Image: Master the fundamentals of Excel and build a solid foundation for the future

In Image 1, note the box labeled "cell" outlined in red in the center of the workspace. A cell is an individual element of your Excel spreadsheet into which you enter data elements on which you can perform calculations using formulas.

Note the black-bordered cell in the upper right-hand corner of the spreadsheet. The cell with a black border is the active cell. If you start to type, your information will be entered into this cell. Excel cells are named by the point at which the column and row intersect. In Image 1, the cell with the black border is named A1, because it is in column A, row 1. The cell with the red border that I outlined is named C5.