Introduction

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• State the differences between New, Open, Close, Save, and Save As
• Create a workbook
• Save a workbook
• Open a workbook
• Close a workbook

Understanding file terms

The File menu contains all of the operations that we'll discuss in this lesson: New, Open, Close, Save, and Save As.

New

This is used to create a new workbook.

Open

This is used to open an existing file from a floppy disk or hard drive of your computer.

Close

This is used to close a spreadsheet.

Save As

This is used to save a new file for the first time or to save an existing file with a different name.

Save

This is used to save a file that has had changes made to it. If you close the workbook without saving it, any changes that were made will be lost.

Creating a workbook

A blank workbook is displayed when Microsoft Excel is first opened. You can type information or design a layout directly in this blank workbook.

To create an Excel workbook:

• Choose File New from the menu bar.
  
  
• The New Workbook task pane opens on the right side of the screen.
  
  
• Choose Blank Workbook under the New category heading.
• A blank workbook opens in the Excel window. The New Workbook task pane is closed.

Saving a workbook

Every workbook created in Excel must be saved and assigned a name to distinguish it from other workbooks. The first time you save a workbook, Excel will prompt you to assign a name through the Save As operation. Once assigned a name, any additional changes made to the text, numbers, or formulas must be saved using the Save operation.

To save a new workbook:

• Choose File Save As from the menu bar.
  
  
• The Save As dialog box appears.
• Click the Save In: drop-down menu, and locate where the file will be saved. Choose 3 1/2 Floppy (A:) to save the file to a floppy disk or Local Disk (C:) to save the file to your computer.
• Type a name for your file in the File Name: box.
• Click the Save button.
  
  

To save changes made to an existing workbook:

• Choose File Save from the menu bar, or
  
  Click the Save button on the Standard toolbar.

If you're saving the file for the first time and you do not choose a file name, Microsoft Excel will assign a file name for you.

It's a good idea to save frequently when working in a spreadsheet. Losing information is never fun! You can quickly save your spreadsheet by using the quick-key combination Ctrl + S.

Opening a workbook

You can open any workbook that has previously been saved and given a name.

To open an existing Excel 2003 workbook:

• Choose File Open from the menu bar.
  
  
• The Open dialog box opens.
  
  
• In the Look in list, click the drive, folder, or Internet location that contains the file you want to open.
• In the folder list, open the folder that contains the file. Once the file is displayed, click the file you want to open.
• Click the Open button.

Closing a workbook

To close an existing Excel 2003 workbook:

• Choose File Close from the menu bar. The workbook in the Excel window is closed.
  
  

Excel 2003 will prompt you to save information if anything new has been typed between the last save and the time you close the file.