A. I’m afraid you’ve missed some subtleties of Excel’s COUNT function. You’re obviously unaware that Excel is counting cells with zero values as empty. You can change the program’s default, though, so it doesn’t do that. Here’s how: Go to Tools, Options, View and uncheck Zero values on the bottom of the Options screen (see screenshot below).

A. You can edit the dictionary. It used to be a real chore in pre-XP versions of Windows Office, but now it’s a breeze. Note, however, that the spell-check dictionary is used by all Windows applications—Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and OneNote—but you can edit only in Word. So to change a spelling in its memory, no matter what Office application you’re working in, you must first open Word. Then go to Tools, Options, Spelling & Grammar and click on Custom Dictionaries. Unless you added a special dictionary, you probably only have one, called CUSTOM.DIC (default).

To add, remove or modify a word, click on Modify, which brings up the CUSTOM.DIC screen below. Don’t click on New or Add; those buttons are for adding a dictionary, not a word. You can find many specialty dictionaries on subjects from accounting to zoology by searching the Internet.

To fix a spelling, first delete the incorrect version by scrolling to the word you want to change and deleting it. Then type the correct version in the space under the Word heading and click on Add and OK.

A. The EDATE function, when linked with the NOW function, can do that. If you want to know a date nine months from today, use the formula: =EDATE(NOW(),9).

If you want the date nine months ago, use a negative number in the formula, such as: =EDATE(NOW(),-9).

Caveat: If your answer is a five-digit number instead of a date, it means you failed to format the cell correctly. To prepare a cell to exhibit its answer as a date, right-click on the cell to bring up the format screen (see screenshot below left) and select the date format you want. The result will be the screenshot on the right.

In the unlikely event EDATE fails to work, you probably haven’t enabled Analysis ToolPak, which is usually in Excel but by default isn’t enabled. To turn it on, click on Tools, Add-Ins. One of the options will be Analysis ToolPak. Click on it and then on OK.

If Analysis ToolPak is not among the options, it probably wasn’t installed when Excel or Office was first loaded on your computer. In that case, you’ll have to reinstall Excel from the original disks. When you do, be sure to install the Excel add-ins when the option is presented.

SPEED UP INTERNET SURFING
Q. Because of my location I’m stuck with a dial-up Internet connection and, as you can imagine, it doesn’t surf the Net, it crawls. How can I boost the speed?

A. One thing you can do is program your browser to omit graphics, which demand loads of downloading time. That will improve the speed, but, of course, you’ll miss out on the pictures. To omit graphics, if your browser is Internet Explorer, click on Tools, Internet Options and the Advanced tab. In the Internet Options dialog box scroll in the Settings window to the Multimedia category and remove the check at Show Pictures. Then click on Apply and OK.

Another alternative is to add an accelerator to your modem software. That subject was covered in this column in the April 2004 JofA, page 91 (www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/apr2004/tech_qa.htm).

A. There’s a free program, Plaxo, you can automatically e-mail to everyone in your address book, inviting them to update all their contact information. Plaxo also will send you a toolbar that makes it easy to initiate such an invitation to all your current contacts (see screenshot). To find out more, go to www.plaxo.com.

A. It’s because Windows has to turn off each application you have left open—saving critical data along the way. Then it runs a quick system check before it goes to sleep. But there is a way to speed up the process by a few seconds. In a blank area of your desktop, right-click and then select New, Shortcut and in the Create Shortcut screen type shutdown -s -t 0 (see screenshot below). Be sure there’s a space before each hyphen and the last character is a zero, not the letter O. Then click on Next and in the Type a Name for This Shortcut box, enter a title and click on Finish.

Advisory: Be sure to save and close all applications before initiating any shutdown to make the process faster.

A. My apologies. So you don’t have to play hide-and-seek, it’s the icon with the yellow folder that has the corner of a piece of paper peeking out (see screenshot below).

A. Google, the Internet search engine, recently introduced a beta product called Google Alerts (see screenshot below). It’s a free service that automatically does what you’re now doing manually.

Just provide Alerts with the key words for your queries and tell it how often you want to be alerted (once a week, once a day or as it happens) and whether you want to search the news, the Web or both. Alerts will send you an e-mail with every new thing it uncovers. To engage the service, go to www.googlealert.com.

When I first discovered it, I signed up and entered my last name to test it. Within days it alerted me that a long-lost cousin had just won an award as a sports coach and confirmed that I write for the Journal of Accountancy.

A. If you had asked me that question before Word 2002 was introduced, I would have suggested you seek out a professional printer. But now Word has features that make it simple.

In the File menu click on Page Setup and the Margins tab. Go to the Multiple pages drop-down list and click on Book fold (see screenshot).

You’ll have to adjust the margins to fit your needs. When finished, click on OK and the document automatically will be formatted.

When you’re ready to print, click on File, Print and opt to print two-sided. If you don’t have a duplex printer, enter a check next to Manual duplex and feed each page through the printer twice (see screenshot).

Word: A quick way to remove all formatting: Ctrl+Shift+Z (resets to Normal default).

Word: To left-align a paragraph: Ctrl+L; to align right: Ctrl+R; to center: Ctrl+E; to justify: Ctrl+J.

STANLEY ZAROWIN, a former JofA senior editor, is now a contributing editor to the magazine. His e-mail address is zarowin@mindspring.com.