Asked by qp
Open a workbook.
Create a new blank workbook.
Create a new workbook using a template.
Enable editing to exit the Protected View.
Insert and delete worksheets.
Navigate between worksheets.
Save a workbook in Excel format, in a character-separated values format (both tabs and commas), and as a PDF file.
Rename worksheets.
Reorder and color worksheet tabs.
Move and copy a worksheet.
Import data from a comma-separated text file.
Import data from various applications into Excel.
step by step
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Below are clear, step-by-step instructions for each task in Microsoft Excel (Windows). I include commonly used keyboard shortcuts and brief notes about important caveats (Protected View and CSV behavior). If you use Excel for Mac some keystrokes differ (use Command instead of Ctrl, and some menu names may vary).
1) Open an existing workbook
1. Start Excel (double-click the Excel icon or use the Start menu).
2. On the Excel start screen, click Open and choose Recent, This PC, or Browse.
3. If you clicked Browse, navigate to the folder where the workbook (.xlsx, .xls, .csv, etc.) is stored, select the file, and click Open.
Shortcut: Ctrl+O opens the Open dialog.
2) Create a new blank workbook
1. In Excel, click File > New.
2. Click Blank workbook (the first tile).
Shortcut: Ctrl+N opens a new workbook.
3) Create a new workbook from a template
1. Click File > New.
2. In the search box or template gallery, either choose a shown template (Budget, Calendar, Invoice, etc.) or search for a template keyword.
3. Click the template you want and then click Create (or Download).
Note: Templates are usually online; you need internet access if the template isn’t already installed.
4) Enable editing to exit Protected View
Protected View appears as a yellow bar at the top when Excel opens files from the internet, email attachments, or other potentially unsafe locations.
1. Open the workbook (it will open in Protected View).
2. On the yellow bar near the top of the workbook, click Enable Editing to exit Protected View and allow editing.
If you want to change Protected View behavior (not recommended unless you trust the source):
1. File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View.
2. Uncheck the appropriate Protected View options, then click OK. (Be careful — disabling increases security risk.)
5) Insert a worksheet
Method A — click button:
1. Click the + (New sheet) icon at the bottom-left of the sheet tabs.
Method B — Ribbon:
1. Home tab > Insert > Insert Sheet.
Method C — right-click:
1. Right-click a sheet tab > Insert > select Worksheet > OK.
Shortcut: Shift+F11 inserts a new worksheet.
6) Delete a worksheet
1. Right-click the sheet tab you want to delete.
2. Click Delete.
3. If Excel warns you about deleting data, confirm if you want to proceed.
Note: Deleting is permanent unless you undo immediately (Ctrl+Z).
7) Navigate between worksheets
- Click the sheet tabs at the bottom.
- Use keyboard: Ctrl+Page Down moves to the next sheet (to the right), Ctrl+Page Up moves to the previous sheet (to the left).
- To open a list of sheets (if many): right-click the sheet navigation arrows at the bottom-left and choose the sheet from the list.
- To jump to a specific cell on a specific sheet quickly: type SheetName!A1 in the Name box (left of the formula bar) and press Enter.
8) Save a workbook in Excel format
1. File > Save As.
2. Choose location (OneDrive, This PC, Browse).
3. In Save as type choose Excel Workbook (*.xlsx) or the older Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls) if needed.
4. Enter file name and click Save.
Shortcut: Ctrl+S saves the current workbook (first time will prompt Save As).
9) Save a workbook as character-separated values
Important: Excel saves only the active worksheet to CSV/TXT; formatting and formulas are lost because CSV/TXT stores plain text.
A) Save as comma-separated values (CSV)
1. Activate the worksheet you want to export.
2. File > Save As > Browse.
3. In Save as type choose CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv) or CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv) for Unicode text.
4. Enter a file name and click Save.
5. If Excel warns that only the active sheet will be saved, click OK. If it warns about features not compatible, click Yes to keep the workbook in CSV format.
B) Save as tab-separated values (TSV)
1. Activate the worksheet you want to export.
2. File > Save As > Browse.
3. In Save as type choose Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt).
4. Enter a file name and click Save.
5. Confirm any warnings as above.
Notes:
- Regional settings can affect the delimiter (some locales use semicolon as CSV delimiter).
- Use Data > Get Data > From Text/CSV when importing (Power Query) if you need more control.
10) Save a workbook as a PDF
1. File > Save As (or File > Export > Create PDF/XPS).
2. Choose location, enter filename.
3. In Save as type choose PDF (*.pdf).
4. Click Options to choose what to publish (Entire workbook, Active sheet(s), Selection) and other options (optimize for Standard or Minimum size).
5. Click Save (or Publish).
Alternative: File > Print > Printer choose Microsoft Print to PDF > Print.
11) Rename a worksheet
Method A — double-click:
1. Double-click the sheet tab and type the new name, then press Enter.
Method B — right-click:
1. Right-click the sheet tab > Rename > type name > Enter.
Method C — Ribbon:
1. Home tab > Format > Rename Sheet.
Shortcut: Alt+H, O, R then type the name (press Enter).
12) Reorder and color worksheet tabs
Reorder:
1. Click and hold a sheet tab, drag it left or right to the desired position, and release.
Color a tab:
1. Right-click the sheet tab > Tab Color > pick a color.
2. Click outside the menu to finish. The tab will show the color when not selected (selected sheet will show an underline/filled color depending on Excel version).
To remove color: choose No Color.
13) Move or copy a worksheet
A) Move within or to another open workbook:
1. Right-click the sheet tab > Move or Copy.
2. In the Move or Copy dialog, choose the destination workbook from the “To book” dropdown (current workbook or any other open workbook).
3. Select where to place the sheet in the “Before sheet” list.
4. If you want to keep a copy, check Create a copy. Click OK.
B) Drag to copy:
1. To move: click and drag the tab to a new position.
2. To copy inside the same workbook: hold Ctrl, click and drag the tab to the new position; release to create a copy.
3. To copy to another workbook: arrange both workbook windows (View > Arrange All), then drag the tab into the other workbook while holding Ctrl (or use Move or Copy dialog).
14) Import data from a comma-separated text (CSV) file
Modern Excel (Power Query):
1. Data tab > Get Data > From File > From Text/CSV.
2. Browse to and select the .csv file, click Import.
3. The preview will show recognized delimiter and encoding. If it looks correct click Load to load to the worksheet or click Transform Data to open Power Query Editor for cleaning and shaping.
4. In Load options choose Table, PivotTable Report, Only Create Connection, and where to put the data.
Legacy Text Import Wizard (older/legacy):
1. Data tab > Get Data > From File > From Text/CSV > select file > click Transform Data to use the Text Import settings in Power Query, or
2. If using the legacy wizard, enable it: Data > Get Data > Legacy Wizards > From Text (if configured). Then follow the wizard: Delimited > choose comma as delimiter > set column data formats > Finish.
Notes:
- When importing, specify encoding (UTF-8) if you have special characters.
- Power Query is preferred because it preserves transformation steps for refresh.
15) Import data from various applications into Excel
General approach (Power Query, recommended):
1. Data tab > Get Data > choose a source:
- From Workbook or From File (Text/CSV, XML, JSON, Folder)
- From Database (From Microsoft Access Database, From SQL Server Database, From Oracle, From MySQL, etc.)
- From Online Services (SharePoint, Microsoft Exchange, Dynamics)
- From Other Sources (OData feed, ODBC, Web, Microsoft Query)
2. Select the specific source type (e.g., From Database > From SQL Server Database).
3. Enter the connection information required (file path, server name, database name, folder, URL, or credentials).
4. Click Connect. Provide credentials if prompted.
5. In the Navigator window or Power Query Editor, preview the data, choose the table(s) you want, and either Load or Transform Data to clean/shape it.
6. When ready, click Load to bring the data into Excel (table, pivot, or connection).
7. After import, refresh data later with Data > Refresh All (or right-click the query table > Refresh).
Examples:
- From Access: Data > Get Data > From Database > From Microsoft Access Database > select .accdb/.mdb > Navigator > select tables > Load.
- From SQL Server: Data > Get Data > From Database > From SQL Server Database > enter server and database > choose Import options > Load/Transform.
- From Web: Data > Get Data > From Other Sources > From Web > paste URL > connect > select table.
Additional notes and tips
- CSV/Tab-delimited exports strip formatting and only save active sheet. For multi-sheet exports consider creating separate CSVs per sheet or using other formats (Excel workbook or PDF).
- Use Power Query (Data > Get & Transform) when you need to clean, combine, or refresh imported data regularly — it keeps transformation steps and makes refresh simple.
- Save work before doing any large imports or structural changes, and back up important files.
- If you need specific step-by-step for Excel on Mac or a particular Excel version, tell me which version and I’ll give the Mac-specific or version-specific steps.
If you want, I can produce each step with screenshots or show an example of importing a sample CSV and transforming columns in Power Query — let me know which you prefer.
1) Open an existing workbook
1. Start Excel (double-click the Excel icon or use the Start menu).
2. On the Excel start screen, click Open and choose Recent, This PC, or Browse.
3. If you clicked Browse, navigate to the folder where the workbook (.xlsx, .xls, .csv, etc.) is stored, select the file, and click Open.
Shortcut: Ctrl+O opens the Open dialog.
2) Create a new blank workbook
1. In Excel, click File > New.
2. Click Blank workbook (the first tile).
Shortcut: Ctrl+N opens a new workbook.
3) Create a new workbook from a template
1. Click File > New.
2. In the search box or template gallery, either choose a shown template (Budget, Calendar, Invoice, etc.) or search for a template keyword.
3. Click the template you want and then click Create (or Download).
Note: Templates are usually online; you need internet access if the template isn’t already installed.
4) Enable editing to exit Protected View
Protected View appears as a yellow bar at the top when Excel opens files from the internet, email attachments, or other potentially unsafe locations.
1. Open the workbook (it will open in Protected View).
2. On the yellow bar near the top of the workbook, click Enable Editing to exit Protected View and allow editing.
If you want to change Protected View behavior (not recommended unless you trust the source):
1. File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View.
2. Uncheck the appropriate Protected View options, then click OK. (Be careful — disabling increases security risk.)
5) Insert a worksheet
Method A — click button:
1. Click the + (New sheet) icon at the bottom-left of the sheet tabs.
Method B — Ribbon:
1. Home tab > Insert > Insert Sheet.
Method C — right-click:
1. Right-click a sheet tab > Insert > select Worksheet > OK.
Shortcut: Shift+F11 inserts a new worksheet.
6) Delete a worksheet
1. Right-click the sheet tab you want to delete.
2. Click Delete.
3. If Excel warns you about deleting data, confirm if you want to proceed.
Note: Deleting is permanent unless you undo immediately (Ctrl+Z).
7) Navigate between worksheets
- Click the sheet tabs at the bottom.
- Use keyboard: Ctrl+Page Down moves to the next sheet (to the right), Ctrl+Page Up moves to the previous sheet (to the left).
- To open a list of sheets (if many): right-click the sheet navigation arrows at the bottom-left and choose the sheet from the list.
- To jump to a specific cell on a specific sheet quickly: type SheetName!A1 in the Name box (left of the formula bar) and press Enter.
8) Save a workbook in Excel format
1. File > Save As.
2. Choose location (OneDrive, This PC, Browse).
3. In Save as type choose Excel Workbook (*.xlsx) or the older Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls) if needed.
4. Enter file name and click Save.
Shortcut: Ctrl+S saves the current workbook (first time will prompt Save As).
9) Save a workbook as character-separated values
Important: Excel saves only the active worksheet to CSV/TXT; formatting and formulas are lost because CSV/TXT stores plain text.
A) Save as comma-separated values (CSV)
1. Activate the worksheet you want to export.
2. File > Save As > Browse.
3. In Save as type choose CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv) or CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv) for Unicode text.
4. Enter a file name and click Save.
5. If Excel warns that only the active sheet will be saved, click OK. If it warns about features not compatible, click Yes to keep the workbook in CSV format.
B) Save as tab-separated values (TSV)
1. Activate the worksheet you want to export.
2. File > Save As > Browse.
3. In Save as type choose Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt).
4. Enter a file name and click Save.
5. Confirm any warnings as above.
Notes:
- Regional settings can affect the delimiter (some locales use semicolon as CSV delimiter).
- Use Data > Get Data > From Text/CSV when importing (Power Query) if you need more control.
10) Save a workbook as a PDF
1. File > Save As (or File > Export > Create PDF/XPS).
2. Choose location, enter filename.
3. In Save as type choose PDF (*.pdf).
4. Click Options to choose what to publish (Entire workbook, Active sheet(s), Selection) and other options (optimize for Standard or Minimum size).
5. Click Save (or Publish).
Alternative: File > Print > Printer choose Microsoft Print to PDF > Print.
11) Rename a worksheet
Method A — double-click:
1. Double-click the sheet tab and type the new name, then press Enter.
Method B — right-click:
1. Right-click the sheet tab > Rename > type name > Enter.
Method C — Ribbon:
1. Home tab > Format > Rename Sheet.
Shortcut: Alt+H, O, R then type the name (press Enter).
12) Reorder and color worksheet tabs
Reorder:
1. Click and hold a sheet tab, drag it left or right to the desired position, and release.
Color a tab:
1. Right-click the sheet tab > Tab Color > pick a color.
2. Click outside the menu to finish. The tab will show the color when not selected (selected sheet will show an underline/filled color depending on Excel version).
To remove color: choose No Color.
13) Move or copy a worksheet
A) Move within or to another open workbook:
1. Right-click the sheet tab > Move or Copy.
2. In the Move or Copy dialog, choose the destination workbook from the “To book” dropdown (current workbook or any other open workbook).
3. Select where to place the sheet in the “Before sheet” list.
4. If you want to keep a copy, check Create a copy. Click OK.
B) Drag to copy:
1. To move: click and drag the tab to a new position.
2. To copy inside the same workbook: hold Ctrl, click and drag the tab to the new position; release to create a copy.
3. To copy to another workbook: arrange both workbook windows (View > Arrange All), then drag the tab into the other workbook while holding Ctrl (or use Move or Copy dialog).
14) Import data from a comma-separated text (CSV) file
Modern Excel (Power Query):
1. Data tab > Get Data > From File > From Text/CSV.
2. Browse to and select the .csv file, click Import.
3. The preview will show recognized delimiter and encoding. If it looks correct click Load to load to the worksheet or click Transform Data to open Power Query Editor for cleaning and shaping.
4. In Load options choose Table, PivotTable Report, Only Create Connection, and where to put the data.
Legacy Text Import Wizard (older/legacy):
1. Data tab > Get Data > From File > From Text/CSV > select file > click Transform Data to use the Text Import settings in Power Query, or
2. If using the legacy wizard, enable it: Data > Get Data > Legacy Wizards > From Text (if configured). Then follow the wizard: Delimited > choose comma as delimiter > set column data formats > Finish.
Notes:
- When importing, specify encoding (UTF-8) if you have special characters.
- Power Query is preferred because it preserves transformation steps for refresh.
15) Import data from various applications into Excel
General approach (Power Query, recommended):
1. Data tab > Get Data > choose a source:
- From Workbook or From File (Text/CSV, XML, JSON, Folder)
- From Database (From Microsoft Access Database, From SQL Server Database, From Oracle, From MySQL, etc.)
- From Online Services (SharePoint, Microsoft Exchange, Dynamics)
- From Other Sources (OData feed, ODBC, Web, Microsoft Query)
2. Select the specific source type (e.g., From Database > From SQL Server Database).
3. Enter the connection information required (file path, server name, database name, folder, URL, or credentials).
4. Click Connect. Provide credentials if prompted.
5. In the Navigator window or Power Query Editor, preview the data, choose the table(s) you want, and either Load or Transform Data to clean/shape it.
6. When ready, click Load to bring the data into Excel (table, pivot, or connection).
7. After import, refresh data later with Data > Refresh All (or right-click the query table > Refresh).
Examples:
- From Access: Data > Get Data > From Database > From Microsoft Access Database > select .accdb/.mdb > Navigator > select tables > Load.
- From SQL Server: Data > Get Data > From Database > From SQL Server Database > enter server and database > choose Import options > Load/Transform.
- From Web: Data > Get Data > From Other Sources > From Web > paste URL > connect > select table.
Additional notes and tips
- CSV/Tab-delimited exports strip formatting and only save active sheet. For multi-sheet exports consider creating separate CSVs per sheet or using other formats (Excel workbook or PDF).
- Use Power Query (Data > Get & Transform) when you need to clean, combine, or refresh imported data regularly — it keeps transformation steps and makes refresh simple.
- Save work before doing any large imports or structural changes, and back up important files.
- If you need specific step-by-step for Excel on Mac or a particular Excel version, tell me which version and I’ll give the Mac-specific or version-specific steps.
If you want, I can produce each step with screenshots or show an example of importing a sample CSV and transforming columns in Power Query — let me know which you prefer.
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