Excel Chapter 1 Vocabulary and Concepts

Key terms and concepts from Microcomputer Applications Excel Chapter 1, covering spreadsheet basics, formatting, and worksheet navigation.

Excel

A computerized spreadsheet used to analyze and evaluate information.

Workbook

The document you create in Excel, made of several worksheets.

Worksheet

The individual pages within a workbook; each workbook opens with $3$ by default and can have a total of $255$.

Columns

Lines that run up and down the spreadsheet, represented by letters (also called column headings).

Rows

Lines that run across the spreadsheet, represented by numbers (also called row headings).

Cell

The intersection of each column and row, such as "A2" or "B7".

Worksheet Size

Each worksheet contains $16,384$ columns and $1,048,576$ rows.

Cell Reference

The unique address of a cell, consisting of the column letter followed by the row number (Ex. $C8$).

Active Cell

The cell in which you can enter data, identified by a heavy border, the Name box display, and lit column/row headings.

Formula bar

The area that displays the data as you type into a cell.

Name box

The area that displays the cell reference for the active cell or allows you to select a cell by typing its name.

Pointer

The indicator that moves on the screen with the mouse, appearing as a block plus sign.

Gridlines

The horizontal and vertical lines visible on a worksheet.

Status bar

The area containing Mode indicators and the Auto Calculate area.

Sheet tabs

Tabs at the bottom of the screen used to identify sheet names within a workbook.

Text

Any combination of letters, symbols, numbers, and spaces; left-aligned by default.

Values

Numbers that represent a quantity of some type, including dates and times; right-aligned by default.

Formula

Arithmetic used to calculate values appearing in a worksheet, which ALWAYS begins with an equal sign ($=$).

Functions

Predefined or built-in formulas that serve as shortcuts for commonly used calculations, such as the SUM function.

Cell Range

A group of worksheet cells.

Adjacent range

A single rectangular block of cells.

Nonadjacent range

A range comprised of two or more separate adjacent ranges, selected by holding down the Ctrl key.

Fill handle

The tool that allows you to copy a formula from one cell to the next.

Relative Reference

A cell reference that is adjusted during a copy or move operation.

Ribbon

The control center near the top of the Excel window consisting of tabs, groups, and commands.

Home tab

The primary tab on the Ribbon that contains groups with the most frequently used commands.

AutoCorrect

A feature that corrects two initial uppercase letters, capitalizes the first letter of days, and replaces commonly misspelled words.

Source area

A range of cells that you are cutting or copying; also called the copy area.

Destination area

The range of cells to which you are pasting; also called the paste area.

Merging cells

Combining multiple adjacent cells into one larger cell.

Chart sheet

A separate sheet in a workbook that contains only a chart linked to workbook data.

Auto Calculate

An area in the status bar used to view the total, average, or other information about a selected range.

Edit mode

A mode in Excel that lets you perform in-cell editing.

Insert mode

The default Excel mode that allows you to insert and move characters.

Overtype mode

A mode that allows you to replace characters as you type, toggled using the INSERT key.