Cell Mates
5 minutes · 4 steps · free, no sign-up
A spreadsheet can be daunting at first, but it's essentially just a big grid of boxes. Every box has an address - a little like a street number - and every formula you'll ever create is built from those addresses. In this short introductory lesson you will learn to read the grid and place items in specific cells.
- Read a cell address such as C4
- Identify rows and columns
- Understand what a range such as A1:C1 means
- Use the name box to see where you currently are in the grid
Click a cell and start typing. Enter edits, Tab moves right, arrows move, Delete clears.
Quick referenceReading addresses
C4 column C, row 4
A1:C1 a range: every cell from A1 to C1
A:A the whole of column A
3:3 the whole of row 3The key ideasSummary: Cell Mates
Columns run up and down and are named with letters. Rows run left to right and are numbered. A cell's address is its column letter followed by its row number, so C4 is where column C meets row 4.
A range is a block of cells written as the first and last cell with a colon between, such as A1:C1. You will use ranges constantly, because functions like SUM work on them. The name box at the top left always shows the address of the cell you have selected.
Watch out forCommon mistakes
- Writing the row before the column. Addresses are always the letter first, then the number:
C4, not4C. Just think of B4 as "before". The B comes before the 4. - Mixing up rows and columns. A way to remember: columns are pillars standing upright, and they have the letters. Rows go across like rows of seats.
- Forgetting the colon in a range.
A1:C1means all three cells.A1,C1would mean only the two ends.
Next stepTry it in the real Google Sheets
In Google Sheets click any cell and look at the box at the top left of the sheet. That is the name box. You can also type an address into it, such as D40, and press Enter to jump straight there, which is handy in a large sheet.