Enter data into a spreadsheet and apply cell formatting, including number, currency, percentage and date formats, borders and column width, to present data clearly

What this dot point is asking

This outcome is about getting data into a spreadsheet and making it clear. You should understand cells, rows and columns and how each cell has an address such as B2, be able to type text, numbers and dates, and apply cell formatting such as number, currency, percentage and date formats, borders, alignment and column width. A key idea is that formatting changes only how a value looks, not the value stored. In the written paper you describe the steps and explain the format-versus-value difference; in the practical you build and format the sheet.

The answer

Cells, rows and columns

A spreadsheet is a grid. Columns run down and are labelled with letters (A, B, C); rows run across and are numbered (1, 2, 3). Each cell sits where a column and row meet and has an address from its column letter and row number, such as B2. You click a cell to select it, then type to enter data.

Entering data

• Text (labels and headings) lines up to the left by default.
• Numbers line up to the right by default, which helps them line up by place value.
• Dates are entered in a date form and the spreadsheet treats them as real dates, so it can sort and calculate with them.

Press Enter to move down or Tab to move right after typing.

Number, currency, percentage and date formats

Formatting changes how a value is shown without changing the value itself:

• Number format can set the decimal places, for example two decimals so 3.5 shows as 3.50.
• Currency format adds a money symbol and two decimals, so 3.5 shows as $3.50.
• Percentage format shows the value as a percentage, so 0.25 shows as 25% while the stored value stays 0.25.
• Date format controls how a date is displayed, such as day or month first.

Format changes the display, not the value

This is the central idea. If a cell holds 0.25 and you apply the Percentage format, it shows 25% but still holds 0.25, so calculations are unaffected. To change the result of a calculation you must change the value, not the format.

Borders, alignment and column width

• Borders draw lines around cells to separate a heading row or outline a table.
• Alignment sets text left, centre or right; numbers usually read best right aligned.
• Column width must be wide enough for the content. If a number is too wide for its column, the cell may show hashes until you widen it.

Examples in context

Example 1. A class test record. A teacher enters names in column A and marks in column B, formats the marks as plain numbers, bolds the heading row, and widens the name column so no name is cut off. The clean layout is then ready for an average formula and a chart.

Example 2. A budget. A student lists items and costs, applies the Currency format to the cost column so every value reads as money, and uses the Percentage format on a separate column showing what share of the budget each item takes, while the stored decimals keep the calculations correct.

Try this

• Cue. State the cell address where column C meets row 4, and say whether a number or text lines up to the right by default. (The address is C4, and numbers line up to the right by default.)

• Cue. Describe how to make a column of plain numbers display as money. (Select the cells, then apply the Currency format, which adds a money symbol and two decimal places.)

• Cue. A cell shows 25% but a formula seems to use 0.25. Explain why. (The Percentage format changes only the display; the stored value is still 0.25, which is what the formula uses.)