MS Excel
🔒 Log in to trackWorkbook, cells and references
🔒 Log in to trackExcel is a spreadsheet program: data goes into cells at the crossing of rows and columns. A file = workbook; each tab = worksheet.
Dimensions (Excel 2007 onwards): rows 10,48,576 (2^20, numbered 1...1048576) x columns 16,384 (2^14, named A...XFD) = 17,17,98,86,928 cells per sheet. (Excel 2003 and earlier: 65,536 x 256, last column IV.)
References: a cell address = column letter + row number (C5). A range = top-left:bottom-right (A1:B5 covers 2 columns x 3 rows = 6 cells).
| Reference type | Form | What happens when copied |
|---|---|---|
| Relative | A1 | Row/column shift with the formula |
| Absolute | $A$1 | Fully locked |
| Mixed | $A1 or A$1 | Column locked, or row locked |
F4 cycles A1 -> $A$1 -> A$1 -> $A1 while editing. Cross-sheet reference: Sheet2!B4; cross-workbook adds [Book1] before the sheet name. The Name Box (left of formula bar) shows/renames the active cell; the formula bar shows the cell's real content. The fill handle (small square at the active cell's corner) copies formulas or extends series (AutoFill). Formulas always begin with =.
Detailed notes
What Excel is
Excel is the spreadsheet program of Microsoft Office. A spreadsheet is a giant grid made for numbers: marksheets, budgets, attendance, bills. The file is called a workbook and each tab inside it is a worksheet (or sheet).
The grid: rows, columns and cells
- Rows are numbered 1, 2, 3... and columns are lettered A, B, C... Z, then AA, AB... up to XFD.
- From Excel 2007 onwards there are 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns — about 17.18 billion cells per sheet. (Excel 2003 and older had only 65,536 rows and 256 columns — a favourite trap.)
- A cell is one box at the crossing of a column and a row. Its cell address = column letter + row number: A1, C5, XFD1048576.
- The active cell has a thick green border; the Name Box (top-left) shows its address and the Formula Bar shows what is really typed in it (text, number or formula).
- A range is a rectangle of cells written with a colon: A1:B5 means A1 to B5.
References — what happens on copy
| Type | Written as | When copied |
|---|---|---|
| Relative | A1 | changes with the new position |
| Absolute | $A$1 | stays fixed (the dollar signs lock it) |
| Mixed | $A1 or A$1 | only the unmarked part moves |
While editing a formula, F4 cycles a reference through A1, $A$1, A$1 and $A1.
Working with sheets and data
- A new workbook contains one worksheet by default (older versions had three). Add another with the + button or Shift+F11; rename by double-clicking the sheet tab.
- Text aligns left, numbers align right automatically — a quick check of what Excel thinks your data is.
- ##### in a cell only means the column is too narrow — widen it; nothing is broken.
- Ctrl+A selects the whole sheet; Ctrl+Home jumps to A1; Freeze Panes (View tab) keeps headings visible while scrolling.
- AutoFill — drag the tiny square (fill handle) at the corner of the active cell to copy content or continue a series (Jan, Feb, Mar...). Ctrl+D fills the cell above down; Ctrl+R fills the cell to the left rightwards.
- Rows and columns can be hidden and unhidden (right-click the row number or column letter) — hidden is not deleted.
- Wrap Text shows long text on several lines inside one cell; Merge and Centre joins selected cells into one wide cell.
Why the grid is powerful
Excel recalculates automatically: change one mark and every total, average and chart built on it updates at once. This single idea — formulas store relationships, not fixed numbers — is why spreadsheets replaced hand-written ledgers, and it is the idea behind most Excel questions: "if this cell changes, what does that formula show?"
Quick revision
- Workbook = file; worksheet = tab; cell = column letter + row number.
- 2007+: 1,048,576 rows, 16,384 columns (XFD), ~17.18 billion cells.
- $A$1 absolute (locked), A1 relative (moves), F4 toggles while editing.
- Range separator = colon (A1:B5).
- Text left, numbers right; ##### = narrow column, not an error.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Grid arithmetic: rows, columns, cellscommon4 practice Q
'How many rows/columns does an Excel 2007+ sheet have?', 'the last column letter', or multiplication of rows and columns into total cells.
- From Excel 2007: rows = 1,048,576; columns = 16,384 (last column XFD).
- Total cells = rows multiplied by columns (a calculator question, not memory).
- Excel 2003 and older: 65,536 rows, 256 columns (last column IV).
Example: How many cells does one Excel 2016 worksheet contain?
16,384 columns x 1,048,576 rows = 17,179,869,184 cells — about 17.18 billion.
Type 2: Reference behaviour on copyvery common4 practice Q
A formula like =A1*$B$1 is copied from one cell to another and the changed formula is asked — or the type (relative/absolute/mixed) of a written reference is asked.
- Plain A1 is relative: both parts slide when copied. $A$1 is absolute: frozen. $A1 and A$1 are mixed: only the part without $ moves.
- Rewrite the row and column offsets, then rebuild the formula.
- F4 cycles A1 to $A$1 to A$1 to $A1 while the formula is being edited.
Example: Cell C1 holds =A1+B1. It is copied to C3. What does C3 contain?
=A3+B3 — both references are relative, so each moves down 2 rows with the copy.
Type 3: Workbook, worksheet and cell-address recallvery common4 practice Q
Direct recall: a file is a workbook, a tab is a worksheet, the address is column letter plus row number, the Name Box shows the address, the Formula Bar shows content.
- Workbook = file; worksheet = tab inside it; cell = one box; range = A1:B5 with a colon.
- Name Box (left of formula bar) = address of the active cell; Formula Bar = its true content.
- Default worksheet count in new workbooks = 1 (older versions shipped 3).
Example: In MS Excel, the intersection of a row and a column is called a —
Cell, addressed by column letter then row number, e.g. B7.
Type 4: Data type and display basicscommon4 practice Q
Questions on left/right alignment of text and numbers, what ##### means, or what Ctrl+A / Ctrl+Home do.
- Text left-aligns, numbers right-align automatically.
-
= column too narrow — widen it; the value is safe.
- Ctrl+A selects the sheet, Ctrl+Home jumps to A1, Freeze Panes pins headings.
Example: A cell shows ###### instead of a number because —
The column is too narrow to display the number — widen the column; it is a display notice, not an error.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Dollar locks
A $ before the letter locks the column; before the number locks the row. $A$1 = both locked ('dollar = padlock'). F4 taps through the four states.
Example: Which reference keeps the row fixed but lets the column change?
Mixed reference like A$1.
⚡ Rows x Cols
2007+: 2^20 rows (10,48,576) x 2^14 columns (16,384); last column XFD. Old Excel: 65,536 x 256 ('256 = IV roman-ish, XFD = 16384').
Example: Last column heading in Excel 2019?
XFD.
Where students lose marks
Saying Excel 2019 has 65,536 rows - that ended with Excel 2003.
Writing a range as A1-B5; the separator is a colon (A1:B5).
Forgetting that F4 toggles references only while editing a formula (outside editing it repeats the last action).
Practice sets — 18 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.