Excel Tips


Control How Your Name Appears in Notes »

November 2, 2023

When I insert a note, the name displayed in bold is Customer. Can I change this so everyone knows which notes I inserted?


Change the Appearance of Cell Notes »

November 1, 2023

I typed a very long note in a cell. The note is longer than the note box will display. How can I read the entire note?


Leave Helpful comments with Cell Notes »

October 31, 2023

I have figured out how to write a confusing formula in Excel. I want to add a note to the worksheet to remind myself how the formula works.


Threaded Comments Debut in 2019 »

October 30, 2023

The commenting system has been upgraded in Office 365 to allow threaded comments.


Pasted URLs Don’t Become Hyperlinks »

October 27, 2023

I pasted hundreds of web site addresses into Excel. They did not turn into hyperlinks. I found that I could select a cell, press F2, then Enter to make the hyperlink. But I don’t want to have to do that hundreds of times.


Remove Hyperlinks Automatically Inserted by Excel »

October 24, 2023

Excel has an annoying habit. Whenever you type something in a cell that looks like an e-mail address or a Web site URL, Excel will underline the value, change the font color to blue, and make it a clickable hyperlink.


Make any Picture Transparent »

October 23, 2023

The image I added as a background using the instructions in the previous topic will not print. How do I add a background image that will print?


Change the Background of a Worksheet »

October 20, 2023

Excel looks boring. It generally has black text on a white background, with gray lines. Can I change the background of a worksheet to liven it up?


Bring Back the Office 2010 Colors And Shiny Objects »

October 19, 2023

When Microsoft introduced themes in Excel 2007, the Office theme was comprised of six bold colors: blue, red, green, purple, aqua, and orange. Millions of workbooks were created using these colors. Suddenly, in Excel 2013 and 2016, the Office theme changed to flat colors: blue, orange, grey, yellow, light blue, green. Because Microsoft named the new theme “Office”, there is no obvious way to get the old colors back.