 Summing Visible Cells
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Summary: There are times when you need to add just the visible cells in an Excel worksheet. Here is how to do this:
The Sum function in Excel adds all of the cells in a column or row, even if the columns and rows are hidden. The solution to just adding the visible cells is to use the =SUBTOTAL function.
Assume that you have a column of numbers in column A from A1:A100 and that some of the cells are hidden.
To get the total for just the visible cells you would use the following formula:
=SUBTOTAL(109,A1:A100)
The formula only calculates the sum of the visible cells in the range.
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Joining Text
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Summary: You will often have text in two columns and you want to combine the data into one column. A good example would be names where the first name is in one column and the last name is in a different column. Here is how to do this:
Suppose you have a list of first names in column A and the last names in column. To join the names go to C1 and enter the following formula:
=A1&" "&B1
This will print the first name, a space and then the last name. You then copy the formula down column C. Since all the cells in column C contain formulas you would be well advised to convert the formulas to values by doing a Copy and then a Paste Special Values.
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The Document Inspector
Summary: When you create a new Excel workbook Microsoft stores personal information, such as your name, when the workbook was created,where it is stored and more.If you don't want this information to be public there is a tool in Excel called the Document Inspector that will allow you to delete the information you want to keep private. Here is how to use the Document Inspector.
When you create a workbook in Excel, there is a lot of information that is stored with the workbook that can identify you as the author. This information is stored in the workbook's file properties. Excel provides a handy tool that allows you to remove the personal information you don't want others to see. This tool is called the Document Inspector.
To use the Document Inspector, open the workbook you want to evaluate and then use one of the following, depending on the version of Excel you are using:
- In Excel 2007, click the Office button | Prepare | Inspect Document.
- In Excel 2010, display the File tab of the ribbon, click Info | Check for Issues | Inspect Document.
Excel displays the Document Inspector dialog box, which consists of a series of check boxes. Use these check boxes to indicate the items you want the inspector to look for. When you click Inspect, Excel tries to find them and then displays a dialog box showing the findings
When presented with the Document Inspector's findings, you can choose which items you want removed from the workbook.
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Creating a Professional Cover Page
Summary: You can enhance the appearance of your reports with a well designed cover page. Word provides you with a number of professionally designed cover pages that you can customize to meet your particular needs. Here's how to access these sample pages:
To create a professional cover page click on the Insert tab. In the Pages group, click Cover Page to launch the Built-In cover pages gallery. The gallery contains a number of professionally designed cover pages. Scroll through the list of six cover pages to find the one you want. If you don't one that meets your needs click on "More pages from Office.com and you will see many more on the Microsoft web site. Once you find a cover page that meets your needs, select it to insert into the document. Customize the cover page using the various document fields and elements on the page. It's that easy.
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Summary: Here are five tips to help you prepare a professional PowerPoint presentation. Next month we will give you five more.
PowerPoint Presentations are a great way to support a speech, visualize complicated concepts or focus attention on a subject.
However, a bad presentation can achieve the opposite. Badly designed slides with too much text or bad graphics can distract or worse, irritate the audience.
Here's is a short guide that will help you create presentations with a professional look and concise content, avoiding the most common mistakes.
Design
The first thing that gives a professional touch to any presentation is the design.
1. Compose Slides
- Don't copy & paste slides from different sources.
- Keep the design very basic and simple. It shall not distract.
- Pick an easy to read font face.
- Carefully select font sizes for headers and text.
- Leave room for highlights, such as images or take home messages.
- Decorate scarcely but well.
- Restrict the room your design takes up and don't ever let the design restrict your message.
2. Use Consistency
- Consistently use the same font face and sizes on all slides.
- Match colors.
You may use your company logo, highlight headers, create a special frame for figures/images or the whole slide but don't overload your slides with these elements.
Colors
A poor choice of colors can shatter a presentation.
3. Use Contrast
- Black text on a white background will always be the best but also the most boring choice.
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If you want to play with colors, keep it easy on the eyes and always keep good contrast in mind so that your readers do not have to strain to guess what you've typed on your slide.
4. Apply Brilliance
- Carefully use color to highlight your message!
- Don't weaken the color effect by using too many colors at an instance.
- Make a brilliant choice: match colors for design and good contrast to highlight your message.
5. KISS
Keep It Straight and Simple.
- Keywords only.
- No sentences!
- Never read your slides, talk freely.
Remember that your slides are only there to support, not to replace your talk! You'll want to tell a story, describe your data or explain circumstances, and only provide keywords through your slides. If you read your slides and if you do it slow and badly, the audience will get bored and stop listening.
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