What is Excel?

Applies To
Excel for Microsoft 365 Excel 2024 Excel 2024 for Mac Excel 2021 Excel 2021 for Mac Excel 2019 Excel 2016

Excel makes it easy to crunch numbers. With Excel, you can streamline data entry with AutoFill. Then, get chart recommendations based on your data, and create them with one click. Or easily spot trends and patterns with data bars, color coding, and icons.

Create a workbook

  1. Open Excel.
  2. Select Blank workbook.
    Or press Ctrl+N.

Create a workbook screenshot

Enter data

To manually enter data:

  1. Select an empty cell, such as A1, and then type text or a number.
  2. Press Enter or Tab to move to the next cell.

To fill data in a series:

  1. Enter the beginning of the series in two cells: such as Jan and Feb; or 2014 and 2015.
  2. Select the two cells containing the series, and then drag the fill handle Fill handle across or down the cells.

Entering data in a cell

Filling data in a series