Chapter 6, Hacking Formulas and Functions

Formulas and functions are at the heart of most spreadsheets, but sometimes the way Excel handles them just isnt quite what you want. These
hacks cover subjects ranging from moving formulas around to dealing
with datatype issues to improving recalculation time.
Chapter 7, Macro Hacks
Macros (and VBA) are Excels escape hatch, enabling you to build
spreadsheets that go well beyond Excels own capabilities or develop
spreadsheets that look more like programs. These hacks help you make
the most of macros, from managing them to using them to extend other
features.
Chapter 8, Cross-Application Hacks
Although most spreadsheets are self-contained, this chapter shows you
how you can work with other Microsoft Office applications to get information into and out of your spreadsheets and into and out of other
programs.

Windows, Macintosh, and Earlier Excel Versions

The hacks in this book were written for Excel 2007 and were tested on previous versions of Excel for Windows and on a Macintosh using Excel 2004.
Where steps or menu options differ, the main text shows how to accomplish the task in Excel 2007, with instructions for pre-2007 called out in
notes or parentheses.
Most of the differences between the Windows and Mac platform versions
are cosmetic, and most involve changes to key combinations and the occasional menu. Where the key combinations differ, they are written with the
Windows modifier first, as in Alt/Command(c)-Q, which means Alt-Q for
Windows and c-Q on the Macintosh. There are a few cases, especially in
the Visual Basic Editor (VBE), where the interfaces look different and have
different menu choices, and these are explained on first encounter. There
are also a few Windows-only hacks, using the Windows registry and other
features that are supported only on Windows versions of Excel. These are
noted in the text.
Macintosh users with one-button mice should also note that holding down
the Control key while clicking is the equivalent of right-clicking. (Macintosh users with two or more buttons can just right-click.) Recent models of
Apple MacBook and MacBook Pros allow you to specify a right-click by
holding two fingers on the trackpad and clicking. You must enable this in
System Preferences.

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Preface