Datasheet

NOTE

Keep in mind that the effect of executing a macro cannot be undone. In fact, running a

macro wipes out all the Undo information. This serious weakness in Excel isn’t present in

Microsoft Word. However, at least Excel 2007 fixed another Undo-related problem. In

previous versions, saving your workbook destroyed the Undo information. Fortunately,

that’s no longer the case.

Redoing

The Redo button (located to the right of the Undo button on the QAT) essentially undoes

the Undo command. If you undo too much, you can click the Redo button (or press Ctrl+Y

or F4) to repeat commands that have been undone.

Repeating

You can repeat a command by pressing Ctrl+Y or F4. This command simply repeats the last

action — unless the last operation was an Undo operation. In this case, the Undo is undone

(as described in the previous section).

Repeating a command can be a great timesaver. Here’s an example of how useful the

Repeat command can be. You may apply lots of formatting (for example, font size, bold for-

matting, background color, and borders) to a cell by using the Format Cells dialog box.

After you close the dialog box, it’s a snap to apply that same formatting to other cells or

ranges by pressing Ctrl+Y. Or, you may need to insert blank rows at certain locations in

your worksheet. Issue the Home ➪ Cells ➪ Insert ➪ Insert Sheet Rows command one time.

Then move the cell pointer to the next row to be inserted and press Ctrl+Y to repeat the

row insertion command.

Excel also has a Repeat button, but it’s not normally available. You can, however, add this

button to your QAT:

1. Right-click the QAT and choose Customize Quick Access Toolbar to display the

Customize tab of the Excel Options dialog box.

2. In the Excel Options dialog box, select Popular Commands from the drop-down list on

the right.

3. In the list of commands, select Repeat.

4. Click Add to add the selected command to the QAT.

5. Click OK to close the Excel Options dialog box.

Why add the Repeat button to your QAT, when pressing Ctrl+Y is so easy? One reason is

that you can hover your mouse pointer over the button and Excel displays a description of

what will be repeated (see Figure 5-2). Another reason is that the Repeat button is dis-

abled if the most recent command cannot be repeated — a visual cue that may prevent you

from trying to repeat something that can’t be repeated.

Tip 5: Undoing, Redoing, and Repeating

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