Now Where Did That Zero Go?
Here’s a good tip sent in by a reader regarding numbers with leading zeros.
If you’ve ever entered a number with a zero in the first place(s) you probably became very frustrated when you realized that Excel takes those zeros off the number.
For example, if you type in 01234 then, left to its own devices, Excel will put 1234 into the cell.
That’s… Continue reading
See Online Help Better
Have you ever found yourself squinting to read the topics in the MS Office Suite online help?
I don’t mean the Office Assistant list of ideas, but the actual help windows with all the information. (The one that comes up once you’ve selected a topic.)
If the answer is yes, then my next question is: would you like a way to alleviate the squinting problems?
Yeah—I… Continue reading
Formatting That Demands Their Attention
Do you ever find yourself looking for a way to make something really stand out in a Word document?
I don’t mean just a bigger or different font—I mean a way to put something on the page that can’t be ignored.
There are lots of things you can do (bolding, Italics, AutoShapes, etc…) but maybe turning this
into this
is… Continue reading
There’s More To Text Than Just Black & White
I’m sure most of you know that you can change font color.
However, the way I’ve seen a lot of people complete this repetitive task is to go to the Format menu, Font choice, Font tab then choose a color from the drop-down list in the middle of the screen.
Now, if the font color was changed before the text was… Continue reading
Playing The Name Game
I’m glad to see that you’ve decided to come along for this little adventure.
I think the best place to start will be with a better understanding of what it means to name ranges of cells in Excel.
Basically, naming a range (or a single cell for that matter) is to give Excel a meaningful word (or words) that you will refer to the selected set… Continue reading
Use A Title In Formulas
Did you know that when you have a title at the top of a column of data that you can use that title in formulas—instead of the cell reference.
For example:
Let’s suppose that you have two columns labeled “Original Price” and “Discount”. Now let’s say you want to create a third column that calculates the sale price of the… Continue reading
Be The Master Of Your Excel Lists
Now that you know what an Excel list is, let’s take a look at how to create a list that’s all your own—in other words, a custom list.
You have several options for the creation of a list. One has you type the list into the Custom Lists tab in the Options window and the other allows you to highlight the cells that… Continue reading
Lists In MS Excel
Excel has lists?
Yes, it does. (And fortunately they’re not “to do” lists!)
Have you ever noticed that when you type “Monday” in a cell and then use the fill handle (the little box in the lower right corner of the cell highlight) to drag down you get the rest of the days of the week?
Usually the fill handle will copy data if there’s only… Continue reading
Turn Many Into One
“E pluribus unum” was the original motto of the United States—since it is National Flag Week, I thought I might mention that in light of today’s tip.
Here’s the scenario: you’re working on a table of data in MS Excel and you’re trying to put a title over the entire table.
What do you do?
I’ve watched a lot of people cope with this situation, and… Continue reading
What Was That Function Again?
Ever find yourself working in MS Excel and realize that the function you’re looking for is right on the tip of your tongue – or fingers in this case?
So… here you go again, you’ve got to open the Paste Function window. You’re probably taking your hands off the keyboard and back to the dreaded mouse to get to the Insert menu, Function choice. Or… Continue reading
