What does ##### mean in an Excel cell?

It usually means the column is too narrow to display the number or date. Widen the column to see the value.

What is the shortcut to convert a range into an Excel table?

Select the data range and press Ctrl+T on Windows or Command+T on Mac.

Why should I save an Excel workbook to OneDrive or SharePoint?

Cloud saving enables automatic backup, access from multiple devices, sharing, and real-time collaboration.

Free Course Image Excel for Beginners: 2-Hour Crash Course in Formulas, Charts and Pivot Tables

Free online course Excel for Beginners: 2-Hour Crash Course in Formulas, Charts and Pivot Tables

Duration of the online course: 2 hours and 9 minutes

(8)

Build job-ready Excel skills fast with this free course: formulas, charts, PivotTables, sorting, and smarter spreadsheets in just 2 hours.

In this free course, learn about

Introduction to Excel
Excel Main Interface
Entering Data
Saving Workbooks
Formatting, Layout, and Design
Formulas and Functions
Charts and Data Analysis
Sorting and Filtering
Pivot Tables
Flash Fill
Adjusting Worksheet Views
Multiple Worksheets and Workbooks
Sharing and Collaboration
Printing Worksheets
Course Wrap-Up

About the free online course

Turn messy data into clear answers with a practical Excel crash course built for true beginners. In just two hours, you will go from clicking around the interface to working confidently with everyday spreadsheets used in business, school, and real projects. You will learn how workbooks and worksheets are organized, how to move quickly through data, and how to use helpful on-screen tips and shortcuts so Excel feels less overwhelming from the start.

Instead of memorizing menus, you will practice the skills that make Excel genuinely useful: entering numbers, dates, and times accurately; adjusting column widths and row heights; formatting data so it is readable and reliable; and turning ranges into tables that stay structured as you expand. You will also learn how to find and replace values, hide and reveal information cleanly, and use conditional formatting to spot trends and exceptions without manual scanning.

As you build confidence, you will start using formulas and the core functions that power most spreadsheets. You will understand how references work, why results change when you copy a formula, and how to avoid common mistakes that slow people down. You will also get hands-on with lookup tools that help connect datasets and retrieve the right value quickly, a skill that is central to reporting and analysis tasks in many roles.

To communicate insights, you will create and format charts, explore built-in analysis suggestions, and learn to sort and filter data for fast decision-making. You will also discover how PivotTables can summarize large lists into clear summaries you can adjust in seconds, helping you report counts, totals, and patterns without rebuilding calculations from scratch.

Finally, you will learn the everyday workflow habits that make Excel feel professional: saving to the cloud for safer access and collaboration, managing multiple sheets, protecting workbooks, tracking version history, and preparing clean printouts with the right page setup, headers, and repeatable titles. By the end, you will be ready to handle common Excel tasks with less friction, more accuracy, and a stronger foundation for advanced analytics.

Course content

Video class: 1-1. Introduction: Welcome to Excel for Beginners 01m
Exercise: After covering the fundamentals, which topics are introduced next in the course?
Video class: 1-2. Introduction: What is Excel 01m
Video class: 1-3. Introduction: How to get Excel 01m
Exercise: Which option lets you use Excel entirely for free?

Video class: 2-1. Main interface: Start screen 02m
Video class: 2-2. Main interface: Workbook and worksheet 00m
Exercise: In Excel, what is a workbook?
Video class: 2-3. Main interface: Tabs and ribbon 01m
Video class: 2-4. Main interface: Navigate through a worksheet 02m
Exercise: In a worksheet, what is the intersection of a row and a column called?
Video class: 2-5. Main interface: Navigate through a workbook 00m
Video class: 2-6. Main interface: Help 01m
Exercise: How can you quickly learn what an Excel icon does and see its keyboard shortcut?

Video class: 3-1. Enter data: Numbers 04m
Video class: 3-2. Enter data: Column width and row height 01m
Exercise: What does it mean when a cell shows hash symbols (#####) after you make a column narrower?
Video class: 3-3. Enter data: Dates and times 02m
Video class: 3-4. Enter data: Select cells to enter data quickly 00m
Exercise: When entering data in Excel, what happens if you first highlight a range of cells and then press the Tab key?

Video class: 4-1. Save workbook: Save workbook 00m
Video class: 4-2. Save workbook: Benefits of saving a workbook in the cloud 00m
Exercise: Why is saving an Excel workbook to OneDrive or SharePoint recommended?

Video class: 5-1. Format, layout, and design: Basic formatting 04m
Video class: 5-2. Format, layout, and design: Tables 03m
Exercise: What is the keyboard shortcut to quickly turn a data range into an Excel table?
Video class: 5-3. Format, layout, and design: Insert rows and columns 01m
Video class: 5-4. Format, layout, and design: Copy and move 02m
Exercise: When rearranging columns in an Excel table, which action lets you insert a column without overwriting existing data?
Video class: 5-5. Format, layout, and design: Conditional formatting 01m
Video class: 5-6. Format, layout, and design: Hide rows and columns 01m
Exercise: How can you show all hidden rows in an Excel sheet at once?
Video class: 5-7. Format, layout, and design: Find and replace 01m

Video class: 6-1. Formulas and functions: Status bar for basic metrics 01m
Exercise: What can you do from the status bar after selecting multiple revenue cells?
Video class: 6-2. Formulas and functions: Enter a basic formula with addition and subtraction 03m
Video class: 6-3. Formulas and functions: Repeat formulas 01m
Exercise: What does pressing CTRL + Enter do after typing a formula in selected adjacent cells?
Video class: 6-4. Formulas and functions: Relative and absolute references 04m
Video class: 6-5. Formulas and functions: Division 00m
Exercise: In Excel, which operator is used to divide two numbers in a formula?
Video class: 6-6. Formulas and functions: Order of operations 01m
Video class: 6-7. Formulas and functions: Commons functions including SUM, MAX, MIN, COUNT, and AVERAGE 06m
Exercise: Which Excel function should you use to add up all numbers in a range (for example, B6:B12) to get a total?
Video class: 6-8. Formulas and functions: VLOOKUP function 05m
Video class: 6-9. Formulas and functions: XLOOKUP function 03m
Exercise: Which improvement does XLOOKUP have over VLOOKUP?

Video class: 7-1. Charts: Insert and format charts 05m
Video class: 7-2. Charts: Analyze data to generate charts 02m
Exercise: Which Excel feature opens a pane that analyzes the selected data and can suggest insights and charts (including an option to insert a PivotChart)?

Video class: 8-1. Sorting and filtering: Sort 03m
Video class: 8-2. Sorting and filtering: Filter 02m
Exercise: Which keyboard shortcut toggles the Filter feature on and off in Excel?
Video class: 8-3. Sorting and filtering: Worksheet views 01m

Video class: 9-1. Pivot tables: All about pivot tables 13m
Exercise: In a PivotTable, how do you change a field in the Values area from Sum to Count (for example, counting Order IDs)?

Video class: 10-1. Flash fill: Separate and merge data using flash fill 02m

Video class: 11-1. Adjust worksheet views: Freeze panes 02m
Exercise: How can you keep the header row visible while scrolling down in an Excel worksheet?
Video class: 11-2. Adjust worksheet views: Split panes 01m

Video class: 12-1. Multiple worksheets and workbooks: Rename and color worksheets 01m
Exercise: How can you rename a worksheet tab in Excel?
Video class: 12-2. Multiple worksheets and workbooks: Add and delete worksheets 00m
Video class: 12-3. Multiple worksheets and workbooks: Hide and unhide worksheets 00m
Exercise: How do you make a hidden worksheet visible again in Excel?
Video class: 12-4. Multiple worksheets and workbooks: Move and copy worksheets 01m
Video class: 12-5. Multiple worksheets and workbooks: Worksheet groups 01m
Exercise: What is the main benefit of selecting a group of worksheets in Excel?

Video class: 13-1. Share and collaborate: Protect worksheet 02m
Video class: 13-2. Share and collaborate: Protect workbook 00m
Exercise: What does using Protect Workbook primarily prevent in Excel?
Video class: 13-3. Share and collaborate: Password protect workbook 00m
Video class: 13-4. Share and collaborate: Share workbook 02m
Exercise: When sharing a workbook, what can you change in the Share dialog permissions?
Video class: 13-5. Share and collaborate: Version history 00m

Video class: 14-1. Print: Print selection 02m
Exercise: In Excel, how can you print only a specific part of a worksheet (and exclude other tables)?
Video class: 14-2. Print: Set print area 01m
Video class: 14-3. Print: Hide column 00m
Exercise: How can you remove a column from the printout without deleting it?
Video class: 14-4. Print: Page settings 01m
Video class: 14-5. Print: Adjust columns 01m
Exercise: What does pressing Alt + Enter within a cell do to help reduce the column width?
Video class: 14-6. Print: Repeat headers 00m
Video class: 14-7 Print: Headers and footers 01m
Exercise: Which Excel view lets you preview pages and easily add headers and footers?
Video class: 14-8. Print: Show gridlines 00m
Video class: 14-9. Print: Page break view 01m
Exercise: In Excel, which view lets you see and drag page breaks to control what prints on each page?

Video class: 15-1. Wrap up: Wrap up 00m

Learn aboutExcel

Explore free online Excel courses designed to help you master spreadsheets, formulas, functions, data analysis, charts, PivotTables, and more. Learn at your own pace with beginner to advanced lessons, build practical Microsoft Excel skills for work or study, and earn a certificate upon completion—all at no cost. Start learning today.