FastTips for Excel 3.0 for Windows: Usage Q&A

    Microsoft Product Support Services Application Note (Text File)
                  WE0569: USAGE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

                                                   Revision Date: 8/92
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1. Q. Every time I try to enter data, such as "5 Days Remaining," in a
      worksheet, Microsoft Excel version 3.0 for Windows displays a
      message telling me an error exists in the formula. Also, the
      HOME, END, and CTRL keys no longer work as they did previously.

   A. The most likely reason for this behavior is that Microsoft Excel
      version 3.0 for Windows is in alternate navigation mode. The
      following three-step procedure corrects this problem:

      Step 1. From the Options menu, choose Workspace to restore Excel
      keyboard functionality.

      Step 2. Clear the Alternate Navigation Keys check box. To do
      this, either click the check box with the mouse, or press K on
      the keyboard.

      Step 3. Choose the OK button or press ENTER.

      For more information on alternate navigation keys, please refer
      to pages 46-55 of the "Microsoft Excel User's Guide" for version
      3.0.

2. Q. All my new worksheets use the same font for screen display and
      printed output. How can I use a new default font so that any new
      worksheets I create display and print using the font of my
      choice?

   A. The Helvetica 10-point font is the default that Microsoft Excel
      version 3.0 for Windows uses with Microsoft Windows version 3.0.
      The MS Sans Serif 10-point font is the default that Microsoft
      Excel 3.0 uses with Windows version 3.1. The default font in
      Microsoft Excel 3.0 can be changed by modifying the EXCEL.INI
      file, which is located in the WINDOWS directory.

      The following three-step process changes the default font used
      in any new worksheet you create:

      Step 1. Quit Microsoft Excel 3.0. From the Program Manager File
      menu, choose Run. In the Command Line dialog box, type the
      following:

         notepad excel.ini

      This opens the Microsoft Windows Notepad program and the
      EXCEL.INI file.

      Step 2. Insert a line after the [Microsoft Excel] section of the
      EXCEL.INI file, and type the following line:

         font=fontname,size

      where "fontname" is the name of the font, as spelled in the Font
      dialog box in Microsoft Excel 3.0, and "size" is the point size
      of the font to be used.

      Step 3. From the File menu, choose Save. From the Notepad File
      menu, choose Exit. Restart Microsoft Excel 3.0. Microsoft Excel
      3.0 now uses the font you selected as the default for any new
      worksheet.

      For more information on the EXCEL.INI file, please refer to the
      README.TXT file in your EXCEL directory.

3. Q. How can I import text files into Microsoft Excel version 3.0 for
      Windows?

   A. If you are importing a text file from a third-party application
      into Microsoft Excel version 3.0 for Windows, it is usually
      necessary to convert the file to a usable format.

      There are three different methods of importing text files into
      Excel. Which method you use depends on the type of delimiter
      used in the text file.

      Method 1. If the file has a column delimiter that is either a
      tab or a comma, use the following three-step process:

      Step 1. From the File menu, choose Open.

      Step 2. Select your file from the list of files or type the
      filename in the File Name box, then choose the Text button.

      Step 3. Under Column Delimiter, select the appropriate option
      button (Tab or Comma) for your file, then choose the OK button
      twice. Now Microsoft Excel 3.0 can open the file correctly.

      You can also rename the file with a .TXT extension (if tab-
      delimited) or a .CSV extension (if comma-delimited). Microsoft
      Excel 3.0 can recognize the format from the file extension and
      open the file correctly.

      Method 2. If the file has a column delimiter other than a tab or
      a comma (such as a semicolon), use the following four-step
      procedure to bring the file into Microsoft Excel 3.0 as a text
      file and then parse it using the Microsoft Excel 3.0 add-in
      macro FLATFILE.XLA:

      Step 1. From the File menu, choose Open. The add-in macro
      FLATFILE.XLA is located in the LIBRARY subdirectory of the EXCEL
      directory. Once you are in the LIBRARY subdirectory, select
      FLATFILE.XLA in the File Name box, then choose the OK button.

      Step 2. From the File menu, choose Open, type the name of your
      text file, then choose the OK button. Once the text file is
      open, select column A with the mouse by clicking the column
      heading. If you do not have a mouse, select column A by
      positioning the cursor in cell A1 and pressing CTRL+SPACEBAR.

      Step 3. From the Data menu, choose Smart Parse. The Smart Parse
      command is available only if FLATFILE.XLA is open.

      Step 4. If the columns in your text file are delimited by one or
      more spaces, choose the Blank Space option button. If the
      delimiter is a forward slash, type a slash character. If the
      delimiter is a different character, choose Other and type the
      character. To remove the extra spaces between the fields in a
      flat file, select the Remove Extra Blank Spaces box. When you
      choose the OK button, each field in each row is parsed out to
      its own cell.

      For more information on opening files into Excel, refer to pages
      338 through 340 of the "Microsoft Excel User's Guide." For more
      information on the FLATFILE.XLA add-in macro, refer to pages
      683-684 in Appendix B of the "Microsoft Excel User's Guide" for
      version 3.0.

4. Q. Can Microsoft Excel version 3.0 for Windows consolidate several
      spreadsheets into a single summary worksheet?

   A. Microsoft Excel version 3.0 for Windows can automatically create
      summary worksheets using the Data Consolidation command. To do
      this, use the following five-step procedure:

      Step 1. Open all the worksheets you want to consolidate.

      Step 2. Activate the summary worksheet by choosing your summary
      sheet from the list of open worksheets on the Window menu or
      open a new worksheet by choosing New from the File menu,
      selecting Worksheet, and choosing the OK button.

      Step 3. From the Data menu, choose Consolidate. The Data
      Consolidation dialog box appears.

      Step 4. Activate the first worksheet you want to consolidate by
      choosing it from the Window menu. Select the range of cells you
      want to consolidate.

      Step 5. Once you select the entire range of cells on the first
      worksheet you are consolidating, choose the Add button. Repeat
      this step until all your worksheets have been added to the list
      of references in the Data Consolidation dialog box. After all
      references have been successfully added, choose the OK button.

      For more information, please refer to pages 328-334 of the
      "Microsoft Excel User's Guide" for version 3.0.

5. Q. How can I export a file that I created in Microsoft Excel
      version 3.0 for Windows as a text file?

   A. There are two different methods of exporting text files in
      Microsoft Excel 3.0. The method you use depends upon the type of
      column delimiter you need in the text file.

      Method 1. If your mainframe system can read tab- or comma-
      delimited files, you can use the following two-step process to
      save the file in text file format:

      Step 1. From the File menu, choose Save As.

      Step 2. Choose the Options button with your mouse, or press
      ALT+O. In the File Format box, select either Text (for a tab-
      delimited file) or CSV (for a comma-delimited file).

      Method 2. If you want to save the file as a flat file (or a file
      that is delimited using spaces between columns), use the
      FLATFILE.XLA add-in macro and the following three-step
      procedure:

      Step 1. From the File menu, choose Open. The add-in macro
      FLATFILE.XLA is located in the LIBRARY subdirectory of the EXCEL
      directory. Once you are in the LIBRARY subdirectory, select
      FLATFILE.XLA in the File Name box, then choose the OK button.

      Step 2. From the File menu, choose Open, type the name of your
      text file, then choose the OK button. Once the text file is
      open, select column A with the mouse by clicking the column
      heading. If you do not have a mouse, select column A by
      positioning the cursor in cell A1 and pressing CTRL+SPACEBAR.

      Step 3. From the Data menu, choose Export. (The Export option is
      available only if FLATFILE.XLA is open.) FLATFILE.XLA prompts
      you to type a filename. Once you have entered a name and chosen
      the OK button, FLATFILE.XLA creates the text file on your hard
      drive. This file now can be imported to any application that
      requires an ASCII flat file.

      For more information on saving files in Microsoft Excel 3.0,
      refer to pages 135-143 of the "Microsoft Excel User's Guide" for
      version 3.0. For more information on the FLATFILE.XLA add-in
      macro, refer to pages 683-684 in Appendix B of the "Microsoft
      Excel User's Guide" for version 3.0.

6. Q. How do I use the new Autosum(TM) feature in Microsoft Excel
      version 3.0 for Windows?

   A. The Autosum feature requires a mouse. If you do not have a
      mouse, you cannot use this feature. If you do have a mouse, use
      the following five-step procedure:

      Step 1. Select a cell directly below or to the right of a column
      of numbers.

      Step 2. Choose the Autosum button on the Microsoft Excel 3.0
      tool bar. (The tool bar is positioned directly below the menu
      bar; the Autosum button resembles the Greek letter sigma and is
      the fifth button from the left.)

      Step 3. Excel activates the formula bar, inserts the SUM
      formula, and selects the cells that it believes you want to sum.
      Excel then selects all the cells in either a row or a column of
      data, until it encounters a blank cell or a cell containing
      nonnumeric data, such as a text label.

      Step 4. Excel makes it easy to identify which cells are being
      summed by placing a dotted moving border around the selected
      cells. If Excel selects cells that you do not want to sum, or
      has not selected all the cells you want to sum, simply adjust
      the selection by selecting the first cell in the range and
      dragging the mouse to the last cell in the range.

      Step 5. You can enter the SUM formula either by choosing the
      Autosum button a second time, or by pressing ENTER.