The ribbon is located in the upper part of the working window of the application and has the form shown in Figure.
The ribbon presented here contains eight standard tabs (Home, Insert, Page Layout, Formulas, Data, Review, View, and Developer), as well as one special tab, the File tab, used to make global system settings. Each standard tab consists of separate groups. Groups, in turn, contain controls. Some of them play the role of buttons, clicking on which leads to executing certain actions and commands. A large number of icons are essentially analogous to the menu. Clicking on such an icon leads to the expansion of the list of commands or submenu. In groups and tabs, the commands are selected mainly thematically, although there are some exceptions.
The contents of the Home tab are shown in Figure, and the groups of this tab are listed in the table below. The Home tab is mainly used when working with the clipboard and performing formatting.
Next after the Home tab is the Insert tab. The groups of the Insert tab are briefly described in Table below.
The tab is often used when working with graphic objects, and, first of all, it is useful when creating charts. In Excel 2007, the ability to work with graphical objects has been qualitatively expanded, and in Excel 2010, many have been significantly improved.
Table Home tab groups
| Group | Description |
| Clipboard | Group with icons for performing operations with the clipboard: deleting, copying and pasting data |
| Font | The group contains icons for adjusting font parameters: type, size, color, selection, etc. |
| Alignment | The group is intended for setting data alignment parameters in document cells |
| Number | Group for performing customization of number formats |
| Styles | A group for creating styles and applying formats, including creating conditional formatting |
| Cells | The group is designed to delete and insert rows and columns, select the height and width of cells, copy and delete worksheets, as well as performing a number of related operations |
| Editing | A group for sorting and grouping data, clearing the contents of cells and resetting formats, canceling comments, inserting functions, searching for data, etc. |
Table Insert tab groups
| Group | Description |
| Tables | Group for working with tables (as logical elements of a document) |
| Illustrations | Group with pictograms for working with images |
| Group | Description |
| Diagrams | The group contains icons of commands for inserting diagrams and working with them |
| Sparklines | The group is formed by a separate pictogram, new in the version Excel 2010. Sparklines are a symbiosis of charts and icons. More precisely, small diagrams, one cell in size, compact and informative |
| Filter | A new group in Excel 2010 that contains a Slicer icon. Slicers (new in Excel 2010) visually filter data in PivotTables |
| Connections | Group with an icon for creating hyperlinks |
| Text | Group with pictograms for working with text |
| Symbols | Group with a single pictogram for inserting symbols and formulas |
Most of the utilities implemented on the Page Layout tab are directly or indirectly related to the settings for printing documents. The truth of this statement becomes more obvious if you look at the table below, which lists the groups of the Page Layout tab.
Table. Groups of the Page Layout tab
| Group | Description |
| Topics | Group with icons of commands for selecting and using themes (predefined types of formatting and highlighting data at the document level) |
| Optionspages | Group with icons of commands for setting page parameters |
| Fit | The group contains fields for setting the scaling parameters when printing documents |
| Sheet options | Group with options for defining the parameters of worksheets (including when printing) |
| Arrange | Group with icons of commands for managing graphic objects in a document |
Even the most straightforward Excel document usually contains formulas. The formulas, in turn, use all sorts of built-in Excel functions. To work with formulas and procedures, the Formulas tab is intended. Groups of the Formulas tab are presented in the table.
The utilities, which are accessed through the Formulas tab, are widely used to create documents with non-trivial functional dependencies between cells in worksheets.
Table Formulas tab groups
| Group | Description |
| Function library | Group of command icons for accessing basic built-in Excel functions |
| Defined names | The group is designed to work with named cells, ranges and formulas |
| Formula dependencies | A group with utilities for tracking cell relationships and finding errors in formulas |
| Calculation | Group with an icon for performing calculation settings |
The Data tab is used when processing data, including data obtained from external sources. Table briefly describes the groups presented on the Data tab.
Table Data tab groups
| Group | Description |
| Getting external data | Group with a utility icon for receiving data from external sources |
| Connections | The group contains utilities for managing the system of external relations |
| Sort and filter | The group contains icons of commands for sorting and filtering data |
| Working with data | The group contains utilities for data management and data transformation |
| Structure | A group with utilities for combining data and processing them |
If add-ins are connected, the tab may also display the Analysis group. It will present relevant group add-ins (part of Excel’s capabilities becomes available only after connecting special utilities).
To check spelling, work with annotations, share and protect documents, and track editorial changes, use the utilities collected on the Review tab of the ribbon.
What groups are presented on the tab, you can find out from the table.
Table Review tab groups
| Group | Description |
| Spelling | The group contains icons of commands for checking spelling |
| Language | Group with the Translation icon to perform translation of text in a workbook |
| Notes (edit) | The group containsicons of commands used when working with comments |
| Changes | The group utilities are used to track changes in a document, to protect books and sheets, and to use them together. |
This is followed by the View tab. Tab groups contain icons of commands and menus for setting the appearance of the document.
Table Groups of the View tab
| Group | Description |
| Book view mode | Group with icons of commands for customizing the appearance of the workspace |
| Group | Description |
| Show | Group with a single icon to display the table grid, cell indexing fields, formula bar and ruler |
| Scale | Group with icons – command for selecting document display scale and view modes |
| Window | The group contains utilities for managing windows and areas |
| Macros | The group contains utilities for recording and editing macros |
In addition, with the help of the commands of the tab, the scale of the document display is selected, as well as the management of the working windows of the application is carried out.
The Developer tab is used when working with macros and other user program codes.
The groups of the Developer tab are briefly described in table.
Table Developer tab groups
| Group | Description |
| The code | The group contains icons of commands for direct work with the VBA code editor and, in particular, for recording macros |
| Add-ons | New in Excel 2010 group that contains command icons for connecting Excel add-ins |
| Control elements | The group is used to insert controls into the working document and make their settings. |
| XML | Group with utilities for using XML elements |
| Edit | The group contains the Document area icon, used to select the type of document dashboard template to display programs compatible with Microsoft Office |
The methods of working with the utilities of the Developer tab.
Dinesh Thakur holds an B.C.A, MCDBA, MCSD certifications. Dinesh authors the hugely popular