Is it possible to construct characters with diacritical marks, such as the German umlauted a or u or the Spanish enne from within Excel?
	I want to store my customer invoices in a worksheet using different headings. How can I use prompts to enter each item for each entry with Excel?
	How do I prevent Excel from jumping down to the next cell when I press Enter?
	How do I create a custom list to use with the Fill handle?
	How can I format my data in my worksheet?
	How can I enter data in a range on my worksheet?
	How can I fill in a range of values in my worksheet painlessly?
	How do I find a particular piece of data in my worksheet?

Is it possible to construct characters with diacritical marks, such as the German umlauted a or u or the Spanish enne from within Excel?
Keywords: Data Entry, Characters
Posted December 20, 1996

You can type any characters from the ASCII character set by holding down the ALT key while typing in 0+the number of the character you want. For instance, you can enter a German umlauted u (ü) into a cell by typing ALT 0252 followed by ENTER. See the Excel help file on ASCII for a table of available ASCII characters and their numbers.

I want to store my customer invoices in a worksheet. I would like to enter each invoice under the following headings: (Inv. No.)(Inv. Date)(Customer)(P/N)(Qty Shpd)(Unit Price)(Extensions). I would like to use prompts to enter each item for each entry. How can I do this with Excel?
Keywords: Data Entry, Data Form size="2" face="ARIAL, HELVETICA, HELV, SAN SERIF">
Posted December 20, 1996

This sounds like a perfect job for Excel's Data Form. I will give you detailed instructions:

1. Activate the blank worksheet that you will use for your list
2. Enter your headings in the first row. Make them Bold type
3. Enter one line of data below the headings you entered in step 2
4. Use your mouse to highlight the cells containing your headers and your one data row
5. Name this selection database. You can do this by placing your cursor in the Name Box (this is the box directly to the left of the formula bar and directly above the letter A over the first column) and typing in "database" without the quotes and then pressing ENTER
6. Choose - Data - Form from the Excel menu and Excel will display a form that contains a labeled entry box for each heading. This will allow you to Add, Delete and Find records in your list

How do I prevent Excel from jumping down to the next cell when I press Enter?
Keywords: Enter Move Return Cell
Posted August 7, 1996

Select Options under the Tools menu and click the Edit tab. Uncheck the Move Selection After Enter option. This will disable the "automatic jumping down" feature. If you only wish to turn it off temporarily, then you can use the Ctrl+Enter key combination when entering data into a single cell.

How do I create a custom list to use with the Fill handle?
Keywords: Custom List Fill Handle
Posted February 3, 1996

Excel has several built-in lists which will fill in adjacent cells when you drag the fill handle on a selected cell or range. An example would be Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and so forth,

You can create custom lists for almost anything. The easiest way is:

Create your list on a blank worksheet (say for example four divisions of a fictitious company: East Coast, Mid West, Mountain, West Coast)

1. Select the range
2. Choose Tools - Options
3. Click on the Custom List tab
4. Choose the Import button

You can also make a list on-the-fly. Without a range selected:

1. Choose Tools - Options
2. Click on the Custom List tab
3. Select NEW LIST
4. Enter your new list in the List Entries area, separating each item with the enter key
   Note: Custom lists are only for text and cannot start with a number

You can also create lists for a custom sort order. With a cell selected in a list of any type, choose Data - Sort and then the Options tab. You can see that this is picking up the Custom Lists as well. Any custom list made can be used as a custom sort order, if you enter it in the correct order.

How can I format my data in my worksheet?
Keywords: Format Data Worksheet
Posted January 30, 1996

The formats in a cell are separate from the data and can be copied, modified, or changed. This can be done without affecting the values, formulas or data in the cells. Proper cell formatting can increase the readability of your work, place emphasis on the important results, and ease the task of data entry in the proper areas.

Many of your basic formats are contained on the formatting toolbar. If this toolbar is not visible on your screen, form the menu bar select View - Toolbars and check the Formatting box and click OK. This toolbar is a powerful tool and can accomplish most of your formatting needs.

To custom format your worksheet select Format - Cells. This opens up a Format Cells box with tabs for Number, Alignment, Font, Border, Patterns, and Protection formats. This is where you create the custom look for your worksheet that is not available from the formatting toolbar.

To speed up the process of copying formats from one cell to another or to a range of cells, you can utilize the Format Painter located on your standard toolbar. Start by clicking on the cell that has the format that you want to duplicate. Click on the Format Painter button. Select the cell or drag through the cells that you want to format. The format will then be copied into the cells you have selected.

How can I enter data in a range on my worksheet?
Keywords: Data Range Worksheet
Posted January 19, 1996

To fill a range with a specific formula or value, choose one of the following processes:

1. Select the range, type in the formula or value, and press Ctrl+Enter
2. Enter the formula or value, select the range, and then from the Menu bar, choose Edit - Fill. The drop down menu will give you several options from which to select: Down, Right, Up, Left, or Across Worksheets

Shortcut: Use Ctrl+R to select the Right command or Ctrl+D to select the Down command. You can save time by selecting a range before entering data. Use the shortcut keys to move in the range.

Enter - Moves down one row

Shift+Enter - Moves up one row

Tab - Moves right one column

Shift+Tab - Moves left one column

Ctrl+. (period) - Moves from corner to corner in the range

Ctrl+Alt+Right arrow - Moves to the next range in a noncontiguous selection

Ctrl+Alt+Left arrow - Moves to the previous range in a noncontiguous selection

How can I fill in a range of values in my worksheet painlessly?
Keywords: Fill Range Values Worksheet
Posted January 17, 1996

You can use Excel's Series command to fill in a range of values. Select the first cell you want to use for the series and enter a value. Select the range you want to fill. From the menu bar choose Edit - Fill - Series. The dialog box gives you the following options:

In the Series group, choose rows or columns, then select:

• Linear - The next series value is found by adding the step value to the previous value in a series
• Growth - The next series value is found by multiplying the previous value by the step value
• Date - Creates a series of dates based on the option you select in the Date Unit group (Day, Weekday, Month, or Year). If you choose a Linear, Growth, or Date series type, enter a number in the Step Value box. This number uses to increment each value in the series
• AutoFill - Use this to extend a numeric pattern or a text series.

How do I find a particular piece of data in my worksheet?
Keywords: Find Data Worksheet
Posted January 17, 1996

Finding a particular piece of data is quick and easy with Excel's Find dialog box.

1. From the menu bar, choose Edit - Find. Using the dialog box, enter what you want to search for in the Find What edit box. Choose the option in the Search drop-down list to search by rows or by columns.
2. In the Look in drop-down list, select one: Formulas, Values, or Notes. For a case-sensitive search, activate the Match Case check box. If you want your search text to match the entire cell's contents, select the Find Entire Cells Only check box.
3. Select Find Next to search forward (down columns and left to right), and Find Next along with holding down the Shift key to search backward (up columns and right to left).

Shortcut: To display the Find dialog box quickly, use Ctrl+F. Continue to search for the next match by pressing Shift+F4. Find the previous match by pressing Ctrl+Shift+F4.

Back to Top

Back to the FAQ Table of Contents

The Definition of an Upgrade: Take old bugs out, put new ones in.