How to Add Comments to an Excel Worksheet

1. Open the Excel spreadsheet you wish to change.
2. Select the cell into which you'll write your comment.
3. Choose Comment under the Insert menu.
4. Type your comment into the resulting box.
5. Finish typing and click outside the box to save your comment.

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How to Make a Gantt Chart in Excel

1. Open a new Excel worksheet. For the purposes of this article, enter 'Task' in cell A1, 'Start Date' in cell B1 and 'Length' in cell C1. Type in a few lines of chart data under the appropriate headings. The first column names the tasks, the second column provides a start date, and the third column lists the number of days each task is expected to take.
2. Select the data table by clicking the first cell and dragging across all the cells you typed data into. Go to the Insert tab and select 'Bar' from the Chart panel. Click on 'Stacked Bar' under the 2D heading as the chart subtype.
3. Click on 'Select Data' in the Design tab under Chart Tools; the Select Data Source window will open. Remove any entries listed under Legend Entries (Series) by selecting them and clicking 'Remove.'
4. Click on 'Add' to bring up the Edit Series dialog box. Type 'Start Dates' in the Series name field. Delete any values in the Series values field. Click inside the field, then drag your mouse from the first data cell to the last data cell in the Start Dates column; you will see the data range appear in the field. Click on 'OK' to return to the Select Data Source window.
5. Repeat Step 4 to add a new data series. Name it 'Length' and select the data in the Length column. Return to the Select Data Source window.
6. Click on 'Edit' under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels and drag your mouse from the first data cell to the last data cell in the Tasks column (not including the heading). Click on 'OK' to return to the Select Data Source window, and 'OK' again to return to the worksheet.
7. Double-click on the colored area in the left side of any of the bars. The Format Data Point box will open. Click on 'Fill' and change it to 'No Fill.' Click on 'Border Color' and change it to 'No Line.' Click 'Close' to apply the changes. The first color in the bars will be gone.
8. Double-click the category axis, which is the area where the task names are listed. The Format Axis dialog box will open. Under Axis Options, click the 'Categories in Reverse Order' check box. The chart order will be flip-flopped.
9. Double-click the value axis, which is the white area where the start dates are shown. The 'Format Axis' dialog will open. Under Alignment, change the Custom Angle to 45 degrees. Click 'OK' to apply these changes.
10. Click on the chart legend and press the 'Delete' key to remove it.

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How to Create a Template in Excel 2007

1. Open Microsoft Excel 2007 on the computer.
2. Click the 'Microsoft Office' button from the main program menu, and then click 'Open.' Browse to and double-click the existing Excel workbook or worksheet that you want to use as a template. If you don't have an existing spreadsheet, click 'New' to create a new Excel document to use as a template.
3. Enter the information and add the elements that you want to include in the Excel template. This should include all the data, graphics, text, macros and formulas that the template requires to work properly.
4. Click the 'Microsoft Office' button on the main menu, and then click 'Save As.'
5. Type a name for the template in the 'File Name' box.
6. Click 'Excel Template' in the 'Save As Type' box. If the workbook contains macros that you need to include in the template, click 'Excel Macro-Enabled Template' in the 'Save As Type' box. Click 'Save.'

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How to Expand a Row in Excel 2003

1. Click the Windows 'Start' button and select 'All Programs.' Click 'Microsoft Office,' then click 'Microsoft Excel' to open the software.
2. Click 'File,' then click 'Open.' Double-click the Excel file with the rows you want to edit. The file loads in the Excel editor.
3. Hover the mouse over the line below the row you want to expand. Notice the cursor displays an arrow. Click the row's grid line and expand the height.
4. Click the 'Save' button to save the changes. Repeat these steps for each row you want to edit.

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How to Print in Excel 2007

Print Whole Worksheet
1. Open your document in Microsoft Excel. Click on a cell within the table to activate it.
2. Click the Microsoft Office button at the top of the worksheet. The Microsoft Office button will appear as a light blue circle with the Office logo inside. Click 'Print' or use the keyboard shortcut 'Ctrl' and 'P,' followed by 'OK.'
3. Click 'Table' under the 'Print What' option that will appear. Clicking 'Table' will print the entire chart.
Print Part of a Worksheet
4. Click on a cell and drag your mouse cursor to the rest of the table you wish to print. The table will highlight in a shaded color to indicate the highlighted cells.
5. Navigate your cursor to the 'Page Setup' group located inside the new 'Page Layout' tab at the top of the worksheet. Click 'Print Area.'
6. Click 'Set Print Area' to set the highlighted cells for printing. Print the worksheet by pressing 'Ctrl' and 'P,' followed by 'OK.'

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How to Use Security Features in Excel

1. Enable security alerts from suspicious website links. Click the Microsoft Office button and choose 'Excel Options.' Choose 'Trust Center,' then click 'Trust Center Settings' and select 'Privacy Options.' Make sure you have 'Check Office documents that are from or link to suspicious Web sites' checked.
2. Select 'Enable Content' on the message bar if your workbook has external content. Choose to unblock the external content when the security dialog box appears.
3. Access the Trust Center to view your security and privacy settings for Active-X controls, add-ins and macros. Click on the Microsoft Office button and go to 'Excel Options.' From there, go to 'Trust Center' and then 'Trust Center Settings.'
4. Password-protect your workbook. You can choose to require a password before anyone can open or modify your workbook. Select 'Tools' from the 'Save As' dialog box. Click 'General Options' and input your passwords in the designated area.
5. Set the VBA / Macro Security to determine how VBA code and XML macros are executed. Go to 'Tools,' then 'Macros.' Set the security setting to at least medium.
6. Protect your worksheet from unauthorized editing by using Worksheet Protection. This allows other people to view most of the worksheet, but only edit certain cells. Click 'Tools,' go to 'Protection' and select 'Worksheet Protection.'

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How to Include Grand Totals in Excel Pivot Charts

1. Open the PivotChart.
2. Click the 'Field List Button' image on the PivotChart toolbar if the Field List Button is not showing.
3. Click the field and go to 'Totals.'
4. Click 'Row Area' to add the grand total to the row area and 'Column Area' to add it to the column.

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How to Insert a Template in Excel 2007

1. Hold the 'Windows' key down and press 'E' to open Windows Explorer.
2. Navigate to where you saved the template you want to insert into Excel.
3. Open another Windows Explorer window, type 'C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates' in the top address field and press 'Enter.' When typing the address, change 'USERNAME' to your Windows username, which is listed beneath your picture on the 'Start' menu.Do not try to navigate into this folder by clicking folders. If you maintain Windows 7's default settings, you will not find the 'AppData' folder because it is a hidden system folder. However, by directly typing the location in the address bar, you bypass the hidden nature of the folders, which saves you the trouble of changing your Windows configuration.
4. Hold the 'Alt' key and press 'Tab' to return to the previous Windows Explorer window.
5. Click and begin dragging the Excel template file, which should have the XLTS extension.
6. Hold the 'Alt' key and press 'Tab' again to return to the template folder. Do not release your left mouse button yet.
7. Continue dragging the template file and drop it into the right pane by releasing the left mouse button. This inserts the template into Excel and makes it available for use.

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How to Upgrade Microsoft Excel

1. Insert the install CD or DVD into the disk drive.
2. Enter your product key when prompted. This will occur after the install screen has popped up. If the install screen does not come up automatically, then navigate to your CD/DVD drive through 'My Computer' and double click on the Microsoft Office disk icon. The product key can be found on a sticker on the CD case inside your Microsoft Office box.
3. Accept the Microsoft License agreement.
4. Select 'Install Now' or 'Customize.' 'Install Now' will upgrade all previous versions of the Microsoft Office program that correspond to your recently purchased Office software. 'Customize' will allow you to specify which applications and features are upgraded.
5. Activate your product after the installation is completed. Activating over the internet is the quickest method if you have an internet connection. If you decline activation at this time, you will be prompted to activate each time you open an Office program.

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How to Make a Basic Bookkeeping Spreadsheet in Excel

1. Examine your personal or business finances to determine the best way to use Excel. Different options are keeping track of accounts receivable and payable, including payroll, rent or utilities and any raw materials used in the production process.
2. Open Excel on your computer and create a new spreadsheet by clicking on the blank page icon at the top left of your screen.
3. Orient yourself with Excel's format. The page is made up of a grid which creates boxes. Information can be typed into each box.
4. Title the headings for your spreadsheet's rows and columns. For example, you may choose to use the first column to list all the dates in a given month, the second column to list any accounts receivable transactions and the third column to list any accounts payable transactions.
5. Fill in the information into the appropriate boxes. For example, if you or your company paid out $15,000 in payroll checks on the first of the month, you would write '15,000' in the corresponding box.
6. Add the total dollar amounts from each column -- in our example, you'd have a total for accounts receivable and a total for accounts payable. You can also calculate average expenditures and profits by selecting the 'Subtotals' option from the drop-down box under the 'Data' tab.
7. Sort information from high to low or low to high by clicking on the 'Sort' option from the drop-down box under the 'Data' tab; this gives you the option of seeing which entries had the highest or lowest values.

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How to Paste Into PowerPoint and Remove Gridlines

1. Select the text, image or object that you want to include in your PowerPoint presentation. For example, highlight a range of cells in an Excel spreadsheet. Press 'Ctrl C' on your computer's keyboard.
2. Press 'Ctrl M' in PowerPoint to create a new slide and then press 'Ctrl V' to paste the object. If you copied a spreadsheet, for instance, it will paste in as a spreadsheet object. Note, that you can link or embed things such as spreadsheets, charts and Word documents.
3. Click on the 'View' tab in PowerPoint and click in the check box next to 'Gridlines' to remove the gridlines from the design view. If you want to remove the gridlines from a spreadsheet that you've pasted in, click inside the spreadsheet in PowerPoint. Press 'Ctrl A' to select all of the content in the spreadsheet. Click on the 'Table Tools: Design' tab and in the 'Table Styles' section click on the 'Borders' button and choose 'No Borders.'

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How to Assign a Macro to a Cell in Excel

1. Right-click the sheet tab you want the change to happen in. The sheet tabs are at the very bottom of the worksheet.
2. Click 'View Code.'
3. Cut and post the following code into the worksheet:Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)If Target.Address = '$A$1' ThenRange('A10') = 'Your text here'End IfEnd Sub
4. Change the code to suit your needs. The above code writes 'Your text here' into cell 'A10' when cell 'A1' is clicked. Change the 'A1' in 'Target.Address = '$A$1'' to the cell you want to click, then change Range('A10') = 'Your text here' to indicate the cell you want the event to happen in and the text you want to appear.

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How to Create Frequency Relative Frequency on Excel Using a Pivot Table

1. Gather all of your data and compile it into a list on Microsoft Excel. Select and highlight the entire list of data points. Right click it and choose the option 'Sort from smallest to largest.' Now that the data points are in numerical order, the task of creating a frequency distribution table will be much easier.
2. Determine the interval size and the number of classes that will be used for your distribution table. For example you may have something like 5 classes of intervals: 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, and 20-25. These classes will be used to organize the data points.
3. Start setting up the table on Microsoft Excel. In column A, set up the different classes and label the column as 'Class.' Column B will be for the 'Frequency.' Count up the number of data points that fall in each class interval, and state the frequency in column B. Select the empty cell below the list of frequencies in Column B and use the sum function to add up the values. This result will give you the total number of data points. In column C, set up the 'Relative Frequency.' Relative Frequency is calculated simply by dividing the individual frequencies by the total number of data values. Select an empty cell at the end of the 'Relative Frequency' column and perform the 'sum' function. The sum for the 'Relative Frequency' column should be 1.00.
4. Select the 'Insert' tab on Microsoft Excel, and select the PivotTable button. Use the selection icon and select the entire table. Place a check next to 'New Worksheet,' so that the table appears on a separate sheet. Click 'OK.' A column in the right side of the screen will appear. Place a check next to the following fields that you'd like to add to your report: 'Class,' 'Frequency,' and 'Relative Frequency.'
5. Use the 'Options' and 'Design' tabs to edit and format the PivotTable.

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How to Open Excel Templates

1. Open Excel. Click 'File' if you are using Excel 2010 or click the 'Office' button if you are using Excel 2007. The Office menu will open.
2. Click 'New' on the Office menu. A window called 'New Workbook' will open. You can search for and open Excel templates here.
3. Look to the 'Templates' section on the 'New Workbook' menu. You can view recently used or installed templates here.
4. Click one of the Excel template categories to view an Excel template. Categories you can choose from are 'Blank and Recent' and 'Installed Templates.'
5. Select the template you want to open and click 'Create' or 'OK' depending on whether you are opening a recent template or an installed template. The template will open in a new workbook.

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How to Compare Workbooks

Comparing Numeric Values
1. Open a new workbook, and name it CompareWorkbooks.xls.
2. Look at the values that you want to compare in both workbooks. For example, you may wish to compare cells B2 to F7.
3. In cell B2 (or the upper left cell) of the CompareWorkbooks workbook, insert the formula '=[Workbook1.xls]Sheet1!A1-[Workbook2.xls]Sheet1!A1.' If the Workbooks or sheets are named differently, change the formula as appropriate.
4. Copy the formula from that cell into all of the applicable cells in the CompareWorkbooks workbook. A '0' in a cell means that the cells in the two compared workbooks are identical. A value in the cell represents the difference between the values in the corresponding cells in the compared workbooks.
Comparing Almost Identical Workbooks
5. To compare workbooks that are virtually identical, open a new workbook, and name it CompareWorkbooks.xls.
6. Look at the values that you want to compare in both workbooks. For example, you may wish to compare cells B2 to F7.
7. In cell B2 (or the upper left cell) of the CompareWorkbooks workbook, insert the formula '=IF([Workbook1.xls]Sheet1!A1
[Workbook2.xls]Sheet1!A1,'DIFF VALUE',''). If the Workbooks or sheets are named differently, change the formula as appropriate.
8. Copy the formula from that cell into all of the applicable cells in the CompareWorkbooks workbook. If the words 'DIFF VALUE' appear in a cell, it means that the corresponding cells in the two compared workbooks are different.

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