Terminology

Module 5.1.1: Terminology

A spreadsheet is a document that stores data in a grid of horizontal rows and vertical columns. Rows are usually labeled using numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.), while columns are usually labeled with letters (A, B, C, etc.). Individual row/column locations, such as C3 or B12, are referred to as cells, and each has a cell coordinate. For example, cell A3 is located in the first column and third row, cell E10 is located in the fifth column and tenth row, and so on. “Spreadsheet” is a generic term for any such document or file, including, but not limited to Excel. An Excel file is called a workbook and may be composed of a single worksheet or many worksheets. Think of a sheet as a page. Until you rename them, they are assigned the generic names “Sheet1, Sheet2, Sheet3, etc.” Worksheets are where information is entered and manipulated in a workbook. When you first open a new blank Excel file, and press Insert T to hear its title, you will hear “Book1, Sheet 1, A1.” A blank spreadsheet is a vast area with thousands of columns and over one million rows. Columns and rows are labelled with letters and numbers, respectively. A cell reference or cell coordinate is expressed as its letter and number combination. For example, cell A1 is located in the first column and first row, cell C5 is located in the third column and fifth row, and so on. A “data range” is a group of contiguous cells. For example, the data range from B2 through B9 refers to the cells containing B2, B9 and all the cells in between in this column. A data range can also be a rectangular block of cells. The data range of B2 through F9 includes the rectangular block of cells with B2 located at the top left, B9 at the bottom left, F2 at the top right, and F9 at the bottom right. Three types of data can be entered in cells: text, numbers, or formulas. Numbers may be expressed as simple numbers, currency, dates, percentages, or in several other formats. Formulas are calculations referencing cell references or numbers from elsewhere on the spreadsheet. For example, if numbers are contained in columns A and B, a formula can be typed in column C to total the numbers in the respective rows of columns A and B. However, in composing the formula, you would not type in the actual numbers in those cells, but rather the corresponding cell coordinates. Formulas can be very simple or quite complex. More on formulas below.