In this chapter you’ll learn how to enter data in Excel through the keyboard and by importing data from text fi les and databases. You’ll learn how to create Excel formulas and functions to perform simple calculations. You’ll be introduced to cell references and learn how to refer to cell ranges using range names. Finally, you’ll learn how to examine your data through the use of queries and sorting
Data Entry
One of the many uses of Excel is to facilitate data entry. Error-free data entry is essential to accurate data analysis. Excel provides several methods for entering your data. Data sets can be entered manually from the keyboard or retrieved from a text fi le, database, or online Web sources. You can also have Excel automatically enter patterns of data for you, saving you the trouble of creating these data values yourself. You’ll study all of these techniques in this chapter, but fi rst you’ll work on entering data from the keyboard.
Entering Data from the Keyboard
To practice entering data, you’ll insert this information into a blank worksheet. To enter data, you fi rst select the cell corresponding to the upper left corner of the table, making it the active cell. You then type the value or text you want placed in the cell. To move between cells, you can either press the Tab key to move to the next column in the same row or press the Enter key to move to the next row in the same column
Conclusion
Now that you’ve entered your first data set, you’re ready to work with data formats. Data formats are the fonts and styles that Excel applies to your data’s appearance. Formats are applied to either text or numbers. Excel has already applied a currency format to the sales data you’ve entered. For example, if you click cell B2, note that the value in the formula bar is 8995, but the value displayed in the cell is $8,995. The extra dollar sign and comma separator are aspects of the currency format.
