Build your first working workbook
Find source cells, enter and copy formulas, format a report and recover a worksheet mistake.
Each step starts an original practice workbook. Use the browser worksheet controls to change actual cells; after these projects, continue with conditional formatting to make rules highlight the data.
Start with cell addresses and ordinary formulas. Twenty original steps connect real worksheet operations, typed input, source predictions, changed-input checks and current workbook downloads. Move freely between steps; save only a checked current attempt.
0 of 20 historical passing attempts saved on this device.
Step 1
Create and save your own workbook →
A new workbook can start with one empty worksheet. Enter labels and numeric inputs, then let a formula calculate the result. A downloaded formula copy keeps that dependency; download again after changing the cells.
Before this step: No formula experience is required.
Step 2
Find the input and the linked result →
A workbook contains worksheets. A cell address combines a column letter and a row number; a formula can read a cell on another worksheet.
Before this step: No formula experience is required.
Step 3
Create a sheet and enter a calculation →
A new worksheet starts empty. A numeric input and a formula are different cell contents; changing the input should change the formula result.
Before this step: Find cells and switch between worksheets.
Step 4
Select a complete row and column →
This practice worksheet has 20 rows and 8 columns. A complete column includes all 20 rows; a complete row includes all 8 columns. Selection changes the scope of the next action without changing the stored values.
Before this step: Read cell addresses and select a range.
Step 5
Select cells with a focused keyboard command →
Keyboard commands act on the focused control. This lab’s selection pad sends its supported commands to the actual worksheet. Desktop Excel, the browser and your operating system can handle the same keys differently.
Before this step: Select complete rows and columns in this bounded worksheet.
Step 6
Enter text, zero and a function →
Text can include a symbol such as ™. Numeric zero remains a number. SUM is a function used inside a formula to combine the selected numeric cells.
Before this step: Enter one numeric cell and one formula.
Step 7
Cancel a draft and recover a cleared cell →
Beginning an edit fixes its destination. A draft is separate from the stored cell. Escape discards that draft; clearing contents is a workbook change that can be undone.
Before this step: Distinguish literal text, numeric zero and an empty cell.
Step 8
Build a formula by selecting its source →
The destination stays fixed while you select source cells. An absolute reference locks both row and column when copied. The formula still responds when the source values change.
Before this step: Select a range and enter a function.
Step 9
Edit an existing formula and retain its inputs →
Editing a formula changes the calculation stored in that cell. Its source cells should retain their own values. A revised formula should still respond when those inputs change.
Before this step: Enter a SUM formula and use the captured-cell editor.
Step 10
Switch existing references before copying →
Locking a reference changes how it moves when copied, not whether it reads the source. Keep one quantity fixed while each copied row uses a different price. Switch a written reference at the caret; selecting a new worksheet cell is unnecessary.
Before this step: Edit a captured formula and distinguish its source cells.
Step 11
Copy a formula down the rows →
A relative reference follows the row when a formula is copied. Quantity × price × (1 − discount) must use each row’s own inputs.
Before this step: Read a range and enter a function.
Step 12
Format numbers while retaining their values →
A display format changes how a number looks. The total still uses the stored line amounts, including digits hidden by a two-decimal display.
Before this step: Complete the relative formula exercise.
Step 13
Write four display sections without changing the values →
A custom pattern can describe positive numbers, negative numbers, zero and literal text in four semicolon-separated sections. Formatting retains the stored number and formula, including digits hidden by the display.
Before this step: Enter formulas and distinguish a displayed number from its stored value.
Step 14
Compare accounting, fractional and scientific views →
Different displays can represent the same stored number. A short fraction can approximate it and scientific notation can hide digits. A total still reads the complete stored values.
Before this step: Apply a display format while retaining numeric inputs.
Step 15
Keep dates, clock times and elapsed hours numeric →
In this lab’s 1900 date system, 45292 is January 1, 2024. The fraction 0.5 adds noon. A date-time format labels that number; [h]:mm counts total hours, including complete days.
Before this step: Use formulas and apply a number format.
Step 16
Make a readable report →
Font, fill, borders and dimensions help readers distinguish headings, records and totals. They should retain the report’s actual numbers and formulas.
Before this step: Complete the numeric selection, formula and format checks.
Step 17
Choose fonts and layer report borders →
A font family and text direction affect the cell’s appearance. Borders mark cell edges without merging the cells. Later edge commands can replace earlier ones while leaving numeric inputs and formulas intact.
Before this step: Complete the numeric report and distinguish formatting from stored values.
Step 18
Fit a column to its current contents →
Automatic width measures the current contents of the whole selected column. A long note can need more room than a narrow manual width. The command should retain the note and the purchase numbers.
Before this step: Enter literal text and set a column width.
Step 19
Keep copied worksheets independent →
A copied worksheet has its own input cells. A report linked to the original should continue reading the original even after renaming and hiding it.
Before this step: Know how a formula depends on its input cells.
Step 20
Recover a deleted source and its reference →
Deleting a referenced worksheet creates a reference error. In this browser lab, actual Undo/Redo can restore the same worksheet and its linked calculation.
Before this step: Create a sheet, enter a formula and follow a linked result.
Saved records contain unit, version, check/scenario counts and date only. They do not restore worksheet data or certify mastery. Native Excel rendering, recalculation and edit/save require separate checks.