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?

  1. To save yourself time
  2. To maintain consistency in data entries
  3. To prevent GIGO  (Garbage in equals Garbage out)
50 Best Tips for Excel 2007

Excel Tips

In this video lesson I demonstrate the advantages you will obtain when you:

  1. Stop – before you start to enter data
  2. Pre-plan your data list
  3. Format your data fields / columns BEFORE you make your 1st entry

Here are the steps to follow in this video lesson:

  1. Set up and Format your Column / Field Headers for each data field.
  2. For each Column / Field Header, select the columns and format the cells (Ctrl+1) BEFORE you enter any data.
  3. On the NUMBER tab, choose “Special” to select formats for Social Security #, Phone #, and Zip Code

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