MS Office applications and default extensions (2007 and later)
| Application | Purpose | Default file | Template | Macro-enabled | Older (97–2003) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word | Word processing | .docx | .dotx | .docm | .doc |
| Excel | Spreadsheet | .xlsx | .xltx | .xlsm | .xls |
| PowerPoint | Presentations | .pptx | .potx | .pptm | .ppt |
| Access | Database | .accdb | .accdt | – | .mdb |
Other apps: Outlook (e-mail, calendar, contacts), OneNote (digital notebook), Publisher (desktop publishing). A PowerPoint show file is .ppsx. Commands are arranged in the Ribbon (tabs, groups, commands); the Quick Access Toolbar holds Save, Undo and Redo; Backstage view opens from the File tab.
MS Word key features
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mail Merge (Mailings tab) | Creates personalised letters, labels or envelopes for many recipients from a main document and a data source |
| Track Changes (Review tab) | Records edits for a reviewer to accept or reject |
| Format Painter | Copies formatting from one place to another; double-click to apply many times |
| Thesaurus | Synonyms and antonyms (Shift+F7) |
| Drop Cap | Large first letter spanning several lines |
| Watermark | Faint text or picture behind the text, e.g. CONFIDENTIAL |
| Header / Footer | Text repeated at the top / bottom of every page |
| Gutter | Extra margin for binding |
| Orientation | Portrait (tall, default) or Landscape (wide) |
| Footnote / Endnote | Notes at the bottom of the page / end of the document |
| AutoCorrect | Fixes common typing errors automatically |
Default view is Print Layout. Superscript: x²; subscript: H₂O.
MS Excel basics
- A file is a workbook; it contains worksheets. Rows are numbered, columns are lettered.
- A cell is the intersection of a row and a column; its address is column letter + row number (D7 = column 4, row 7). A range is written A1:B10.
- Excel 2007+: 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns (last column XFD). Excel 2003: 65,536 rows and 256 columns.
- Formulas start with
=. Operator order: brackets, then ^ (power), then * and /, then + and −.&joins text.
Cell references
| Type | Example | On copying |
|---|---|---|
| Relative | A1 | Row and column both change |
| Absolute | $A$1 | Nothing changes |
| Mixed | $A1 / A$1 | Only the unlocked part changes |
Press F4 while editing a reference to cycle through these forms.
Important functions
| Function | Result |
|---|---|
| SUM, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN | Total, mean, largest, smallest |
| COUNT / COUNTA / COUNTBLANK | Numeric cells / non-empty cells / empty cells |
| COUNTIF, SUMIF, AVERAGEIF | Count / add / average cells meeting a condition |
| IF(test, value_if_true, value_if_false) | Logical decision |
| VLOOKUP / HLOOKUP | Look up a value in the first column / first row of a table |
| ROUND(number, digits) | =ROUND(7.456,1) gives 7.5 |
| INT, MOD, POWER, SQRT | =INT(-3.7) gives −4; =MOD(29,6) gives 5 |
| LEN, UPPER, LOWER, TRIM, CONCAT | Text length, case change, remove extra spaces, join text |
| TODAY() / NOW() | Current date / current date and time |
Common errors
| Error | Cause |
|---|---|
| ##### | Column too narrow (or negative date/time) |
| #DIV/0! | Division by zero or an empty cell |
| #NAME? | Misspelt function or unrecognised name |
| #REF! | Invalid cell reference (e.g. deleted cell) |
| #VALUE! | Wrong type of argument (text in arithmetic) |
| #N/A | Value not available, e.g. lookup not found |
Other features: Freeze Panes (keep headings visible), Filter and Sort, Conditional Formatting, PivotTable (summarise large data), Fill Handle (drag to copy or extend a series), charts (pie chart for parts of a whole, line chart for trends).
MS PowerPoint
- Slide Sorter view – thumbnails of all slides; rearrange easily.
- Slide Master – controls fonts, colours, background and placeholders of all slides.
- Transition – effect between slides; Animation – effect on an object within a slide.
- Notes Page – speaker notes; Handouts – printed copies with several slides per page.
- F5 starts the show from the first slide; Shift+F5 from the current slide; Esc ends it.
Exam tip: COUNT counts only numbers; COUNTA counts anything that is not empty. This difference is asked very often.