Basics of Excel: Become a Pro at Excel

Basics of Excel Select Data Enter Data Formulas

Excel definition: a software program created by Microsoft that uses spreadsheets to organise numbers and data with formulas and functions. Excel is used everywhere, so knowing how to use the basics of Excel well can be of tremendous help. In this short tutorial, we will see how to do basic things efficiently. You will learn how to move, select data, enter data, & stuff like that for the basics of Excel Sheet. 

Note that in this tutorial, we won't use the mouse much because 

• You will be much faster with the keyboard
• It's actually straightforward
• People will think that you're a wizard 

Select Data

You can move around with Navigation arrow keys ↑↓←→.

And while you move, you can either use ctrl to be faster or use shift to select cells.

Here are 3 examples below to show you exactly how this works.

You can move faster with ctrl + ↑↓←→ (or ⌘ + ↑↓←→ on a Mac). With this, you jump directly to the last cell in the row/column that is not empty. It's super helpful when you have a large amount of data.

To select cells, you can use shift + ↑↓←→.

If you want to move fast and select cells simultaneously, do ctrl + shift + ↑↓←→ (or ⌘ + shift + ↑↓←→ on a Mac). This is handy to quickly select a whole table.

Enter Data

To write data, simply start typing. In the example below, I do enter enter enter then tab tab tab. Then press enters to go to the cell below, or press tab to go to the cell on the right.

By combining enter and tab, you can input data very quickly. In the following gif, I do tab enter, then tab enter. Notice that when pressing enter at the end of each line, the active cell goes directly to the beginning of the next row. 

You can easily repeat existing values by dragging them with the mouse. First, select some cells, move the mouse in the bottom right corner of the selection (called the fill handle), and drag your mouse downward. This is very useful when dealing with formulas, as we'll see later.

And you can remove data by pressing delete. You can either delete one single cell or a bunch at the same time.

Formulas

Let's try to do a straightforward formula: an addition. Type =, select one cell, type +, select another cell, and press enters to see the result. Excel is a giant calculator, so you could do any mathematical operations, like =(B3*5)/C3.

Now how to compute x+y for all the rows in the table without doing that manually? This works like magic! Select the formula, and drag it down with the mouse, as explained before.

To edit the content of any cell, just double click on it. If you do that on a formula, highlight the cells used to compute the result.

Here's a summary of what we covered

1. To move around: ↑↓←→.
2. To move faster: ctrl while driving (or ⌘ on a Mac).
3. To select data: shift while moving.
4. To enter data: enter and tab.
5. To repeat data: use the mouse in the bottom right corner and drag the selection.
6. To delete data: delete.
7. To enter a formula: type = then select the cells you need.
8. To edit a cell: double click on it.

We hope you found today’s quick and easy Excel lesson beneficial. Don’t forget to follow-ups on Social Media and subscribe to the blog to get convenient, quick tips like this and other great Excel training tips so that you can take the fear out of Excel.

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Procedure to export a text file with both comma and quote 

delimiters in Excel

Microsoft Excel does not have a menu command to automatically export data to a text file. The text file is exported with both quotation marks and commas as delimiters. For example, there is no command to automatically create a text file that contains the following data:

"Text1","Text2","Text3"

However, you can create this functionality in Excel by using a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications procedure.

You receive the following error message in Microsoft Excel. Excel does not open the workbook that you double-clicked.

An error occurred when sending commands to the program. This error indicates that some process that is running inside Excel will not let Excel close. The Excel software program includes many functions, formulas, and shortcuts that can be used to enhance its functionality.

To resolve this problem, try the following method, as appropriate, in the given order.

Method: Ignore DDE

To correct this setting, follow these steps:

Select File > Options.

Select Advanced, scroll down to the General section, and then clear the Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) check box in the General area.

Selected.

This problem may occur if the Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) check box in Excel options is selected.

When you double-click an Excel workbook in Windows Explorer, a dynamic data exchange (DDE) message is sent to Excel. This message instructs Excel to open the workbook that you double-clicked.

If you select the "Ignore" option, Excel ignores DDE messages sent to it by other programs. Therefore, the DDE message sent to Excel by Windows Explorer is ignored, and Excel does not open the workbook that you double-clicked.

What is Excel used for?

Excel is typically used to organise data and perform financial analysis. It is used across all business functions and at companies from small to large.

• The main uses of Excel include:
• Data entry
• Data administration
• Accounting
• Financial analysis
• Charting and graphing
• Programming
• Time supervision
• Task management
• Financial modelling
• Customer relation management (CRM)
• Almost anything that needs to be prepared