Excel Tips
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Access Recently Used Files
In all Office programs there is a list of recently used files at the bottom of the File menu. Most people access these with the mouse. You can also access these files with the keyboard. First press Alt + F to activate the File menu. Then press the number listed beside the file name in the list. The file will open ready for use.

Hide Columns or Rows in Excel
Select a cell in each row or column that you wish to hide. Then use one of these key combinations:
Ctrl + 0 (zero) will hide the column(s).
Ctrl + 9 will hide the row(s).

Add a Picture to Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
Once you save a picture to your computer, there are two easy options for getting it into your document. You can go to Insert, Picture, From File on the Menu bar, or you can click the Insert Picture icon on the Drawing toolbar at the bottom of the screen to browse to and select the picture you want to add to your file.

Show All of the Office Menu Items and Toobar Icons
When you first open Office programs, only certain items, supposedly the most utilized ones, are visible to you when going through the menus. Other menu items require clicking on a down arrow at the bottom of each menu. The shown menu items are supposedly the most recently used commands. Also, your Standard and Formatting toolbars share a row and all of the icons are not visible. If you want all of the menu options and all of the icons available all the time, go to Tools, Customize. On the dialog box that appears, select the Options tab. Put checks by "Show Standard and Formatting toolbars on two rows" and "Always show full menus"; then click the Close button.

Using the Rotate Tool
To rotate an object in most Office programs, go to the Draw toolbar, Rotate or Flip, Free Rotate. If you hold down the Shift key, you can rotate the object on an axis. It will using the opposite green circle as the swing point.

Center Excel Printout on Page
Open Excel and click on the worksheet to be printed. Go to File, Page Setup. Select the Margins tab. At the bottom, in the Center on Page section, check both Horizontally and Vertically. Click OK.

Hide a Worksheet in Excel
Click on the worksheet tab that you want to hide. Go to Format, Sheet, and then click Hide. To unhide a worksheet, go to Format, Sheet, and click Unhide. A dialog box will appear listing any hidden worksheets. Click the worksheet you want to unhide and click OK.

Display Excel Cell Contents in an AutoShape or Text Box
Create an AutoShape or text box. Click on the shape. In the Formula Bar, type an equal sign (=). Click the worksheet cell that contains the data or text you want to link to. Press Enter. Move the shape anywhere on the worksheet. It will take the cell contents with it.

To Rename a Worksheet in Excel
Right-click a Sheet tab, and then click Rename on the shortcut menu.

To Insert a Line Break in an Excel Cell
Press Alt + Enter to start a new line while you're typing or editing data. This will wrap the text within the cell.

Copy Vertical Cells Horizontally
To copy the data in columns and paste it into rows, first copy the data in one or more columns. Then right-click your first destination cell (the first cell of the first row into which you want to paste your data), and then click Paste Special. In the Paste Special dialog box, select Transpose, and then click OK. Starting with your first cell, Excel pastes the data into a row.

Enter Data into Multiple Excel Worksheets Simultaneously
As an example, let's say you want to put the same title text into different worksheets. One way to do this is to type the text in one worksheet, and then copy and paste the text into the other worksheets. An easier way to do this is to use the Ctrl key. Press and hold the Ctrl key, and then click Sheet1, Sheet2, and Sheet3. Click in cell A1 in Sheet1, and then type your text. The data will appear in each sheet.

Excel Borders
One way to produce a more attractive worksheet in Excel is to put a border around your data, or segments of your data. As an example, open a blank worksheet and type some data into several contiguous cells. Now, select the cells that contain data and choose Format/Cells. When the Format Cells dialog box opens, click the Border tab. Choose a Style. Click the down arrow next to Color and choose a color for your border. Then click on the 'Outline' preset. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your new border.

Add a Row or Column in Excel
To add rows or columns, first select a row or column on your worksheet. Then press Ctrl + Shift + +(the plus sign) as many times as the number of rows or columns you wish to insert. Rows will be inserted above the selected row. Columns will be inserted to the left of the selected column.

Edit a Hyperlink in Excel
When you try to edit a hyperlink in Excel, your first instinct is to click on the cell which activates the link. To edit the link without activating it, click and hold the mouse button down on the cell with the link. After a couple of seconds, you'll notice the cursor change into a plus sign and then you're free to release the mouse button. You'll find that the cell has been selected without activating the link. Then use the F2 key or the Formula bar to edit the text.

Color the Gridlines in Excel
Go to Tools, Options, and then select the View tab. In the Window options section, choose a color from Gridlines color dropdown list, and click OK.

Underlining Text in Excel
If you want to double underline some text in Excel, select the text, and hold the Shift key down while you click the Underline tool (U).

Add the Outline Border to Cells in Excel
When working in Excel, Ctrl + Shift + & will apply the Outline Border to the currently selected cell(s). To remove the border, press Ctrl + Shift + _ (underscore).

Shrink Contents to Fit in a Cell
There may be times where text or values do not perfectly fit inside a cell, based on the limited width of a particular column. You can either alter the font size, right-click on the cell or cells and choose Format Cells. Click the Alignment tab and check Shrink to Fit. Click OK. Note that if the value is especially large or the cell width is especially small, it may be very difficult to read the text, either on the screen or in a printout.

Hide Sheet Tabs
If you don't commonly create workbook files with more than one worksheet, you may find that you do not need the worksheet tabs located on the bottom of your workbook. These are easy to toggle on or off. Go to Tools, Options, and click the View tab. Under Window Options, check or uncheck Sheet Tabs. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Display Text Vertically in Excel
To make a particular cell or group of cells in an Excel spreadsheet stand out, you can choose to have the text presented vertically or at a 45 degree angle. This is usually done to the column headers. Right-click on a cell, or select a group of cells, and choose Format Cells. Then click the Alignment tab. Either enter a positive or negative degree amount next to Degrees, or click on the dots on the Orientation graphic to change how the text in the cells will be presented. Click OK when finished.

Hide Gridlines
While gridlines may make it easier to know exactly where to enter values into an Excel spreadsheet, if a spreadsheet already has well-defined borders around cells where values should be placed, gridlines can actually make the visual display confusing. You can disable gridlines for a particular spreadsheet. Go to Tools, Options, and click the View tab. Uncheck Gridlines beneath Window Options. Click OK.

Shade Cells with a Pattern
To help a particular cell in an Excel spreadsheet stand out from the rest, you can shade the cell's background with a variety of colored patterns, such as diagonal lines, crosshatches, or dots. Right-click on the selected cell or cells you wish to apply a pattern to, and choose Format Cells. Click the Patterns tab. To completely shade a cell with a particular color, click the desired color from the selection of colors directly underneath Cell Shading. Or, apply a patterned fill to the cell. Choose any color in the window, and then click inside the box next to Pattern. Choose a pattern at the top. When finished, click OK to close the dialog box and apply your changes.

Hide Excel's Startup Task Pane
If you don't use the Excel Task Pane and would like to diable it, go to Tools, Options, and click the View tab. Uncheck Startup Task Pane next to Show. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Change the Color of a Worksheet Tab
You can change the color of individual worksheet tabs in Excel to make them stand out from the rest. Right-click on a sheet tab at the bottom of the current worksheet and select Tab Color. Then select a desired color from the palette and click OK. Note that the currently selected tab will always show a default color, but the tab will have a colored line underneath. Then, when you switch to a different tab, the previous tab will fully display in your chosen color.

Enter URLs as Text in Excel
When you type an Internet address in a cell, such as www.shermanisd.net, Excel automatically turns the address into a hyperlink. To store the address as regular text instead, type an apostrophe (') before the address. For instance, if you type 'www.shermanisd.net, you'll see the address text in the cell, without the apostrophe, and the text won't be a hyperlink. If Excel has already turned an address into a hyperlink, you can deactivate it. Right-click the cell, choose Remove Hyperlink.

Keep Column Headers Visible at All Times
Typical spreadsheets consist of columns with header text that describe what type of data is located in each column. When you work on a spreadsheet containing many rows of information, as you scroll past one screen of data, the column headers move out of view. It can be difficult to remember what type of information should be entered in each column. Excel lets you perform a Split so that header rows can remain in view even while you are working with screens and screens of data. Select a cell located in the row directly below the header information. Go to Window, Split. Now, all rows located above the row in where your cursor is located will remain on screen as you scroll through your document. To remove the split, go to Window, Remove Split.

Make a Quick Chart in Excel
Select the information you wish to make a chart from, and then press the F11 key on your keyboard. This will instantly create a chart on a separate worksheet. If needed, you can then make changes using the Chart Toolbar.

Transpose Cells in Excel
Copy a range of cells, then select an empty cell. Press Shift+F10. From the menu, select Paste Special. Click the Transpose checkbox, and click OK. The list is now presented in horizontal cells.

Sum It Up in Excel
If you have a string of numbers that you need to find the sum for, select the cells containing the data to be totaled. In the status bar across the bottom of the screen, you should see Sum=(the total of the selected cells). If it says anything besides Sum, right-click on the word and you will see several options of what to do with the selected cells including Sum.

Using the Tab Key in Excel and Tables
When you press the Tab key, the cursor moves to the next Tab. If you want to return to the original position, press Shift + Tab.

Using the Enter Key in Excel
When you press the Enter key, it moves to the next line. To return to the original line, press Shift + Enter.

Quickly Resize Columns in Excel
When using Excel, save time by first typing in all the data. Then, double-click the lines in the column headers between each column to automatically resize the columns to fit the data.