📊 Excel & Spreadsheets Essentials

What you’ll learn

1. The Grid ModelUnderstand cell addressing, ranges, data types, sheets, and the formula bar in both Excel and Google Sheets.A spreadsheet is a lettered-column, numbered-row grid where each cell has an address like B4 and groups of cells form ranges like A1:C3. Cells hold typed data, numbers, text, dates, and booleans, and the type determines what you can do. The formula bar reveals a cell's true content, every formula begins with an equals sign, and workbooks hold multiple sheets referenced with a sheet name and exclamation mark. These conventions are shared by Excel and Google Sheets.
2. Formulas and Cell ReferencesWrite formulas that reference cells and control shifting with relative, absolute, and mixed references.Formulas reference other cells so results update automatically when inputs change, following algebra's order of operations. Relative references shift when copied, letting one formula fill a whole column via the fill handle. Dollar signs create absolute references that stay fixed: $A$1 locks both parts, while A$1 and $A1 lock only the row or column. Pressing F4 cycles through the four combinations.
3. Essential FunctionsUse SUM, AVERAGE, IF, COUNTIF, and text and date helpers to aggregate data and make logical decisions.Functions are named calculations called with arguments in parentheses. SUM and AVERAGE aggregate ranges. IF chooses between two outcomes based on a TRUE/FALSE test. COUNTIF counts cells meeting a criterion and SUMIF adds them, with COUNTIFS and SUMIFS handling multiple conditions. Text and date helpers like CONCATENATE, TRIM, and TODAY clean and reshape data. All behave identically in Excel and Google Sheets.
4. Lookups: VLOOKUP and XLOOKUPJoin tables with VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP, understand exact match, each function's limits, and error handling.Lookups find a value in one table and return related data. VLOOKUP searches the leftmost column and returns a column to its right, but only looks rightward and needs FALSE for an exact match. XLOOKUP names lookup and return columns separately, looks in any direction, defaults to exact match, and can return a custom not-found message. Wrapping lookups in IFNA or IFERROR handles missing matches gracefully.
5. Sorting and FilteringSort tables safely by one or more columns, filter data non-destructively, and freeze panes for navigation.Sorting reorders rows by column values, and whole rows must move together or the data scrambles; multi-level sorts group by one key then break ties with the next. Filtering hides non-matching rows without deleting them, is fully reversible, and can stack across columns. Freezing panes locks headers in view while scrolling. Both work the same in Excel and Google Sheets.
6. Charts and FormattingChoose an appropriate chart, build it clearly, and use number formatting, Tables, and conditional formatting.Column and bar charts compare categories, line charts show trends over time, pie charts show parts of a whole with few slices, and scatter plots show relationships; avoid 3D distortion and truncated axes. Formatting changes appearance, not values. Converting a range to a Table adds auto-extension, persistent headers, filter buttons, and readable structured references, and conditional formatting highlights patterns by rule.
7. Errors and ShortcutsInterpret common error values, trace their sources, and use the keyboard shortcuts that speed up real work.Error values are diagnostic: #DIV/0! is division by zero, #REF! is a deleted reference, #N/A is a failed lookup, #VALUE! is a type mismatch, #NAME? is a misspelled function, and ##### is just a narrow column. Trace Precedents and IFERROR help find and handle errors, though an error is information worth understanding. Keyboard shortcuts for navigation and editing, from Ctrl+Arrow to Alt+=, dramatically speed up work, and Google Sheets shares most of them.

Questions this course answers

Grounded in trusted sources

• Microsoft Excel official documentation
• Google Sheets Help Center
• Microsoft 365 support

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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