Cell Content – Part 1

Any information you enter into a spreadsheet will be stored in a cell. Each cell can contain different types of content, including text, formatting, formulas, and functions.

• Text: Cells can contain text, such as letters, numbers, and dates.

• Formatting attributes: Cells can contain formatting attributes that change the way letters, numbers, and dates are displayed. For example, percentages can appear as 0.15 or 15%. You can even change a cell’s text or background color.

• Formulas and functions: Cells can contain formulas and functions that calculate cell values. In our example, SUM(B2:B8) adds the value of each cell in the cell range B2:B8 and displays the total in cell B9.

To insert content:

1. Click a cell to select it. In our example, we’ll select cell F9.

• Type something into the selected cell, then press Enter on your keyboard. The content will appear in the cell and the formula bar. You can also input and edit cell content in the formula bar.

To delete (or clear) cell content:

1. Select the cell(s) with content you want to delete. In our example, we’ll select the cell range A10:H10.

• Select the Clear command on the Home tab, then click Clear Contents.

• The cell contents will be deleted.

You can also use the Delete key on your keyboard to delete content from multiple cells at once. The Backspace key will only delete content from one cell at a time.

To delete cells:

There is an important difference between deleting the content of a cell and deleting the cell itself. If you delete the entire cell, the cells below it will shift to fill in the gaps and replace the deleted cells.

1. Select the cell(s) you want to delete. In our example, we’ll select A10:H10.

• Select the Delete command from the Home tab on the Ribbon.

• The cells below will shift up and fill in the gaps.