Lesson 2: Workbook Layout Across Desktop, Web and Mobile

Why layout comes first

Most broken spreadsheets were not broken by one bad formula. They started with a messy layout: typed numbers mixed in with formulas, raw data pasted beside totals, and nobody sure which cell to change. A clear layout fixes this before any formula is written.

Think of a workbook as a small kitchen. Ingredients (data) are stored in one place, the recipe settings (inputs) are pinned up in another, the cooking (calculations) happens at the counter, and the plate (report) goes to the table. You don't chop onions on the dinner plate.

Task 1: Learn the five-sheet layout

Give each job its own sheet:

1. About: what the workbook is for, who owns it, where the data comes from, when it was last updated, and a short list of the other sheets.
2. Inputs: the few values a user is allowed to change, such as a tax rate, a reporting month or an hourly rate. Label each value clearly.
3. Data: raw records exactly as they arrive, one row per record and one header row. No totals, no blank rows, no notes in the middle.
4. Calc: working formulas that read from Inputs and Data. Users look but do not type here.
5. Report: the summary, charts and findings that other people read.

Rules that keep this working:

• Information flows one way: Inputs and Data → Calc → Report.
• Type a number once, on Inputs. Every formula points to that cell; none has the number typed into it.
• Colour the sheet tabs (right-click a tab > Tab Color). For example, use yellow for Inputs, grey for Data, blue for Calc and green for Report.
• Put the tabs in the same order as the flow, with About first.

Example. A freelance invoice tracker: Inputs holds the VAT rate and the year; Data lists one invoice per row; Calc totals invoices by client; Report shows a monthly summary and a chart. To change the VAT rate, edit one cell and everything updates.

Small workbooks can merge Calc and Report. Keep Inputs and Data separate in every workbook.

Task 2: Find the core controls on each device

Four controls appear throughout this course:

• Ribbon: the tabs of commands (Home, Insert, Data, View and so on).
• Name Box: to the left of the formula bar. It shows the address of the selected cell. Type an address such as Data!A1 and press Enter to jump straight there.
• Formula bar: shows what a cell really contains, which may be a formula rather than the value displayed in the cell.
• Copilot pane: the panel where you chat with Copilot about the workbook.

Desktop (Windows and Mac)

1. The ribbon runs across the top. Double-click a tab name to collapse it or expand it again.
2. The Name Box and formula bar sit just above the column letters. If the formula bar is missing, go to View and tick Formula Bar.
3. To open Copilot, select the Copilot button on the Home tab. Recent versions also have a Copilot icon in the lower-right corner of the window. The pane opens at the side.

Web (Excel in a browser)

1. The ribbon is the same idea, but it can show a simplified single-line layout with fewer commands.
2. The Name Box and formula bar are in the same place as on desktop.
3. The Copilot button and pane work as they do on desktop.
4. Some advanced tools, such as parts of formula auditing, are more limited on the web. If a command is missing, open the file in the desktop app.

Mobile (phone and tablet)

1. On a phone the full ribbon is replaced by a command menu that you open from the toolbar. Its icons vary by app version.
2. To start a formula on a phone, tap the fx button.
3. The Name Box may be missing or limited on a phone. For navigation or naming work, switch to desktop or web.
4. Copilot support is narrower on mobile. As of November 2026, Microsoft lists iPad as chat and plan, with editing rolling out. iPhone is chat, with editing rolling out between late October and November 2026. Android is chat only.

Plan notes (checked 1 November 2026)

• Copilot appears only with an eligible Microsoft 365 plan. In a corporate tenant, IT can switch it off, so a missing button may be a policy setting rather than a fault. Look back at Level 1 for your own plan.
• The worksheet COPILOT function stopped working on 14 September 2026. Cells that use it now show #NAME?. Use the Copilot pane instead.

DO: Open any workbook on two devices you own. On each one, find the ribbon, the Name Box, the formula bar and Copilot, and note anything that is missing.

Task 3: Use Copilot to check your layout

Where Copilot is available, ask it in the pane: "List each sheet in this workbook and describe what it contains."

Then check its answer yourself:

1. Click each tab and compare it with Copilot's description.
2. Treat any sheet it describes as "mixed" as one to split.
3. Copilot's summary is a starting point. The final check is yours.

Task 4: Reorganise one of your own workbooks

1. Save a copy first (File > Save As, adding "-v2" to the name).
2. Insert an About sheet at the front and fill in its purpose, owner, source and date.
3. Move any typed-in settings, such as rates and targets, onto an Inputs sheet. Point the formulas at those cells.
4. Move raw records onto a Data sheet: one header row, with no totals inside the data.
5. Move the working formulas to Calc and the summary to Report.
6. Colour and order the tabs to match the flow.
7. Change one input and check that the report updates.

Key takeaways

• Keep inputs, raw data, calculations and reports on separate sheets, with an About sheet first.
• Data flows one way: Inputs and Data → Calc → Report. Type each value once.
• The Name Box shows and jumps to addresses. The formula bar shows what a cell really contains.
• Desktop has the fullest ribbon. Web is simplified. Phones use a command menu and have the most limited Copilot.
• Copilot needs an eligible plan, and IT may switch it off. Always check its answers yourself.