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This page presents how to work with Microsoft Excel 2007 features and its redesigned interface. You may also visit our Excel Question page.

 

   Insert a symbol, fraction, or special character

   Apply or remove cell shading

   Add formatting to your document by using the Mini toolbar

   Guidelines for organizing and formatting data on a worksheet

   Align or center text

   Underline data on a worksheet

   Apply shading to alternate rows in a worksheet

   Turn on or off overtype mode

   Apply, create, or remove a cell style

   ASCII character chart

   Apply, customize, and save a document theme in Word or Excel

   Add or remove a sheet background

   Apply or remove cell borders on a worksheet

   Hide or display cell gridlines on a worksheet

   Change the color of text

   Copy the formatting of a shape, object, worksheet cell, or text by using Format Painter

   Highlight cells

   Copy cell styles from another workbook

   Display numbers in scientific (exponential) notation

   Use automatic formatting as you type

   Save cell styles to use in all new workbooks

   Enable or disable automatic extending of formats and formulas to additional rows

   Format numbers as text

   Turn on or off drag-and-drop editing

   Format text as strikethrough

   Format text as superscript or subscript

   Mimic a watermark in Excel

   Format an Excel table

   Ways to format a worksheet

   Reposition the data in a cell

   Preview formats, fonts, and styles before you apply them

   Rename an Excel table

   Apply a table style without inserting an Excel table

   Copy the formatting of a shape, object, worksheet cell, or text by using Format Painter

   Change the default theme


Insert a symbol, fraction, or special character

You can use the Symbol dialog box to insert symbols, such as ¼ and ©, or special characters, such as an em dash () or ellipsis (…) that are not on your keyboard, as well as Unicode (Unicode: A character encoding standard developed by the Unicode Consortium. By using more than one byte to represent each character, Unicode enables almost all of the written languages in the world to be represented by using a single character set.) characters.

The types of symbols and characters that you can insert depend on the font that you choose. For example, some fonts may include fractions (¼), international characters (ַ, כ), and international monetary symbols (£, ¥). The built-in Symbol font includes arrows, bullets, and scientific symbols. You might also have additional symbol fonts, such as Wingdings, that include decorative symbols.

 Note    You can increase or decrease the size of the Symbol dialog box by moving the pointer to the lower-right corner of the dialog box until it changes into a double-headed arrow, and then drag to the size that you want.

What do you want to do?

Insert a symbol, fraction, or special character

Insert a Unicode character

Insert a symbol, fraction, or special character

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

InfoPath

OneNote

PowerPoint

Publisher

Visio

Excel

  1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
  3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
    • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
    • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

  1. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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InfoPath

  1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
    • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
    • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

  1. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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OneNote

  1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
    • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
    • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

  1. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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PowerPoint

  1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
  3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
    • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
    • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

  1. Click Insert.

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Publisher

  1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
    • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
    • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

  1. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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Visio

  1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
    • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
    • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

  1. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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Insert a Unicode character

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

InfoPath

OneNote

PowerPoint

Publisher

Visio

Excel

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
  3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
  6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
  7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
  2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

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InfoPath

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
  6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
  7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

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OneNote

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
  6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
  7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

 Top of Page

PowerPoint

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
  3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
  6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
  7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
  2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

 Top of Page

Publisher

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
  6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
  7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

 Top of Page

Visio

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
  6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
  7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

  1. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
  2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
  3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
  4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

 Top of Page

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply or remove cell shading

You can add shading to cells by filling them with solid colors or specific patterns. If you have trouble printing the cell shading that you applied in color, verify that print options are set correctly.

You can remove cell shading if you no longer need it.

What do you want to do?

Fill cells with solid colors

Fill cells with patterns

Verify print options to print cell shading in color

Remove cell shading

Fill cells with solid colors

  1. Select the cells that you want to apply shading to or remove shading from.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
    • To fill cells with a solid color, click the arrow next to Fill Color in the Font group on the Home tab, and then click the color on the palette that you want.
    • To apply the most recently selected color, click Fill Color .

Tip  If you want to use a different background color for the whole worksheet, click the Select All button before you click the color that you want to use. This will hide the gridlines, but you can improve worksheet readability by displaying cell borders around all cells.

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Fill cells with patterns

  1. Select the cells that you want to fill with a pattern.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Font.

Keyboard shortcut  You can also press CTRL+SHIFT+F.

  1. In the Format Cells dialog box, on the Fill tab, under Background Color, click the background color that you want to use.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • To use a pattern with two colors, click another color in the Pattern Color box, and then click a pattern style in the Pattern Style box.
    • To use a pattern with special effects, click Fill Effects, and then click the options that you want on the Gradient tab.

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Verify print options to print cell shading in color

If print options are set to Black and white or Draft quality  either on purpose, or because the workbook contains large or complex worksheets and charts that caused draft mode to be turned on automatically  cell shading cannot print in color.

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Page Setup.

  1. In the Page Layout dialog box, on the Sheet tab, under Print, make sure that the Black and white and Draft quality check boxes are cleared.

 Note    If you do not see colors in the worksheet, it may be that you are working in high contrast mode. If you do not see colors when you preview before you print, it may be that you do not have a color printer selected.

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Remove cell shading

  1. Select the cells that contain a fill color or fill pattern.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the arrow next to Fill Color, and then click No Fill.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Add formatting to your document by using the Mini toolbar

When you select text, you can show or hide a handy, miniature, semitransparent toolbar called the Mini toolbar. The Mini toolbar helps you work with fonts, font styles, font sizing, alignment, text color, indent levels, and bullet features.

 Note    You cannot customize the Mini toolbar.

The following shows how the semitransparent toolbar looks when you select text on a slide or in a shape in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007.

The following shows the Mini toolbar when you rest your pointer on it. To use the toolbar, click any of the available commands.

Turn off the Mini toolbar

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Excel Options.
  2. Click Popular, and then under Top options for working with Excel, clear the Show Mini Toolbar on selection check box.

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Outlook

  1. Open a new message.
  2. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Editor Options.
  3. Under Working with Outlook and other Microsoft Office programs, clear the Show Mini Toolbar on selection check box.

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PowerPoint

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click PowerPoint Options.
  2. Click Popular, and then under Top options for working with PowerPoint, clear the Show Mini Toolbar on selection check box.

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Word

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Word Options.
  2. Click Popular, and then under Top options for working with Word, clear the Show Mini Toolbar on selection check box.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Guidelines for organizing and formatting data on a worksheet

Microsoft Office Excel has a number of features that make it easy to manage and analyze data. To take full advantage of these features, it is important that you organize and format data in a worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always stored in a workbook.) according to the following guidelines.

In this article

Data organization guidelines

Data format guidelines

Data organization guidelines

Put similar items in the same column  Design the data so that all rows have similar items in the same column.

Keep a range of data separate  Leave at least one blank column and one blank row between a related data range and other data on the worksheet. Excel can then more easily detect and select the range when you sort, filter, or insert automatic subtotals.

Position critical data above or below the range  Avoid placing critical data to the left or right of the range because the data might be hidden when you filter the range.

Avoid blank rows and columns in a range  Avoid putting blank rows and columns within a range of data. Do this to ensure that Excel can more easily detect and select the related data range.

Display all rows and columns in a range  Make sure that any hidden rows or columns are displayed before you make changes to a range of data. When rows and columns in a range are not displayed, data can be deleted inadvertently. For more information, see Hide or display rows and columns.

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Data format guidelines

Use column labels to identify data  Create column labels in the first row of the range of data by applying a different format to the data. Excel can then use these labels to create reports and to find and organize data. Use a font, alignment, format, pattern, border, or capitalization style for column labels that is different from the format that you assign to the data in the range. Format the cells as text before you type the column labels. For more information, see Ways to format a worksheet.

Use cell borders to distinguish data  When you want to separate labels from data, use cell borders  not blank rows or dashed lines  to insert lines below the labels. For more information, see Apply or remove cell borders on a worksheet.

Avoid leading or trailing spaces to avoid errors  Avoid inserting spaces at the beginning or end of a cell to indent data. These extra spaces can affect sorting, searching, and the format that is applied to a cell. Instead of typing spaces to indent data, you can use the Increase Indent command within the cell. For more information, see Reposition the data in a cell.

Extend data formats and formulas  When you add new rows of data to the end of a data range, Excel extends consistent formatting and formulas. Three of the five preceding cells must use the same format for that format to be extended. All of the preceding formulas must be consistent for a formula to be extended. For more information, see Fill data automatically in worksheet cells.

Use an Excel table format to work with related data  You can turn a contiguous range of cells on your worksheet into an Excel table. Data that is defined by the table can be manipulated independently of data outside of the table, and you can use specific table features to quickly sort, filter, total, or calculate the data in the table. You can also use the table feature to compartmentalize sets of related data by organizing that data in multiple tables on a single worksheet. For more information, see Overview of Excel tables.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Align or center text

What do you want to do?

Align text to the left

Align text to the right

Center text

Align text to the left

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Access

Excel

InfoPath

Outlook

PowerPoint

Project

Publisher

Access

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click Align Left.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Excel

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click Align Left.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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InfoPath

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Left .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Outlook

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Basic Text group, click Align Left.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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PowerPoint

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Align Left.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Project

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Left .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Publisher

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Left .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Align text to the right

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Access

Excel

InfoPath

Outlook

PowerPoint

Project

Publisher

Access

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click Align Right.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Excel

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click Align Right.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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InfoPath

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Right .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Outlook

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Basic Text group, click Align Right.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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PowerPoint

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Align Right.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Project

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Right .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Publisher

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Right .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Center text

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Access

Excel

InfoPath

Outlook

PowerPoint

Project

Publisher

Access

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click Center.

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Excel

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click Center.

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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InfoPath

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Center .

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Outlook

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Basic Text group, click Center.

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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PowerPoint

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Center.

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Project

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Center .

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Publisher

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Center .

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Underline data on a worksheet

There are several ways to add underlining to data on a worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always stored in a workbook.). You can underline all or selected text in cells, apply a bottom border to cells or rows, or draw a line to underline cells.

What do you want to do?

Underline all or selected cell contents

Use a bottom border to underline entire cells or rows

Draw a line to underline cells

Underline all or selected cell contents

  1. Do one of the following:

How to select a cell or range

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

    • To underline just a portion of the contents in a cell, double-click that cell, and then select the text or numbers that you want to underline.

 Note    If editing in a cell is turned on, you can select the cell contents by double-clicking the cell. If editing in a cell is turned off, you can click the cell and then select the text or numbers that you want to underline in the formula bar (formula bar: A bar at the top of the Excel window that you use to enter or edit values or formulas in cells or charts. Displays the constant value or formula stored in the active cell.). You can also press F2 to edit the active cell, use the arrow keys to place the insertion point, and then use SHIFT+arrow keys to select the contents.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
    • To apply a single underline, click Underline .
    • To apply a different style of underline, such as a double underline or a single or double accounting underline (an underline that fills the width of a cell), click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Font and then, in the Underline box, click the style that you want to use.

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Use a bottom border to underline entire cells or rows

  1. Select the cell, range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, or rows that you want to underline.

How to select a cell or range

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the arrow next to Bottom Border , and then click a bottom border style on the palette.

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Draw a line to underline cells

  1. On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click Shapes.

  1. Under Lines, click .
  2. Drag to draw a line underneath the cells that you want to underline.

Tip  To draw a perfectly straight line, hold down SHIFT while you drag to draw the line.

  1. To change the formatting of the line, click the line to select it.

This displays the Drawing Tools, adding the Format tab.

  1. On the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, select the formatting options that you want.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply shading to alternate rows in a worksheet

This article shows you how to automatically apply shading to every other row in a worksheet. You can apply the shading by using a simple conditional formatting formula. Alternatively, you can apply a predefined Excel table style to your data.

In this article

Technique 1: Apply shading to alternate rows by using conditional formatting

Technique 2: Apply shading to alternate rows by using an Excel table style

Technique 1: Apply shading to alternate rows by using conditional formatting

One way to apply shading to alternate rows in your worksheet is by creating a conditional formatting rule. This rule uses a formula to determine whether a row is even or odd numbered, and then applies the shading accordingly. The formula is shown here:

=MOD(ROW(),2)=0

  1. On the worksheet, do one of the following:
    • To apply the shading to a specific range of cells, select the cells you want to format.
    • To apply the shading to the entire worksheet, click the Select All button.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click the arrow next to Conditional Formatting, and then click New Rule.

  1. In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, under Select a Rule Type, click Use a formula to determine which cells to format.
  2. In the Format values where this formula is true box, enter =MOD(ROW(),2)=0, as shown in the following illustration.

 Note    If you want to apply shading to alternate columns instead of alternate rows, enter =MOD(COLUMN(),2)=0 instead.

  1. Click Format.
  2. In the Format Cells dialog box, click the Fill tab.
  3. Select the background or pattern color that you want to use for the shaded rows, and then click OK.

At this point, the color you just selected should appear in the Preview window in the New Formatting Rule dialog box.

  1. To apply the formatting to the cells on your worksheet, click OK

 Note    To view or edit the conditional formatting rule, on the Home tab, in the Styles group, click the arrow next to Conditional Formatting, and then click Manage Rules.

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Technique 2: Apply shading to alternate rows by using an Excel table style

Another way to quickly add shading or banding to alternate rows is by applying a predefined Excel table style. This is useful when you want to format a specific range of cells, and you want the additional benefits that you get with a table, such the ability to quickly display total rows or header rows in which filter drop-down lists automatically appear.

By default, banding is applied to the rows in a table to make the data easier to read. The automatic banding continues if you add or delete rows in the table.

If you find you want the table style without the table functionality, you can convert the table to a regular range of data. If you do this, however, you won't get the automatic banding as you add more data to your range.

  1. On the worksheet, select the range of cells that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Format as Table.

  1. Under Light, Medium, or Dark, click the table style that you want to use.

Tip  Custom table styles are available under Custom after you create one or more of them. For information about how to create a custom table style, see Format an Excel table.

  1. In the Format as Table dialog box, click OK.

Notice that the Banded Rows check box is selected by default in the Table Style Options group.

If you want to apply shading to alternate columns instead of alternate rows, you can clear this check box and select Banded Columns instead.

  1. If you want to convert the Excel table back to a regular range of cells, click anywhere in the table to display the tools necessary for converting the table back to a range of data.
  2. On the Design tab, in the Tools group, click Convert to Range.

Tip  You can also right-click the table, click Table, and then click Convert to Range.

 Note    In previous versions of Excel, you could shade alternate rows by using the AutoFormat button. This button isn't available on the Ribbon in Excel 2007. However, if you like, you can add it to your Quick Access Toolbar, which appears by default above the Ribbon. For information about how to do this, see Customize the Quick Access Toolbar.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Turn on or off overtype mode

When you are editing text in overtype mode, typing new characters replaces any existing characters to the right side of the insertion point.

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Access

Excel

Outlook

Project

Word

Access

  • Click the cell in which you want to overtype text, and then press INSERT or INS to turn on or off overtype mode.

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Excel

  • Double-click the cell in which you want to overtype text, and then press INSERT or INS to turn on or off the overtype mode.

 Note    The Allow editing directly in cells check box must be selected (it is selected by default). To select or clear this check box, click the Microsoft Office Button , then click Excel Options, and then click Advanced. The check box is under the Editing options section.

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Outlook

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. In the Options dialog box, click the Mail Format tab.
  3. Under Editor options, click Editor Options.
  4. In the Editor Options dialog box, click Advanced.
  5. Under Editing Options, select or clear the Use overtype mode check box.

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Project

  1. Select the cell in which you want to overtype text, and then press F2.
  2. Press INSERT or INS to turn on or off overtype mode.

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Word

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Word Options.
  2. Click Advanced.
  3. Under Editing options, select or clear the Use overtype mode check box.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply, create, or remove a cell style

To apply several formats in one step, and to make sure that cells have consistent formatting, you can use a cell style. A cell style is a defined set of formatting characteristics, such as fonts (font: A graphic design applied to all numerals, symbols, and alphabetic characters. Also called type or typeface. Arial and Courier New are examples of fonts. Fonts usually come in different sizes, such as 10 point, and various styles, such as bold.) and font sizes, number formats, cell borders, and cell shading. To prevent anyone from making changes to specific cells, you can also use a cell style that locks cells.

Microsoft Office Excel has several built-in cell styles that you can apply or modify. You can also modify or duplicate a cell style to create your own, custom cell style.

Important  Cell styles are based on the document theme that is applied to the whole workbook. When you switch to another document theme, the cell styles are updated to match the new document theme.

What do you want to do?

Apply a cell style

Create a custom cell style

Create a cell style by modifying an existing cell style

Remove a cell style from data

Delete a predefined or custom cell style

Apply a cell style

  1. Select the cells that you want to format.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. Click the cell style that you want to apply.

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Create a custom cell style

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. Click New Cell Style.
  2. In the Style name box, type an appropriate name for the new cell style.
  3. Click Format.
  4. On the various tabs in the Format Cells dialog box, select the formatting that you want, and then click OK.
  5. In the Style dialog box, under Style Includes (By Example), clear the check boxes for any formatting that you do not want to include in the cell style.

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Create a cell style by modifying an existing cell style

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To modify an existing cell style, right-click that cell style, and then click Modify.
    • To create a duplicate of an existing cell style, right-click that cell style, and then click Duplicate.
  2. In the Style name box, type an appropriate name for the new cell style.

 Note    A duplicate cell style and a renamed cell style are added to the list of custom cell styles. If you do not rename a built-in cell style, the built-in cell style will be updated with any changes that you make.

  1. To modify the cell style, click Format.
  2. On the various tabs in the Format Cells dialog box, select the formatting that you want, and then click OK.
  3. In the Style dialog box, under Style Includes, select or clear the check boxes for any formatting that you do or do not want to include in the cell style.

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Remove a cell style from data

You can remove a cell style from data in selected cells without deleting the cell style.

  1. Select the cells that are formatted with the cell style that you want to remove.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. Under Good, Bad, and Neutral, click Normal.

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Delete a predefined or custom cell style

You can delete a predefined or custom cell style to remove it from the list of available cell styles. When you delete a cell style, it is also removed from all cells that are formatted with it.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. To delete a predefined or custom cell style and remove it from all cells that are formatted with it, right-click the cell style, and then click Delete.

 Note    You cannot delete the Normal cell style.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

ASCII character chart

Numbers are the language of computers. To communicate with programs (and with other computers), your computer converts characters and symbols into their numeric representations.

In the 1960s, a need for standardization led to American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (pronounced ask-kee). The ASCII chart contains 128 numbers assigned to corresponding characters. ASCII provides a way that computers can store and exchange data with other computers and programs.

ASCII-formatted text contains no formatting information such as bold, italic, or fonts. When you use Microsoft Notepad or save a file as plain text in Microsoft Office Word, ASCII is used. You might have read an advertisement for a job opening where the employer asked for resumes in ASCII format. This means whether you send your resume in an e-mail message, fax, or as a printed copy, the employer wants your resume to contain no special style formatting. ASCII-formatted text works well with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning software, which large companies frequently use to scan resumes.

In this article

Insert an ASCII character into a document

ASCII printing characters

Extended ASCII printing characters

ASCII non-printing control characters

Beyond ASCII

Insert an ASCII character into a document

In addition to typing a character on your keyboard, you can also use the character code of the symbol as a shortcut, or when a symbol isn't available on the keyboard you are using.

  • To insert an ASCII character from the charts below, press and hold down ALT while typing the decimal numeric equivalent.

For example, to insert the degree (÷) symbol, press and hold down ALT while typing 0176 on the numeric keypad.

 Note    You must use the numeric keypad to type the numbers and not the keyboard. Make sure that the NUM LOCK key is on if your keyboard requires it to type numbers on the numeric keypad.

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ASCII printing characters

Numbers 32126 are assigned to characters that you would find on your keyboard and appear when you view or print a document. Number 127 represents the DELETE command.

ASCII printing characters chart

Decimal

Character


Decimal

Character

32

space


80

P

33

!


81

Q

34

"


82

R

35

#


83

S

36

$


84

T

37

%


85

U

38

&


86

V

39

'


87

w

40

(


88

X

41

)


89

Y

42

*


90

Z

43

+


91

[

44

,


92

\

45

-


93

]

46

.


94

^

47

/


95

_

48

0


96

`

49

1


97

a

50

2


98

b

51

3


99

c

52

4


100

d

53

5


101

e

54

6


102

f

55

7


103

g

56

8


104

h

57

9


105

i

58

:


106

j

59

;


107

k

60

<


108

l

61

=


109

m

62

>


110

n

63

?


111

o

64

@


112

p

65

A


113

q

66

B


114

r

67

C


115

s

68

D


116

t

69

E


117

u

70

F


118

v

71

G


119

w

72

H


120

x

73

I


121

y

74

J


122

z

75

K


123

{

76

L


124

|

77

M


125

}

78

N


126

~

79

O


127

DEL

Tip  You can reference the extended character set for a particular font using the Character Map program in Microsoft Windows. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Character Map.

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Extended ASCII printing characters

Extended ASCII characters meet the demand for more characters. Extended ASCII includes the 128 characters found in ASCII (numbers 032 appear in a following chart), and adds an additional 128 characters for 256 total. Even with these additional characters, many languages contain symbols that could not be condensed into 256 characters. Because of this, there are variants of ASCII to encompass regional characters and symbols.

For example, the ASCII table also known as ISO 8859-1 is used by many software programs for languages in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and Africa.

Extended ASCII printing characters chart

Decimal

Character


Decimal

Character

128

ַ


192

129


193

130

י


194

131

ג


195

132

ה


196

133

א


197

134

ו


198

135

ח


199

136

ך


200

137

כ


201

138

ט


202

139

ן


203

140

מ


204

141

ל


205

142

ִ


206

143

ֵ


207

144

ֹ


208

145

ז


209

146

ֶ


210

147

פ


211

148

צ


212

װ

149

ע


213

150


214

151

ש


215

152


216

153

ײ


217

154


218

155

¢


219

156

£


220

157

¥


221

158


222

159

ƒ


223

160

ב


224

ב

161

ם


225

162

ף


226

ֳ

163

ת


227

נ

164

ס


228

׃

165

ׁ


229

ף

166

×


230

µ

167

÷


231

פ

168

¿


232

ײ

169


233

ָ

170

¬


234

171

½


235

ה

172

¼


236

173

¡


237

צ

174

«


238

ו

175

»


239

176


240

177


241

±

178


242

179


243

180


244

181


245

182


246

ק

183


247

184


248

185


249

186


250

·

187


251

188


252

189


253

²

190


254

191


255

 

Tip  You can reference the extended character set for a particular font using the Character Map program in Microsoft Windows. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Character Map.

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ASCII non-printing control characters

Numbers 031 on the ASCII table are assigned for control characters that are used to control some peripheral devices such as printers. For example, 12 represents the form feed/new page function. This command instructs a printer to skip to the top of the next page.

ASCII non-printing control characters chart

Decimal

Character


Decimal

Character

0

null


16

data link escape

1

start of heading


17

device control 1

2

start of text


18

device control 2

3

end of text


19

device control 3

4

end of transmission


20

device control 4

5

inquiry


21

negative acknowledge

6

acknowledge


22

synchronous idle

7

bell


23

end of transmission block

8

backspace


24

cancel

9

horizontal tab


25

end of medium

10

line feed/new line


26

substitute

11

vertical tab


27

escape

12

form feed/new page


28

file separator

13

carriage return


29

group separator

14

shift out


30

record separator

15

shift in


31

unit separator

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Beyond ASCII

Another, newer table of characters is called Unicode. Because Unicode is a much larger table, it can represent 65,536 characters instead of the 128 of ASCII or 256 of extended ASCII. This larger capacity allows most characters of different languages to be included in one character set.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply, customize, and save a document theme in Word or Excel

You can quickly and easily format an entire document to give it a professional and modern look by applying a document theme. A document theme is a set of formatting choices that include a set of theme colors, a set of theme fonts (including heading and body text fonts), and a set of theme effects (including lines and fill effects).

Programs such as Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint provide several predefined document themes, but you can also create your own by customizing and then saving an existing document theme. Document themes are shared across Office programs so that all of your Office documents can have the same, uniform look. However, unlike Word and Excel, PowerPoint includes background style customization options. For information about adding and customizing backgrounds, see Add a background to your presentation.

 Notes 

What do you want to do?

Apply a document theme

Customize a document theme

Save a document theme

Apply a document theme

To change the document theme that is applied by default in Word and Excel, select another predefined document theme or a custom document theme. Document themes that you apply affect the styles (style: A combination of formatting characteristics, such as font, font size, and indentation, that you name and store as a set. When you apply a style, all of the formatting instructions in that style are applied at one time.) that you can use in your document.

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Themes.

or

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To apply a predefined document theme, under Built-In, click the document theme that you want to use.
    • To apply a custom document theme, under Custom, click the document theme that you want to use.

 Note    Custom is available only if you created one or more custom document themes. For more information about creating custom document themes, see Customize a document theme below.

  1. If a document theme that you want to use is not listed, click Browse for Themes to find it on your computer or network.
  2. To search for other document themes on Office Online, click Search Office Online.

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Customize a document theme

To customize a document theme, you start by changing the colors, the fonts, or the line and fill effects that are used. Changes that you make to one or more of these theme components immediately affect the styles that you applied in the active document. If you want to apply these changes to new documents, you can save them as a custom document theme.

Customize the theme colors

Theme colors contain four text and background colors, six accent colors, and two hyperlink colors. The colors in the Theme Colors button represent the current text and background colors, and the set of colors next to the Theme Colors name after you click the Theme Colors button represent the accent and hyperlink colors for that theme. When you change any of these colors to create your own set of theme colors, the colors in the Theme Colors button and next to the Theme Colors name change accordingly.

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Theme Colors.

or

  1. Click Create New Theme Colors.
  2. Under Theme colors, click the button of the theme color element that you want to change.
  3. Under Theme Colors, select the colors that you want to use. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for all of the theme color elements that you want to change.

Tip  Under Sample, you can see the effect of the changes that you make. To see how the colors that you select affect styles that you have applied in your document, click Preview.

  1. In the Name box, type an appropriate name for the new theme colors, and then click Save.

Tip  If you want to return all theme color elements to their original theme colors, click Reset before you click Save.

Customize the theme fonts

Theme fonts contain a heading font and a body text font. When you click the Theme Fonts button , you see the name of the heading and body text fonts used for each theme font below the Theme Fonts name. You can change both of these fonts to create your own set of theme fonts.

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Theme Fonts.

or

  1. Click Create New Theme Fonts.
  2. In the Heading font and Body font boxes, select the fonts that you want to use.

Tip  The sample is updated with the fonts that you select.

  1. In the Name box, type an appropriate name for the new theme fonts, and then click Save.

Select a set of theme effects

Theme effects are sets of lines and fill effects. When you click the Theme Effects button , you see the lines and fill effects used for each set of theme effects in the graphic displayed with the Theme Effects name. Although you cannot create your own set of theme effects, you can choose the theme effect that you want to use in your own document theme.

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Theme Effects.

or

  1. Click the effect that you want to use.

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Save a document theme

You can save any changes that you make to the colors, fonts, or line and fill effects of a document theme as a custom document theme that you can apply to other documents.

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Themes.

or

  1. Click Save Current Theme.
  2. In the File Name box, type an appropriate name for the theme, and then click Save.

The custom document theme is saved in the Document Themes folder and is automatically added to the list of custom themes.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Add or remove a sheet background

In Microsoft Office Excel, you can use a picture as a sheet background for display purposes only. A sheet background is not printed, and it is not retained in an individual worksheet or in an item that you save as a Web page.

Important  Because a sheet background is not printed, it cannot be used as a watermark. You can, however, mimic a watermark by inserting a graphic in a header or footer.

What do you want to do?

Add a sheet background

Remove a sheet background

Mimic a watermark in Excel

Add a sheet background

  1. Click the worksheet that you want to display with a sheet background. Make sure that only one worksheet is selected.
  2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Background.

  1. Select the picture that you want to use for the sheet background, and then click Insert.

The selected picture is repeated to fill the sheet.

 Notes 

  • To improve readability, you can hide cell gridlines and apply solid color shading to cells that contain data.
  • A sheet background is saved with the worksheet data when you save the workbook.

Tip  To use a solid color as a sheet background, you can apply cell shading to all cells.

For more information, see Apply or remove cell shading.

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Remove a sheet background

  1. Click the worksheet that is displayed with a sheet background. Make sure that only one worksheet is selected.
  2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Delete Background.

 Note    Delete Background is available only when a worksheet has a sheet background.

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Mimic a watermark in Excel

Watermark functionality is not available in Microsoft Office Excel. However, you can mimic a watermark in one of two ways.

You can display watermark information on every printed page  for example, to indicate that the worksheet data is confidential or a draft copy  by inserting a picture that contains the watermark information in a header or footer. That picture then appears behind the worksheet data, starting at the top or bottom of every page. You can also resize or scale the picture to fill the whole page.

You can also use WordArt on top of the worksheet data to indicate that the data is confidential or a draft copy.

Use a picture in a header or footer to mimic a watermark

  1. In a drawing program, such as Paintbrush, create a picture that you want to use as a watermark.
  2. In Excel, click the worksheet that you want to display with the watermark.

 Note    Make sure that only one worksheet is selected.

  1. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Header & Footer.

  1. Under Header, click either the left, center, or right header selection box.
  2. On the Design tab of the Header & Footer Tools, in the Header & Footer elements group, click Picture and then find the picture that you want to insert.

  1. Double-click the picture to insert it in the header section box.
  2. To resize or scale the picture, click Format Picture in the Header & Footer elements group, and then, in the Format Picture dialog box, select the options that you want on the Size tab.

 Notes 

  • Changes to the picture or picture format take effect immediately and cannot be undone.
  • If you want to add blank space above or below a picture, in the header selection box that contains the picture, click before or after &[Picture], and then press ENTER to start a new line.
  • To replace a picture, select &[Picture], click Picture , and then click Replace.
  • Before printing, make sure that the header or footer margin has sufficient space for the custom header or footer.
  • To delete a picture, select &[Picture] and then press DELETE.
  • To switch from Page Layout view to Normal view, select any cell, click the View tab, and then, in the Workbook Views group, click Normal.

Use WordArt to mimic a watermark

  1. Click the worksheet location where you want to display the watermark.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click WordArt.

  1. Click the WordArt style that you want to use.

Tip  For example, use Fill - White Drop Shadow, Fill - Text 1, Inner Shadow, or Fill - White, Warm Matte Bevel.

  1. Type the text that you want to use for the watermark.
  2. To change the size of the WordArt, click the WordArt, and then on the Format tab, in the Size group, in the Shape Height and Shape Width boxes, enter the size that you want.

Tip  You can also drag the sizing handles to the size that you want.

  1. To add transparency so that you can see more of the worksheet data underneath the WordArt, do the following:
    1. Right-click the WordArt, and click Format Shape.
    2. In the Fill category, under Fill, click Solid Fill.
    3. Drag the Transparency slider to the percentage of transparency that you want, or enter the percentage in the Transparency box.
  2. If you want to rotate the WordArt, do the following:
    1. Click the WordArt.
    2. On the Format tab, in the Arrange group, click Rotate.

    1. Click More Rotation Options.
    2. On the Size tab, under Size and rotate, in the Rotation box, enter the degree of rotation that you want.
    3. Click Close.

Tip  You can also drag the rotation handle (rotation handle: Round arrow that appears at the top of a selected shape that you can use to rotate the shape.) in the direction that you want to rotate the WordArt.

 Note    You cannot use WordArt in a header or footer to display it in the background. However, if you create the WordArt in an empty worksheet that does not display gridlines (clear the Gridlines check box in the Show/Hide group on the View tab), you can press PRINT SCREEN to capture the WordArt, and then paste the captured WordArt into a drawing program. You can then insert the picture that you created in the drawing program into a header and footer as described in Use a picture in a header or footer to mimic a watermark.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply or remove cell borders on a worksheet

By using predefined border styles, you can quickly add a border around cells or ranges (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells. If predefined cell borders do not meet your needs, you can create a custom border.

 Note    Cell borders that you apply appear on printed pages. If you do not use cell borders but want worksheet gridline borders to be visible on printed pages, you can display the gridlines.

For more information, see Print with or without cell gridlines.

What do you want to do?

Apply a predefined cell border

Remove a cell border

Create a custom cell border

Apply a predefined cell border

  1. On a worksheet, select the cell or range of cells that you want to add a border to, change the border style on, or remove a border from.

How to select a cell or a range

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
    • To apply a new or different border style, click the arrow next to Borders , and then click a border style.

Tip  To apply a custom border style or a diagonal border, click More Borders. In the Format Cells dialog box, on the Border tab, under Line and Color, click the line style and color that you want. Under Presets and Border, click one or more buttons to indicate the border placement. Two diagonal border buttons   are available under Border.

    • To remove cell borders, click the arrow next to Borders , and then click No Border .

 Notes 

  • The Borders button displays the most recently used border style. You can click the Borders button (not the arrow) to apply that style.
  • If you apply a border to a selected cell, the border is also applied to adjacent cells that share a bordered cell boundary. For example, if you apply a box border to enclose the range B1:C5, the cells D1:D5 acquire a left border.
  • If you apply two different types of borders to a shared cell boundary, the most recently applied border is displayed.
  • A selected range of cells is formatted as a single block of cells. If you apply a right border to the range of cells B1:C5, the border is displayed only on the right edge of the cells C1:C5.
  • If you want to print the same border on cells that are separated by a page break, but the border appears on only one page, you can apply an inside border. This way, you can print a border at the bottom of the last row of one page and use the same border at the top of the first row on the next page. Do the following:
    1. Select the rows on both sides of the page break.
    2. Click the arrow next to Borders , and then click More Borders.
    3. Under Presets, click the Inside button .
    4. Under Border, in the preview diagram, remove the vertical border by clicking it.

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Remove a cell border

  1. On a worksheet, select the cell or range of cells that you want to remove a border from.

How to select a cell or a range

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the arrow next to Borders , and then click No Border .

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Create a custom cell border

You can create a cell style that includes a custom border, and then you can apply that cell style when you want to display the custom border around selected cells.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. Click New Cell Style.
  2. In the Style name box, type an appropriate name for the new cell style.
  3. Click Format.
  4. On the Border tab, under Line, in the Style box, click the line style that you want to use for the border.
  5. In the Color box, select the color that you want to use.
  6. Under Border, click the border buttons to create the border that you want to use.
  7. Click OK.
  8. In the Style dialog box, under Style Includes (By Example), clear the check boxes for any formatting that you do not want to include in the cell style.
  9. Click OK.
  10. To apply the cell style, do the following:
    1. Select the cells that you want to format with the custom cell border.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

    1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.
    2. Click the cell style that you want to apply.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Hide or display cell gridlines on a worksheet

On a worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always stored in a workbook.), cell gridlines are displayed by default, but you can hide and show gridlines as needed.

  1. Select one or more worksheets.

How to select worksheets

To select

Do this

A single sheet

Click the sheet tab.

If you don't see the tab that you want, click the tab scrolling buttons to display the tab, and then click the tab.

Two or more adjacent sheets

Click the tab for the first sheet. Then hold down SHIFT while you click the tab for the last sheet that you want to select.

Two or more nonadjacent sheets

Click the tab for the first sheet. Then hold down CTRL while you click the tabs of the other sheets that you want to select.

All sheets in a workbook

Right-click a sheet tab, and then click Select All Sheets on the shortcut menu (shortcut menu: A menu that shows a list of commands relevant to a particular item. To display a shortcut menu, right-click an item or press SHIFT+F10.).

  1. On the View tab, in the Show/Hide group, clear or select the Gridlines check box to hide or show the gridlines.


See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Change the color of text

You can change the color of the text in cells and the cell's background color. For the background color, you can use a solid color, or you can apply special effects, such as gradients, textures, and pictures.

What do you want to do?

Change the color of text

Change the background color of text

Apply a pattern or fill effect to a background color

Change the color of text

  1. Select the cell (cell: A box formed by the intersection of a row and column in a worksheet or a table, in which you enter information.), range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, text, or characters (character: A letter, number, punctuation mark, or symbol.) that you want to format with a different text color.

How to select a cell, a range, or text in a cell

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
    • To change the text color, click the arrow next to Font Color , and then under Theme Colors or Standard Colors, click the color that you want to use.
    • To apply the most recently selected text color, click Font Color .
    • To apply a color other than the available theme colors and standard colors, click More Colors, and then define the color that you want to use on the Standard tab or Custom tab of the Colors dialog box.

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Change the background color of text

  1. Select the cell (cell: A box formed by the intersection of a row and column in a worksheet or a table, in which you enter information.), range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, text, or characters (character: A letter, number, punctuation mark, or symbol.) that you want to format with a different background color.

How to select a cell, a range, or text in a cell

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
    • To change the background color, click the arrow next to Fill Color , and then under Theme Colors or Standard Colors, click the background color that you want to use.
    • To apply the most recently selected background color, click Fill Color .
    • To apply a color other than the available theme colors and standard colors, click More Colors, and then define the color that you want to use on the Standard tab or Custom tab of the Colors dialog box.

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Apply a pattern or fill effect to a background color

  1. Select the cell (cell: A box formed by the intersection of a row and column in a worksheet or a table, in which you enter information.), range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, text, or characters (character: A letter, number, punctuation mark, or symbol.) to which you want to apply a background color with fill effects.

How to select a cell, a range, or text in a cell

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Format Cell Font dialog box launcher next to Font, and then click the Fill tab.

  1. Under Background Color, click the background color that you want to use.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • To use a pattern with two colors, click another color in the Pattern Color box, and then click a pattern style in the Pattern Style box.
    • To use a pattern with special effects, click Fill Effects, and then click the options that you want on the Gradient tab.

Tip  If the colors in the palette don't meet your needs, you can click More Colors. In the Colors box, click the color that you want. You can also select a model in the Color model box, and then type the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) or HSL (Hue, Sat, Lum) numbers to match the exact color shade that you want.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Copy the formatting of a shape, object, worksheet cell, or text by using Format Painter

You can use Format Painter to copy the formatting (such as fills or borders) of shapes or objects (object: A table, chart, graphic, equation, or other form of information. Objects created in one application, for example spreadsheets, and linked or embedded in another application are OLE objects.), text, or cells in a Microsoft Office Excel worksheet to a different group of shapes, objects, text, or cells.

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

For conditional formatting, or formatting that changes the appearance of a cell range based on a condition (or criteria), see Add, change, or clear conditional formats. To copy cells see Copy specific cell contents or attributes in a worksheet. Also see Move or copy cells and cell contents or Move or copy rows and columns.

  1. Select the shape, object (object: A table, chart, graphic, equation, or other form of information. Objects created in one application, for example spreadsheets, and linked or embedded in another application are OLE objects.), text, or worksheet cell that has the formatting that you want to copy.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to one other shape, object, cell, or text selection, click Format Painter.
    • To copy the formatting to multiple shapes, objects, cells, or text selections, double-click Format Painter.

The pointer changes to a paintbrush.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to a single shape, object, or piece of text, click the object or text that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to a single cell or range of cells, drag the mouse pointer across the cell or range of cells that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to several cells or ranges of cells, drag the mouse pointer across the cells or ranges of cells that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to several text selections, click each text selection that you want to format.
  2. To stop formatting, press ESC.

 Notes 

  • For text selections with multiple words, clicking within a word applies the formatting to that word only, and dragging across the text selection applies the formatting to all of the words.
  • To copy the width of one column to a second column, select the heading of the first column, click Format Painter, and then click the heading of the column that you want to apply the column width to.
  • You can copy formatting from a picture (such as the picture's border or the shape that the picture appears in) by using the steps above.
  • You can select WordArt (WordArt: Text objects you create with ready-made effects to which you can apply additional formatting options.) text and then use Format Painter to apply the font and font size to other text as long as the text is within a shape. It is not possible to apply WordArt formatting directly to text in a worksheet.
  • If you apply three-dimensional (3-D) effects, such as a 3-D WordArt style or Warp Transform effect, to text in a shape (to copy the effects applied to the text in the shape), you must use Format Painter to copy all of the shape formatting and not just the text formatting.

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Outlook

  1. Select the shape, object (object: A table, chart, graphic, equation, or other form of information. Objects created in one application, for example spreadsheets, and linked or embedded in another application are OLE objects.), or text that has the formatting that you want to copy.
  2. On the Message tab, in the Clipboard group, do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to one other shape, object, cell, or text selection, click Format Painter.
    • To copy the formatting to multiple shapes, objects, cells, or text selections, double-click Format Painter.

The pointer changes to a paintbrush.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to a single shape, object or piece of text, click the shape, object or text that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to several text selections, click each text selection that you want to format.
  2. To stop formatting, press ESC.

 Notes 

  • For text selections with multiple words, clicking within a word applies the formatting to that word only, and dragging across the text selection applies the formatting to all of the words.
  • You can copy formatting from a picture (such as the picture's border or the shape that the picture appears in) by using the steps above.

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PowerPoint

For information on the changing the color of text or changing fonts, see Change the color of text or Change the fonts. For more information on copying slides, see Copy and paste your slides.

  1. Select the shape, object (object: A table, chart, graphic, equation, or other form of information. Objects created in one application, for example spreadsheets, and linked or embedded in another application are OLE objects.), text, or worksheet cell that has the formatting that you want to copy.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to one other shape, object, cell, or text selection, click Format Painter.
    • To copy the formatting to multiple shape, objects, cells, or text selections, double-click Format Painter.

The pointer changes to a paintbrush.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to a single shape, object or piece of text, click the shape, object or text that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to several text selections, click each text selection that you want to format.
  2. To stop formatting, press ESC.

 Notes 

  • If you apply three-dimensional (3-D) effects, such as a 3-D WordArt style or Warp Transform effect, to text in a shape (to copy the effects applied to the text in the shape), you must use Format Painter to copy all of the shape formatting and not just the text formatting.
  • You can also use CTRL+SHIFT+C to copy formatting and CTRL+SHIFT+V to paste formatting.

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Word

For information on using the Format Painter in Word, see Use the Format Painter.

 Top of Page


See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Highlight cells

Unlike other Microsoft Office programs, such as Word, Excel does not provide a button that you can use to highlight all or individual portions of data in a cell.

However, you can mimic highlights on a cell in a worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always stored in a workbook.) by filling the cells with a highlighting color. For a fast way to mimic a highlight, you can create a custom cell style that you can apply to fill cells with a highlighting color. Then, after you apply that cell style to highlight cells, you can quickly copy the highlighting to other cells by using Format Painter.

If you want to make specific data in a cell stand out, you can display that data in a different font color or format.

What do you want to do?

Create a cell style to highlight cells

Use Format Painter to apply a highlight to other cells

Display specific data in a different font color or format

Create a cell style to highlight cells

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, in the Styles group, click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. Click New Cell Style.
  2. In the Style name box, type an appropriate name for the new cell style.

Tip  For example, type Highlight.

  1. Click Format.
  2. In the Format Cells dialog box, on the Fill tab, select the color that you want to use for the highlight, and then click OK.
  3. Click OK to close the Style dialog box.

The new style will be added under Custom in the cell styles box.

  1. On the worksheet, select the cells or ranges (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells that you want to highlight.

How to select a cell or a range

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, in the Styles group, click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. Under Custom, click the new cell style.

Tip  Custom cell styles are displayed at the top of the list of cell styles. If you see the cell styles box in the Styles group, and the new cell style is one of the first six cell styles on the list, you can click that cell style directly in the Styles group.

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Use Format Painter to apply a highlight to other cells

  1. Select a cell that is formatted with the highlight that you want to use.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, double-click Format Painter , and then drag the mouse pointer across as many cells or ranges of cells that you want to highlight.
  3. When you're done, click Format Painter again or press ESC to turn it off.

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Display specific data in a different font color or format

  1. In a cell, select the data that you want to display in a different color or format.

How to select data in a cell

To select the contents of a cell

Do this

In the cell

Double-click the cell, and then drag across the contents of the cell that you want to select.

In the formula bar (formula bar: A bar at the top of the Excel window that you use to enter or edit values or formulas in cells or charts. Displays the constant value or formula stored in the active cell.)

Click the cell, and then drag across the contents of the cell that you want to select in the formula bar.

By using the keyboard

Press F2 to edit the cell, use the arrow keys to position the insertion point, and then press SHIFT+ARROW key to select the contents.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
    • To change the text color, click the arrow next to Font Color and then, under Theme Colors or Standard Colors, click the color that you want to use.
    • To apply the most recently selected text color, click Font Color .
    • To apply a color other than the available theme colors and standard colors, click More Colors, and then define the color that you want to use on the Standard tab or Custom tab of the Colors dialog box.
    • To change the format, click Bold , Italic , or Underline .

Keyboard shortcut  You can also press CTRL+B, CTRL+I, or CTRL+U.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Copy cell styles from another workbook

When you create new cell styles (style: A combination of formatting characteristics, such as font, font size, and indentation, that you name and store as a set. When you apply a style, all of the formatting instructions in that style are applied at one time.) in a workbook, you may want to make them available in other workbooks. You can copy the cell styles from that workbook to another workbook.

  1. Open the workbook that contains the cell styles that you want to copy.
  2. Open the workbook that you want to copy the styles into.
  3. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box. Or, if you see a cell styles box in the Styles group that contains previews of styles, click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. Click Merge Styles.
  2. In the Merge Styles dialog box, in the Merge styles from box, click the workbook that contains the styles that you want to copy, and then click OK.
  3. If both workbooks contain styles that have identical names, you must indicate whether you want to merge these styles by doing the following:
    • To replace the styles in the active workbook with the copied styles, click Yes.
    • To keep the styles in the active workbook as they are, click No.

 Note    Excel displays this message only once, regardless of the number of pairs of identical style names.

Tip  When you move or copy a worksheet from one workbook to another workbook, all the styles that are used on that worksheet are also copied to that workbook. For more information, see Move or copy a worksheet.


See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Display numbers in scientific (exponential) notation

The Scientific format displays a number in exponential notation, replacing part of the number with E+n, where E (which stands for Exponent) multiplies the preceding number by 10 to the nth power. For example, a 2-decimal Scientific format displays 12345678901 as 1.23E+10, which is 1.23 times 10 to the 10th power.

  1. Select the cells that you want to format.

How to select cells, ranges (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.), rows, or columns

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Number.

  1. In the Category list, click Scientific.
  2. In the Decimal places box, enter the number of decimal places that you want to display.

Tip  The number that is in the active cell of the selection on the worksheet appears in the Sample box so that you can preview the number formatting options that you select.

 Notes 

  • To quickly format a number in scientific notation, click Scientific in the Number Format box (Home tab, Number group). The default for scientific notation is two decimal places.
  • A number format does not affect the actual cell value that Excel uses to perform calculations. The actual value is displayed in the formula bar (formula bar: A bar at the top of the Excel window that you use to enter or edit values or formulas in cells or charts. Displays the constant value or formula stored in the active cell.).
  • The maximum limit for number precision is 15 digits, so the actual value that is displayed in the formula bar may change for large numbers (more than 15 digits).
  • To reset the number format, click General in the Number Format box (Home tab, Number group). Cells that are formatted with the General format do not use a specific number format. However, the General format does use exponential notation for large numbers (12 or more digits). To remove the exponential notation from large numbers, you can apply a different number format, such as Number.


See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Use automatic formatting as you type

By selecting certain automatic formatting options, the 2007 Microsoft Office system programs can automatically format certain kinds of text as you type, such as automatically replacing a typed hyphen ( - ) with a dash ( ). Use the AutoFormat As You Type options to control the automatic formatting that you want. The specific AutoFormat As You Type options that are available depend on the program that you are using.

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Word

Outlook

PowerPoint

Excel

Publisher

Visio

 Notes 

  • For information about AutoCorrect options, automatically inserting text, and other program-specific formatting options, see the links in the See Also list.
  • The AutoFormat As You Type options are global options that apply to all files for a program.
  • The AutoFormat As You Type options cannot be applied to previously written text in the following 2007 Microsoft Office system programs: Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher, and Visio.
  • To disable all automatic formatting for a program, you must clear each AutoFormat As You Type option for that program.

Word

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Word Options.

Where is the Word Options button?

  1. Click Proofing.
  2. Click AutoCorrect Options.
  3. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
  4. Select or clear the check boxes for the options that you want to enable or disable.

What does each option do?

    • "Straight quotes" with “smart quotes”   Replaces straight quotation marks ( " " ) and straight apostrophes ( ' ) with curved, open- and closed-quotation marks ( ) and curved apostrophes ( ).
    • Fractions (1/2) with fraction character (½)   Replaces typed fractions (1/2) with a single character fraction (½).
    • *Bold* and _italic_ with real formatting   Applies bold font to any text enclosed in asterisks (*); applies italic font to any text enclosed in underscores (_). For example, *computer* becomes computer and _computer_ becomes computer.
    • Internet and network paths with hyperlinks   Replaces typed Internet addresses, network paths, and e-mail addresses with hyperlinks.
    • Ordinals (1st) with superscript   Replaces ordinal numbers that show the relative position of an item in a sequence (for example, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) with superscript ( ).
    • Hyphens (--) with dash ()   Replaces a double hyphen (--) with an em dash (); replaces a single hyphen with a space before and after ( - ) with an en dash ().
    • Automatic bulleted lists   Creates a bulleted list when a line of text starts with one of the following characters *, -, or > followed by a space or tab.
    • Border lines   Draws a line when you type three consecutive instances of the following characters ~, #, *, -, _, or = on a new line, and then press ENTER. For example, typing ~~~ on a new line, and then pressing ENTER draws a wavy line across the page.
    • Built-in Heading styles   Applies heading styles to paragraphs of five or less words that do not end with punctuation after you press ENTER two times. For Heading 1, type a new line; for Heading 2, precede the new line with a single tab; for Heading 3, precede the new line with two tabs.

 Note    You must press ENTER two times after the previous paragraph to automatically apply heading styles.

    • Automatic numbered lists   Creates a numbered list when a line of text starts with the number 1 followed by a period or tab.
    • Tables   Creates a single row table when you insert a sequence of plus signs (+) and hyphens (-) at the start of a line of text, and then press ENTER. You must begin and end the sequence with a plus sign. For example, +---+---+------+ creates a single row table with three columns. The column width is equal to the number of hyphens typed between the plus signs. To add rows anywhere in the table, position the cursor at the end of the row where you want to insert the new row, and then press ENTER.
    • Format beginning of list item like the one before it   Formats the lead-in text of a list item like the lead-in text of the previous list item. Lead-in formatting is repeated up to the first punctuation character of the list item, typically a period, colon, hyphen, em dash, question mark, exclamation point, or similar character.

 Note    Only formatting that applies to all the lead-in text is repeated in the next list item. Formatting that applies to a section of the lead-in text is not repeated in the lead-in text of subsequent list items.

    • Set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces   Indent the first line of a paragraph by putting the cursor before the first line, and then pressing the TAB key. Indent the whole paragraph by putting the cursor before any line in the paragraph (except the first line), and then pressing the TAB key. To remove an indent, put the cursor before the first line of the paragraph, and then press the BACKSPACE key.
    • Define styles based on your formatting   Applies a built-in style to manually formatted text when the text has the same formatting as a built-in style.

 Note    To enable this feature, you must clear the Keep track of formatting check box. In the Word Options dialog box, click Advanced, and then clear the Keep track of formatting check box.

 Note    To apply automatic formatting to previously written text in Word, use the AutoFormat tab. For more information about how to use the AutoFormat feature, see Where is the AutoFormat Feature?

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Outlook

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Click the Mail Format tab, and then click Editor Options.
  3. Click Proofing, and then click AutoCorrect Options.
  4. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
  5. Select or clear the check boxes for the options that you want to enable or disable.

What does each option do?

    • "Straight quotes" with “smart quotes”   Replaces straight quotation marks ( " " ) and straight apostrophes ( ' ) with curved, open- and closed-quotation marks ( ) and curved apostrophes ( ).
    • Fractions (1/2) with fraction character (½)   Replaces typed fractions (1/2) with a single character fraction (½).
    • *Bold* and _italic_ with real formatting   Applies bold font to any text enclosed in asterisks (*); applies italic font to any text enclosed in underscores (_). For example, *computer* becomes computer and _computer_ becomes computer.
    • Internet and network paths with hyperlinks   Replaces typed Internet addresses, network paths, and e-mail addresses with hyperlinks.
    • Ordinals (1st) with superscript   Replaces ordinal numbers that show the relative position of an item in a sequence (for example, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) with superscript ( ).
    • Hyphens (--) with dash ()   Replaces a double hyphen (--) with an em dash (); replaces a single hyphen with a space before and after ( - ) with an en dash ().
    • Automatic bulleted lists   Creates a bulleted list when a line of text starts with one of the following characters *, -, or > followed by a space or tab.
    • Border lines   Draws a line when you type three consecutive instances of the following characters ~, #, *, -, _, or = on a new line, and then press ENTER. For example, typing ~~~ on a new line, and then pressing ENTER draws a wavy line across the page.
    • Built-in Heading styles   Applies heading styles to paragraphs of five or less words that do not end with punctuation after you press ENTER two times. For Heading 1, type a new line; for Heading 2, precede the new line with a single tab; for Heading 3, precede the new line with two tabs.

 Note    You must press ENTER two times after the previous paragraph to automatically apply heading styles.

    • Automatic numbered lists   Creates a numbered list when a line of text starts with the number 1 followed by a period or tab.
    • Tables   Creates a single row table when you insert a sequence of plus signs (+) and hyphens (-) at the start of a line of text, and then press ENTER. You must begin and end the sequence with a plus sign. For example, +---+---+------+ creates a single row table with three columns. The column width is equal to the number of hyphens typed between the plus signs. To add rows anywhere in the table, position the cursor at the end of the row where you want to insert the new row, and then press ENTER.
    • Format beginning of list item like the one before it   Formats the lead-in text of a list item like the lead-in text of the previous list item. Lead-in formatting is repeated up to the first punctuation character of the list item, typically a period, colon, hyphen, em dash, question mark, exclamation point, or similar character.

 Note    Only formatting that applies to all the lead-in text is repeated in the next list item. Formatting that applies to a section of the lead-in text is not repeated in the lead-in text of subsequent list items.

    • Set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces   Indent the first line of a paragraph by putting the cursor before the first line, and then pressing the TAB key. Indent a whole paragraph by putting the cursor before any line in the paragraph (except the first line), and then pressing the TAB key. To remove an indent, put the cursor before the first line of the paragraph and press the BACKSPACE key.
    • Define styles based on your formatting   Applies a built-in style to manually formatted text when the text has the same formatting as a built-in style.

 Note    To enable this feature, you must clear the Keep track of formatting check box. In the Word Options dialog box, click Advanced, and then clear the Keep track of formatting check box.

Important  In Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, you can safely ignore the AutoFormat tab on the AutoCorrect dialog box. Although you can select the options on the AutoFormat tab, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 no longer makes use of this functionality. The options in the AutoFormat tab are included in the AutoFormat As You Type tab.

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PowerPoint

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click PowerPoint Options.

Where is the PowerPoint Options button?

  1. Click Proofing.
  2. Click AutoCorrect Options.
  3. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
  4. Select or clear the check boxes for the options that you want to enable or disable.

What does each option do?

    • "Straight quotes" with “smart quotes”   Replaces straight quotation marks ( " " ) and straight apostrophes ( ' ) with curved, open- and closed-quotation marks ( ) and curved apostrophes ( ).
    • Fractions (1/2) with fraction character (½)   Replaces typed fractions (1/2) with a single character fraction (½).
    • Ordinals (1st) with superscript   Replaces ordinal numbers that show the relative position of an item in a sequence (for example, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) with superscript ( ).
    • Hyphens (--) with dash ()   Replaces a double hyphen (--) with an em dash (); replaces a single hyphen with a space before and after ( - ) with an en dash ().
    • Smiley faces :-) and arrows ==> with special symbols   Replaces typed smiley faces and arrows with equivalent character symbols.
    • Internet and network paths with hyperlinks   Replaces typed Internet addresses, network paths, and e-mail addresses with hyperlinks.
    • Automatic bulleted and numbered lists   Creates a bulleted list when a line of text starts with one of the following characters *, -, or > and is followed by a space or tab. Creates a numbered list when a line of text starts with the number 1 followed by a period or tab.
    • AutoFit title text to placeholder   Decreases the font size of the title text so that the text fits in the defined title text placeholder.
    • AutoFit body text to placeholder   Decreases the font size of the body text so that the text fits in the defined body text placeholder.

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Excel

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Excel Options.

Where is the Excel Options button?

  1. Click Proofing.
  2. Click AutoCorrect Options.
  3. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
  4. Select or clear the check boxes for the options that you want to enable or disable.

What does each option do?

    • Internet and network paths with hyperlinks   Replaces typed Internet addresses, network paths, and e-mail addresses with hyperlinks.
    • Include new rows and columns in table   Adds a new row or column to an existing table when you enter data in an adjacent row or column. For example, if you have a two column table in columns A and B, and then enter data in an adjacent cell in column C, column C is automatically formatted as part of the existing table.
    • Fill formulas in tables to create calculated columns   Applies a single formula to all table cells in a column. The formula automatically adjusts to extend to all table cells in the column. For more information about calculated columns, see Create, edit, or remove a calculated column in an Excel table.

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Publisher

  1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.

 Note    A file must be open before you can click AutoCorrect Options. Create or open a file to make this command available.

  1. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
  2. Select or clear the check boxes for the options that you want to enable or disable.

What does each option do?

    • "Straight quotes" with “smart quotes”   Replaces straight quotation marks ( " " ) and straight apostrophes ( ' ) with curved, open- and closed-quotation marks ( ) and curved apostrophes ( ).
    • Hyphens (--) with dash ()   Replaces a double hyphen (--) with an em dash (); replaces a single hyphen with a space before and after ( - ) with an en dash ().
    • Automatic bulleted lists   Creates a bulleted list when a line of text starts with one of the following characters *, -, or > followed by a space or tab.
    • Automatic numbered lists   Creates a numbered list when a line of text starts with the number 1 followed by a period or tab.

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Visio

  1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.

 Note    A file must be open before you can click AutoCorrect Options. Create or open a file to make this command available.

  1. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
  2. Select or clear the check boxes for the options that you want to enable or disable.

What does each option do?

    • "Straight quotes" with “smart quotes”   Replaces straight quotation marks ( " " ) and straight apostrophes ( ' ) with curved, open- and closed-quotation marks ( ) and curved apostrophes ( ).
    • Fractions (1/2) with fraction character (½)   Replaces typed fractions (1/2) with a single character fraction (½).
    • Ordinals (1st) with superscript   Replaces ordinal numbers that show the relative position of an item in a sequence (for example, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) with superscript ( ).
    • Hyphens (--) with dash ()   Replaces a double hyphen (--) with an em dash (); replaces a single hyphen with a space before and after ( - ) with an en dash ().
    • Smiley faces :-) and arrows ==> with special symbols   Replaces typed smiley faces and arrows with equivalent character symbols.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Save cell styles to use in all new workbooks

If you want to make the cell styles (style: A combination of formatting characteristics, such as font, font size, and indentation, that you name and store as a set. When you apply a style, all of the formatting instructions in that style are applied at one time.) that you create in or copy into a workbook available in all future workbooks, you can save them in a template (template: A workbook that you create and use as the basis for other similar workbooks. You can create templates for workbooks and worksheets. The default template for workbooks is called Book.xlt. The default template for worksheets is called Sheet.xlt.) that is used for all new workbooks.

  1. Open the workbook that contains the styles that you want to make available.
  2. Click the Microsoft Office Button , click New and then, under Blank and recent, double-click Blank Workbook.
  3. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

  1. Click Merge Styles.
  2. In the Merge Styles dialog box, in the Merge styles from box, click the workbook that contains the styles that you want to copy, and then click OK.
  3. If both workbooks contain styles that have identical names, you must indicate whether you want to merge these styles by doing the following:
    • To replace the styles in the active workbook with the copied styles, click Yes.
    • To keep the styles in the active workbook as they are, click No.

 Note    Excel displays this message only once, regardless of the number of pairs of identical style names.

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Save As.
  2. In the File name box, type Book.
  3. In the Save as type box, click Excel Template, or click Excel Macro-Enabled Template if the workbook contains macros that you want to make available in the template.
  4. In the box where you specify the location in which to save a file, locate and select the XLSTART folder.

 Note    In Windows Vista, the XLSTART folder is typically located in C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART folder. In Microsoft Windows XP, the XLSTART folder is typically located in C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART folder.

  1. Click Save.

 Note    After you exit and restart Excel, the cell styles that you saved in Book.xltx (or Book.xltm) will be available in all new workbooks that you create.


See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Enable or disable automatic extending of formats and formulas to additional rows

By default, Microsoft Office Excel automatically formats new data that you type at the end of a range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) to match the preceding rows, if those formats appear in at least three of the five last rows preceding the new row. Excel also automatically copies formulas that have been repeated in at least three of five last rows preceding the new row, and extends them to the new row.

You can turn this option on or off as needed.

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Excel Options.
  2. In the Advanced category, under Editing options, select or clear the Extend data range formats and formulas check box to turn this option on or off.

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Format numbers as text

If you don't want a number to be treated as a value that can be calculated (for example, an item number), you can format that number as text. A number that is formatted as text is left-aligned instead of right-aligned and appears exactly as you typed it. It is stored as text and cannot be included in any calculation.

  1. Select the cell or range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells that contains the numbers that you want to format as text.

How to select a cell or a range

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

Tip  You can also select empty cells, and then enter numbers after you format the cells as text. Those numbers will be formatted as text.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the arrow next to the Number Format box, and then click Text.

 Note    If you don't see the Text option, use the scroll bar to scroll to the end of the list.

Tips

  • To use decimal places in numbers that are stored as text, you may need to include the decimal points when you type the numbers.
  • You can also use the TEXT function to convert a value to text in a specific number format.


See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Turn on or off drag-and-drop editing

By default, drag-and-drop editing is turned on so that you can drag the pointer to move and copy text. This option can be turned off.

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Project

Publisher

Word

Excel

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Excel Options.
  2. Click Advanced.
  3. Under Editing options, select or clear the Enable fill handle and cell drag-and-drop check box.

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Outlook

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. In the Options dialog box, click the Mail Format tab.
  3. Under Editor options, click Editor Options.
  4. In the Editor Options dialog box, click Advanced.
  5. Under Editing Options, select or clear the Allow text to be dragged and dropped check box.

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PowerPoint

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click PowerPoint Options.
  2. Click Advanced.
  3. Under Editing options, select or clear the Allow text to be dragged and dropped check box.

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Project

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. In the Options dialog box, click the Edit tab, and then select or clear the Allow cell drag and drop check box.

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Publisher

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. In the Options dialog box, click the Edit tab, and then select or clear the Drag-and-drop text editing check box.

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Word

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Word Options.
  2. Click Advanced.
  3. Under Editing options, select or clear the Allow text to be dragged and dropped check box.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Format text as strikethrough

  1. Select the cell, range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, text, or characters that you want to format.

How to select a cell, a range, or text

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Format Cell Font dialog box launcher next to Font.

Keyboard shortcut  You can also press CTRL+SHIFT+F or CTRL+1 to quickly display the Font tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

  1. Under Effects, select the Strikethrough check box.

Keyboard shortcut  To quickly apply or remove strikethrough formatting without using the dialog box, press CTRL+5.


See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Format text as superscript or subscript

  1. Select the cell, range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, text, or characters that you want to format.

How to select cells, ranges, or text

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Format Cell Font dialog box launcher next to Font.

Keyboard shortcut  You can also press CTRL+SHIFT+F or CTRL+1 to quickly display the Font tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

  1. Under Effects, select the Superscript or Subscript check box.


See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Mimic a watermark in Excel

Watermark functionality is not available in Microsoft Office Excel. However, you can mimic a watermark in one of two ways.

You can display watermark information on every printed page  for example, to indicate that the worksheet data is confidential or a draft copy  by inserting a picture that contains the watermark information in a header or footer. That picture then appears behind the worksheet data, starting at the top or bottom of every page. You can also resize or scale the picture to fill the whole page.

You can also use WordArt on top of the worksheet data to indicate that the data is confidential or a draft copy.

What do you want to do?

Use a header or footer to mimic a watermark

Use WordArt to mimic a watermark

Use a picture in a header or footer to mimic a watermark

  1. In a drawing program, such as Paintbrush, create a picture that you want to use as a watermark.
  2. In Excel, click the worksheet that you want to display with the watermark.

 Note    Make sure that only one worksheet is selected.

  1. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Header & Footer.

  1. Under Header, click either the left, center, or right header selection box.
  2. On the Design tab of the Header & Footer Tools, in the Header & Footer elements group, click Picture and then find the picture that you want to insert.

  1. Double-click the picture to insert it in the header section box.
  2. To resize or scale the picture, click Format Picture in the Header & Footer elements group, and then, in the Format Picture dialog box, select the options that you want on the Size tab.

 Notes 

  • Changes to the picture or picture format take effect immediately and cannot be undone.
  • If you want to add blank space above or below a picture, in the header selection box that contains the picture, click before or after &[Picture], and then press ENTER to start a new line.
  • To replace a picture, select &[Picture], click Picture , and then click Replace.
  • Before printing, make sure that the header or footer margin has sufficient space for the custom header or footer.
  • To delete a picture, select &[Picture] and then press DELETE.
  • To switch from Page Layout view to Normal view, select any cell, click the View tab, and then, in the Workbook Views group, click Normal.

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Use WordArt to mimic a watermark

  1. Click the worksheet location where you want to display the watermark.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click WordArt.

  1. Click the WordArt style that you want to use.

Tip  For example, use Fill - White Drop Shadow, Fill - Text 1, Inner Shadow, or Fill - White, Warm Matte Bevel.

  1. Type the text that you want to use for the watermark.
  2. To change the size of the WordArt, click the WordArt, and then on the Format tab, in the Size group, in the Shape Height and Shape Width boxes, enter the size that you want.

Tip  You can also drag the sizing handles to the size that you want.

  1. To add transparency so that you can see more of the worksheet data underneath the WordArt, do the following:
    1. Right-click the WordArt, and click Format Shape.
    2. In the Fill category, under Fill, click Solid Fill.
    3. Drag the Transparency slider to the percentage of transparency that you want, or enter the percentage in the Transparency box.
  2. If you want to rotate the WordArt, do the following:
    1. Click the WordArt.
    2. On the Format tab, in the Arrange group, click Rotate.

    1. Click More Rotation Options.
    2. On the Size tab, under Size and rotate, in the Rotation box, enter the degree of rotation that you want.
    3. Click Close.

Tip  You can also drag the rotation handle (rotation handle: Round arrow that appears at the top of a selected shape that you can use to rotate the shape.) in the direction that you want to rotate the WordArt.

 Note    You cannot use WordArt in a header or footer to display it in the background. However, if you create the WordArt in an empty worksheet that does not display gridlines (clear the Gridlines check box in the Show/Hide group on the View tab), you can press PRINT SCREEN to capture the WordArt, and then paste the captured WordArt into a drawing program. You can then insert the picture that you created in the drawing program into a header and footer as described in Use a picture in a header or footer to mimic a watermark.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Format an Excel table

Microsoft Office Excel provides numerous predefined table styles (or quick styles) that you can use to quickly format a table. If the predefined table styles don't meet your needs, you can create and apply a custom table style. Although you can delete only a custom table style, you can remove any table style so that it is no longer applied to the data.

You can further adjust the table formatting by choosing Quick Styles options for table elements, such as header and total rows, first and last columns, and banded rows and columns.

What do you want to do?

Choose a table style when you create a table

Apply a table style to an existing table

Create or delete a custom table style

Remove a table style

Choose table style options to format the table elements

Choose a table style when you create a table

  1. On the worksheet, select a range of cells that you want to quickly format as a table.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Format as Table.

  1. Under Light, Medium, or Dark, click the table style that you want to use.

Tip  Custom table styles are available under Custom after you create one or more of them. For information on how to create a custom table style, see Create or delete a custom table style.

 Note    When you use Format as Table, Office Excel automatically inserts a table. If you don't want to work with your data in a table, you can convert the table to a regular range while keeping the table style formatting that you applied. For more information, see Convert an Excel table to a range of data.

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Apply a table style to an existing table

  1. On the worksheet, select the table to which you want to apply a table style.

Tip  This displays the Table Tools, adding a Design tab.

  1. On the Design tab, in the Table Styles group, do one of the following:
    • Click the table style that you want to use.

Tip  Use the arrow buttons to scroll through the available table styles.

    • Click the More button , and then under Light, Medium, or Dark, click the table style that you want to use.

 Note    When the Excel window is reduced in size, table styles will be available in the Table Quick Styles gallery in the Table Styles group.

Tip  Custom table styles are available under Custom after you create one or more of them. For information on how to create a custom table style, see Create or delete a custom table style.

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Create or delete a custom table style

Important  Custom table styles that you create are stored only in the current workbook and therefore are not available in other workbooks.

Create a custom table style

  1. To create a custom table style, do one of the following:
    • On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Format as Table.

    • Select an existing table to display the Table Tools, and then on the Design tab, in the Table Styles group, click the More button .
  1. Click New Table Style.
  2. In the Name box, type a name for the new table style.
  3. In the Table Element box, do one of the following:
    • To format an element, click the element, and then click Format.
    • To remove existing formatting from an element, click the element, and then click Clear.
  4. On the Font, Border, and Fill tabs, select the formatting options that you want, and then click OK.

Tip  Under Preview, you can see how the formatting changes that you made affect the table.

  1. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for all table elements that you want to customize.
  2. To use the new table style as the default table style in the current workbook, select the Set as default table quick style for this document check box.

Delete a custom table style

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Format as Table.

  1. Under Custom, right-click the table style that you want to delete, and then click Delete on the shortcut menu.

 Note    All tables in the current workbook that are using that table style will be displayed in the default table format.

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Remove a table style

  1. On the worksheet, select the table from which you want to remove the current table style.

Tip  This displays the Table Tools, adding a Design tab.

  1. On the Design tab, in the Table Styles group, click the More button .

  1. Click Clear.

Tip  The table will be displayed in the default table format.

 Note    Removing a table style does not remove the table. If you don't want to work with your data in a table, you can convert the table to a regular range. For more information, see Convert an Excel table to a range of data.

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Choose table style options to format the table elements

  1. On the worksheet, select the table to which you want to apply table style options.

Tip  This displays the Table Tools, adding a Design tab.

  1. On the Design tab, in the Table Style Options group, do one of the following:
    • To turn the header row on or off, select or clear the Header Row check box.
    • To turn the totals row on or off, select or clear the Totals Row check box.
    • To display special formatting for the first column of the table, select the First Column check box.
    • To display special formatting for the last column of the table, select the Last Column check box.
    • To display odd and even rows differently for ease of reading, select the Banded Rows check box.
    • To display odd and even columns differently for ease of reading, select the Banded Columns check box.

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See Also

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Ways to format a worksheet

In Microsoft Office Excel 2007, formatting worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always stored in a workbook.) (or sheet) data is easier than ever. You can use several fast and simple ways to create professional-looking worksheets that display your data effectively. For example, you can use document themes (theme: A set of unified design elements that provides a look for your document by using color, fonts, and graphics.) for a uniform look throughout all of your 2007 Microsoft Office system documents, styles (style: A combination of formatting characteristics, such as font, font size, and indentation, that you name and store as a set. When you apply a style, all of the formatting instructions in that style are applied at one time.) to apply predefined formats, and other manual formatting features to highlight important data.

In this article

Working with document themes

Using styles to quickly format data

Formatting data manually

Using borders and colors to emphasize data

Changing the alignment or orientation of data

Copying an existing format to other data

Working with document themes

A document theme is a predefined set of colors, fonts, and effects (such as line styles and fill effects) that will be available when you format your worksheet data or other items, such as tables, PivotTables, or charts. For a uniform and professional look, a document theme can be applied to all of your Excel workbooks and other 2007 Office release documents.

Your company may provide a corporate document theme that you can use, or you can choose from a variety of predefined document themes that are available in Excel. If needed, you can also create your own document theme by changing any or all of the theme colors, fonts, or effects that a document theme is based on.

Before you format the data on your worksheet, you may want to apply the document theme that you want to use, so that the formatting that you apply to your worksheet data can use the colors, fonts, and effects that are determined by that document theme.

For information on how to work with document themes, see Apply or customize a document theme.

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Using styles to quickly format data

A style is a predefined, often theme-based format that you can apply to change the look of data, tables, charts, PivotTables, shapes, or diagrams. If predefined styles don't meet your needs, you can customize a style. For charts, you can customize a chart style and save it as a chart template that you can use again.

Depending on the data that you want to format, you can use the following styles in Excel:

Excel has several predefined cell styles that you can apply. If needed, you can modify a predefined cell style to create a custom cell style.

Some cell styles are based on the document theme that is applied to the entire workbook. When you switch to another document theme, these cell styles are updated to match the new document theme.

For information on how to work with cell styles, see Apply, create, or remove a cell style.

  • Table styles  To quickly add designer-quality, professional formatting to an Excel table, you can apply a predefined or custom table style. When you choose one of the predefined alternate-row styles, Excel maintains the alternating row pattern when you filter, hide, or rearrange rows.

For information on how to work with table styles, see Format an Excel table.

  • PivotTable styles  To format a PivotTable, you can quickly apply a predefined or custom PivotTable style. Just like with Excel tables, you can choose a predefined alternate-row style that retains the alternate row pattern when you filter, hide, or rearrange rows.

For information on how to work with PivotTable styles, see Design the layout and format of a PivotTable report.

  • Chart styles  You apply a predefined style to your chart. Excel provides a variety of useful predefined chart styles that you can choose from, and you can customize a style further if needed by manually changing the style of individual chart elements. You cannot save a custom chart style, but you can save the entire chart as a chart template that you can use to create a similar chart.

For information on how to work with chart styles, see Change the layout or style of a chart.

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Formatting data manually

To make specific data (such as text or numbers) stand out, you can format the data manually. Manual formatting is not based on the document theme of your workbook unless you choose a theme font or use theme colors  manual formatting stays the same when you change the document theme. You can manually format all of the data in a cell or range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) at the same time, but you can also use this method to format individual characters.

For information on how to format data manually, see:

Change the font or font size in Excel

Change the color of text

Format text as strikethrough

Format text as superscript or subscript

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Using borders and colors to emphasize data

To distinguish between different types of information on a worksheet and to make a worksheet easier to scan, you can add borders around cells or ranges. For enhanced visibility and to draw attention to specific data, you can also shade the cells with a solid background color or a specific color pattern.

If you want to add a colorful background to all of your worksheet data, you can also use a picture as a sheet background. However, a sheet background cannot be printed  a background only enhances the onscreen display of your worksheet.

For information on how to use borders and colors, see:

Apply or remove cell borders on a worksheet

Apply or remove cell shading

Add or remove a sheet background

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Changing the alignment or orientation of data

For the optimal display of the data on your worksheet, you may want to reposition the text within a cell. You can change the alignment of the cell contents, use indentation for better spacing, or display the data at a different angle by rotating it.

Rotating data is especially useful when column headings are wider than the data in the column. Instead of creating unnecessarily wide columns or abbreviated labels, you can rotate the column heading text.

For information on how to change the alignment or orientation of data, see Reposition the data in a cell.

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Copying an existing format to other data

If you have already formatted some cells on a worksheet the way that you want, you can simply copy the formatting to other cells or ranges. By using the Paste Special command (Home tab, Clipboard group, Paste button), you can paste only the formats of the copied data, but you can also use the Format Painter (Home tab, Clipboard group) to copy and paste formats to other cells or ranges.

Also, data range formats are automatically extended to additional rows when you enter rows at the end of a data range that you have already formatted, and the formats appear in at least three of five preceding rows. The option to extend data range formats and formulas is on by default, but you can turn it on or off as needed (Microsoft Office Button , Excel Options, Advanced category).

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Reposition the data in a cell

For the optimal display of the data on your worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always stored in a workbook.), you may want to reposition the data within a cell. You can change the alignment of the cell contents, use indentation for better spacing, or display the data at a different angle by rotating it.

  1. Select the cell or range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells that contains the data that you want to reposition.

How to select a cell or a range

To select

Do this

A single cell

Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.

A range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection.

You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.

A large range of cells

Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.

All cells on a worksheet

Click the Select All button.

To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A.

 Note    If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.

Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges

Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges.

You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again.

 Note    You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.

An entire row or column

Click the row or column heading.

Row heading

Column heading

You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

 Note    If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.

Adjacent rows or columns

Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.

Nonadjacent rows or columns

Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.

The first or last cell in a row or column

Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).

The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table

Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list.

Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.

Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).

Cells to the beginning of the worksheet

Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.

More or fewer cells than the active selection

Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell (active cell: The selected cell in which data is entered when you begin typing. Only one cell is active at a time. The active cell is bounded by a heavy border.) and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, do one or more of the following:

    • To change the vertical alignment of cell contents, click Top Align , Middle Align , or Bottom Align .
    • To change the horizontal alignment of cell contents, click Align Text Left , Center , or Align Text Right .
    • To change the indentation of cell contents, click Decrease Indent or Increase Indent .
    • To rotate the cell contents, click Orientation , and then select the rotation option that you want.
    • To use additional text alignment options, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Alignment, and then on the Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box, select the options that you want.

Tip  To center or align data that spans several columns or rows, such as column and row labels, first click Merge and Center to merge (merged cell: A single cell that is created by combining two or more selected cells. The cell reference for a merged cell is the upper-left cell in the original selected range.) a selected range of cells. Then you can select the merged cell and reposition its cell contents as described earlier in this procedure.

 Note    Microsoft Office Excel cannot rotate indented cells or cells that are formatted with the Center Across Selection or Fill alignment option in the Horizontal box (Format Cells dialog box, Alignment tab). If all of the selected cells have these conflicting alignment formats, the text rotation options under Orientation are not available. If the selection includes cells that are formatted with other, nonconflicting alignment options, the rotation options are available. However, cells that are formatted with a conflicting alignment format are not rotated.

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Preview formats, fonts, and styles before you apply them

You can quickly see how formatting options like fonts and Quick Styles will look in place before you commit to them, by using the Live Preview feature that is included in several programs in the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

By pointing to various formatting choices, you can instantly see how those choices would appear on selected text and objects. For example, if you are trying to choose a font in Microsoft Office Word, just move the pointer down the font list to see the effect of each font on any text that you have selected. When you finish previewing formats and styles, move the pointer over the format or style that you like, and then click to apply it.

What do you want to do?

Preview font formatting changes

Preview paragraph formatting changes

Preview Quick Style formatting changes

Preview picture formatting changes

Turn on or off Live Preview

Preview font formatting changes

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do any of the following:
    • Click the arrow next to the Font box, and then move the pointer over the fonts that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Font Size box, and then move the pointer over the font sizes that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Fill Color button, and then move the pointer over the highlight or fill colors that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Font Color button, and then move the pointer over the font colors that you want to preview.
  3. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected font name, font size, or color in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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Outlook

  1. Create a new Outlook item (for example, a new e-mail message).
  2. In the message body, select the text that you want to format.
  3. On the Message tab, in the Basic Text group, do any of the following:
    • Click the arrow next to the Font box, and then move the pointer over the fonts that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Font Size box, and then move the pointer over the font sizes that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Text Highlight Color button, and then move the pointer over the highlight colors that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Font Color button, and then move the pointer over the font colors that you want to preview.
  4. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected font name, font size, or color in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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PowerPoint

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do any of the following:
    • Click the arrow next to the Font box, and then move the pointer over the fonts that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Font Size box, and then move the pointer over the font sizes that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Font Color button, and then move the pointer over the font colors that you want to preview.
  3. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected font name, font size, or color in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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Word

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do any of the following:
    • Click the arrow next to the Font box, and then move the pointer over the fonts that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Font Size box, and then move the pointer over the font sizes that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Text Highlight Color button, and then move the pointer over the highlight or fill colors that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Font Color button, and then move the pointer over the font colors that you want to preview.
  3. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected font name, font size, or color in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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Preview paragraph formatting changes

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Outlook

PowerPoint

Word

Outlook

  1. Create a new Outlook item (for example, a new e-mail message).
  2. In the message body, select the text that you want to format.
  3. On the Format Text tab, in the Paragraph group, do any of the following:
    • Click the arrow next to the Bullets button, and then move the pointer over the bulleted list styles that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Numbering button, and then move the pointer over the numbered list styles that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Shading button, and then move the pointer over the shading colors that you want to preview.
  4. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected paragraph style or color in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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PowerPoint

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, do any of the following:
    • Click the arrow next to the Bullets button, and then move the pointer over the bulleted list styles that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Numbering button, and then move the pointer over the numbered list styles that you want to preview.
  3. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected paragraph style or color in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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Word

  1. Select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, do any of the following:
    • Click the arrow next to the Bullets button, and then move the pointer over the bulleted list styles that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Numbering button, and then move the pointer over the numbered list styles that you want to preview.
    • Click the arrow next to the Shading button (Office Word 2007 only), and then move the pointer over the shading colors that you want to preview.
  3. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected paragraph style or color in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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Preview Quick Style formatting changes

Quick Styles are predefined formatting combinations of fonts, colors, and paragraph formatting that are designed to help save you time. You can apply a Quick Style from the gallery, customize the existing styles, or create your own.

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

  1. Select the cells that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, do any of the following:
    • Click Format as Table, and then pause on the various styles to see the styles.

 Note    To see various styles applied to your table, you must have previously applied a table style.

    • Click Cell Styles, and then pause on the various styles to see the styles.
  1. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected style in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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Outlook

  1. Create a new Outlook item (for example, a new e-mail message).
  2. In the message body, select the text that you want to format.
  3. On the Format Text tab, in the Styles group, do one of the following:
    • Move the pointer over any of the styles in the gallery that you want to preview.
    • Click Change Styles, point to Style Set, and then move the pointer over any of the choices in the list.
  4. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected style in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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PowerPoint

  1. Create or open a presentation.
  2. On the Design tab, in the Themes group, do any of the following:
    • In the Quick Styles gallery, move the pointer over any of the themes that you want to preview.

Tip  To view and preview additional choices, click the More arrow .

    • Click Colors, and then move the pointer over any of the color style choices in the list.
    • Click Fonts, and then move the pointer over any of the font style choices in the list.
  1. On the Animations tab, in the Transitions to This Slide group, do the following:
    • In the gallery, move the pointer over any of the animation styles that you want to preview.

Tip  To view and preview additional choices, click the More arrow .

  1. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected style in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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Word

  1. Select the text or paragraph that you want to format.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, do any of the following:
    • In the Quick Styles gallery, move the pointer over any of the styles that you want to preview.

Tip  Click the More arrow to view and preview additional choices.

    • Click Change Styles, point to Style Set, and then move the pointer over any of the choices in the list.
  1. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected style in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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Preview picture formatting changes

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

  1. Select a picture or graphic that you want to format.
  2. On the Format tab (Picture Tools), in the Picture Styles group, do any of the following:

    • In the gallery, move the pointer over any of the picture styles that you want to preview.

Tip  To view and preview additional choices, click the More arrow .

    • Click Picture Border, and then move the pointer over any of the picture borders in the list.
    • Click Picture Effects, point to an effects category, and then move the pointer over any of the effects in the list.
  1. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected style in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

 Note    Previewing and applying styles to pictures do not modify your original image files. You can safely preview, apply, change, and remove picture styles as often as you want.

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Outlook

  1. Create a new Outlook item (for example, a new e-mail message).
  2. In the message body, insert and then select the picture or graphic that you want to format.
  3. On the Format tab (Picture Tools), in the Picture Styles group, do any of the following:
    • In the gallery, move the pointer over any of the picture styles that you want to preview.

Tip  To view and preview additional choices, click the More arrow .

    • Click Picture Border, and then move the pointer over any of the picture borders in the list.
    • Click Picture Effects, point to an effects category, and then move the pointer over any of the effects in the list.
  1. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected style in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

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PowerPoint

  1. Select a picture or graphic that you want to format.
  2. On the Format tab (Picture Tools), in the Picture Styles group, do any of the following:

    • In the gallery, move the pointer over any of the picture styles that you want to preview.

Tip  To view and preview additional choices, click the More arrow .

    • Click Picture Border, and then move the pointer over any of the picture borders in the list.
    • Click Picture Effects, point to an effects category, and then move the pointer over any of the effects in the list.
  1. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected style in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

 Note    Previewing and applying styles to pictures do not modify your original image files. You can safely preview, apply, change, and remove picture styles as often as you want.

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Word

  1. Select a picture or graphic that you want to format.
  2. On the Format tab (Picture Tools), in the Picture Styles group, do any of the following:

    • In the gallery, move the pointer over any of the picture styles that you want to preview.

Tip  To view and preview additional choices, click the More arrow .

    • Click Picture Border, and then move the pointer over any of the picture borders in the list.
    • Click Picture Effects, point to an effects category, and then move the pointer over any of the effects in the list.
  1. When you finish previewing the formatting choices, do one of the following:
    • To apply the previewed formatting, click the selected style in the list.
    • To cancel live previewing without applying any changes, press ESC.

 Note    Previewing and applying styles to pictures do not modify your original image files. You can safely preview, apply, change, and remove picture styles as often as you want.

The Live Preview feature works for many other formatting choices in Office Excel 2007, Office Outlook 2007, Office PowerPoint 2007, and Office Word 2007, including tables, charts, shapes, and SmartArt graphics. For more information, see also:

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Turn on or off Live Preview

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Excel Options.
  2. Click Popular, and then select or clear the Enable Live Preview check box.

 Note    By default, the Live Preview feature is turned on in all 2007 Microsoft Office system programs that support it. Each program remembers your Live Preview preference independently from the other programs. For example, you can choose to turn off Live Preview in Office PowerPoint 2007 and leave it turned on in Office Word 2007.

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Outlook

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Outlook Options.
  2. Click Popular, and then select or clear the Enable Live Preview check box.

 Note    By default, the Live Preview feature is turned on in all 2007 Microsoft Office system programs that support it. Each program remembers your Live Preview preference independently from the other programs. For example, you can choose to turn off Live Preview in Office PowerPoint 2007 and leave it turned on in Office Word 2007.

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PowerPoint

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click PowerPoint Options.
  2. Click Popular, and then select or clear the Enable Live Preview check box.

 Note    By default, the Live Preview feature is turned on in all 2007 Microsoft Office system programs that support it. Each program remembers your Live Preview preference independently from the other programs. For example, you can choose to turn off Live Preview in Office PowerPoint 2007 and leave it turned on in Office Word 2007.

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Word

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Word Options.
  2. Click Popular, and then select or clear the Enable Live Preview check box.

 Note    By default, the Live Preview feature is turned on in all 2007 Microsoft Office system programs that support it. Each program remembers your Live Preview preference independently from the other programs. For example, you can choose to turn off Live Preview in Office PowerPoint 2007 and leave it turned on in Office Word 2007.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Rename an Excel table

When you create Excel tables, Microsoft Office Excel assigns a default name to each table by using the following naming convention: Table1, Table2, and so on. However, you can change the name of each table to make it more meaningful to you.

  1. In the worksheet, click the table that you want to rename.

This displays the Table Tools, adding the Design tab.

  1. On the Design tab, in the Properties group, click the Table Name text box.
  2. Type a new name.
  3. Press ENTER.

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply a table style without inserting an Excel table

You can quickly format your worksheet data by applying a predefined table style. However, when you apply a predefined table style, a Microsoft Office Excel 2007 table is automatically inserted for the selected data. If you don't want to work with your data in a table, you can convert the table to a regular range while keeping the table style formatting that you applied.

  1. On the worksheet, select a range of cells that you want to format by applying a predefined table style.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Format as Table.

  1. Under Light, Medium, or Dark, click the table style that you want to use.

Tip  Custom table styles are available under Custom after you create one or more of them. For information on how to create a custom table style, see Format an Excel table.

  1. Click anywhere in the table.

Tip  This displays the Table Tools, adding the Design tab.

  1. On the Design tab, in the Tools group, click Convert to Range.

Tip  You can also right-click the table, click Table, and then click Convert to Range.

 

 

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Copy the formatting of a shape, object, worksheet cell, or text by using Format Painter

You can use Format Painter to copy the formatting (such as fills or borders) of shapes or objects (object: A table, chart, graphic, equation, or other form of information. Objects created in one application, for example spreadsheets, and linked or embedded in another application are OLE objects.), text, or cells in a Microsoft Office Excel worksheet to a different group of shapes, objects, text, or cells.

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

For conditional formatting, or formatting that changes the appearance of a cell range based on a condition (or criteria), see Add, change, or clear conditional formats. To copy cells see Copy specific cell contents or attributes in a worksheet. Also see Move or copy cells and cell contents or Move or copy rows and columns.

  1. Select the shape, object (object: A table, chart, graphic, equation, or other form of information. Objects created in one application, for example spreadsheets, and linked or embedded in another application are OLE objects.), text, or worksheet cell that has the formatting that you want to copy.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to one other shape, object, cell, or text selection, click Format Painter.
    • To copy the formatting to multiple shapes, objects, cells, or text selections, double-click Format Painter.

The pointer changes to a paintbrush.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to a single shape, object, or piece of text, click the object or text that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to a single cell or range of cells, drag the mouse pointer across the cell or range of cells that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to several cells or ranges of cells, drag the mouse pointer across the cells or ranges of cells that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to several text selections, click each text selection that you want to format.
  2. To stop formatting, press ESC.

 Notes 

  • For text selections with multiple words, clicking within a word applies the formatting to that word only, and dragging across the text selection applies the formatting to all of the words.
  • To copy the width of one column to a second column, select the heading of the first column, click Format Painter, and then click the heading of the column that you want to apply the column width to.
  • You can copy formatting from a picture (such as the picture's border or the shape that the picture appears in) by using the steps above.
  • You can select WordArt (WordArt: Text objects you create with ready-made effects to which you can apply additional formatting options.) text and then use Format Painter to apply the font and font size to other text as long as the text is within a shape. It is not possible to apply WordArt formatting directly to text in a worksheet.
  • If you apply three-dimensional (3-D) effects, such as a 3-D WordArt style or Warp Transform effect, to text in a shape (to copy the effects applied to the text in the shape), you must use Format Painter to copy all of the shape formatting and not just the text formatting.

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Outlook

  1. Select the shape, object (object: A table, chart, graphic, equation, or other form of information. Objects created in one application, for example spreadsheets, and linked or embedded in another application are OLE objects.), or text that has the formatting that you want to copy.
  2. On the Message tab, in the Clipboard group, do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to one other shape, object, cell, or text selection, click Format Painter.
    • To copy the formatting to multiple shapes, objects, cells, or text selections, double-click Format Painter.

The pointer changes to a paintbrush.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to a single shape, object or piece of text, click the shape, object or text that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to several text selections, click each text selection that you want to format.
  2. To stop formatting, press ESC.

 Notes 

  • For text selections with multiple words, clicking within a word applies the formatting to that word only, and dragging across the text selection applies the formatting to all of the words.
  • You can copy formatting from a picture (such as the picture's border or the shape that the picture appears in) by using the steps above.

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PowerPoint

For information on the changing the color of text or changing fonts, see Change the color of text or Change the fonts. For more information on copying slides, see Copy and paste your slides.

  1. Select the shape, object (object: A table, chart, graphic, equation, or other form of information. Objects created in one application, for example spreadsheets, and linked or embedded in another application are OLE objects.), text, or worksheet cell that has the formatting that you want to copy.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to one other shape, object, cell, or text selection, click Format Painter.
    • To copy the formatting to multiple shape, objects, cells, or text selections, double-click Format Painter.

The pointer changes to a paintbrush.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To copy the formatting to a single shape, object or piece of text, click the shape, object or text that you want to format.
    • To copy the formatting to several text selections, click each text selection that you want to format.
  2. To stop formatting, press ESC.

 Notes 

  • For text selections with multiple words, clicking within a word applies the formatting to that word only, and dragging across the text selection applies the formatting to all of the words.
  • You can copy formatting from a picture (such as the picture's border or the shape that the picture appears in) by using the steps above.
  • You can select WordArt (WordArt: Text objects you create with ready-made effects to which you can apply additional formatting options.) text and then use Format Painter to apply the font and font size to other text as long as the text is within a shape.
  • If you apply three-dimensional (3-D) effects, such as a 3-D WordArt style or Warp Transform effect, to text in a shape (to copy the effects applied to the text in the shape), you must use Format Painter to copy all of the shape formatting and not just the text formatting.
  • You can also use CTRL+SHIFT+C to copy formatting and CTRL+SHIFT+V to paste formatting.

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Word

For information on using the Format Painter in Word, see Use the Format Painter.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Change the default theme

A theme (theme: A combination of theme colors, theme fonts, and theme effects. A theme may be applied to a file as a single selection.) is a quick and easy way to give a professional and modern look to an entire 2007 Microsoft Office system document. A document theme is a set of formatting choices that include a set of theme colors (theme colors: A set of colors that is used in a file. Theme colors, theme fonts, and theme effects compose a theme.), a set of theme fonts (theme fonts: A set of major and minor fonts that is applied to a file. Theme fonts, theme colors, and theme effects compose a theme.) (including heading and body text fonts), and a set of theme effects (theme effects: A set of visual attributes that is applied to elements in a file. Theme effects, theme colors, and theme fonts compose a theme.) (including lines and fill effects).

Every document that you create by using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, Microsoft Office Word 2007, or Microsoft Office Excel 2007 has a theme inside it  even blank, new documents. The default theme is Office Theme, with a white background and dark, subtle colors. When you apply a new theme, Office Theme is replaced by a new look, such as the dark background and bright colors of the Metro theme. If you want a different default theme from the Office Theme, you can save time by pre-configuring your document with a different default theme. All content (such as text, tables, and SmartArt graphics) is dynamically linked to the theme, so changing the theme automatically changes the look of your content, unless you customize it.

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

To change the default theme in Office Excel 2007, you need to create a new, default workbook template (template: A workbook that you create and use as the basis for other similar workbooks. You can create templates for workbooks and worksheets. The default template for workbooks is called Book.xlt. The default template for worksheets is called Sheet.xlt.) or a new, default worksheet template. A workbook template can contain multiple worksheets, whereas a worksheet template contains only one worksheet. Workbook and worksheet templates can contain default text, such as page headers, column and row labels, formulas, themes, and other formatting information. The default workbook template is automatically used to create new workbooks, and the default worksheet template is used to automatically create new worksheets.

Create the default template from a new blank workbook

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click New.
  2. Under Templates, click Blank and recent, and then under Blank and recent, double-click Blank Workbook.

Keyboard shortcut  Press CTRL+N

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Themes.

  1. To apply a theme to the workbook that every new workbook will use, do one of the following:
    • To apply a predefined document theme, under Built-In, click the document theme that you want to use.
    • To apply a custom document theme that you created, under Custom, click the document theme that you want to use.

 Note    Custom is available only if you create one or more custom document themes. For more information about creating custom document themes, see Apply or customize a document theme.

    • To apply a document theme that is not listed, click Browse for Themes to find it on your computer or on a network location.
    • To search for other document themes on Microsoft Office Online, click More Themes on Microsoft Office Online.
  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , point to Save As, and then click Excel Workbook.
  2. Browse to your XLStart folder, which is located in the directory where Office Excel 2007 or the 2007 Office release is installed (usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12), and then in the File name box, do one of the following:
    • To create a default workbook, enter book.xltx.
    • To create a default worksheet, enter sheet.xltx.
  3. In the Save as type list, click Excel Template (*.xltx), and then click Save.

 Note    Any template in the default XLStart folder opens automatically when you start Excel 2007.

Create the default template from an existing workbook

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click New.
  2. Under Templates, click New from existing, and then in the New from Existing Workbook dialog box, browse to the computer, network, or Internet location that contains the workbook that you want to use.
  3. Click the workbook, and then click Create New.
  4. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Themes.

  1. To apply a theme to the workbook that every new workbook will use, do one of the following:
    • To apply a predefined document theme, under Built-In, click the document theme that you want to use.
    • To apply a custom document theme, under Custom, click the document theme that you want to use.

 Note    Custom is available only if you create one or more custom document themes. For more information about creating custom document themes, see Apply or customize a document theme.

    • To apply a document theme that is not listed, click Browse for Themes to find it on your computer or on a network location.
    • To search for other document themes on Microsoft Office Online, click More Themes on Microsoft Office Online.
  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , point to Save As, and then click Excel Workbook.
  2. Browse to your XLStart folder, which is located in the directory where Office Excel 2007 or the 2007 Microsoft Office system is installed (usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12), and then in the File name box, do one of the following:
    • To create a default workbook, enter book.xltx.
    • To create a default worksheet, enter sheet.xltx.
  3. In the Save as type list, click Excel Template (*.xltx), and then click Save.

 Note    Any template in the default XLStart folder opens automatically when you start Excel 2007.

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PowerPoint

 Note    Unlike Word and Excel, PowerPoint includes background style customization options. To add, customize, and format a background style and to use a picture or texture as a slide background, see Add a background to your presentation.

 Note     For more information about creating custom themes, see Customize a theme in PowerPoint 2007. To apply your custom theme to a presentation, see Apply a theme to your presentation.

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Word

To change the overall look of your Office Word 2007 document, you change both the theme and the style (style: A combination of formatting characteristics, such as font, font size, and indentation, that you name and store as a set. When you apply a style, all of the formatting instructions in that style are applied at one time.) set. You can then set this as the default for all new documents. In Word 2007, the look of a style set is so closely tied to the fonts and colors used in the theme that the theme fonts (theme fonts: A set of major and minor fonts that is applied to a file. Theme fonts, theme colors, and theme effects compose a theme.) and theme colors (theme colors: A set of colors that is used in a file. Theme colors, theme fonts, and theme effects compose a theme.) can be changed both on the Home tab in Change Styles (Styles group), and on the Page Layout tab in the Themes group where you can also change the entire theme.

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click New.
  2. Under Templates, click Blank and recent, and then under Blank and recent, double-click Blank document.

Keyboard shortcut  To open a blank document, press CTRL+N

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Change Styles, point to Style Set, and then click the Quick Style set that you want to use.

The gallery of Quick Styles changes to reflect the new Quick Style set.

  1. Click Change Styles again, point to Colors, and then choose the colors that you want to use.
  2. Click Change Styles again, point to Fonts, and then choose the fonts that you want to use.
  3. To adjust the paragraph or line spacing before setting the default theme, see Adjust the spaces between lines or paragraphs.
  4. Click Change Styles again, and then click Set as Default.

On the Page Layout tab, the buttons in the Themes group update to reflect your changes.

 Note     Custom themes are available only if you create one or more custom document themes. For more information about creating custom document themes, see Apply or customize a document theme.

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