The cell is the fundamental building block of every spreadsheet. Before you can sort, format, calculate, or chart anything, you need to enter data correctly. This module covers every method for entering text, numbers, dates, and times — and all the techniques for editing, correcting, and filling data efficiently. Mastering these basics means you will never waste time on repetitive data entry or fight with Excel over data types.
Excel treats data differently depending on what it detects when you type. Understanding these types prevents the most common spreadsheet errors — particularly numbers being stored as text and calculations failing silently.
| Type | What It Is | Default Alignment | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Any entry Excel cannot interpret as a number, date, or formula. Cannot be used in mathematical calculations. | Left-aligned | Names, addresses, headings, product codes, descriptions |
| Numbers | Numeric values that can be used in calculations. Includes integers, decimals, negative numbers, percentages, and currency. | Right-aligned | 1500, 3.14, -250, 15%, R1 200.00 |
| Dates & Times | Stored internally as numbers (days since 1 January 1900). Displayed in a date or time format. Can be used in calculations. | Right-aligned | 15/01/2025, 01 Jan 2025, 08:30, 14:45:00 |
| Formulas | Instructions that begin with = and calculate a result from values, cell references, or functions. The cell displays the result, not the formula itself. | Depends on result type | =A1+B1, =SUM(A1:A10), =IF(B2>0,"Yes","No") |
| Key | What Happens After Confirming |
|---|---|
| Enter | Confirms entry and moves cursor down one row (default direction — see Module 2 to change) |
| Tab | Confirms entry and moves cursor right one column — ideal for entering data across a row |
| Shift+Enter | Confirms entry and moves cursor up |
| Shift+Tab | Confirms entry and moves cursor left |
| Arrow keys | Confirms entry and moves cursor in the arrow direction |
| Esc | Cancels the entry — the cell reverts to its previous content. The green ✓ and red ✕ buttons in the formula bar do the same. |
When filling a row of data across columns, use Tab between entries. When you reach the last column and press Enter, the cursor jumps back to the beginning of that row — one row down. This allows rapid row-by-row data entry without touching the mouse.
Any entry that Excel cannot recognise as a number, date, or formula is stored as text. Text cells are left-aligned by default.
Sometimes you need a number to be stored as text so Excel does not interpret it as a value — for example, employee ID numbers, phone numbers, or reference codes that start with a zero.
'0821234567. The apostrophe is not displayed in the cell — it just signals "store this as text". A small green triangle appears to flag that a number is stored as text.'8001015009087.
As you type in a column, Excel suggests a completion based on existing entries in that column. For example, if the column already contains "Cape Town", typing "Ca" will suggest "Cape Town".
Numbers are right-aligned by default in Excel. Enter them without any formatting — do not type the Rand sign, commas, or other formatting characters when entering raw values. Apply formatting separately after entry.
| Type | How to Enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Whole number | Type digits only — no spaces or commas | 1500 not 1 500 or 1,500 |
| Decimal number | Use a full stop (period) as the decimal separator | 1500.50 — Excel's decimal separator is always a period in the formula bar |
| Negative number | Type a minus sign before the number | -250 |
| Percentage | Type the number followed by the % sign — Excel stores it as a decimal (15% is stored as 0.15) | 15% → stored as 0.15 |
| Fraction | Type a 0 and a space before the fraction to prevent Excel interpreting it as a date | 0 3/4 displays as 3/4, stored as 0.75 |
| Large number in scientific notation | Excel auto-converts very large numbers to scientific notation. Widen the column or change the format to Number to display the full value. | 1.23E+09 = 1,230,000,000 |
1500 then apply the Rand currency format — do not type R1,500. If you type R1,500, Excel stores it as text and you cannot sum it.
Excel automatically converts certain text to dates: typing 1/4 becomes 1 April; typing 1-4 also becomes a date. To prevent this:
'1/4 stores it as the text "1/4"Dates and times are stored as numbers internally (days since 1 January 1900) but displayed in a human-readable format. Because they are numbers, you can subtract two dates to find the difference, or add days to a date to find a future date.
Excel recognises several date entry formats:
| You Type | Excel Stores & Displays As | Notes |
|---|---|---|
15/01/2025 | 15/01/2025 (date value) | DD/MM/YYYY — the SA standard entry format |
15-01-2025 | 15/01/2025 (date value) | Hyphens also work as date separators |
15 Jan 2025 | 15/01/2025 (date value) | Month name format — Excel recognises English month names |
15 January 2025 | 15/01/2025 (date value) | Full month name also works |
| Ctrl+; | Today's date (static) | Inserts today's date as a fixed value — it does not update tomorrow |
| You Type | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
08:30 | 08:30 AM | 24-hour format — Excel stores as a decimal fraction of a day |
14:45 | 14:45 (2:45 PM) | Hours above 12 are always PM in 24-hour format |
8:30 AM | 8:30 AM | AM/PM format also accepted |
8:30:45 | 8:30:45 AM | Hours:Minutes:Seconds format |
| Ctrl+Shift+; | Current time (static) | Inserts the current time as a fixed value — does not update |
15/01/2025 08:30dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm to control how it appears.If a date displays as a number (e.g., 45672), the cell is formatted as General or Number instead of Date. Fix: select the cell(s) → Home → Number Format dropdown → select Short Date or Long Date — or press Ctrl+1 to open Format Cells and choose a date format.
There are two ways to edit an existing cell: overwrite mode (replaces the entire content) and edit mode (changes part of the content).
| Key | Action in Edit Mode |
|---|---|
| Home | Move cursor to the beginning of the cell content |
| End | Move cursor to the end of the cell content |
| ← / → | Move cursor one character left/right |
| Ctrl+← / → | Move cursor one word left/right |
| Backspace | Delete the character to the left of the cursor |
| Delete | Delete the character to the right of the cursor |
| Shift+←/→ | Select characters to the left/right of the cursor |
| Esc | Cancel all changes and exit Edit Mode — the cell returns to its original content |
AutoFill is Excel's ability to detect a pattern from one or two cells and extend it automatically across a range. It is one of the most powerful time-saving tools in Excel.
The fill handle is the small green square at the bottom-right corner of the selected cell or range. When you hover over it, the cursor changes to a thin black crosshair (+).
| You Enter | AutoFill Produces |
|---|---|
1, 2 (two cells) | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7… (increments by 1) |
1, 3 (two cells) | 5, 7, 9, 11… (increments by 2) |
10, 20 (two cells) | 30, 40, 50, 60… (increments by 10) |
January | February, March, April, May… |
Jan | Feb, Mar, Apr, May… |
Monday | Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… |
Mon | Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri… |
Q1 | Q2, Q3, Q4, Q1… |
01/01/2025 | 02/01/2025, 03/01/2025… (increments by 1 day) |
Item 1 | Item 2, Item 3, Item 4… |
=A1*2 (formula) | =A2*2, =A3*2… (adjusts relative references) |
Text only | Copies the same text to all filled cells |
If the column to the left of your fill column already has data, double-clicking the fill handle fills down automatically to match the length of the adjacent data column — no dragging required. This is the fastest way to apply a formula to a long list.
Flash Fill is an AI-powered feature that detects patterns from your manual examples and completes the remaining cells automatically — with no formulas required. It is ideal for transforming or extracting data from existing columns.
| Column A (source) | You type in B1 | Flash Fill completes |
|---|---|---|
| Thabo Nkosi | Nkosi, Thabo | Dlamini, Ayanda / Van Rooyen, Jan |
| Ayanda Dlamini | — | (auto-detected and filled) |
| thabo@skailit.co.za | thabo | ayanda / jan (extracts username before @) |
| 0821234567 | 082 123 4567 | 073 456 7890 / 011 234 5678 (reformats phone numbers) |
| CAPE TOWN | Cape Town | Johannesburg / Durban (converts case) |
| 15/01/2025 | January 2025 | February 2025 / March 2025 (reformats dates) |
| Method | How |
|---|---|
| Keyboard | Select cell(s) → Ctrl+C to copy → click destination → Ctrl+V to paste. A moving dashed border (marching ants) confirms the copy is active. |
| Right-click | Right-click the cell(s) → Copy → right-click the destination → Paste |
| Ribbon | Home → Clipboard group → Copy → select destination → Paste |
| Drag-and-drop | Select cell(s) → hold Ctrl → hover over the selection border until cursor shows a + arrow → drag to the destination |
Almost every Excel operation starts with a selection. The faster you can select the right cells, the more efficient your workflow.
| What to Select | Method |
|---|---|
| Single cell | Click the cell — or — type its address in the Name Box and press Enter |
| Range of cells | Click the first cell → hold Shift → click the last cell — or — click and drag |
| Non-contiguous cells | Click the first cell/range → hold Ctrl → click each additional cell or range. You can format, delete, or enter data across all selections at once. |
| Entire column | Click the column letter in the header (e.g., click "B" to select all of column B) |
| Entire row | Click the row number in the header (e.g., click "5" to select all of row 5) |
| Multiple columns | Click the first column header → hold Shift → click the last column header |
| Entire worksheet | Click the Select All button (triangle in the top-left corner, above row numbers and left of column A) — or — Ctrl+A |
| Data region (current table) | Click inside a data range → Ctrl+A selects the current data region (contiguous block of data). Press Ctrl+A again to select the entire worksheet. |
| To the last data cell | Click a cell → Ctrl+Shift+End → selects from the current cell to the last used cell in the sheet |
| Named range | Click the Name Box dropdown → select the named range name → the range is selected |
| Action | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Undo | Ctrl+Z | Reverses the last action. Press repeatedly to undo multiple steps (up to 100 levels). Click the dropdown ▼ on the Undo button in the QAT to undo multiple steps at once. |
| Redo | Ctrl+Y | Re-applies an undone action. If there is nothing to redo, Ctrl+Y repeats the last action instead (very useful for applying the same formatting to multiple cells in sequence). |
| Repeat last action | Ctrl+Y or F4 | Repeats the very last action. For example: insert a row → click the next location → press F4 to insert another row without going through the menu again. |
Q1: You enter the number 0823456789 as a phone number and Excel displays it as 823456789 (drops the leading zero). Why does this happen and how do you fix it?
✓ Excel treats the entry as a number and drops the leading zero because numbers don't have leading zeros. Fix option 1: type an apostrophe before the number — '0823456789 — the apostrophe tells Excel to store it as text, preserving the leading zero. Fix option 2: select the cell first → Home → Number Format → Text → then type the number. The cell is pre-formatted as text so the leading zero is preserved.
Q2: You have a column of 200 employee names in the format "Thabo Nkosi" and you need a new column with the format "Nkosi, Thabo". How do you do this without writing a formula?
✓ Use Flash Fill. In the adjacent column next to the first name (e.g., B1), type the result manually: "Nkosi, Thabo". Move to B2 and start typing "Dlamini, " — Excel detects the pattern and shows a grey preview of all 200 results. Press Enter to accept all completions instantly. Alternatively: type B1's result, then press Ctrl+E (Flash Fill shortcut) to fill the entire column.
Q3: You enter 5/3 in a cell expecting to see the fraction five-thirds, but Excel displays it as "05 Mar" (5 March). How do you enter the fraction correctly?
✓ Excel interprets 5/3 as a date (5 March). To enter a proper fraction: type 0 5/3 (zero, space, then the fraction). The zero tells Excel it is a number, not a date. The cell displays 5/3 and stores the value 1.667. For a fraction less than 1 (e.g., three-quarters), type 0 3/4 — displays as 3/4 and stores 0.75.
Q4: You need to fill cells A1:A12 with the months January through December. What is the fastest way to do this?
✓ Type "January" in cell A1 → press Enter → click back on A1 → hover over the fill handle (small green square at the bottom-right of the cell) until the cursor becomes a thin crosshair (+) → drag down to A12. Excel detects "January" as the start of a month series and fills February through December automatically. Alternatively: type "January" in A1 → select A1:A12 → Home → Fill → Series → set Type to AutoFill → OK.
Q5: What is the difference between pressing Delete on a cell versus using Home → Clear → Clear All?
✓ Pressing Delete removes the cell's content only — any applied formatting (font colour, background colour, number format, borders) remains in the cell. If you then type new content, it appears with the old formatting still applied. Clear All removes everything — content, all formatting, comments, and hyperlinks — leaving a completely blank, unformatted cell. Use Delete for quick content removal. Use Clear All when you want a completely fresh cell with no formatting traces.
Q6: You have a formula in C1 that you want to copy down to C2:C100. What is the fastest single method to do this without dragging?
✓ The fastest method is the double-click fill handle: click C1 to select the cell with the formula → hover over the fill handle (bottom-right green square) until the cursor becomes a thin + crosshair → double-click. Excel automatically fills the formula down to C100 (matching the length of the adjacent data in column B or A). This only works if the adjacent column has data in the same rows. Alternatively: select C1:C100 → press Ctrl+D (Fill Down) — this copies C1's content to all selected cells below.