What Happens After You Install Excel?
Examining the Excel 2010 Workspace
Exploring File Management Fundamentals
BEFORE you can get the feel of the controls, you need to know where they are and what they do. This chapter discusses the Microsoft Excel 2010 tools and accessories.
This is really basic, but we have a moral obligation to briefly mention it anyway. You can start Excel 2010 in two principal ways:
When you start Excel for the first time, you are asked to register, or activate, the program. The easiest way to do this is by letting Excel register online, assuming your computer is connected to the Internet. (You’re going to want that—we’ll talk later.) Online registration is fast and painless and a lot easier than taking a postcard to the mailbox. It is also highly recommended. Alternatively, you can click Cancel and activate Excel later by clicking the File tab, clicking Help, and clicking Activate. You have to go through the activation process at some point—you can start Excel 50 times without activating it before the program stops being cooperative. After activation is complete (it takes only a few seconds), click the File tab and click Help to display a screen similar to the one in Figure 2-1.
You might have qualms about any kind of owner registration, but with software it’s really a good idea—trust us. When you register, you’re automatically in the loop for fixes (there will certainly be a or service pack available within a year or so), updates, and “special offers.” Registering a garden tool, on the other hand, may not be worth the annoyance of registering, but if you essentially get a new tool for free in a few months, you just might want to go for it. You won’t see too many upgrades for weed whackers, of course, but with software you can rely on getting an upgrade or update of some kind.
Microsoft service packs begin to appear a year or so after the most recent software version is released. Microsoft usually releases at least one service pack for each new version of Office and Excel and often releases more than one for Windows. Service packs comprise good bits of software code that replace bad bits, circumvent errors, or otherwise intercept known problems. These updates might even activate new features that were “hidden” because they were only partially implemented when the software finally had to ship.
Service packs are always free, but they are not very well advertised. If your computer is connected to the Internet, here’s the easiest way to keep your Office software current (and you get the latest updates for Windows as well). Click the File tab, and then click Help. Clicking Check For Updates under Tools For Working With Office opens your browser, connects you to update.microsoft.com, and displays any updates that are available for Office, Windows, and other Microsoft products you have installed. You can take care of business right away, as shown in Figure 2-2.
