Creating a New Data List and Data Form

Excel automatically creates a data form for any data list that you create in Excel. All you have to do is enter the headings for the columns in the data list (known as fields) in the first row and a row of data entries (that make up the first record of the data list) in the row immediately below and then assign to their cells whatever alignment and number formatting you want the rest of the entries in that column (field) to have.

If your data list contains calculated fields, be sure to enter the formulas necessary for doing these computations in the appropriate cells of the first record. Also be sure to assign the desired number format to these results in the calculated fields. Both the formula and the formatting assigned to the calculated fields are picked up in the data form.

In the data form, the program automatically assigns hot keys to the various field names (indicated by the underscores) that you can then select by combining with the Alt key. (For example, pressing Alt+E selects the Sex field in this data form.)

When the data form is displayed, you can use the scroll bar to the right of the fields to move through the records in the data list, or you can use various direction keys. Table below lists the navigating functions of the scroll bar and these keystrokes. For example, to move to the next record in the data list, press the ↓ or Enter key or click the scroll arrow at the bottom of the scroll bar. To move to the previous record in the data list (assuming that there's more than one), press the ↑ key or Shift+Enter key or click the scroll arrow at the top of the scroll bar. To select a field in the current record for editing, click that field's text box or press Tab (next field) or Shift+Tab (previous field) until you select the field (and its current entry).