Learn Excel
Excel Introduction gives a first look at what Microsoft Excel is, why people use it, and how its files are organized before you start building anything.
What Is Microsoft Excel?
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that stores information in a grid of rows and columns. Instead of writing numbers on paper, you type them into cells, and Excel can add, sort, filter, and chart that data for you. It is part of the Microsoft 365 (and Office) suite and runs on Windows, Mac, tablets, and in a browser.
- Tracking a household or project budget
- Keeping lists of customers, products, or inventory
- Analyzing survey results or sales numbers
- Building charts and dashboards from raw data
- Creating simple invoices, schedules, and calendars
How Excel Files Are Organized
An Excel file is called a workbook, and it can contain one or more worksheets (often just called sheets). Each worksheet is a grid made of columns (labeled with letters, A, B, C...) and rows (labeled with numbers, 1, 2, 3...). The box where a column and row meet is called a cell, and every cell has its own address, such as A1 or D12.
Why Learn Excel?
Excel is one of the most widely used business tools in the world. Almost every office job touches a spreadsheet at some point, whether it is for financial reporting, planning, or simple record keeping. Learning the basics well pays off because the same skills, entering data, writing formulas, and organizing sheets, apply no matter what kind of information you are working with.
A Simple First Example
Imagine you type the number 10 into cell A1, the number 20 into cell A2, and the number 30 into cell A3. Instead of adding them yourself, you can click cell A4 and let Excel do the math by referencing the range of cells that holds your numbers.
Example
=SUM(A1:A3)Exercise: Excel Introduction
What is Microsoft Excel primarily used for?
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Excel worth learning in 2026?
- Yes. It remains the default tool for business analysis, budgeting and reporting, and it is listed in a large share of non-technical job postings. It is often the fastest route into a data career.
- What is the difference between VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP?
- XLOOKUP replaces VLOOKUP and fixes its limitations: it can look left as well as right, does not break when columns are inserted, and defaults to an exact match. Use XLOOKUP where it is available.
- Should I learn Excel or SQL?
- Excel first if your work is reporting and ad-hoc analysis. SQL once the data outgrows a spreadsheet, which happens sooner than most people expect. The two are complementary rather than alternatives.
