The File and the Grid
The words for the spreadsheet itself, and the parts of the Excel window.
Workbook
The whole Excel file you open, save and share. One workbook can hold many worksheets.
Like a notebook: one cover holding many pages inside.
Worksheet
A single page inside the workbook, one grid of cells. The tabs along the bottom let you move between them. You might keep January on one sheet and February on another.
Cell
A single box where a row and a column meet. It is the basic unit of Excel, the place where everything you type goes.
Row and column
Rows run across and are numbered down the side: 1, 2, 3. Columns run up and down and are lettered across the top: A, B, C.
Cell reference
A cell's address, written column letter first, then row number, like B5. This is what lets a formula point at data: =B5+B6 means "add whatever is in B5 and B6".
Like a seat number: row and column together tell you exactly which box you mean.
Range
A block of cells, written with a colon. B2:B10 means "B2 through B10", the ten cells in between. You hand a range to a function like SUM.
The Ribbon
The strip of buttons across the top, organised into tabs (Home, Insert, Page Layout, Formulas, Data, Review, View). Each tab holds related tools. You will spend most of your time on the Home tab.
Name Box
The small box on the left, just above the grid. It shows the address of the cell you have selected, and you can type an address into it to jump straight there.
Formula Bar
The long bar above the grid. It shows what is really in the selected cell: a cell might display 14 but the Formula Bar reveals it is actually =A1+A2.
Like looking under the bonnet: the grid shows the result, the Formula Bar shows the engine that made it.
Status bar
The strip along the very bottom. Select a few numbers and it instantly shows their Sum, Average and Count, with nothing typed. The fastest calculator in Excel.
Formulas and Maths
The words for getting Excel to do the calculating for you.
Formula
An instruction that tells Excel to work something out. It always starts with an equals sign, =, for example =B2+B3. Change a number it uses and the answer updates by itself.
Function
A ready-made formula Excel has already written, used as =FUNCTION(arguments). Instead of =B2+B3+B4+B5, you write =SUM(B2:B5).
Operator
A symbol that says what to do in a formula: + add, - subtract, * multiply, / divide. Multiply is a star, not an x; divide is a slash.
BODMAS
The order Excel does the maths in: Brackets, Orders (powers), Division and Multiplication, then Addition and Subtraction. So =A1+A2*A3 multiplies first. Add brackets to control it: =(A1+A2)*A3.
Relative reference
A reference that shifts when you copy a formula. Copy =B2 down a row and it becomes =B3. Usually what you want, so each row uses its own number.
Absolute reference
A reference locked with dollar signs so it never moves when copied, like $E$1. Use it for a value every row must share, such as a single rate. Press F4 while editing to add the dollar signs.
Like a pinned note: everything around it can move, but it stays put.
AutoSum
A shortcut that writes a SUM for you. Click the empty cell below a column of numbers and press Alt + =; Excel guesses the range and totals it. The dropdown also offers Average, Count, Max and Min.
Making It Look Right
The words for tidying a sheet so it is easy to read.
Number format
How a value is shown (currency, percentage, date) without changing the value itself. Format 0.25 as a percentage and it shows 25%, but it is still 0.25 underneath, ready to calculate with.
Like a costume: the same number dressed up to read as money, a percent, or a date.
#####
Not an error. It just means the column is too narrow to show the number. Widen the column, or double-click its edge to auto-fit, and the value reappears.
AutoFill
The feature that finishes repetitive typing. Type Monday and drag the little square at a cell's bottom-right corner (the fill handle), and Excel writes Tuesday, Wednesday and so on.
Custom list
A list you teach Excel, such as your team's names or a set of local suburbs, so AutoFill finishes it for you. Set it up under File then Options then Advanced then Edit Custom Lists.
Format Painter
The paintbrush on the Home tab. Click a cell that already looks right, click the paintbrush, then drag across other cells to give them the same look. Double-click it to paint several places.
Table
A range turned into a smart object with Ctrl + T. It gets filter buttons, banded rows, and grows automatically when you add a row, which makes sorting, filtering and charting easier.
Lists and Pictures
The words for handling a list, and turning numbers into a picture.
Sort
Rearrange rows into order: A to Z, smallest to largest, oldest to newest. Excel keeps each row's data together, so a person's name stays with their details. Click one cell in the column and use Data then A to Z.
Filter
Hide the rows you do not currently care about, so only the matching ones show. Nothing is deleted; clear the filter and they all come back. A funnel icon on a header shows that column is filtered.
Grouping
Fold a block of rows up and down with a small plus and minus button, like a drawer you can open and close. Handy for tucking detail away on a long sheet. Data tab then Group.
Data validation
Rules that control what a cell will accept, most usefully a dropdown list so everyone picks the same word from a menu instead of typing it differently each time. Data tab then Data Validation.
Chart
A visual picture of numbers. The three everyday kinds: column or bar for comparing amounts, line for change over time, and pie for the slices of one whole. A chart stays linked to the data and updates when the numbers change.
Print area
The range you choose to print, so only that part comes out rather than the whole sheet. Select the range, then Page Layout then Print Area then Set Print Area.