Datasheet

numbers or calculable formulas. Text entries are those that consist of all letters or a
combination of letters, numbers, and punctuation on which Excel can perform no sort
of calculation.
Anything you enter into a cell or cell selection is immediately analyzed as either being
a number or text entry. Because the general Excel Worksheet template automatically
left-aligns all text entries and right-aligns all numeric ones, you can often tell immedi-
ately how your entry has been classified by noting how it’s aligned in its cell.
When you make a numeric entry in a worksheet, Excel not only right-aligns the value in
its cell but also assigns the General number format to it. In this format, only significant
digits are displayed. This means that all trailing zeros are dropped. Also, if the number
you enter contains more that can fit within the current column width, Excel automati-
cally converts the value to scientific notation (as in 5.00E+09 for 5,000,000,000).
Sometimes you have to override Excel’s number/text assignment in order to obtain the
desired cell entry. The most famous example of this is a ZIP code or all numeric part or
item number that begins with a zero, as in 00105. If you try to enter this ZIP code into a
cell simply by typing its five digits, Excel will interpret it as a numeric entry and in
assigning the General format to it, retain only the value 105 in the cell. In order to
retain the preceding zeros, you need to force the entry to be recognized as text by
typing an initial apostrophe as in '00105 (this apostrophe does not appear in the cell
although you can see it on the Formula bar).
Entering data in a single cell
Most cell entries are made by typing from the keyboard (although later versions of
Excel do support voice and ink text entry). After typing the characters, which appear
both in the cell and on the Formula bar, you must still complete the entry.
Anytime prior to completing the cell entry, you can press the Esc key to clear the cell
of all characters you typed there.
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Part I: Creating Spreadsheets
Q. How many methods can I use to complete
an entry in the current cell?
A. You should be familiar with all these
methods:
• Click the Enter box on the Formula bar
(the one with the check mark).
• Press the Enter key.
• Press one of the arrow keys.
• Press Tab, Shift+Tab, Home, Ctrl+Home,
Page Up, Page Down, Ctrl+Page Up,
Ctrl+Page Down, or any of the other
cursor-movement key combinations
Click the Enter box on the Formula bar when you want the cell cursor to remain in the cell
where you just made the entry (so that you can format it in some fashion). Press Enter
when you want to move the cell cursor to the next row in order to make another entry.
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