Technology Q&A

Add document’s full file name and path on the screen…Jump between worksheets without a mouse…Rotate the data in Excel…Sort row information in a spreadsheet…Customize headers and footers…The straight story on screen savers…How to “fix” a spellcheck dictionary.

Q. I often keep several documents and spreadsheets open at the same time so I can jump quickly from one to the other. Since the files are usually in different folders (subdirectories), this can get confusing. My work would be so much easier if I knew not just the name of the file, but its full path, too. Is there a way for me to display this information so I know where I am?

A. You’re not alone in wishing Windows would provide that information on the screen of an open file. Over the years, many users have urged Microsoft to add the function in its next version. Microsoft has not responded, which irritates many Windows users.

However, don’t fret. The good news is that I have discovered an undocumented trick that, while not perfect, will automatically display the basic information you need—a file’s full path name in the tool bar. It works on all the Windows applications I’ve tested. And it’s easy to do, although you must implement it in each application in which you want it to appear.

Here’s what you do: Click on Tools, Customize to evoke the Customize dialog box. Click on the Commands tab and locate Web under the Categories list. Then, with your mouse, drag the Address box to anywhere on the menu bar.

Drag the Address box up to the menu bar.

I found the most convenient place is to the right of Help, where it doesn’t get in the way of frequently used tools. Finally, click on Close.

The full path and file name.

The function is actually designed to work on Web pages—telling you what page you’re on and providing a list (by enabling the down arrow inside the box) of the pages you’ve recently accessed. If you click on the down arrow, you will not be able to access other files—only Internet sites. Use this technique simply as a way to fully identify the file you’re working on.

Q. Is there an easy way to move between worksheets in an Excel workbook without having to aim the mouse at those tiny tags on the bottom of the page?

A. You can move worksheets with the keyboard by using Ctrl+PgUp and Ctrl+PgDown. Ctrl+PgUp moves toward the first worksheet in the workbook and Ctrl+PgDown moves toward the last. However, when you reach the first or last worksheet, you have to switch directions: Excel doesn’t wrap to the opposite end of the workbook.

Q. Every now and then, after working on a spreadsheet for some time, I realize it would work better if I transposed the rows and columns—just rotating the data by 90 degrees. It’s a lot of trouble transposing the information, so usually I just plod along. But since Excel can do so many things, it occurred to me there may be an easy way to do that, too.

A. Your intuition is on the mark. Excel indeed has an easy way to transpose data. Let’s say you have this simple table:

You want to move the months to the left column and place the geographic areas along the top. Highlight the range of cells you want to transpose and copy (Ctrl+C) it to the clipboard. Then right-click your mouse, click on Paste Special and the following menu appears with the Transpose box on the bottom:

Click in the Transpose box and the table spins 90 degrees.

Click in the Transpose box, OK, and presto:

Q. I know I can sort column information in Excel—by text, numbers and date. But sometimes I need to sort information that’s displayed in a row—not a column. Can I do that without transposing the data?

A. Yes, you can. It takes just one extra click to access a change in the orientation. When sorting a row, begin as you would for a column by selecting the range of cells you want to sort. Make sure you select the column headers in the range. Then click on Data, Sort, which brings up the Sort dialog box. Click on the Options button on the bottom.

Then choose the Sort left to right button and click on OK.

It’s as easy as that.

Q. I work on large documents that are divided into many sections, similar to book chapters. I want to place different identifying headers on the pages of each section so readers know which one they’re in. For some reason I can’t get it to work. Every time I add a new header, it applies to the whole document, not just the new section. I must be doing something wrong. Any suggestions?

A. I have experienced the same problem. The Help file is not particularly clear on the subject. A friend showed me my mistake, and it may be the same one you’re making.

To begin, create the first header by clicking on View, Header and footer and type the header text you want, such as Section 1, and then click on Close. Now, in order for a different header to work in subsequent pages, you must create a new section in your document. To do that, click on Insert, Break, and that will evoke the following menu:

Under Section break types, decide where you want the section break to occur—on the Next page, Continuous (on the same page), on the next Even page or the next Odd page, and click on OK.

Then, to insert the actual header, again click on View, Headers and footers, and that evokes this on your screen:

Notice that in small type above the dotted-line header box the words Header-Section 2- appear. That indicates the header is for the second section—the one you just created. Now here’s where I slipped up, because the next step is counter-intuitive. Before you type in your new header, click on the Same as Previous icon—that’s the fourth icon from the left. Now you can type in the second header.

I know that last instruction doesn’t appear to make sense; the command Same as previous seems to indicate that you’ll be creating the same header as the last one. Logical or not, it works. Complain to Bill Gates.

Q. I remember reading somewhere that screen savers are unnecessary. But my tech support person insists I’m wrong, citing as proof the fact that screen savers are so popular. Who’s right?

A. Well, you’re both right—although his argument that screen savers’ popularity proves his claim is specious, at best. Screen savers, as you know, kick in after a few pre-set minutes. The original purpose of the ever-changing screen saver image was to prevent a static image from burning itself into the screen’s phosphors. However, today’s monitors are virtually immune to this danger.

While people may still think they must use them (and they are fun and decorative), they have evolved to be very useful for another purpose: to protect your data—not your screen. For example, if you leave a document on your screen and step away, anyone walking by can see it. If you set your screen saver to engage (and disengage) with a set of password keystrokes, you can have both privacy and security with an entertaining screen image.

Beware of “free” screen savers. Just as there is no such thing as a free lunch, there are no (or very few) free screen savers. Most have some sort of advertising built in.

To set up a third-party screen saver (that is, other than those provided as a Windows default), click on Start, Control Panel, Display and click on the Screen Saver tab. You can select the interval before the screen saver kicks in and, if you wish, add a password.

If want to add a third-party screen saver, just use the application’s built-in setup program; it’ll install the file in the proper Windows folder.

Q. The other day I accidentally added an incorrect spelling to my Word dictionary after clicking on Add when it questioned the spelling of a word by underlining it with a wavy red line. So I screwed up my courage and went into the Word dictionary and edited out the misspelling. I felt pretty proud of myself—until I discovered that now the spell-check feature doesn’t work. Did I break it?

A. Rest assured, you didn’t break it. In fact, I congratulate you for venturing into the subterranean realm of Word to fix the error. Before I tell you how to “fix” what you didn’t break, however, I’ll describe what you did so others who may have done the same can correct it.

When Word comes across a misspelling, it generates a wavy red line under the word: mispelling.

If you right-click on it, you are given a choice of alternative words that Word thinks you meant to have typed, or you can click on Add, to insert the new word into its dictionary. But if want to remove that word for any reason, you must go into the dictionary and fetch it. To do that, click on Tools, Options and the Spelling & Grammar tab. Then click on the Dictionaries button and select a dictionary (it’ll probably be CUSTOM.DIC unless you added some special dictionary) and then the Edit button. All the words you added will be listed. You can add, change or omit a word.

Now, here’s where our correspondent fell into a trap. Every time you edit—or even open—a dictionary file, Word automatically disables its spell-checking feature. It does provide a warning when you open or edit a dictionary, but that caution is easy to miss.

To turn the spell-checker back on, go back to the Spelling & Grammar tab and click on the Check spelling as you type option, and then click on OK.