Datasheet

Selecting commands from the Ribbon
The most direct method for selecting commands on the Ribbon is to click the
tab that contains the command button you want and then click that button in
its group. For example, to insert a piece of Clip Art into your spreadsheet, you
click the Insert tab and then click the Clip Art button to open the Clip Art task
pane in the Worksheet area.
The easiest method for selecting commands on the Ribbon — if you know your
keyboard at all well — is to press the Alt key and then type the sequence of
letters designated as the hot keys for the desired tab and associated command
buttons.
When you first press and release the Alt key, Excel displays the hot keys for
all the tabs on the Ribbon. When you type one of the Ribbon tab hot keys to
select it, all the command button hot keys appear next to their buttons along
with the hot keys for the Dialog Box launchers in any group on that tab (see
Figure 1-5). To select a command button or Dialog Box launcher, simply type
its hot key letter.
If you know the old Excel shortcut keys from versions Excel 97 through 2003,
you can still use them. For example, instead of going through the rigmarole of
pressing Alt+HC to copy a cell selection to the Windows Clipboard and then
Alt+HV to paste it elsewhere in the sheet, you can still press Ctrl+C to copy
the selection and then press Ctrl+V when you’re ready to paste it. Note, how-
ever, that when using a hot key combination with the Alt key, you don’t need
to keep the Alt key depressed while typing the remaining letter(s) as you do
when using a hot key combo with the Ctrl key.
Figure 1-5:
When you
press Alt
plus a tab
hot key,
Excel
displays the
hot keys for
selecting all
of its
command
buttons and
Dialog Box
launchers.
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Chapter 1: The Excel 2007 User Experience
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