What Is A Cell In Microsoft Excel

A cell in Microsoft Excel is the box where a column and a row meet in a worksheet. It holds information such as text, a number, a date or a formula. Each cell has an address, such as A1, so you can find it, edit.

How to identify a cell in Excel

In Excel's default reference style, columns have letters across the top of the worksheet and rows have numbers down the side. A cell address combines the column letter with the row number: A1 is in column A, row 1; B2 is in column B, row 2.

Click a cell to make it the active cell. Its border is highlighted, and its address appears in the Name Box beside the formula bar. The formula bar lets you view or edit the cell's contents, including a formula when the cell itself displays a calculated result.

A worksheet is one sheet of cells within an Excel file. The file is called a workbook and can contain multiple worksheets. An address such as A1 identifies a location on the current sheet; another sheet has its own A1.

How a cell differs from a range

A range is a group of cells. For example, A1:A5 means the cells from A1 through A5, including both endpoints. A1:C3 describes a rectangular block covering columns A to C and rows 1 to 3.

To select a rectangular range, click its first cell and drag to its last cell. You can then format, copy or use the selected cells in a calculation together.

What you can put in a cell

A cell contains a value or a formula. Common entries include:

• Text: labels such as Item, Department or January.
• Numbers: quantities, prices and other values used in calculations.
• Dates and times: entries that Excel recognises and can display using date or time formats.
• Formulas: expressions beginning with an equals sign, such as =A1+B1.

A function is a built-in operation used within a formula. For example, =SUM(B2:B5) adds the numeric values in that range, while =AVERAGE(B2:B5) calculates their average.

For a simple list, give each column a heading and put one type of information in each column. Keeping a product name, quantity and price in separate cells makes the numbers easier to calculate and the records easier to sort.

Enter and edit data in a cell

1. Click the cell where you want to enter information.
2. Type your text, number or formula.
3. Press Enter to confirm the entry. Tab confirms it and normally moves the selection to the right.
4. To edit the existing entry, double-click the cell or select it and edit its contents in the formula bar.

Typing while a cell is selected replaces its contents. If you only need to change part of an entry, enter editing mode first. Press Escape to cancel an edit before confirming it.

To copy an entry, select the cell, choose Copy, select the destination and choose Paste. When copying formulas, check their references because they may adjust to the new location.

Use cells in a simple calculation

Try a quantity-and-price calculation in a blank worksheet:

1. Enter Quantity in A1, Unit price in B1 and Total in C1.
2. Enter 3 in A2 and 12 in B2.
3. Select C2, type =A2*B2 and press Enter.
4. Check that C2 displays 36, then change A2 to 4. With automatic calculation enabled, C2 updates to 48.

The asterisk means multiplication. Referring to A2 and B2 lets the formula use the values stored in those cells, so you can change an input without rewriting the calculation.

Choose references that copy correctly

References control which cells a formula uses. The dollar sign fixes a column, a row or both when you copy the formula, as explained in Microsoft's guide to cell references.

Relative references adjust

A2 is a relative reference. If C2 contains =A2*B2 and you copy it to C3, the formula becomes =A3*B3. This suits calculations repeated down a list.

Absolute references stay fixed

$E$1 fixes both the column and the row. If E1 holds a rate that every row uses, =C2*$E$1 becomes =C3*$E$1 when copied down one row.

Mixed references fix one part

$A2 fixes column A but allows the row to change. B$1 fixes row 1 but allows the column to change. For example, copying =B2*B$1 from C2 to C3 gives =B3*B$1. Choose a mixed reference when only one part of the address needs to stay fixed.

Format cells to make information easier to read

Formatting controls how a cell looks. Use number formats for currency, percentages and dates; use font, fill colour, alignment and borders to distinguish headings from entries. Select the cells first, then use the formatting controls on the Home tab.

Number formatting usually changes the display rather than the stored value. For example, 0.25 displayed as a percentage becomes 25%. Microsoft's number formatting guide explains how to apply these formats.

If an entry appears cut off, widen the column or use Wrap Text. If a numeric cell displays a row of hash symbols, the column may be too narrow to show its value.

Practise with a small worksheet

You can find more tutorials in the Microsoft Office guides. For separate Office setup questions, there are also articles on activating Microsoft Office using Command Prompt and finding a Microsoft Office product key using Command Prompt.

Now add a second item to the practice worksheet, copy the formula from C2 to C3 and check that it uses the new row's quantity and price.