Cells, Rows & Columns

Understanding rows, columns, and cells is the foundation of working in Excel. Every piece of data you enter goes into a specific cell.

Rows, Columns, and Cells Explained

Row 2 (yellow, horizontal) + Column B (blue, vertical) = Cell B2 (red, active)

Entering Data into Cells

Click a cell to select it. Type your data and press Enter to move down, or Tab to move right. Press the arrow keys to move in any direction.

Types of Data in Cells

A cell holds one of three types of data: Text (words like "Maths"), Numbers (like 90), or Formulas (like =A1+B1 to calculate). Excel aligns text to the left and numbers to the right by default.

Adjusting Column Width

Place the mouse pointer on the border between two column header letters (like A and B). The pointer turns into a double arrow. Click and drag to resize the column. Double-click the border to auto-fit the column to the widest content.

💡 Fun Fact: In Excel, columns go from A to Z, then AA, AB... all the way to XFD. That gives you 16,384 columns in a single sheet!

✏️ Exercise

Q1. Do rows go horizontal or vertical?

✅ Rows go horizontal (left to right).

Q2. What is the address of the cell in Column D and Row 7?

✅ The address is D7.

Q3. Which key moves the cursor to the next cell to the right?

✅ The Tab key moves the cursor to the next cell to the right.

Q4. How do you widen a column in Excel?

✅ Drag the border between column header letters to the right to widen it. Double-click the border to auto-fit.

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