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GREETINGS
FROM CANADA
Hi
fellow Excel Addict,
I'm
glad to see that there are other people out there who think like me. I
received a great email this past week from Peggy C who also believes
that there is an enormous amount of time wasted every day because
people using Excel are not trained to use it efficiently (see email
below).
OK, I know we cannot force everyone to do things in Excel if they choose not to but I believe a great number of those people aren't even aware of the things they could be doing with Excel. So, with a little help, we can help the people who ARE receptive to improving their Excel skills. Every week I get emails from people who say, "I have been using Excel for years and never knew it could do that".
Every week, after you receive my tips, please, 'pay it forward' like Joanne does and share your new-found knowledge of Excel with someone else.
I think Joanne qualifies as a true Excel Addict.
To your success in Excel,
Francis J Hayes (The Excel Addict)
I'm
glad to see that there are other people out there who think like me. I
received a great email this past week from Peggy C who also believes
that there is an enormous amount of time wasted every day because
people using Excel are not trained to use it efficiently (see email
below).OK, I know we cannot force everyone to do things in Excel if they choose not to but I believe a great number of those people aren't even aware of the things they could be doing with Excel. So, with a little help, we can help the people who ARE receptive to improving their Excel skills. Every week I get emails from people who say, "I have been using Excel for years and never knew it could do that".
|
Hello
Francis,
I feel your pain and frustration with people wasting time by not doing things efficiently. My frustration is that their knowledge of excel is limited and they LIKE IT that way. I can't understand that concept. That is like saying there is this appliance called a calculator but I rather use this abacus. WHY???? It is so frustrating to waste time every day. I think it should be mandatory that each year the accounting staff must show some improvement in their excel skill set to get any raise at all. Is that too harsh? I have grand children and when they get in school I am going to teach them excel that by the time they are in junior high they will be able to do more than their teachers can do in excel. I love excel and there is no limit to what you can learn. Thanks for your newsletters I really enjoy them Peggy C. |
Every week, after you receive my tips, please, 'pay it forward' like Joanne does and share your new-found knowledge of Excel with someone else.
|
Thank
you for the great tips. It is my motto as an IT Trainer to "Learn
something new everyday and teach something new everyday". Your tips
make it easy to learn something new. As soon as I get your message, I
try each of your tips and then run around and show them to the people I
think could use them to "Work Smarter not Harder". Thanks again and
keep the tips coming.
Joanne W. (Documentation/Training) |
I think Joanne qualifies as a true Excel Addict.
To your success in Excel,
Francis J Hayes (The Excel Addict)
Please ALWAYS
type 'The Excel Addict' in the Subject field of any emails you send me. This
will help your email stand out in the flood of junk email I receive
daily. I delete hundreds of junk emails each day, If you don't type
'The Excel Addict' in the Subject field, there's a good chance it will
get deleted. Also,
please delete the history (i.e. newsletter information) below your
response before sending.
This
weeks tips...
1) Quickly Entering Duplicate
Formulas (XL2003/XL2007)
2) Repeating Characters In A
Cell (XL2003/XL2007)
3) More Room On Your Taskbar
If you're having trouble displaying graphics in this email, I have posted an online HTML version of this week's newsletter here.
Last week's tips were...
1) Create Hyperlinks To Your
Folders (XL2003/XL2007)
2) How To Use Special Symbols In Excel (XL2003/XL2007)
3) Invert Your File Selection In Windows Explorer
You can still find last week's newsletter here.
You
can access even more tips on my website by going to my members
page.
|
THIS WEEK'S QUOTE
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself becomes easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved" -- Ralph Waldo Emerson Is there anything more important than investing in your own personal growth? I'd like to share with you some of the Personal Development resources that I am currently using. -- Francis J Hayes THIS
WEEK'S FEATURED VIDEO CLIP
Brian Tracy - You Are What You Think |
Quick Tip
Quickly
Entering Duplicate Formulas (XL2003/XL2007)
Here's a great time-saving tip that most Excel users don't know. It is a very rare spreadsheet that doesn't include ranges of identical formulas. Most Excel users will enter the first formula then copy and paste or drag to fill the formulas to the other cells. That's pretty easy right? Well, there's an even easier way to enter duplicate formulas and when you start using it, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how efficient this technique is.
You start by selecting all of the cells where you want your formulas to go. Now, enter the first formula, but before you press Enter, hold down the CTRL key and then press Enter. The formula in your first cell will 'magically' be duplicated to all other cells in the selected range.
This technique will work for values as well as formulas and also with non-contiguous ranges of cells.
Another cool way to quickly enter duplicate SUM formulas, is to select the cells where you want your formulas to go (i.e. below the columns of data, to the right of the rows of data, or both) and click the AutoSum tool (or ALT+=) once and all your formulas will be entered in one step.
Here's a great time-saving tip that most Excel users don't know. It is a very rare spreadsheet that doesn't include ranges of identical formulas. Most Excel users will enter the first formula then copy and paste or drag to fill the formulas to the other cells. That's pretty easy right? Well, there's an even easier way to enter duplicate formulas and when you start using it, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how efficient this technique is.
You start by selecting all of the cells where you want your formulas to go. Now, enter the first formula, but before you press Enter, hold down the CTRL key and then press Enter. The formula in your first cell will 'magically' be duplicated to all other cells in the selected range.
This technique will work for values as well as formulas and also with non-contiguous ranges of cells.
Another cool way to quickly enter duplicate SUM formulas, is to select the cells where you want your formulas to go (i.e. below the columns of data, to the right of the rows of data, or both) and click the AutoSum tool (or ALT+=) once and all your formulas will be entered in one step.
Know
an even better way?
Let me know at fhayes(AT)theexceladdict(DOT)com
Let me know at fhayes(AT)theexceladdict(DOT)com
Do You Have a Great Excel Tip to Share?
If you have a great Excel tip that you'd like to see in my newsletter, please send it to me and I will consider it for submission. Your tip should include a related sample file and should not be too long or complicated. Please say if you would like to have your name (and any other information about you that you want to share) included as credit for the tip.Email your suggested tips to... fhayes(AT)theexceladdict(DOT)com
"HOW
TO EXCEL" TUTORIAL
Repeating Characters In
A Cell (XL2003/XL2007)
Notice
how the table of contents in most books show the title on the left
side, followed by a series of dots or dashes and then the page number
on the right side?
If you ever need to make a list in Excel and have a series of dots fill the remaining width of a column, you can get a similar effect by using a custom number format. This can be used for either numeric or text values.
This technique will be easier to appreciate by creating a practice worksheet rather than just reading the tip.
1) In a new workbook, type Chapter 1 in cell B5;
2) Drag the fill handle for cell B5 down to cell B9 so that the values in those cells will be Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5;
3) Adjust the width of column A to be about three times the width of the cell contents;
4) Next, select the five cells in columns B;
5)
In
Excel 2003, from the Format
menu select Cells.
In
Excel 2007, on the Home
tab, click the small Dialog Launcher arrow on
the bottom right of the Number
group (see
graphic);
6) From the Number tab, click Custom in the Category area;
7) In the Type field enter @ *. and click OK.
Custom format to display the repeating character...
P.S. If you want to have the text contents of a cell repeated
across the width of the column, here's how. In Excel
2003, from the Format
menu select Cells.
In
Excel 2007, on the Home
tab, click the small Dialog Launcher arrow on the bottom right
of the Alignment
group. Click the Alignment
tab and from the Horizontal drop-down select Fill and click OK.
Note that this technique works on text values and not numbers, and that
the characters only appear to be repeating. The actual cell contents
aren't repeating.
Notice
how the table of contents in most books show the title on the left
side, followed by a series of dots or dashes and then the page number
on the right side?If you ever need to make a list in Excel and have a series of dots fill the remaining width of a column, you can get a similar effect by using a custom number format. This can be used for either numeric or text values.
This technique will be easier to appreciate by creating a practice worksheet rather than just reading the tip.
1) In a new workbook, type Chapter 1 in cell B5;
2) Drag the fill handle for cell B5 down to cell B9 so that the values in those cells will be Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5;
3) Adjust the width of column A to be about three times the width of the cell contents;
4) Next, select the five cells in columns B;
5)
In
Excel 2003, from the Format
menu select Cells.
In
Excel 2007, on the Home
tab, click the small Dialog Launcher arrow on
the bottom right of the Number
group (see
graphic);6) From the Number tab, click Custom in the Category area;
7) In the Type field enter @ *. and click OK.
Custom format to display the repeating character...
- to the right of text use @ *. (at + space + asterisk + dot)
- to the right of a number use 0 *. (zero + space + asterisk + dot)
- to the left of text use *. @ (asterisk + dot + space + at)
- to the
left of a number use *. 0
(asterisk + dot + space + zero )
Know
an even better way?
Let me know at fhayes(AT)theexceladdict(DOT)com
Let me know at fhayes(AT)theexceladdict(DOT)com
"You Are About To Discover The Real 'Excel Secrets'
That Most Users Never Know, About How To Quickly Turbocharge Your Excel
Skills"In my latest ebook you'll learn 101 secrets that most users haven't discovered, even after using Excel for 10 or 15 years.
Are you ready to experience some Excel 'Aha!s' just like Ivan?
Dear Mr. Hayes, First of all, thank you for the wonderful Aha! experiences I had reading your "101 Secrets of a Microsoft Excel Addict." The Shift+drag columns/rows and the Alt+; shortcuts alone made it worthwhile the modest amount you charge for your e-book. Thank you for being such an Excel Addict. Action does generate inspiration. You have inspired me, I'm having fun with Excel once again. Cheers, Ivan
NON-EXCEL
TIP
More
Room On Your Taskbar
If your Taskbar is getting a little overcrowded, give it some more space. It's easy.
1) First, right-click a blank section of the Taskbar and, if there is a checkmark next to the Lock the Taskbar option, click it to remove it;
2) Move your mouse pointer to the top edge of the taskbar and it will change to up and down pointing arrows;
3) Click, hold and drag the top of the taskbar up to the size you want;
4) Finally, lock the taskbar by right-clicking and clicking on the Lock the Taskbar option.
If your Taskbar is getting a little overcrowded, give it some more space. It's easy.
1) First, right-click a blank section of the Taskbar and, if there is a checkmark next to the Lock the Taskbar option, click it to remove it;
2) Move your mouse pointer to the top edge of the taskbar and it will change to up and down pointing arrows;
3) Click, hold and drag the top of the taskbar up to the size you want;
4) Finally, lock the taskbar by right-clicking and clicking on the Lock the Taskbar option.
Know an even better way?
Let me know at fhayes(AT)theexceladdict(DOT)com
Let me know at fhayes(AT)theexceladdict(DOT)com
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Spreadsheet Tips From An Excel Addict
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"Spreadsheets
Tips From An Excel Addict"
is a weekly publication of TheExcelAddict.com.
Copyright Francis J. Hayes All Rights Reserved.
8 Lexington Place, Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, Canada, A1X 6A2 Phone: 709-834-4630
is a weekly publication of TheExcelAddict.com.
Copyright Francis J. Hayes All Rights Reserved.
8 Lexington Place, Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, Canada, A1X 6A2 Phone: 709-834-4630