BTA3O1                      Unit 2b: Spreadsheets


Activity 7: Scroll Bars

MS Excel offers a variety of functions and graphing options. Let's investigate and combine some of them. One interesting item is the scroll bar effect. It allows the user to change values without keying them in. At the same a linked graph can reflect the changing input. To create this effect follow these instructions:

• Click on View, Toolbars, Forms
• Select the scroll bar object
• Draw it with your mouse
• Right click the scroll bar object and select Format Control
• Input minimum, maximum, incremental and page change values
• Also link to a cell to display the changing values when the user scrolls
• Create a graph to visually display the user inputs

Click on this example to see what's possible: Car Loan Spreadsheet.Now the real work! Devise a spreadsheet that will demonstrate this and other functions. For ideas, go to this Microsoft site to download and view some business spreadsheets. If the spreadsheets don't download (due to security reasons), consider these ideas from the financial functions of Excel:

• RATE: find the interest rate for a period for an investment
• ISPMT: returns the interest paid during a period
• FV: finds the value of an investment over a period of time
• PV: finds the current value of an investment received in the future