2. Worksheets

DEFINITION

A worksheet is a single sheet (page) of rows and columns in a workbook. A worksheet consists of all of the cells on that single sheet.

Examples of use

A workbook can contain just one, a couple or a large number of worksheets. Each worksheet is usually about a related topic.

For example, a worksheet might be set up for each month of the year or perhaps a worksheet might be used for each different department within a business. Teachers might keep a different worksheet to record test and homework marks for every class that they teach.

Accessing data across different worksheets

Data can be entered into one worksheet and then referenced by use of a formula or function within another worksheet.  When the data is changed on the first worksheet it will update across all related worksheets

For example, the closing balance for January might be picked up as the opening balance for February.  If a change is made on the January worksheet, then the opening balance on the February worksheet will automatically change.

Benefits of using worksheets

- If a value on one sheet is changed it can be changed on all the others - as mentioned above.

- Different displays can be used with different formats on each sheet - tables about different things can be individually coloured e.g. sales, expenses, taxation

- Worksheets can be hidden from other users. This can be useful where confidentiality is important, for example if each department has their own worksheet, you might not want them to see other departments' worksheets.

- Each worksheet can be set to have its own access rights so only authorised people can view, change or amend data on that sheet.

- A master worksheet can be set up which pulls values from individual worksheets. These can be used to create a summary of the key data on each worksheet. For example, total sales for each month can be summarised on the master worksheet.

- Charts can be set up on a worksheet to summarise data. Charts provide a visual representation method of data and can make it easy to analyse or compare data sets..