FAQs - Microsoft Excel

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I am using MS Excel and I want to import a spreadsheet into MS Powerpoint without the gridlines. Is this possible?

Yes it is. While in Excel, you must first click on Tools on the menu bar, select Options on the pull down window. In the View box, deselect gridlines. Then you can copy and paste the spreadsheet into Powerpoint.

In Excel, I am trying to open a Lotus 1-2-3 WK4 file. The file contains a bitmap. I am receiving the following error message: "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down, Invalid Page Fault in Excel.exe at 0137:304997F4." Why am I receiving this message?

This is a common problem, and despite the message, you're still a law-abiding citizen. You can solve your dilemma by installing Excel SR-1, or by removing the bitmap, or by opening the file and then saving the .wk4 file in Excel 7.0 before opening the file in Excel.

I am using Excel. I am working on a spreadsheet in which the columns are showing numbers rather than letters. How do I get the letters to show again?

Under the Tools, Option, General tab, uncheck the R1C1 box. This should straighten things out.

I have an Excel file that will not open. I am using Windows 95 on a workstation connected to a Windows NT 4.0 Server. What is the problem?

You have a corrupted User Profile on the server. To solve this, you must delete the profile. However, deleting the profile from the local drive will not correct the problem. You must delete the profile from the server.

I am working in MS Excel 5.0 in Windows 95. I have a spreadsheet where the gridlines are not printing. The sheet is 87 rows by 49 columns, "A1 to AW87." The gridlines are not printing from column "AP" to "AW." The other gridlines are printing correctly. What is the problem?

First, make sure Gridlines are turned on (File, Page Setup, Sheet tab, Gridlines checked). If the gridlines are still not printing, perform a Copy and Paste of the affected gridlines to New File.

I am using Microsoft Excel 7.0 running under Windows 95. I am using formulas to subtract time. If the resulting time is a negative number, the result displays as pound signs. How can I fix this?

This occurs if the 1904 date system option is not checked. This is found under the Tools/Options menu, and on the Calculation tab. It is also in the Workbook Options section.

I have converted my MS Access database to a current conversion. I am getting conversion errors.

Design specs have changed in new releases of MS Access. Visit the on-line help option for "conversion and compatibility" that explains different portions of Access databases that will have difficulty converting. Some reprogramming may be required.

How can I printout the formulas in an Excel spreadsheet - rather than the results?

I'd like to take a printout away to do some checking but there's no option on the Print dialog to do this. The trick is to change the way Excel displays the worksheet before you choose to print. Check the box Tools, Options, View, Formulas and you'll see the formulas appear in each cell (with the columns changed to fit). When you print the sheet the formulas will be printed instead of the values.

How do I clear all formatting and cell contents from the cell in my spreadsheet?

When you select a cell and press Delete, Excel deletes the contents of the cell. But you may want to delete other elements as well like formatting, comments, or everything: 1. Select the cell(s) from which you want to delete something. 2. Choose Edit + Clear. 3. From the menu list, select the elements you want to delete.

I am using Excel and I want to print only the bottom of the worksheet. There is not an option to do this in the print dialog box. How can this be done?

This can be accomplished by highlighting the area to be printed. Then go to File, print area, set print area, this will print only what is selected.

I am using Excel, and want to create a line graph with the data on my spreadsheet, ranging from January to December. However, I don't want the empty cells to be represented as zeroes in the line graph. Is there a way to graph all months without displaying the zero values?

This can be accomplished by going to Tools, Options, menu, choose the Graph Tab, under "Plot empty cells as" option, Select, "not plotted (leave blank)".

In Excel, how can I prevent a row from printing in a range if certain cells in a particular column equal 0. I don't want to extract the records to another section of the sheet. Is it possible to hide those rows, then print, then unhide?

There's a menu-driven solution that's called AutoFilter. Just put the cursor anywhere in the range of cells you want to print, open the Data menu, select Filter, then choose AutoFilter. When you do, Excel will add dropdown-arrows to the cell at the top of each column. Click that dropdown arrow for the column that contains the zero entries. Select the Custom... option. That opens the Custom AutoFilter dialog box. In the Show Rows Where fields section, choose the greater-than sign for the operator and enter 0 (the number) for the value. Then, click OK. When you do, Excel will display only the rows that contain values greater than zero in the column you selected. To re-display those rows, open the Data menu, choose Filter, and choose AutoFilter again to deactivate it.

Using Excel is there a way to close all open Excel files at once instead of closing them one at a time?

Yes, you can close down all your Excel files at once by using the following instructions: 1. Hold down the Shift key. 2. Choose File + Close All from the menu. Holding down the Shift key changes Excel's File + Close command to a File + Close All command.

How do you set Excel to automatically place a decimal point for every number you enter?

Select the Tools menu and then the Options menu. The Options menu will give you a property sheet with several tabs. Select the tab labeled "EDIT". Check the box for Fixed Decimal. This action allows you to increase or decrease the "PLACES" field. Note: The default for PLACES is 2. When you have selected the proper is setting click OK to save the property.

I have several objects that are in my Excel spreadsheet. They are pictures, charts, text boxes; simply a variety of objects to make my spreadsheet look attractive. It is rather difficult to align many of these objects. Is there an easier way than to move objects independently?

Objects can be snapped to alignment by using the Drawing toolbar through the following steps: 1. Hold down the Ctrl key and click each object you want to align. 2. On the Drawing toolbar, click the Draw button. 3. Choose Align or Distribute from the pop-up menu. 4. Select the alignment option you prefer; the diagrams next to each option illustrate the result. Excel aligns the objects. Because the objects are still selected, you can also move them together to another location without disturbing the alignment.

While entering a series of numbers I was manually entering a comma. Excel auto-formatted the field to accommodate the comma like 1,200. I erroneously entered 12,00. Obviously the comma was placed in the incorrect position, but Excel interpreted this as text. When I wrote my sum formula, the results were not as expected. How can this be avoided in the future?

Format the column ahead of time to specify the format to show commas, decimal places, etc. This way you don't have to enter the comma or decimal places while keying the numbers.

I create lots of graphs with Excel. Unfortunately, the options to which Excel defaults are not the ones I use most. Is there any way to change the graph defaults to the ones I prefer?

1. Right-click a chart that uses the defaults you prefer. 2. Choose Chart Type from the menu that appears. 3. Click the Set as Default Chart button. 4. Click OK. From now on, Excel will create charts based on the default you prefer, this will save you a couple of clicks per chart.

How do I combine different chart types into my Excel spreadsheet?

To combine chart types, follow these steps: 1. If the Chart toolbar isn't already displayed, right-click any Toolbar and select Chart. 2. On the chart, click the series you want to change. 3. On the Chart toolbar, click the arrow next to the Chart Type button and then select the new chart type for the series (in our example, a line chart).

Can you tell me how I can put comments in my spreadsheet for instructions that pertain to a specific cell in Microsoft Excel?

First you will need to click on the specific cell that you want the comment to refer to. Go to Insert on the menu bar and then select Comment. You can now type your message. After typing your message you can click outside of the comment box onto another cell. You can tell that there is a comment associated with that cell because a small red triangle will be in the upper right hand corner of the cell. When you want to see the comment, you can either put your mouse over the cell and it will appear or you can set Excel to always show comments. To do this you will need to go to Tools on the Menu bar and select Options and then click on the View tab. Then, choose the Comment & Indicator option in the Comments section and then click on OK.

Please tell me how I can split combined data into separate columns in an Excel spreadsheet. For example I have a spreadsheet that contains the city and state (i.e. Kennett Square, PA) in the same column and I would like to have them in two separate columns.

In Microsoft Excel you can convert delimited text into columns. To do this you must first insert a blank column to the right of the data you want to split. Next, select the text you want to convert and on the menu bar choose Data then Text to Columns. The Delimited wizard will then open. You then need to select Delimited option and click on Next. On the next sheet of the wizard, select the character that separates your data from the Delimiters panel (i.e. comma, space, tab or whatever may be separating the text in your spreadsheet, in this case it would be a comma between the city and state). Take notice of the changes shown in the Data Preview panel. Click Next and look through the Data Preview panel to make sure your data is converted to the format you like. Make any necessary changes in the Column Data Format panel. Finally, click Finish.

Is there a way that I can close all spreadsheets in my Excel file at once?

Press CTRL+F4 which will not only close the workbooks, but Excel as well. Excel will ask you if you would like to save your files.

Or, to close all workbooks but keep Excel open?

1. Press and hold the shift key while clicking on the File menu 2. Choose Close All. Holding down the shift key changes the File Menu option from Close to Close All.

I know I can use the fill handle (the small black box in the lower-right corner of the range) to copy data and formulas in Excel, but is there a way to use it to clear ranges in Excel?

To do this you will need to select the range you want to clear. Once you have it highlighted then drag the fill handle (the small black box in the lower-right corner of the range) up or to the left to clear what you want in the range.

Is there a way to set up a toolbar button in Excel to access Page Setup?

This requires customizing your toolbar as follows: 1. Choose Tools + Customize to launch the Customize dialog box. 2. Click the Commands tab. 3. In the Categories list, select File. 4. In the Commands list, drag the Page Setup button (it has the words Page Setup and no picture) to the Standard toolbar. We recommend positioning it just to the left of your Print button. 5. Click Close to make the Customize dialog box disappear and save your changes.

I am using Microsoft Excel and I would like to know if there is an easy way to figure out the number of working days (Monday through Friday) between two dates and also exclude specific holidays?

Yes, you can use the NETWORKDAYS function. The following is the syntax for the function: NETWORKDAYS(START_DATE,END_DATE,HOLIDAYS) START_DATE is a date that represents the start date. END_DATE is a date that represents the end date. HOLIDAYS is an optional range of one or more dates to exclude from the working calendar.

How can I vary the width in the columns of a spreadsheet?

Varying the width is not possible. Changing the width of one cell also changes the width of all cells in that same column. The perspective of varied cell widths in one column can be achieved by merging cells together. 1. select both cells click the Merge and Center button on the toolbar

How can I identify which cells in my spreadsheet have a formula and which do not in MS Excel?

Option A: 1. Choose Edit + Go To (or press Ctrl + F5). 2. Select Special. 3. Select Formulas. 4. Click OK. Option B: 1. Choose Tools + Options. 2. Select the View Tab 3. In Window Options choose the check box 'Formulas'. 4. Click OK

Is there a way to apply the same formatting to every sheet in a workbook in Excel?

Yes. To do this, you will need to right click on one of the worksheet tabs and then choose Select All Sheets. After you do this any formatting that you apply or text you enter will show up on all the sheets in your workbook. In order to eliminate certain sheets from the changes, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the tab of the worksheet you want excluded from the others. You can also group sheets by holding the shift key and selecting the worksheet tab.

Can I open .PRN files in Microsoft Excel?

Yes you can. You will need to open Excel and then open the .prn file. This will open up the Text Import Wizard. Follow through the wizard to determine the outcome of how you want you text to be imported into Excel.

Is there an easier way to change formula results to fixed values in Microsoft Excel? I usually copy the cells that I am working with and then use the paste special command to past the permanent values over the original formulas.

Yes there is. You will need to first select the cell or range of cells that you want to convert to fixed values. Then you will need to drag the blocked cell or range one row over, either to the right or left. The row you are moving it to should be empty. Then using the right mouse button, drag the selected cell or range to where you originally had it. Once you release the right mouse button a shortcut menu will display, which will give you several options to choose from, you will select “Copy Here as Values Only”. This will give you a permanent value.

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