Practice 1: Perfect Vacation Rentals | ISMG 2050: Business Problem Solving Tools

Key Topics & Core Concepts

Protected View & In-Cell Editing: Managing protected workbook modes, formula bar editing, and modifying existing labels.
Series Autocomplete via Fill Handle: Dragging month series labels across row headers using the fill pointer.
Data Entry Optimization: Entering values via AutoComplete suggestions and the Pick from Drop-down List context menu.
Structural Column Realignment: Applying label indentation, center alignment, and moving columns via Insert Cut Cells.
Paste Special Arithmetic Operations: Performing in-place cell multiplication across data arrays using Paste Special > Multiply.

Assignment Overview & Deliverables

In this practice exercise, you will edit property booking figures for Perfect Vacation Rentals. You will modify labels, generate month headers with the fill handle, rearrange table columns, apply text alignment and indenting, and apply Paste Special multiplication to scale rental day projections.

Starter File: PerfectRentals-01.xlsx (or PerfectRentals.xlsx)
Required Submission Name: [your initials]Practice01.xlsx
Target Worksheet: Rental Days by Property, First Quarter

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Open Starter & Save Workbook

Download and locate PerfectRentals-01.xlsx and open it in Excel.
Click Enable Editing if the workbook opened in Protected View.
Click the File tab and choose Save As.
Save the workbook as [your initials]Practice01.xlsx (e.g., FD_Practice01.xlsx).

Step 2: Enter and Edit Data

Click cell A1, type Perfect Vacation Rentals, and press Enter.
Click cell A7, type Eastern Vista, and press Enter to replace the entry.
Double-click cell A14 to enter Edit mode. Position the cursor, delete "Cabin", and type GetAway (the label becomes Hilltop GetAway), then press Enter.
Click cell A19, type Total Days, and press Enter.
In cell A20, type Average Days and press Enter.
Type the values shown below into cells E14:F17:
- Cell E14: 9 | Cell F14: 11
- Cell E15: 7 | Cell F15: 10
- Cell E16: 3 | Cell F16: 5
- Cell E17: 3 | Cell F17: 7

Step 3: Complete Series, AutoComplete & Drop-Down Entry

Click cell D4 (containing "Jan") and point to the Fill Handle (small square at bottom-right) until the thin black plus sign appears.
Click and drag the Fill Handle across to cell G4 to automatically populate February, March, and April.
Right-click cell B18 to display the context menu.
Select Pick from Drop-down List and click IN from the list.
Click cell C18 and type ba. When the AutoComplete suggestion "Bass Lake" appears, press Tab to accept it and advance to cell D18.
In cell D18, type 3, press Tab, type 4, press Tab, and in cell F18 type 5.

Step 4: Indent, Align, Rearrange Columns & Fill Multiplier

Select cells B5:B18 and click Increase Indent twice (Home tab > Alignment group).
Select cells A4:G4 and click Center.
Select cells C4:C18 and click Cut (Ctrl + X).
Right-click cell B4 and choose Insert Cut Cells to reposition the Location column.
Select cell G5 and type 2. Double-click the Fill Handle at the bottom-right corner of cell G5 to copy 2 down to row 20.
Select cells G19:G20 and press Delete.

Step 5: Apply Paste Special Multiply & Finalize

Select cells F5:F18 (March values) and click Copy (Ctrl + C).
Right-click cell G5, select Paste Special, select the Multiply operation option, and click OK. (Column G values are multiplied by 2).
Press Esc to remove the moving border.
Select cell A1. Verify that April values in column G reflect the doubled March counts.
Save and close the completed workbook as [your initials]Practice01.xlsx.

Practice exercises are self-paced and designed to prepare you for graded assignments.

Key Skills Evaluated

Protected View management and safe workbook saving workflows
In-cell editing, AutoComplete, and Pick from Drop-down list entry methods
Fill Handle series generation and double-click column autofill
Non-destructive column rearrangement via Insert Cut Cells
Paste Special arithmetic operations (Multiply)