Ask the experts at the SPAWAR Systems Center Charleston Technology Training Center Norfolk. The training team shares field experience, provides high-quality training and technical support. Service to customers includes answering users' questions. Some of the most recent inquiries are listed below. If you would like further information or have questions, please call (757) 444-7976; DSN 564 or e-mail to forinfo@spawar.navy.mil.
Thanks to the following instructors for their input: Alice Butler, Patty George, Pat Hutley, Muriel Taylor, Ronald Bailey, Colleen Jobe and Katie Bierman.
Microsoft Excel
QUESTION: I have an Excel spreadsheet of demographic data that I would like to show pictorially. How can I do this?
ANSWER: The first and most obvious way is to show the information in chart form or a graph. To do this, make sure your active cell is in the range of data and then step through the Chart Wizard making appropriate choices for chart type, the title, labels, etc. The Chart Wizard can be found on the tool bar – the button looks like a column chart with blue, yellow and red columns. You can make adjustments to any of the chart elements by double clicking on them after the chart is finished.
However, a more appropriate way to show data based on geographic areas might be to map it. If the Map button does not show on any of your tool bars, go to Tools/Customize/Commands. It is listed under the Insert category. Drag the button onto one of your tool bars.
Select the range of data by highlighting it, click on the Map button and then click and drag to draw an area to contain the map. Depending on the geographic locations listed in your data, and which maps you have installed in your version of Excel, you will be able to choose from appropriate maps to display the data. Double clicking on the Legend will bring up the Format Properties and you might wish to edit the legend entries. By using the Label Tool you can enter labels (or statistics) on the map for each state (or location) or even the state names.
QUESTION: Are you tired of working hard to put together a great Excel worksheet only to have someone using it accidentally delete important information or formulas?
ANSWER: Microsoft Excel can solve all your problems with just a few easy clicks of the mouse. Protect your work and save your sanity! Here's how:
1. Choose the cells, columns and/or rows that you want others to be able to change. On the menu bar choose Format and then Cells (or you can right click and choose Format Cells). Choose the Protection Tab and Clear the Locked box.
2. On the menu bar choose Tools and then Protection and choose to Protect Sheet. You have a choice of three different things you can protect. You can choose all of them or just one or two depending upon the data you want to protect from prying fingers. Additionally, if you're serious about keeping people out of certain parts of your worksheet, you can Password Protect it so others can't remove the protections you've put on your worksheet. Just choose Password and insert a password. Now you must have the password to remove any protections placed on the worksheet.
3. Test whether it worked by trying to change a protected portion of your worksheet. Only those cells you chose and "unlocked" (in the first step above) can be changed.
QUESTION: How can I convert standard (Gregorian) dates into Julian dates and vice versa in Excel?
ANSWER: Many mainframe applications store dates in a Julian format. This is a five-digit number consisting of the two right-most characters of the year, followed by the number of days that have elapsed in the current year (from 001 to 365). So 4 July 2002 is written 02185 (it is the 185th day in the year).