February 2008 Archives

Conditional formatting refers to the ability to format a cell based on its value. Conditional formatting makes it easy to highlight certain values so that they stand out visually. For example, you may set up conditional formatting so that if a formula returns a negative value, the cell background displays green.

To start out, define your data as a Table.  Steps 1 - 2 assume that the entire worksheet is to be formatted as a table.

1. Click in the first cell.
2. In the Styles group, click on Format as Table.
3. Select a table type. If the data has a header row, leave "My Table has headers" checked.
4. Click OK.
5. Click the Home tab. Highlight a column of data you need to apply the Conditional Formatting to.
6. In the Styles group, click on Conditional Formatting.
7. You can choose from any number of default choices.
   
   Excel 2007 provides a number of new data visualizations: data bars, color scales, and icon sets. You can also use the Manage Rules choice to review all the rules you have.
   
   But the various default choices should be a great start.

Note: In the past, a cell could have at most three conditions applied. With Excel 2007, a you can format a cell based on an unlimited number of conditions.

Of course you can use your mouse to highlight cells in a Word table. But Word provides any number of ways to use the keyboard. These keyboard shortcuts are for Windows. They will work in both Word 2003 and Word 2007.

Extend a Selection

To extend a selection from one cell, hold down the <Shift> key and press any arrow key (Right, Left, Up, Down) to highlight cells.

Block a Selection

This is a beefier "extend" selection. Another plus to this technique is that you don't need to hold down a key while making the selection. To start, click in a cell, then press <Ctrl> + <Shift> + <F8>. Now,  press arrow keys (Right, Left, Up, Down) to block your selection. When done, press <Esc> to cancel selection mode.

Select All

To select an entire table in Microsoft Word place the cursor anywhere within the table. With the Num Lock off, press <Alt> + <Shift> + <Numeric Keypad 5>. The entire table is instantly highlighted.

Dell notebook users may not have access to an external numeric keypad. You'll need to make use of the embedded keypad. Numbers and symbols are marked in blue on the right of the keypad keys. Unlike above, you need to have the Num Lock on, be sure that the keypad is enabled. Press <Num Lk>. The Num Lock light (lock with the 9) should indicate that the keypad is active. On Dell Latitudes, the letter "I" corresponds to the keypad 5 key. So, the key combination to select the table would be <Fn> + <Alt> + <Shift> + <I>.