Excel Guide

How Excel works — the fundamentals, explained simply.

A free beginner-friendly Excel guide to the fundamentals: what Excel is, the screen and ribbon explained part by part, cells, rows, columns and ranges, relative vs absolute references ($), your first formula in four steps, the data types Excel understands and which file format to save in. The perfect starting point before the beginner, advanced and master guides. Runs fully in your browser, no sign-up.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microsoft Excel used for?

Excel is a spreadsheet program for storing data in a grid of rows and columns and then calculating, analysing and charting it — budgets, attendance, inventory, marks, sales and schedules are common uses. Formulas recalculate automatically whenever the underlying numbers change.

What is the difference between a workbook and a worksheet?

A workbook is the whole Excel file (.xlsx). A worksheet (or sheet) is a single tab inside it — one grid of cells. A workbook can hold many worksheets, shown as tabs along the bottom.

What does the $ sign do in Excel formulas?

The $ locks a cell reference so it doesn't shift when you copy the formula. $A$1 locks both column and row (absolute), A$1 locks just the row and $A1 just the column (mixed). Press F4 while editing a reference to cycle through the options.

What is the order of operations in Excel formulas?

Excel follows maths precedence: brackets first, then powers (^), then multiply and divide, then add and subtract. For example =10+2*3 returns 16, but =(10+2)*3 returns 36. Use parentheses to force the order you want.

Should I save my file as .xlsx or .csv?

Use .xlsx for normal work — it keeps formulas, formatting and multiple sheets. Use .csv only when you need a plain data export for another system; it keeps just one sheet of values with no formulas or formatting. Use .xlsm if your file contains macros.

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