Excel® 2010 Bible

Chapter 6. Worksheet Formatting

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding how formatting can improve your worksheets

Getting to know the formatting tools

Using formatting in your worksheets

Using named styles for easier formatting

Understanding document themes

Formatting your worksheet is like the icing on a cake — it may not be absolutely necessary, but it can make the end product a lot more attractive. In an Excel worksheet, formatting can also make it easier for others to understand the worksheet's purpose.

Stylistic formatting isn't essential for every workbook that you develop — especially if it is for your own use only. On the other hand, it takes only a few moments to apply some simple formatting; and, after you apply it, the formatting will remain in place without further effort on your part.

In Chapter 5, I show how easy it is to apply formatting to a table. The information in this chapter applies to normal ranges. I show you how to work with the Excel formatting tools: fonts; colors; and styles, such as bold and italic. I also cover custom styles that you can create to make formatting large amounts of material in a similar way easier.

6.1. Getting to Know the Formatting Tools

Figure 6.1 shows how even simple formatting can significantly improve a worksheet's readability. The unformatted worksheet (on the left) is perfectly functional but not very readable compared with the formatted worksheet (on the right).

NOTE

This workbook is available on the companion CD-ROM. The file is named ...