Microsoft Excel terminology

Workbook — The workbook refers to an Excel spreadsheet file. The workbook houses all of the data that
you have entered and allows you to sort or calculate the results. A workbook that is available to be
viewed and edited by multiple users on a network is known as a Shared Workbook.

Worksheet — Within the workbook is where you'll find documents called worksheets. Also known as
spreadsheets, you can have multiple worksheets nestled in a workbook. Tabs at the bottom of the of the
screen will indicate which of your worksheets you are currently working on. This is also known as an
active worksheet or active sheet.

Cell — A cell is a rectangle or block housed in a worksheet. Any data that you want to enter into your
worksheet must be placed in a cell. Cells can be color coded, display text, numbers and the results of
calculations, based on what you want to accomplish. An Active Cell is one that is currently opened for
editing.

Columns and Rows — Columns and Rows refer to how your cells are aligned. Columns are aligned
vertically while rows are aligned horizontally.

Column and Row headings — These headings are the lettered and numbered gray areas found just
outside of columns and rows. Clicking on a heading will select the entire row or column. You can also
alter the row height or column width using the headings.

Workspace — Much like worksheets in a workbook, a workspace allows you to open numerous files
simultaneously.

Ribbon — Above the workbook is a section of command tabs called the Ribbon. A multitude of options
are found behind each tab of the ribbon

Cell Reference — A cell reference is a set of coordinates that identifies a specific cell. It's a combination
of letters and numbers. A5, for example, would point to the cell located where column A and row 5
intersect.

Cell Range — A Cell range is a collection of cells that have been identified as a group based on a variety
of criteria. By using a colon (:) between cell references, Excel can determine the range, also known as an
array. A range in a row, for example, could look like A1:C1, telling the formula to look at the cells in a
row between A1 and C1, while B4:D9 would tell the formula to look at all cells in a box bounded by
columns B and D and rows 4 and 9. A 3-D reference refers to a range that encompasses more than one
worksheet in the same workbook.

Merged Cell — When two or more cells are combined, it's become what is known as a merged cell.

Template — A template is a formatted workbook or worksheet designed to help users fulfill a specific
need in Excel. Examples of this include stock analysis, process map, and calendar.

Operator — Operators are symbols or signs that indicate which calculation must be made in an
expression. Operators do not necessarily refer to simple mathematical types; comparison, text
concatenation or reference operators also exist.
Formula — A sequence inside a cell that is used to produce a value. It must begin with an equal (=) sign.
This could be a mathematical equation, cell references, functions or operator. A formula is also known
as an expression.

Formula Bar — Nestled between the ribbon and workbook, the Formula Bar will display the contents of
an active cell. In the case of formulas, the formula bar will display all components of the formula.

Function — Functions are formulas that are pre-built into Excel. They are designed to help simplify
potentially complex formulas in a worksheet.

Error Code — Error Codes appear if Excel finds a problem with a provided formula.

Cell Formatting — This is the act of changing the in which cell data is displayed in the spreadsheet.
When you format cells, only the visual appearance of the cells is changed; the value within the cells
remain constant.

Conditional Formatting — Formatting is applied only when the cell meets determined criteria such as
duplicate values or values above or below a threshold.

Filter — Filters are rules that you can employ to decide which rows in a worksheet to display. These
filters can use data such as conditions or values.

Freeze Panes — Freezing Panes allows you to select specific columns and/or rows to remain visible on
the worksheet, even if you are scrolling, such as header cells that label a column.

AutoFill — This enables you to effortless copy data to more than one cell.

AutoSum — This feature will add up the numbers you have entered in your sheet and displays the total
in a cell of your choosing.

AutoFormat — This is an automated format application to cells that match pre-determined criteria. This
could be as simple as font alignment and size.

Data Validation — This feature helps to prevent incorrect data from being entered into your worksheet.
This most commonly used to create drop-down lists for common terms. Data validation promotes
consistency and accuracy in the data to be entered.

Pivot Table — This is a data summarization tool most commonly used to sort, average to sum up data
automatically. The information is pulled from one table while the results are displayed in another. Pivot
Tables makes it easy to retrieve specific information from a large source of data.

Pivot Chart — This type of chart provides a visual aid for pivot tables. By providing graphical
representations of the pivot table data, the user can provide a level of interactivity with the data.

Pivot Area — The pivot area is a point on the worksheet where you would drag a Pivot Table field in
order to reorganize how a report is displayed.

Source Data — This is the information used to create your pivot table. It can either exist within the
worksheet or from and an external database.
Values Area — In a pivot table, Value areas are identified as the cells that contain the summary
information.

Item — These are sub-categories of fields in your pivot table. If you have a field that is marked State, the
items could be Alabama, Alaska and so on.

Basic Terms and Terminology

for Microsoft Excel
Updated on October 6, 2017

transpose
more

I have a degree in Materials Science and work in marketing. I have a healthy sense of
curiosity and love a challenge.
Excel is one of the more versatile programs out there. It is capable of performing small tasks
such as organizing data to more complex arithmetic operations for financial or engineering
needs. While basic operations are easy to learn, the program does have some specific jargon that
may throw people off. This article looks at some terms that Excel uses to give users an idea of
the basic functions of this program.

List Of Terms Covered

Term Quick Explanation
Workbook An Excel file.
Worksheet A worksheet within an Excel file.
Ribbon The menu bar at the top of Excel.
A rectangular box in a worksheet
Cell
that contains data.
Shows the cell/table selected; also
Name Box
used to rename cells/tables.
Cell Reference The cell/table selected.
 Term Quick Explanation
Shows the data/formula/phrase in
Formula Bar
the cell selected.
A set of instructions for Excel to
Formula
carry out.
Functions Formulas built into Excel.
A group of cells or tables denoted
Array/Range by a colon between th 1st and last
cell.

Workbook
A workbook is, to put it simply, an Excel file. All Excel files are workbooks, with one or many
worksheets.
In the image above, the workbook is called Book 1. If the name is not changed, the Excel file
qwwill be saved under this title.
Think of it as an accounting ledger book. That's right, the entire book. Individual pages are called
worksheets.
Worksheet
A worksheet is an independent (we will talk more about this later) sheet which can contain one
or many data tables.
Think of it as a page in an accounting book, one page of many.
Most of the time, when you start a new workbook, you would have three worksheets (shown in
the red box in the image above). To delete any, right-click on the worksheet and select Delete.
To add worksheets, click the Add Worksheet button (the green box that is highlighted).
A worksheet is independent of other ones in the sense that they are all separate entities. You can
have a formula that references amongst worksheets. Formulas are explained below.
Ribbon
The Ribbon is the row of buttons above the work area. The ribbon is only found in versions of
Excel from 2007 and later. It replaces the menus and toolbars found in earlier versions.
The Ribbon has a few tabs such as Home, Insert, and Page Layout. Clicking on a tab will show
the options associated with this section of the Ribbon.
Cell
A cell is any rectangular box within a worksheet. They can contain data or formulas.
An active cell or current cell is the one which is currently selected. It is denoted by a thick black
outline.
Name Box
The Name Box shows the name of either the active/current cell, or the name of a defined range
of cells or table.
All cells or a range of them (a table) can be named by selecting it and changing the name in the
Name Box. However, each worksheet can have only one of the same named cell/table.

Cell Reference
The Cell Reference shows the name of the cell/table being selected, i.e., it shows the name of the
active/current cell or table.
Cell References are shown in the Name Box.
Formula Bar
The Formula Bar is where the contents of the active/current cell is shown.
If a formula is used in the active/current cell, the Formula Bar would show the actual formula
used, whereas the active/current cell would show the final, calculated result (which could be a
number or phrase).
Formula
One of Excel's most powerful tools is the ability to use formulas. Formulas allow you to do
automated calculations within worksheets, and even amongst different workbooks.
A formula is typed into the formula bar and must begin with an equal (=) sign. You can use
formulas to carry out any of the four basic mathematical operators (add, subtract, multiply, and
divide), use brackets to dictate the order of solving the formula, or use any of the hundreds of in-
built functions in Excel.
Functions
Functions are formulas that are built into Excel. Think of functions as an easier way to create
formulas.
For example, in the image above, we want to find the sum total of cells A1 and B1. We would
write the formula as =A1+B1.
If we make use of the SUM function, the formula would be =SUM(A1:B1).
Granted, it might be easier just to add both cells. However, when you have to do this for many
cells or among different tables, the SUM function would really make writing the formula much
easier. There are about 400 functions built into Excel.
Some more reading might be useful if you really want to know how to make use of functions. A
book that I found really useful is Excel 2010 Formulas by John Walkenbach (a.k.a. Mr
Spreadsheet). It is well-written and the explanation of each and every function will really help
you get the hang of Excel.
 Array/Range
Lastly, we'll talk about the array, also known as a range. Arrays/ranges are just consecutive cells
that are grouped together. For example, in our SUM formula above, the array/range used is
A1:B1, which tells the formula to read from A1 to B1.
Arrays/ranges are denoted with a colon (:) between the first cell and the last cell of the
array/range. They can be used to call up cells in:
 Rows (e.g., A1:E1, shown in the red box)
 Columns (e.g., A1:A5, shown in the green box)
 Tables (e.g., A1:E5, shown in the blue box)
As you can see, these really help shorten the formula when there are many cells being
referenced.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for
informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or
professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

RELATED

 SOFTWARE & OPERATING SYSTEMS

How to Embed a File as an Object in a Microsoft Excel Worksheet

by Petite Hubpages Fanatic1


SOFTWARE & OPERATING SYSTEMS

Beginners Guide to Excel Formulas and Mathematical Operators

Using Excel 2007 and Excel 2010
by Robbie C Wilson2


SOFTWARE & OPERATING SYSTEMS

Create a Macro Button That Will Clear All of Your Work Within an
Excel Worksheet
by Joshua Crowder1


SOFTWARE & OPERATING SYSTEMS

How to Use Pivot Tables in Microsoft Excel

by Simon Cook2

 SOFTWARE & OPERATING SYSTEMS

How to Hide Error Values in Microsoft Excel

by David1

POPULAR


SOFTWARE & OPERATING SYSTEMS

How to Set up Remote VPN Access Using pfSense and OpenVPN

by Sam Kear20

COMMENTS
Sign in or sign up and post using a HubPages Network account.