Technology Q&A: command word to repair itself ... create an Excel contents tab ... shade alternating rows or columns ... a better idea ... the right way to count the zeros ... shortcuts.

COMMAND WORD TO REPAIR ITSELF

Q. My copy of Word is not working well. I'm getting error messages, and on occasion it locks up. Do you have any idea what could be wrong?

A. It could be any number of things. I would begin by running a full scan with an antivirus and repair utility software such as Norton Utilities. If that doesn't help, I suggest you command Word to fix itself.

Beginning with Word 2000 Microsoft quietly added a macro command called FixMe that, as its name implies, conducts a full checkup of Word. If it finds something amiss, such as corrupted code, it instructs you to get out the original installation CD and run it. Then it instruct the computer to reload whatever is broken.

For some reason Microsoft hides FixMe under several layers of commands. You won't even find it if you click on Word's Help utility (F1). To run it, go to Word Tools and click on Macro and then on Macros. Then, on the bottom of the Macros screen, from the pull-down menu at Macros in, select Word commands and then cursor down until you locate FixMe. Click on it and then click on Run.

Then follow the screen instructions. Good luck.

CREATE AN EXCEL CONTENTS TAB

In the January column (page 82) a reader asked how to display 36 workbook tabs in Excel. We described several solutions, but reader Mary Jo Gruber, a CPA with a St. Louis public school district, suggests a completely different approach. Because she works with a budget file that contains 63 tabs, our ideas lacked the muscle to meet her needs. Instead, she sets up a single contents page composed of easy-to-create hyperlinks on the first worksheet of the 63-tab file; each hyperlink triggers the opening of its linked workbook. Here's what a section of her contents page looks like:

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To create one, name any unused worksheet Contents (by right-clicking on its tab and left-clicking on Rename.) If the tab is not in the leftmost position (see page 87), use your left mouse button to drag the tab to that position.

Now place your cursor in any convenient cell of the Contents page and right-click. That generates a menu from which you should click on Hyperlink, evoking the Insert Hyperlink screen (see screenshot below). Highlight the Place in This Document box.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

That will automatically list the names of all the tabs in this file under the heading Or select a place in this document. If you want this hyperlink to open the August tab, click on August and that name will appear next to Text to display. If you want the worksheet to open at a particular place, enter the cell location (such as R45) in the space next to Type the cell reference with the cell where you want the Revenue worksheet to open.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The hyperlink will appear on the first page of the Contents worksheet. When you click on it, you'll immediately go to the August worksheet, cell R45.

SHADE ALTERNATING ROWS OR COLUMNS

Q. How do I create a formula that automatically formats a worksheet with alternating rows of shading so it resembles a columnar pad?

A. The easiest way is with Conditional Formatting. Begin by highlighting the rows you want to format--presumably an entire worksheet by clicking on the blank cell to the left of column A and above the 1.

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Then click on Format, Conditional Formatting to open the function's window. Under Condition 1, press the down arrow and select Formula Is and add this formula: =mod(row(),2)=1. If you want the shading to begin with the second row, rather than the first, substitute 0 for the 1.

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To choose the color, click on the Format button and then on the Patterns tab to evoke this screen:

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After you select the color, you'll be returned to the Conditional Formatting screen. Finish by clicking on OK and your spreadsheet will look like this:

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

If you want to shade alternating columns instead of rows, use this formula: =mod(column(),2)=0.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A BETTER IDEA

In the March column a reader asked for an easy way to custom-format 24 worksheets. I suggested two ways: Use the Group command on all the worksheets, so any format action done to one will automatically affect the others, too, or create a template.

Marsha Troy, a CPA from Shawnee, Kan., suggests a third way--with Format Painter (). Here are the steps: Highlight the entire worksheet whose formatting you want to copy by clicking on the white cell to the left of column A and above row 1 (see screenshot) and then on the Format Painter.

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Open a new worksheet and click on the cell to the left of A

and above 1, and all the formatting will be duplicated.

THE RIGHT WAY TO COUNT THE ZEROS

In the April issue (page 81) I wrote that unchecking Zero values (under Options, View) would affect a count of zero values. Several readers pointed out that it only affects whether the zeros are visible, not the actual count. Use the COUNTBLANK formula to count empty cells.

SHORTCUTS 

* Windows: Ctrl+F12 launches the Open dialog box, bypassing the need to click on File.

* Word: To boldface text: Type an asterisk (*) and then the text you want boldfaced and another asterisk (*test*). The moment you type the second asterisk, what you typed will turn bold and both asterisks will disappear.

Key to Instructions

To help readers follow the instructions in this article, we use two different typefaces:

* Boldface type is used to identify the names of icons, agendas and URLs.

* Sans serif type shows commands and instructions users should type into the computer and the names of files.

Do you have technology questions for this column? Or, after reading an answer, do you have a better solution? Send them to contributing editor Stanley Zarowin via e-mail at zarowin@ mindspring.com or regular mail at the Journal of Accountancy, 201 Plaza Three, Harborside Financial Center, Jersey City, NJ 07311-3881.

Because of the volume of mail, we regret we cannot individually answer submitted questions. However, if a reader's question has broad interest, we will answer it in a Technology Q&A column.

On occasion you may find you cannot implement a function I describe in this column. More often than not it's because not all functions work in every operating system or application. I try to test everything in the 2000 and XP editions of Windows and Office. It's virtually impossible to test them in all editions and it's equally difficult to find out which editions are incompatible with a function. I apologize for the inconvenience.

STANLEY ZAROWIN, a former JofA senior editor, is now a contributing editor to the magazine. His e-mail address is [e-mail].