It’s easy to protect a worksheet in Excel, but it’s not so obvious how you leave some of the cells unprotected, to allow changes on a protected worksheet. You can follow this tutorial to learn how to do that, and maybe you’ll even see the weird dialog box heading that I show below.
Category: Excel tips
Unwanted Files Open Automatically When Excel Starts
Do unwanted files open automatically when Excel starts? Perhaps something changed in your computer, and Excel files are opening automatically, and you want to get rid of them. Keep reading, to see where those files might be located, and how to stop them from opening.
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Built-In Excel Data Form Tips and Quirks
Someone emailed me last week about problems with a range named Database. For reasons known only to the hamsters that operate my brain wheels, that reminded me of Excel’s Data Form.
It’s a built-in data entry tool, that lists all the fields in a table, with entry boxes for some fields, and the formula results showing. You can scroll through the records, or find specific records, based on criteria.
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Delete Custom Toolbar from Excel Ribbon
In Excel 2003, you could create a custom toolbar, and attach it to a specific workbook. I didn’t use that feature, but occasionally I receive a workbook where someone has attached a toolbar.
Keep reading, to see how you can delete a custom toolbar from the Excel Ribbon, if you don’t want to see it.
Who Plays Your Role in a Movie About Excel?
Mike Alexander, Microsoft Excel MVP, and madcap owner of DataPig Technologies, is interviewing Excel people this summer, and posting the interviews on his Bacon Bits blog. Lots of fun!
Here’s the only picture that I have of Mike, and apparently John Walkenbach has a photo of me.
Scene Stealing Squirrel
It’s funny, that picture reminds me of something, but I can’t quite remember what it is.
- Hint: In case you haven’t seen online photos with that squirrel added, it was a popular Internet Meme for a few months. You can read about “Crasher Squirrel” on the Know Your Meme website.
The Interview Questions
Mike sent each of us a list of thought-provoking questions, then published our answers, along with his astute comments and career-enhancing photos.
This week it was my turn, and you can read the results here: DataPig’s Interview with Debra Dalgleish
- Update: Mike’s website is no longer online, so I’ve found the interview on the WayBack machine, and posted at the end of this page.
Interview Photo
The first picture in Mike’s article was from a Microsoft conference that I attended in 2008.
As you can see below, I’ve already given the poor guy beside me a headache.
I’m surprised that my lightning-fast throat chop was captured on film. Or, it might not have been a throat chop. I might have been telling someone how much frosty beverage to put in my glass.
Who Plays You in the Excel Movie?
One of Mike’s interview questions was “Who plays your role in a movie about Excel?” You’ll have to read Mike’s article to see my answer.
And what about you? When they make “Excel: The Movie”, who will play your role?
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Mike Alexander’s Interview with Debra Dalgleish
- Update: Mike’s website is no longer online, so I’ve found the interview on the WayBack machine, and posted it below, for historical reference (and a bit of humour).
It’s summer time and blog readership will be down. So I’m saving my good Excel and Access tricks for later. Right now, I m continuing a series called ‘Road of the Excel Bastards’.
This is my take on a series called Road of the Excel Masters started a long time ago by Excel MVP, Colo. In his series, he would interview Excel gurus, asking them Excel related questions.
In my version, I’m asking questions that have nothing to do with Excel. Let’s get to know our Excel gurus through the prism of 10 stupid questions.
Today’s Excel Bastard is Debra Dalgleish!
Here is Debra about to throat chop an unsuspecting victim.
Debra is the Canadian purveyor of one of the most outstanding Excel sites out there, Contextures.com, and a published author of several Excel books. What can I say about Debra? On the surface, she looks like a very serious person, but she is really just a kid at heart, up for anything fun and interesting. I bet I could talk her into ringing on doorbells then running away.
Here is my ground-breaking interview with Debra Dalgleish, Excel Guru.
DataPig: What’s your favorite thing in your refrigerator right now?
Debra: Beef tenderloin and champagne. Oh, never mind, they’re gone now.
It’s late – so Debra just whipped up a quick tenderloin and champagne meal…nothing fancy.
DataPig: Red Shirt or Blue?
Debra: No preference – please send either colour.
DataPig: How many hats do you have?
Debra: Author, blogger, consultant, mom, annoying friend….too many hats to count.
Good news – there IS a hat made specifically for annoying book-writing moms who own their own consulting business.
Here it is.
DataPig: Who plays your role in a movie about Excel?
Debra: Chuck Norris
Yeah…that makes sense.
DataPig: Which Superpower do you want: Invisibility, Flight, Strength, or Mind Reading?
Debra: Afraid of heights, no point in lifting things, can already read minds, so that leaves invisibility. Could be fun.
DataPig: What’s the title of your autobiography?
Debra: Of Mice and Men
DataPig: Who do you like better, Tom or Jerry?
Debra: Ben.
DataPig: What’s the most important part of the sandwich?
Debra: The right amount of salt
DataPig: What’s the Best thing you ever ate?
Debra: A tossed salad. I know – I’m surprised too.
DataPig: What’s the Worst thing you ever ate?
Debra: Crow.
Sample Data to Use in Excel
If you’re doing Excel training, or writing blog posts, or creating sample files, you might need to find some public sample data to use in Excel files. Here are a few sources to check.
Excel Calculation Automatic or Manual
Automatic or manual makes me think of cars, and choosing a transmission type, but an Excel workbook can also be on Automatic or Manual calculation.
And just like a car, it’s safest if you know what type of Excel calculation mode you’re driving, before you head for the information highway.
Insert More Than One Row in Excel
If you’ve used Excel for a while, you have lots of skills that you might assume everyone else shares. For example, you probably know how to insert more than one row in Excel, without adding them one at a time. If not, here’s how to do that.
Fast Excel Tips for a Holiday Weekend
Yesterday was Canada Day, and Sunday is the July 4th celebration in the USA, so your brain might be in holiday mode today.
Instead of a long, complicated blog post, here are a few quick Excel tips, in very, very, short videos. The longest one is 15 seconds!
Change Number of Sheets in New Excel Files
You don’t have to live with the default number of sheets in a new Excel file. Instead of having 3 blank sheets in each new workbook, you can reduce the number, or increase it.
There are many more Workbook Tips on my Contextures site.
Customize the Excel Status Bar
You can add or remove the features on the Excel 2007 Status Bar. For example, add new summary functions in the AutoCalc section, or show the status of special keys, such as Caps Lock or Num Lock.
There are many more Status Bar Tips on my Contextures website. For example, use the statistics section to help with formula troubleshooting.
Lock the Top Section of a Worksheet
If you want to be able to see the top few rows of a worksheet, even if you scroll down, you can freeze them.
There are many more Freeze Panes Tips on my Contextures site.
More Quick Excel Tips
If your brain can absorb a few more quick tips, check out the Excel Quick Tips Videos on the Contextures website. Happy Holidays!
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Excel Newsgroups Disappeared-Find Excel Help Resources
In the past, I highly recommended the Excel newsgroups as a place to go for help. However, earlier this month, Microsoft shut down their newsgroup servers, where thousands of people every month had gone to post their Excel questions, and the Excel newsgroups disappeared.
[Updated 2020-12-09]
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