Page 40 - Computer Class 07

Types of Data in a Spreadsheet

Worksheets also referred as spreadsheets, are used in business to track and record
information such as employee work hours, product sales, customer information and

business accounting. You can tailor your worksheet to suit your needs using just four
primary types of data.

Text

Text on a worksheet can represent bits of information or be used to name a column or
row. The use of text on your business worksheet provides clarity in the worksheet’s
purpose, so anyone else in the business can look at the spreadsheet and understand

the information represented there. Different types of text used on a worksheet can
range from names of people to product names to customer address.

Values

Values or numbers are used in many different ways on a business worksheet. You can
use whole-number values or decimal numbers. The use of values on a worksheet is
helpful in business accounting and simple calculations.

Dates and Times

Dates and times used in worksheets for tracking and calculating. Dates are typically

entered with a hyphen or slash separating the numbers and since the year 2000 it’s
recommended that the year be represented with four numbers instead of the last two,
to avoid confusion over which century the date refers to.

Smart Corner

Dates can be written out in text format or in a standardised numerical format. If you
identify a data field or a range of cells in your worksheet as a data entry, your spreadsheet
can easily convert back and forth between numerical and text representations.

Formulas

Formulas are mathematical equations that work in combination with data from other
cells on the spreadsheet. Simple formulas are used to add or subtract numbers.

Advanced formulas perform algebraic equations. Spreadsheet functions are formulas
that are built into Excel.

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