Editing Cells

Below are several Frequently Asked Questions and answers on the subject of Editing Cells in Excel.


Can I attach sound to my cell notes?

How do I view a cell note using Excel 5.0?

What are cell notes and how do I use them?

Can I copy one of my cell notes to another cell?

How do I delete the cell notes from my worksheet?

Can I edit the contents of the cell directly or must I use the formula bar?

Can I combine the contents of two text cells easily?

How can I update the data on my worksheet without erasing everything in the cell?

How do I delete information in certain cells?

How do I clear the contents of a cell in my worksheet?

Why does Excel display ####### in a cell and how do I fix it?

 

Can I attach sound to my cell notes?
Keywords: Cell Notes Sound Attach
Posted May 16, 1996

Text notes convey information in visual form on your spreadsheet. To emphasize your message audibly and with the benefit of the human voice, you can attach a sound note to your worksheet. Recording messages and inserting them as a note in a cell is an easy procedure.

Excel 95 and earlier incorporate this feature. However, please note that this is not available in Excel 97.

Note: To make voice recordings, you need a sound card with a microphone jack.

To record a sound note:

  1. Select the cell in which you want to add the sound note
  2. From the menu bar, choose Insert - Note to display the Cell Note dialog box
  3. In the Sound Note group, click on the Record button; the Record dialog box will appear
  4. Click on Record and speak your message into the microphone; your notes can be up to two minutes long
  5. To temporarily stop recording, click on the Pause button
  6. When you are done recording, click on the Stop button
  7. To play the message back, click on the Play button
  8. When you are finished, click on OK or press Enter to return to the Cell Note dialog box
  9. Click on OK or press Enter to return to the worksheet

To play a sound note:

  1. From the menu bar, choose Insert - Note to display the Cell Note dialog box
  2. In the Notes in Sheet list, highlight the cell containing the sound not you want to hear
  3. Click on the Play button

To re-record a sound note, you must first erase it:

  1. From the menu bar, choose Insert - Note to display the Cell Note dialog box
  2. In the Notes in Sheet list, highlight the cell containing the sound not you want to erase
  3. Click on the Erase button

How do I view a cell note using Excel 5.0?
Keywords: Cell Notes View
Posted May 16, 1996

Cell notes are used for clarification of a specific cell's contents. The note can remain hidden and only be viewed within the Cell Note dialog box. A note indicator (a red dot) marks each cell that contains a note.

To view a text note, select the cell containing the note:

  1. From the menu bar, choose Insert - Note... This will display the Cell Note dialog box
  2. In the Text Note Box, the note attached to the selected cell will appear
  3. All the worksheet text notes appear in the Notes in Sheet list box
  4. Select an item from this list to display another note
  5. Click on close to return to the worksheet

Shortcut: To view a cell note quickly:

  1. Select the cell and press Shift+F2 or simply double click on the cell
  2. If you are not sure which cell contains the note you want, use the Edit - Find... command to search for a word or phrase from the note
  3. In the Find dialog box, enter the word or phrase in the Find What box and select Notes from the Look in Drop-down list

To print the cell notes with the worksheet:

  1. From the menu bar choose File - Page Setup...
  2. On the Sheet tab, click on the Notes option
  3. The notes will then be printed out at the end of the worksheet

What are cell notes and how do I use them?
Keywords: Cell Notes
Posted March 31, 1996

When designing a worksheet there are times when a comment is needed for clarification of a specific cell's contents. One way to add information is to use cell notes. The cell note is unobtrusive and can be represented by a note indicator (a red dot) to remind you that a cell contains a note. For the most part, these notes remain hidden, and can most effectively be viewed by using the Cell Note dialog box.

In Excel 95, placing your cursor over a cell with a cell note displays part of the note as a tool tip, similar to the little yellow tool tips you see when you hold your mouse over a toolbar button. To add text notes to individual worksheet cells, follow these steps:

  1. Select the cell to which you want to add the note (notes are attached to individual cells)
  2. From the menu bar, choose Insert - Note to display the Cell Note dialog box
  3. Enter the note in the Text Note box and click on the Add button. Excel will display the cell address and the first few characters of the note in the Notes in Sheet list box.
  4. To add a note to another cell, repeat the process

Hint: You can also enter several notes at once while in the dialog box. To do this:

  1. While in the Cell Note dialog box, edit the Cell edit box by typing the cell address (A1) or by clicking on any cell in the worksheet behind the dialog box (you can drag the dialog box out of the way using the title bar).
  2. Add your text in the Text Note area
  3. Click the Add button
  4. Repeat the process for each note
  5. When finished, click the OK button

Hint: The cell note indicator (the little red dots) and the cell tips (using Excel 95) can be hidden from view. To do this, from the menu bar, choose Tools - Options - View tab. Deactivate the Note Indicator check box.

Can I copy one of my cell notes to another cell?
Keywords: Cell Notes Copy
Posted March 31, 1996

A cell note is used for clarification of a specific cell. If you need the same note to be available for more than one cell, you can copy it quickly and easily.

  1. From the menu bar, choose Insert - Note... command to display the Cell Note dialog box
  2. Select the note you want to copy from the Notes in Sheet list box
  3. In the Cell box, enter the address of the cell to which you want to copy the note
  4. Click OK or press Enter

Excel will then copy the note to the new cell. You can also copy a text note using the cut-and-paste method:

  1. Select the cell containing the note and choose Edit - Copy
  2. Select the destination cell and choose Edit - Paste Special
  3. In the Paste Special dialog box, activate Notes
  4. Click OK

Note: This procedure can also be accomplished by using the right-click feature on the mouse.

How do I delete the cell notes from my worksheet?
Keywords: Cell Notes Delete Worksheet
Posted March 31, 1996

If your worksheet contains notes that you no longer need, you can delete them individually or all at once. To delete a note from a cell:

  1. Select the cell
  2. From the menu bar choose Edit - Clear - Notes

You can also delete the note from the Cell Note dialog box:

  1. From the menu bar choose Insert - Note... or double click on the cell that has the note
  2. Select the note you want to delete
  3. Click on the Delete button; Excel displays a message warning you that the note will be permanently deleted.
  4. Click OK or press Enter
  5. Excel returns you to the Cell Note dialog box with the note removed from the cell
  6. Click on Close to return to the worksheet

To delete all the notes in a worksheet:

  1. From the menu bar choose Edit - Go To...
  2. Click on the Special button; Excel displays the Go To Special dialog box
  3. Activate the Notes option
  4. Click OK or press Enter; Excel selects all cells in the worksheet that contain notes (this can also be done by pressing Ctrl+?)
  5. Finally, select the Edit - Clear - Notes command; Excel clears all the notes

Can I edit the contents of the cell directly or must I use the formula bar?
Keywords: Edit Cell Formula Bar
Posted February 8, 1996

The direct-cell editing feature in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 allows you to edit the contents of a cell directly in the cell instead of using the formula bar. To disable/enable this feature, from the menu bar choose Tools - Options - Edit tab. To disable this feature, clear the Edit Directly In Cell check box; to enable this feature make sure the box is checked. Then choose OK.

Can I combine the contents of two text cells easily?
Keywords: Combine Edit Text Cells Contents
Posted January 16, 1996

The ampersand character ("&") is used to combine two cells. If you have a first name in cell A1 and a last name in cell B1, the following formula would combine the two with a space in between.

=A1 & " " & B1

How can I update the data on my worksheet without erasing everything in the cell?
Keywords: Update Edit Cell Erase
Posted Janaury 18, 1996

If you make a mistake or want to update data in a cell, you could retype it which would overwrite the previous contents. However, if your change consists of a single character or value, you could modify the data without erasing everything in the cell. To do this you can edit the text in the formula bar, or if you have In-Cell Editing turned on (Tools - Options - Edit tab - check Edit Directly in Cell), you can edit your text right on the worksheet. To do this:

  1. Select the cell you want to edit
  2. The cell's contents appears in the formula bar
  3. Double-click on the cell or press F2
  4. The insertion point appears inside the cell at the end of the entry
    Note: with In-Cell Editing turned off (unchecked) double-clicking will not work and pressing F2 will move your insertion point into the formula bar.
  5. Use the mouse and keyboard actions to edit the contents of the cell

How do I delete information in certain cells?
Keywords: Delete Text Cells Edit
Posted January 19, 1996

In some cases you will want to delete a single cell or range of cells only. Select the cell or range of cells you want to delete. From the menu bar choose Edit - Delete. Excel will then prompt you to indicate whether you want to Shift Cells Right or Shift Cells Down.

To clear only the contents of a cell, select the cell or range of cells. From the menu bar, choose Edit - Clear. Excel will then prompt you with the following options: All; Formats; Contents; Notes.

Shortcut: To delete the contents of a cell quickly, use the Delete Key or right-click on the mouse and choose Clear Contents.

How do I clear the contents of a cell in my worksheet?
Keywords: Clear Contents Edit Cell Worksheet
Posted January 17, 1996

If you no longer need the contents of a cell, you can clear it simply and easily. To clear a cell's contents quickly, press the Delete key or right-click on the cell and select the Clear contents command from the shortcut menu. To have more control over what is being cleared, choose Edit - Clear.

Why does Excel display ####### in a cell and how do I fix it?
Keywords: Edit Cell ######
Posted January 16, 1996

This is the Excel signal for "the column is too narrow to contain the number." Solution: widen the column.

Excel treats numbers and text differently when the column is too narrow to display the complete value. Text can overflow into an adjacent cell or may be truncated if there's a value in the adjacent cell but Excel never truncates numbers. (Imagine if your bottom line number should be 10,000 and instead it displayed as 1,000).

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