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To
help readers follow the
instructions in this article, we
used two different typefaces: Boldface
type is used to
identify the names of icons,
agendas and URLs. Sans
serif type
shows the names of files and the
names of commands and
instructions that users should
type into the computer.
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DATA WITH
A CLICK
 I’m
preparing a memo for clients that contains
definitions of many technical terms. Although I
must include those definitions somewhere in the
memo for nonaccountants, I don’t want the
definitions to get in the way of the flow of the
text; nor do I want them stuck at the end, thus
making readers flip back and forth to read them.
Can I add a button that, when pressed, will take
a reader to the definition?
 A hyperlink
would be perfect for the job. A hyperlink is like
a super bookmark that automatically sends a
reader to a specific location either in the same
document, another document or in Excel or
PowerPoint. For example, if your Word memo needs
to refer to data in an Excel spreadsheet, a
hyperlink will do the trick. Here’s how it
works in Word:
Place
your memo in one document and all the definitions
in another. Open both documents and click on Windows,
Arrange All. That places both
documents on the screen—one above the other
(see screenshot below).
Now
go to the definitions page and highlight the
first definition, right-click on it and drag the
text to the place in the memo where you want it
to be available. Then release the mouse button,
and this screen will appear (see screenshot
below).
.
Now
click on Create Hyperlink Here
and the hyperlink (see screenshot below) will
appear.
When
readers come to the term “technical
terms,” they just need to hold down the Ctrl
key and click on the hyperlink and the definition
pops up. To
create links in Excel or PowerPoint, the process
is slightly different. If the data you want to
display with the hyperlink are in Excel, you must
define the data with either a range or a name
(see screenshot of defined data with the name
“QuarterSales”).
Then
copy the name, switch to the Word document, click
on Edit and then on Paste
as Hyperlink (see screenshot below).
That
immediately pastes the hyperlink into the
document (see screenshot).
To
do it in PowerPoint, copy the slide, switch to
the document and click on Edit
and then on Paste as Hyperlink.
REORDER LINEUP IN A
TABLE
I hesitate
to use tables in Word because they are so hard to
edit. For example, it’s a real pain to
change the sequence of names from one place to
another. Do you have any suggestions?
The trick is
in the Alt and Shift keys. If you want to move
Milo in the table below to the top rank, click in
the Milo row, hold down the Alt and Shift keys
together and press the up arrow as many times as
it takes to bring Milo to the top.
This
shortcut works just as well outside a table. You
can reorder paragraphs as well as items in
bulleted or numbered lists by using the same
technique.
MOVE FORMULAS
CANCELING THE LOCATION ADJUSTMENT
Excel is
just too clever sometimes, especially when it
second-guesses me—and, of course, it often
guesses wrong. For example, when I copy a formula
and enter it in a different cell, Excel decides
to do me a favor and adjust the formula
references so that it’ll now work as it did
before—but now in the new cell. That’s
not what I want. I want Excel to leave the
references as they were. Do I have to go through
the trouble of surrounding the references with
dollar signs to make them absolute so
they’ll stay put?
Excel takes
loads of abuse for guessing wrong. And while some
of the complaints are justified, quite often
it’s the user who is at fault. In most cases
when you copy a formula to a new location, you
want Excel to automatically adjust the cell
references; it’s a great convenience because
you don’t have to go through the trouble of
adjusting each reference manually. But when you
want to keep the references absolute,
there’s an easier way than using dollar
signs: Copy the formula as text and then paste it
to the new location. Here’s how:
Click
on the cell with the formula you want to copy and
press F2. That will convert the formula into text
that will be visible in the cell. Now click and
highlight the entire formula, go to Edit
on your toolbar, click on Copy
and press Enter. Then select the cell where you
want to paste the formula, return to Edit
and click on Paste. You also can
copy just a part of a formula.
If
you need to perform this function often, I
suggest you use the Office Clipboard to
speed up the task. If the Clipboard
icon is not in your toolbar, you’ll find it
under Tools, Customize
(see screenshot below). Just drag the icon up to
the toolbar.
Now
when you need to copy a formula without absolute
references, place your cursor in the cell with
the formula and copy the image that appears in
the Formula bar (fx)—not
in the cell (see screenshot below).
That
action pastes the formula in the Clipboard
(see below).
You
then can paste the formula wherever you please.
ARE EXTENDED
WARRANTIES WORTH THE COST?
Should I
purchase an extended warranty when I buy a new
computer?
In my
opinion, no. I know they sound awfully
attractive. After all, wouldn’t it be great
to just pick up the phone and have the insurance
company send a repairperson?
But
in my experience and in the experience of the
editors of Consumer Reports, new
computers—and all high-tech items, for that
matter—fail so infrequently after the
manufacturers’ warranties run out that the
insurance policies are almost never used. Most
such policies often produce a bigger profit for
the retailer than does the computer itself.
FAST AND EASY
FORMAT CHANGES
I like to
format my memos with a line space between
paragraphs for easier reading. Is there a formula
or a macro to do that in one easy step?
I have
something better than a macro: Press Ctrl+A to
highlight the entire document and then press
Ctrl+0 (that’s a zero), and Word adds a
single line space (that’s a 12-point line
space) before each paragraph.
And
while I’m on the subject of quick and easy
Word format changes, consider some of these
shortcuts:
If reviewers returned your memo with their own
formats in some paragraphs (justified rather than
flush left, for example), you can cancel them by
holding down the Ctrl button while selecting the
changed paragraphs and pressing Q.
If you want to return the paragraphs to the Normal
style, press Ctrl+Shift+N.
To convert lowercase letters to uppercase,
highlight the letters and press Shift+F3. Press
it again to convert to lowercase and once again
to convert to upper-lowercase title format (first
letters of each word are uppercase, the rest are
lowercase).
To convert to small caps, press Ctrl+Shift+K.
If a whole sentence or paragraph is underlined,
spaces included, you can removed the underlines
between the words by pressing Ctrl+Shift+W.
To return text to its original Normal
format, press Ctrl+spacebar.
SIMPLE WAY TO HIDE
EXCEL DATA
Is there a
way to hide the numbers in certain Excel cells
without a lot of formatting fuss or the use of
passwords? I need to be able to print versions of
a spreadsheet without showing certain data.
Likewise, I don’t want them showing in the
worksheet, but I do want to be able to access
them easily.
I know one
way, and it surely is simple. Select the cell you
want to hide and right-click on it. Choose Format
Cells. Be sure you’re in the Number
tab and scroll down to Custom
and in the Type space, enter
three semicolons (;;;) as shown
in the screenshot below and click on OK.
While
you can’t see the information in the cell,
its contents are displayed in the Formula
bar (see screenshot).
SURFING IN PUBLIC
PLACES IS NOT SAFE
How safe are
my data when I surf the Net or send and receive
e-mail in an airport or hotel lobby?
Wireless
surfing in public places leaves you vulnerable to
many hazards. The major risk is unscrupulous
people who use packet sniffers to
capture packets of data as they pass between a
computer and the wireless access point. The
sniffers are software programs (many of which can
be downloaded free online) capable of grabbing
passwords and credit card numbers. If your
wireless access is via a VPN (virtual private
network), you’re safer because of its
built-in encryption.
Other
dangers lurk, too, when you use a public computer
in a hotel. Because e-mails you send and receive
and the Web sites you visit leave traces on the
computer, the person sitting down at the computer
after you may be able to access the information
if you don’t actively erase it. Or the
computer could have a secretly loaded program
(called a keylogger) that copies and
transmits your keystrokes to some remote
location.
One
low-tech security problem is the
eavesdropper—that guy who sits next to you
in the airplane and cranks his head so he can
read what you have on your screen. For less than
$50 you can buy a notebook privacy filter, which
makes it impossible to view the screen from an
angle.
Stanley
Zarowin, a former JofA
senior editor, is now a contributing editor to
the magazine. His e-mail address is stanley.joatech@gmail.com.
| Do
you have technology questions for this
column? Or, after reading an answer, do
you have a better solution? Send them to
contributing editor Stanley Zarowin via
e-mail at stanley.joatech@gmail.com or
regular mail at the Journal of
Accountancy, 220 Leigh Farm Road,
Durham, NC 27707-8110. Because
of the volume of mail, we regret we
cannot individually answer submitted
questions. However, if a reader’s
question has broad interest, we will
answer it in a forthcoming Technology
Q&A column.
On
occasion you may find you cannot
implement a function I describe in this
column. More often than not it’s
because not all functions work in every
operating system or application. I try to
test everything in the 2000 and XP
editions of Windows and Office. It’s
virtually impossible to test them in all
editions and it’s equally difficult
to find out which editions are
incompatible with a function. I apologize
for the inconvenience.
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