Type text and numbers
Step 1 of 6
A cell holds text, a number or a formula. Numbers line up on the right and text on the left, so you can tell them apart at a glance.
Click Continue when you're ready.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Month | Sales | ||||
| 2 | January | 120 | ||||
| 3 | February | 95 | ||||
| 4 | March | 140 | ||||
| 5 | ||||||
| 6 | ||||||
| 7 | ||||||
| 8 |
Need help?
Why this works
Excel decides what you typed when you press Enter: 150 becomes a number, Total stays text. Only numbers can be used in calculations, which is why they're aligned differently.
Common mistake: Typing a number with a space or a unit in it, like 1 500 or 150 pcs. Excel then stores it as text and leaves it out of totals.
The answer
- D1
Target - D2
150 - D3
Total
Excel has stored it as text, usually because of a space or a letter. Retype it as a plain number.
+5 points