Columns, rows, and cells are the most fundamental components of a work sheet.

A column is a vertical series of adjacent cells from top to bottom. A row is a horizontal series of cells from left to right. A basic cell is an individual rectangle anywhere in the grid area of a worksheet.

There is a letter or combination of letters at the top of every column. Since there are only 26 letters, and 256 columns, the next columns after column Z are indexed by the letters AA, AB, AC and so on until the last column IV.

At the far left of a row you will see an index number. The rows are numbered, staring at the top, 1 through to 65,536. The top left cell in the worksheet is indexed by the letter number combination A1.

Excel is designed to have data organized down the sheet under column headings more so than across the sheet in rows. This is why there are 65,536 rows down the sheet, and only 256 columns.

In Excel, a range can be described as a series or block of adjacent cells. A range can be a very useful tool because it allows you to make changes (apply formatting for example) to multiple cells at once. To select a range, let your pointer hover over the centre of a cell. When you see the thick cross, hold the left mouse button down and drag your pointer to select a range. If you have a block of data in a worksheet, you can click on any data cell in the block, and press the Ctrl + Shift +8 keys. This will select the block of data as a range (Excel will use the empty cells adjacent to the data-filled cells as boundaries to the range).

A range can be indexed much like individual cells. For example, the range shown in the following image could be indexed as A1:A7, meaning column A rows 1 through 7.

 The range A1:A7

You can select a range by letting your mouse pointer hover over a cell until you see a thick cross.

You can then hold the left button down and drag to select a range. (A selected range will be highlighted in blue)

You can also select a range by clicking on the first cell in a block that you want to select, then press Shift, and click on the last cell in the block you want to select.

Still another way to select a range is to enter it directly into the Cell name field.

If you enter the range A1:A7 into the cell name field, the range shown above will be selected.