2 reasons to format cells before you enter data in Excel
Stop! Think! Consider! Develop a plan!
Before you enter any data in your spreadsheets.
Ask yourself questions about your data. Why?
- To save yourself time
- To maintain consistency in data entries
- To prevent GIGO (Garbage in equals Garbage out)
Excel Tips
In this video lesson I demonstrate the advantages you will obtain when you:
- Stop – before you start to enter data
- Pre-plan your data list
- Format your data fields / columns BEFORE you make your 1st entry
Here are the steps to follow in this video lesson:
- Set up and Format your Column / Field Headers for each data field.
- For each Column / Field Header, select the columns and format the cells (Ctrl+1) BEFORE you enter any data.
- On the NUMBER tab, choose “Special” to select formats for Social Security #, Phone #, and Zip Code
News! My DVD, “The 50 Best Tips for Excel 2007″ is now available to purchase. I invite you to visit my online bookstore for more details.
Find the Free Excel Training Video that you want – Click here to go to my Index of Excel Video Lessons
December 30th, 2009 at 1:55 PM
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May 10th, 2010 at 1:02 AM
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December 26th, 2010 at 8:49 PM
[...] you have control over your data, pre-format your Zip Codes column using the “Formant Cells, Number, Special, Zip Code” [...]
March 18th, 2011 at 9:33 AM
[...] 2 Reasons to Format Cells Before You Enter Data in Excel [...]
October 30th, 2011 at 8:40 PM
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