Excel Spreadsheet Data
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Excel Spreadsheet Data
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Excel Spreadsheet Data
Excel Spreadsheet Data
Excel Spreadsheet Data | Microsoft Excel XP | Page 3 |
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What's on this page... Entering Text Entering Values Entering the CURRENT Date or Time Entering Date & Times Entering Fractions Entering the Same Data into a Range of Cells |
Entering Dates And Times
To Excel, a date or a time is simply a value in Excel spreadsheet data, but it's formatted to appear as a date or a time.Excel's system for working with dates uses a serial number system. The earliest date that Excel understands is January 1, 1900 (which has a serial number of 1). January 2, 1900, has a serial number of 2, and so on. This system makes it easy to deal with dates in formulas.
Normally, you don't have to be concerned with the Excel serial number date system. You can simply enter a date in a familiar format, and Excel takes care of the details.
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WARNING! |
If you plan to use dates in formulas, make sure that the date you enter is actually recognized as a date (that is, a value). Otherwise, your formulas will produce incorrect results. Excel is quite smart when it comes to recognizing dates that you enter into a cell, and it recognizes most common date formats. But its not perfect. For example, excel interprets the following entries as text, not dates: ►June 1 1998 ►Jun-1 1998 ►Jun-1/1998 |
Excel works with times by using fractional days. When working with times, you simply extend Excels date serial number system to include decimals. For example, the date serial number for June 1, 1998, is 35947. Noon (halfway through the day) is represented internally as 35947.5.
The best way to del with times is to enter the time into a cell in a recognized format. Here are some examples of time formats that Excel recognizes.
| When you enter this... | Excel interprets it as... |
| 11:30:00 am | 11:30 a.m. |
| 11:30:00 AM | 11:30 a.m. |
| 11:30 pm | 11:30 p.m. |
| 11:30 | 11:30 a.m. |
Entering Fractions
To enter a fraction as Excel spreadsheet data into a cell, leave a space between the whole number part and the fractional part.For example, to enter the decimal equivalent of 6 7/8, follow these steps:
| 1. | Type 6. |
| 2. | Type a space. |
| 3. | Type 7/8. |
| 4. | Press ENTER. |
Excel enters 6.875 into the cell and automatically formats the cell as a fraction.
If there is no whole number part (for example, 1/8), you must enter a zero and a space first, like this: 0 1/8
Entering The Same Data Into A Range Of Cells
If you need to enter the same data (value, text or formula) into multiple cells, your first inclination may be to enter it once and then copy it to the remaining cells.But... there's always another way to do it.
To enter the same data into a range of cells, follow these steps:
| 1. | Select all the cells that you want to contain the data. |
| 2. | Enter the value, text, or formula into one cell. |
| 3. | Press CTRL + ENTER. |
The single entry is inserted into each cell in the selection.
| Back to Top |
| See also... Enter Text | Enter Values | Enter Current Date & Time |
| Return to Excel XP from Excel Spreadsheet Data |
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