Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Microsoft Excel Fundas

Fill in a Series of Dates or Numbers
You can easily fill a series of cells with consecutive dates in Excel. First click a cell and enter the starting date in default date format (month/date/year). More the mouse pointer to the bottom right of the cell to get a small cross called Fill Handle. Click and drag across the cells you want to fill with the dates. To customize the series, drag with the right mouse button and click on Series.

Rid Yourself of Fine Lines
To remove cell gridlines from a spreadsheet, Select Options from the Tools menu and click on the View tab. Under the Window options, uncheck the Gridlines box and click OK. the gridlines removed from your spreadsheet.

Open Specific Spreadsheets at Start-Up
Excel can be started up with spreadsheets that you most frequently use. To do this, first open the spreadsheet you want to open at startup. Then click on File > Save As and locate the XLStart folder within the \Program files\Microsoft Office\Office folder. click the Save button to save this file in the folder. Next time you start Excel, this spreadsheet will automatically open.

Fractions or Decimals?
Get better accuracy in fractions than Excel normally gives. you can specify the number of digits the denominator and numerator of a fraction can have. Simple click on the cell that has the value and click on Format > Cells. Under the Number panel, select Fraction from the Category lest. Then select the required accuracy from the Type list.

Enter More than one line of Data in a Cell
Entering more than one line of text in a cell is as simple as pressing Alt+Enter to make a new line inside the cell. if you don't want line breads, you can have multiple lines in a given cell is by clicking cells from the Format menu. Click on the Alignment tab and enable Wrap Text. Entering data wider than the column width will then wrap on the next line.

Protect Cells From Data Entry
Keeping certain cells in Excel spreadsheets from being modified is easy. Select the cells you wish to allow writing to. Non-adjacent cells can be selected by clicking on them while keeping the Ctrl key pressed. After selecting the cells, click Format > Cells. Under the Protection tab, uncheck the Locked checkbox and click OK. Next, click on Tools > Protection and select protect Sheet. You will be prompted for a password that is optional. Click OK and save the spreadsheet. Now only the unlocked cells and be modified. Trying to overwrite locked cells result in an alert message being displayed. If you want to protect only a few cells, it would be good idea to select the entire worksheet and use the Ctrl key to deselect only the cells you want to protect before unlocking them.

Give your Worksheet a Background
Add a background image to your spreadsheet. click on Format > Sheet > Background. Browse for the image you want and click Open to select it. The given image will tile to fit the worksheet.

Don't Lose Sight of Your Headings
Keeping the row and/or column heading on your spreadsheet however you scroll can definitely improve readability of your spreadsheet. Drag the split box next to the scrollbars to the row and/or column that holds the headings. Click on Window > Freeze Panes. The tow and/or column will now be locked and remain visible thought the rest of the spreadsheet.

Change the Cursor's Default Direction
When you press the Enter key in a cell, Excel by default moves the cursor below it. to change this, open Tools > Options and click on the Edit tab. change the direction of the selection movement from the drop-down list titled Move Selection after Entry.

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