MS Office Questions for SBI CLERK

MS Word Basics

MS Word is a word processing software. SBI Clerk loves asking about its shortcut keys, default file extension, and features like Mail Merge and Track Changes. The default file extension for Word 2007 and later is .docx (older versions used .doc). Word documents open in Print Layout view by default.

• File extension: .docx (Word 2007+), .doc (older versions)
• Ctrl+B = Bold, Ctrl+I = Italic, Ctrl+U = Underline — the BIU trio
• Ctrl+Z = Undo, Ctrl+Y = Redo
• Ctrl+Home = Go to beginning of document, Ctrl+End = Go to end
• Mail Merge is used to send the same letter to multiple people with different addresses
• Track Changes (Ctrl+Shift+E) records edits made by different reviewers

MS Word Shortcut Keys — High Frequency

Shortcut keys are the single most tested area. Learn these by grouping them. Think of shortcuts as commands you shout to your computer using Ctrl or Function keys. Word has unique shortcuts that differ from Excel.

• Ctrl+F = Find, Ctrl+H = Find and Replace, Ctrl+G = Go To
• Ctrl+P = Print, Ctrl+S = Save, Ctrl+N = New document
• Ctrl+A = Select All, Ctrl+C = Copy, Ctrl+X = Cut, Ctrl+V = Paste
• F7 = Spelling and Grammar check
• Ctrl+Enter = Insert Page Break
• Ctrl+L = Left align, Ctrl+E = Centre align, Ctrl+R = Right align, Ctrl+J = Justify

MS Excel Basics

MS Excel is a spreadsheet software used for data and calculations. SBI Clerk tests Excel heavily — especially functions, cell references, file extensions, and shortcuts. The default file extension is .xlsx (older: .xls). An Excel file is called a Workbook, and each tab inside is a Worksheet. By default, Excel opens with 1 worksheet (Excel 2013 onwards), earlier versions had 3 sheets.

• File extension: .xlsx (Excel 2007+), .xls (older)
• A cell is identified by Column letter + Row number, e.g. B3 means Column B, Row 3
• Formula always starts with = sign in Excel
• SUM, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN, COUNT are the most tested functions
• Ctrl+Home = go to cell A1, Ctrl+End = go to last used cell
• F2 = Edit the selected cell directly

MS Excel Shortcut Keys and Cell Reference Types

Excel has absolute, relative, and mixed cell references. This is a favorite tricky question. A relative reference like A1 changes when you copy a formula. An absolute reference like $A$1 stays fixed no matter where you copy. Mixed reference like $A1 or A$1 fixes only one part. The dollar sign locks the reference.

• Relative reference: A1 — changes when copied to another cell
• Absolute reference: $A$1 — never changes, dollar locks both row and column
• Mixed reference: $A1 locks column only, A$1 locks row only
• Ctrl+; inserts current date, Ctrl+Shift+; inserts current time
• Alt+Enter adds a new line within the same cell
• Ctrl+Shift+L = Toggle AutoFilter on/off

MS PowerPoint Basics

PowerPoint is a presentation software. Each page is called a Slide, not a page or sheet. The default file extension is .pptx (older: .ppt). SBI Clerk usually asks about view types, slide layouts, and a few shortcuts. Normal View is the default editing view. Slide Show view (F5) plays the presentation from the first slide, Shift+F5 plays from current slide.

• File extension: .pptx (2007+), .ppt (older)
• F5 = Start slide show from beginning, Shift+F5 = from current slide
• Ctrl+M = Insert new slide, Ctrl+D = Duplicate selected slide
• View types: Normal, Slide Sorter, Reading View, Slide Show, Notes Page
• Slide Sorter view is best for rearranging multiple slides at once
• Default slide layout is Title Slide for the first slide, Title and Content for rest

MS Office Common Features and File Extensions Summary

Some features are common across all Office applications. Knowing file extensions is a guaranteed 1-mark question. Also remember: .pdf is not an MS Office native format but Office can save as PDF. MS Access is database software with .accdb extension. MS Outlook is for emails.

• Word: .docx | Excel: .xlsx | PowerPoint: .pptx | Access: .accdb
• Template extensions: Word .dotx | Excel .xltx | PowerPoint .potx
• Ctrl+O = Open, Ctrl+W = Close, Ctrl+F4 = Close window — works in all Office apps
• Office Button (2007) or File Tab (2010 onwards) contains Save, Open, Print, etc.
• The Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) is the small toolbar at the top-left for frequent commands
• Ribbon is the tabbed menu bar — tabs include Home, Insert, Page Layout, Review, View

• Confusing .doc with .docx — exam asks specifically for modern versions. Always go with .docx for Word 2007 and later unless question specifies older version.
• Thinking COUNT in Excel counts all cells including text. COUNT only counts numeric values. COUNTA counts everything including text.
• Mixing up F5 and Shift+F5 in PowerPoint. F5 always starts from slide 1, Shift+F5 starts from the current slide you are on.
• Forgetting that Excel formulas must start with = sign. Writing SUM(A1:A5) without = is plain text, not a formula.
• Confusing Redo (Ctrl+Y) with Repeat. Both use Ctrl+Y in Word but they behave differently depending on context — exam may give scenario-based options.

• BIU shortcut trio for Word: Bold-Italic-Underline = B-I-U = Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U. Remember as the word BIU sounds like Buy You.
• File extension rule: add x for modern Office. doc becomes docx, xls becomes xlsx, ppt becomes pptx. The x stands for XML format introduced in 2007.
• Dollar sign in Excel locks like a padlock. $A$1 = full padlock (both locked). $A1 = column padlocked only. A$1 = row padlocked only.
• FHPW for Ribbon tabs common order: File-Home-Insert-Page Layout-Formulas (Excel) or References (Word)-Review-View. Remember FHIPReV = File Home Insert Page-layout Review View.

• SBI Clerk typically asks 2-3 questions on MS Office shortcuts. Focus on Word and Excel shortcuts first — they appear more than PowerPoint.
• File extension questions are almost always in the paper. Memorize all four: docx, xlsx, pptx, accdb. A trick option is .mdb which is the old Access extension.
• Excel function questions sometimes show a formula and ask what it returns. Practice mentally evaluating SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, MIN — no calculator needed.
• Questions about view types in PowerPoint and Word appear occasionally. Remember: Slide Sorter in PPT, Print Layout in Word, Normal view in Excel.
• Recent SBI Clerk papers have asked about the Ribbon tabs and where features are located — for example, Mail Merge is under the Mailings tab in Word, not under Insert or Review.