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October 2007

COMPUTING
MOVING FROM EXCEL 2003 TO
SERVICES
EXCEL 2007
DEPARTMENT

Moving from Excel 2003 to Excel 2007 | Jill Livingstone

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Content

NEW USER INTERFACE .......................................................................................... 5

Where are the menus and toolbars? ................................................................................................... 5

The Ribbon............................................................................................................................................. 6
Tabs ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Groups ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Commands .......................................................................................................................................... 6
More Options available for the Group ................................................................................................. 7
Minimise the Ribbon ............................................................................................................................ 7

The Office Button .................................................................................................................................. 9

What happened to the File Menu? ...................................................................................................... 9
Where is the Options Dialog box? ....................................................................................................... 9

Page Layout view ................................................................................................................................ 10

Quickly add Headers and Footers ..................................................................................................... 10
Choose which View Excel Opens ...................................................................................................... 10

The Quick Access Toolbar ................................................................................................................. 11

Add a Command ................................................................................................................................ 11
Undo and Redo ................................................................................................................................. 11
Save................................................................................................................................................... 11

Different screen resolutions can change what you see .................................................................. 12

Low resolution ................................................................................................................................... 12
Minimized:.......................................................................................................................................... 12
Tablet PCs ......................................................................................................................................... 12

WORKING IN EXCEL 2007 ..................................................................................... 13

Open an Existing Workbook .............................................................................................................. 13

Open a New Workbook ....................................................................................................................... 13

Insert Rows and Columns .................................................................................................................. 14

To Insert a Column ............................................................................................................................ 14
To insert a row ................................................................................................................................... 14

Format and edit data ........................................................................................................................... 15

Format Text ....................................................................................................................................... 15
Copy and Paste ................................................................................................................................. 15

Enter a formula .................................................................................................................................... 16

To enter a simple formula .................................................................................................................. 16
Enter a formula using Formula AutoComplete .................................................................................. 17

Add Headers and Footers .................................................................................................................. 18

Enter Header ..................................................................................................................................... 18
Enter Footer ....................................................................................................................................... 18
Add Auto Headers and Footers ......................................................................................................... 18

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 To insert Headers and Footers to left or right of the sheet ................................................................ 19
Insert Headers and Footers from any View ....................................................................................... 19
Insert Headers and Footers as in previous versions ......................................................................... 19

Add a few finishing touches .............................................................................................................. 20

Add a Title to your worksheet ............................................................................................................ 20

Printing ................................................................................................................................................. 20

NEW CONCEPTS UNDER THE OFFICE BUTTON ................................................ 22

Prepare Menu .................................................................................................................................... 22
Properties .......................................................................................................................................... 22
Inspect Document .............................................................................................................................. 23
Encrypt Document ............................................................................................................................. 24
Restrict Permission ............................................................................................................................ 24
Add a Digital Signature ...................................................................................................................... 24
Mark as Final ..................................................................................................................................... 25
Run Compatibility Checker ................................................................................................................ 25

HOW DO I WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE EXCEL 2007 YET?.......... 25
Keeping files in a previous version format......................................................................................... 25
Will I see all the new Excel 2007 features? ....................................................................................... 25
I want to keep a copy of the Excel 2007 features ............................................................................. 26
Share documents between versions by using a converter ................................................................ 26

THE NEW FILE FORMAT ........................................................................................ 26

Saving a file ....................................................................................................................................... 27
Which file type to use ........................................................................................................................ 28

MORE HELP AND RESOURCES ........................................................................... 29

Visit Microsoft Office Online .............................................................................................................. 29
Visit the University of Liverpool Computing Services web pages ..................................................... 29

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New User interface

When you first open Excel 2007 you'll see the worksheets you are familiar with.

But the top of the window looks very different.

Where are the menus and toolbars?

The old look of Excel menus and buttons has been replaced with this brand new interface called the
Ribbon, with tabs you click to get to commands. It may seem that there is a lot of change but the
Ribbon was developed to make Excel simpler to use, and to help you quickly find and work with the
commands you need.

The commands you need are now more clearly visible and more readily available. Instead of having
30 or so un-displayed toolbars, and commands buried on menus, you have one control centre — the
Ribbon, which brings together the essentials and makes them very visual.

Once you are familiar with the Ribbon you will find working with Excel 2007 much easier and quicker
than working with previous versions.

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The Ribbon
There are three basic components to the Ribbon:

Tabs There are seven of them across the top. Each represents core tasks you do in Excel.

Groups Each tab has groups that show related items together e.g. Font.

Commands A command is a button, a box to enter information, or a menu.

The principal commands in Excel are gathered on the first tab, the Home tab. The commands on this
tab are those that Microsoft has identified as the most commonly used when people do basic tasks
with worksheets.

For example, the Paste, Cut, and Copy commands are arranged first on the Home tab, in the
Clipboard group. Font formatting commands are next, in the Font group. Commands to centre text or
align text to the left or right are in the Alignment group, and commands to insert and delete cells,
rows, columns, and worksheets are in the Cells group.

Groups pull together all the commands you're likely to need for a particular type of task, and
throughout the task they remain on display and readily available, instead of being hidden in menus.
These vital commands are visible above your work space.

Here's an example of the convenience: If you want text displayed on multiple lines in a cell, you don't
have to click a command on a menu, click a tab in a dialog box, and then click an option in the dialog
box. You just click the Wrap Text button in the Alignment group, on the Home tab.

The commands on the Ribbon are the ones you use the most. Instead of showing every command all
the time, Excel 2007 shows some commands when you may need them, in response to an action you
take.

For example, if you don't have a chart in your worksheet, the commands to work with charts aren't
necessary.

But after you create a chart, the Chart Tools appear, with three tabs: Design, Layout, and Format.
On these tabs, you'll find the commands you need to work with the chart. The Ribbon responds to
your action.

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Use the Design tab to change the chart type or to move the chart location; the Layout tab to change
chart titles or other chart elements; and the Format tab to add fill colours or to change line styles.
When you complete the chart, click outside the chart area. The Chart Tools go away. To get them
back, click inside the chart. Then the tabs reappear.

So don't worry if you don't see all the commands you need at all times. Take the first steps. Then the
commands you need will be at hand.

More Options available for the Group

When you see this arrow in the lower-right corner of a group, there are more options available for
the group. Click the arrow, and you'll see a dialog box or a task pane.

Dialog Box
Launcher

Look at the Home tab. In the Font group you have all the commands most commonly used to make
changes to Font, commands to change the font, the size, colour, bold, italics or underline. If you want
more commands such as strikethrough or superscript, click the arrow to see the Format Cells
dialog box, with other font related options, the same as in earlier versions.

Minimise the Ribbon

There is no way to delete or replace the Ribbon with the toolbars and menus from the earlier versions
of Microsoft Office. However, you can minimize the Ribbon to make more space available on your
screen.

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Full Ribbon

Minimized Ribbon

Keep the Ribbon minimized for a short time

To quickly minimize the Ribbon, double-click the name of the active tab. Double-click a tab again to
restore the Ribbon.

Keyboard shortcut To minimize or restore the Ribbon, press CTRL+F1.

Always keep the Ribbon minimized

Click Customize Quick Access Toolbar . Then in the list, click Minimize the Ribbon.

To use the Ribbon while it is minimised, click the tab you want to use, and then click the option or
command you want to use.

For example, with the Ribbon minimised, you can select text in your Excel worksheet, click the Home
tab, and then in the Font group, click the size of the text you want. After you click the text size you
want, the Ribbon goes back to being minimised.

To restore the Ribbon click Minimize the Ribbon on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar again.

Keyboard shortcut You can still use the keyboard shortcuts while the Ribbon is minimized, to minimize or
restore the Ribbon, press CTRL+F1.

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The Office Button
What happened to the File Menu?

In Excel 2007 the File menu has been replaced with the Microsoft Office Button at the upper
left corner of the window. Click the Office button to get the same basic commands you've used in the
past to open, save, and print your workbooks.

Where is the Options Dialog box?

You'll also find here the program settings that control things like turning the R1C1 reference style on
or off, or showing the Formula Bar in the program window.

Click Excel Options at the bottom of this menu, and then click any of the categories in the list on the
left.

In previous versions of Excel you could set options in the Options dialog box, opened from the Tools
menu. Now many of those options are available via the Microsoft Office Button, where they are more
visible, and conveniently close at hand when you start work on old files or new ones.

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Page Layout view
Page Layout view is new in Excel 2007. It is similar to working in Print Layout view in Microsoft Office
Word.

To see the new view, click Page Layout View on the View toolbar on the bottom right of
the window. Or click the View tab on the Ribbon, and then click Page Layout View in the Workbook
Views group.

In Page Layout view there are page margins at the top, sides, and bottom of the worksheet, and a bit
of blue space between worksheets. Rulers at the top and side help you adjust margins. You can turn
the rulers on and off as you need them (click Ruler in the Show/Hide group on the View tab).

With this new view, you don't need print preview to make adjustments to your worksheet before you
print.

Quickly add Headers and Footers

It's very easy to add headers and footers in Page Layout view. There's a header and footer area at
the top and bottom of the page. When you type in the new header and footer area the Design tab
opens with all the commands you need to create your headers and footers. See Add Headers and
Footers

on page 18 for more detailed information.

Choose which View Excel Opens

To change the page view in which Excel opens, click the Microsoft Office Button , click Excel
Options at the bottom of this menu, and select Popular. Under When creating new workbooks,
select an option in Default view for new sheets

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The Quick Access Toolbar
If you frequently use commands that are not as quickly available as you would like, you can add them
to the Quick Access Toolbar, which is above the Ribbon. On the Quick Access toolbar, commands
are always visible and near at hand.

Add a Command
For example, if you use AutoFilter every day, and you don't want to have to click the Data tab to
access the Filter command each time, you can add Filter to the Quick Access Toolbar.

To do that, right-click Filter on the Data tab, and then click Add to Quick Access Toolbar.

To remove a button from that toolbar, right-click the button on the toolbar, and then click Remove
from Quick Access Toolbar.

Undo and Redo

The Undo command and the Redo are already on the Quick Access toolbar

Save
The Quick Save icon is also on the Quick Access toolbar. Use the Save As command found by
clicking the Microsoft Office button to save to a different file format or file name or location see
“Saving a File” on page 27.

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Different screen resolutions can change what you see
Everything we've told you so far applies if your screen is set to high resolution and the Excel window
is maximized. If not, things look different. How? Like this:

Low resolution: If your screen is set to a low resolution, for example to 800 by 600 pixels, a few
groups on the Ribbon will display the group name only, not the commands in the group. You will need
to click the arrow on the group button to display the commands.

For example, on the View tab, the Show/Hide group has several commands to show or hide various
items. With a higher resolution, you will see all the commands in the Show/Hide group. In 800 by 600
resolution, you will see the Show/Hide button, not the commands in the group.

In that case, you click the arrow on the Show/Hide group button to display the commands in the
group.

The groups that display only the group name in a smaller resolution are those with less frequently
used commands.

Minimized: At any resolution, if you make the Excel window smaller, there is a size at which some
groups will display only the group names, and you will need to click the arrow on the group button to
display the commands.

Tablet PCs: If you're working on a Tablet PC with a smaller screen, you'll notice that the Ribbon
adjusts to show you smaller versions of tabs and groups. If you have a larger monitor, the Ribbon
adjusts to show you larger versions of the tabs and groups.

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Working In Excel 2007
Open an Existing Workbook

Click the Microsoft Office Button

Choose from the list of Recent Documents or

Click Open to open an existing workbook in the same way you did in Excel 2003

Open a New Workbook

When you click the Microsoft Office Button and then click New, the New Workbook window
opens. At the top of the window, you can select either a new blank workbook or a template.

To the left are different template categories for templates installed with Excel 2007. Click Featured
under Microsoft Office Online on the left for links to video demos and online training, and online
templates for budgets, calendars, expense reports, and so on.

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Insert Rows and Columns
To Insert a Column

As with previous versions new Columns are inserted to the left of the column the cursor is in i.e. if you
want to add the column to the right of column C, you click in column D.

Then, on the Home tab, in the Cells group, click the arrow on Insert. On the menu that appears, click
Insert Sheet Columns. A new blank column is inserted to the left of column D and the right of column
C. Click Insert Sheet Columns again to insert a second column, or press F4 instead to continue
adding columns.

Now that you've added a column and added data, if you need to adjust the column width to fit the
data, in the Cells group, click the arrow on Format, and then in the list that appears click AutoFit
Column Width. If you prefer you can to double-click the right edge of column heading to increase
column width.

In the Format list are all the commands to adjust row height and column width, as well as to hide and
unhide rows, columns, and sheets.

To insert a row

As with previous versions new rows are inserted above the row the cursor is in. So place the cursor in
the row below where you want to add the new. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click the arrow
next to Insert, and then click Insert Sheet Rows. Click Insert Sheet Rows again to insert a second
row, or press F4 instead to continue adding rows.

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Format and edit data
You can format data and edit data by using commands in groups on the Home tab

Format Text
The column titles will stand out better if they are in bold type. You select the row with the titles and
then, on the Home tab, in the Font group, you click Bold.

While the titles are still selected, you decide to change their colour and their size, to make them stand
out even more.

In the Font group, you click the arrow on Font Color, and you see many more colours to choose from
than before in Excel. You can see how the title will look in different colours by pointing at any colour
and waiting a moment. This preview means that you don't have to make a selection to see the colour,
then undo your selection if it's not what you want. When you see a colour you like, click it.

To change the font size, you can either click the Increase Font Size button , or you can click the
arrow beside the Font Size box to see a list of sizes (this method gives you the same live preview as
for font colors).

While the titles are still selected, you decide to center them in the cells. In the Alignment group, you
click the Center button , and that's done.

Copy and Paste

Select the item you want to copy and in the Clipboard group, you click the Copy button . Then
you click in the required cell, and in the Clipboard group again, you click the Paste button .

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Enter a formula
To enter a simple formula

To Sum a column of numbers use the Sum Button which is on the Home tab, it's in the Editing
group.

Place the cursor in the last cell in the column you want to sum, and click the Sum button.

Then press ENTER. Excel adds the numbers up by using the SUM function.

To do more than add, click the arrow on the Sum button.

Then click any of the functions on the list that appears: Average, Count, Max, or Min.

Click More Functions, Excel opens the Insert Function dialog box where you can choose from all of
the Excel functions

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Or click the Formulas tab and check out the Function Library and Calculation groups.

Enter a formula using Formula AutoComplete

If you want to enter formulas, but don't necessarily recall the arguments, you can get some help. You
can enter formula without using the button, by using a new feature called Formula AutoComplete.

Click in cell where you want the formula. Type an equal sign (=) to start the formula, and then type the
first letter of the formula, e.g. S for the SUM function.

A list appears with the functions that you might want to insert. You will have to scroll a bit in the list to
see SUM. A tool tip explains the use of each formula.

Double-click the function you want e.g. SUM to enter it in the worksheet. The arguments for the
function are displayed in a function tip e.g. SUM, (number1, [number2], ...), are the numbers to sum
up.

Note If you press ENTER while the function is highlighted in the list, instead of double-clicking it, you
may see an error in the worksheet.

To complete this formula, type or select the arguments and then press ENTER.

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Add Headers and Footers
First, change to Page Layout view. Click the middle button on the View toolbar at the
bottom of the window or click the View tab, and then click Page Layout View in the Workbook
Views group.

Enter Header
It is very easy to add headers and footers in Page Layout view. Instead of opening a dialog box to add
a header, just click in the area at the top of the page that says Click to add header

Note If you are in Page Layout view, but you cannot see the area that says Click to add header, it
means that white space is hidden. Either press CTRL+SHIFT+W, or click once in the space between
pages to show the white space.

As soon as you do, the Header & Footer Tools and the Design tab appear on the Ribbon. These
have all the commands to work with headers and footers. There's also a command, new in Excel
2007, to apply different headers and footers on odd and even pages.

For the header you type the required text, e.g. June Sales Report, and you're done.

As soon as you click the worksheet, the Header & Footer Tools and the Design tab and commands
go away, until you need them again. To get them back, in Page Layout view, click in the header or
footer area again.

Enter Footer
Scroll to the bottom of the first page. Click where it says Click to add footer.

Add Auto Headers and Footers

If you want to add text to the Header or footer such as Page numbers, name of the sheet or date etc.
In the Header & Footer group, click the arrow on Header or Footer

And then click the option you want, e.g. Page 1. "Page 1" is inserted. But if you click back in the footer
area, you'll see Page &[Page], which is Excel code for the page number.

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Note that an auto header or footer can only be inserted in the center of the worksheet.

To insert Headers and Footers to left or right of the sheet

Click the right or left side of the header or footer area. Enter one empty space. In the Ribbon, in the
Header & Footer elements group, click the element you want to insert.

You will see &[Tab], &[Time] … the code for the element you have chosen inserted in that part of
the header or footer area. Click the worksheet, to see the in the header or footer area.

Insert Headers and Footers from any View

You can also enter headers and footers by clicking the Insert tab. Then in the Text group, click
Header & Footer. All the commands to enter headers and footers are automatically displayed.

Insert Headers and Footers as in previous versions

Or on the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Print Titles. That opens the Page Setup
dialog box. Click the Header/Footer tab and enter headers and footers as you did in previous
versions of Excel.

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Add a few finishing touches
Add a Title to your worksheet
Scroll to the top of the page or press CTRL+HOME. Add more rows if necessary. Click in the left most
cell that you want your title to span e.g. A1 and type the title. Select the cells that the title is to span
e.g. A1 through E1.

On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click the arrow next to Cell Styles, and then select any style
you like for the sheet title. Sheet Title is in the list, or you could use Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading
3, or anything else you see. Quick, isn't it?

If you point at any of the styles in the list and wait a moment, the title appears in that style, to give you
a preview of how it will look if you choose it. When you see a style you want to keep, click it.

Merge the cells across the top, and then centre the title. Select cells A1 through E1, and in the
Alignment group, click the Merge and Centre button .

Printing
In previous versions of Excel, did you ever switch back and forth repeatedly between print preview
and Normal view, adjusting your worksheet to get things right before you could print? Or perhaps it
took you several tries before your worksheets finally printed the way you wanted them to.

In Page Layout view, you can make adjustments to your worksheet and see the changes on the
screen, before you print. Click the Page Layout tab to fine-tune your printing options.

On this tab, in the Page Setup group, you can click Orientation and then select Portrait or
Landscape. In Page Layout view, you'll see the orientation change, and how your data will look each
way.

In the Page Setup group, click Margins. Click Narrow. You can see the change to the worksheet on
your screen. Click Margins again, and then click Wide. Again, you can see the change on your
screen.

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Still in the Page Setup group, click Size to choose paper size, click A5 you'll see the result of your
choices as you make them. You see on the screen how that would look. You have two fairly narrow
pages. Click Size again, and then click A4. What you see is what you print.

If you want to print column and row headings, that's easy. In the Sheet Options group, under
Headings, select the Print check box.

Note that the option to print gridlines is just next door; under Gridlines, there's a check box for Print.

To see how the worksheet will look before printing, use Print Preview. Click the Microsoft Office

Button , click the arrow next to Print, and then click Print Preview.

To close Print Preview click Close Print Preview on the Print Preview tab.

All print options are available from the Office button.

To print, click on the Office Button, move your mouse down to the „Print‟ option and make your choice
between „Print‟, „Quick Print‟, and „Print Preview‟

Print

Clicking on Print will display the print

dialog box, where you can select a printer,
the number of copies or pages and other
printing options before printing.

Quick Print

Clicking on Quick Print sends the

workbook directly to the default printer
without making changes. If you have more
than one printer set up on your computer,
it will print to the one you have marked as
default.

Print Preview

Use this to preview and make changes

before printing.
Note: You can also use Page Layout view
to make adjustments to your worksheet
and see the changes on the screen,
before you print.

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New Concepts under the Office Button
There are new items on the Office button (formerly the File menu in previous versions of Office) the
most important being the Prepare Menu.

Prepare Menu
Under the Prepare menu you will find a group of features you might use when you have finished your
workbook and are ready to distribute, store or publish it.

Properties
This was previously Properties on the File menu. Use Properties to add meta data to describe your
workbook.

To view and edit the properties such as Title, Author and keywords:

Click the Office Button, hold the cursor over Prepare then click Properties. The Properties window
appears at the top of the worksheet.

As you can see from the screenshot, the meta data you can add to your Excel 2007 workbook
includes:

Author The name of the person who created the document

Title The title of the document
Subject the subject or topic of the document

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 Keywords a few words which describe the document
Category the category that the document falls into
Status the status of the document (Draft, Final, For Review etc)
Comments can be any comment which adds value to the document, or used for an
abstract

In the Document Properties Pane, if you click on the down arrow beside Document Properties you
can launch the „Advanced Properties‟ box, which you will recognise from previous version. From this
box you can add even more meta data to your document, with another 27 or so different options,
ranging from the Client the document is for, to who typed the document in the first place.

Inspect Document

If you plan to share an electronic copy of a Microsoft Office Excel workbook, it is a good idea to
review the workbook for hidden data or personal information that might be stored in the workbook
itself or its document properties (metadata). Because this hidden information can reveal details about
your organization or about the workbook itself that you might not want to share publicly, you might
want to remove this hidden information before you share the workbook with other people.

The Inspect Document function from the Prepare menu in Excel 2007 checks to make sure there is
nothing hidden in your document that a reader might find later down the track.

Clicking on the Inspect Document function displays a box which allows you to select the type of
document inspection you want.

Comments and ink

annotations If you collaborated
with other people to create your
workbook, your workbook might
contain items such as comments
or ink annotations. This
information can enable other
people to see the names of
people who worked on your
workbook, comments from
reviewers, and changes that were
made to your workbook.

Document properties and

personal information Document
properties, include details about
your workbook such as author,
subject, and title. Document
properties also include
information that is automatically
maintained by Office programs,
such as the name of the person
who most recently saved a
workbook and the date when a document was created. If you used specific features, your document
might also contain additional kinds of personally identifiable

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information (PII), such as e-mail headers, send-for-review information, routing slips, printer paths, and
file path information for publishing Web pages.

Headers and footers Excel workbooks can contain information in headers and footers

Hidden rows, columns, and worksheets In an Excel workbook, rows, columns, and entire
worksheets can be hidden. If you distribute a copy of a workbook that contains hidden rows, columns,
or worksheets, other people might unhide these row, columns, or worksheets and view the data that
they contain.

Invisible content A workbook can contain objects that are not visible because they are formatted as
invisible.

Note:

It is a good idea to use the Document Inspector on a copy of your original workbook because it is not
always possible to restore the data that the Document Inspector removes.

If you remove hidden content from your document, you might not be able to restore it by clicking
Undo.

If you remove hidden rows, columns, or worksheets that contain data, you might change the results of
the calculations or formulas in your workbook. If you do not know what information the hidden rows,
columns or worksheets contain, close the Document Inspector, unhide the hidden rows, columns, or
worksheets, and then review their contents.

Encrypt Document

By selecting Encrypt Document from the Prepare menu in Excel 2007, you can add a password to
protect your workbook. Just type your password in once and then re-type it to make sure it is correct,
and your Excel 2007 workbook is encrypted.

Restrict Permission

This was Permissions on the File menu in previous versions of Excel.

This prepare menu option allows you to grant specific rights to viewers of the workbook. For example,
if you only want people to be able to read a workbook, but not print it or save it, you can grant those
privileges using the Restrict Permission option.

This functionality is based on Rights Management Services for Windows Server 2003. However, if
you do not have RMS (or another information rights management infrastructure in your organisation),
you can still restrict the permissions on your document using a free trial from Microsoft. Information
on the trial appears when you try to restrict permission on your document for the first time.

Add a Digital Signature

In Excel 2007, you can sign your workbook. Adding a digital signature is just like signing a workbook
with your own written signature (except it is digital). To add a digital signature in Excel 2007, click on
the Office Button, select prepare and then click add a digital signature.

You can create your own digital signature, or purchase one from a third party. Signatures from third
parties hold more credibility because they can be independently verified.

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Note that digital signatures are invisible and you do not actually see a traditional written signature
anywhere on the workbook.

Mark as Final

Mark as final, marks the workbook as final, sets the workbook to read-only, and saves it for you.

Run Compatibility Checker

By running the compatibility checker in Excel 2007 you can check to see if your workbook will load in
previous versions of Microsoft Excel. This is very important if you work with customers or suppliers
who may be running older versions of Excel.

Working with people who don't have Excel 2007

In Excel 2007, you can open files that were created in previous versions of Excel, from Excel 95
through Excel 2003.

But what if you're the first person in your office to have Excel 200? What if you need to share files with
departments that don't have Excel 2007 yet? You can all share workbooks with each other. Here's
how:

Keeping files in a previous version format

Old files stay old unless you choose otherwise.

When you open a file in Excel 2007 that was created with an earlier version of Excel, the file will open
in Compatibility Mode, and you will see Compatibility Mode in the title bar of the window.

When you save that file and any work you do in it, the automatic setting in the Save As dialog box is
to save the file in the original version's format. If it started in Excel 2003, Excel 2007 saves it in the
2003 format unless you say otherwise. So you can continue to work on the file in Compatibility Mode
so that it remains compatible with previous versions of Excel.

Will I see all the new Excel 2007 features?

The Compatibility Checker warns you if you save a file as older. When you save a file in a
previous version's format, if any 2007 features are not compatible with the previous version, a
Compatibility Checker tells you so. For example, if you apply colour to a header in Excel 2007, and
then save the file in Excel 97-2003 format, the Compatibility Checker will tell you that previous
versions of Excel do not have colour for headers and footers, and that the header will appear as plain
text. You can include this report on a new sheet in the workbook.

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Important: When a new feature will not become available again if you save a file in an earlier format
and then open it again in Excel 2007, the Compatibility Checker will warn you.

I want to keep a copy of the Excel 2007 features

You can easily keep a 2007-format copy of the workbook first. Just use Save As and tell Excel you
want an Excel Workbook (*.xlsx). That copy of the file will contain all the Excel 2007 features. Then
you can save it again for the earlier version. Office button | Save as | Excel 97-2003 document.

Share documents between versions by using a converter

If you create a file in 2007 and save it in 2007 format, your colleagues who have Excel versions 2000
through 2003 (and the latest patches and service packs) can work in your 2007 files. When they click
on your document, they will be asked if they want to download a converter that will let them open your
document.

If they are on the Managed Windows Service (MWS) they can install the compatibility pack by going
to Start | Install | Office | Office 2003/2007 Compatibility Pack.

If they are not on the University network, they can download the Compatibility Pack from the Microsoft
website.

Note: consider existing links between workbooks before converting existing workbooks to the new
Office Excel formats. All linked workbooks should be converted simultaneously because earlier
versions of Office Excel cannot update links to workbooks that are saved in the new formats.

Alternatively, in Office 2007, you can choose to save your document in Office 97-2003 format. This
means some of the new Office 2007 features will not be available in the document but it will have
greater compatibility. To save your document in Excel 97-2003 format choose: Office button | Save
as | Excel 97-2003 document.

Alternatively, you can convert your document to Excel 2007 file format. This will allow access to the
new and enhanced features in Excel 2007. However, people who are using previous versions of Excel
may have difficulty editing certain portions of the document that were created by using any of the new
features. To convert a document to the new Office format, choose Office Button | Convert | click
OK.

The New File Format

Excel has a new file format. You can still open and edit older workbooks in Excel 2007, and share
your files with people who don't have Excel 2007 yet.

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If the technical details interest you: The Excel 2007 file format is based on XML (Extensible Markup
Language) and embraces the Office Open XML Formats. This is the new file format for Microsoft
Office Word 2007 and PowerPoint 2007 also.

The new file format means improvements to Excel. Here are its chief benefits:

New features In addition to the features you've seen in the previous lessons, the number of rows
on a worksheet has gone from 65,536 to 1,048,576. The number of columns has increased from 256
to 16,384. You can write longer formulas in the new resizable Formula Bar. And if you click large
chunks of text in a cell, the Formula Bar no longer spills into the worksheet grid.

Safer files Workbooks containing unwanted code or macros are easier to identify and block.

Less risk of file corruption Excel has an improved ability to open corrupt files and recover some of
your work that might otherwise have been lost.

Reduced file size Workbooks are compressed; file size is approximately 50 percent to 75 percent
smaller than in previous versions of Excel. You open and save the compressed files as you are used
to opening and saving any Excel file.

More useful data More can be done with the data because its basis in XML makes it much easier
to integrate with other data sets from other computers and programs. For example, store your budget
data in a specialized program, select what you need, and import it into a Word document, an Excel
worksheet, and an Access database.

Saving a file
There are several file types you can choose from when you save a file in Excel 2007.

Click the Microsoft Office Button then hold the cursor over Save As and select the option you
want

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Which file type to use

Excel Workbook (*.xlsx) Save a workbook as this file type if it does not contain macros or
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code. If you try to save a workbook as an Excel
Workbook, and there are any macro commands or VBA projects in the file, Excel 2007 will warn you
that the macro or VBA code will be deleted from the file.

Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm) Save your workbook as this file type when the workbook
contains macros or VBA code. If you try to save a workbook containing macros or VBA as the Excel
Workbook file type, Excel will warn you against this choice.

Excel Template (*.xltx) Save your workbook as this file type when you need a template.

Excel Macro-Enabled Template (*.xltm) Save your workbook as this file type when you need a
template and the workbook contains macros or VBA.

Excel Binary Workbook (*.xlsb) Save your workbook as this file type when you have an especially
large workbook; this file type will open faster than a very large Excel Workbook will. You'll still have
the new Excel features with this file type, but not XML.

Excel 97 - Excel 2003 Workbook (*.xls) Save your workbook as this file type when you need to
share it with someone who is working with a previous version of Excel, and who does not have the
Microsoft Compatibility Pack for Office 2007.

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Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook (*.xls) Save your workbook as this file type when you need to
share it with someone using Microsoft Excel 5.0. Most Excel 2007 features will be disabled when you
save as this file type.

More Help and Resources

You can get help by clicking on the Office Help icon in the top right hand of the Excel window or
press F1. Click on the “Getting Help” link to discover the vast variety of help available to you.

Visit Microsoft Office Online where you will find a variety of Excel resources to help you.

Go to the Microsoft Office Online Excel 2007 site http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/excel/default.aspx

where you will find:

What's new in Microsoft Office Excel 2007

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/getstarted/HA100738731033.aspx

Free training courses

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/training/CR100479681033.aspx

In-depth Getting Started information

How-to articles and videos, training courses, and quizzes

Download additional content and templates for Excel

Discussion groups where expert users can answer your Excel questions

Demos
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/excel/CH100740791033.aspx

Demo: Up to speed with Excel 2007

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/excel/HA100484501033.aspx

Interactive: Excel 2003 to Excel 2007 command reference guide

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/excel/HA101491511033.aspx?pid=CH100648241033

Visit the University of Liverpool Computing Services web pages for more help and advice on
running Microsoft Office 2007 at the University http://www.liv.ac.uk/csd/office2007

Good Luck with using Excel 2007

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