Data-entry tips
The following list of data-entry tips can help those moving up to Excel from another
spreadsheet:
● To enter data without pressing the arrow keys, enable the After Pressing Enter, Move Selection option on the Advanced tab of the Excel Options dialog box (which you access from the Office➜Excel Options command). You can also choose the direction that you want to go.
● You may find it helpful to select a range of cells before entering data. If you do so, you can use the Tab key or Enter key to move only within the selected cells.
● To enter the same data in all cells within a range, select the range, enter the information into the active cell, and then press Ctrl+Enter.
● To copy the contents of the active cell to all other cells in a selected range, press F2 and then press Ctrl+Enter.
● To fill a range with increments of a single value, press Ctrl while you drag the fill handle at the lower-right corner of the cell.
● To create a custom AutoFill list, select the Edit Custom Lists button on the Popular tab of the Excel Options dialog box.
● To copy a cell without incrementing, drag the fill handle at the lower-right corner of the selection; or, press Ctrl+D to copy down or Ctrl+R to copy to the right.
● To make text easier to read, you can enter line breaks in a cell. To enter a line break, press Alt+Enter. Line breaks cause a cell’s contents to wrap within the cell.
● To enter a fraction, type 0, a space, and then the fraction (using a slash). Excel formats the cell using the Fraction number format.
● To automatically format a cell with the currency format, type your currency symbol before the value.
● To enter a value in percent format, type a percent sign after the value. You can also include your local thousand separator symbol to separate thousands (for example,123,434).
● To insert the current date, press Ctrl+; (semicolon). To enter the current time into a cell,press Ctrl+Shift+;.
● To set up a cell or range so that it accepts entries only of a certain type (or within a certain value range), choose the Data➜Data Tools➜Data Validation command.
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