Very often, the data you type into cells doesn't fit into the cell.
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Conversely, the cells may be too wide for the data they contain.
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In Excel 97, you can adjust the width of columns and the height of rows using the ^UFormat^u menu.
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To change the column width, you select ^UColumn^u in the ^UFormat^u menu and click the ^UWidth^u option.
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You are presented with the Column Width dialog box which displays the current column width which is 8.5.
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The default width of a column is 8.5.
The displayed column width is the average number of digits 0-9 of the default font that fit into a cell.
However, if the width has been changed, the changed value is displayed in the Column Width dialog box.
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You overtype the new column width, for example ^R25^r, and click ^UOK^u.
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You can in fact, type up to 255 digits as a column width.
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You will notice that only column A was enlarged, while the rest stayed the same width.
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Column A was the only one to change because it was the only column selected before the width adjustment.
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You select multiple columns in one of three ways:
ò by clicking the first column
and then pressing the ^UShift^u
key while clicking the last
column you want to select
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ò by pressing the ^UCtrl^u key
while clicking various,
non-sequential columns in
the range
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ò by pressing the ^USelect All^u
button in the top left-hand
corner of the worksheet itself
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You may find that right-clicking a selection of columns is quicker than using the ^UFormat^u menu.
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Again you overtype 8.5 with the column width you want, in this case ^R25^r.
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All the column widths in the selection are changed.
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You will notice that the columns remain selected even though the width has changed.
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To deselect the columns, you click anywhere in the worksheet itself.
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You can use the mouse to adjust column widths.
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You move the pointer into the space between two column headings.
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When the cursor turns into a double arrow, you click and drag the column heading to the right until the column is the width you want.
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When you have columns with varying lengths of text, trying to drag the boundaries for each individually is time-consuming.
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To make the column width fit the contents, double-click the boundary to the right of the column heading when the mouse pointer becomes a double-sided arrow.
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Instead of using the mouse to adjust the column width to fit the content, the ^UFormat - Column - AutoFit^u ^USelection^u can be used on single columns or selections of columns.
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<f>To define the default column width for all worksheets in a workbook, you select all worksheets.
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You do this by holding down the ^UShift^u key and clicking the sheet tabs at the bottom of the worksheet.
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You will also see that the word "Group" has been added to the title of the workbook, indicating that you are no longer working on a single sheet.
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Once the workbook is selected, you choose ^UFormat - Column -^u ^UStandard Width^u.
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You click ^UStandard Width^u to access the Standard Width dialog box.
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You overtype the current default of 8.5 with the new default, for instance ^R15^r.
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You will see that all the columns have been uniformly enlarged.
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If you reset the default column width after some columns have already been adjusted, the adjusted columns will not be changed to the new standard width.
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You adjust row heights in very much the same way that you adjust column widths.
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The row heights correspond to the height of the font selected for the worksheet.
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The default is 12.75 points when the font is Arial 10 point normal.
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The ^UFormat^u menu is used to alter the height and AutoFit the contents of filled rows.
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You can use the mouse to drag the boundary below the row heading until the row is the height you want.
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To change the row height in multiple rows, select the rows you want to change.
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You then drag a boundary below a selected row heading.
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As with columns, you can change row heights throughout the workbook by selecting each sheet.
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If all the sheets in a workbook are selected, you can use the ^USelect All^u button to make a global adjustment to row heights in a workbook.
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You use the ^UFormat - Row - Height^u option to make the global change.
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Sometimes rows or columns contain sensitive information that you don't want shared with other people.
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For this reason, you can hide rows and columns in Excel.
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Let's assume that you don't want anyone to know the date of birth or age of the people in one of your listings.
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Having selected the appropriate column headings, F and G, you use the ^UFormat - Column - Hide^u option to hide both columns.
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You will notice that the columns read A, B, C, D, E, H, I and so on now, and that there is a thick vertical line between E and H.
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Hiding a row works in exactly the same way.
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You select the row or rows that you want to hide and use the ^UFormat - Row - Hide^u option.
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You will notice that there are thickened lines and missing row numbers showing where rows have been hidden.
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To display hidden rows, select the rows to either side of the hidden rows.
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You then use the ^UFormat - Row - Unhide^u option to display the hidden rows.
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The hidden rows are now visible on screen.
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When you need to hide rows or columns for printing, you use the same method.
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In Excel 97, you have a great deal of control over the appearance of information that you enter into a cell.
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Changing the appearance of cell contents is known as ^Rformatting^r.
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Excel provides three ways to format cells:
ò Toolbar buttons - common formatting
commands are available on toolbar
buttons on the Formatting toolbar
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The remaining two ways to format cells are:
ò Shortcut keys - some common formats
can be applied by pressing shortcut key
combinations. For example, ^UCtrl+B^u
makes the text bold
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ò The Format Cells dialog box - this
multipaned dialog box provides all of
the cell formatting commands
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You can call up the Format Cells dialog box in any of three ways.
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These methods are
ò By choosing the ^UFormat - Cells^u option
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ò By pressing ^UCtrl+1^u
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ò By right-clicking the selected cell or
range of cells and choosing ^UFormat Cells^u
from the shortcut menu
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You can format cells before or after you enter information.
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For example, if you're entering a series of numbers, you can preformat the cells so that the numbers will appear with commas and the desired number of decimal places.
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Formatting does not affect the contents of your worksheet - only the way the text and values appear in the cell.
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Excel is able to perform some number formatting automatically.
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For example, if you enter 9.6% into a cell, Excel knows that you want to use a percentage format and applies it for you automatically.
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You can associate a named style with any cell.
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By default, all cells are assigned the Normal style.
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In addition, Excel provides five other built-in styles - which only control the cell's number format.
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The styles available in every workbook are:
ò Normal - Excel's default style, for
example, 1234
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ò Comma - comma with two decimal
places, for example, 1,234.00
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ò Comma [0] - comma with no
decimal places, for example, 1,234
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ò Currency - left-aligned dollar sign
with two decimal places, for
example, $ 1,234.00
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ò Currency [0] - left-aligned dollar
sign with no decimal places, for
example, $1,234
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ò Percent - percent with no decimal
places, for example, 12%
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The Currency, Percent, and Comma styles are also available on the Standard toolbar.
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You apply a style to a cell or set of cells by selecting them first.
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Once you have selected the cells, you choose ^UFormat - Style^u.
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You select a style from the Style name drop-down box in the Style dialog box.
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You then click ^UOK^u to apply the style to the selection.
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If you apply a style to the data in a cell, the style will remain even if the data content is deleted.
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If none of the number formats is suitable, you can use the Format Cells dialog box to choose from a range of other formats.
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You access this dialog box through the ^UFormat - Cells^u option and then clicking the ^UNumber^u tab.
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There are twelve different categories of number format to choose from.
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When you click a category, you are given a general description of the format.
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For instance, when you select the ^UNumber^u category from the list you are informed of the uses of the category.
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A sample of how the active cell will appear with the selected number format is also given.
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If a cell displays a series of hash signs (such as #########), it means that the column is not wide enough to display the value using the number format you selected.
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The solution is to increase the column width or change the number format.
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Apart from the Currency, Percent, and Comma styles that are assigned as toolbar buttons, Excel 97 has two more buttons that make number formatting simpler.
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These buttons are the two that increase and decrease the decimal places in a number or set of numbers.
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When you click either of them, the decimal places in the selected cells will increase or decrease according to your instruction.
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By default, cell contents appear at the bottom, numbers are right-aligned, text is left-aligned, and logical values are centered in cells.
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You can apply the most commonly used horizontal alignment options by selecting the cell or set of cells and using the tools on the Formatting toolbar.
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The alignment options that are on the Formatting toolbar are
^UAlign Left^u
^UCenter^u
^UAlign Right^u
^UMerge and Center^u
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You select the cell or set of cells you wish to align.
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You choose the ^UFormat - Cells^u option (or press ^UCtrl+1^u).
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You click the ^UAlignment^u tab in the Format Cells dialog box.
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Then you select the desired horizontal or vertical alignment option.
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You click ^UOK^u when done.
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If you would like to change the font which is Arial 10 point, you begin by selecting the cells containing the text you want to format.
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The easiest way to change both the font and the text size is to use the ^UFont^u and ^UFont Size^u tools on the Formatting toolbar.
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You select the desired font in the Font drop-down list, for instance, ^UGaramond^u.
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Having selected the font, the selected text changes immediately.
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You then select the required size in the Font Size drop-down list, for instance ^U12 point^u.
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Having selected the font size, the selected text enlarges immediately.
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You can change font, font size and many more through the ^UFormat - Cells^u option.
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This calls up the Format Cells dialog box.
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You click the ^UFont^u tab and access a variety of formatting options.
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You can mix and match various elements, such as font styles, underlining, and effects, and then preview them before clicking ^UOK^u.
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You can change the background color or pattern used in cells when you need variety or to emphasize important information.
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You click the ^UPatterns^u tab in the Format Cells dialog box.
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Click the Pattern pop-up box to view the various patterns that can be used as cell backgrounds.
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When you decide on a combination, click ^UOK^u to format the active cell selection.
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If you are using a black and white printer, printed output may not produce the results you want.
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Adding borders to cells delineates one type of data from the next and makes for easier reading.
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Excel allows you to select the color and style of the borders, and exactly where you want borders to be.
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For example, you may choose to have a border around each cell which is thicker than usual and a prominent blue.
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It is easier to see the colors you define if you turn the grid lines of the worksheet off.
You do this through ^UTools - Options - View^u.
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You can change text attributes, such as bold, italic, and underline through the Formatting toolbar.
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You simply mark out the text you want emphasized and click the appropriate button.
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If you want an entire column or row set to a certain attribute, you click the row number or column heading and then set the attribute.
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The following shortcut keys are available in Excel:
ò ^UCtrl+B^u for bold text
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ò ^UCtrl+I^u for italics
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ò ^UCtrl+U^u for underlined text
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ò ^UCtrl+5^u for strikethrough
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The toolbar buttons and shortcut keys act as a toggle. For example, you turn bold both on and off by pressing ^UCtrl+B^u.
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When you need to get rid of text attributes, borders, patterns, or any other format, you select the cell or set of cells you want to clear.
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Then you use either the ^UEdit - Clear - All^u or the ^UEdit - Clear - Formats^u option, depending on whether you want to delete the text as well or want it to remain.
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The attributes are cleared the moment you click the required option.
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Normally the contents of a cell are displayed horizontally.
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To change the orientation (direction) of the text, you select the cell containing the text you want to change.
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You then select the ^UFormat -^u ^UCells^u option.
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You click the ^UAlignment^u tab in the Format Cells dialog box.
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You then move the orientation needle to the exact angle at which you want the text, for example, 45 degrees.
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You click ^UOK^u to accept the new setting.
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Wrapping text within a cell is a good way of displaying more information without making the column wider, although it does enlarge the row.
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You wrap text in a cell or set of cells through the ^UFormat - Cells^u option.
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Click the ^UAlignment^u tab and check the box labeled ^UWrap text^u.
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You click ^UOK^u when done.
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When you decrease the column width of a cell that's formatted with wrap text, the words will wrap around to the next line to accommodate the new column width.
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The quickest way to copy formats from one cell to another cell is to use the ^UFormat Painter^u button on the Standard toolbar.
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You select the cell with the attributes you want to copy.
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Then you click the ^UFormat^u ^UPainter^u button.
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You select (paint) the cells to which you want to apply the format.
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When you release the mouse button the formats will be copied.
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Double-clicking the ^UFormat Painter^u button causes the mouse pointer to remain a paintbrush after you release the mouse button.
This lets you paint other areas of the worksheet with the same formats.
To exit paint mode, click the ^UFormat^u ^UPainter^u button again or press ^UEsc^u.
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Excel's AutoFormat feature applies attractive formatting to a table automatically.
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You move the cell pointer anywhere within a table that you want to format.
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Excel automatically estimates the boundaries of the table.
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You choose the ^UFormat - AutoFormat^u option.
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Excel responds with its AutoFormat dialog box.
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You select one of the seventeen formats from the list and click ^UOK^u.
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Excel formats the table using the selected format.
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You cannot define your own AutoFormats, but you can control the type of formatting that is applied.
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When you click the ^UOptions^u button in the AutoFormat dialog box, the dialog box expands to show six options.
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Initially the six check boxes are all checked, which means that Excel will apply formatting from all six categories.
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If you would like Excel to skip one or more categories, just deselect the appropriate boxes before you click ^UOK^u.
