Datasheet

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Chapter 1
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Navigating in Excel and Understanding the Interface
Once the worksheets have self-explanatory names and are categorized by color, the next
important step is to put them in some logical order. For example, sheets that include data from
different time periods should be in chronological order, or sheets that have no real logical
order based on their contents should be in alphabetical order. The important thing is that the
order makes sense to you and any others using this workbook, similar to the way a filing sys-
tem should be intuitive to the people using it.
Arranging Worksheets in a Logical Order
Don’t forget that workbooks can become quite large and the number of worksheets increases
as you add new data. Think of the sheets as chapter names in a book and how important it is
to have those chapters in a sequence that makes sense. Use the instructions in Exercise 1.12 to
put the sheets in the correct order and add new sheets.
Using Tab Colors
Applying different tab colors not only makes it easier to see which sheet is active, but color
coding also works well for categorizing the worksheets. I once helped a company that used a
workbook to keep records of sales for different stores in a chain. There were 20 stores and
each store was part of either the Eastern region or the Western region categories. A separate
worksheet was made for each store, with the tab showing the name of that store, and that
worked well for them. However, they wanted a quick way to identify which store was in which
region. So, we color-coded the sheet tabs so that all stores in the Eastern region had red tabs,
while all stores in the Western region had blue tabs. This was very helpful to the company.
EXERCISE 1.12
Inserting, Moving, and Copying Worksheets
If you want to move a worksheet to a different location, you can simply drag it with your
mouse and drop it where you want it.
1. Click the March Sales sheet tab in Exercise 1-1.xls.
2. Holding your mouse button down on the tab shows a white sheet of paper attached to the
mouse pointer. Continue to hold the mouse button down and move the pointer until it is
positioned to the right of the February Sales tab. The small black arrow pointing down-
ward indicates where the sheet will be placed when you release the mouse button. When
you see the black arrow to the right of the February Sales tab, release the mouse button.
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