Microsoft Access Database and Microsoft Excel

A database is a planned grouping of material arranged and often kept electronically in a computer system. In database design, some principles must be followed during the process. First, the information must be divided into subject-based tables to reduce redundancy (Dobrovolskaya, 2021). Secondly, providing access to the required information to join the database tables. Based on personal experience, a well-designed database ensures the integrity and accuracy of the stored data. Two of Microsoft’s most potent products, Excel and Access, are utilized for data analysis and reporting (Dakhil, Ali, & Reda, 2018).

Both applications can store a sizable quantity of data, conduct robust queries and analytical tools to slice and dice that data and carry out intricate computations to provide the desired data. The significant difference between Access and Excel is that Excel is a spreadsheet used for calculations and data representation, while Access database stores data for reference.

Excel is a program running within the Microsoft office suite used in carrying out calculations, performing analysis on data, and data integration from different sources. This program allows the creation of multiple spreadsheets where data input can be made and statistical analysis can be done on the data (Dakhil, Ali, & Reda, 2018).

It is used for the finance management of a company, computing the payroll and revenues. On the other hand, Microsoft Access Database is a tool that stores data for analysis and references. Microsoft Excel has a formula feature, add external data, and preview features that allow for performing arithmetic, adding data from the internet, and spell-checking easily, unlike Access database, which lacks all these features (Dobrovolskaya, 2021). In the Access database, data is fed into the tables manually since it lacks the import features, unlike excel. The data contained in the Access database can be accessed from other platforms and can be generated through query automatically, while Microsoft Excel is limited in terms of data accessibility but has comprehensive tools for carrying out statistical analysis. Figure 1 below shows an example of how the tables appear in a database.

Entity relationship diagram for a school database
Figure 1. Entity relationship diagram for a school database.

References

Dakhil, F. A., Ali, W. M., & Reda, A. A. A. (2018). Prioritizing software capabilities and focal points of MS Access and Excel in perspective of data management. Applied Computer Science, 14(3). Web.

Dobrovolskaya, T. A. (2021). On the use of information technologies in training specialists in the textile industry. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 2001, No. 1, p. 012034). IOP Publishing. Web.

Microsoft Power BI Software’s Features

Microsoft Power BI overview

Data visualization enables the transformation of abstract measurable data into a visual representation in the form of tables, charts, graphs, and matrices (Bhargava et al. 1; Qin et al. 2). Microsoft Power BI is an intriguing data visualization tool (Bansal and Upadhyay 14; Hadhoud and Walid 5). Power BI consists of various components that are available on the market separately and can be purchased and used independently, such as Power BI Desktop, Power BI Embedded, Power BI Gateway, and Power BI Mobile Apps.

When it was first sold

In 2010, Microsoft came up with the concept for this tool. In July 2011, it was made publicly available for download under the name “Project Crescent.” It took three months for the Office 365 add-in to be published under the new Power BI brand (Senter 44). After that, Power Pivot, Power Query, and Power View were thereafter exclusively accessible as Microsoft Excel add-ins (Becker and Gould 185). Power BI Gateway was integrated with various features, such as enterprise-level data connectors and security settings. Power BI was then released for sale with all its current full-fledged features for the first time on July 24, 2015. Today, Power BI remains a popular data visualization tool.

Main customers

Firms in the professional services sector are the largest customer group (16.3%), followed by the manufacturing sector (13.2%), the financial services sector (8.6%), and the healthcare sector (7.1%). Others include the retail sector (6.3%), the oil and gas sector (5.5%), and the education sector (5.2%) (Microsoft Power BI). The top 5 companies that use Microsoft are Walmart, Apple, McKesson, Berkshire Hathaway, and GEICO (Microsoft Power BI). Hence, Power BI has an extended customer segment.

Key strengths of Power BI

Power makes creating straightforward dashboards and dynamic reports a breeze. Power BI is known for its customizable dashboards, which can be tailored to a company’s unique needs (Becker and Gould 185). There are also interactive and intuitive visualizations included in the bundle. Drag-and-drop capabilities may also be used to quickly create bespoke reports (Microsoft Power BI). It also provides access to data that is updated in real-time. Therefore, the dashboard shows and updates a user’s visualizations as new data is streamed in.

Weakness of Power BI

Power BI is not designed for analyzing complicated table-to-table connections. Power BI might not be able to handle intricate table connections. Second, while Power BI allows you to modify your visualizations, it does not give users many options (Becker and Gould 185). This limits its utility.

Top five most interesting features of non-tableau data visualization

Power BI contains an interactive Power BI desktop that enables users to access data easily and produce reports. The software is simple to learn and utilize (Lyon 167). The second interesting feature is the Pivot Point. In-memory data models are created by importing and combining diverse datasets from various sources. As a result, by combining data from different sources, functional users can quickly increase the total value.

Another significant feature is query power. This component seeks data from various corporate data sources or on the internet and then inserts it into an Excel table in a fluid manner (Mahajan and Gokhal 200). In addition, Power View is necessary for interacting with and seeing data (Lyon 167). It is constructed in this way to emphasize and cross-filter the data (Khalid and Zeebaree 65). Finally, depending on the complexity of the data, the Power Bi tool gives a default standard that is generally insufficient for enterprises. As a result, it provides bespoke, visualized dashboards.

Does non-Tableau data visualization have any uses that Tableau does not?

Power BI does not have any uses that Tableau does not have. Comparing the two, it appears that both can display data visualizations from multiple reports (Akhtar 29). However, Power BI only has an edge when it comes to ease of use and real-time access to data (Becker and Gould 185). When it comes to speed and the capacity to deal with complex data, Tableau is the clear winner.

Works Cited

Akhtar, Nikhat, et al. “Data Analytics and Visualization Using Tableau Utilitarian For COVID-19 (Coronavirus).” Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances, vol, 3, no. 2, pp. 28–50.

Bansal, Amrapali and Ak Upadhyay. “Microsoft Power BI.” International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering, vol 7, no. 3, 2017, 14-20.

Becker, Louis and Elyssa Gould. “Microsoft Power BI: Extending Excel to Manipulate, Analyze, and Visualize Diverse Data.” Serials Review, vol 45, no. 3, 2019, pp. 184-188.

Bhargava, Mandava, et al. “Analysis and Design of Visualization of Educational Institution Database using Power BI Tool.” Global Journal of Computer Science and Technology, vol. 18, no. 4, 2018, pp. 1-9.

Khalid, Zhwan and Subhi Zeebaree. “Big Data Analysis for Data Visualization: A Review.” International Journal of Science and Business, vol 5, no. 2, 2021, pp. 64-75.

Lyon, William. “Microsoft Power BI Desktop: A free and user-friendly software program for data visualizations in the Social Sciences.” Historia, vol.64, no.1, 2019, pp. 166-171.

Mahajan, Kirti and Leena Gokhal. “Advanced Charting Techniques of Microsoft Excel 2016 Aiming Visualization.” International Journal of Computer Sciences and Engineering, vol. 7, no. 1, 2019, pp. 198-200.

Microsoft Power BI. Apps Run the World, 2022.

Qin, Xuedi, et al. “Making Data Visualization More Efficient and Effective: A Survey.” The International Journal on Very Large Data Bases, vol 1, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1-12.

Senter, Bruce. Case Studies of Accounting Concepts and Methodologies. 2019. Oxford, PhD dissertation.

Creating a Database in Microsoft Access

The database designer navigates from the computer’s start button to the all programs option to launch Microsoft access from the Microsoft office folder. The first access window allows the designer to start creating a database from scratch (blank database), access recent databases as well as exit databases (using the “more button”). One can also use the offline/online templates designed by Microsoft. The title bar of Microsoft access shows the name of the database, while the lower part of the database window presents the navigation buttons for accessing and adding entities.

During the database design, it is not possible to delete the primary key fields in the datasheet view until one changes to the design view, since the primary key represents a unique identification field of the entity. Access allows the renaming of columns, through the right-click shortcut menu, especially when the field name is too large or is not entirely visible. Microsoft access allows designers to make changes, add new fields, undo procedures, or rename fields. It also enables one to create new tables in case major changes are required. It is however possible to change the primary key in the database design view, by selecting the row and assigning it the primary key property.

The design view presents options for changing the field size, and changing descriptions of the fields. The descriptions are displayed under the status bar when the database is run. The designer adds and modifies records in the database tables through the datasheet view, and access auto-saves any completed entity. A datasheet is a collection of columns and rows that represent related information. The access shortcut menu enables navigation from datasheet to design view or vice versa. Access also provides a navigation plane accessed through the shutter bar.

While designing a database, the undo option assists in reverting to the previous steps. One is able to delete an entire entity/record that may contain some errors but it is advisable to keep the table closed to avoid accidental changes of entities and cluttering., like other programs, access allows one to save changes before closing the program, ignore them or cancel.

It is possible to print entities of a table as hard copy reports using the print option, which is accessible through the office button option of the access window. It is advisable to preview these reports before printing in order to change some setups such as the orientation from the print preview option. Printing setup allows one to print multiple pages at once or pick a range of reports from the database. Through the create option of the menu bar, it is possible to create more related tables of the database by clicking on create and then choose the table option. In the datasheet view, one can then assign various field names and save them before closing the table. When switching to the design view of a new table, Access prompts the designer to save the table first by assigning it a suitable name.

A Data field whose data type is set to a number requires the designer to specify the size. Choosing byte from the properties option (in design View) means that the value will be up to 255 characters. Integer range is -32,768-32,768, while long integer range is -2,147,483,648-2,147,483,647. Single represents fraction and significant values up to 4 bytes of storage, double are up to 8 storage and decimal is up to 12 bytes of storage.

To create reports of entities in a database, the report wizard accessed from the crate option on the menu bar allows the selection of tables and fields to feature in the report. Reports can utilize the grouping option to have a record of various attributes that share common characteristics. The report wizard also helps one to specify various formats such as sorting criteria, sorting style (ascending or descending), report layout (column or tabular) and report styles. One should then save the report by assigning a suitable name. Reports in access pick the most recent data from the database.

Access enables the designer to view entities in form view or both datasheet as well as form views, by use of the split forms option of the create tab on the menu bar. Form options assist to view one entity at a time but display all the fields in case an entity contains many fields. The designer can then save the form by assigning an appropriate name. Access also has an online and offline help menu where users can query for information by inputting a phrase or a word.

Switching From Microsoft SQL Server to MySQL

Changing a database management framework requires extensive manipulation of information in order to preserve its format, quality, and contents. Database migration is a sensitive operation that demands a number of steps that will help an organization avoid adverse incidents. To transfer information between sources successfully, an administrator must set up a conversion system. The first step will require setting up a middleware for translation in any standard programming language via Structured Query Language’s (SQL) Application Programming Interface (API) (Elamparithi, 2022). This feature will translate software-specific features into a targeted format. For the next step, rules for Microsoft SQL Server to MySQL must be established. It is worth noting that MySQL has a unique tab within its software that allows duplicating databases from different sources into this framework, eliminating possible connectivity problems (Murach, 2019). The original database, as well as an empty one in a new environment, must be linked to this middleware correctly.

The third step requires information blocks to be sent to the utility with the use of SQL API and Microsoft SQL Server login and password for access. Each sequence’s attributes must be counted and sent to middleware for further transformation. Rules written for this specific task will preserve and modify the SQL map to fit into MySQL. The fourth step will include the insertion of these parts in the MySQL database through queries for proper table and attribute creation. Once again, SQL API will be involved, as the translator will utilize it for relocation in a proper language format, as well as to connect to new server. In conclusion, database migration requires a proficient administrator who can execute these four steps listed above with great accuracy and in a proper sequence that will preserve tables, attributes, and information blocks.

References

Elamparithi, M. (2022). . Journal of Algebraic Statistics, 13(3), 637–653. Web.

Murach, J. (2019). Murach’s MySQL (3rd ed.). Mike Murach and Associates.

Microsoft SharePoint as a Private Cloud App

Introduction

The Microsoft SharePoint is an application which allows enterprises to backup their documents via a private cloud. This application by the Microsoft Company comes with a system for functionality or information delivery via a site. Through its ‘Cloud app model’, this application enables a user to create personalized apps which the Microsoft Company controls and hosts via a “public SharePoint Store” (Balasubramanian 2013, par. 5). Unlike other apps, the SharePoint application is very flexible, provides customized solutions to each business needs, and easy to use. The application is compatible with programming languages such as NET, JavaScript, Client Object Model, and HTML among others. The application also supports provider, remote, and on-premise hosted apps (Balasubramanian 2013).

Advantages of the SharePoint

The SharePoint application has series of options for hosting besides multiple platforms for creating related applications. The SharePoint allocation has the capability of efficiently replacing the sandbox and farm solutions thus, guaranteeing satisfaction to the administrators, users, and third-party application experts. In terms of the users’ recompense, the SharePoint application enables the users to different functionalities into the main application. Beside, this application comes with many compatible support applications, which enable the users to enjoy the upgrade function. The users are in a position to acquire different applications through the App Store and App Catalog. This application is very easy to install and operate (Balasubramanian 2013).

In terms of the administrators’ recompense, the SharePoint application’s reliability has significantly reduced the intensity of server downtown and outages. In addition, the administrators are in a position to monitor and control the apps. In terms of the third parties’ recompense, the SharePoint application uses the universal web standards such as CSS, JavaScript, and HTML among others. Besides, “the technical aspects of the app model also make life easier for many developers, allowing them to write apps in various languages” (Balasubramanian 2013, par. 7).

Disadvantages of the SharePoint

The infrastructure for the SharePoint application is clunky and often unrealistic to use, especially for small businesses. Besides, the application is rudimentary since its hosting option is restricting. The application has to rely on REST API and JavaScript in order to interrelate with allied SharePoint framework. In addition, the SharePoint application has series of cross-server communications which might negatively impact on its performance, especially when in use in large organizations (Balasubramanian 2013).

Other private clouds

Rackspace

This company is the global hybrid cloud leader which functions on the Rackspace application. This application assists customers in creation, deploying, and hosting of different business applications (Panettieri 2013).

OpenStack

The OpenStack application has the ability to deliver high magnitude cloud operating system. The application can compute, network, and store different all-encompassing cloud deployments (Panettieri 2013).

Opennebula

The Opennebula application has the ability to create, operate, and deploy small-scale clouds through its internal nebula environment (Panettieri 2013).

Eucalyptus

The Eucalyptus Cloud software is used in crafting private clouds. The clouds are attuned with AWS APIs. It can compute, network, and store deployments within a private cloud (Panettieri 2013).

CloudStack

The Apache CloudStack software is created to manage and deploy large networks as a machine through the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). It is compatible with KVM, Hyper-V, XenServer, and Xen Cloud Platform (XCP) (Panettieri 2013).

Comparative analysis: Rackspace versus OpenStack

Unlike Rackspace application, the OpenStack application has the capability of hosting a large-scale deployment. However, the two applications can compute, network, and store different all-encompassing cloud deployments (Panettieri 2013). Besides, the applications are compatible with universal web standards such as CSS, JavaScript, and HTML among others. In addition, the apps within the Rackspace and OpenStack are operated within a common hosting environment.

References

Balasubramanian, K. (2013). Advantages and disadvantages of SharePoint Apps. Web.

Panettieri, J. (2013). OpenStack vs CloudStack: The Latest Score. Web.

Threats Facing Microsoft Products and ISA Server Security Settings

UNIT 6 Computer Security

  • Threats facing Microsoft products;
  • ISA server security settings.

UNIT 6 Computer Security

Overview

Characteristics of winNuke attacks:

  • Exploitation of windows network products.

Microsoft products threat and vulnerabilities:

  • LAND, Ping-of-death, TCP Half scans, UDP Bomb, Port scanning and DNS attack prevention.

ISA Server DNS Filter Settings:

  • Hostname overflow, length overflow and DNS Zone transfer.

Overview

WinNuke attack

  • Involves an array of data (out of band) being sent to a computer over the network to attack it .
  • Ms Windows 95, Windows NT and Windows 3.11 are vulnerable to winNuke attacks.
  • A computer that is attacked disconnects from the network.
  • The computer then crashes and display a blue screen.
  • When this happens, all unsaved data gets lost.
  • The computer then remains on panic mode with the blue screen displayed.
  • This can be avoided by installation of a patch created by Microsoft (Ankit & Zacharia, 2007).

WinNuke attack

WinNuke attack

Microsoft threats and vulnerabilities

LAND attack:

  • In this attack, a string of TCP SYN packets are sent over a network using the same address on the source as the destination;
  • It makes the vulnerable machine to reply to itself, leading to network congestion due to IPv4 crash.

Ping-of-death:

  • In this attack, the attacking machine sends an IP packet (using ping utility) that is larger than the maximum size specified.
  • The system of attacked machine either crashes, becomes unresponsive or reboots itself.

TCP “IP half scans”:

  • The attacker creates a lot of connections to the target machine but does not log on. This explores all the ports that are open.

UDP Bomb:

  • UDP packets with corrupted data fields are sent to the target computers having old windows OS. This makes the system to crash.
  • The user cannot identify the cause of the crash.

Port scanning:

  • The attacker tries to use all the ports in the target machine with an aim of finding out ports that are open (Heiser & Kruse, 2002).

Microsoft threats and vulnerabilitiesMicrosoft threats and vulnerabilities

Attack detection and prevention

There are two methods of intrusion detection:

  • Network-based intrusion detection systems (NIDS). These systems are engineered to protect against threats within a network.
  • Host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS). Are systems that safeguards against threats within the host machine or the server.

In the ISA Server filter settings tab, the following options should be checked for DNS attack detection and prevention:

  • Enable intrusion detection and DNS attack detection.
  • Enable detection and filtering of DNS attacks (Shinder & Behrens, 2007).

Once the above are checked, there will be round the clock protection against the following attacks:

  • DNS Hostname Overflow: This takes place when a DNS response meant for a host name is larger than the specified length.
  • DNS Length Overflow: Occurs when the length of DNS response is designed to reflect a value larger than the required 4 bytes.
  • DNS Zone Transfer: Takes place when databases containing DNS data are replicated.

Attack detection and preventionAttack detection and prevention

Conclusions

There are various DOS attacks that the windows operating systems are vulnerable to. These include winNuke, LAND, Ping-of-Death, TCP IP Half Scans, UDP Bomb and Port Scanning.

The attacked machine show various characteristics which include hanging, rebooting, network congestion and system crash.

The DNS server filter settings can be configured to detect and prevent attacks from DNS Hostname Overflow, DNS Length Overflow and Zone Transfer.

Attack detection and prevention

References

Ankit, F., & Zacharia, M. (2007). Network Intrusion Alert An Ethical Hacking Guide to Intrusion Detection. New York: Cengage.

Heiser, J. G., & Kruse, W. G. (2002). Computer Forensics Incident Response Essentials. Boston: Addison-Wesley.

Shinder, T. W., & Behrens, T. (2007). The Best Damn Firewall Book Period. New York: Syngress.

Microsoft Excel 2019 Experience

Microsoft Excel is suitable for solving various tasks related to storing, processing, and analyzing data sets. The program offers modern tools for creating simple and pivot tables, importing information, performing calculations using complex mathematical formulas, analyzing statistics, and visualizing it in graphs and charts. It also allows you to automate repetitive operations and calculations using VBS scripts. It is possible to create spreadsheets in Excel from templates or from scratch. The program contains many ready-made document templates, including various invoices, reports, journals, expense sheets, and invoices. Users can design the required Excel diagrams themselves and save them in XLTX format. Microsoft Excel has the necessary set of tools for analyzing large amounts of data imported into the application from various external sources: databases, web services, CSV files, and XML.

The program provides data visualization tools in charts of multiple types: line tables, bar graphs, pie, scatter, block, and more complex schemes for in-depth analysis. Microsoft Office Excel provides economic and statistical calculations, graphics tools, and macro programming language Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Closely integrated with Office Online and Microsoft OneDrive, Excel offers advanced spreadsheet collaboration and real-time data editing. It becomes possible to work with Excel files both on a computer and from a mobile device.

While working with these applications, I learned Excel skills such as conditional formatting, sparklines, autocomplete, analysis pack, and Power Query add-in, and discovered the analytical power of PivotTables and Power Pivot Data Models. Moreover, I learned how to create my own VBA macros, add controls to worksheets, and tried working with Excel events. To gain the necessary skills, I worked with sample workbook files that can be downloaded from the Microsoft website.

The Microsoft Office Suite Software’s Components

Abstract

My computer has pre-installed Microsoft Office Suite software. This software has a series of interrelated applications that perform different functions. I can create and type new documents in the Word component and do complex calculations in Excel. This reflective treatise attempts to explicitly review the components of the Microsoft Office Suite software on my computer. Besides, the paper predicts the least and most difficult component of the Microsoft Office Suite software.

Components of the Microsoft Office Suite

The first component is the Microsoft Access which is an application that enables a user to manage the computer database and store different data. The second component is Excel, which is a complex spreadsheet application that enables a user to calculate, draw graphs, create tables, and insert mathematical symbols within the rows and columns in an organized manner.

Besides, this application can show data as a chart, graph, and histogram in two and three-dimension. In addition, Excel application can analyze data on its own using the internal update schedule function. The third component is the Microsoft Lync application, which enables a user to use the instant messaging service, which is provided by the Microsoft Company (Story & Walls, 2011).

The fourth component is the Microsoft OneNote, which gathers the user’s audio commentaries, notes, and drawings. This application has a multi-user unit that enables a user to share personal information with other users. The fifth component is Microsoft Outlook, which enables a user to manage personal information. This application has a contact manager, calendar, and personal task manager.

The user is in a position to share his or her personal information with other trusted users. This application may also be used online alongside Skype to improve the audio and visual functions in a computer. The sixth component is Microsoft PowerPoint. This application enables a user to prepare a slide show for later presentation. The user can create a series of foils (slides) and fit in graphics, text, movies, and sounds. The application may serve the same purpose as webcasts (Pinard, 2012).

The seventh component is Microsoft Publisher, which is an application that enables the user to design the desired page layout for different documents. The Microsoft Publisher application is a creativity tool for users who want a unique layout design for their documents. The second last component of the Microsoft Office Suite is the Microsoft Word. This application enables a user to create a word document on his or her computer.

The Microsoft Word application has file formats such as doc and Docx. The user can type, copy, edit, and paste words from other documents into the Microsoft Word application to create a new document. The last application in the Microsoft Office Suite is the Microsoft MapMaker. This application enables a user to create and edit maps to suit his or her personal needs. This application is easy to use (Habraken, 2010).

Least and Most Difficult Component

The least difficult component of the Microsoft Office Suite is the Microsoft Word. This application has direct and easy to read instructions, thus making it user-friendly. On the other hand, the most difficult component of the Microsoft Office Suite is Excel. This component has a very complex user guide and requires continuous training to master its numerous functions. For instance, drawing a table or histogram requires proper knowledge of statistics, which I am not conversant with (Pinard, 2012).

References

Habraken, J. (2010). Microsoft office 2010 in depth. New York, NY: Que Publishing. Web.

Pinard, K. T. (2012). CMPTR (1st ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology Cengage Learning. Web.

Story, L., & Walls, D. (2011). Microsoft Office 2010 certification prep. Alabama, Al: Cengage Learning. Web.

Value Function in Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office Excel is a program with immense potential, which can be used in a variety of settings. However, in the business environment, Excel becomes particularly important (Anderson et al. 23). The program has many useful functions, which can optimize business processes, making them more efficient, and Value is one of them. The primary idea of this function is to extract the numerical value from a text string that represents a number. In order for Value to work, the text is to be in one of the formats supported by Excel, such as time, date, or any constant number. For example, if the function is applied to a cell containing sums ($5000), it will automatically retrieve only the numerical value and paste it into the new cell (5000).

Suppose it is required to calculate the budget for a new project. It is plausible that initial estimations will result in a spreadsheet with currency indicated in each cell. While manual corrections are equally possible, deleting the dollar signs for each entry may be time-consuming in large projects. The Value function will retrieve the required numerical data, which can immediately be used in further budget formulas.

It can also be used for more complex calculations, as Value can work with time formats. If an enterprise uses an automated shift check-in system, the exact time of an employee’s arrival can be recorded in an Excel spreadsheet (column A). The adjacent cell will serve as a reference for the check-in deadline (column B). The following formula will automatically show in column C if an employee was late for work: “=IF(VALUE(A2)>VALUE(B2); “late”; “on time”).” This way, managers can track the tardiness of their workers using Excel’s automated functions.

Work Cited

Anderson, David R et al. Modern Business Statistics with Microsoft Excel. Cengage Learning, 2020.

Security and Logical Functions of Microsoft Excel

Introduction

Microsoft Excel is an electronic spreadsheet program that may be used to store, organize, and manipulate data. The vertical columns may be represented by letters that appear in alphabetical order while horizontal rows can be identified by numbers. Columns that go beyond the number of alphabetical letters can be represented by two or more than two letters, for example, AA or AB (Held, 2007). An intersection occurs between the rows and columns and appears in the shape of a rectangle, known as a cell. Each cell in the spreadsheet may be given a reference or address that helps to identify it since the cells in the spreadsheet are numerous. The cell reference comprises a combination of column letters and row numbers e.g.BB246 (Walkenbach, 2010).

Functions of Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel has a number of functions which include functional aspects. This consists of the cell which can be a text or value which identifies the information in the cell. Examples of types of information found in cells include address, color, contents, file name, which includes the reference, format, parentheses ad prefix. Another function is the error type. Error value occurs in formats such as “NULL”, “REF”, and “NUM!” Etc, which may indicate error type, returns as 1, 2, and 3 accordingly.

Security Function

Another function of the program is the security function which prevents revealing sensitive or confidential information to other people. This can be found in the info-type-text which identifies what information one needs to be returned. NA means that no value could be identified. The function can mainly be used to mark empty cells. This can be done by entering the value in cells with missing information to avoid the inclusion of empty cells in calculations (Koers, 2010).

This can be found in the directory whereby sensitive information can be returned to the path of the current directory or folder, “me avail” that identifies the amount of information stored and available memory in bytes and “num file” which identifies the total number of active worksheets in the workbooks that are open.“IS” can be described as another function of the excel program that describes the nine functions of the worksheet used to test the value or reference (Frye, 2009).

Logical Function

Another major function of the Microsoft excel function is the logical function that incorporates aspects such as “AND” which returns “TRUE” if all its arguments are “TRUE” and “FALSE” if all or one argument is “FALSE”. The word “FALSE” can be typed directly on the worksheet whereby the program identifies it as the logical value of “FALSE” as is the case with other similar values. “IF” function may return a single value if a situation becomes identified and evaluated as TRUE while another gets identified as “FALSE”.

“NOT” reverses the value and can be used when one wants to ensure that value will not be equal to any other value. In this case, “NOT” can be identified as a logical value and can be evaluated to be “TRUE” or “FALSE”. Finally, the “OR” function returns “TRUE” if any argument gets considered to be “TRUE” and “FALSE” if all arguments get identified to be “FALSE” (Harvey, 2007).

Conclusion

Microsoft Excel is a program that gets mainly used for calculations and data entry. It is immensely essential that one acquires relevant knowledge on the basics of the program before settling down to use it. This helps to avoid mistakes and hence feeding or retrieving the wrong information. It also calls for a lot of seriousness and cares to avoid mistakes that could lead to distortion of the required information.

References

Frye, C. (2009). Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Plain & Simple. United States of America: O’Reilly Media, Inc.

Harvey, G. (2007). Excel 2007 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies. India: Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Held, B. (2007). Microsoft Excel Functions & Formulas. United States of America: Wordware Publishing, Inc.

Koers, D. (2010). Excel 2010 Just the Steps For Dummies. India: Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Walkenbach, J. (2010). Excel Dashboards and Reports. India: Wiley Publishing, Inc.