This short Excel glossary introduces some of the key terms that you will meet when starting to work with spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel.
- AutoComplete – An Excel feature that automatically completes your entries based on labels you typed previously.
- AutoFill – Excel’s capability to automatically fill in adjacent cells with data using the fill handle.
- Cell Address – The location of a cell at the intersection of a column and row.
- Command Buttons – Buttons or other controls in the Ribbon that allow you to perform functions on an Excel sheet.
- Conditional Formatting – Formatting where the value of a cell determines how it is formatted.
- Fill Handle – A quick way to generate data with a black triangle in the bottom right-hand corner of a cell that automatically fills in data based on the data in adjacent cells.
- Formula – Operators and cell ranges that calculates values in order to give the result.
- Function – The combination of an operator and cell range that performs predefined calculations.
- Label – Text within a cell that identifies the sheet contents so readers can interpret the contents more easily.
- Nested Function – A function that uses another function as one of its arguments.
- Office Button (Excel 2007) – The button at the top left-hand corner of Excel or other Office 2007 applications: it takes the place of the previous File menu.
- Quick Access Toolbar – A control near the top of the Excel window that contains shortcuts to frequently used menu items and commands that can be customised freely.
- Range – A group of cells that has been selected; the cells can be either contiguous or discontiguous.
- Ribbon – A feature of Excel 2007 and later; a set of tabs and controls at the top of the Excel menu.
- SharePoint – A web system that enables collaborators to access shared documents, create new files, and collaborate via a centralised, web-based set of resources.
- Smart Tag – A method of labelling data that lets you integrate actions normally performed in other programs directly in Excel.
- Task Pane – A window within the main window that opens when you need it or when you click a Dialog Box Launcher icon.
- Template – A prebuilt layout and set of formatting instructions (fonts, colours, etc.) that you can apply to a workbook quickly without having to format everything from scratch.