Cells, rows, columns and the Name Box

In this lesson

1. 1. What a cell is

   The small boxes in Excel are called cells.

   Each cell holds one thing: a number, a word, a date or a formula.

   Here, one cell holds the word Jan. The cell next to it holds 1,200.

2. 2. Columns, rows and addresses

   Columns go down the sheet. They have letters: A, B, C.

   Rows go across the sheet. They have numbers: 1, 2, 3.

   Every cell has an address. It is the column letter and then the row number.

   The cell you clicked is in column B and row 3. Its address is B3.

3. 3. The Name Box

   The Name Box is the small box above column A.

   It shows the address of the cell you selected. Now it shows A4.

4. 4. Jump to a cell

   You can also type an address in the Name Box.

   Excel then jumps to that cell. This helps a lot in big sheets.

5. 5. Ranges

   A group of cells is called a range.

   We write a range as the first cell, a colon, then the last cell.

   B2:B5 means all the cells from B2 down to B5.

6. 6. Try it yourself

   Now do it without help.

Part of Excel Essentials. Short lessons with practice in a real spreadsheet, checked as you go.