Maharishi University of Management

Formatting

Changing Text Color

Nowadays, many people have color printers, so it's nice to create text in some color besides black. Color can also help make a spreadsheet more readable on your screen. For example, you can distinguish totals from other data by using a different color.

1. Click a cell or range of cells.
2. Click the arrow to the right of the Font Color button at the right end of the Formatting toolbar (it has a letter "A" on it).
3. Choose one of the available colors.

Copying Formatting from One Place to Another

An easy way to format text is to copy the formatting from some place else that has the formatting you want. Formatting includes font, font size, font color, bold, italic, underlined, and so on. Here's how:

1. Select the text that has the formatting you want.
2. Click the Format Painter button on the Standard toolbar. (It looks like a paintbrush.)
3. Select the text you want to format.

Tip: To format several different sections of text with the same format, double-click the Format Painter button. Select all the sections of text that you want to format and then double-click the Format Painter button again (to turn it off).

Aligning Text

Highlight the text.and click an alignment button from the Formatting Toolbar (Align Left, Center, Align Right).

Creating a Style

A style is a collection of formats, for example, alignment, text color, etc. Creating a style makes it easy to quickly format a spreadsheet and also ensures consistency. To create a style:

1. Select a cell that has the combination of formats you want to include in the new style.
2. Choose Format > Style to open the Style dialog box, shown here.
3. In the Style name box, type a name for the new style.
4. You can choose how much of the formatting of the selected cell you want to include in the style by unchecking any of the boxes. For example, you may not want to include the border style of the selected cell.
5. To define and apply the style to the selected cells, click OK. To define the style without applying it, click Add, and then click Close.<

If no cell has the formats you want for the style, you can specify the formats when you name the style. Click Modify and use the tabs in the Format Cells dialog box to specify the formatting for the style.

Hiding Data

Hiding data prevents it from being viewed, printed, or changed. You can hide and unhide workbooks, worksheets, or rows or columns:

To hide a workbook, choose Window > Hide. To unhide a workbook, choose Window > Unhide.

To hide a worksheet, click the worksheet tab to select it and choose Format > Sheet > Hide. To unhide a worksheet, choose Format > Sheet > Unhide. From the dialog box that appears, choose the worksheet you want to unhide and click OK.

To hide a row or column, click the row or column heading to select it and choose Format > Row/Column > Hide. To unhide a row or column, select the rows above and below, or the columns to the left and right of, the hidden row or column. The choose Format > Row/Column > Unhide. If the first row or column of a worksheet is hidden, choose Edit > Go To. Type A1 in the Reference box, and click OK. Then choose Format > Row/Column > Unhide.

Adding Borders

You can add borders to a cell or range of cells. Borders help highlight data, such as totals or separate headings from the rest of the data. A border can be be on any one or more sides of a cell or range of cells. For example, it can be just an underline (bottom border) or completely encircle a cell. You can also fill the cell with a different color. To add a border, follow these steps:

1. Highlight the cell or cells that contains the data.
2. Click the down arrow to the right of the Borders button on the Formatting toolbar.
3. Choose one of the border options
4. To fill the area with a color, click the Fill Color button on the Formatting toolbar.

For more options, choose Format > Cells and click the Border tab.

Merging Cells

To merge several cells into one, highlight the desired cells, and choose the Merge and Center button on the Formatting toolbar. You can use this feature to center headings over the data.