| A. Perhaps you’re committing a naming error. Many people fall into the trap because of a programming idiosyncrasy. But before showing you the error, let me describe how—and why—names are used in Excel. Giving names to cells, or even groups of cells, makes Excel much easier to use. For example, it’s far easier to recognize a cell if you name it Travel Expenses rather than a code, A1, for example.
 But—and this is where you probably made your mistake—if a cell’s name is made up of more than one word, there can be no spaces between the words. If the name does have more than one word, fill in the space with an underscore (_). You can also use periods (.), backslashes (\) and question marks (?). In addition, names must start with either a letter, a backslash or an underscore.
There are two ways to name a cell: After you highlight the target cell, go to Insert, Name, Define Name and enter the name you want under Names in workbook and click on Add . All the names you added will be displayed on the screen, and when you highlight one, its location will be disclosed under Refers to: (see screenshot at right).
A faster way to add a name is to highlight the target cell and then type your choice of name— Sales in this case—in the Name box in the upper left-hand corner of the worksheet. In the screenshot, the box contains the word Sales .
If you want a cell to show sales minus travel expenses, you would type in this formula: =sum(Sales-Travel_Expenses) .
Technology
Get Excel To Produce The Right Number Of Blank Worksheets
March 2003
Q. When I create a new spreadsheet workbook, Excel opens three worksheets. All I want is one, and those extra worksheets bug me. How can I get Excel to stop it?
 A. That’s one of Excel’s defaults. But worry not, you can easily change it. Go to Tools, Options and click on the General tab. Under Sheets in new workbook , change the default to 1. By the way, you can set the number as high as 255.
Notice also, while you’re in the Options menu, that you can change several other defaults: You can increase (or decrease) the number of files in the Recently used files list . (When you click on File , Excel displays the addresses of your most recently opened files for fast launching.) You also can change the default location (folder) of an initially saved file. In addition, you can adjust a worksheet’s default font style and its size.
Now what do you do when you have reduced the default to just one new worksheet and you suddenly find you need another worksheet or two? To add a new worksheet, choose Insert, Worksheet , and Excel will add the worksheet and name it (in this case) Sheet2. An even faster way to create a new worksheet is to right-click on any worksheet tab; that produces a drop-down menu and one of the items is Insert . Click on it and you have a new worksheet, and that, too, will be prenamed.
What do you do if the order of tabs now is out of sequence—Sheet2, Sheet1, Sheet3, for example? To sort it manually, just grab any tab, drag it to a new location and release the mouse button.
Technology
Convert Emails Into Calendar Appointments With Priorities
March 2003
Q. I often get e-mails that demand a timely response or require that I schedule something in my calendar. But when the e-mails come in rapidly, I’m sometimes too pressed to respond immediately. Isn’t there a way to link my e-mails to my calendar so I can create instant reminders for myself?
 A. There are two things you can do. The simplest is to add a follow-up flag to the new e-mail. In your Inbox , right-click on a message; this generates a menu that includes a Follow Up item identified with a little red flag. When you click on it, the following screen at right appears:
Add the date for follow-up in the Due by: space, and Outlook will alert you on that day. In the meantime, the red flag will stay on the e-mail message in your Inbox until you clear it (see screenshot below).
 Another thing you can do is drag the message from your Inbox onto the Calendar icon on the Outlook Bar . That evokes this screen:
Enter the date and time you want to reply, and specify any additional options you want; it will save to your calendar as an appointment.
Technology
Stop Words Auto Format From Second Guessing On Numbering Lists
March 2003
Q. Every time I make a list—for example 1, 2, 3 or a, b, c—Word second-guesses me and tries to complete the numbering sequence on its own. Some people may think that’s cool, but I find it annoying. Is there some way to stop it?
 A. Not only can you halt the numbering mischief, but you can halt other instances of Word’s second-guessing. The culprit is the AutoFormat As You Type utility that’s included in AutoCorrect . While the idea behind AutoCorrect is great—and it even does some jobs pretty well—many users have become frustrated when it incorrectly anticipates what you want to do—imposing the numbering sequence, for instance, when you’re making a list.
Here’s how to turn it off and get rid of similar AutoCorrect problems. Click on Tools, AutoCorrect Options. Then click on the AutoFormat As You Type tab, and that will bring up the screen at right.
Now, under Replace as you type , uncheck the box marked Automatic numbered lists . If you dislike the automated bulleted lists, then uncheck that, too.
If you don’t want Word to automatically convert your typed URLs and e-mail addresses into hyperlinks, uncheck that box also.
Technology
Shortcuts
March 2003
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