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Do you know the difference between an array and a range?
How about differentiating between a function and a formula?
Excel has hundreds of key terms, and some are more intuitive than others.
Understanding some of the jargon will go a long way to helping you understand other aspects of the program.
Microsoft has its ownExcel glossarycontaining hundreds of terms and definitions.
In short, this is a must-know list, not a comprehensive list.
Press Ctrl+F or Cmd+F to quickly search for a keyword in this article.
A
Active: An Excel worksheet, its content, or a cell is active when selected.
Array: A set of data within a range of cells.
An array formula is used to perform multiple calculations at the same time.
B
Border: A line that is added to the outside of a cell or object.
While gridlines do not print by default, borders do.
Each cell contains its own data and has its own reference.
Conditional Format: Formatting that is automatically applied to a cell based on specific conditions.
Excel offers preset conditional formatting rules, or you’re free to define specific parameters.
Click Home > Conditional Formatting.
Criteria: Also known as conditions, criteria determine which cells are filtered, evaluated, or counted.
For example, an Excel formula containingthe COUNTIF functionwill count the cells containing certain criteria.
Data validation can also be used to create a drop-down list of options to appear in the cell.
Drop-down: A list of choices that appears when a trigger is clicked.
Filter: Filters let you display only the values in a column that meet the conditions you set.
it’s possible for you to also use the FILTER function to filter data by multiple criteria.
Function: A pre-defined formula that performs a calculation when used in a formula.
For example,the AVERAGE functionfinds the mean of the referenced values or cells.
G
Gridlines: Non-printing lines that represent boundaries between cells.
you’re able to also add gridlines to charts to make reading the data easier.
For example, different colors could represent different days in a chart, and the legend makes this clear.
O
Operator: A symbol that identifies and dictates a calculation to be performed.
R
Range: Two or more cells on a worksheet.
Cells in a range can be adjacent (contiguous) or non-adjacent (non-contiguous).
Sort: You canrearrange datain a column or table based on value, formatting, or conditional formatting.
V
View: There are four different workbook views.
W
Workbook: An Excel file containing one or more worksheets.
Worksheet: An individual spreadsheet within a workbook where data is added.
