Section 1.2. Editing Data


1.2. Editing Data

Every time you start typing in a cell, Excel erases any existing content in that cell. (You can also quickly remove the contents of a cell by just moving to it and pressing Delete.)

If you want to edit cell data instead of replacing it, you need to put the cell in edit mode , like this:

  1. Move to the cell you want to edit .

    Use the mouse or the arrow keys to get to the correct cell.

    Figure 1-6. This rudimentary expense list has three items (in rows 2, 3, and 4). The alignment of each column reflects the data type (by default, numbers and dates are right-aligned, while text is left-aligned), indicating that Excel understands your date and price information.


  2. Put the cell in edit mode by pressing F2 .

    Edit mode looks almost the same as ordinary text entry mode. The only difference is that you can use the arrow keys to move through the text you're typing and make changes. (When you aren't in edit mode, pressing these keys just moves you to another cell.)

    If you don't want to use F2, you can also get a cell into edit mode by double-clicking it.

  3. Complete your edit .

    Once you've modified the cell content, press Enter to commit your change or Esc to cancel your edit and leave the old value in the cell. Alternatively, you can turn off edit mode (press F2 again), and then move to a new cell. As long as you stay in edit mode, Excel won't let you move to another cell.


    Tip: If you start typing new information into a cell and you decide you want to move to an earlier position in your entry (to make an alteration, for instance), just press F2. The cell box still looks the same, but you're now in edit mode, which means that you can use the arrow keys to move within the cell (instead of moving from cell to cell). You can press F2 again to return to the normal data entry mode.

    As you enter data, you may discover the Bigtime Excel Display Problem (known to aficionados as BEDP): cells in adjacent columns can overlap one another. Figure 1-7 shows the problem. One way to fix BEDP is to manually resize the column, as shown in Figure 1-5. Another option is to use wrapping to fit multiple lines of text in a single cell, as described in Section 5.2.1.

Figure 1-7. Overlapping cells can create big headaches . For example, if you type a large amount of text into A1, and then you type some text into B1, you see only part of the data in A1 on your worksheet (as shown here). The rest is hidden from view. But if, say, A3 contains a large amount of text and B3 is empty, the content in A3 is displayed over both columns, and you don't have a problem.


POWER USERS' CLINIC
Using R1C1 Reference Style

Most people like to identify columns with letters and rows with numbers. This system makes it easy to tell the difference between the two, and it allows you to use short cell addresses like A10, B4, H99, and so on. When you first install Excel, it uses this style of cell addressing.

However, Excel also lets you use another cell addressing system called R1C1 . In R1C1 style, columns and rows are both identified with numbers. That means the cell address A10 becomes R10C1 (read this as Row 10, Column 1). The letters R and C tell you which part of the address is the row and which part is the column. The order is reversed from conventional cell addressing.

R1C1 addressing isn't all that common. But it becomes useful if you need to deal with worksheets that have more than 26 columns. With normal cell addressing, Excel runs out of letters after column 26, and it starts using two letters (as in AA, AB, AC, and so on) to identify columns. This approach can become somewhat awkward . For example, if you want to find cell AX1, it isn't immediately obvious that this cell is in column 50. On the other hand, the R1C1 address for the same cellR1C50gives you a clearer idea of where to find the cell.

To use R1C1 for a spreadsheet, select Office button Excel Options. This shows the Excel Options window, where you can change a wide array of settings. In the list on the left, choose Formulas to home in on the section you need. Then, look under the "Working with formulas heading, and turn on the "R1C1 reference style" checkbox.

R1C1 is a file-specific setting, which means that if someone sends you a spreadsheet that he saved with R1C1, you'll see the R1C1 cell addresses when you open the file, regardless of what type of cell addressing you use in your own spreadsheets. Fortunately, you can change cell addressing at any time using the Excel Options window.




Excel 2007[c] The Missing Manual
Excel 2007[c] The Missing Manual
ISBN: 596527594
EAN: N/A
Year: 2007
Pages: 173

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