Fix a column header problem, QAT tips, and more, in this month’s Excel news. Visit my Excel website for more tips, tutorials and videos, and check the index for past issues of this newsletter.
- New on Contextures
- Quick Tip: QAT Buttons
- Column Heading Numbers
- Excel Quiz
- Excel Stories
- Monthly Photo – Fun & Games
New on Contextures
1) New File – Meeting Dates: Someone asked how to calculate upcoming committee meetings, based on a start date. The goal was to make a list in Excel, and copy it to Word later. On my Sample Files page, in the Functions section, look for FN0076 – Upcoming Meeting Dates
2) New File – Advent Calendar: I’ve added a new file on my Advent Calendars page. There are notes in the Advent Calendar – No Macros 3 section, and you can get the file at the end of the download (no macro) section.
3) Add-in Update: I’ve updated my Pivot Power Free add-in, to fix one of the Ribbon commands — List All Pivot Tables. If you have an older copy, I recommend downloading the latest version!
Quick Tip: QAT Buttons
Excel’s Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) is a great place to put your most-used commands, so they’re easy to find when you need them!
Also, instead of clicking on the commands, you can press Alt and a number. For example, my QAT has Clear Filter as the first button, so I can press Alt+1 to use it.
There are lots more tips on my Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) page.
Column Heading Numbers
Have you ever opened an Excel file, and the column headings showed numbers (1, 2, 3), instead of column letters (A, B, C)?
The formulas look strange too, with square brackets in them.
What’s the Problem?
If you see numbers in the Excel column headings, the workbook is set to R1C1 reference style. Usually, a workbook uses A1 reference style.
First Workbook
Excel’s reference style is set by the first workbook that you open during an Excel session. So, here’s how you could end up with column numbers, instead of letters:
- A co-worker used R1C1 style, then sent you a copy of their workbook
- You opened their file first thing in the morning
Turn Off R1C1
To get back to letter headings for your Excel columns, you can change an option setting:
- Click the File tab, then click Options
- In the Formulas category, scroll down to Working with Formulas
- Remove the check mark from R1C1 Reference style.
You’ll find more R1C1 tips, videos, and macros, on my Excel Column Numbers page.
Quick Excel Quiz
Do you know the answers to these two quick Excel quizzes?
- What’s the maximum number of characters in an Excel cell?
- a) 1023, b) 4095, c) 16383, d) 32767
- Which version of Excel had a hidden Flight Simulator game?
- a) Excel 95, b) Excel 97, c) Excel 2000, d) Excel 2002
The answers are below the monthly photo, and you can find more Excel quizzes and polls on my YouTube channel.
Excel Stories
There were a couple of interesting Excel articles posted recently.
- In Las Vegas last week, a Canadian won the Microsoft Excel World Championship! If you missed the live streaming, you can watch the entire competition on YouTube (7 hr and 23 minutes)
- Five of Excel’s text functions are getting improvements, to prevent them from double counting some characters. A new feature will be added too – Compatibility Versions.
Photo: Fun & Games
At our house, we’ve got game boards sitting on a table, ready to play. Which game would you choose – cribbage, chess or euchre?
And when we get together at Christmas, someone usually brings out our crokinole board too! What’s crokinole? Canada’s History explains the game and its origins. And this article covers the games’s fierce competitions!
Quiz Answers
- d) A worksheet cell can hold up to 32767 characters
- b) Excel 97 had a hidden Flight Simulator game, which was Excel’s most famous Easter Egg!
That’s it for this month! If you have any comments or questions, please let me know, in the comments below!
P.S. Visit my Contextures site for more Excel tips, tutorials and videos.
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Original source: https://contexturesblog.com/archives/2024/12/10/debras-excel-news-dec-2024/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=debras-excel-news-dec-2024