Typing into a cell is the first skill, and Excel treats what you type differently depending on what it looks like.
Excel auto-detects what's typed: numbers align to the right, text aligns to the left, and recognized dates can be sorted chronologically rather than alphabetically.
Click once to select a cell, click again (or press F2) to edit its contents directly. Enter confirms and moves down one cell; Tab confirms and moves right one cell.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| F2 | Edit the selected cell |
| Enter | Confirm and move down |
| Tab | Confirm and move right |
| Esc | Cancel the edit |
A small square appears at the bottom-right corner of a selected cell — dragging it (the fill handle) continues an obvious pattern automatically: 1, 2, 3… or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… or a formula copied down every row it's dragged across.