GCFLearnFree.org

Excel XP

Inserting and Deleting Cells

Page 1

Introduction

By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:

  • Insert cells
  • Delete cells
  • Merge cells
Page 2

Inserting a cell

When working in an Excel XP worksheet, you may need to insert or delete cells without inserting or deleting entire rows or columns.

To Insert Cells:

  • Select the location where the new cell(s) should be inserted. It can be a single cell or a range of cells.
  • Right-click and choose Insert.

    Note: You could also choose Insert Cell on the menu bar.

    Insert Selection on the Shortcut Menu

  • The Insert dialog box opens. Select either:
  • Shift cells right to shift cells in the same row to the right.
  • Shift cells down to shift selected cells and all cells in the column below it downward.

    Insert Dialog Box

  • Choose an option and click the OK button.
  • Your result displays in the spreadsheet.

    Cell Inserted Into A Spreadsheet

Remember, you can also use the Insert dialog box to insert or delete columns and rows.

Page 3

Deleting a cell

To Physically Delete the Cell from the Spreadsheet:

  • Right-click and choose Delete.

    Delete Selection on the Shortcut Menu

  • The Delete dialog box opens. Select either:
  • Shift cells left to shift cells in the same row to the left.
  • Shift cells up to shift selected cells and all cells in the column above it upward.

    Delete Dialog Box

  • Choose an option and click the OK button.
  • Your result displays in your spreadsheet.
Page 4

Merging cells

In Excel XP, you have another alignment option available to you: merge and center. This is performed when you want to select one or more cells and merge them into a larger cell. The contents will be centered across the new merged cell.

The picture below shows why we might want to merge two cells. The spreadsheet presents Last Month and This Month Sales and Expenses for Sally. Notice that Sally's name appears above the Last Month column. To evenly center Sally's name across the two cells we would perform a merge and center.

Header Label Before Merge Cell Operation

To Merge Two Cells Into One:

  • Select the cells that you want to merge. It can be cells in a column, row or both columns and rows.
  • Click the Merge Button Merge and Center button on the standard toolbar.


    Merge and Center Button on Toolbar

  • The two cells are now merged into one.

    Header Label After Merge Cell Operation

Page 5

Challenge

  • Type the name "Oscar" in cell B2.
  • Type the name "Ben" in cell C2.
  • Type the name "Ruth" in cell D2.
  • Insert a cell between cell C2 and cell D2, and then "shift the cells right."
  • Type the name "Mary" in new cell D2.
  • Type the label "Sales People" in cell B1.
  • Merge and Center cells B1, C1, D1 and E1.