Microsoft Excel X
Toolbars and Buttons
Like other programs in the Microsoft Office suite, Excel X features a collection of toolbars with various buttons that are shortcuts for accomplishing tasks. These can be customized to meet your own working style. This document provides an explanation for the toolbars and buttons used in Excel X.
Buttons
To determine the purpose of any button:
- Point to the button (rest your mouse on it without clicking)
A tool tip will appear indicating the purpose of that tool.
Toolbars
The toolbars available in Excel XP include:
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To display/hide a toolbar
-
From the View menu, select Toolbars » the toolbar you want displayed/hidden
A checkmark before the toolbar name means that the toolbar is currently displayed.
The Standard and Formatting toolbars are the most common and are similar throughout Office XP with some differences.
Standard Toolbar
The Standard toolbar appears at the top of the screen (just below the Apple toolbar) and contains shortcut buttons for the most frequently used actions (e.g., creating a new workbook, saving the file, spell checking, cutting and pasting, etc.). The buttons are grouped into sets of three or four buttons.
| Button | Purpose | Button | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Starts a new workbook |  |
Brings up formatting palette |
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Opens an existing workbook |  |
Inserts the =Sum( ) function and other functions |
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Saves the current workbook |  |
Pastes functions to selected area |
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Prints current worksheet |  |
Sorts data in ascending order by alpha characters |
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Shows the print preview |  |
Sorts data in descending order by alpha characters |
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Cuts selection |  |
Opens the Chart Wizard |
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Copies selection |  |
Opens/makes visible the Drawing toolbar |
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Pastes cut or copied selection |  |
Changes zoom control to zoom in or out |
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Copies format from another formatted cell (Format Painter) |  |
Opens the Office Assistant feature with searchable help and tips |
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Undoes previous action |  |
Flags selected area for follow up |
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Redoes previous action |
Formatting Toolbar and Palette
Formatting Toolbar
The Formatting toolbar appears at the top of the screen and contains shortcut buttons for the most often used formatting actions (e.g., changing font type and size or decimal point alignment, bolding text, etc.).
| Button | Purpose | Button | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
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Changes font of selection |  |
Formats selection to Currency style |
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Changes size of selection |  |
Formats selection to Percent style |
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Bolds selection |  |
Formats selection to Comma style |
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Italicizes selection |  |
Increases number of decimal places shown |
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Underlines selection |  |
Decreases number of decimal places shown |
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Left aligns selection |  |
Decreases indent |
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Centers selection |  |
Increases indent |
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Right aligns selection |  |
Adds border lines to the cells |
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Toggles between merging (combining) and unmerging selected cells. |  |
Changes color of the selected cell |
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Changes color of the font |
Formatting Palette
Macintosh also has a Formatting palette that allows the user to make a variety of changes not offered on the Formatting toolbar.
Customizing Toolbars
To customize a toolbar to better fit your needs, you may add or hide buttons.
Adding Buttons
-
From the Tools menu, select Customize ...
The Customize dialog box appears. -
In the Customize dialog box, select the Commands tab
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To select a category of buttons, from the Categories listing, select the desired category
Buttons from this category now appear in the Commands listing. -
In the Commands listing, select the button you want to add
As you make your selections the Description area fills in. -
From the Commands listing of the dialog box, click and drag the button you want to add onto any toolbar in the Excel environment
HINT: The insertion point will be shown on the toolbar with a thick black I-bar.
The button is now added. -
When finished, click OK
Hiding Buttons
-
On the appropriate toolbar, press [control] and click the button you want to hide
The Help quick menu appears.
- Select Hide Command
The button will be hidden.
NOTE: If you accidentally hide a button you want to keep, follow the instructions for adding a button.
