Microsoft® Excel® 2010 Inside Out

Techniques for Entering Data

Excel accepts two types of cell entries: constants and formulas. Constants fall into three main categories: numeric values, text values (also called labels or strings), and date/time values. Excel also recognizes two special types of constants, called logical values and error values.

Note

For more about date/time values, see Chapter 15.

Making Entries in Cells and in the Formula Bar

In “classic” versions of Excel, all entries and edits happened only in the formula bar; later, in-cell editing was added, and subtle behavioral differences still remain between these modes of entry.

To make an entry in a cell, just select the cell, and start typing. As you type, the entry appears both in the formula bar and in the active cell. ...