Microsoft Office Q&A: General Discussion (Word, Excel, PowerPoint...)

Wasn't that just copied straight from Excel into Word? 😬

As far as I can tell, you could probably get that same look in Excel just by playing around with Merge Cells 🙂

here I go again 🙂

alright, look, I know this question has probably been asked a million times already and it’s likely a total moron move for you guys who actually know your way around Microsoft Office, but I searched everywhere and came up empty—so here we are, asking the internet

I'm helping a buddy set up Windows on his machine and he's dead set on having Office in American English (specifically Word). My own installs are all in English, running both 2007 and 2010 versions

is there some kind of language pack out there for American English that makes this easy? Doesn't matter if it's for Office 2007 or 2010, just need a fix (just a heads up, they're "legit" 😉)

thanks

It’ll run you about $25, I think.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/language/

Nathan Johnson4 said:Look, what I'm actually trying to figure out is how to stack two different tables one under the other in the same doc, but give them totally different column widths—like in the example—while still being able to type data into both without everything breaking.

Like I said, just use Merge Cells or merge cells via the button or the menu.

On a blank Sheet, set all your columns narrow first (say, 20 pixels wide), then just get creative and build your table by merging specific cells together. Even if you're typing into a merged cell, Excel will still crunch the numbers in your formulas just fine.

Kyle Johnson2 said:Just take an empty Sheet and set all the column widths to a specific size (like 20 pixels)

Well, 👍 that does it. I finally see the light... thanks.

driftingnomad68 said:Yeah, you can grab it for about 25 bucks
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/language/

Anyone got a LIP? I've been hunting for one but keeping hitting dead ends. If you've got a link, mind sliding it over in a DM? 😉

Back again... Is there actually a way in Word to apply a Page Border to just one single page? Every time I try, it applies to the whole document, or if I try to delete it, it vanishes from everywhere... I even tried creating a separate page in a new document and copying it over here, but the border still ends up showing on every single page

Nathan Johnson4 said:It’s me again... look, is there actually an option in Word to put a Page Border on just one single side? Every time I try, the damn thing applies it to every single page, or if I try to delete it, it vanishes from everywhere. I even tried being clever and making a separate document with just the border to copy over, but nope—the whole thing just forces the frame onto every page again.

Try adjusting the settings in the "Apply to:" dropdown menu within the Borders and Shading menu.

Nathan Johnson4 said:It's me again... I was wondering if there's actually a way in Word to apply a Page Border to just one specific side? Every time I try to set it up, it applies to the entire document—or, if I try to remove it, it vanishes from everywhere. I even tried creating a separate document with just the single border I wanted and then copying it over here, but no luck; it just forces the border onto every single page again.

If you're using Word 2003, you can go into the Page Border settings, select "Custom," and then—using the little preview window—you can manually toggle the individual lines on or off depending on which sides you want to show or hide.

Nathan Johnson4 said:it's me again...

Look, if none of those suggestions actually work for you—and let's be honest, sometimes software just refuses to cooperate—try this little workaround. It’s a bit of a hack, I know, but bear with me. Select everything on the page where you want that border to show up, then head over to Borders, select Box, and hit OK. Now, here is the catch: if your page isn't totally full of text, the program is going to be stubborn and only wrap the border around the specific paragraph you selected. It won't hug the edges of the paper. So, you have to play around with it a bit. Go to the very top and the very bottom of the page and just type a single character—any random letter will do—just to "fill" the space. Once you've done that, highlight those extra characters and change the font color to white. That way, they stay there to force the border to expand to the edges, but they become invisible to the eye. It's a hybrid approach, a bit messy, but it might just get the job done.

guys, I need some help ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks in advance 😉 🙂 🙂

I'm working on my final paper, and I have to set it up so the first five pages aren't numbered, but everything after that is. I know how to add page numbers, but I'm stuck on how to skip those first few pages while keeping the rest numbered! 🙂

You really need to pop a section break in right after page 5.

Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1WtKR6FDM4
Or just give 🙂 a quick search on Google.

Melissa Chavez8 said:but I'm stuck on how to skip numbering for a few pages and then start it for the rest

Check out these step-by-step tutorials on some US forums

- Page numbering in Word 2003 starting from a specific page
- Page numbering in Word 2007 starting from a specific page

Kyle Johnson2 said:For a portion of what you're looking for, check HERE

In my first scenario... I'm copying the current Sheet into a New Workbook at C:\Temp
Using VB... List1... I copy the macro
into the workbook... List 1... I create a button... assign the macro to it...
I run the macro...
The file copies to the target location... it shows up in C:\Temp...
But when I try to open that copy... Excel opens, but there's no workbook visible...
Why does this happen?.. Did I mess something up?

restlessheron19 said:In the first example... the file copies to the right spot... shows up in C:\Temp..
but when I run that copy... Excel opens but there's no Workbook inside..
why's that happening?.. did I mess something up?

Not sure what you did there, but that Macro just copies the active Sheet into a new Workbook over at C:\Temp.
So basically, you end up with a file called "backup of FILE_NAME.xls" sitting in C:\Temp.
When you open that new workbook (the backup), it'll have the specific Sheet you ran the Macro from.
Bottom line: that Macro only grabs the active Sheet, not the whole Workbook.
BTW: stick that Macro in a VBE Module.

http://www.megashare.com/3314649

This is how my Macro ended up working...
I assigned the Macro to a button... click the button...
a save window pops up... I save the desired Sheet as a new file... to a specific location...
a copy of the active document is saved to C:Temp\backup of FILE_NAME
but after saving the target Sheet... everything shifts... and the active document becomes "Backup of..."
which isn't quite what I'm after. I was hoping it would just automatically save the selected Sheet into a new document...

The logic I’m looking for might be a bit more complex if I want to handle everything in a single click...
Otherwise, the closest thing to what I need is this...
How to copy all Sheets and create new Workbooks named after the workbooks at a specific location

I'd be grateful if I could find some code that would
copy specific Sheets and create new Workbooks named after those sheets at a designated location
while allowing me to choose the file type for each Sheet... like .xls, .pdf, or .csv...
though... it can't actually create a .pdf... right?

it seemed to me like it automatically saves the desired sheet into a new document

Well, it does exactly that, it just names it "backup of FILE_NAME".
1. Open the Workbook you're working in.
2. copy Macro into VBE and save the Workbook.
3. Tomorrow, open that same Workbook, update it, and hit Save.
4. While it's still open, run the Macro and it'll automatically save the active Sheet to C:temp under the name "backup of FILE_NAME".
5. When you open that new copy, it only has one Sheet—the one that was active when you ran the macro.
(don't know what else you need, at least that's how I took it).

I'd be happy to find code that
copies specific Sheets and creates new Workbooks named after the sheets to a specific location
while letting me pick the file type for each Sheet... like... .xls, .pdf, .csv...
though.. pdf.. can't create... or can it?

You've got some pretty big asks here, and honestly, based on the level of expertise you're showing in these posts, it’s gonna take a lot of work and knowledge (no offense). Best bet is to find someone who actually knows VBA programming "well" and have them build a Macro for you.

The thing you're asking about copies ALL Sheets to a location and makes each file named after the Sheet, but naturally with an *.XLS extension.

On THIS link there are plenty of tutorials; check them out and see if any fit, including SaveAsPDF which has visible comments explaining what each line does. You can also find an example of saving and calling the procedure for SaveAsPDF at the link for the INVOICE in Excel.

That's all from me on this topic. Peace.

Greetings

I'm currently working on a spreadsheet where I need to input some numbers—nothing too crazy—but every time I type something like "9." followed by a digit, the program automatically converts it into "March 9th." It's driving me a bit nuts! Does anyone know how I can stop it from forcing these dates on me?

Thanks so much

Matthew Garcia4 said:When I type in 9.something, it keeps spitting out March 9th—what do I have to do to make it stop turning everything into dates?

The issue here is that the decimal separator isn't a period; it's a comma. When you use a period, Excel tries to interpret that data as a date, and if it can't quite make sense of it, it just defaults to treating the cell as plain text.

In older versions from back in the day, there was this annoying little quirk where Excel would stubbornly remember a cell's date formatting even after you cleared the content—so, in those cases, you'd have to go to Format -> Cell and manually set it back to "General."

Kyle Johnson2 said:...it's going to take quite a bit of effort and expertise (no offense intended). Honestly, your best bet is to find someone who actually knows how to write decent VBA and have them build a Macro for you according to your needs.

Yeah... I get that. For now, I'll just spend some more time on Google... maybe I'll stumble onto something useful.
Microsoft Office ExportAsPDF
Though even if I do find something, when you lack the technical knowledge, you really lack it.
And maybe I'll run into a programmer. We'll see. It's not like I'm completely stuck without one.
Manually creating the PDF versions of the Sheets isn't actually that bad, especially since I have fewer than ten of them.

Some good sites:
http://www.cpearson.com/Excel/MainPage.aspx
http://www.contextures.com/tiptech.html
And of course, one excellent 😉