Technology Q&A: many ways to sum a column in Excel ... how to flip the order of data in an Excel table ... get Word to print single-character fractions ... how to conceal and display hidden text ... adjust the design of the application toolbar.

Key to Instructions

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

Boldface type identifies the names of icons, agendas, URLs and application commands.

Sans serif type indicates instructions and commands that users should type and file names.

EXCEL

Q. One of my colleagues told me there are a hundred ways to add numbers in Excel. Is that true?

A. There are quite a few ways, but a hundred may be an exaggeration. Here are my favorites--one using keystrokes and the other using the mouse:

* Keystrokes: If you want to get the sum of cells B5 to 1t12, you could use the slow way by writing out the full formula:

=sum(B5:B12)

Or you could evoke the shortcut and click on B13, hold down the Alt key, type in = and then press Enter.

* Mouse: Place your cursor on B13 (one cell below the column you are adding) and click on the AutoSum icon: [[summation of]], producing this screen (notice the shortcut actually generates the same full formula):

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Then press Enter.

While you're at the AutoSum icon, click on the adjacent arrow and take note of the other quick functions you can perform (see screenshot at right). It's a very handy button.

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And you'll find even more helpful functions if you click on More Functions (see result in screenshot below).

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Q. I often recruit Excel to do double duty as a database, and there are times I'd like to reverse the order of numbers or names in a table. How can I do that?

A. In other words, you want to take a column of consecutive numbers or words, say, from 1 to 5 or Able, Baker, Charlie, and flip the order--running from 5 to 1 or alphabetizing the words in reverse order.

Excel's Sort function can do that, but it can sort information only in columns, not in rows. Let's reorder the sequential numbers 1 to 5. Begin by highlighting those cells.

Click on Data in the toolbar and then on Sort, producing this screen:

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To reverse the order, click on Descending and then on OK.

The process is different if each number is adjacent to, say, a list of names in column B, because Excel, in its wisdom, guesses that it's possible the numbers and names are linked (see screenshot at left).

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Let's assume the numbers and names are indeed linked and you want to maintain the links--in other words, 1 is linked to Pat, 2 to Stan and so forth. Now if you highlight the numbers in column A, you will evoke this Sort Warning screen, which gives you the opportunity--by checking Expand the section--to maintain the number-name links when reordering column A.

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If, on the other hand, Excel guessed wrong and you want just the numbers 1 to 5 resorted--not the names--click on Continue with the current selection.

Notice that column A is shown as the default column to sort.

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If you'd rather sort by B, just click on the arrow on the right until column B appears in the box.

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WORD

Q. I type reports mostly in Times New Roman font and often use fractions. For example, when I type 1/2, Word converts it to 1/2--single-character fraction. But if I change fonts, the word processor doesn't always convert the fraction I had typed as a single character. What's going on here? Am I being shortchanged with my copy of Word?

A. No, you're not being shortchanged; it's a shortcoming--not so much in Word as in some of the fonts in your computer. But before going into that, let's see how the single-character fraction works and how you can control it.

With a few keystrokes you can program Word to change a fraction into a single character or to leave it alone. To make your choice, click on Tools, AutoCorrect Options and AutoFormat As You Type, which brings up this screen:

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Notice a box labeled Fractions (1/2) with fraction character (1/2). If you check this box, Word replaces some fractions with a single-character version.

Why did I say some fractions? Because not all fonts have all single-character fractions, and some have more than others, which explains why, when you change fonts, some of your fractions don't convert to a single character.

While you're in the AutoCorrect section, consider what other defaults you want to change. One of the handiest is Hyphens (--) with dash (--). With that box checked, every time you finish typing a word, typing two dashes and then another word, the short hyphens will be replaced by a full dash--like this.

Q. Some of my reports contain information I do not wish certain people to see. Rather than prepare two reports, I understand there's a way to variously hide and then display text with just a few mouse clicks. How do I do that?

A. That's correct. Hiding text is a two-step operation. And understand that you also have to set the default condition within Word so hidden text can be either viewed or hidden. We'll get to that later. Let's walk through the steps.

To demonstrate, I will create the following paragraph in which one sentence will later be hidden:

This material is top secret. With the click of a mouse, this sentence will be hidden. Now you see it, now you don't.

Only highlight the sentence, With the click of a mouse, this sentence will be hidden. Now click on Format, Font, bringing up this screen:

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Under Effects place a check in the Hidden box and click on OK. Notice the sentence you highlighted now has tiny dots under it; that's the visual clue that it's ready to be hidden.

This material is top secret. With the click of a mouse, it Will be hidden. Now you see it, now you don't.

Since Word normally defaults to show hidden text (that's why the potentially hidden sentence contains those dots), I now will change the default by going to Word's default screen: On the toolbar click on Tools, Options and the View tab. Under Formatting marks, remove the check next to Hidden text and click on OK.

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Now when you return to the paragraph, notice that not only is the sentence hidden, but the surrounding text closes over it so a reader has no clue text was ever there.

This material is top secret. Now you see it, now you don't.

Shortcut: Clearly, this is a cumbersome series of steps if you use hidden text often. So here is a one-click shortcut to make it appear and disappear. Instead of going through the rigmarole of changing the default, we'll use the Show All icon ([paragraph]) to toggle between making the text visible and invisible. If the Show All icon is not already in the toolbar, click on Tools, Customize, then on the Commands tab, and under Categories, go to View and drag the Show All icon onto the toolbar.

Caveat: The hidden-text feature, while convenient, is not without danger. You may forget you have text on a page, and if you delete text in the area of the hidden text, you may accidentally delete the hidden text, too. Avoid this danger by making sure the hidden text is displayed only during the writing and editing stage.

OPERATING SYSTEM 

Q. My partner and I recently upgraded to XP. He was playing around with various defaults and now, when tie has several Word or Excel files open at the same time, the icons in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen look less cluttered than mine. And that's because the icons are stacked on top of one another rather than lined up next to each other, which makes them very small and hard to read. How can I make my screen stack open files, too?

A. That is a nice feature. It makes the screen less cluttered, and since the icons have more space, there usually is enough room in the file icon to fit at least some of the file name. Here is what the old setup looks like:

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Notice they are squeezed in so tightly you can't identify the files. Now the new way:

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It's much better.

To change the taskbar default so it stacks files, left click on any unused blue space in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, producing this:

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Now click on Properties, generating this screen:

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Click on the Taskbar tab, and under Taskbar Appearance, check the box Group similar taskbar buttons and then click on Apply and OK.

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 [e-mail].

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 forthcoming 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.