Part I: Getting Started with Excel
To use a data entry form, follow these steps:- Arrange your data so that Excel can recognize it as a table by entering head-
ings for the columns into the first row of your data entry range. - Select any cell in the table, and click the Form button on your Quick Access
toolbar. Excel displays a dialog box customized to your data (refer to Figure 2.7). - Fill in the information. Press Tab to move between the text boxes. If a cell con-
tains a formula, the formula result appears as text (not as an edit box). In other
words, you can’t modify formulas using the data entry form. - When you complete the data form, click the New button. Excel enters the data
into a row in the worksheet and clears the dialog box for the next row of data.
You can also use the form to edit existing data.Entering the current date or time into a cell
If you need to date-stamp or time-stamp your worksheet, Excel provides two shortcut keys
that do this task for you:■ Current date: Ctrl+; (semicolon)■ (^) Current time: Ctrl+Shift+; (semicolon)
To enter both the date and time, press Ctrl+;, type a space, and then press Ctrl+Shift+;.
The date and time are from the system time in your computer. If the date or time isn’t cor-
rect in Excel, use the Windows Settings to make the adjustment.
When you use either of these shortcuts to enter a date or time into your worksheet, Excel enters a static value into
the worksheet. In other words, the date or time entered doesn’t change when the worksheet is recalculated. In most
cases, this setup is probably what you want, but you should be aware of this limitation. If you want the date or time
display to update, use one of these formulas:
=TODAY()
=NOW()
Applying Number Formatting
Applying number formatting changes the appearance of values contained in cells. Excel
provides a variety of number formatting options. In the following sections, you will see
how to use many of Excel’s formatting options to improve the appearance and readability of
your worksheets quickly.