The contents of a cell in Excel can be very diverse. It can be simple data that is stored in cells, or attributes that are responsible for the appearance. In this lesson, you will learn about the three main types of data that an Excel cell can store, as well as how to enter, delete, and edit content in it.
Any information you enter into an Excel worksheet is stored in a cell. Each cell can contain certain data, including text, formatting, formulas, and functions.
- The text. A cell can contain text consisting of letters, numbers, or dates.
- formatting attributes. A cell can contain formatting attributes that affect the display of letters, numbers, or dates. For example, percentages might look like 0,15% or 15%. With formatting attributes, you can even change the background of a cell.
- Formulas and functions. A cell can contain formulas and functions that allow you to calculate different values. In our example, the formula SUM(B2:B8) adds up the values from the range B2:B8 and displays the result in cell B9.
Entering content into an Excel cell
- Click on a cell to select it.
- Enter data in the highlighted cell, then press Enter on your keyboard. The content will appear in both the cell and the formula bar.
You can enter and edit data directly in the formula bar. Sometimes it is even more convenient, especially when you have to work with a large amount of information.
Removing content from an Excel cell
- Select the cell containing the data you want to delete.
- Press the Delete or Backspace key on your keyboard. The content will be removed.
The Delete key allows you to delete values from all selected cells at once. The Backspace key only clears the active cell.