Question: I hear the terms “workbook” and “worksheet” used frequently when people discuss MS Excel. What exactly is a workbook? A worksheet? Is there a difference?

Well, to begin with, there is definitely a difference. (But you knew that, didn’t you?)

A workbook is the MS Excel file in which you enter and store related data.

A worksheet (also known as a spreadsheet) is a collection of cells on a single “sheet” where you actually keep and manipulate the data.

Each workbook can contain many worksheets. (It’s a lot like a book. One book contains an entire story. Each page of the book contains part of the story.)

Often one workbook has a single theme, such as a personal budget. Each worksheet would then have a part of the theme, such as the budget broken down by month.

There you go. It’s that simple.