What is an Excel data list

  with the newly improved data listing features provided by Excel. You will find that Excel's table and data management capabilities are what you need. This chapter can help us manage our data more effectively.
     A database (also referred to as a table) is a collection of data stored in the same structured manner. such as phone book, company's customer directory, Inventory account, and so on. Using database technology we can easily manage this data, such as sorting the database and finding the data that satisfies the specified criteria, and so on.
     in Excel 2000, the database is treated as a list of data. We can understand that a data list is a database. In a database, information is stored by record. Each record contains an item of information, called a field. For example, in a company's customer directory, each customer information is a record, which is made up of fields. The same field for all records holds similar information (for example, company name, street address, phone number, and so on). Microsoft Excel 2000 provides a powerful set of commands, making it easy to manage your data listings (databases). We can do the following:
     sort--in a list, for certain columns of data, we can rearrange the order of the rows with the sort commands in the Data menu. You can select the data and select a sort order, or create and use a custom sort order.
     Filtering-You can use the filter command on the Data menu to find and other work on the specified data in the manifest. A filtered list displays only those rows that contain a specific value or match a set of criteria, temporarily hiding other rows.
     Data Sheet-A data logger provides an easy way to view, change, add, and delete records from a list or database, or to find specific records using the criteria you specify.
     automatic subtotals--Use the subtotals command on the Data menu to insert a subtotal row in the list to summarize any data you choose. When you insert a subtotal, Microsoft Excel automatically inserts a total row for you at the bottom of the list.

    microsoft Excel provides a range of features that make it easy to process and analyze data in a list. When applying these features, enter data in the list according to the following guidelines.
     size and position of the list
     avoid creating multiple lists on one worksheet because some of the processing functions of the list (such as filtering, etc.) Can only be used in one list of the same worksheet at a time.
     leave at least one blank column and one blank row between the worksheet's data list and other data. This facilitates Microsoft Excel detection and selection of lists when performing operations such as sorting, filtering, or inserting automatic totals.
     Avoid placing blank rows and columns in the list, which will help Microsoft Excel detect and select a list of data.
     Avoid putting critical data on the left and right sides of the list. Because the data may be hidden when you filter the list.
     Column Labels
     creates column labels in the first row of the list. Microsoft Excel uses these flags to create reports and to find and organize data. The font, alignment, format, pattern, border, or case style used by the
     column labels should be different from the format of other data in the list.
     If you want to separate the flag from other data, use a cell border (instead of a space or dash) to insert a line below the label line.
     row and column contents
     When designing a list, you should have an approximate data item for each row in the same column.
     do not insert extra spaces at the beginning of a cell, because extra spaces affect sorting and lookup.
     do not use blank rows to separate column labels from the first row of data.