When you open Excel 2007 you will notice that there are many similar features to previous versions of Excel.  You will also notice that there are many new features that you will be able to utilize.  There are three features that you should remember as you work within Excel 2007:  the Microsoft Office Button, the Quick Access Toolbar, and the Ribbon.  The function of these features will be more fully explored below.

Microsoft Office Button
The Microsoft Office Button performs many of the functions that were located in the File menu of older versions of Excel.  This button allows you to:

• Create a new document
• Open an existing document
• Save or save as
• Print
• Send (through email or fax)
• Publish
• Close

Ribbon
The ribbon is the panel at the top portion of the document   It has eight tabs:  Home, Insert, Page Layouts, Formulas, Data, Review, View and Acrobat.  Each tab is divided into groups.  The groups are logical collections of features designed to perform functions that you will utilize in developing or editing your Excel spreadsheets. 

Commonly utilized features are displayed on the Ribbon.  To view additional features within each group, click the arrow at the bottom right corner of each group.

Home:  Clipboard, Fonts, Alignment, Number, Styles, Cells, Editing
Insert:  Tables, Illustrations, Charts, Links, Text
Page Layouts:  Themes, Page Setup, Scale to Fit, Sheet Options, Arrange
Formulas:  Function Library, Defined Names, Formula Auditing, Calculation
Data:  Get External Data, Connections, Sort & Filter, Data Tools, Outline
Review:  Proofing, Comments, Changes
View:  Workbook Views, Show/Hide, Zoom, Window, Macros
Acrobat:  Create PDF’s, Email PDF’s, review PDF’s (this is add on software that is not part of the original Microsoft Office Suite)

Quick Access Toolbar

The quick access toolbar is a customizable toolbar that contains common commands that you may want to use.  You can place the quick access toolbar above or below the ribbon.  To change the location of the quick access toolbar, click on the error at the end of the toolbar and click Show Below the Ribbon.

You can also add items to the quick access toolbar.  Right click on any item in the Office Button or the Ribbon and click Add to Quick Access Toolbar and a shortcut will be added.

Mini Toolbar
A new feature in Office 2007 is the Mini Toolbar.  This is a floating toolbar that is displayed when you select text or right-click text.  It displays common formatting tools, such as Bold, Italics, Fonts, Font Size and Font Color.