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every worksheet contains thousands of
cells where different columns and rows
intersect you'll need to know how to
work with these cells in order to enter
in edit data every cell has its own name
based on its location sometimes called a
cell address in this example the cell
I've selected is where column D and row
six intersect making the cell address D
six the address also appears in the name
box above the worksheet to select a cell
just click you can even use the arrow
keys on your keyboard to navigate
between cells instead of clicking with
your mouse to select more than one cell
at a time known as a cell range click
and drag and the entire range will be
highlighted you can enter lots of things
into a cell for example all of mine
contain text but they can contain
advanced properties too like formulas
functions and formatting elements for
now I just like to show you the basics
we'll start with inserting content into
a cell this person is just confirmed
that she completed part two of the
training so I'm going to select cell f9
then type an X it appears in the cell
and in the formula bar where you can
also enter or edit the contents of your
cell in fact I'm going to take this
opportunity to change the X to a capital
X so it's consistent with the rest of
the list now for the next person Walter
although it looks like I've made a
mistake he's on the list twice both here
and here I'm just going to clear the
contents of the extra row by selecting
the cells then clicking the clear
command on the ribbon and choosing clear
contents you can also use backspace or
delete on your keyboard so let's take a
look at what that did it cleared the
contents of the cells but the row is
still there that's ok if you want to
delete the cells altogether all you have
to do is click the delete command
instead that actually removes the cells
from the worksheet causing the cells
underneath to shift up and fill in the
gap just remember that there's a
difference between clearing and deleting
cells so you don't accidentally delete
any cells that you want to keep
now I'd like to show you a way to save
time by copying and pasting content for
example I need to mark the rest of the
people who completed part two of the
training start by selecting the cell you
want then click copy on the ribbon
note the - box that appears around the
copied cell next select the cells where
you want the content to go then click
paste to access more paste options open
the drop down menu here these commands
will come in handy if you're copying and
pasting cells that contain formulas or
advanced formatting you can also get to
these commands by right-clicking in the
worksheet for example to cut and paste
select your cells then right-click and
choose cut the original content will
disappear as soon as you paste it in a
new location there's also the drag and
drop technique for moving cells from one
place to another to drag-and-drop start
by selecting your cells then place your
cursor on an outside edge as you can see
it turns into a symbol with four arrows
and a pointer now click hold and drag
the cells where you want them to go then
release your mouse there that's much
better
to mark the rest of the people who've
completed part three I'm going to use
one of my favorite techniques filling in
cells with the fill handle you can fill
vertically or horizontally by selecting
the cell you want to use then clicking
and dragging the square in the bottom
right corner the fill handle can also be
used to continue a series for example
numbers dates and other information
that's listed in sequential order see
what happens when I use the technique on
my header row it continues the series up
to part six Excel is actually pretty
good at filling in certain types of data
automatically take the new flash fill
feature flash fill can enter data for
you by picking up on simple patterns and
guessing what you plan to type in this
example we'll use the feature to enter
each person's first initial and last
name which will serve as their username
vil eventually figures out what I want
and uses the data in the first name and
last name columns to complete the series
all you have to do is press ENTER to
confirm and the data will be added to
the worksheet
finally in workbooks with lots of data I
sometimes have trouble finding a
specific word or phrase that I know is
in there somewhere the find feature can
help by searching the workbook for you
just click find and select on the ribbon
then choose find and type the word or
phrase you're looking for when you're
done click find next in the dialog box
if the word or phrase is found the cell
containing it will be selected at times
you may find that you've made a mistake
throughout your workbook or you need to
swap a certain word or phrase for
another for that you can use the replace
feature instead I actually need to
change the name of this department from
accounting to finance to continue go
ahead and click replace and it will jump
to the next instance automatically if
you want to skip the current instance
without replacing it click find next
instead alternatively to replace every
instance without having to review each
one click replace all and the entire
workbook will be updated now you know
the basics including insert and delete
cut copy and paste and other time-saving
techniques everything you need to work
with cells in Excel 2013
you