Cells, rows & columns

Welcome to Excel — the world's most-used tool for working with data, numbers, and lists. Before formulas and charts, you need the grid: cells, rows, and columns, and how they're addressed. This is the foundation everything else builds on, because every formula, chart, and function refers to cells by their address. Let's learn to read the grid. Let's get oriented.

The grid and cell addresses

THE SPREADSHEET GRID
- A WORKSHEET is a grid of CELLS.
- COLUMNS run vertically, labelled with LETTERS: A, B, C ... Z, AA, AB ...
- ROWS run horizontally, labelled with NUMBERS: 1, 2, 3 ...
- A CELL is one box where a column + row meet. Its ADDRESS is the column
  letter + the row number:
      A1  = column A, row 1 (top-left)
      C5  = column C, row 5
      B10 = column B, row 10
- The NAME BOX (top-left, above the grid) shows the address of the selected
  cell. The FORMULA BAR (beside it) shows/edits its contents.
- A WORKBOOK is the whole file; it can hold multiple worksheets (tabs at the
  bottom).

Each cell holds ONE thing: a number, text, a date, or a FORMULA. The cell
ADDRESS is how formulas refer to data ("add A1 and A2" = the values in those
cells). Learn to read addresses + you can read any spreadsheet.

The core idea: columns are letters, rows are numbers, and a cell's address is the two combined — A1, C5, B10. This address is how everything in Excel refers to data: a formula that "adds A1 and A2" means the values in those cells. The Name Box (top-left) shows the selected cell's address; the Formula Bar shows its contents. Learn to read addresses and you can read any spreadsheet — it's the coordinate system the whole tool runs on.

Working with cells, rows, and columns

GETTING AROUND + BASIC STRUCTURE
- SELECT a cell: click it (or use arrow keys). Its address shows in the
  Name Box.
- SELECT a whole COLUMN: click its letter header. A whole ROW: click its
  number. Everything (Select All): the corner box, or Ctrl+A.
- RESIZE: drag the border between column letters / row numbers (or
  double-click the border to auto-fit to content).
- INSERT/DELETE: right-click a column letter / row number -> Insert or
  Delete (shifts the rest). Useful when you need a new column between others.
- MOVE around fast: Ctrl+Arrow jumps to the edge of your data; Ctrl+Home
  goes to A1.
- A RANGE is a block of cells, written first:last -> A1:A10 (ten cells down
  column A), A1:C5 (a rectangle). Ranges are how formulas act on many cells
  at once (next lessons).

The grid is your workspace: data goes IN cells, organised in rows +
columns (usually: columns = fields/categories, rows = records/items).

Two practical things: you can select, resize, insert, and delete entire rows and columns (click the letter/number header; right-click to insert/delete), and a range is a block of cells written first:last — A1:A10 (a column of ten), A1:C5 (a rectangle). Ranges are how formulas act on many cells at once. The usual convention: columns hold fields/categories (Name, Date, Amount) and rows hold records/items (one row per transaction) — a layout that makes sorting, filtering, and formulas work smoothly later.

The mistake beginners make

The foundational mistake is not understanding cell addresses — treating the grid as just boxes to type in, without grasping that A1, B2 are addresses that formulas refer to. Once addresses click, formulas stop being magic. Learn to read any cell's address (the Name Box helps). The second mistake is disorganised data layout — scattering data around the sheet, mixing categories, leaving random blank rows/columns in the middle — which breaks sorting, filtering, and formulas later. Keep data in a tidy block: columns as fields (with headers), rows as records, no gaps. The third mistake is putting multiple things in one cell — e.g. "John Smith, Lagos, 5000" all in A1 — instead of separate columns (Name, City, Amount), which makes the data unusable for calculation and analysis. One piece of data per cell. Read addresses, lay data out tidily, one thing per cell — the foundation of every good spreadsheet.

Your turn

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Your turn

1. Open Excel (or Google Sheets — same concepts). Click around and watch the Name Box (top-left) show each cell's address as you select A1, C5, B10. Confirm you can predict an address before clicking.
2. Type data into a tidy block: put headers in row 1 (e.g. Name, City, Amount in A1, B1, C1) and a few records in the rows below — columns as fields, rows as records.
3. Practise structure: select a whole column (click its letter), a whole row (click its number), then insert a new column between two others (right-click a letter -> Insert). Resize a column by double-clicking its border to auto-fit.
4. Navigate fast: use Ctrl+Arrow to jump to the edge of your data and Ctrl+Home to return to A1.
5. Write a range: identify the range of your data block (e.g. A1:C5) — you'll use ranges constantly in formulas.

Key points

• A worksheet is a grid of cells: columns are letters (A, B, C...), rows are numbers (1, 2, 3...), and a cell's ADDRESS is the two combined (A1, C5) — shown in the Name Box, edited in the Formula Bar.
• The cell address is how everything in Excel refers to data — formulas, charts, and functions all point to cells by address; learn to read addresses and you can read any spreadsheet.
• You can select/resize/insert/delete whole rows and columns (click the letter/number header, right-click to insert/delete), and a RANGE is a block written first:last (A1:A10, A1:C5) — how formulas act on many cells at once.
• Lay data out tidily: columns = fields/categories (with headers), rows = records/items, no random gaps — this makes sorting, filtering, and formulas work.
• The mistakes: not understanding cell addresses (formulas stay 'magic'), disorganised data layout (breaks sorting/filtering/formulas), and multiple things in one cell (unusable for calculation) — read addresses, lay out tidily, one thing per cell.