Columns, rows, and cells

Columns, rows, and cells

Worksheets are divided into “columns” “rows” and “cells”.

That’s the grid you see when you open up a workbook.

Columns, rows, and cells

1. “Columns” go from top to bottom on the worksheet, vertically. Each “column” has an alphabetical heading at the top.
2. “Rows” go across the worksheet, horizontally. Each row also has a heading. “Row “headings are numbers, from 1 through 1,048,576.

The alphabetical headings on the columns and the numerical headings on the rows tell you where you are in a “worksheet” when you click a “cell”.

The headings combine to form the cell address. For example, the cell at the intersection of column A and row 3 is called “cell” A3. This is also called the cell reference.

Workbooks and worksheets

Workbooks and worksheets

When you start Excel, you open a file that’s called a "workbook".

Each new workbook comes with three "worksheets" into which you enter data.

Shown here is a blank worksheet in a new workbook

1. The first "workbook" you’ll open is called Book1. This title appears in the bar at the top of the window until you save the workbook with your own title.

2. Sheet tabs appear at the bottom of the window. It’s a good plan to rename the "sheet" tabs to make the information on each sheet easier to identify.