Step 4 - Format the worksheet
Once the basic spreadsheet is complete you should format the worksheet to make your work look more professional and easier to read. Readability and presentation are two prime factors in successful communication. Formatting is the best way to achieve readability and presentation. It is important to remember that formatting must never change a value, just make that value more readable.
- To format the title click in cell A1 and click the Bold button and change the font size to 16.
- The column heading Entering Freshmen, in cell B2, actually applies to columns B and C. To center this heading, first select cells B2 and C2. Now click the Merge and Center button as shown below:
- Repeat the Merge and Center procedure for the titles in D2 and F2.
Remember to save your work.
- Select the cells A2:G9 by placing the mouse pointer in the center of cell A2 and drag to cell G9. Use the AutoFormat to format these cells. With A2:G9 selected, choose AutoFormat from the Format menu. Select the Simple style and click OK.
- Once you have selected OK your screen should look similar to the sample below. Notice that it still needs some work to achieve a satisfactory appearance.
Remember to save your work.
- Columns B through G would look better if their widths were even. Select these columns by placing the mouse pointer on the B that identifies column B, located above the column. Press the mouse button and drag over to the G that identifies column G. These six columns should now be selected. Place the mouse pointer on the border that separates columns B and C and drag to adjust the column width to 10.00 as shown below:
- The decimal equivalent values in cells F4:G8 need to be formatted as percentages. Select the cells F4:G8 and click the Percent Style button and compare your results to the sample below:
There are many additional formatting features that could be applied to this worksheet, but it is acceptable at this point. Remember to save your work.
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