📊 Excel Basics #5 – Entering Text, Numbers & Dates

Every Excel worksheet is built using three main types of data: Text, Numbers, and Dates. Knowing how Excel treats each type helps you avoid errors.

📌 1. Text
• Used for names, cities, product names, IDs, and descriptions.
• Text is left-aligned by default.
• Excel does not perform calculations on text.

Examples:
• Rahul
• Laptop
• Sales Report

📌 2. Numbers
• Used for calculations such as sales, profit, quantity, and marks.
• Numbers are right-aligned by default.
• You can use numbers in formulas and functions.

Examples:
• 100
• 25.5
• 15000

Example Formula:
=A2+B2

📌 3. Dates
• Excel stores dates as serial numbers, allowing you to calculate the difference between dates.
• You can format dates in different ways without changing the underlying value.

Examples:
• 24/07/2026
• 24-Jul-2026
• July 24, 2026

Example:
If A2 = 01/07/2026 and B2 = 24/07/2026

Formula:
=B2-A2

Result: 23 days

📌 Common Mistakes
• Entering numbers as text (e.g., '100) prevents calculations.
• Using inconsistent date formats can lead to errors.
• Mixing text and numbers in the same column makes analysis difficult.

✅ Quick Tip:
Keep one data type per column. For example:
• Name → Text
• Salary → Number
• Joining Date → Date

This makes sorting, filtering, formulas, and Pivot Tables work correctly.

Double Tap ❤️ For More