ICDL Spreadsheets (ICDL) common mistakes
ICDL Spreadsheets · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Saves the finished workbook with the default name/location or in the default .xlsx format even when the task specifies a different name, folder or file type such as CSV or PDF.
Candidates click Save once at the start and never revisit it, assuming the default is acceptable; the Save As dialog's file-type dropdown is easily overlooked.
What to do instead
Before finishing, use File > Save As, navigate to the stated folder, type the exact filename, and deliberately choose the required type from the 'Save as type' list; then confirm the title bar shows the new name.
Leaves the sheet scrolled so header rows or label columns disappear, instead of applying Freeze Panes when the task asks for headers to stay visible while scrolling.
Freeze Panes sits in the View tab, away from the data-editing tabs candidates spend all their time in, so it is never discovered under time pressure.
What to do instead
Click the cell just below and to the right of the headers to keep, then View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes; verify by scrolling and checking the headers stay put.
Sorts a single column by selecting only that column, so the values reorder but the matching names/dates in adjacent columns stay in place and records no longer line up.
The column is what the candidate is looking at, and Excel's 'expand the selection' prompt is dismissed or clicked through without reading it.
What to do instead
Click any single cell inside the data block and use Data > Sort, or select the entire table range first; after sorting, spot-check two or three rows to confirm each record moved intact.
Merges cells to centre a heading across several columns, which then prevents sorting, filling and referencing the individual cells later in the task.
Merge & Center is a large, inviting button on the Home tab and looks like the quickest way to make a title span the top of a table.
What to do instead
Select the heading's row range and use Format Cells > Alignment > Horizontal > Center Across Selection, which centres the text without destroying individual cells.
Leaves sheets named Sheet1/Sheet2, or inserts fewer sheets than the task requires, instead of renaming and adding worksheets to the specified names and order.
Default names are invisible once the candidate is working on content, and sheet tabs are small targets at the bottom of a busy window.
What to do instead
Right-click a tab > Rename (or double-click it) and type the exact name; use the plus button or Shift+F11 to add sheets, then drag tabs to set the order requested.
Types a calculation such as 25*4 or =B2*C2 but the entry stays visible as text on the left of the cell instead of producing a result.
The leading equals sign is omitted, or the cell was pre-formatted as Text, so the program treats the entry as a label rather than a formula.
What to do instead
Start every calculation with = and press Enter; if it still shows as text, set the cell format to General, then re-enter the formula (retyping, not just pressing F2 and Enter).
Copies a formula down a column and the tax rate or lookup cell shifts with it, producing wrong results or #REF!/#DIV/0! errors in later rows.
References default to relative, and the $ symbol is unfamiliar, so the candidate assumes a copied formula behaves like copied text.
What to do instead
Before filling, click the reference that must stay fixed and press F4 (or type $) until it reads $B$1; then use the fill handle and verify the first and last rows of the copied range.
Rettypes values with currency symbols, percent signs or thousands separators, or pads numbers with leading apostrophes, so the cells hold text and totals ignore them.
Candidates mimic how the number should look rather than applying a display format, and typed symbols feel faster than opening Format Cells.
What to do instead
Enter plain numbers only, then select the range and apply Number/Currency/Percentage from Format Cells, setting the required decimal places in the same dialog.
Creates a chart from a range that includes totals rows, blank rows or the wrong series direction, so the chart shows an extra giant bar or the categories appear as series.
The whole block is selected with the mouse out of habit, and the 'Series in Rows/Columns' switch is buried in the dialog rather than visible on the chart.
What to do instead
Select only the labels plus the data rows, insert the chart, then use Chart Design > Select Data to remove stray series and toggle 'Switch Row/Column' until categories and series match the task.
Prints or exports without setting the print area, orientation, scaling or headers and footers, so the output splits across extra pages or cuts off columns.
Candidates judge success by what is on screen and never enter Print Preview or Page Layout, where the overflow and missing margins become visible.
What to do instead
Set Page Layout > Print Area to the exact block, choose Orientation, use 'Fit to 1 page wide', add the requested header/footer, then check Print Preview page count and column breaks before finishing.