---
title: Data Entry in RealData Software
description: "Data entry in RealData's products follow a simple convention: you should enter numbers or text values into cells displayed in blue or purple only. Do not un-protect sheets and enter data for cells which have black text. [![Data entry example…"
url: "https://www.realdata.com/docs/data-entry-in-realdata-software/"
updated: "2024-06-06"
category: General
---

# Data Entry in RealData Software

Data entry in RealData's products follow a simple convention: you should enter numbers or text values into cells displayed in blue or purple only. Do not un-protect sheets and enter data for cells which have black text.

[![Data entry example ](https://www.realdata.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/data-entry-300x72.jpg)](https://www.realdata.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/data-entry.jpg)

 

 

In many places, you can change the text of line item descriptions - for example, income or expenses.

Be careful to not enter text in a cell which expects a numerical value - this will cause an Excel error message to appear.

## Why Purple Cells?

A data entry cell displayed in purple indicates the presence of a formula in the cell which copies the value from the cell immediately to its left.  This allows for quick data entry for the case where all values in a row are identical.  It is ok to override these formulas if you need to adjust values for changes that occur from year to year.

## Changing Protected Values in Black Cells

On rare occasion, you may need to change a protected cell.  If so, be sure to re-protect the sheet afterward.  Do not enter a password when adding back worksheet protection.

We recommend that you add a User Worksheet and make your own calculations to extend the RealData product rather than making modifications.  We cannot provide support for modified files.