Understanding Excel Data Types

When you work in Excel, you enter different types of information, such as text, numbers, dates, times, formulas, and functions (which is a special built-in formula provided by Excel). Excel data basically comes in two varieties: labels and values.

A label is a text entry; it is called a label because it typically provides descriptive information such as the name of a person, place, or thing. A label has no numerical significance in Excel; it's just there to describe accompanying values.