MS Excel

In Excel, every workbook has 255 columns and 65,526 rows. These values are fixed and cannot be changed. If you need more rows, you might want to consider using a database (such as Access) or another spreadsheet (Quattro Pro can handle a million rows) for data storage. In most cases, you probably don't need to work with all of your data at once. You'll usually need only a subset of your data. You can use Excel's Data, Get External Data command to query the database and bring in only the records you need.

First, remember that passwords are case sensitive. So if you originally entered your password as Xyzzy, typing xyzzy won't work. If you know you're entering the password correctly, then it's time to start looking for a password recovery utility. Several utilities exist, and none of them are free. Do an Internet search for "Excel password recovery," and you'll find several products that will come to the rescue. By the way, the fact that these products exist might raise some alarms for the security-minded. Bottom line? Excel password protection isn't as secure as you might expect.

In a word, no. It would certainly be helpful to be able to color-code your worksheet tabs. For some reason, Microsoft hasn't implemented this feature, which has been available in 1-2-3 and Quattro Pro for quite a while.

Excel comments are indicated by a small red dot in the upper right corner of the cell. Float your mouse pointer over the dot and the comment pops up.

Somehow Excel's fixed-decimal mode was turned on. To return to normal, select Tools, Options to display the Options dialog box. Then click the Edit tab and remove the check mark from the "Fixed decimal" option. Of course, this feature can be useful when entering some types of data, but most of the time, you'll want to keep the fixed-decimal mode turned off.

Excel 97 is not backwards-compatible with Excel 95/7.0. Files saved as Excel 97 files do not open in Excel 95/7.0. The standard (and not very friendly) message offered by Excel when you try to open a 97 file in 95 is the "File format is not valid".

If you know someone with Excel 97, they should be able to open the files and then do a "Save As" Excel 95/7.0, but any new features from 97 would be lost.

First method: Copy the cell from the original sheet. Go to the new sheet, but do not paste. Do a Edit>Paste Special>Values. This will copy the value instead of the formula to the new sheet.

Second method: set up a formula on the new sheet that points to the total on the back sheet. If your total is on Sheet2, cell D20 you would enter this formula on sheet 1:

=Sheet2!D20

Then, as you change data on Sheet 2 and the totals change, they will automatically update on Sheet 1.

If all of your names are in column A, insert a new, temporary column B. The formula for cell B2 would be:

=""""&A2&""""

Yes, there are four sets of quotes there. The first and fourth quote indicate that you need to append text before the value in A2. The 2nd and 3rd quote is a special Excel code to put in a quote mark. Copy the formula from B2 down to B3216. Then, copy column B, and use Paste Special, Values to change the formulas to values.

In Excel, you would use something called an array formula. If your range of cells is in A1:A100, you would type the following formula:

=SUM(IF(A1:A100>0,1,0)) instead of hitting enter, you would hit Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

This keystroke tells Excel it is an array formula. It will evaluate each cell in the range, and if it is greater than 0, add 1 to your result. Otherwise, it will add zero to your result.

A second solution in Excel 97 is to use Countif. =COUNTIF(A1:A100,">0")

Excel 2000 (due out later this year) adds support for the Euro.

This seems like an incredible pain, but I have to use it all of the time.

If your spreadsheet is set up with the numerand in column A, the divisor in B, and in C you are trying to calculate A/B, then you would enter this formula in cell C2:

=IF(B2=0,"NA",A2/B2)

At my job, we use NA to indicate that a number divided by 0 is not applicable. If, as you say, you want a zero there, then you would use this formula:

=IF(B2=0,0,A2/B2)

Enter a time in cell A2 as 1:23:45. Enter a second time in cell B2 as 7:45:08. Then, in C2 enter =B2-A2, you will get a series of pound signs. It is because column B isn't wide enough to display a time. Make column C wider. Format C2 as time, if necessary. Now, you should have an elapsed time.

As long as you are not using conditional formatting to turn your cells red, this will work.

It assumes you have used the red which is in the first column, third row of the interior color dropdown in Excel 97. This is known as colorindex number 3.

In Excel 95, use Insert Module. In Excel 97, use Alt-F11 to open the visual basic editor. Paste in the following code:

Public Function SumRed(Inrange As Range)

SumRed = 0

For Each cell In Inrange

If cell.Interior.ColorIndex = 3 Then

SumRed = SumRed + cell.Value

End If

Next

End Sub

Now, enter the function =Sumred(B1:B10) in your worksheet.

Before doing the copy, paste special, transpose, could you sort the original dataset so that it is in reverse order?

Say your original data is in A1:100. Add a sequence of numbers in B1:B100 that run from 1 to 100. (This is easy - enter 1 in B1, 2 in B2, highlight B1:B2 and double click the little square in the lower right corner of B2.)

Now, highlight A1:B100 and use Data Sort to sort by column B, Descending.

Now do the original trick. Highlight A1:A100, Copy, move to D2 and Paste Special, Transpose.

Finally, go back, resort A1:B100 by column B, Ascending, erase the values in B and you are all set.

Great question. Easy answer: Highlight the data in your column. C to copy it.

Then go to a blank section of your spreadsheet. pick Edit > Paste Special.

In the paste special dialog box, check the little box that says "Transpose". Then click OK. Your column data now turns into row data.

Microsoft offers a new Tahoma font with the Euro symbol.

Temporarily enter 25 in a cell in an out of the way place. Highlight that cell and hit Ctrl-C to copy the cell. Now, highlight your range of cells in column E. Select Edit>Paste Special. Click the add radio button and click OK. The contents of the clipboard (25) will be added to each cell in column A.

This happens all of the time to MrExcel. I downloaded a little macro from Microsoft which helps you delete these links. Microsoft has now upgraded the macro to a full blown add-i