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Spreadsheet Basics

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Adding Data to A Spreadsheet

2:18 with Michael Watson

Learn about the main ways you can add data to a spreadsheet.

Terms

  • CSV: comma-separated value. CSV files store tabular data (numbers and text) in plain text. Each line of the file is a data record. Each record consists of one or more fields, separated by commas. The use of the comma as a field separator is the source of the name for this file format.

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    [MUSIC] 0:00
    Earlier in this course I showed you how to create a spreadsheet with sheets. 0:05
    In this video, 0:09
    we're gonna talk about other ways to get started with spreadsheets. 0:10
    First as a manual input, you just start from scratch and 0:13
    manually input your data set into the spreadsheet. 0:16
    I do this all the time for ad hoc analysis. 0:19
    Indeed, I'll often use a spreadsheet instead of a calculator just this way. 0:22
    For example, here I'm just doing some calculations. 0:26
    I manually inputed that data. 0:31
    You might also be provided a spreadsheet with existing data. 0:34
    For example, you're handed a report from a colleague or your boss. 0:37
    Don't worry about the actual content in this spreadsheet. 0:41
    It's just an example. 0:43
    Indeed an existing spreadsheet might come in a variety of different formats that you 0:45
    may or may not want to change to suit your needs. 0:49
    Regardless it's often the case that you're given a spreadsheet with data that already 0:52
    exists as a starting point for your own work. 0:56
    Third, is that you import data from an external source. 0:58
    This can happen both automatically and manually. 1:01
    Utilizing a CSV file is a common way to manually import data into a spreadsheet. 1:04
    I'm going to demo importing a CSV file right now. 1:09
    Go to File>Open. 1:14
    Here's my CSV file. 1:23
    It's uploading. 1:26
    And here we are. 1:31
    This is a file that I downloaded from the Internet and now is in the spreadsheet. 1:32
    A lot of software will have options that allow you to export data. 1:38
    Oftentimes, that data is exported in the format of a CSV. 1:42
    This is why understanding how to use CSVs in the context of a spreadsheet and 1:44
    import data from a CSV into a spreadsheet is useful. 1:50
    Finally, you can set up a spread sheet using formulas and 1:54
    plugins to connect to a database and automatically update with the latest 1:57
    database information, this is an advance object that l won't cover in this course. 2:01
    But you may incur it as you start to use spreadsheets for business applications. 2:07
    I definitely used automatic updating from external sources 2:11
    all the time when I was working as an investment professional. 2:15

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