Cells contain several types of information

Cells can contain formulas, values and formatting.          

Formulas

Formulas are expressions that calculate a value in a cell. A formula always begins with an equals sign (=).

=1+2 is an example of a formula. It calculates the value 3.

You can use references in formulas. Instead of writing =1+2 you can write 1 in one cell (e.g. A1) and 2 in another cell (e.g. A2), and then in A3 write =A1+A2.

Values

Values are what formulas calculate. If you write =1+2 in a cell, then =1+2 is the formula and 3 is the value.

If you write =SUM(1,2) in a cell, then =SUM(1,2) is the formula and the value the formula calculates is 3.

If you just write 3 in a cell, there is no formula there, only a value.

Formatting

Formatting only affects how the value in the cell is displayed. Depending on
how the value 1200.5 in cell A1 is formatted, it may for example be displayed as:

• 1200,5
• SEK 1,200.50
• SEK 1,200
• 1200
• 1903-04-14 12:00:00

Regardless of how the value is displayed, formulas that refer to the cell will use the value 1200.5.
=A1+A1 in another cell will give the value 2401 in that cell.