Mastering the Basics of Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel Screen

Microsoft Excel will now open as shown in the image.

Important Terminologies in Excel

Active Cell: The active cell is the one you are currently working on, indicated by thick borders. When you open Microsoft Excel, cell A1 is usually the default active cell. In this example, cell B3 is the active cell.

Name Box: This shows the name of the active cell, which is a combination of the column letter and row number, such as A1, B1, C2, C3, etc.

Formula Bar: The formula bar displays the content of the active cell. You can enter formulas and functions here after selecting a cell. To edit a cell’s content, click on it and make changes in the formula bar. To delete content in a cell, select it and press the Delete key (you can also highlight multiple cells to delete their content).

Some Formatting Elements in Excel

Below are some of the most used formatting elements in Excel:

•  Bold.
•  Italic.
• Underline.
•  Font type.
• Font size.
• Font color.

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