How to Change the Background Color in MS Excel

1. Select the cell or cells in which you wish to change the background color. In Excel 2007, click on the 'Home' tab to view the 'Home' ribbon.
2. Click on the arrow next to the paint bucket icon in the 'Font' section. This is the 'Fill Color' button. In Excel 2003, the paint bucket icon is located in the 'Formatting' toolbar. This toolbar is typically located just above the actual spreadsheet and under the main menu.
3. Select the color you want from the menu that appears. If the color you want is not in the menu, click on 'More colors.' Under the 'Standard' tab you can select from a larger array of colors. Or, under the 'Custom' tab you can enter in the RGB values for your custom color.
4. Click the 'OK' button to apply the background color to the selected cells.

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How to Restore Data on Microsoft Excel

1. Run 'Detect and Repair' if you are using Excel 2003 or earlier. Go to the 'Help' menu and select 'Detect and Repair.' Clear the checkboxes and click start. Detect and Repair will scan the program and make certain repairs, which may restore the missing data.
2. Run 'Diagnostics' in Excel 2007. Start Excel and click the 'Office Button.' Select 'Excel Options.' Select 'Resources,' 'Diagnose,' and then 'Continue.' Click on 'Start Diagnostics.' Diagnostics will scan Excel for potential problems and repair what it can.
3. Recover data when Excel stops responding. Go to the 'Start' menu, point to 'All Programs,' and then 'Microsoft Office Tools.' Select 'Microsoft Application Recovery.' Click on Excel in the Recovery window, and then click 'Recover Application.' Excel will close and restart with the files that were open when it stopped responding.
4. Start Excel and go to the 'File' menu or the 'Office Button.' Select 'Open.' Find the damaged file and click on it to select it. Click the drop-down arrow on the 'Open' button at the bottom of the window. Select 'Open and Repair.'
5. Save the file as HTML, if you are able to open it. Go to the 'File' menu or 'Office Button' and click 'Save As.' In the 'Save as Type' select 'Web Page.' When you open the HTML version, save it again as a 'Microsoft Office Workbook' with a different name than the corrupted file.

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How to Create Spread Sheets in Excel 2007

1. Click on the 'Office' button. This is the round button with the Microsoft logo at the upper left-hand corner of the ribbon menu.
2. Click 'New' to create a new spreadsheet.
3. Click on the icon for 'New Blank Workbook' in the center pain of the menu that pulls up. If there is no icon for 'New Blank Workbook,' make sure that 'Blank and Recent' is highlighted. You can also click on the button at lower right that reads 'Create.'

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How to Calculate Time Duration in Excel 2007

1. Format the relevant cells as time by selecting them and choosing 'Time' from the Number group drop-down menu in the Home tab.
2. Enter a start time and an end time in different cells, such as the start time in cell A1 and the end time in cell B1. Ensure Excel hasn't misinterpreted either time, such as making '9:15 pm' read '9:15 am.' If necessary, type 'am' or 'pm' after the times or use a 24-hour clock, typing '21:15' instead of '9:15 pm.' Investigate Excel's Help menu on 'time of day' if necessary to learn more about these formats.
3. Subtract the start time from the end time to calculate the time duration. In this example, type '=B1-A1' and press 'Enter.'
4. Change the number format for the result, which automatically formats itself as a time of day, which is incorrect. For example, the duration between 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm reads '12:30 am,' which is 30 minutes after zero-hour, or midnight. Instead, choose 'Custom' from the Number group drop-down in the Home tab to set the format correctly.
5. Choose 'Time' in the left-hand panel of the resulting dialog box. Click '13:30,' the second option in the right-hand list, to display the duration in hours:minutes -- in this case, '0:30.' Click '37:30:55' for hours:minutes:seconds.

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How to Learn Excel 2007

1. Purchase a copy of Microsoft Excel or download a 60-day free trial of Microsoft Office Professional, which includes Excel 2007.
2. Visit the Microsoft Office website to access dozens of free online Excel 2007 training courses. Take the free 40-minute course called 'Up to speed with Excel 2007.' This course teaches the basics, such as how to use common commands and save workbooks. Take the test at the end of the course to assess how much you have learned.
3. Take the online Excel course called 'Get to Know Excel 2007: Create your first workbook.' The course will teach you how to create a new workbook, how to enter and edit data, and how to insert columns and rows. Once you are finished with the self-paced course, open your copy of Excel 2007 and practice creating your own sample worksheet.
4. Learn to create charts in Excel. Participate in the free online training course called 'Charts 1: How to create a chart in Excel 2007.' Complete the practice assignments at the end of the course, which require you to make a basic chart using Excel 2007.
5. Visit the Excel Help Page on the Microsoft website if you don't have time to take an online course but want to learn about specific features of Excel 2007.

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How to Install Analysis ToolPak for Excel 2003

1. Open any Excel document.
2. Navigate to the 'Tools' menu. Click on 'Add-Ins.'
3. Select the check box next to Analysis ToolPak under 'Add-Ins.' Click 'OK.'
4. Click 'Yes' to install Analysis ToolPak if you see the message 'Analysis ToolPak is not currently installed on your computer.' Analysis ToolPak will be installed.
5. Click on 'Tools' under the menu bar. Open a new Excel document. You will see that the data analysis command listed, which indicates the program has been added properly.

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How to Combine Column and Scatter Charts in Excel

1. Open the Excel worksheet with the data you wish to chart.
2. Click and drag the cursor to select the data series and the categories.
3. Click the “Insert” tab on the command ribbon.
4. Click the “Column” menu to display a gallery of column thumbnail images.
5. Click the preferred image. The worksheet data converts to an embedded column chart.
6. Right-click on one data series in the plot area that you wish to convert to a scatter chart.
7. Click the “Change Series Chart Type” option. The “Change Chart Type” dialogue window opens with a gallery of chart images.
8. Click the “X Y (Scatter)” tab on the left pane. Click the preferred “X Y (Scatter)” image in the gallery.
9. Click “OK.” The 'Change Chart Type' dialogue window closes. A combination chart displays both the column and scatter charts on one plot area.

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How to Change the Order of the Legend in an Excel Chart

1. Right-click on one of the names listed on your legend.
2. Click on the 'Select Data' option from the list that appears.
3. Click on the entry you want to move in the 'Legend Entries (Series)' box.
4. Click the 'Up' or 'Down' arrows in the box to change the position of the legend. Click 'OK' when finished to save your changes.

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How to Create a Searchable Database in Excel

1. Type the following data into a new spreadsheet, pressing 'Tab' in place of the commas. This data is for a hypothetical art supply store. Click your mouse on the data's top left cell, then drag down to the bottom right cell to select the data. Type 'ArtProducts' in the left text box above the worksheet grid. This action names the table, which makes it easier to identify in database queries.product, pricepaintbrush, 1.98Gesso, 3.45
2. Click the 'File' menu's 'Close' command, then click 'OK' to indicate you want to save the workbook. Type 'ArtProduct' for the file name, then click 'Save' to save the workbook. Click the 'File' menu's 'New' command to create a new workbook, then click the 'Data' tab's 'Other sources' icon. Click 'Microsoft query.'
3. Click 'Excel files' in the 'Choose data' dialog box, then click 'OK.' Microsoft query will display a dialog box with which to choose an Excel workbook file. Navigate to and double click the workbook you saved in the previous step, then click 'OK.'
4. Click the arrow button in the 'Columns' dialog box to tell Excel you want to base your query on the 'ArtProduct' database listed in the left pane. Click 'Next,' then click the 'View data' option button. Microsoft Query's main window will open.
5. Click the 'View' menu's 'SQL' command, then type the SQL statement following this step into the new dialog box. This statement runs a query on your 'ArtProducts' database to select only those products whose price is greater than $2.00. Click 'OK' to perform the query. Excel will display only the 'Gesso' product, confirming that you've created an Excel database whose records you can selectively search with SQL commands from querying programs like Microsoft Query.SELECT *FROM ArtProductswhere ArtProducts.price>2.00;

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How to Print a Long Row on One Page in MS Excel

1. Highlight the row you want to print.
2. Select 'Page Layout' and then 'Print Area.'
3. Click 'Set Print Area.'
4. Select 'Scale to Fit' under the 'Width' and 'Height' drop-down menu.

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How to Convert Microsoft Excel 2003 to 2007

Using Microsoft Excel XP or Excel 2003
1. Open a Web browser window and navigate to the Microsoft Windows Update website. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install all high-priority updates for your operating system version.
2. Navigate to the Microsoft Download Center page for the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack. Click the 'Download' button and save the installer file to your computer.
3. Close all open Microsoft Office programs.
4. Double-click the icon of the installer file you downloaded previously. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the Office Compatibility Pack on your computer. The software allows you to save files to XLSX format using Excel XP or Excel 2003.
5. Open Microsoft Excel XP or Excel 2003.
6. Click the 'File' drop-down menu and select 'Open.'
7. Locate the XLS file you want to convert and double-click its icon.
8. Click the 'File' drop-down menu again and select 'Save As.'
9. Give the file a name and select a save location. Choose the 'Excel 2007' option from the 'Save as type' drop-down menu. Click 'Save' to convert the XLS file to XLSX format.
Using Microsoft Excel 2007
10. Open Microsoft Excel 2007.
11. Click the round 'Office' button in the top left corner of the window and select 'Open.'
12. Locate the XLS file you want to convert and double-click its icon.
13. Click the 'Office' button again and select 'Save As.'
14. Give the file a name and select a save location. Choose the 'Excel Workbook' option from the 'Save as type' drop-down menu. Click 'Save' to convert the XLS file to XLSX format.
Using Zamzar
15. Open a Web browser and log on to the Zamzar website.
16. Click 'Choose File' and select the XLS file you want to convert.
17. Select 'xlsx' from the 'Choose the format to convert to' drop-down menu.
18. Enter your email address in the adjacent field.
19. Click 'Convert.' Your file will be converted to XLSX format within minutes. Once finished, a download link will be sent to the email address you provided.

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How to Use Excel's MONTH Function

1. Learn the syntax of MONTH. It is MONTH (start_date) where start_date is the date for which you are trying to find the month.
2. Enter start_date using the DATE function or some other function that returns a date to prevent the problems that can occur when a date is entered as text. For example, DATE(2007,4,12) would be used for April 12, 2007.
3. Observe that Excel uses serial numbers internally to store dates. This is a number that represents the number of days beginning from a default date. Windows uses January 1, 1900, as serial number 1 and Excel for the Macintosh uses January 2, 1904, as serial number 1.
4. Examine the return values for the MONTH function. Excel returns the integers 1 to 12, representing the months in the Gregorian calendar, regardless of the display format of serial_number.
5. Study some examples of MONTH by entering 17-Apr-2008 as a date in cell A2. Example 1: =MONTH(A2) will return 4 because April is the fourth month of the year. Example 2: =MONTH(DATE(2007,3,12) will return 3. Note the use of the DATE function to ensure the argument for MONTH is in date format when entering it directly.

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How to Edit Charts in Excel 2010

1. Open the spreadsheet containing your chart in Microsoft Excel 2010.
2. Click anywhere on the chart to enable the Chart Tools, which consist of the Design, Layout and Format menu tabs.
3. Click the 'Design' tab to edit the appearance of your chart. Clicking 'Change Chart Type' allows you to select a different format, such as Column, Line or Pie charts. To choose chart data or add a new data series, use the 'Select Data' group. Clicking an option from the Chart Layout group applies a design template that alters the positioning of labels and data. Clicking an option from the Chart Styles group changes the chart's color scheme.
4. Select the 'Layout' tab to change labels or add special formatting to the chart. The Insert group offers the option to add pictures, shapes and text boxes. The Labels group lets you change titles, labels and legends. The Analysis group allows you to add trend lines and error bars to the chart.
5. Click the 'Format' tab to access additional design features, such as borders, color fills and shape effects. Clicking an option from the WordArt Styles group changes all text on the chart. The Size group allows you to edit the horizontal and vertical size for the chart.

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How to Remove Blank Cells in Excel 2007

1. Select the range of cells that contains blanks to remove.
2. Click 'Find Select,' at the far right of the Home tab.
3. Choose 'Go to Special....'
4. Click the 'Blanks' radio button in the resulting window.
5. Click 'OK' to close the window and highlight all blank cells in the selected range.
6. Click the 'Delete' arrow button on the Home tab and choose 'Delete Cells....'
7. Choose an option for filling in the blanks: Shift cells left or up, or delete entire rows or columns.

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How to Insert a Degree Symbol in Excel

1. Turn on the number lock function on your keyboard's number pad by pressing the 'Number Lock' button. You can only enter the degree symbol by using the number pad (not the row of numbers above the letters.)
2. Click in the cell into which you wish to type the degree symbol.
3. Locate the 'Alt' key on your keyboard.
4. Hold down the 'Alt' key with your left hand, and type '0176' simultaneously on the number pad. You should see the degree symbol appear in your cell.

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