Save, print, and share without leaking private information

Wherever you want to keep a workbook, Microsoft says you do the saving from the File tab. To save an existing workbook in its current place, use Save or press Ctrl+S. To save for the first time, to save in a different place, or to make a copy, use Save As.

Microsoft's first-time Save As steps are:

1. Click File > Save As.
2. Under Save As, pick where you want to save the workbook (for example Computer, then Browse to a folder). Microsoft also describes OneDrive as a place you can pick if you use it.
3. In the File name box, enter a name.
4. Click Save.

Choose a clear name you will recognise in a week, such as hall-hours-practice-sample-only.xlsx, rather than Book1. On a shared library or council computer, save only to the location staff tell you to use, and do not leave someone else's personal information in the file.

Excel can also store AutoRecovery information while you work. Microsoft's save page says this is not the same as you saving the workbook, and you should not rely on it. Save often with Save or Ctrl+S. To confirm AutoRecovery is on: File > Options, click Save, and make sure Save AutoRecover information every n minutes is checked. That backup is a safety net for a crash or a power cut. It does not replace a file you meant to keep.

To print, Microsoft's basic-tasks page says: click File, then Print, or press Ctrl+P. Preview the pages with the Next Page and Previous Page arrows before you send anything to the printer. The preview follows your printer settings (black and white or colour). If the pages look wrong, change margins or page breaks rather than printing several wasted copies. Then click Print.

A one-week hours list should usually fit on a page if columns are not extremely wide. If a column spills onto a second almost-blank page, go back and look at the preview — do not assume the paper will “just work.”

To share a copy that looks the same on many computers, Microsoft's Office PDF help says you can save or convert to PDF from the desktop apps without extra software. For Excel on Windows it lists:

1. Select the File tab.
2. Select Save As or Save a Copy.
3. Enter a file name if needed.
4. In the Save as type list, select **PDF (*.pdf)**.
5. Optional: choose Standard (for print quality) or Minimum size (when file size matters more), and use Options if you need to control what is included.
6. Select Save.

Microsoft also warns that sharing something as a PDF is not enough to guarantee the recipient cannot edit the file. Many programs can open a PDF. A PDF is a handy snapshot, not a lock. Microsoft further notes that converting a spreadsheet to PDF drops internal links inside the sheet; external links are another matter. For this course, the practical point is simpler: a PDF still contains the words and numbers you typed. It is not a way to hide a SIN, an account number, or a home address.

Get Cyber Safe (Public Safety Canada) reminds people to be careful about information they share, even when it seems small. Their advice includes keeping private details such as a home address or phone number private, sharing only when you know why the information is needed, sharing as little as possible, and not storing sensitive details when they are not needed. Before you share anything, they suggest asking who will see it, whether it gives away sensitive information, and why it needs to be shared.

Those questions fit an Excel file as well as a social-media post. A workbook can hold many sheets, hidden rows (Lesson 8), and notes that never appear in a chart. Before you email a file, post it, or hand a USB stick to someone, do a slow check:

• Open every sheet tab, not just the one you were using.
• Look at Notes columns, header rows, and cells off to the side (a rate, a name, a comment).
• Search your eye down for a Social Insurance Number, health number, bank or card number, password, login, or a home address you would not print on a public notice.
• If the list was filtered, clear the filter and look again. Hidden rows still travel with the file.
• Ask whether the other person needs the live workbook or only a printed page or PDF of one table.
• Use sample or made-up practice numbers in this course — never a real person's pay, and never your own private identifiers “just to see how it looks.”

Skills for Success Digital includes storing files in a logical way and applying safe, responsible practices, including protecting personal information. This lesson is that habit in spreadsheet form. It is not a full privacy-law course and not a substitute for your workplace rules. When in doubt, share less, or ask the person who asked for the file which columns they actually need.

There is no video and no live instructor here. If you get stuck on Save As or Print on a library machine, ask the staff who look after that computer, and point them at Microsoft's save and print pages listed at the end of this lesson.

1. Save your practice workbook with a clear name using File > Save As.
2. Press Ctrl+S after a small change and confirm the file name is still the one you chose.
3. Open File > Print and preview the Hours sheet. You do not have to print.
4. Export a PDF of the workbook or the sheet using File > Save As > PDF.
5. Open every sheet tab and look for anything you would not put on a public notice. The sample file should contain only sample data.

If a volunteer emailed the wrong workbook — one that still had a child's health number in a hidden column — what check would have caught it? How can this group make “open every tab” a habit?

This capstone sits after Lesson 10. It pulls the course together: enter a list, write formulas, format money, save, and preview or export — without treating the numbers as real pay.

This is not a pay stub, not payroll, and not tax advice. Use sample numbers only. Do not type a real person's name, Social Insurance Number, address, or real wage.

### What to build

Add a new sheet named Capstone, or start a new workbook. Match this layout:

| | A | B | C | D | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | SAMPLE ONLY — not a real pay stub, not payroll advice, and not tax advice | | | | | 2 | Week of (sample date) | 2026-11-10 | | | | 3 | Day | Hours worked | Sample gross (CAD, example only) | Notes | | 4 | Mon | 6 | *(formula)* | Community hall setup | | 5 | Tue | 4 | *(formula)* | Office desk | | 6 | Wed | 7.5 | *(formula)* | Market stall | | 7 | Thu | 0 | *(formula)* | Day off | | 8 | Fri | 5 | *(formula)* | Library shift | | 9 | Sat | 3 | *(formula)* | Extra shift | | 10 | Sun | 0 | *(formula)* | Day off | | 11 | Total | *(SUM)* | *(SUM)* | |

Off to the side:

• F1: Sample hourly amount (CAD, example only) — not a real wage
• F2: 18 (a practice number only)

Tasks:

1. Type the labels and the seven day rows (you may copy the Hours sheet notes).
2. In C4 enter =B4*$F$2 and fill down through C10 so every row uses the same sample hourly amount.
3. In B11 enter =SUM(B4:B10). In C11 enter =SUM(C4:C10).
4. Format C4:C11 and F2 as Currency (or Number with two decimal places). Format B4:B11 as Number with one decimal place if you like.
5. Add a pale header fill and borders around A3:D11 so the list is easy to read.
6. Optional: insert a column chart of Day and Hours (A3:B10) titled Hours worked — sample only. Do not include the Total row in the chart.
7. File > Save As with a name such as capstone-hours-sample-only.xlsx.
8. Open File > Print and preview, or File > Save As > PDF (*.pdf) and open the PDF.
9. Check every sheet tab for anything you would not put on a public notice. There should be no real identifiers.

### Self-check / model answer

<details> <summary>Show the model answer</summary>

Formulas

• C4 should read =B4*$F$2 (then C5 =B5*$F$2, and so on through C10).
• B11 should read =SUM(B4:B10).
• C11 should read =SUM(C4:C10).

Results with the sample hours and the practice amount 18

| Day | Hours | Sample gross | |---|---|---| | Mon | 6 | 108.00 | | Tue | 4 | 72.00 | | Wed | 7.5 | 135.00 | | Thu | 0 | 0.00 | | Fri | 5 | 90.00 | | Sat | 3 | 54.00 | | Sun | 0 | 0.00 | | Total | 25.5 | 459.00 |

Sense-check: 25.5 hours times 18 is 459. If C11 is not 459, read each formula bar and confirm $F$2 did not shift to F3, F4, and so on.

Save and share

• The file has a clear name and you can find it again.
• Print preview (or the PDF) shows the seven days and the totals without an extra almost-blank page if you can avoid one.
• No real name, SIN, address, or real wage appears on any tab.

If you used different sample hours, your totals will differ. The method stays the same: one locked sample rate, SUM for the totals, and an honest “sample only” label.

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