Q&A for How to Edit Data in Microsoft Excel

Your Excel document may be in "Read Only" mode. After opening Excel, click the "Office Orb" at the upper, lefthand side of the screen and select "Open" to access your desired document. Then click that orb again and select "Save As." Then select the "Tools" button next to "Save" and click "General Options." Finally, uncheck the box located next to "Read-only," click "OK" and select "Save" for the changes to take effect.

First, select the cell(s) for which you wish to change the background color. Then, from the "Format" toolbar, click the downward pointing arrow next to "Fill Color." This is the option that looks like a letter paint can with a colored line underneath it. Clicking the arrow with display a menu with a variety of color options.

A blank "workbook" may automatically appear upon opening Excel. Otherwise, you'll see a "Template Gallery" from which you can either select a new blank workbook or a specially formatted template. You may always open a new spreadsheet while working on another workbook in Excel. Simply click on "File" from the menu bar and select the "New Workbook" option.

You can essentially redact information by changing the cells' background color to black. Select the cell(s) for which you wish to adjust background color. Then, from the "Format" toolbar, click the downward pointing arrow next to "Fill Color." This is the option that looks like a letter paint can with a colored line underneath it. Clicking the arrow with display a menu with a variety of color options. Simply select "Black," and your text won't be visible against the backdrop.

This sort of depends on how you wish to change the information (e.g. what you want to replace it with). But if, for example, you want to replace the information in multiple cells with the same data, highlight all of the desired cells, type your preferred text and then press "Ctrl + Enter" at the same time (instead of "Enter" alone).