How to use Wrap Text and Merge Cells Formatting to Improve Excel Worksheet Appearance

Wrap Text for Labels

Wrap Text for Labels

In this tutorial – the second in my series explaining how a worksheet, that my accountant friend Alan Friedman created, works – I focus on improving the formatting for the column labels and other descriptive text.

Wrap Text for Labels

In my experience, I find that many accountants and other financial managers have not mastered the basics of formatting an Excel Worksheet. It seems that they are still using “old fashioned IBM typewriter tricks” when it comes time to create the labels for the columns of data in their spreadsheet.

Case in Point: Using two or more vertical cells to type “Cost of” (Return key on Computer) “Goods Sold.” This “old fashioned” process will lead to multiple problems. For example, improper sorting and filtering of data.

In this tutorial, I demonstrate how to use the Wrap Text command to format a single-cell text label. You will also learn how to use the Keyboard Shortcut Alt + Enter to control where your text “breaks” when wrapping text.

Merge Cells Across Columns

When you have a long, descriptive text – e.g. Your Company Name – it is best to type this into a single cell and then use the Merge Cells Command. Now, when you double-click between Column Letters to automatically expand the width of a column, only the “um-merged” labels in the column are extended in width.

Additional Resources for Tutorial

You can learn “The 50 Best Tips for Excel 2007” on my DVD-ROM. Visit – http://shop.thecompanyrocks.com/50-best-tips-for-excel-2007/ – to learn more about this.

Click on this link to download the Excel Worksheet – created by Alan Friedman – that I use in this lesson.

Watch Tutorial in High Definition

Follow this link to watch this tutorial in High Definition on my YouTube Channel – DannyRocksExcels

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Keyboard Shortcuts to Enter and Edit Data Efficiently in Excel

 

Keyboard Shortcuts to Enter Data

Keyboard Shortcuts to Enter Data

This is the latest installment in my series of video tutorials where I demonstrate how to use Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel. In this tutorial, I demonstrate how to Enter and Edit Data Efficiently in Excel using Keyboard Shortcuts.

Tips Covered on Video Tutorial

Here are the main Keyboard Shortcuts that I show you how to use on this video:

  • Enter Current Date in a cell.
  • Enter Current Time in a cell.
  • Use Ctrl + Enter to accept data entry and keep the focus on the current cell.
  • Use Ctrl + Enter to populate a range of selected cells.
  • Use Alt + Enter to “Wrap the Text” in a cell.
  • Use F2 to edit data inside a cell.
  • Use Ctrl + left & right directional arrows to move to the beginning of the next / previous word while editing in the cell.
  • Use ‘ (apostrophe) as the first character in a cell to make this a “text” entry.

Download my complete Chart of Popular Keyboard Shortcuts as a PDF 

 Follow this link to download – for free – my 5 Page Chart of Popular Excel Keyboard Shortcuts as a PDF.

Subscribe to my Video Podcast on iTunes

Here is the link to subscribe to my video podcast, “Danny Rocks Tips and Timesavers” on iTunes. It is offered for free!

Watch Tutorial in High Definition on YouTube

Follow this link to view this Excel Tutorial in High Definition mode on my YouTube Channel – DannyRocksExcels