Excel Data Management

DATA MANAGEMENT

PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY

Give your definition of the following words:

TEXT NUMBER

ENTERING DATA

There are two basic types of data that can be typed into

worksheet cells: NUMBERS and TEXT. Entering data

into a spreadsheet always involves three steps.

1. Click on the cell where you want to type the data.

2. Type your data into the cell.

3. Press Enter key to move one cell down in the

column or Tab to move one cell to the right in the

row. You use the mouse in accessing these cells.

Press the Arrow keys to move the active cell in the

direction you prefer.

ENTERING TEXT

In Excel, text is defined as letters or any

combination of numbers and letters.

Text automatically aligns to the left in a cell. If it

is too long to fit within a cell, it appears as if it

has overlapped into the next cell. When text is

entered into the next cell, the long entry will

seem as if characters are deleted. You can let

them fit the entire cell by widening the column

that contains the long entry.

ENTERING NUMBERS

Numeric entries are entries that contain nothing

but numbers.

Numbers automatically align to the right when

entered into a cell.

To indicate a negative value, a minus sign is

typed before a number or the number is

enclosed in the parentheses ( ).

You can type a period for decimal points.

Numbers can stand as independent value or

they can be used in formulas to calculate other

values.

ENTERING DATE AND TIME

Numeric entries are entries that contain nothing

but numbers.

Numbers automatically align to the right when

entered into a cell.

To indicate a negative value, a minus sign is

typed before a number or the number is

enclosed in the parentheses ( ).

You can type a period for decimal points.

Numbers can stand as independent value or

they can be used in formulas to calculate other

values.

ENTERING DATE AND TIME

When entering a date, a slash or a hyphen (/ or –)

is used to separate the parts (7/16/2009 or 16-

July-2009). When entering time, type the

numbers, a space and then “a” or “p”. If you just

enter the number, Excel will read it as time and

will automatically affix AM.

ENTERING FRACTIONS

To enter a mixed number, leave a space

between the whole number and fraction. To

enter a fraction only, type a zero first. If you

enter ¼ without the zero, Excel will interpret

the number as a date. If you type (100) to

indicate a negative number by parentheses.

Excel will display the number as -100.

ENTERING NUMBERS

FORMATTED AS TEXT

When cells are formatted for text, all cell

contents – letters, numerals or alphanumeric

combinations – are treated as text.

Information is displayed exactly as entered.

There are two ways to enter numbers as text:

Using Apostrophe Character

1. Select the cell you want to enter

information into.

2. Press [„], then type numeric information.

3. To accept the information, press Enter or

an Arrow key in the keyboard.

Using the Dialog Box

1. From the Ribbon, select the Home

command tab.

2. In the Number group, click Format Cells

and the Format Cells dialog box

appears.

3. Select the Number tab.

4. From the Category scroll list, select Text.

5. Type OK.

6. Type the desired numbers and/or text in

the cell and press Enter to accept the

text, or an Arrow to accept and go to the

next cell.

7. To force text to wrap at a specific point

in a cell, press Alt + Enter.

USING AUTOCOMPLETE TO

ENTER DATA

The AutoComplete function helps to enter

data easily. It can be used when entering

labels down a column. When you are

beginning to type text that has been entered

before, a black box containing the previous

entry will automatically appear in the cell. If

you want to re-enter the same text, press

Enter. If you are entering a different

label, continue typing and the AutoComplete

box will close.

Limitations of AutoComplete

Although AutoComplete is very helpful in

entering data, it also has some limitations.

One is that, it only works for data being

entered in columns and not for those entered

across a row, also it only applies for columns

of continuous data: as soon as a gap is left in

a column AutoComplete stops.

EXTENDING A SERIES WITH

AUTOFILL

When typing a data that starts a series such

as a day or month, AutoFill can complete the

series automatically. It works with days of the

week, months of the year or yearly quarters

such as second quarter.

1. Enter the entire word or the abbreviated

form (ex. Wed or Sep).

2. Press Enter.

3. Place the mouse pointer on the small black

box at the lower-right corner of the data cell.

The pointer turns into as small black cross

(+).

4. Drag the small black box across the cells

you want to fill. You can drag the cells

up, down, left or right.

5. Release the mouse and the selected cells

will be filled in with a continuation of your

data.

If you use AutoFill on a single value or a text

word, it will be duplicated. For example if you

use AutoFill on a cell with the word Apple, all

filled cells will contain Apple. To quickly use

the AutoFill, highlight the cell that has the

data and the cells you want to fill and then

double-click the fill-handle.

NUMBERING ROWS

AUTOMATICALLY

1. Click on Column A.

2. From the Home Tab>Cells group click on

Insert>Insert Sheet column is now Column

A.

3. In Cell A2, type the number 1.

4. Use the fill handle to drag the numbers to

the last cell number that you need.

5. The AutoFill options box appears in the low

right corner of the last cell.

6. Click the down triangle and select Fill

Series.

UNDOING AND REDOING DATA

ENTRY

Undoing. To undo any actions or correct any

mistakes you make when entering data, you

may choose Undo for the Quick Access

toolbar or simply press Ctrl+Z. to undo

several steps at once, click the arrow on the

Undo icon and select the step from which

you want to begin the Undo action.

Redoing. To redo action made after

choosing Undo, you may choose the Redo

from the Quick Access toolbar, or press

Ctrl+Y. to Redo several steps at once, click

the arrow on the Undo icon and select step

form which you want to begin the Redo

action.

QUIZ:

1. What are the two types of data that you

enter into a cell?

2. Why do dates need to be entered in a

different way from numbers and text?

3. Why do you need to insert zero before a

fraction when typing one?