Working with the Excel Environment

Working with the Excel Environment

If you've previously used Excel 2010 or 2007, Excel 2013 will feel very familiar. It continues to use features like the Ribbon and the Quick Access Toolbar, where you will find commands to perform common tasks in Excel, as well as Backstage view.

The Ribbon

Excel 2013 uses a tabbed Ribbon system instead of traditional menus. The Ribbon contains multiple tabs, each with several groups of commands. You will use these tabs to perform the most common tasksin Excel.

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  The Home tab gives you access to some of the most commonly used commands for working with data in Excel 2013, including copy & paste, formatting, and numberstyles. The Home tab is selected by default whenever you open Excel.
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Certain programs, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, may install additional tabs to the ribbon. These tabs are called Add-ins.

To Minimize and Maximize the Ribbon:

The Ribbon is designed to respond to your current task, but you can choose to minimize the Ribbon if you find that it takes up too much screen space.

1. Click the Ribbon Display Options arrow in the upper-right corner of the Ribbon.
   
   Ribbon Display options
2. Select the desired minimizing option from the drop-down menu:
   
   • Auto-hide Ribbon: Auto-hide displays your workbook in full-screen mode and completely hides the Ribbon. To show the Ribbon, click the Expand Ribbon command at the top of screen.
     
     Auto-hiding the Ribbon
   • Show Tabs: This option hides all command groups when not in use, but tabs will remain visible. To show the Ribbon, simply click a tab.
     
     Showing only Ribbon tabs
   • Show Tabs and Commands: This option maximizes the Ribbon. All of the tabs and commands will be visible. This option is selected by default when you open Excel for the first time.