50 EssentialExceltips

Introduction

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YoucansavealotoftimeandeffortworkingwithExcelifyouknowafewtricksandshortcuts.Every efforthasbeenmadetoensuretheaccuracyofthesetips.Pleasesendusanemailifyoufindanerror.

Tableofcontents
Customizingyourworkspace................................................................................................................ 3 Changedefaultworksheetoptions .................................................................................................... 3 Openingmultiplewindows ................................................................................................................ 3 CreatingaworkspaceinExcel .......................................................................................................... 3 Changethedefaultcurrency ............................................................................................................. 3 Fasteraccesstoworksheets............................................................................................................. 4 Keepacleanerdesktopwhenmultitasking........................................................................................ 4 Openingaworkbookatstartup ......................................................................................................... 4 SavingtimewithCustomViews ........................................................................................................ 4 Usingsharedworkbooks................................................................................................................... 5 Clearoutallcomments ..................................................................................................................... 5 Takeafewshortcuts......................................................................................................................... 5 Deletepersonalinformationfromaworksheet................................................................................... 6 Editing,layout,andprinting .................................................................................................................. 6 Hidingduplicaterecords ................................................................................................................... 6 Copyingstylesbetweenworkbooks .................................................................................................. 6 Printingformulas............................................................................................................................... 7 Quicklysettingaprintarea................................................................................................................ 7 Printworksheetcolumnlabelsoneverypage.................................................................................... 7 ModifyExcelprintmarginswiththemouse........................................................................................ 7 Don'tuseAutoFormatonanentireworksheet ................................................................................... 8 Keeptrackofchanges ...................................................................................................................... 8 Highlighturgentitems ....................................................................................................................... 8 UsingGoalSeek............................................................................................................................... 9 Changeautomaticpagebreaks ........................................................................................................ 9 Enteringandworkingwithdata............................................................................................................. 9 Usecalculatedfieldsindataentryforms ........................................................................................... 9 Speedupdataentrywiththesekeyboardshortcuts........................................................................ 10 Creatingcustomlists ...................................................................................................................... 10 Createalistboxtoensuredataentryaccuracy............................................................................... 11 Increasedataentryaccuracywithdropdownlists........................................................................... 11 CreateacustomAutoFilllist .......................................................................................................... 11 Catchingdataentryerrors .............................................................................................................. 12 Formatcellsasyoutype ................................................................................................................. 12 AnalyzingexternaldatainExcel ..................................................................................................... 12 Copysubtotals................................................................................................................................ 13 Summarizedatawithgrouping........................................................................................................ 13 SimplifydataentrywithExcel'sbuiltinform .................................................................................... 13 Conditionalformatting..................................................................................................................... 14 Lockcellstopreventoverwriting ..................................................................................................... 14 Pointtovaluethresholdsinacell.................................................................................................... 14 Ensureproperdataentrywithvalidation ......................................................................................... 15 Checkfornumbersstoredinatextformat....................................................................................... 15 Formulas,functions,andcode............................................................................................................ 15 Usenaturallanguageformulas ....................................................................................................... 15 Copyright2005CNETNetworks,Inc.Allrightsreserved. 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Countingthedaysviacellsubtraction ............................................................................................. 16 ComparevaluesintextfieldsusingDCOUNTA............................................................................... 16 PerformcalculationswithPasteSpecial.......................................................................................... 17 Useauditingtotroubleshoot ........................................................................................................... 17 Customizing"divisionby0"errormessages.................................................................................... 17 Hideformulacells ........................................................................................................................... 18 Webtricks.......................................................................................................................................... 18 EasydatapostingtotheWeb ......................................................................................................... 18 OpenWebpagesrightinExcel....................................................................................................... 18 Hyperlinktoaspecificcell............................................................................................................... 19

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Customizingyourworkspace
Changedefaultworksheetoptions
Bydefault,Excelincludesthreeworksheetsinanewworkbook.Butifyourarelyusemorethanone worksheetperworkbook,youcanpreventExcelfromgeneratingthetwoextraworksheets. Followthesesteps: 1. GotoTools|Options. 2. OntheGeneraltab,setthevalueintheSheetsInNewWorkbookboxto1,andclickOK. Thenexttimeyoucreateanewworkbook,itwillhaveonlyoneworksheet.Youcanalsoincreasethe numberofsheetsperworkbook. YoucanalsousetheOptionsdialogboxtochangetheworksheet'sdefaultfont.Forexample,tochange thedefaultfontfromArial10toTimesNewRoman12,followthesesteps: 1. OntheGeneraltab,selectTimesNewRomanfromtheStandardFontdropdownlist. 2. Select12fromtheSizedropdownlist,andclickOK. YoumustrestartExcelforyourfontchangestotakeeffect.

Openingmultiplewindows
OneofthemostfrustratingproblemsforExcelusersisviewingalltheinformationyouneed,especially becauseitoftenlivesindifferentworksheets.Usethissimpletricktoviewmultiplesheets: 1. Clickonthetaboftheworksheetyouwanttoview. 2. ChooseNewWindowfromtheWindowmenu. 3. Repeatthisprocessforeachoftheworksheetsyouwanttodisplay.(Excelopenseachsheetina windowthatsitsontopofthepreviousone.) 4. Toseethemallatonetime,chooseArrangefromtheWindowmenu. 5. SelectTiled,Horizontal,orVertical. 6. SelecttheWindowsOfActiveWorkbookcheckbox. 7. ClickOK.

CreatingaworkspaceinExcel
Ifyouworkwithseveralworkbooksatatime,youcanarrangetheworkbooks,savethemasaworkspace, andthenopeneverythingatonceinthe viewingconfigurationyouprefer.Here'show: 1. 2. 3. 4. Withalltheworkbooksinthepreferredpositions,gototheFilemenu. ChooseSaveWorkspace. Typeanameforthefile. ClickSave.

Thenexttimeyouwanttoworkwiththoseworkbooks,gotoFile|Openandselecttheirworkspace.

Changethedefaultcurrency
Ifyourworksheet'sformattingconformstoyourregionalsettings,Excel'sCurrencybuttonmakesiteasy toformatcurrencyvalues.ThisbuttonusessettingsfromtheRegionalOptionsdialogboxtosetthe Copyright2005CNETNetworks,Inc.Allrightsreserved. Page3of20

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defaultformat.Forexample,iftheRegionalOptionsaresettoEnglish(UnitedStates),bydefault,the CurrencybuttonformatscurrencyvaluesfortheUnitedStates. FollowthesestepstochangetheCurrencybutton'sdefaultcounty/regionsettingsbyresettingthemin ControlPanel: 1. FromtheStartmenu,openControlPanel,anddoubleclickRegionalLanguageAndOptionsif usingWindowsXP.Ifyou'reworkingwithearlierversionsofWindows,doubleclicktheRegional Optionsicon. 2. Selectthecountry/regionyouwanttouseasthedefaultfromthedropdownLocationlist,and clickOK. ThenexttimeyoustartExcel,clickingtheCurrencybuttonwillformatthecellsinthenewformat. InearlierversionsofWindows,youmayneedtorestartyourcomputer forthechangestotakeeffect.In addition,changingtheregioninWindowsalsochangesthesettingsfortime,date,andnumberformatsto thoseusedinthatregion.

Fasteraccesstoworksheets
Whenworkingwithlargeworkbooksinwhichalloftheworksheettabsarenotvisible,youmayget frustratedwithscrollingtofindthesheetyouneed.Rightclickonanyofthetabscrollingbuttons(tothe leftofthesheettabs)andashortcutmenuwillpopup.Youcanthenselectthetabyouwant.

Keepacleanerdesktopwhenmultitasking
Ifyou frequentlyhavetwo,three,ormoreworkbooksopenatonce,youknowthatkindofmultitaskingcan createalotofscreenclutter.IntheWindowstaskbar,you'llhaveaniconforeachopenworkbook.Within theExcelwindow,youcannavigatebetweenworkbooksbypressing[Ctrl][F6]orbyopeningtheWindow menuandselectingaworkbookfromthelistofopenfiles. Exceloffersanoptionthatcanhelpyouavoidscreenclutterwhilekeepingasmanyworkbooksopenas youlike.Totryitout,openthreeorfourworkbooks,andgotoWindow|Hide.Whenyoudo,Excelerases alltracesofthecurrentworkbookfromyourscreen.Theworkbookisstillopen,butyoucan'tseeit. Tomakeahiddenworkbookvisibleagain,gotoWindow|Unhide,andyou'llseealistofthehidden workbooks.Selecttheworkbooknamethatyouwanttodisplay,andclickOK. Don'tworryaboutforgettingthatyouhaveaworkbookopen.IfyoucloseExcelwhileaworkbookis hiddenandyouhaven'tsavedyourchanges,Excelasksifyouwanttosavethechangestoanyunsaved workbooks.

Openingaworkbookatstartup
Ifyouspendmuchofthedayworkinginaspecificworkbook,youcandesignatethatworkbooktoopen eachtimeExcellaunches.Justplacetheworkbook(orashortcuttotheworkbook)intheXLStartfolder. Thistechniquealsoworkswithnetworkshortcuts. You'llfindtheXLStartfolderinthesameplaceastheExcelprogramfilestypicallyC:\Program Files\MicrosoftOffice\Office.AfterplacingthefileorshortcutintheXLStartfolder,restartExceltoseethe filepopopenautomatically.

SavingtimewithCustomViews
CustomViewsisatoolinExcelthatletsyouassignanametoaparticularsheetlayoutsoyoucanrecall itforlaterviewing.YoucanaccessthefeaturebyselectingView|CustomViews.IntheCustomViews Copyright2005CNETNetworks,Inc.Allrightsreserved. Page4of20

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dialogbox,you'llseealistingofsavedviews,andyoucanaddordeleteviews.Whenaddingaview,you havetheoptionofincludingprintsettings,hiddenrowsandcolumns,andfiltersettings.Thenewview evenrememberswheretheactivecellwaswhentheviewwassaved,sowhenyouopenthatview,itwill jumptothespotinyoursheetthatcorrespondstothatview. Makinggooduseofcustomviewscansaveagreatdealoftime.Forexample,youcaneliminate repetitivehiding,resizing,filtering,andotherchangesforproducingvariousprintedreports.Eachsetof optionscanbesavedasaview.Then,allyouneedtodoisapplytheviewbeforeyouprint.

Usingsharedworkbooks
Ifyouandseveralotherpeopleneedtoworkfromthesameworkbookatthesametime,familiarize yourselfwithExcel'sSharedWorkbookfeature.Thisfeaturecanbealifesaverwhenworkbooksmustbe updatedbymultipleusers. Tousethisfeature,selectTools|ShareWorkbook,andExcelwillallowmultipleuserstoeditthe workbook.Youcansetoptionsthatcontrolwhenchangesareupdatedandhowtohandleconflictingedits bydifferentusers.YoucanalsochoosetosaveupdateswhenauserclicksSave,oryoucanspecifya timeintervalforExceltoautomaticallysaveuserupdates.IntheShareWorkbookdialogbox,youcan decidehowchangesshouldbeloggedbytheTrackChangesfeature,whichintegrateswithworkbook sharing.Thatway,youcanseeexactlywhatchangesweremadetocells,whensheetswereaddedor deleted,howconflictingeditswereresolved,etc.Userscanalsoseethenamesofalltheotheruserswho havetheworkbookopenforediting.

Clearoutallcomments
Ashandyascommentscanbeinannotatingtheinformationinaworksheet,youmaysometimeswantto deletethemoncethey'veservedtheirpurpose.ThefastestwaytohandlethistaskistoclickEdit|GoTo |SpecialandthenselecttheCommentsoptionandclickOK.YoucanthenchooseClearfromtheEdit menuandselectComments.Excelwilldeleteallthecommentsandtheirtextfromthecurrentworksheet.

Takeafewshortcuts
Whodoesn'tneedtosavealittletimehereandthere?Keyboardshortcutscanhelpyoudojustthat. Here'salistofshortcutsforExcelthatwillmakelifealittleeasier: [Ctrl][Shift]A:Usethiscombinationaftertypingafunctionname,anditwillautomaticallyenterthe parenthesesandtheargumentnamesforthefunctionyoutyped. [Alt][F8]:DisplaystheMacrodialogbox. [Alt][F11]:OpenstheVBAEditororswitchestoitifit'salreadyopen. [Ctrl]1:DisplaystheFormatCellsdialogbox. [Ctrl][Shift][~]:AppliestheGeneralformat. [Ctrl][Shift][$]:FormatsthecurrentcellsasCurrency. [Ctrl][Shift][#]:AppliestheDateformat. [Shift][F10]:Displaystheshortcutmenuthatappliestotheselection. [F6]:Movestothenextpaneinasplitworksheet. [Shift][F6]:Movestothepreviouspane. [Ctrl][F6]:Movestothenextworkbookwindow. [Ctrl][Shift][F6]:Movesbacktothelastworkbookwindow. [F3]:OpensadialogboxtopasteaNamedRangeintoaformula. [Ctrl][F3]:OpenstheDefineNamedialogbox. [Ctrl][Shift][F3]:AutomaticallycreatesNamedRangesfromtheheadersfortheselectedtableofdata withroworcolumnheaders.

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[Shift][F3]:Insertsanequalsign(=)andopensthePasteFunctiondialogboxtohelpyoupicka formula. [Alt][=]:InsertstheAutoSumfunction. [Ctrl][]:Insertsthecurrentdate.

Deletepersonalinformationfromaworksheet
Ifyouregularlyemailyourspreadsheetstousersorcopythemtoasharedserver,youcanuseExcel 2002'sOptionsmenutodeleteanypersonalinformationfromthembeforeotherscanseeit. Todeletepersonalinformation,followthesesteps: 1. Unsharetheworkbookifyouhavepreviouslysharedit. 2. GotoTools|Options. 3. OntheSecuritytab,selecttheRemovePersonalInformationFromThisFileOnSavecheckbox, andclickOK. Afteryousavetheworkbook,Excelwilldeletethefollowinginformationfromthefile: Fileproperties(e.g.,author,manager,company,etc.) Routingslips Emailmessageheader Pathsassociatedwithdownloadedcomponentsandsmarttags Personalviews Nameofthelastpersontoopentheworkbook

Inaddition,ExcelchangesnamesassociatedwithPivotTablereports,comments,andscenariosto Author.However,thiswillnotremovepersonalinformationcontainedinmacros.

Editing,layout,andprinting
Hidingduplicaterecords
Oneofthemostcommonmistakesmadewhenpreparingareportorsortingdataisincludingredundant entries.Forexample,ifaworksheetkeepsarunningtallyofpurchasesmadebyCustomer1,there'sno needtoreportcellsotherthantheoneskeepingthecompositefigures.AbuiltinfilterinExcelwilltake careofthisproblem. Followthesesteps: 1. 2. 3. 4. ChooseData|Filter|AdvancedFilter. Dragacrosstheworksheettoselectthelistscontainingduplicateentries. SelectUniqueRecordsOnly. ClickOK.

Excelwillnowhideanyduplicaterecordsintheselectedrange.

Copyingstylesbetweenworkbooks
Creatingformattingstylesisarealtimesaver.Ifyouhaveformattedaworkbookinaparticularlyuseful wayandwanttocontinuetousetheformatinotherworkbooks,copythestylefromoneworkbookto another:

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50 EssentialExceltips
1. 2. 3. 4.

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Openthesourceworkbookandthedestinationworkbook. Makesurethatthedestinationworkbookisactive,gototheFormatmenu,andchooseStyle. ClicktheMergebutton. WithintheMergeStylesdialogbox,selectthesourceworkbookfromtheMergeStylesFromlist box. 5. ClickOK.

Printingformulas
Ifyouhaveinvestedtimeinwritingnumerousformulas,youmaywanttoprintthemforsafekeeping. AlthoughExceldoesn'tincludeasimple"PrintFormulas"button,functionalityisbuiltin.Here'showtofind it: 1. 2. 3. 4. GototheToolsmenu. ClickOptions. WithinthesectioncalledWindowOptionsontheViewtab,selectFormulas. ClickOK.

Thereisalsoakeyboardshortcutforthisfunction.Press[Ctrl]~.Inbothcases,theresultisthatthe formulas,ratherthantheirresults,willappearintheworksheet.

Quicklysettingaprintarea
UsethisquicktricktosetspecificprintareaswithinthePrintPreviewmode: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectView|PageBreakPreview. Selectthecellsyouwanttoprint. RightclickontheselectionandchooseSetPrintAreafromtheshortcutmenu. ClickPrint.

Printworksheetcolumnlabelsoneverypage
Multipageprintoutsoflargeworksheetsaredifficulttoreadwhentheircolumnlabelsappearonlyonthe firstpage.Forexample,supposeyouhavea10column,1000rowworksheetandthelabelsforeach columnarecontainedinrowone. Followthesestepstohavethecolumnlabelsprintoneverypage: 1. Clickanywhereintheworksheet,andselectFile|PageSetup. 2. ClickSheetand,underPrintTitles,clickthecollapsedialogboxattherightendoftheRowsTo RepeatAtToptextbox. 3. Selectacellinthetitlerow.Therange$1:$1appearsinthetextbox. 4. ClickthecollapsedialogboxattherightendofthePageSetupRowsToRepeatAtToptext box. 5. SelectPrint. WhenyouclickPrint,rowonewillprintasthehorizontaltitleforeachpage. Toprintrowlabelsontheleftofeachpage,followthestepsabove,exceptinSteps2and4,selectthe collapsedialogboxattherightendoftheColumnsToRepeatAtLefttextboxandentertherangeof columnsthatcontaintherowlabels.

ModifyExcelprintmarginswiththemouse
Theproblem?MoredatathanwillfitwithinExcel'sdefaultmarginsettings.WhenyougotoFile|Print Preview,onlyfiveoutofthesixcolumnsarevisible. Copyright2005CNETNetworks,Inc.Allrightsreserved. Page7of20

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Tocorrectthisbymouse,gotoFile|PrintPreview.Ifyoudon'tseedottedlinesrepresentingmargin settings,clicktheMarginsbuttontodisplaythem.Mouseoveranyofthemarginlines.Whenthecursor changestoabidirectionalarrow,clickanddragtochangethemarginsvisually. Inmanycases,youcanpullthatlastcolumnbackontothepagebyshrinkingtherightandleftmargins. Saveevenmorepaperbyshrinkingthetopandbottommargins,cuttingathreepageprintrangedownto two.

Don'tuseAutoFormatonanentireworksheet
Microsofthasconfirmedthatthere'sapotentialproblemwithExcel2000whenAutoFormatisselectedfor awholeworksheetratherthanaspecificrange. DependingonyourOSandconfiguration,youcouldseesymptomsrangingfromExcelnotrespondingto variouserrormessagesconcerningpagefaults,lowvirtualmemory,andaccessviolations. Toresolvethisissue,makesurethatyouselectonlytherangeofcellsyouwantformattedwhenyou selectFormat|AutoFormat. MicrosoftKnowledgeBasearticle211478offersthedetailsoftheproblem: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q211/4/78.ASP

Keeptrackofchanges
TrackChangesworkshandinhandwithworkbooksharing.Itkeepsalogofallchangestoaworkbook.It trackscellchanges,worksheetadditionsanddeletions,columnchanges,andothertypesofchanges,as wellasthedate,time,andnameoftheuserwhomadethechange.Whendataischanged,itkeepsa recordoftheoldandnewvaluesandtheexactsheetandcellwheretheeditwasmade. OneofthebestpartsofthistoolistheabilitytohaveExcelmakealistofthechangesinaseparate worksheet.Whenthisoptionisselected,Excelbuildsalistingofeachchangeandeventurnson AutoFiltertomakefindingspecificchangeseasy.Italsoallowsyoutorevieweachchangeandeither acceptorrejectit.Rejectingachangerestorestheoriginalvalue. Toturnonthistool,justselectTools|TrackChanges|HighlightChanges.TheHighlightChangesdialog boxprovidesoptionssuchastrackingwhomakesthechange,whenthechangeismade,highlightingthe changeonscreen,andlistingthechanges. Whenusingthisfeature,youmightliketoseetheSummarysheetwhenyouopenyourworkbook.Excel removesitwhenyousavethesheet,butyoucanusethismacrotohaveExcelquicklyrebuildit:
SubViewChangeSummary() WithActiveWorkbook HighlightChangesOptionsWhen:=xlAllChanges ListChangesOnNewSheet=True HighlightChangesOnScreen=True EndWith EndSub

Highlighturgentitems
Supposeyou'reresponsibleformaintainingthemastertodolistforyourteamordepartment,andyoue maileveryoneacopyonaweeklybasis.

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Iftheworksheetcontainsa"severity"or"priority"column,youcanmakethemostimportantitemsstand outbysortingthemtothetopofthelist. Youalsocanintroduceagraphicalelementtothespreadsheetbyflaggingthoseurgentitems.For example,the"litfuse"iconyougetwhenyouformatacapitalMintheWingdingsfontisagoodchoice. Totryoutthistrick,typeMinacell.Withthecellselected,gotoFormat|Cells|Font.ChooseWingdings fromtheFontlist,selectredfromtheColorlist,choose18fromtheSizelist,andclickOK.Theresultis aniconthat'sguaranteedtocatchthereader'seyewhenyoureallywantthemtopayattentiontothat row.

UsingGoalSeek
Youhaveaworksheetthathasthepriceofahouse,closingcosts,andinterestrate,anditcalculates yourmonthlypayment.Itworksgreat,butnowyouwanttoenteradesirablepaymentandfindtheprice youcanaffordtogetthatpayment. Thisisacommonsituationwhendealingwithworksheets(althoughusuallymorecomplexthanasimple mortgageformula),especiallywhendealingwithprojectionsorforecasts.GoalSeekisjustwhatyou needforthissituation.ItallowsyoutospecifyatargetvalueforacellandtellExceltochangethevalue ofanotherrelatedcelltoobtainthisvalue. HighlightthecellyouwanttochangeandclickTools|GoalSeek.Thecellreferencefortheselectedcell willappearintheSetCellfield.ChooseatargetvalueandenteritintheToValuefield,thenspecifywhat cellshouldbechangedtomeetyourtarget.WhenyouclickOK,Excelwillattempttomeetyourtarget.

Changeautomaticpagebreaks
Excel'sPageBreakPreviewfeatureletsyouusethemousetomove,delete,andinsertpagebreaks. ToaccessthisfeaturefromaNormalview,gotoView|PageBreakPreview,orclickthePageBreak PreviewbuttonfromPrintPreview.Thisdisplaysanimageoftheworksheet'sprintarea.Solidlines indicatemanualpagebreakssetbytheuserdashedlinesindicatewhereExcelwillbreakthepage automatically. Youcanmovepagebreaks,eitherautomaticormanual,byclickinganddraggingthebreaktoanew location(left,right,up,ordown).Forexample,clickinganddraggingtherightverticalpagebreakonthe firstpagetotherightofthefirstcolumnofthesecondpagewillmovethecolumntothefirstpage. MicrosoftExcelautomaticallyscalestheworksheettofitthenewcolumntothepage. Clickapagebreakanddragitoutsidetheprintareato deleteit.Toinsertanewpagebreak,rightclicka rowbeloworcolumntotherightofthebreak,andselectInsertPageBreak.

Enteringandworkingwithdata
Usecalculatedfieldsindataentryforms
OneoftheeasiestwaystoenterinformationintoanExcelspreadsheetistotypesomecolumnheaders inrow1,gotoData|Form,andstarttypinginExcel'sdefaultdataentryform.Thisformisalowtechbut userfriendlymethodforenteringdata.

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Theproblem YoumaynotknowthatExcel'sbuiltinformsupportscalculatedfieldsinasmuchasitwillcopyformulas forthemasitentersrecords.Here'showitworks. Thefix Supposeyoursheetincludesfourlabeledcolumns(AtoD):Customer,Quantity,UnitPrice,andTotal Price.BeforeyougotoData|Formandstartenteringrecords,entertheformula+B2*C2incellD2 (underthelabelTotalPrice).Clickanyofthecolumnlabels,andgotoData|Form. Whenyoudo,you'llnoticethatExceldisplaysfourcolumns,butyoucanenterdatainthefirstthreeonly. That'sbecauseExcelknowsyou'reusingtheentriesintheQuantityandUnitPricecolumnstocalculate thevaluefortheentryintheTotalPricecolumn. Excelwon'tdisplaytheresultofthatcalculationdynamically.Butasyouaddrecords,Excelwillcopythe formulaineachnewrowincolumnD.Ifyouusetheform'sFindPrevorFindNextbuttonstonavigate betweenrecords,Excelwilldisplaythecurrentvalueofeachcalculatedfieldasyoumovebetween records.

Speedupdataentrywiththesekeyboardshortcuts
MakedataentryeasierbylearningExcel'sbuiltinkeyboardshortcuts.Forexample,youcanuse keyboardshortcutstocopyrowsorcolumnsbetweenothercellswithoutoverwriting. Followthesesteps: 1. 2. 3. 4. Selecttherowsorcolumnsyouwanttocopy,andpress[Ctrl]C. Movetotheroworcolumnwhereyouwanttocopytheselectedcells. Press[Ctrl][Shift][+]. Ifadialogboxaskswhichdirectionyouwanttoshiftcells,makeyourselection,andclickOK.

Thekeyboardcanalsohelpyouformatcellsmorequickly.Forexample,afterclickingacell,ittakesat leasttwomouseclickstogettotheFormatCellsdialogbox.Butyoucanalsoopenthisdialogboxby pressing[Ctrl]1. Youcanalsouseshortcutkeystoreducekeystrokes.Press[Ctrl][]totypetoday'sdateinacell,and press[Ctrl][Shift][:]toenterthecurrenttime.

Creatingcustomlists
Ifyouoftenmakeuseofthesamelistsofdata,createacustomlistinsteadoftypingthesameinformation repeatedly. ForallversionsofExcel,ifthedataisalreadyinaworksheet,followthesesteps: 1. 2. 3. 4. Selectallofthecellscontainingtheinformationyouwanttocopy. SelectOptionsfromtheToolsmenu. ClicktheCustomListstab. ClickImport.

IfyouwanttocreatealistfromscratchinExcel97,followthesesteps: 1. 2. 3. 4. GototheToolsmenuandchooseCustomLists. ClickintheListEntriesbox. Typeeachitemforyourlist,pressing[Enter]aftereachitem. Whenyou'refinished,clickOKtocreatethelist.

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TocreatealistfromscratchinExcel2000/XP,followthesesteps: 1. 1. 2. 3. SelectOptionsfromtheToolsmenu. ClicktheCustomListstab. TypeeachitemintheListEntriesbox,pressing[Enter]aftereachone. ClickAdd.

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Touseacustomlist,typethefirstentryofthelist.Usethefillhandleatthebottomrightcornerofthecell todragthewholelistacrossadjacentcells.

Createalistboxtoensuredataentryaccuracy
Alistboxmakesiteasiertoavoiderrors.Forexample,aStatefieldrequiresuserstoknowthetwoletter abbreviationforeachstate.Toensureaccuracy,letusersselectfromalist. FollowthesestepstocreatealistfortheStatefieldcells: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectallthecellsintheStatecolumn. GotoData|Validation. OntheSettingstab,selectListfromtheAllowdropdownlist. IntheSourcetextbox,entertheallowableentriesseparatedbycommasasfollows:NJ,NY,PA, DE,etc. 5. SelecttheIncellDropdowncheckbox. 6. ClickOK. WhenyoumovetoacellintheStatecolumn,adropdownarrowdisplays.Clickingthearrowrevealsa listofallowablestatesforthatcell.Ifusersattempttotypeanentrythat'snotonthelist,Exceldisplaysan errormessage.

Increasedataentryaccuracywithdropdownlists
Selectingdatafromlistsratherthantypingitmanuallycanhelpeliminatemanydataentryerrors.Butyou don'tneedtocreatetheactualliststoensureaccuracy. Afteryouenteranitemonce,Excelautomaticallyincludesitinadropdownlistofentriesthatusers previouslytypedinthecolumn. Forexample,toaccessthelistofvendorspreviouslytypedintheVendorscolumnofanOrders spreadsheet,followthesesteps: 1.SelectthecellundertheVendorscolumnforthenextorder. 2.Press[Alt]andthedownarrow. 3.Selectthevendor'snamefromthelist,andpress[Enter]or[Tab]tomovetothenextcell. Ifthevendor'snameisnotonthelist,youmusttypeitmanually.Excelwillincludethenamethenexttime someoneaccessesthelist.

CreateacustomAutoFilllist
TheAutoFillfeaturecanmakeiteasytoenteranydataseriesthatfrequentlyappearsinyour spreadsheets.AllyouneedtodoisaddtheseriestoAutoFill'sbuiltinlists. Forexample,ifyoureportmostoperationsbysalesregion(e.g.,NorthAmerica,SoutheastAsia,Europe, etc.),youcancreateacustomfillseriesforthoseregions.Followthesesteps:

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1. Selectacolumnorrowthatcontainsthenamesofthesalesregions. 2. GotoTools|Options. 3. OntheCustomListstab,you'llseetheselectedrangedisplayedintheImportListFromCellstext box.ClickImport,andclickOK. YoucannowenterallregionsbytypingoneregionandusingtheAutoFillfeature. YoucanalsousetheCustomListsdialogboxtomakeentriestoanewlist.Followthesesteps: 1. OntheCustomListstaboftheOptionsdialogbox,selectNewList. 2. TypeeachitemintheListEntriestextbox,andpress[Enter]. 3. Afteryou'veenteredtheentirelist,clickAdd,andclickOK.

Catchingdataentryerrors
It'safact:Sharedworkbooksgeneratemoreerrorsthanworkbookswithonlyoneowner.Here'soneway toflagerrorsastheyoccur: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Selectallcellsinwhichdatawillbeentered. GotoFormat|ConditionalFormatting. IntheConditionalFormattingdialogbox,specifywhichcellvaluestoflag. ClickFormat. IntheFormatCellsdialogbox,clickthePatternstabandselectacolortosignalerrors. ClickOK.

Now,whensomeoneentersanerror,itwillbeflaggedwithyourselectedcolor.

Formatcellsasyoutype
Insteadofgoingbacktoformatcellsafterenteringdata,usethesetipstoconfigureExceltoformatthe cellasyoutype. ToenteravalueinCurrencyformat,typeadollarsign[$]beforethevalue.Forexample,type$10.00to enter10dollarsinCurrencyformat.(Don'tconfusetheCurrencyformatwiththeformatgeneratedbythe CurrencybuttonontheFormattingtoolbar,whichformatsthecellsinAccountingformatwithadollar sign.) ToenteravalueinFractionformat,type0,pressthespacebar,andtypethefraction(includingtheslash). Forexample,typing0,pressingthespacebar,andtyping1/2entersonehalfinFractionformat. ToenteravalueinPercentageformat,typeapercentsign[%]afterthevalue,asin70%. Youcanalsoformatcellsastextasyoutype.Forexample,ifyouentertheZIPcodevalue08053,Excel formatsitasthenumber8053bydefault.ToconfigureExceltoformatitastext,enteranapostrophe['] beforethevalue.Inthiscase,typing'08053formatsthecellasthetextvalue08053.

AnalyzingexternaldatainExcel
YoucanuseExceltoanalyzedatafromthevariousdatabasesinyourorganization.Youcanusethe powerfulanalyticaltoolsofExcelondatayoupreviouslyviewedoreditedonlywithinthedatabaseuser interface.Usingthesefeatures,youcanpulldatafromyourcustomerdatabase,salestrackingdatabase, productcatalog,andHRsystemsintovarioussheetsinaworkbookandperformcomplexpivottable analysisnotpossibleusingtheseparateapplications.

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MicrosoftQuery,anOfficeapplicationthatlives"behind"Excel,allowsyoutodothis.Youcanaccess MicrosoftQuerybyclickingData|GetExternalData.TheQueryinterfaceissimilartotheDesignviewof aqueryinAccess.PointQueryatadatabase,anditwillallowyoutobuildcomplexrelationalqueriesto pullthenecessarydataintoyourworksheet.Nowyoucanbuildyourpivottablesandperformyour analysis.

Copysubtotals
WhenyouapplyDataSubtotals,Excelautomaticallydisplaysoutlinesymbolstotheleftofthe spreadsheet.Usingthesesymbols,youcancollapsethedatatoshowonlythesubtotalsandthegrand totals.Forinstance,youcouldshowthetotalmonthlypayrollforeachemployee,withouttheweekly details.However,whenyoutrytocopyandpastethemonthlysubtotals,boththedetailrowsand subtotalsarepastedtothenewlocation. Tocopyonlythesubtotals,usetheGoTocommandwithCopy.Followthesesteps: 1.Collapsethesubtotalstodisplayonlythoseyouwanttocopy. 2.Selectthesubtotalstocopy. 3.GotoEdit|GoTo,andclickSpecial. 4.SelecttheVisibleCellsOnlyoption,andclickOK. 5.ClickCopy. 6.Movetothecellwhereyouwanttocopythesubtotals,andclickPaste. CombiningGoTowithCopyenablesyoutocopythesubtotalswithoutthedetails.

Summarizedatawithgrouping
GroupinginExcelallowsyoutocreateoutlinestructureswithyourdata.Let'ssaythatyouhaveacolumn ofnumberswithacellatthebottomthatcontainstheirsum.Youcouldjustleaveitatthatandhaveother worksheetusersviewtheentirecolumneverytimetheyopentheworkbook.OryoucoulduseGrouping tohidethenumbers,showingonlythesumbutprovidingtheoptionofexpandingtheoutlinetoseethe hiddendata. Groupingaddsasmallcolumntotheleftofyourdatawithplusandminussymbolstoletusersexpandor hidethedetaileddata.Tobuildthisoutline,selectthecolumnsofdatathatwillbehiddeninyouroutline andchooseData|GroupAndOutline|Group.Excelwilladdtheexpand/collapsesymboltotheleftof yourdata.Youcannowchoosewhethertoseethesourcedataforthecalculationsorjustthetotals. YoucanchoosewhethertheoutlineshouldassumetheTotalsrowisaboveorbelowthedata.Youcan alsousethisfeaturetosummarizerowsinthesameway,soanoutlineexpandsorcollapsesacrossrows insteadofcolumns.

SimplifydataentrywithExcel'sbuiltinform
Ifyourspreadsheethasmorecolumnsthancanfitonyourcomputerscreen,youcanuseExcel'sbuiltin dataformandspareyourselfalotofscrolling. Tousethedataform,selectanycellwithinthespreadsheetrangeandgotoData|Form.SelectNewto enteranewrecord,andExcelwilldisplayablankform.Enterdatainthefirstfield,tabtothenext,and continuetoenterdataineachfield,tabbingbetweenfields.Press[Enter]togotothenextblankrecord. Iftherearecalculationsinyourspreadsheet,Excelwilldisplayonlytheresultsontheform.Thisprevents usersfrominadvertentlyoverwritingformulas.Todeleteadisplayedrecord,clickDelete.Awarningbox remindsyouthattherecordwillbepermanentlydeletedafteryouclickOK.

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50 EssentialExceltips
Followthesestepstosearchforarecordwithintheform: 1.ClickCriteriatocleartheform. 2.Enterkeywordsinappropriatefields(e.g.,enterJonesintheLastnamefield). 3.ClickFindNext(orFindPrevious).

Version4.0

Ifyouentersearchcriteriainmorethanonefield,Excelwillfindthenextrecordthatmeetsbothcriteria. Theformdoesn'tsupportORsearches.Usethescrollbartobrowsethroughtherecords.

Conditionalformatting
ConditionalformattingisoneofExcel'sbetterfeatures.Itallowsyoutopresetcertainfontstyles,colors, andcellbackgroundcolorsbasedoncellvalues.Thiscanbeveryusefulforhighlightingimportant informationandvaluesoutsideanacceptedrangeorprovidingavisualcuetoassociatevalueranges withcolorcodes. Thebestpartisthatconditionalformattingiseasytosetup.Justclickthecellsyou'dliketoformatand selectFormat|ConditionalFormatting.TheConditionalFormattingdialogboxletsyousetupthe conditionsbywhichtheformattingofthecellwilloccur.Youpicktheoperator(between,equalto,less than,etc.)andthevalueorrangeofvalues.ClickFormattoopentheFormatCellsdialogbox,whereyou canselectthecolorsandstylestobeused. Eachcellcanhaveseveralconditionalformats.Forexample,youmightsaythatifacertaincell'svalueis between20and50,thetextshouldbeblueonayellowbackground.Butyoucanformatthatsamecellto exhibitred,boldedtextonagreenbackgroundifitcontainsavaluebetween51and100.

Lockcellstopreventoverwriting
Youcanpreventpeoplefromoverwritingformulasorinadvertentlychanginglabelsorformatsby protectingthosecells.Followthesesteps: 1.Selectthecellsthatuserswillmodifyduringdataentry. 2.GotoFormat|Cells,deselecttheLockedcheckboxontheProtectiontab,andclickOK. 3.GotoTools|Protection|ProtectSheet,andclickOK. Nowuserswillbeabletoalteronlythecellsthatareunlocked.Ifusersattempttoalteranyothercells, theywillreceiveamessagesayingtheymustunprotectthecellstomodifythem. InStep3,youmaywishtoaddapasswordtopreventunauthorizedusersfromchangingacell's protectionlevel,ratherthanacceptingthedefaultsettings.

Pointtovaluethresholdsinacell
Youcanuseconditionalformattingtoalertyoutosignificantchangesincellvalues.Forexample,ina worksheetthattracksstudents'grades,conditionalformattingcandrawattentiontoquizaveragesthat havefallenbelowapassinggradeof60percent. Toapplyconditionalformattingsoaveragevaluesbelow60percentaredisplayedinred,followthese steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Selectthecellsyouwanttoformat. GotoFormat|ConditionalFormatting. UnderCondition,chooseCellValueIs. SelectLessThanfromthefirstdropdownlist,andenter60%inthetextbox. ClickFormatandchangethefontcolortored.

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50 EssentialExceltips
6. ClickOKtwice.

Version4.0

Whenyoureturntothespreadsheet,allaveragesbelow60percentwillbedisplayedinred.Asfuture gradesareentered,theformatofthecellswiththestudents'averagegradewillchangeaccordingly.You canapplyotherconditionalformattingrulesbyclickingAddintheConditionalFormattingdialogbox.

Ensureproperdataentrywithvalidation
DatavalidationrulesinExcelautomaticallycheckanentrymadebyauseragainstrulesyouhavepreset intheworksheet.Thisishelpfulwhenyouhaveformulasthatdependoncertainexpectedinputfromthe user.Theseformulascanoftenreturnerrorsiftheformatoftheentereddataiswrong. Tosetdatavalidationrules,selectData|Validation.Thedialogboxallowsyoutopickadatatypeto requireandarangeofvaluestoaccept.IntheInputMessagetab,youcanchoosetodisplayan instructionalmessagewhenthecellisselected.Thismessageappearsinapopup,notestyledisplay.It canbeusedtoprovideuserswithinformationaboutwhatdatayouexpectthemtoenter.Youcanalso provideamessagefromtheErrorAlerttabifthedataentereddoesnotmeetyourrules. Don'tassumethatuserswillenterthedatayouexpect.Ifyourworksheetfunctionalitydependsupon consistentdataentry,lookintousingdatavalidation.

Checkfornumbersstoredinatextformat
Excelcan'tperformcalculationsoncellvaluesformattedastext,suchasnumbervaluesthatyou've importedastextfromotherdatabasesintoExcel.Excel2002includesafeaturethatalertsyoutothese cellsandoptionallyconvertsthemtonumbers. Toactivatethisfeature,followthesesteps: 1. GotoTools|Options. 2. OntheErrorCheckingtab,selecttheEnableBackgroundErrorCheckingandNumberStoredAs Textcheckboxes,andclickOK. Now,whenExcelfindsanumberinacellformattedastext,itwillplaceagreenerrorindicatorinthe upperleftcornerofthecell.Toconvertcellstoanumberformat,selectthecell,clicktheErrorChecking Optionsbuttondisplayedtotheleftofit,andselectConvertToNumber.

Formulas,functions,andcode
Usenaturallanguageformulas
Youdon'tneedtousecellnamestobuildformulas.YoucantakeadvantageofExcel'ssupportfornatural languageformulastouselabelnamesinstead.Forexample,supposeyouhadthreecolumnsofdata labeledRegion,Sales,andPercentofSales.Belowthat,youhavefourrows,onerowforeachregion, labeledEast,West,North,andSouth.ThenextrowislabeledTotalSales. Tofindthetotalsalesforallfourregionsusinglabels,youwouldenter=SUM(Sales).TofindthePercent ofSalesfortheEastregion,youwouldusethecolumnandrownamesasfollows,insertingaspace betweentheindividuallabelnames: =SalesEast/SalesTotalSales

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Likewise,theentriesfortheremainingregionswouldbe: =SalesWest/SalesTotalSales =SalesNorth/SalesTotalSales =SalesSouth/SalesTotalSales

Version4.0

AswithanyExcelformula,youcanusetheautofillfeaturetocopynaturallanguageformulas.Inthis case,toavoidaDivisionByZeroerror,beforecopying,makethedivisorabsolutebyselectingthedivisor TotalSalesandpressing[F4]. Ifyou'reusingExcel2002,thenaturallanguageformulafeatureisturnedoffbydefault.Toturniton,go toTools|Options,clicktheCalculationtab,andselecttheAcceptLabelsInFormulascheckbox.

Countingthedaysviacellsubtraction
Bydefault,Excel97adjuststhedisplayofdatestofriendlydisplaysthatuserscanidentify.Butbehindthe scenes,Excelstillthinksinnumbers.Sofindingthenumberofdaysbetweentwodaysisaseasyas simplysubtractingonecellthatcontainsadate,regardlessofformat,fromanotherdatecarryingcell. Forexample,let'ssupposeauserhasenteredthedate2/20/2000incellA1and3/10/2000incellA2.The formulaA2A1willreturntheresult19(2000wasaleapyear).Note:Youmustusethedatethatfallslater inthecalendaryearasthefirstargumentoftheequation,ortheequationwillreturnanerror. Bydefault,Excelwillformattheresultofaformulainthesameformatasthesourcecells.Soinour example,itreportsthatthedifferencebetween2/20/2000and3/10/2000is1/19/1900.However,simply rightclickingtheformulacell,selectingFormatCells,andselectingaNumberformatwillfixthisproblem.

ComparevaluesintextfieldsusingDCOUNTA
Excel'sDCOUNTAfunctionfindsandcountsthenumberofrecordsthatmeetspecificcriteria,suchas howmanyemployeeswerehiredbeforeJan.1,2000,orhowmanycustomerslivewithinthe08053ZIP code. Forexample,tofindouthowmanypeopleinanemployeespreadsheetliveinthestateofNewYork, followthesesteps: 1. Inserttwoblankrowsabovetherange,andcopyandpastethecolumnheadingsintothefirstblank row. 2. Inthesecondblankrow,enterNewYorkinthecellundertheStatefield. 3. Inanothercelloutsidethecriteriarange,enter=DCOUNTA( 4. Typetherangeornamedrange.Forexample,iftherangeisnamedEmployees,enterthatname asthefirstargumenttotheformula:=DCOUNTA(Employees, 5. Typethefieldnamethatyouwantcounted.Forexample,ifyouwanttocountthenumberof recordsthathaveanentryintheLast_namefieldandwhoseCityfieldcontainsthetext"NewYork," enter:=DCOUNTA(Employees,"LastName", 6. Tocompletetheformula,enterthecriteriarange,whichinthisexampleisA1:L2,andpress[Enter]: =DCOUNTA(Employees,"LastName",A1:L2) ThetotalnumberofemployeeslivinginNewYorkwillbedisplayed. Nowthatthecriteriarangehasbeenset,youcanuseDCOUNTAforotheradhocreportingfunctions justenterdifferentcriteria.

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PerformcalculationswithPasteSpecial

Version4.0

MostExcelusersknowhowtoconvertformulastovalueswiththePasteSpecialfunction.Thisfunction alsomakesiteasytoperformmathematicaloperationsonarangeofcells"inplace." Let'ssayyou'veenteredsomenumbersinarangeofcells,andnowyouwanttodoublethosevalues. Youcouldwriteaformulaelsewhereinthesheetthatmultipliesthevaluesintheoriginalcellsbytwo, copythecellswiththeformulas,andusePasteSpecial|Valuestooverlaythenewvaluesintheoriginal cells.However,you'dhavetodeletetheworkcellsthatcontainedthedoublingformula. Toeliminatethisextrastep,followthesesteps: 1. Selectthecellswhosevaluesyouwanttodouble,andpress[Ctrl]C. 2. GotoEdit|PasteSpecial. 3. SelectAddintheOperationsection,andclickOK. Exceladdsthevaluesyoucopiedtothevaluescontainedinthetargetcells,whichdoublestheoriginal values. Thisfeatureisalsousefulwhenyouwanttoupdatearangeofcellsusingthevaluesfromacompletely differentrangeofcells.Justselectandcopythefirstsetofvalues,clickthefirstcellinthetargetrange, andgotoEdit|PasteSpecial.Fromthere,selectAdd,Subtract,Multiply,orDivide,andthenclickOK. Excelwillupdatethetargetcellswiththecalculationresults.

Useauditingtotroubleshoot
We'veallclickedacelltoseetheformula,wantingtofindoutwheretheresultcamefrom,onlytofinda formulathatwentonforever.Ithaseverything:nestedfunctionsinsideofconditionals,pullingdatafrom cellsallovertheworkbook.Justwhenyouthinkyou'llneverfigurethismonsterout,youremember Excel'sAuditingfeatures. SelectthecellcontainingthecomplexformulaandclickTools|Auditing|TracePrecedents.(InExcelXP, chooseTools|FormulaAuditing|TracePrecedents.)Excelwilldrawbluearrowsfromeverycellthe formulareferencestothecellcontainingtheformula.Nowyoucanseewherethatdataiscomingfrom. AuditingalsoallowsyoutoselectacellcontainingavalueandchooseTraceDependants,whichwill drawarrowsfromthecelltoallthecellscontainingformulasthatreferencethatvalue. Andifyouhaveacellthatshowsanerrorvalue,youcanselectitandchooseTraceError.Excelwill showyouallthecellsthatcontributetotheerror.

Customizing"divisionby0"errormessages
Workinginacomplexworksheet,youmayhaveencounteredthatannoying"#DIV/0!"errorwhenthe divisorofyourformulaisazero.UsingthebuiltinIFfunction,youcancreateyourownmessagefor displaywhenyoudividebyzero:
=IF(DIVISOR=0,"YourText",DIVIDED/DIVISOR)

TheIFfunctionevaluatesthefirstparameter(DIVISOR=0).Ifit'sTRUE,itplacesthesecondparameter ("YourText")inthecell.Ifit'sFALSE,thefunctionplacesthethirdparameter(DIVIDED/DIVISOR)inthe cell. Thishelpsyoucontrolthemessagethat'sdisplayedwhenyourformulaproducesazerovaluethatisthen usedtodivideanothervalue.

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Hideformulacells

Version4.0

Excel'sProtectSheetcapabilitycanpreventotherpeoplefromchangingcells,anditcanhideformulas fromview.Forexample,sayyouwanttogiveuserstheabilitytoenterdatainaworksheetforanalysis, butyouwanttokeeptheproprietaryformulasusedintheanalysisfrombeingvisible. Bydefault,theProtectSheetfeaturelocksallcellsfromdataentry.Tounlockcellsfordatainput,follow thesesteps: 1. Selectthecellsfordatainput,andclickFormat|Cells. 2. OntheProtectiontab,deselecttheLockedcheckbox,andclickOK. Tohideformulasfromview,followthesesteps: 1. Selecttheformulacellsyouwanttohide,andgotoFormat|Cells. 2. OntheProtectiontab,selecttheHiddencheckbox,andclickOK. 3. GotoTools|Protection|ProtectSheet,andclickOK.Youcanalsosetapasswordtoprevent othersfromunprotectingthesheet.

Webtricks
EasydatapostingtotheWeb
Ifyourorganizationisusinganintranettosharepublicdata,youllwantaneasywaytopostthis information.Exceloffersaneasy,wizarddrivensystemtowalkeventhemostapprehensiveusers throughthisprocess: 1. Selectthecellrangethatcontainsthedatatobepublished. 2. SelectSaveAsHTMLfromtheFilemenu. 3. AnswerthequestionsposedbytheInternetAssistantWizard. Thewizardwalksusersthroughfourstepsthatdefinehowinformationwillbeconvertedfor Webdisplay. Variousoptionsinclude: InsertingtheresultingHTMLtablesintoanexistingHTMLpageorcreatinganentirelynewpage. Specifyingformattingoptions,suchasrulesbetweendata. SavingthenewHTMLpageasafreestandingfileorinsertingitdirectlyintoaFrontPageWeb.

OpenWebpagesrightinExcel
IfyouneedtoanalyzedatafromaWebsite,youcanavoidabunchoftediousretyping.Undertheright circumstances,ExcelcansaveyoualotoftimebylettingyouopenanHTMLpageinExceldirectlyfrom theWeb. Theprocedureisjustaslightmodificationofthestandardfileopeningprocedure: 1. ChooseOpenfromtheFilemenu. 2. IntheFileNametextbox,typetheURLoftheWebfiletoopen.Note:Besuretoincludethe prefixhttp://. 3. FromtheFilesOfTypedropdownlist,selectHTMLDocuments(*.html,*.htm). 4. ClickOpen.

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50 EssentialExceltips

Version4.0

ExcelopensHTMLpagesbasedontheHTMLtablestructureofthepage,sosomeWebdesign treatmentsmayleadtosomeweirdresultsinExcel.Forpagesthatcleanlypresentdatainatableformat, however,thisapproachcanbearealtimesaver.

Hyperlinktoaspecificcell
YoucancreateahyperlinkfromaWebpageonyourintranetortheInternettoaparticularsheet,range, andcellinanExcelworkbook.Forexample:
<ahref="http://yourwebserver/hyperlinktesting .xls#Sheet1!A1">LinkTest</a>

willopenyourfilecalledHyperlinktesting.xlsandthenselectcellA1onSheet1. Usingthiskindoflinking,youcanspecifyexactlywhereyouruserwillentertheworkbook.Users'viewsof theworkbookwon'tbeboundbythestateatthelastsave. ThiscanbehelpfulifyouinsertthelinktoaWebpagethataskstheusertoenterdatainaparticularcell orareaofasheet.Youcanselectthecellforthemwhentheyclickthelink. ForinformationonlinkingtoExcel97worksheets,seeMicrosoftKnowledgeBasearticle172503: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kbENUS172503 FordetailsonlinkingtoExcel2000worksheets,seeMicrosoftKnowledgeBasearticle211693: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q211/6/93.asp

Compiledby:JodyGilbertandBillDetwiler Revisionhistory
Updated:February2005(75EssentialExceltips) Updated:September2003(50EssentialExceltips) Originallypublished:November2000(EssentialExceltips)

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Version4.0