|
MICROSOFT EXCEL : GENERAL TIPS
Excel 2007 : Menu and Ribbon Guide
Colour coded to show changes between Excel 2003 and 2007 (PDF 1.2 Mb)
Automatically Enter Consecutive Numbers:
You may want to enter consecutive numbers in a row or column.
Excel has a nice feature that will do it automatically for you.
To do
this:
1. Enter the first number of the string into a cell.
2. Press and hold the Ctrl key (Windows) or Option key (Macintosh).
3. Click the cells Fill Handle (the small black square) and drag
it over the range in which you want it to fill in consecutive numbers
automatically.
4. Release the mouse button and the Ctrl or Option key.
Now, your consecutive numbers will be automatically filled in.
Creating Combination
Charts:
A combination chart is a chart that combines two or more chart types
in a single chart. For example, we want to create a combination
chart that displays a column, a line, and an area.
1. Start by creating a column chart.
2. Select the second chart series and choose Chart > Chart Type.
Select a line chart type for that series.
3. Select the third series and repeat this command, but choose an
area chart type.
The result is a combination chart that shows three
different chart types.
Note: Not all chart types can be used in a combination chart. For
example, Excel does not allow any of the 3-D chart types to be used
in a combination chart. Emailing an Excel
Workbook, Sheet, Data or Chart:
To send an entire workbook as an attachment (supported by all
four Excel versions):
From the File menu, select Send To, and then Mail Recipient (as Attachment).
To
send a sheet in the body of an e-mail message (supported from Excel
2000 and up):
From the File menu, select Send To, Mail Recipient, and then Send
the current sheet as the message body.
To send a workbook for review
(supported from Excel 2002 and up):
From the File menu, select Send To, and then Mail Recipient (for
Review).
This new feature provides an easy way to circulate workbooks
between your colleagues.
Using Shift+click
to Select a Range of Cells:
Click into the first cell of the selection (eg:B3), then Shift-click
into the last cell of the selection (eg:G20). You will have selected
all the cells between B3 and G20.
Fast Typing in Selected Area:
First, select a range of cells - using the method above. The area
of the selected range is clearly highlighted:
- To move vertically downward within
the selected range, press Enter. Keep pressing Enter and you
will move down the column and then jump into the next column.
- To move
vertically upward, press Shift+Enter.
- To move horizontally
to the right, press Tab.
Keep pressing Tab and you will move across the row in the
selection and
then jump down to
the next row.
- To move horizontally to the left,
press Shift+Tab.
- To move from one corner to the other corner
of the range, press Ctrl+. (Ctrl and a period).
Quickly copying a range
of cells to another location:
You can quickly copy a range of cells to another location on the
same page:
1. Select the range of cells by Shift-clicking (see above) or dragging
your mouse over it.
2. Point your mouse to the border of the range.
3. Hold the Ctrl key (Windows) or the Option key (Macintosh) while
dragging it to a new location.
4. When you release the mouse button, you will see the same range
of cells in the new location. Creating Charts with
F11:
Select a cell in the data to be graphed, and press F11.
Excel opens a chart displaying the data information.
Using the Keyboard to Select Chart Items
in Microsoft Excel:
Using the mouse, it is not easy to select the different chart items
when you want to modify or update the definitions. Use the keyboard
to move between different chart items by pressing one of the four
Arrow keys. When a range of data has been selected in a chart
(the chart indicates columns), press the right or left arrow to move
and
select columns
in the chart. Showing All Items When Choosing from a
Menu:
1. Place the mouse arrow on one of the toolbars, right-click, and
select Customize from the shortcut menu.
2. In the Customize dialog box, select the Options tab.
3. Select the "Always show full menus" checkbox (in Excel 2000, deselect
the Menus show recently used commands first checkbox) and then click
OK.
Combining Text from
Different Cells:
Using the & (Ampersand): The & symbol consolidates
text information in the same way as the + symbol adds numbers. The
space between quotation
marks adds
a blank character between the separated texts.
To combine text with the &:
1. In cell A1, enter the text: Hello world.
2. In cell A2, enter the text: Get the Most out of Excel!
3. In cell A3, enter the text: I can do this.
4. In cell A5, type the formula: =A1&" "&A2&" "&A3
All three cells contents now appear in A5.
You can also use the concatenate function
word formula (in A5): =CONCATENATE(A1,A2,A3) Displaying
the Format Cells Dialog Box:
Using keyboard shortcuts: press Ctrl+1 (Windows) Cmd+1 (Macintosh).
Using the mouse on Windows: Select a cell(s),
press Shift+F10 or Right-click a cell and select Format Cells from
the shortcut menu.
Using the mouse on a Macintosh: Select a cell(s),
Control click into the cell and select Format Cells from the shortcut
menu. If you have a double button mouse, use the Right-click method
above.
Quickly insert the
time:
To quickly insert the time into the cell that is currently selected,
simply press:
Ctrl + Shift + ; (semicolon) (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + ; (Macintosh) Displaying the Serial
Number Behind the Date:
Excel handles dates and times numerically. The numbers for dates
range from 1 to 2958465, with 1 indicating 1 January 1900 (Windows)
or 1 January 1904 (Macintosh), and 2958465 indicating 31 December
9999.
To see the serial number behind a date:
To change the
display of the cell's contents: Press Ctrl+` (the ` key is to the
left of the 1 key).
To convert a date to its serial number: Press Ctrl+Shift+~ to change
the cell's contents.
Note: Use the above keyboard cuts for both Macintosh and Windows.
Last updated: 6 Feb 07
Please contact
us if you thought this
tip was helpful - thanks.
Top |
