Page 75 - Excel Timesaving Techniques for Dummies

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Technique 11: Speeding Through Long Data Entries with AutoCorrect
If you have a worksheet that already contains the Smart Tag Actions button (the one with the i
hot links and you want to deactivate them, enclosed in a circle) that appears to the right of the
you need to right-click each link and choose indicator and click its drop-down button.
Remove Hyperlink from the menu that
appears. If smart tags sound like something that would only
complicate your life unnecessarily, you simply need
to make sure that the smart tags option is turned off.
Taming the Smart Tags To do this, select the Smart Tags tab in the
AutoCorrect dialog box (Tools➪AutoCorrect
Options), and then make sure that the Label Data
Depending upon the type of work you do with Excel,
with Smart Tags check box is deselected before you
the Smart Tags feature may appear to you to be
click OK.
either one of the most brilliant or one of the most
useless program features. The way smart tags work
If, however, smart tags seem like something that
in Microsoft Office applications such as Word and
might well enhance your work, you do just the
Excel is that the programs scan their documents
opposite:
looking for particular types of entries (called recog-
nizers) to which it can affix a specific type of smart 1. On the Smart Tags tab of the AutoCorrect dia-
tag program. For example, Excel comes with three
log box, select the Label Data with Smart Tags
smart tag programs, one for dealing with dates,
check box, and then in the Recognizers list
another for dealing with financial symbols used by box, select the check boxes for the smart tag
Wall Street, and a third for dealing with personal programs you want to activate. (See Figure 11-3.)
names:
The Date smart tag program enables you to open
your Microsoft Outlook calendar right to the
date contained in the cell (assuming the date is
one that the calendar program covers).
The Financial Symbol smart tag program enables
you to get an online stock quote for the company
in question from MSN Money.
The Person Name smart tag program enables
you to add people to your Outlook Contacts list,
send an e-mail message to them, or schedule a
meeting with them.
When Excel identifies an entry for a particular smart
tag program, it inserts a Smart Tag indicator in the
lower-right corner of its cell — the indicator initially
appears as a small purple triangle. To select one of
the actions offered by a particular smart tag pro-
gram, position the mouse pointer over its smart tag • Figure 11-3: Modifying the smart tag settings.
indicator and then position the mouse pointer over