Manage your Grades Electronically with Excel Skip Main Menu

Enter Scores

This page will discuss the basics of entering data into a spreadsheet and formatting cells.

This Page

  1. Insert a New Worksheet and Copy Names
  2. Insert a Blank Row for Assignment Titles
  3. Format Cells
  4. Format Numbers as Percentage or Decimal
  5. Adjusting Rows and Column Size
  6. Move and Delete Rows and Columns
  7. Freeze Panes

Insert a New Worksheet and Copy Names

The eLion class list contains a lot of useful data, but most of it is not needed for grading purposes, therefore it is recommended that you copy the student names and e-mail into another grading worksheet.

  1. Highlight the columns containing the student name and e-mail addresses
  2. Select Edit » Copy from the menu.
  3. To insert a worksheet, select Insert » Worksheet. A blank grid will appear and a new tab will be visible at the bottom.
  4. Move your cursor to cell A1 (top-most left cell) and select Edit » Paste to insert the student names.

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Insert a Blank Row for Assignment Titles

To insert a blank row for listing names and assignments, do the following:

  1. Highlight row 1 (the topmost row) with your cursor.
  2. Right-click (or Command-click on a Mac) and select Insert.
  3. A blank row will be inserted at the top. Fill in each cell to identify the column as needed.

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Formatting Cells

There are several options for formatting text in a cell. Some of them are

  1. Use the formatting buttons (e.g. B for bold face, I for italics, etc.) in the standard toolbar.

    OR
  2. Highlight the cell or range of cells you wish to format, then select Format » Cells.
    1. Select the Font tab to change bold, italics, underlining strike-through font type or font color
    2. Select the Alignment tab to align text horizontally (left, right center) or vertically (top, middle bottom).
    3. Select the Patterns tab to change the color of the cell background.
    4. Select the Border tab to add borders to cells.

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Format Cells as Percentage or Decimal

  1. Highlight the cell or range of cells you wish to format, then select Format » Cells.
  2. Select the Numbers tab.
  3. Select the Percentage category to the left if you wish to display fractions as percentages (e.g. .9 as 90%). You can select a fixed number of decimal places as desired.
  4. Select the Numbers category if you wish to show a fixed number of decimal points for a score or grade. You can also change the format of negative numbers here.

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Adjusting Row and Column Size

To resize columns, move your cursor between the column letters until you see a double-arrow icon. Then hold down the mouse button to adjust the column width.

For rows, move the cursor between row numbers until you see a double-arrow icon.

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Move and Delete Rows and Columns

  1. To move a row, highlight the row number to the right, then right click (Control+click on a Mac) and choose Cut. The row will be highlighted with "marching ants" (moving dots).
  2. Move your cursor and highlight the row BELOW where you wish to move the row. Right click (Control+click on a Mac) and choose Insert Cut Cells.
  3. To move a column, highlight the column letter on top, then right click (Control+click on a Mac) and choose Cut. Move your cursor to the row to the RIGHT of the insertion point, then right click (Control+click on a Mac) and choose Insert Cut Cells.
  4. To delete a row, highlight the row number to the right, then go to Edit menu, then Delete. To delete a column, highlight the column letter on top, then choose Edit » Delete.

CAUTION: When removing student data (e.g. a late drop or a deleted assignment), it is better to move the data than to delete it.

Freeze Panes

If your course has many assignments and grades or a large number of students, it may be convenient to "freeze" the top and left so that you can always see assignment titles on the top and student names on the left. To freeze these areas.

  1. Place the cursor in the cell to the RIGHT of the last column you want to freeze (column B) and BELOW the last row you want to freeze. For instance, if the student names are in Column A and assignment rows are in Row 1, then your cursor would be in Cell B2.
  2. Once the cursor is in the correct location, select Window » Freeze Panes. You will see a dark horizontal and vertical line corresponding to the zones which have been "freezed." As the cursor moves to the far right or bottom, the frozen areas will remain static.
  3. To unlock the freeze, select Window » Unfreeze Panes.

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Contact the Webmaster (ejp10@psu.edu) for questions or comments. Material based on content prepared by Roxanne Toto and others.

Last Update: May 8, 2006