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Create a class list in Excel
 

Microsoft Office Excel 2003 is a very useful and powerful tool that has numerous classroom applications. At the start of the school year, you can create a spreadsheet that contains a class list of your students that can make many tasks easier. These tasks include tracking equipment, collecting money, printing labels, recording grades, and customizing letters.

Creating a new class list

The first step in using Excel to make many of your classroom tasks easier is to create your class list. You can adjust the width of your columns or the height of your rows so that the information you enter fits in the cell.

ShowTo adjust your column width

Point to the line between two column headings. When the pointer becomes a double-headed arrow, drag the pointer to the right until your column is the width that you want. You can also double-click the line between two column headings to make the column fit the width of the information you entered in the cell to the left of the line.

To create column headings for your class list

  1. Click cell A1, and type Last Name.
  2. Click cell B1, and type First Name.
  3. Continue labeling each column with the type of information you need to add to your class list, such as Address, Phone Number, or E-Mail Address. You can format the text in any cell by clicking the cell and then clicking the format you want on the Formatting toolbar.

To enter information into a class list

  1. Click cell A2, and type the last name of your first student.
  2. Press the TAB key to move to cell B2, and type the first name of your first student.
  3. Continue entering the rest of your student names and the other information you want in your class list. You can use the ENTER key to move to the cell below the one you are in, and you can use the arrow keys to move up or down to different cells or to move right or left to different cells.
  4. After you enter the class list information, make sure that you save the file.

Sorting data

You can use the Sort function to sort your class list. To sort the names that you have entered, first select all the information you entered. To select the information, click the upper-left cell and then drag the pointer until all of the cells are selected.

  1. On the Data menu, click Sort.
  2. To sort your list by last name, under Sort by in the Sort dialog box, select Last Name, and click Ascending. Under My data range has, make sure that you select Header row. Your header row is not included in your data sort.
  3. Click OK to sort your class list data.

Now that you have entered your student names in your Excel file, you can use this data for different functions. You can create labels, or you can create custom letters with your students' names.

ShowTo create labels with student names

  1. Save and close the Excel file that contains your class list.
  2. Start Microsoft Office Word 2003.
  3. On the Tools menu, select Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge.
  4. In the Mail Merge task pane, under Select document type, select Labels and then click Next to continue.
  5. Under Select starting document, click Change document layout. Under Change document layout, click Label options to select the size and type of labels to print. In the Label Options dialog box, select the type of label that you want to print and then click OK. For more information about selecting a label, see Word Help. Click Next.
  6. Under Select recipients, click Use an existing list and then click Browse under Use an existing list.
  7. In the Select Data Source dialog box, find the folder in which you saved the Excel file that contains your class list, click the name of your file, and then click Open.
  8. In the Select Table dialog box, locate and click your list. Make sure that the First row of data contains column headers check box is selected, and then click OK.
  9. In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, click Select All to create a label for every student in your class list. If you want to include only selected recipients in the mail merge, use the check boxes to add or remove students from your mail merge. When you are finished, click OK. In the task pane, click Next.
  10. Under Arrange your labels, select Address block. In the Insert Address Block dialog box, under Specify address elements, click the information you want to include on your labels, and select the format you want to use. Under Preview, the information is displayed as it will appear on your labels. Click OK.
  11. In the Mail Merge task pane, under Replicate labels, click Update all labels to copy the layout of the first label to the other labels on the page. Click Next.
  12. Under Preview your labels, you can use the arrow keys to preview your label for each student. Under Make changes, you can modify your recipient list. Click Next when you have finished previewing your labels.
  13. Under Complete the merge, you can select Print to print all of your labels, or you can select Edit individual labels if you need to make more changes to any of the labels.
  14. To print your label, click Print. In the Merge to Printer dialog box, select the labels that you want to print. Click OK.
  15. In the Print dialog box, click OK to print the letters. Save the file so that you can print more of these labels later.

ShowTo create custom letters with student names

  1. After you enter your students' information into your class list, save and close the Excel file that contains your class list.
  2. Start Microsoft Office Word 2003.
  3. Type the letter that you want to customize with student names. Remember, if your class list contains other data such as grades, assigned equipment, or money collected, you can also add this information to the letter.
  4. On the Tools menu, select Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge.
  5. In the Mail Merge task pane, under Select document type, select Letters and then click Next to continue.
  6. Under Select starting document, select Use the current document. Click Next.
  7. Under Select recipients, click Use an existing list and then click Browse under Use an existing list. Click Next.
  8. In the Select Data Source dialog box, find the folder in which you saved the Excel file that contains your class list, click the name of your file, and then click Open.
  9. In the Select Table dialog box, locate and click your list. Make sure that the First row of data contains column headers check box is selected, and then click OK.
  10. In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, click Select All to add both the first name and last name to the label. If you want to include only selected recipients in the mail merge, click Edit recipient list and select the recipients who you want to include. When you are finished, click OK. In the task pane, click Next.
  11. Now you need to add fields to your letter. Fields are placeholders that you insert in the main document at locations where you want unique information to appear. Fields appear in your document within double angle brackets; for example, «AddressBlock». To add the first and last names of your students, move your pointer to the place where you want to insert the name, and then under Write your letter in the task pane, click More items. In the Insert Merge Field dialog box, select the field that you want and click Insert. You can add multiple fields to your letter. Remember to add a space in between the first and last name fields and between any other fields that you insert next to each other.
  12. When you are finished entering fields, on the task pane, click Next to preview your letters.
  13. Under Preview your letters, you can use the arrow keys to preview your letter for each student. Under Make changes, you can modify your recipient list, or you can click Exclude this recipient if you don't want to include a student in a mailing. Click Next when you have finished previewing your letters.
  14. Under Merge, you can select Print to print all of your letters, or you can select Edit individual letters if you need to make more changes to any of your letters.
  15. To print your letters, click Print. In the Merge to Printer dialog box, select the letters you want to print. Click OK.
  16. In the Print dialog box, click OK to print the letters.
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