To select a group of contiguous cells, click in one corner cell and drag the mouse to the opposite corner.To select one or more columns of cells, click on the column letter(s).To select one or more rows of cells, click on the row number(s).There are a variety of ways to select cells in an Excel spreadsheet: Press the Enter key to move to the cell immediately below the current cell, and press the Tab key to move one cell to the right. The arrow keys can be used to move left, right, up, and down from the current cell. For more information, see Excel: Managing Workbooks and Worksheets. Worksheet names are displayed on tabs at the bottom of the workbook. New workbooks, when created, contain three worksheets by default. The Formula Bar displays the contents of the selected cell which may be a number, text, or formula.Ī workbook is a collection of worksheets. The beginning of the Formula Bar can be seen in the area above Column D on our worksheet. Notice that the column letter (C) and the row number (2) change color. In our spreadsheet above, the selected cell is C2. The Name Box is located in the area above Column A, and displays the cell reference of the selected cell - the cell where the cursor is resting. Structure of a Microsoft Excel Worksheet (Spreadsheet) For example, the formula to add the contents of cells B2 and B3 is: =B2+B3. And cells in the first column are A1, A2, A3, etc.Ĭell references are often used in math formulas or functions. Each cell has an address or a cell reference: cells in Row #1 are A1, B1, C1, and so on. The column names are letters of the alphabet starting with A, and rows are numbered chronologically starting with one. The Excel Worksheet (Spreadsheet) and WorkbookĪn Excel worksheet, or spreadsheet, is a two-dimensional grid with columns and rows. When you are ready to write math formulas, see Excel Math Basics. But the power of Excel is its ability to perform mathematical calculations and other functions. Microsoft Excel is a program that allows the user to enter data in rows and columns, similar to a Microsoft Word table.
How to Lock Cells and Protect a Spreadsheet.We encourage you to open the Excel program and take the steps we outline below in your own worksheet. We'll tell you everything you need to know to get started using Microsoft Excel. We'll also learn how to enter data into cells, move and copy data, propagate cell contents, and more. Read our disclosure policy to learn more. ○ This tutorial contains affiliate links.