Datasheet

Using an Alternative
to Cell Comments
As you probably know, you can attach a comment to any cell by using the Review ➪
Comments ➪ New Comment button (or, by right-clicking the cell and choosing Insert
Comment from the shortcut menu). Use Review ➪ Comments ➪ Show All Comments to
toggle the display of comments. The Excel Options dialog box has additional comment
viewing options, found in the Display section of the Advanced tab. A user can choose to
hide all comments and comment indicators — which means that your comments will never
be seen.
This tip describes how to use Excel’s Data Validation feature to display a pop-up message
whenever a cell is activated. It’s a good way to ensure that your “comment” will always be
seen, regardless of the user’s comment viewing setting.
Follow these steps to add a message to a cell:
1. Activate the cell that you want to display the pop-up message.
2. Select Data ➪ Data Tools ➪ Data Validation to display the Data Validation dialog box.
3. In the Data Validation dialog box, click the Input Message tab.
4. (Optional) In the Title field, enter a title for your message.
5. Enter the message itself in the Input Message box.
6. Click OK to close the Data Validation dialog box.
After you perform these steps, the message appears whenever the cell is activated (see
Figure 23-1 for an example). You can also click and drag the message to a different loca-
tion, if it’s in your way.
Figure 23-1: This pop-up message was created by using Excel’s Data Validation feature.
Tip 23: Using an Alternative to Cell Comments
60
04_137666 ch01.qxp 5/22/07 7:31 PM Page 60