Entering Data in Excel

How to Enter Data into a Spreadsheet

Entering your data into a spreadsheet is always a three step process. These steps are:

1. Click on the cell where you want the data to go.
   
   
2. Type your data into the cell.
   
   
3. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard or click on another cell with the mouse.

Speeding up data entry
Many people use the mouse when moving around their spreadsheet. Using the mouse, though, is the slow way of doing anything on a computer. It's fine if you have only a small amount of data to enter or if you're not in a hurry.
To speed up your data entry use the keyboard. Below is a list of keys that you can use when you want to quickly enter your data.

• Enter key: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight down to the next cell in the current column.
  
  
• Tab key: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next cell in the current row.
  
  
• Arrow keys: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next cell in the direction of the specific arrow key pressed. For example, if the up arrow is pressed, the active cell highlight moves up to the next cell in the current column.
  
  
• Esc key: cancels the current data entry.