How to Edit Excel Template

Found the perfect Excel template but it doesn't quite fit your needs? You're not alone. Pre-built templates are fantastic starting points, but they almost always need a few tweaks to really work for your specific project or business. This guide will walk you through exactly how to edit any Excel template, from changing text and colors to safely updating formulas, turning that generic template into your own custom dashboard.

First Steps: Preparing Your Template for Editing

Before you change a single cell, you need to set yourself up for success. Jumping straight into editing a template without a little prep is a common way to accidentally break things or lose the original file. Follow these simple steps first to ensure a smooth editing process.

1. Download and Open the Template

First, find and download the template you want to use. You can get templates directly from Microsoft Excel (go to File > New and search for what you need), or from a third-party website. Once downloaded, open the .xlsx or .xltx file in Excel. A lot of templates downloaded from the internet will open in "Protected View." You’ll see a yellow bar at the top of the spreadsheet. Just click Enable Editing to get started.

2. Immediately Save a New Copy

This is the most important step. Do not edit the original template file. You always want to have a clean, untouched version to go back to if you make a mistake. Messed up a formula? Accidentally delete half the sheet? No problem - you still have the original.

Go to File > Save As. There are two ways to save it:

As a standard Excel Workbook (.xlsx): This is best if you're creating a one-off report, like a project budget for a specific campaign. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Q3_Marketing_Budget_2024.xlsx") and save it to your desired folder.
As your own custom template (.xltx): This is the way to go if you plan to reuse your customized version over and over. When you save as a template, opening it will automatically create a new, untitled workbook based on your changes, protecting your master version.

3. Get Familiar with the Layout

Take a minute to click around. Does the workbook have multiple sheets? Look at the tabs at the bottom. Do you see tables, charts, or dropdown menus? Note where the headings are, where the data input cells seem to be, and which cells contain totals or formulas (they'll often have a =SUM or other formula in the formula bar when you click them). A quick five-minute exploration will give you a mental map of how the template is structured, which will make editing it much easier.

Editing Basic Content and Structure

With your new copy saved, you can start customizing the content. This is where you replace the placeholder data with your own and adjust the structure to match your workflow.

Changing Text and Numbers

This is the simplest part. Just click on any cell containing placeholder text - like "Project Name" or "[Company Name]" - and type in your own content. Do the same for numerical data. If the template is a budget, you can start inputting your own figures in the designated categories. Don't worry about totals just yet, if the template is set up correctly, the formulas will update automatically as you change the numbers.

Adding or Deleting Rows and Columns

Your business has unique needs, and the template might not have the exact number of rows or columns you want. For example, a content calendar template might have columns for "Writer" and "Status," but you also want to track the "Target Keyword."

To add a new column:

Right-click on the column letter heading where you want the new column to appear (e.g., right-click on column 'C' to insert a new column there).
Select Insert from the context menu. A new, blank column will appear.

To add a new row:

Right-click on the row number heading where you want the new row to appear (e.g., right-click on row '5' to insert a new row).
Select Insert from the context menu. A new, blank row will appear.

To delete rows or columns, simply right-click the heading and select Delete instead.

Clearing Data Without Breaking Formulas

Perhaps you have a monthly budget template and want to reuse it for the next month. You need to clear out last month's numbers without deleting the formulas that calculate your totals.

First, identify the cells you need to clear - these are your inputs. Click on one of the cells with a total at the bottom or side. Look in the formula bar at the top. You'll likely see a formula like =SUM(B2:B10). This tells you that cells B2 through B10 are your data input cells. Do not delete these. Instead, select just the input cells (B2 through B10 in this case) and press the Delete key on your keyboard. This clears the values out of the cells but leaves the cell formatting and any underlying formulas intact.

Customizing Visuals and Branding

Making a template truly yours means updating its look and feel to match your brand. Customize colors, fonts, and charts to create a professional and recognizable document.

Updating Colors and Fonts

Your brand probably has specific colors and fonts that you use in all your materials. It’s easy to apply these to your Excel template.

Change fonts: Select the cells, rows, or columns you want to change. On the Home tab, use the Font dropdown menu to pick your preferred font and the Font Size menu to adjust the size. You can press Ctrl + A (or Cmd + A on Mac) to select the entire sheet at once if you want to change everything.
Change colors: Select the cells with background colors you want to change. On the Home tab, click the paint bucket icon (Fill Color) and select one of your brand colors. If your exact color isn't there, click More Colors and enter the HEX or RGB code. You can do the same for text color using the font color icon (usually a letter 'A' with a bar underneath).

Adding a Company Logo

Adding your logo is a great finishing touch, especially for reports you plan to share. Go to the Insert tab, click on Pictures, and choose Picture from File (or a similar option). Navigate to your logo file, select it, and click Insert. You can then drag the corners of the image to resize it, and move it to a suitable location, like the header of your report.

Modifying Charts and Graphs

Many dashboard templates come with pre-built charts. After you’ve updated the data, the chart will automatically reflect your new numbers. But you may also want to change the look of the chart itself.

Click on the chart you want to edit. You’ll see a Chart Design tab appear in the ribbon menu at the top. From here you can:

Change Chart Type: You can switch from a bar chart to a line chart, or from a pie chart to a doughnut chart.
Edit Colors: Use the Change Colors button to pick a new color scheme, ideally one that aligns with your brand.
Adjust Chart Elements: Use the "Add Chart Element" option to add or remove things like axis titles, data labels, a legend, or trendlines.

Working with Formulas and Data Validation

This is where new Excel users can get a little nervous, but a few small, careful tweaks to formulas and dropdown menus can make a big functional difference in your template.

Safely Adjusting Formulas

Let's say you added five new rows for more expense categories in your budget template. Your old total formula, =SUM(B2:B10), won't automatically include your new rows if you added them at the bottom. The template is now incorrect because it's not adding everything up!

You need to update the formula's range. Click the cell with the SUM formula. In the formula bar, manually change the range. If your new expenses now go down to row 15, you'd change the formula to =SUM(B2:B15). You can also click and drag. After clicking the formula cell, click the bottom right corner of the highlighted blue box around cells B2:B10 and drag it down to include all your new rows, then press Enter.

Editing Dropdown Lists (Data Validation)

Many project management or content calendar templates use dropdown lists for things like "Status" (e.g., Not Started, In Progress, Complete). But what if you want to add an "Awaiting Approval" option?

Often, the source for these dropdowns is located on a hidden or separate sheet. Look for a sheet named "Data," "Lists," "Settings," or something similar.

Find the list that populates the dropdown. This is usually just a simple list of words in a single column.
Add your new option ("Awaiting Approval") to the bottom of this list.
Now, go back to the dropdown cell on your main sheet. Click it, then go to the Data tab and click Data Validation.
In the dialog box, you'll see a "Source" field. It's likely referencing the list on your other sheet, something like =Lists!$A$2:$A$4.
You need to update this source range to include your newly added item. Change it to =Lists!$A$2:$A$5 or click the selector icon and re-select the entire list, including your new item.
Make sure to check the box that says "Apply these changes to all other cells with the same settings" before clicking OK. This will update all the dropdowns in that column.

Protecting and Unprotecting Sheets

Some template creators lock cells to prevent users from accidentally deleting important formulas. If you try to type in a locked cell, you might get a warning message. This is a great feature, but it can be a problem if you need to edit something in a locked area.

How to Unprotect a Sheet

If you're confident in your edits and need to override this protection, go to the Review tab and click Unprotect Sheet. If the template creator didn't set a password, the sheet will immediately become fully editable. If it asks for a password, you might not be able to edit it unless you can get the password from the original creator.

How to Re-protect a Sheet

Once you are done making your edits to formulas or structure, it's a good idea to re-protect the sheet to prevent accidental changes later on. This is especially useful if staff will be using the template.

On the Review tab, click Protect Sheet. A dialog box will appear. You can simply click OK without setting a password. This will lock the cells that are meant to be locked while keeping data entry cells open for updates.

Final Thoughts

You can see that customizing an Excel template is simply a matter of a few key steps. By saving a copy, updating the content, adjusting the brand visuals, and carefully modifying formulas, you can adapt any pre-built template into a powerful, personalized tool that perfectly suits your workflows.

Of course, manually downloading and updating reports week after week is a huge time sink. We built Graphed because we believe there's a much easier way to get insights from your marketing and sales data. Instead of wrangling CSV files in Excel, you can connect platforms like Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, and Salesforce to our system. Then, just ask a question like "show me last month's ad spend vs. revenue by campaign" and instantly get a live, interactive dashboard that you can share with your team in seconds.