keyboard to move from one tab to another.
It is important for you to understand the basic of the Excel 2007, to help you navigate and identify the difference from it’s predecessors (such as Excel 2000/2003).
