Windows Phone 8 has one of the best Office apps for smartphones, that allows you not only to view documents but also to create Word and Excel documents. We've shown how to create Word documents in a previous tutorial. In today's guide, I will show how to work with Excel spreadsheets. You will learn how to use the Office app for creating, editing, saving and sharing Excel documents. Read on to find more.
How to Create a New Excel Spreadsheet in Windows Phone 8
We'll have to first open the Office app, using its shortcut on the Start screen or its entry in the Apps list.
In the Office app, go to the recent screen. Then, tap the new button, displayed on the bottom of the recent screen.
Select Excel from the blank document section or choose one of the Excel templates listed at the bottom of the New screen.
The Excel spreadsheet editing screen is opened. You can start writing text, entering numbers and formulas.
Let's see how this is done:
How to Add Text or Numbers to an Excel Spreadsheet in Windows Phone 8
To add content to your newly created spreadsheet, first tap an empty cell to select it. Your text will be entered there but you cannot type directly into the select cell.
Next, you must tap the formula (fx) text field on the top of the editing screen.
Inside, write the text or numbers you want entered and then tap Enter.
What you typed is now shown in the cell you selected. To add new content, tap the next cell you want to use and type the text or numbers you wish, in the formula text field. Then, tap Enter.
If you want to delete the content of a cell, select it and tap the delete button on the keyboard until you delete everything that you wanted.
Then, tap Enter.
How to Add Formulas in an Excel Spreadsheet in Windows Phone 8
If you want to add a formula, first tap the cell where you want to place it. Then, tap the formula button, on the top left corner of the screen.
A long list of formulas is shown. The list is divided into different sections, each with formulas for common calculations used in various fields like: financial, date and time, maths and trig, statistical, etc.
Scroll and select the formula you want to use. You can also use the formula text field on the right, which now starts with an equal sign and start typing the formula you wan to use. The list of formulas will be filtered automatically. After you have selected the formula you want to use, you can type its parameters in the formula text field.
How to Hide the Keyboard & Undo Your Changes
At times, you will need to hide the keyboard, so that you can access other options. To hide it, tap the Back button on your Windows Phone 8 device. The keyboard is not hidden and a menu is shown on the bottom, with lots of buttons and options.
If you want to undo the last change you have made, tap the more button (with the three dots).
Then, tap undo from the list of additional options.
To redo the last action you have made, tap the more button and then redo.
How to Sum Numbers in Excel – The Quick Way
Even if you can use the formula bar to calculate the sum of a range of numbers from your spreadsheet, Excel offers a faster way of achieving this.
Start by tapping the first the empty cell from a column that contains only numbers. Or, if you prefer, tap a cell containing a number and the drag the markers until you select all the cells you want to include in the formula.
On the bottom menu, tap the autosum button.
This will open a menu listing sum and other related formulas: average, max, min and count.
On the right side of each formula, you will see the results of the calculated formula, using the cells you selected for inclusion in the calculation.
Tap the formula you want to use, and its result will be added to your Excel spreadsheet.
How to Switch to Another Worksheet in your Workbook
If you want to work on another sheet in the same Excel workbook, tap the sheets button, found on the bottom menu.
Tap the one you want to switch to.
How to Add a Chart to a Spreadsheet in Excel for Windows Phone 8
Excel also gives you the possibility to include charts in your workbook.
You have to select the range of cells containing the values you want included in the chart. Then, on the bottom menu, tap the chart button.
The Insert Chart screen is shown, with the types of charts you can add.
Tap the chart you want to use in your Excel spreadsheet. You will see the chart you selected, being added to the spreadsheet.
If you're not satisfied with it, you can erase it by tapping the delete button on the bottom menu.
To go back to the sheet and continue your editing work, use the sheets button to select it.
How to Sort a Range of Cells in Excel for Windows Phone 8
Start by selecting the cells you want to sort: tap the first cell you would like to use and then drag the markers to select the others.
Then, tap the sort button found on the bottom menu.
A new screen is shown. Here you can customize the Sort by and Sort order criteria.
Also, if you don't want to include the header row, check the Exclude header row box.
Tap more options to view and use additional criteria for sorting data.
You can now opt to sort the selected cells using up to three different criteria.
Customize the criteria you want to use and tap done.
How to Apply Filters to Numbers in an Excel Spreadsheet
If you want Excel to filter the cells displayed in a spreadsheet, tap the more button from the bottom menu.
Then, tap apply filter. A small arrow pointing to the bottom of the screen will be displayed on the header of each column in your spreadsheet.
Tap the arrow for the column you want to filter. A new screen, named Filter by, is shown.
Select the criteria you want to use to filter the cells in that column. Then, tap done to apply them or cancel if you don't want them applied. Note that your filters won't be saved when you close the workbook in the Excel app, nor will they work with cells that do not have numerical values.
How to Add a Comment to a Cell in Excel for Windows Phone 8
If you want to add a comment to a cell, first select that cell. Then, tap the more button and select comment.
Write the comment you wish to make and then tap anywhere outside the comment. The comment is stored and its cell is highlighted with a small red sign in its top-right corner.
To view the comment that you just added, tap its cell.
How to Search Inside an Excel Workbook in Windows Phone 8
To find something in an Excel workbook, tap the find button, on the bottom menu.
A search bar is shown. Start typing the word or number you want to find and tap Enter.
To jump to the next cell containing your search term, tap the next button.
How to Format Cells in Excel for Windows Phone 8
To format a cell or a range of cells in Excel, select the cell(s) and tap more. Then, tap format cell…
The format screen is shown. Here you can choose the format styles you want to use. To apply a format or color, simply tap on it.
How to Save & Share an Excel Workbook in Windows Phone 8
The saving and sharing procedures for Excel in Windows Phone 8 are the same as for for Word documents. For a detailed walkthrough, follow this link: Create, Edit, Save & Share a Document with Office for Windows Phone 8. Saving and sharing are covered in the last two sections of that article.
Excel for Windows Phone 8 is one of the best mobile apps of its kind, indifferent of the platform. When I started working with it, I thought I would only find very basic options for creating workbooks. I did not expect the ability to use advanced formulas, nor the possibility to insert charts. As you can see from this guide, you can use Excel for Windows Phone 8 and obtain some good results. If you also tried this app, don't hesitate to share your experience with us.