Work Safe and Avoid Disasters

When you're formatting an Excel workbook or worksheet, cutting and pasting data from other sheets or reorganizing a spreadsheet for any reason, there's always a risk of losing data through errors you make in the process. Protect your hard work by doing all formatting and reorganizing in a working copy instead of modifying your primary copy. Take the following steps before getting started with changes:

1. Click the Office button (2007) or the File Tab (2010), and then select Save As.
2. Give the worksheet a new filename, adding "working" to the existing file name, and then click Save.
3. Make your changes or work on formatting, reorganization and other tasks.
4. When you're completely satisfied with your work, save your working file, then repeat the Save As command and remove the "working" part of the file name to overwrite the original file.
5. To further protect yourself, you can also use the Save as feature to create a backup copy at any time.

Get a Fresh Start With Formatting

Formatting a workbook or worksheet can be a hassle. This is especially true if you've copied parts of other formatted worksheets into your current workbook. Sometimes, experimenting with formatting can lead to unexpected results. In some cases, major formatting changes are requested after you've already formatted the sheet. It's often faster and simpler to remove all existing formatting and start over. To do this:

1. Select the range of cells where you want to remove formatting, or press Ctrl-A to select the entire worksheet.
2. Under the Home tab, click Clear in the Editing section.
3. Click Clear Formats. You can undo this if you don't like the results by pressing Ctrl-Z.
4. Use normal formatting tools to give your clean worksheet a new look.

Share Your Worksheet the Easy Way

When you need to share a worksheet or workbook with others, it's important to provide it in a format that is easily accessible. Not everyone has Excel installed, and some may have an older version than Excel 2007 or 2010. To make sure the recipient can view your worksheet and will not be able to modify it, you can publish it as an Adobe PDF format document directly from Excel 2007 or 2010. Almost everyone can view these files, so you can attach your worksheet to an email or send it another way and be sure it will be seen. The steps are simple:

1. Click the Office button (2007) or the File Tab (2010), and then click Save As.
2. Change the location of the file and filename in the Save As dialog box if you wish.
3. In the Save as type drop-down list, select PDF.
4. Check the Open file after publishing option or clear it if you do not want to preview the PDF file after publishing it. Note: It's always best to review your published file before sending it to others.
5. Click Publish.

Create an Instant Web Page From Your Worksheet or Workbook

If you need to add a worksheet to an existing website, the easiest way is to let Excel create an HTML file. In almost all cases, all elements of your worksheet will appear as you see them, complete with charts and other elements. You can add this file to your website, then link to it within the site or include the link in emails. This tip works best on simpler worksheets. To convert your worksheet to HTML format:

1. With the worksheet open in Excel, click the Office button (2007) or the File Tab (2010), and then click Save As.
2. In the Save As dialog box, select Web Page (*.htm; *.html) (2007) or Web Page (2010) in the drop-down Save as type list.
3. Select either the Entire Workbook or Selection: Sheet option. In most cases, you'll want to save just the current worksheet.
4. Change the Save in destination folder and the file name, if you wish.
5. Click Save.
6. Add the resulting .htm file to your web site, using your normal tools, then link to it within the site or include a link to the page in your communications.

Use Excel Charts and Graphics Anywhere

Excel does a great job of creating charts and other graphics from your data. Often, a chart or other graphic you've created carefully in Excel is an excellent way to depict the data you want to share. Most Excel users aren't aware that you can turn your charts and other graphical elements into standalone JPEG or GIF graphics files, capable of being used anywhere. The process is simple and requires only a few seconds. Here's how:

1. Select the chart or other Excel graphic by clicking on a blank area in it.
2. Press Ctrl-C to copy the graphic to the Windows clipboard.
3. Open Windows Paint, or your favorite graphics program.
4. Press Ctrl-V to paste the image into Windows Paint.
5. If the image doesn't fill the space in the Windows Paint window, click outside of your pasted image, and then click and drag the lower right corner handle of the white space up to match your image's size.
6. Select File*Save.
7. In the Save dialog box, specify a destination folder, and then enter a file name. Select JPEG or GIF in the Save as type list, and click Save.

Reduce the Number of Pages When Printing From Excel

If you need a compact printed version of an Excel worksheet or workbook, there's a little known way to shrink your printout down to size. This is especially useful if you just need a printout for reference purposes when you're on the road. Fewer pages with good readability can be a real plus when you're not in your office. Excel will shrink all elements of the workbook to fit the number of pages you specify. You can usually cut the number of pages in half without sacrificing readability. Here's how to do this:

1. With your workbook loaded in Excel, click the Office (2007) button or the File tab (2010), and then hover your mouse pointer over Print in Excel 2007 and select Print Preview. In Excel 2010, the preview appears automatically when you click Print.
2. In the Print or Print Preview screen, click Page Setup.
3. In the Page Setup dialog box, click the Page tab.
4. If the Orientation is set to Landscape, click Portrait to change the setting for best results.
5. Click Fit to, then enter the desired number of pages in the tall list. Normally, you'll leave the number of pages wide set at 1.
6. Click OK.
7. In Excel 2007, Click the Zoom button to make sure the printout will be easily readable, and repeat steps 2-6 to change the number of pages if necessary.
8. Click Print to print your compact workbook.

Kathy Yakal

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Kathy Yakal has been writing about personal and business technology since 1983, as an editor and writer at COMPUTE! Publications. She writes frequently for The Progressive Accountant on technology topics.She began freelancing and specializing in financial applications in 1988. Her columns, features, and reviews have appeared in publications including Barron’s, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, and PC Magazine.