Page 62 - Excel Timesaving Techniques for Dummies

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9 Navigating the
Worksheet

Technique in a Snap

othing is quite as time-consuming and tedious as having to scroll
Save Time By through column after column or row after row of data and blank
Ncells to find the place in your spreadsheet where you need to con-
Saving the cell pointer
where you need to work tinue entering data or make some editing changes. In my Excel training
next classes, I make it a real point to thoroughly cover the most efficient ways
to navigate the spreadsheet. Here, in this technique, I give the same tips
Zipping to the end of a and tricks for getting where you need to go as quickly as possible.
table, sheet, or workbook
Using Go To This technique on effectively navigating the spreadsheet and
Technique 10 on making the most efficient cell selections are proba-
Zooming out on the bly the most important timesavers in this part of the book; so,
worksheet listen up!

Saving the Cell Pointer’s Position

Many Excel users forget the simple fact that the program always saves
the cell pointer’s current position in the workbook as part of the file. This
means that when you’re working on a spreadsheet over a period of sev-
eral days, you want to make sure that at the end of your work session
you set yourself up in the workbook so you’re immediately ready to go
the next time you open the workbook file.
To do this, I always make a conscious effort to position the cell pointer in
the cell at the beginning of the range where I will continue working the
next time I open the spreadsheet. Then I save the workbook file one last
time before exiting the Excel program. That way, the next time I work on
the spreadsheet, I’m ready to resume entering the remaining data or to
continue making my edits without having to waste any time scrolling or
finding that position.