| absolute cell reference | a fixed cell reference that will not change when a formula is copied to another location | |
| active window | the window in which the title bar is highlighted and where the user’s next action will occur | |
| address book | a place for storing names, addresses, and phone numbers | |
| align | to line up text or objects on a page relative to other objects or to the margins | |
| alignment | the orientation of text or objects on a page with respect to the margins or other objects | |
| alphanumeric keys | the keys on a computer keyboard that include all letters in the alphabet, numbers 0 through 9, and commonly used symbols | |
| animate | to put independent images together to form the illusion of continuous motion | |
| animation | the use of motion in images | |
| antivirus utility | an application that scans a computer’s disks and memory for viruses and removes any that are found | |
| application software | any computer application that creates or processes data | |
| appropriate usage policy | a statement to customers from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or other institution, such as a school district, about the acceptable use of its Internet services | |
| attach | to include a file with an e-mail message | |
| attachment | a file included with an e-mail message | |
| audio clip | a file containing sound that could have originated from digital recordings such as CD audio or MIDI; also called audio file, sound clip, or sound file | |
| audio file | see audio clip | |
| AutoSum | a feature of spreadsheets that automatically enters the value (the sum) of a selected range of cells |