3 Ways to Enter Formulas in Excel 2010

by May 10, 2010

Excel’s power lies in the vast array of formulas that allow you to calculate the sum of a given list all the way to determining the interest rate on a loan. But in order to use these powerful formulas you must become familiar with the several ways that formulas can be entered and used. While…Continue Reading

How to Save Office 2010 Files Directly to SkyDrive

by Apr 09, 2010

Wouldn’t you like to be able to access all of your Word Documents, Presentations, Spreadsheets, and even your Notes on the Go? Well, if you use Office 2010 and your Windows Live SkyDrive you’ll have your files securely stored online so that you can access them from anywhere. Gone are the days of additional plug-ins…Continue Reading

How to Change the Color Scheme for Office 2010 Applications

by Apr 09, 2010

If you really want to differentiate yourself from others who use the default color scheme in Office 2010 applications, then read on. Office 2010 (beta) ships with three color schemes to help customize the look of all Office 2010 applications. To change the color schemes on your Office 2010 installation, follow the instructions below. Note:…Continue Reading

Let Excel Speak to You and Save Time

by Feb 03, 2010

If you’re like me and you’re not that great with the number pad on a standard keyboard, Excel’s ability to speak what you type as you enter it can make the difference between a couple of minutes in front of a spreadsheet or hours. The Speak Cells command will enable Excel to dictate the information…Continue Reading

How to Find and Replace Cell Formats in Excel

by Feb 01, 2010

One of Excel’s most powerful formatting tools is the Find and Replace command. Find and replace allows users to specify elements to locate in a spreadsheet. You can use this powerful command to locate a formula you wish to update, a set of values that have changed, and the formatting applied to cells. In this…Continue Reading

Save Time by Customizing the Office Quick Access Toolbar

by Jan 31, 2010

One of my favorite and frequently used toolbars is the Quick Access Toolbar located above the Office Ribbon. By default the toolbar has shortcuts for the Save, Undo, and Redo commands, fortunately Microsoft likes to make our lives easier and allowed users to customize this easy to access toolbar. The how-to below will walk you…Continue Reading

Use Rules to Validate Data Entry in Excel 2007

by Jan 28, 2010

Data entry rules in Excel give users more control over the type of data that can be entered into cells in spreadsheets. We discussed how to use lists in a previous how-to, in this example we’ll show you how to specify the data type that can be entered and the different options available to you….Continue Reading

Group and Ungroup Rows and Columns in Excel

by Jan 27, 2010

Outlining and grouping rows or columns in Excel makes it easy to organize and declutter spreadsheets that have a ton of data on display. Say you have several rows with the sales figures by month and the last row is a summation of the data, rather than display all months you can group the data…Continue Reading

Use Comments in Excel to Document Your Work

by Jan 27, 2010

Commenting in Excel allows you to keep annotations and references on specific cells. Comments are generated by the user as described in the tutorial below or when the Excel spreadsheet is set to Track Changes (future article). Comments appear only when you create and edit them or when you toggle their display using the Show…Continue Reading

How to Use Symbols and Special Characters in Excel

by Jan 25, 2010

The use of Special Characters is probably one of the least frequently accessed features in Excel, nevertheless it requires special attention because everyone should know how to insert special characters while using Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and other applications. We live in a world where everything is copyrighted, trademarked, and patented…so it is important that we…Continue Reading

Use AutoFill and Save Time Entering Data in Excel

by Jan 25, 2010

As a frequent user of Excel I find that one of the most useful features is AutoFill. When preparing spreadsheets for presentations or when your organizing data to keep a sense of sanity, AutoFill will simplify that task. AutoFill will ensure data integrity and will maintain order when data series require it. In the example…Continue Reading

Use Validation Lists in Excel to Control User Input

by Jan 25, 2010

If you create spreadsheets in Excel and would like a way to ensure that data entered by others is consistent, you can use data validation lists to specify the items that can be entered into a specific cell. Data Validation lists work by allowing users to specify a list of data that is allowed in…Continue Reading

How to Display Multiple Excel Windows in the Taskbar

by Jan 07, 2010

I often work with multiple Excel windows at any given time and I have found that I work best with Excel when all open windows are displayed on the Windows Taskbar (see screenshot below for illustration). The default setting for this feature groups all Excel windows (or workbooks) into one Taskbar button. This can be…Continue Reading