Datasheet

Enter Information
Enter
Information
Y
ou can quickly and easily type text and
numbers into your worksheet. Most people
use Excel primarily to accomplish math-
related tasks, and supplying text labels for the
numbers you enter provides meaning to those tasks.
Although you can type information into a worksheet
in any order, some people find it easier to type labels
first, because it helps them identify the correct place
for corresponding numbers.
You enter text using your keyboard, and you can enter
numbers using either the number keys above the
letters on your keyboard or the number pad to the
right of the letters on your keyboard. To use the
numbers on the number pad, you can press the Num
Lock key.
By default, when you enter text into a cell, Excel left-
aligns it in the cell and assigns it a General format.
When you enter a number into a cell, Excel right-aligns
it in the cell and assigns it a General format. Excel also
recognizes some dates that you type; as a result, it
right-aligns them in cells and formats them as dates.
Information in a selected cell appears both in the cell
and in the Formula Bar. For more information on
formats, see Chapter 3.
1
3
•
•
•
2
Enter Text
1 Click a cell to select it.
Note: See Chapter 4 for details on selecting cells.
2 Type text.
•
As you type, the information appears both
in the cell and in the Formula Bar.
3 Click .
•
The cell pointer remains in the cell you
selected in Step 1, and the text you typed
appears left aligned.
4 Repeat Steps 1 to 3 to enter other text labels.
12
05_181706 ch01.qxp 1/31/08 9:44 PM Page 12