Worksheets, Formulas, and Formatting in Microsoft Excel on Windows

A Microsoft Excel file is a workbook. The grid you type in is a worksheet inside that workbook, and a formula is a cell that starts with an equals sign. This guide builds a small sheet on Windows: labels, a SUM you can check by hand, a filled column, a table from the Insert tab, a currency or date format, frozen header rows, and a save as xlsx. The catalog page is Microsoft Excel. Softcoria does not host the installer.

Desktop Excel is the installed program. It ships with Microsoft 365, which is a subscription, or with a one-time Office edition. Excel for the web is the browser app. They are different. The web app is for lighter edits. The desktop app is the full one. The steps below are the desktop app. This page does not invent a catalogue of commands the browser leaves out.

The workbook, the worksheet, and the cell

Open desktop Excel from the Start menu and choose a blank workbook. You get one file with a sheet tab at the bottom, usually Sheet1. That tab is a worksheet. The file that will become .xlsx is the workbook. Click the plus beside the tabs to add another worksheet. Double-click a tab to rename it. Renaming a sheet does not rename the file, and adding a sheet does not create a second workbook. File > Save writes every sheet in the file together.

A cell is one address. The box where column B meets row 4 is B4. Click it and the Name Box shows that address. Type a label in A1, such as Item, and a label in B1, such as Amount. Those two cells are headers. They are not numbers, and a later total should not depend on them as if they were amounts.

WorkbookThe file. Saving it writes every sheet. WorksheetOne tab inside the file, such as Sheet1. CellOne address, such as B4. FormulaA cell whose contents start with =.

A SUM you can check by hand

Put two real amounts under the header. In A2 type Coffee and in B2 type 3.5. In A3 type Tea and in B3 type 2. In A4 type Total. In B4 type =SUM(B2:B3) and press Enter. Excel should show 5.5, or 5,5 if your Windows region uses a comma as the decimal mark. The formula on screen after you press Enter is the result, not the text of the formula. Click B4 and read the formula bar above the grid if you want to see =SUM(B2:B3) again.

B2:B3 means both amount cells, including the ends. It does not include the header in row 1, and it does not include the total in row 4. That last point matters later. You can type the formula yourself. You do not need another ribbon tab beyond Home, Insert, View, and File for the rest of this guide. The equals sign is what makes the cell a formula. Without it, Excel stores a label.

Fill a column

The fill handle is the small square at the lower-right corner of the selected cell. It copies or extends what you have selected when you drag it down. Select A2, which says Coffee. Drag the fill handle down through A6. Excel copies the label. That is useful when one word should repeat, and useless when you wanted a series.

For a series of amounts, give Excel a pattern. Type 1 in a spare cell and 2 in the cell under it. Select both cells, then drag the fill handle down. Excel continues 3, 4, 5. One starting number only copies. Two starting numbers that step by one extend the step. Use this for a quantity column you are about to total. Do not drag the fill handle across B4 if that cell already holds the total, or you will overwrite the formula.

Formulas fill with relative addresses. If C2 contains =B2*2 and you drag the fill handle down, the next cell becomes =B3*2, then =B4*2. Excel shifts the row because you moved down a row. That is what you want for a line-by-line calculation. It is what you do not want if you meant every row to keep pointing at one fixed cell. For this guide, relative fill is the behavior to expect. After you fill, click the last new cell and read the formula bar so you see the shifted address before you trust the column.

Turn the range into a table

A table is a range Excel treats as one list, with headers and filter marks. Select A1:B4, including the header row and the total, or select only the rows you want in the list if you would rather keep the total outside it. Choose Insert > Table. Confirm that the range is right and that My table has headers is checked, because row 1 is Item and Amount, not a first data record. Excel adds filter arrows on the header and formats the range as a table.

Type a new item in the first empty row under the table. A proper table expands to include that row. You do not paint the format by hand. If the total sat inside the table and the new row appears above it, glance at SUM again. A table is convenient. It does not excuse a total that includes itself. Filters hide rows on screen. They are for reading the list, not a second save format. Clearing a filter shows the rows again. The underlying cells stay in the workbook either way.

Currency, dates, and frozen headers

Select the amount cells, including the total if it should share the format. On the Home tab, set the number format to Currency. The symbol follows the Windows regional format, so it may be a dollar sign, a euro sign, or something else. Do not type the symbol into the cell by hand if you still want Excel to calculate. A typed currency mark can turn the value into text. The format paints the symbol. The cell keeps a number.

Dates are the same idea. Type a date in a spare column, then on the Home tab choose a date format. The order of day and month follows the Windows region. A date format does not translate a sentence. If the cell says “next Tuesday”, formatting it as a date will not invent a calendar day. Use a real date value, then apply the format so the sheet displays it as a date rather than as a bare number.

Freeze panes keeps headings visible while you scroll. Click the cell just below the row you want to keep and just to the right of any column you want to keep. For a header row only, click any cell in row 2, such as A2. Then choose View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Top Row. To lock both the top row and the first column, click B2 and choose View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes. Scroll down. Row 1 should stay put. Choose Unfreeze Panes on that same View menu if the lock is in the wrong place and you need to set it again. Freezing does not sort the sheet and does not protect cells from edits.

Save the workbook as xlsx

Until the first save, the grid is only in memory. Choose File > Save. Pick a folder you will remember, such as Documents if the file should stay on this PC, or OneDrive if it should live in that store. Set the type to Excel Workbook (*.xlsx). Name the file and save. The title bar should show that name. Cancelling the dialog writes nothing. An xlsx holds every worksheet in the workbook, the table, the formats, and the formulas. It does not freeze the results into plain text. Open the file again and click the total. The formula bar should still show =SUM(...).

Sign in with the Microsoft account that owns Microsoft 365 or the one-time Office license and install desktop Excel from that account. A catalog page cannot hand you the setup. Before you run a setup you downloaded, read How to Safely Download and Install Software on Windows and confirm the page is Microsoft’s. The hardware floor Microsoft publishes for Microsoft 365 for home use is on the system requirements page: Windows 11, a 1.6 GHz processor with two cores, 4 GB of RAM or 2 GB if Windows itself is 32-bit, 4 GB of disk, and a display of 1280×768. If your license is a one-time Office edition, read the requirements for that edition before you treat every figure as identical. Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025. Microsoft 365 security updates on Windows 10 continue until October 10, 2028 and do not add new features. The published current list names Windows 11.

When the formula misbehaves

The formula shows as text

If B4 displays the characters =SUM(B2:B3) and never shows 5.5, Excel did not calculate. The usual cause is that the cell was formatted as Text before you typed. Text format stores what you type. It does not evaluate an equals sign. On the Home tab, set that cell’s format to General. Then press F2 to edit the cell and press Enter, so Excel parses the formula again. Checking the format after the fact, without re-entering, often leaves the old text in place. Also look at the first character. A formula has to begin with =. A leading space or a missing equals sign is a label, even in a General cell.

Numbers stored as text

A column can look numeric and still add up short. Excel’s SUM skips values that are text. Imported rows, a leading apostrophe, or cells that were formatted as Text before the digits were typed all produce numbers stored as text. The grid often shows a green triangle and a warning that the number is stored as text. Set those cells to General and type the digits again, or edit the cell to remove the apostrophe, then press Enter. After that, B4 should rise to include the amounts it was ignoring. Do not “fix” a short total by typing the answer over the formula. You would replace SUM with a constant and the sheet would stop updating.

A total that includes itself

If B4 contains =SUM(B2:B4), that is a circular reference: the formula includes its own cell, and Excel warns you instead of returning an ordinary total.

Point the range at the amount cells only, =SUM(B2:B3) in the example, and leave the total outside that range. Then save the xlsx again so the repaired formula is the one on disk.

FAQ

What is the difference between a workbook and a worksheet?

The workbook is the file, usually an xlsx. A worksheet is one sheet tab inside that file. Sheet1 is a worksheet. Adding a sheet does not create a second file. Saving writes the whole workbook.

Why does my SUM show up as text instead of a total?

The cell was formatted as Text before you typed the formula, so Excel stored the characters and did not calculate. Set the format to General, press F2 in that cell, and press Enter so Excel reads the equals sign as a formula.

The numbers are visible but the total is too small. Why?

Some of those numbers are stored as text. Excel skips text that only looks like a number, so SUM ignores it. A green triangle and the note that a number is stored as text are the usual signs. Set the format to General and type the value again.

What is a circular reference?

A circular reference means the formula refers to its own cell, directly or through other cells, and Excel warns you instead of returning an ordinary total.

Does Excel for the web do everything the desktop app does?

No. Excel for the web is the browser app and is meant for lighter edits. Desktop Excel is the full app. This guide does not invent a list of missing web commands. The steps here are the installed program.

Where do I install desktop Excel?

From the Microsoft account that owns Microsoft 365 or your one-time Office license. Softcoria does not host the installer. The catalog page only describes the app.

Related guides

• How to Safely Download and Install Software on Windows — confirm Microsoft’s page, then install the desktop apps.

Related software

• Microsoft Excel — the Softcoria page. The installer is not hosted here.
• Office for Windows — other office listings. They do not replace the Microsoft account install.