Tip #4506 - A Good Form Isn't So Hard To Find
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A
Good Form Isn't So Hard To Find
Do you have rows
and rows of data to enter in MS Excel?
If so, do you
find it tiresome to navigate through cell after cell to the right
and then at the end, go back to the beginning of the next row?
It does seem like
a lot of extra navigation work that I, for one, could live without!
So, the next natural
thought is to ask if there's a way to streamline the data entry process.
Is there a way to cut out all the extra cell navigation and focus
mainly on the data entry itself?
The answer, of course,
is yes. Your solution can be found in Excel's data entry form.
What's that, you
ask?
Well, maybe it's
best to hear it straight from the Office Assistant. He says a "data
form is a dialogue box that gives you a convenient way to enter or
display one complete row of information, or record, in a list at one
time."
In other words,
let's get away from the cell navigation straight to the data entry
and save some time when entering data in MS Excel.
Interested?
If so, read on
to get the information you'll need to use a data entry form!
Okay, so we've
all decided that data entry forms in Excel are worth a minute to investigate
and I wouldn't want to waste any more time. So, let's get right to
it!
To begin, you
must have column headings for the table of data you're
working with.
For example:
Now, select
a cell in the first row of the table of data.
For people working
with older versions of Excel, you should go to the
Data menu, Form choice.
Excel
2007 users don't have it quite that easy. You need to first
add the Form button to your Quick Access Toolbar. To do so,
click the down arrow to the right of the toolbar and choose
More Commands.
Set the "Choose
commands from" field to All Commands.
Next, scroll down
and select "Form..." and then click the
Add button in the center. That will place a button
for the Form command into the list on the right, which is a list of
the items that will appear in your Quick Access Toolbar.
Click OK
to return to Excel.
Now, you need
to click the Form button in the Quick Access Toolbar.
No matter what
version you're working with, click OK when the warning
pops up.
The Data Entry
Form will then open, allowing you to enter the data for an entire
row.
You can move from
field to field using the Tab key. When you've completed
one set of data, use the Enter key to place the data
into the worksheet and at the same time, create a new record.
When you've entered
all your data, click the Close button.
You should then
be returned to your worksheet where you'll find all your newly entered
data in its proper place and you never had to spend time jumping from
cell to cell or row to row!
Need to add new records
to the list later?
No problem! The
same procedure applies, but you do need to take notice that when you
re-enter the data entry form, you are given the first record to start
with.
You can use the
vertical scroll in the middle of the window to move
through the already entered data or if you just need a new record,
click the New button.
From there, things
will work the same as they did when you first created the table.
With data entry
forms in the picture, I'm not sure we could make the job of hand entering
data any easier. Yes!
~ April
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