You may not have enough time during the organized lab time to finish this exercise. You will need to go to the U.C. user room at another time to finish it.
Prepare data and backup diskettes for the class and to become acquainted with Excel.
Read pages 1-10 and 19-23 chapter 1 of the text (Grauer & Barber).
Note: Step 5 asks you to download a local copy of the book's files from the class WEB site. See "Alternatives to step 5" for some alternative ways to obtain these files. These directions assume you have 2 blank diskettes (or at least 2 disks whose contents can be erased).
Step 1. Double click on "My Computer" icon on the desktop.
Step 2. Format your floppy diskettes. Method: Right click on the icon for "3 1/2 Floppy (A:)". Select "Format...". Type your name in the volume label box. Then click the "Start" button. The formatting operation will take a couple of minutes. Write your name, class, and "DATADISK" on the stick-on label for the disk.
Step 3. Place a different diskette in the drive and repeat the formatting process described in the previous step by pressing "Start" again. Write your name, class, and "BACKUP" on the stick-on label. This time, click on "Close" when the formatting is complete.
Step 4. Use the Windows Explorer to create a subdirectory on your floppy. Method: Select the floppy disk A in the left panel. Select "File | New | Folder". In the right hand pane, replace "New Folder" by typing "Exploring Excel 97" as the name of the subdirectory and press the enter key.
Step 5. Use Netscape to download a copy the file sddxls97.exe to the "Exploring Excel 97" subdirectory on your "DATADISK". Method: Start Netscape and open the class page. Click on "Downloadable file directory" then click on "sddxls97.exe". Save the file in the "Exploring Excel 97" subdirectory of your floppy disk.
Step 6. Install the files on your data disk: In the left panel of the Windows Explorer, click on the A drive to make it the current directory and select the "Exploring Excel 97" subdirectory. Then double click on the self-unzipping file "sddxls97.exe" in the right hand panel. When the process is complete, there should be about 50 files in the subdirectory of your floppy.
Step 7. Backup your data diskette. Method: Double click on the "My computer" icon on the desktop, right click on the A drive icon, and then select "Copy disk". Follow the directions.
Alternatives to step 5.
You may also download the sddxls97.exe file directly from the publishers
ftp site using Netscape or FTP. With your Web browser, you can follow the links
starting with "Exploring Windows Data Disks" at
http://www.bus.miami.edu/~rgrauer/
or download the file directly using the URL
ftp://ftp.prenhall.com/pub/be/grauer/exploring.win/excel97/sddxls97.exe
The last address can also be used directly by anonymous FTP.
Be sure to download the file to the "Exploring Excel 97" subdirectory
of your floppy.
Be sure that you have read pages 1-11 of our text.
Do the Hands-On Exercise 1 beginning on p. 11 of the text. Modify steps 1 - 4 and 8 as stated in the text as follows:
Step 1. You may have already completed several parts of this step.
Step 2. Skip it as you obtained the practice files in Part I.
Step 3. Begin here and complete this exercise. Depending on how your computer is set up, there may be alternate ways to start Excel. You may find an icon for Excel or Office on the desktop. Excel or Microsoft Office may be listed in the start menu.
Step 4. The Grade Book file should be in your "Exploring Excel 97" subdirectory on the A: drive.
Step 8. Before printing the spreadsheet, add the label "Prepared by" in cell B11 and your name in cell B12.
Be sure you have read pages 19-23 of the text.
Do the Hands-On Exercise 2 beginning on page 23 with these modifications:
Step 2: Be sure you do the SAVE AS and save with the specified name. This leaves the result of Exercise 1 unchanged on your disk.
Step 9: After carrying out step 9 and before step 10, insert two new lines at the top of the sheet. In the new cell A1 type your name.
Step 10: After closing Excel, backup your new files. Procedure: Use the Windows NT Explorer. Copy (drag) the files from your "DATADISK" to the harddrive ( In the UC, copy the files to the "My Documents" directory which may be the D drive.) Then replace the "DATADISK" by the "BACKUP" disk and copy (drag) the files from the harddrive to your floppy. Carefully delete the files from the harddrive.
Turn in printed output from step 8 of Hands-on Exercise 1 (Part II) and step 10 of Hands-on Exercise 2 (part III).
Label your output for easy identification.
For more information, contact James Brink
brinkje@plu.edu
Last Updated: 2/8/2000