Excel 2007 Upgrade FAQ: Formatting And Printing

Category: General / Formatting / Printing | [Item URL]

Note: I originally posted this information at Daily Dose of Excel. I've updated it slightly, and augmented it with information from commenters.

Q: How do I get my old workbook to use the new fonts?

A: Press Ctrl+N to create a blank workbook. Activate your old workbook and choose the Home tab. Click the very bottom of the vertical scrollbar in Styles gallery, and choose Merge Styles. In the Merge Styles dialog box double-click the new workbook you created with Ctrl+N. But this only works with cells that have not been formatted. For example, bold cells retain their old font.

Q. How do I get a print preview?

A. Try using the Page Layout view (icon on the right side of the status bar). Or, add the Print Preview button to your QAT.

Q: When I switch to a new document template, my worksheet no longer fits on a single page.

A: That's probably because the new theme uses different fonts. After applying the theme, use the Page Layout / Themes / Fonts control to select your original fonts to use with the new theme. Or, modify the font size for the Normal style. If page fitting is critical, you should choose the theme before you do much work on the document.

Q: How do I get rid of the annoying dotted-line page break display in Normal view mode?

A: Open the Excel Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab, scroll down and look for the 'Display options for this worksheet' section, and remove the checkmark from 'Show Page Breaks'.

Q: Can I add that 'Show Page Breaks' option to my QAT?

A: No. For some reason, this very useful command isn't available as a QAT icon.

Q: I changed the text in a cell to use Angle Clockwise orientation (in the Home / Alignment group). I can't find a way to get the orientation back to normal. There's no Horizontal Alignment option.

A: To change the cell back to normal, click the option that corresponds to the current orientation (that option is highlighted). Or, choose the Format Cell Alignment option and make the change in the Format Cells dialog box.

Q. I'm trying to apply a table style to a table, but it has no effect.

That's probably because the table cells were formatted manually. Remove the old cell background colors, and applying a style should work.

Q: I thought Office 2007 was supposed to support PDF output. I can't find the command.

A: You need to download a free add-in from Microsoft. Blame the Adobe attorneys. After you download and install the add-in, click the Office Menu button and then select Save As / PDF or XPS.