Page 51 - Excel Workbook for Dummies

06_798452 ch02.qxp 3/13/06 7:34 PM Page 34
34 Part I: Creating Spreadsheets

5. Select OK to close Format Cells. After checking the preview of the conditional
format, select OK again to close the Conditional Formatting dialog box.
6. Reduce the Product Costs in cell B6 from the current -12,175 to -2175 (note that
cell B10 now uses your yellow-on-red conditional formatting because the
Operating Income (loss) in this cell has risen to 109,440, 9,400 above 100,000 con-
dition you set).
To replace an existing entry with a new entry, simply select the cell and enter the
new entry as though the cell were still blank.
7. Click the Undo button on the Standard toolbar or press Ctrl+Z to return the
Product Costs and Operating Income (loss) cells in this spreadsheet to their orig-
inal values. (Note how the conditional formatting immediately disappears when
the value in cell B10 returns to its original 99,440.)
8. Click the Redo button or press Ctrl+Y to undo your undo in step 7, restoring
the -2175 entry in cell B6 and 109,440 calculated value in cell B10. (Note how the
conditional formatting for Operating Income (loss) cell returns.)
9. Check your Income Statement with conditional formatting against the one shown
in Solved2-8.xls in the Chapter 2 folder. When everything checks out, save your
work as a new workbook, Income Statement 06 – condfmt.xls in your My Practice
Spreadsheets folder inside My Documents on your hard disk, and then close the
workbook.

Hiding Columns and Rows

Excel enables you to hide entire columns and rows in your worksheet. You can use this
facility to conceal sensitive data (such as salaries and the like) in a spreadsheet that
are used in formula calculations but that are not for everyone’s eyes.

Hiding columns and rows is a lot like modifying their width and height (in fact, if the
truth be known, a hidden column is just one whose width is reduced to zero and a
hidden row is one whose height is shrunk down to zero). Select the column or columns
to hide and then choose Format➪Column➪Hide or the row or rows to hide and
Format➪Row➪Hide.

To redisplay concealed columns, you select the remaining columns on either side (left
and right) of the hidden columns and then choose Format➪Column➪Unhide. To redis-
play concealed rows, select the rows on either side (above and below) the hidden
rows and then choose Format➪Row➪Unhide. Excel then redisplays all the formerly
hidden columns or rows, which are automatically selected, and all you have to do is
click a single cell anywhere in the worksheet to deselect them.

Q. Is there any way to hide individual cell spaces between). Be aware, however, that
entries in the worksheet rather than entire applying this ;;; Custom number format
columns and rows? hides only the entries as they appear in the
worksheet itself but does nothing to cloak
A. Although Excel does not provide a com- their appearance on the Formula bar when
mand for hiding individual cells or cell the cell cursor is in them. This limits the
ranges, you can accomplish this by creat- usefulness of this method to the distribu-
ing a Custom number format and then tion of printed copies of the spreadsheet as
applying it to their cells. This Custom all the entries in electronic copies are vul-
number contains only the codes ;;; nerable via the Formula bar.
(three semicolons in a row with no