Chapter 2: Basic Data Entry and Editing

Basic Data Entry and Editing This is one of the most important chapters because everything you do in Excel starts with entering and editing data correctly.

I’ll explain everything very slowly, step by step, just like a patient teacher sitting next to you. We’ll use lots of real-life examples, clear instructions, and plenty of practice tips. By the end of this chapter, you’ll be able to quickly and accurately enter data, fix mistakes, copy things smartly, and understand how Excel “thinks” when you copy formulas.

Let’s begin!

1. Entering Text, Numbers, and Dates

Excel treats different types of data differently.

A. Entering Text Anything that is words, names, labels, addresses → Excel treats it as text.

Steps:

1. Click any cell (example: A1)
2. Just start typing → for example: Mumbai
3. Press Enter → cursor moves down to A2 (or press Tab → moves right to B1)

Real example:

• A1 → Customer Name
• A2 → Rahul Sharma
• A3 → Priya Patel
• A4 → Amit Kumar

Tip: If Excel thinks your text is a number/date and changes it, just put a single quote ‘ at the beginning (example: ‘00123 → it will show exactly 00123 as text).

B. Entering Numbers Numbers are used for calculations (Excel aligns them to the right by default).

Examples:

• Click B1 → type 250 → Enter
• B2 → 1450.75 → Enter
• B3 → 5000 → Enter

C. Entering Dates Excel is very smart with dates — it understands many formats.

Common ways to enter dates (all work!):

• 26/01/2026
• 26-01-2026
• 26 Jan 2026
• 26-Jan-2026
• 1/26/2026 (if your system is set to MM/DD/YYYY)

Example:

• Click C1 → type 26/01/2026 → Enter → Excel automatically formats it nicely (usually shows 26-Jan-26 or 26-01-2026 depending on your regional settings)

Quick tip: To enter today’s date instantly → press Ctrl + ; (semicolon) To enter current time → press Ctrl + Shift + ;

2. AutoFill – The Magic Time-Saver

AutoFill lets you quickly fill a series of numbers, dates, days, months, etc.

How to use AutoFill:

1. Type the first value(s)
2. Select the cell(s)
3. Move your mouse to the bottom-right corner of the selection until you see a small black + (the fill handle)
4. Click and drag down/right/up/left

Real-life examples:

Example 1: Days of the week

• A1 → Monday
• Drag the fill handle down → Excel automatically fills: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Example 2: Months

• B1 → Jan
• Drag down → Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun…

Example 3: Sequential numbers

• C1 → 1
• C2 → 2
• Select both cells → drag down → 3, 4, 5, 6…

Example 4: Dates

• D1 → 01-Jan-2026
• Drag down → 02-Jan-2026, 03-Jan-2026…

Example 5: Custom series (very useful!)

• E1 → Sales Q1
• Drag down → Sales Q2, Sales Q3, Sales Q4…

Pro tip: After dragging, you’ll see a small Auto Fill Options icon at the bottom → you can choose:

• Copy Cells
• Fill Series
• Fill Formatting Only
• Fill Without Formatting

3. Flash Fill – Excel’s Super-Intelligent Helper (Available since Excel 2013+)

Flash Fill automatically recognizes patterns and fills data for you — no formulas needed!

Real example – Splitting names Suppose you have full names in column A:

• A1 → Rahul Sharma
• A2 → Priya Patel
• A3 → Amit Kumar
• A4 → Sneha Desai

You want First Name in B and Last Name in C.

1. Click B1 → type Rahul (first name of first person)
2. Press Enter
3. Click B2 → type Priya
4. Press Enter
5. Excel shows a light grey preview of the rest → press Ctrl + E (or just continue typing one more and it will suggest)

Flash Fill will automatically fill the rest!

Same for last names in column C.

Another amazing use:

• You have phone numbers like +919876543210
• You want only 9876543210
• Type 9876543210 in next column → Flash Fill removes +91 automatically

Shortcut for Flash Fill: Ctrl + E

4. Copy, Cut, Paste (Including Paste Special)

Basic copy-paste:

• Select cells → Ctrl + C (copy)
• Go to new location → Ctrl + V (paste)

Cut and paste (move):

• Select → Ctrl + X (cut)
• Go to new place → Ctrl + V

Paste Special – Extremely powerful! After copying (Ctrl + C), right-click where you want to paste → Paste Special (or Ctrl + Alt + V)

Common Paste Special options:

• Values → paste only the result (not formula)
• Formats → copy only formatting (colors, borders, font)
• Formulas → paste only formulas
• Transpose → turn rows into columns (and vice versa) – super useful!
• Add / Subtract / Multiply / Divide → paste and do math at the same time

Example – Transpose: You have sales by month in a row: Jan 5000 | Feb 6200 | Mar 7800 Copy → Paste Special → Transpose → becomes vertical list.

5. Undo / Redo

• Undo last action → Ctrl + Z (you can undo many steps)
• Redo (if you undo too much) → Ctrl + Y

Tip: Click the small arrow next to Undo button on Quick Access Toolbar → see list of actions you can undo.

6. Find & Replace

Find something:

• Press Ctrl + F
• Type what you want to find → Find Next

Replace:

• Press Ctrl + H
• Find what → Replace with → Replace All

Example: You wrote “Mumbai” everywhere but want “Bombay” instead → Ctrl + H → Find “Mumbai” → Replace with “Bombay” → Replace All

7. Cell References: Relative vs Absolute (Very Important!)

This is the foundation for formulas (we’ll use it a lot in next chapters).

A. Relative Reference (default)

• When you copy a formula, the cell references change automatically.

Example:

• Cell B2 → =A2*10 (multiply price by 10)
• Drag/copy formula down to B3 → it becomes =A3*10 (automatically changes!)

B. Absolute Reference (does NOT change when copied)

• Put $ sign before column and/or row
• $A$1 → column A and row 1 both fixed
• $A1 → column A fixed, row changes
• A$1 → column changes, row 1 fixed

Real example – Sales Tax:

• Cell D1 → 18% (tax rate)
• Cell C2 → price 1000
• Cell D2 → =C2$D$1* (multiply price by fixed tax rate)
• Drag down → every row multiplies its price by the same $D$1 (18%)

Shortcut to add $: While typing formula → press F4 key → it cycles through:

• A1 → $A$1 → A$1 → $A1 → A1

Quick Summary Table – Chapter 2

Homework / Practice (Do This Today!)

1. Open your Practice_Chapter1.xlsx file (or create a new one)
2. In Sheet1:
   • Column A: Type Item in A1, then Pen, Notebook, Eraser in A2:A4
   • Column B: Type Price in B1, then 50, 120, 15 in B2:B4
   • Column C: Type Quantity in C1, then 10, 5, 20 in C2:C4
3. Use AutoFill in Column D:
   • D1 → Total
   • D2 → type =B2*C2 → drag down
4. In E1 → type 18% (GST)
5. In F1 → GST Amount
6. In F2 → =D2$E$1* → drag down (use F4 to make $E$1 absolute)
7. Try Flash Fill:
   • In G1 → Item Code
   • G2 → type PEN001 (for Pen)
   • G3 → type NOTE002 → press Ctrl + E → watch magic!
8. Copy column D → Paste Special → Values in column H (so only numbers remain)