Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Session Objectives
Bytheendofthissessionyouwillbeableto: StartExcelandcheckyourprogramversion Maximize,minimize,resize,moveandclosetheExcelwindow UnderstandtheApplicationandWorkbookwindows Openandnavigateaworkbook Saveaworkbook Pinadocumentandunderstandfileorganization View,add,rename,deleteandnavigateworksheettabs UsetheRibbon UnderstandRibboncomponents CustomizetheQuickAccessToolbarandpreviewtheprintout UsetheMiniToolbar,KeyTipsandkeyboardshortcuts UnderstandViews Usefullscreenview Usethehelpsystem
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Click the All Programs item at the bottom of the pop-up menu. Scroll down the list and click on the Microsoft Office item. Pin Microsoft Office Excel 2007 to the start menu.
YoullbeusingExcelalotsoitmakessensetopinittothestart menu.Thiswillmakeitappearatthetopofthelistinfutureso youllbeabletostartExcelwithjusttwoclicks. TopintothestartmenupointtoMicrosoftOfficeExcel2007inthe list,rightclickyourmouseandthenchoosePintoStartMenufrom theshortcutmenu.
ClickResourcesfromthelefthandsidebarandyoullseetheversion numberatthebottomofthedialog:
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Service Packs
WhenExcel2007wasfirst releasedithadmanybugs(as doallcomputerprogramsof anysize). Microsoftisveryproactiveat fixingbugsthatarefoundand alwaysreleasethesefixesfree ofchargeasaservicepack. Servicepacksnormallyonlyfix bugsfoundintheoriginal program,butMicrosoft sometimestakethingsalittle furtherbyincludingnew,orat leastenhanced,featureswith theirservicepacks. Ihadmanyemailsfromreaders ofmybook:LearnAccessVBA 2003withtheSmartMethod suggestingthatsomeofthe examplesdidntworkforthem. Inalmosteverycasethe problemwasthattheywere usinganoutofdateversionof theapplicationortheoperating system.Afterapplyingthe relevantservicepacksthe problemsvanished. Forthisreasonitisimportant thatyoumakesureyour softwareisuptodate.
InthisexampletheExcelversionis:
ClicktheAboutButtonnexttoaboutMicrosoftExcel2007.Adialogis displayedwithinformationaboutyourcopyofExcel.
ClicktheSystemInfobutton.TheOperatingSystem(OS)Nameand Versionwillthenbevisibleatthetoprightofthedialog:
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What if Im unable to upgrade my operating system or Im using a different operating system?
Sometimesyourcorporate policywillnotallowyouto upgradeyouroperatingsystem orapplicationservicepack. Inthiscaseyoucanstillusethis bookbutbeawarethatitis possiblethatsomeofthe featuresdescribedmaynot workasexpected(ormaynot workatall).
Vista
Windows XP
Click the close button on the top right corner of each dialog to return to the Excel screen.
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Lesson 1-2: Maximize, minimize, re-size, move and close the Excel window
Thegreatsuccessfulmenoftheworldhaveusedtheirimaginations, theythinkaheadandcreatetheirmentalpicture,andthengotowork materializingthatpictureinallitsdetails,fillinginhere,addinga littlethere,alteringthisabitandthatbit,butsteadilybuilding, steadilybuilding. RobertCollier,Americanmotivationalauthor,(18851950) NowthatExcelisopenyouareconfrontedwithadazzlingarrayof buttons,switchesandotherartifacts. FornowletsexplorethebigpicturebylookingathowtheExcelwindow canbesizedandmoved.Thedetailswillcomelater.
ButifyouhadreducedthesizeoftheExcelwindowsothatit didntfillthescreenyoullseethisinstead:
TryclickingtheMaximize,MinimizeandRestoreDownbuttonsbut becarefultoclickthegroupofthreebuttonsattheverytopofthe
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Other ways to close down Excel
Therearethreeexpertwaysof closingExcelthatwillsavea secondortwoofyourtime. 1. DoubleclicktheOffice buttonatthetopleftof yourscreen. Pressthe<Ctrl>+<W>keys onyourkeyboard.Wellbe learningmoreabout keyboardshortcutslaterin thissession. Pressthe<Alt>+<F4>keys onyourkeyboard.
Close Excel
TherearetwocommonwaystoclosedownExcelandthreelesser usedmethods(seesidebar).Mostpeoplewilluseoneofthe followingmethods: ClickontheClosebutton window. OR ClickontheOfficebutton atthetopleftofthescreenandthen clickontheExitExcelbuttonatthebottomrightofthedialog. atthetoprightoftheExcelapplication
2.
3.
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Whats the point of having a floating worksheet window?
Atthisstageinyourjourneyof discovery,noneatall. Youneedtoknowhowto maximize,minimizeand restoredowntheworkbook windowbecauseyoumightdo itbyaccidentandneedtofix thingsupagain. InLesson22:Createanew workbookandviewtwoworkbooks atthesametime,youllseehow Excelisabletodisplaymore thanoneWorkbookwindow withintheApplication window.Thisallowsyouto viewtwoworksheetsatthe sametime.
Click the Workbooks Restore Down button (thats the one in the lower group of three buttons).
TheworkbookfloatswithintheApplicationwindow:
NoticethattheworkbooksMaximize,MinimizeandRestoreDown buttonsarenowonthetoprightcornerofthefloatingwindow.
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Download the sample files (if you havent already done so).
1. OpenyourwebbrowserandtypeintheURL: www.learnmicrosoftexcel.com 2. Clickthedownloadlinkonthetopleftofthehomepage.
3. Downloadthesamplefiles.
2.
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Excel 2007 is big!
Spaceisbigreallybigyou justwontbelievehowvastly, hugelymindbogglinglybigit is.Youmaythinkitsalong waydowntheroadtothe chemist,butthatsjustpeanuts tospace. DouglasAdams,The HitchhikersGuidetothe Galaxy Acompellingreasonto upgradefromExcel2003tothe new2007versionisthesheer sizeofworksheetsthatcannow bemanipulated. Excelversions972003were limitedto65,536rowsand256 columns. Manyofmyclientshave neededtoovercomethe65,000 rowprobleminearlierExcel versions.Untilnowthatmeant movingtoAccess(Microsofts databasemanagement application). Excel2007worksheetscanhave upto1,048,576rowsand16,585 columns. Putintomoreunderstandable terms. Youcouldcreateasingle worksheetwiththenameof everyhumanbeingonthe planetandyouwouldntrun outofcells(infact,you wouldnthaveevenusedhalf ofyourworksheet). Ifyoufilledeverycelland printedouttheworksheetit wouldbe3.25miles(5.24 kilometres)longand320 yards(293Metres)wide thatsalotofpaper. Believeitornot,someofmy clientsarentevenhappywith thisandarenowrunninginto themillionrowproblem!
InExcel2007therearealittleoveramillionrowsandalittleover sixteenthousandcolumns.Youmaywonderhowitispossibleto nameallofthesecolumnswithonly26lettersinthealphabet. WhenExcelrunsoutoflettersitstartsusingtwo:X,Y,Zandthen AA,AB,ACetc.Buteventwolettersisnotenough.WhenExcel reachescolumnZZitstartsusingthreeletters:ZX,ZY,ZZand thenAAA,AAB,AACetc. ThecurrentlyselectedcelliscalledtheActiveCellandhasablack linearoundit.TheActiveCellsaddressisalwaysdisplayedinthe NameBoxanditscontentsaredisplayedintheFormulaBar. WecanalsousetheNameBoxtomovetoaspecificcell. Toseethisinaction,typeZZ3intotheNameBoxandthenpressthe <Enter>key.YouareteleportedtocellZZ3:
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Return to Cell A1 by pressing <Ctrl>+<Home>. Go to the end of the worksheet by pressing <Ctrl>+<End>. Use the Scroll Bars.
TherearetwoscrollbarsforExcelsworkbookwindow. Theverticalscrollbarrunsfromtoptobottomoftheworksheet windowandallowsyoutoquicklymoveupanddownthe worksheet. Thehorizontalscrollbarisatthebottomrighthandsideofthe workbookwindowandallowsyoutomovetotheleftandrightin wideworksheets. Hereshowthescrollbarswork:
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Allofthishaschangedwiththenewfileformat:OfficeOpenXML.
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How users of earlier office versions can read your OpenXML files
Microsofthasafreedownload: TheMicrosoftOffice CompatibilityPack. IfusersofExcelXP(2002)or 2003installthistheywillbe abletoreadandsaveWord, ExcelandPowerPoint2007files inthenewOpenXMLformat. IftheuserhasOffice97or Office2000theyareoutofluck. Youllhavetosaveyourfilesin theold972003formatifyou needtosharethem. TheSmartMethodstillruns manyExcel2000courses (especiallyforclientsinthe bankingandfinancesector). Theseusershavenosolutionto readanOpenXMLworkbook otherthantoupgrade. Ofcourse,astheyearspassthis willbecomelessofanissue.
Microsofthavepublishedexactlyhowthisformatworksandgiven itawayfreetotheworldsdevelopercommunity.Thisallows otherprogramstoeasilyworkwithExcelworkbookfiles.For example,ApplesiPhonealreadysupportsOfficeOpenXMLEmail attachments. Unfortunatelythefuturehastocoexistwiththepastandthereare alotofpeopleintheworldusingtheolderversionsofOffice(97, 2000,2002and2003).IfyousaveyourfilesinthenewOpenXML formatonlypeoplerunningOffice2007willbeabletoreadthem (butseethesidebarforapotentialsolutiontothisproblem).
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Close down and restart Excel. Pin a workbook to the Recent Documents list.
1. ClicktheOfficeButtonatthetopleftofthescreen. Ontherighthandsideofthedialogisalistofallrecently openeddocumentsbeginningwiththemostrecent(probably theWealthofNationsworksheetopenedduringthelastlesson). Notethatthereisapinicon nexttoeachworkbookname.
Whenyouhoveroverthepinatooltipisdisplayedsaying:Pin thisdocumenttotheRecentDocumentslist.
3. 4.
5.
3. ClickonTheWealthofNationstoopentheworkbook.
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Lesson 1-7: View, add, rename, delete and navigate worksheet tabs
WhenyousaveanExcelfileontoyourharddisk,youaresavingasingle workbookcontainingoneormoreworksheets. YoucanaddasmanyWorksheetsasyouliketoaWorkbook. Therearetwotypesofworksheet.Regularworksheetscontaincells(just liketheoneyourelookingatnow).Chartsheets,asyouwouldexpect, eachcontainasinglechart(wellbeexploringchartsindepthin:Session Five:ChartsandGraphics). WhenyousaveanExcelfileontoyourharddiskyouaresavingasingle workbookcontainingoneormoreworksheets.
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Open The Wealth of Nations from your sample files folder (if it isnt already open). Move between worksheets.
Lookatthetabsonthebottomleftcornerofyourscreen.Notice thatthissampleworkbookcontainsthreeworksheets:GDP,Life ExpectancyandMobilePhones.Clickoneachtabinturntoview thedifferentworksheets.
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Whentherearemoretabsthanwillfitonthescreenthetabscroll buttonsareusedtomovebetweentabs.
Delete a worksheet.
RightclickonthePopulationtabandselectDeletefromthe shortcutmenu.
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OlderversionsofExcelhidall oftheirbestfeatures underneathanarcanesystemof menunavigation.Manyusers didntknowthathalfofthe featureswerethereatall. Becauseonlythestandardand formattingtoolbarswere visibleonscreen,usersdidnt explorethemenuoptionsand, instead,usedonlyatinysubset ofExcelsfeatures. TheRibbonmakesExcelseem overwhelmingbecauseallof thosefeaturesarerightinyour face. Hardlyanybodyinthe workplacetodayunderstands everyoneofExcelsfeatures. Youllbedoingproductive workwithExcelbysessiontwo ofthisbookwhileusingatiny subsetofthefullfeatureset.By theendofthebookyoullbe thoroughlycompetentworking withExcel.
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The Ribbon shows more if you have a wide screen
WhenIworkwithExcelIusea 22inchwidescreenmonitor runningat1,680*1,050pixels. Excelusestheextrascreen spacetodisplayextended descriptionsofeachfeatureon theRibbon. Forexample,theStylespaneon theHomeRibbonexpandsto showbuttonsforninecommon cellstylesallowingthemtobe appliedwithasingleclick ratherthantwoclicks.
2. DoubleclicktheBlankWorkbookicontocreateanewblank workbook.
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contextual tabs
Ifyouaredoingsomething special,suchaspreviewinga worksheet,Exceldoesntwant tobotheryouwithalotof commandsthatareirrelevant. Forthisreasonyoulloftensee acutdownversionofthe Ribbon,listingonlythe commandsthatareavailableat thattime.Forexample,when youchangetoprintpreview view(wecoverthatlaterin Lesson110:CustomizetheQuick AccessToolbarandpreviewthe printout),youllseeacutdown Ribbonwithonlyonetab containingallofthethingsyou areabletodowhenpreviewing aprintout. SometimesExcelwillshowyou evenmoretabs.Forexample, whenyouselectapicture,a PictureToolstabgroupwill magicallyappearcontaininga Formattab.Thisenablesyouto enhancethepicture.
Type the word Test into any blank cell and then press the <Enter> key on the keyboard once.
NoticehowtheActiveCellmovestothecellbeneath.
Make the cell with the word Test into the active cell.
ClickonceonthewordTestorusethearrowkeysonthekeyboard tonavigatebacktothecell.Beverycarefulnottodoubleclick otherwiseExcelwillthinkthatyouwanttoeditthecell.
Click the Home tab on the Ribbon and focus upon the Font panel (its the second panel from the left). Try clicking each of the buttons and you will see the word Test change to reflect your choices.
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Other ways to show and hide the Ribbon
1. 2. Press<Ctrl>+<F1>. Rightclickanywhereon theRibbonandchoose minimizetheRibbonfrom theshortcutmenu.
Save your work with the name Ribbon Test and close Excel.
ClickOfficeSaveAsExcelWorkbook,typeinthefilename (Ribbon)andthenclicktheSavebutton.
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Normal button
Simplyexecutesacommandwhenclicked.TheBoldbuttonontheHome tabisagoodexample.
Split button
Thisisthehardestbuttontounderstandbecausethesebuttonslook almostthesameasthemenuorgallerybutton.Whenyouhoverthemouse cursoroverasplitbutton,theiconanddropdownarrowhighlight seperatelyasdifferentbuttonswithinabutton. AgoodexampleistheunderlinebuttonontheHometoolbar. Clickingtheiconpartofasplitbutton(theU)willperformthedefault actionofthebutton(inthiscaseasingleunderline).Clickingthearrow partofthebuttonwilldisplayamenuoffurtherchoices(inthiscasethe choicebetweenasingleanddoubleunderline).
Check box
Alittlesquareboxthatyoucanclicktoswitchanoptiononoroff. Inthisexample(fromthePageLayoutRibbon)youareabletoswitchthe gridlinesonandoffforthescreendisplayand/ortheprintout.
Command group
Similaractionsaregroupedintoacluster.Forexample,everycomponent relatingtonumbersisclusteredintotheNumbergroup.
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Dialog launcher
Dialoglaunchersappearonthebottomrighthandcornerofcommand groups.DialogsoffermorechoicethanitispossiblefortheRibbonto expressgraphically.Manyofthedialoglauncherswillpresentadialog thatisidenticaltotheolddialogsfromExcel2003.
Rich menu
TherichmenuisMicrosoftswayoftryingtocoerceyouintobeingbrave enoughtouseafeaturethatyoumightnothaveunderstoodinprevious Excelversions.Asortofaninyourfacehelpsystem.
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If you are used to an earlier version of Excel you might wonder where all of the toolbars have gone?
InearlierversionsofExcelit waspossibletocreateasmany ofyourowncustomtoolbarsas youwanted. ThenewRibbonbaseduser interface(Microsoftcallsthis theFluentInterface)meansthat youdontneedtocreate toolbarstothesameextentin Excel2007,becauseeverypanel ontheRibbonis,essentially,a toolbar.
Lesson 1-10: Customize the Quick Access Toolbar and preview the printout
InExcel2007youmayhavejustonecustomtoolbar:theQuickAccess Toolbar.InthislessonwelladdsomeusefulbuttonstotheQuickAccess Toolbartosaveafewclicks. TheQuickAccessToolbarisoneofthekeystobeingreallyproductive withExcel2007.Thislessonwillintroduceyoutothemainfeatures.
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Open The Wealth of Nations from your sample folder, (if it isnt already open). Preview how the Life Expectancy worksheet will look when printed.
1. 2. ClicktheLifeExpectancytabatthebottomoftheworksheet. ClickOfficePrintPrintPreview:
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Some amazing Excel features cannot be used at all without customizing the Quick Access Toolbar!
Oneofmyfavouritefeaturesin Excel2007isitsabilitytoread theworkbooktomeviaitsText toVoicefacility. WhenIhaveinputlotsof numbersfromasheetofpaper andwanttocheckthemIget ExceltoreadthemtomeasI tickeachoffmylist.Thisis muchfasterandnicerthan continuouslylookingfirstatthe screen,thenatthepaper,for eachentry. Thisfeatureiscoveredindepth intheExpertSkillsbookinthis series. Youcantusethisfeatureatall unlessyouaddsomecustom buttonstotheQuickAccess Toolbar!
3. ClickAddtoQuickAccessToolbar. AFontColorbuttonisaddedtotheQuickAccessToolbar.
tip
TheQuickAccessToolbaris oneofthekeystobeingreally productivewithExcel2007. Alwaystrytominimizethe numberofmouseclicksneeded todocommontasks. Ifyoufindyourselfforever changingtabstouseabutton, changetwoclicksintooneby addingthebuttontotheQuick AccessToolbar. Allofthoseextraclicksaddup toalotoftimeovertheweeks andyears.
2.
ClickRemovefromQuickAccessToolbarontheshortcutmenu.
Add separators to make heavily customized Quick Access toolbars more readable.
1. WhenyouaddmanyitemstotheQuickAccesstoolbaritisa goodideatouseseparatorstospliticonsintologicalgroups. ClicktheCustomizeQuickAccessToolbarbutton. ClickMoreCommandsontheshortcutmenu. Clickthe itematthetopoftheCommandslist.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
ClicktheAdd>>button.
HeresascreengrabofmyownQuickAccessToolbar:
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important
Keyboard shortcuts dont work with the numeric keypad
ItsastrangequirkofExcelthat youmustusethenumberkeys alongthetopofyourkeyboard whenusingkeyboardshortcuts thatinvolveanumber. Ifyouusethenumerickeypad ontherightofyourkeyboard theywontwork.
Lesson 1-11: Use the Mini Toolbar, Key Tips and keyboard shortcuts
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Open the Wealth of Nations sample worksheet (if it isnt already open). Select cell B2 (Qatar) on the GDP worksheet.
1. 2. ClickontheGDPtab. ClickoncellB2(Qatar). MakesurethatyouonlyclickonceotherwiseExcelwillthink thatyouaretryingtoeditthecell.
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Keyboard shortcuts are one of the secrets of maximizing productivity with Excel
ManyyearsagoItookmy mouseandstuckittotheback ofmymonitorwithstickytape. ForawholedayIstruggledto workwithoutit. Thefirstfewhourswerent muchfunbutafterthatmy workbecamefasterandfaster. Itbecameachallengetofigure outhowtodothingswithout themouse. Youwillbefarmore productiveifyoucangetinto thesamehabit. Thesedays,therearesome thingsthatyousimplyneedthe mousefor,andsomethings thataregenuinelyfaster(or easier)withthemouse.For mostcommontasks,however, therearekeyboardshortcuts andExcel2007hasjustmade thingsaloteasierwiththenew KeyTipsfeature.
Use the Key Tips to show a print preview using only the keyboard.
Thekeytipsrevealthekeyyouneedtopresstosimulateclicking anyoftheRibbonandQuickAccessToolbaricons. Holddownthe<Alt>keyandpresstherelevantnumbertoshowa printpreview.
NB:Yourtoolbar,andthenumberyouneedtopress,maylook differenttothescreengrababove.Forexample,theprintpreview
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If you dont like the Mini Toolbar you can switch it off
PersonallyIreallylikethemini toolbarandwouldntdreamof switchingitoffbutifyouare usedtoanearlyversionof Excelandfindthatitannoys you,hereishowitsdone: 1. 2. ClicktheOfficebutton. ClicktheExcelOptions buttonatthebottomright ofthedialog. ClickthePopularitemin thelefthandlist. UnchecktheShowMini Toolbaritem. ClicktheOKbutton.
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to return to normal
3. 4. 5.
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The shortcut menu
Ifyourightclickonacell,a shortcutmenuisdisplayed. Theshortcutmenudoesnt displayeverythingthatyoucan dotoacellbutExcelsbest guessesatthemostlikelythings youmightwanttodo. BecauseExcelisguessingatthe actionsyoumightwanttotake inthecontextofwhatyouare doing,theshortcutmenuisalso sometimesreferredtoasthe contextualmenu.
WhenyoumovethemousecursorupandovertheMiniToolbarit willlightup.
Use the Mini Toolbar to restore the text to non-bold and nonitalic.
ClickontheBold andItalic anditalicattributesfromthetext. buttonstoremovethebold
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View
Normal
Icon
Whatitisusedfor
Thisistheviewyouvebeenusinguntilnow. Itstheviewmostusersuseallofthetime whentheyareworkingwithExcel. Apagebreakiswhentheprinteradvances ontoanewsheetofpaper.
Pagebreak preview
Pagelayout
UnlikerunningaPrintPreviewyouareable toeditcellsjustasyoucaninNormalview.
Open the Wealth of Nations sample worksheet (if it isnt already open).
Click on the GDP tab and then click on the page layout view button at the bottom of the screen.
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Clickthepagebreakpreviewbutton.
Italsoshowsthebreakbetweeneachpageasadottedline:
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Tip
The Keep On Top button
Whenthisbuttonispinnedin likethis: thehelpwindow willstayontopofallopen Officewindows. Whenthebuttonisunpinned likethis thewindowwill behiddenifyoumoveother Officewindowsontopofthe helpwindow. Notethatthisisonlythecase withMicrosoftOfficewindows andnotwithwindowsfrom otherapplications.
Type how do I save a file into the search box followed by the <Enter> key.
Thehelpsystemprovidesmanypotentialanswerstothequestion:
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Session 1: Exercise
InthisexerciseyoulltrytorememberthenameofeachoftheExcelscreenelements.Theanswersareonthe nextpagesoyoumightwanttorecapbyturningthepageforalittlerevisionbeforeyoustart. Keeptryinguntilyouareabletonameeachofthescreenelementsfrommemory.Wellbeusingthis terminologyduringtheremainderofthebooksoitsimportantthatyoucancorrectlyidentifyeachelement.
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