WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:12.059 --> 00:00:15.780 The look and feel of your spreadsheet - and whether or not it's going to be easy to read 00:00:15.780 --> 00:00:19.460 - has a lot to do with the formatting choices you make. 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:22.650 Formatting the text and some of the cells in this fitness chart, for example, could 00:00:22.650 --> 00:00:25.660 really add interest and make the data easier to read. 00:00:25.660 --> 00:00:30.410 I'd like to start by selecting the cell that contains "Fitness Progress Chart" and making 00:00:30.410 --> 00:00:32.800 the text bigger, like a proper title. 00:00:32.800 --> 00:00:37.830 Just go to the Font group on the Home tab, and click the drop-down arrow next to Size. 00:00:37.830 --> 00:00:41.110 You'll see a preview of the results as you go down the list. 00:00:41.110 --> 00:00:44.170 I think 16 looks good. 00:00:44.170 --> 00:00:46.420 Maybe we could go a little bigger, though. 00:00:46.420 --> 00:00:50.519 Grow and Shrink are another option for changing the font size. 00:00:50.519 --> 00:00:53.500 Just click and… perfect. 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:57.820 To change the actual font, click the drop-down arrow here, and make your way through the 00:00:57.820 --> 00:01:01.030 list - you'll get that live preview again. 00:01:01.030 --> 00:01:05.729 I think I like this one, because it's different but still very easy to read, which makes it 00:01:05.729 --> 00:01:07.220 a good choice for the title. 00:01:07.220 --> 00:01:09.759 So, how about color? 00:01:09.759 --> 00:01:11.170 These are your options. 00:01:11.170 --> 00:01:15.280 You can go with one of the Theme Colors here, or, if you don't see anything you like, click 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:18.070 More Colors. 00:01:18.070 --> 00:01:21.700 This bright orange should fit the color scheme I have in mind. 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:26.409 Another way to make your text stand out is to use Bold, Italic, or Underline. 00:01:26.409 --> 00:01:30.270 Let's try Italic, and maybe Bold too. 00:01:30.270 --> 00:01:33.200 There - that's more like what I was going for. 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:36.200 Now I'm ready to add some formatting to the rest of the worksheet. 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:40.240 At a glance, it's kind of hard to tell the header row from the rest of the chart, because 00:01:40.240 --> 00:01:42.100 it just lacks definition. 00:01:42.100 --> 00:01:45.520 We can easily fix that by giving the header a unique fill color. 00:01:45.520 --> 00:01:51.409 All you have to do is open the menu next to the Fill Color command and make your choice. 00:01:51.409 --> 00:01:52.700 A great dark blue. 00:01:52.700 --> 00:01:56.759 Now I just need to change my text to something lighter. 00:01:56.759 --> 00:02:00.810 I also want to show you how to change the placement (or alignment) of your text, using 00:02:00.810 --> 00:02:03.030 the options in the Alignment group. 00:02:03.030 --> 00:02:09.619 In addition to left, center, and right, text can be aligned to the bottom, middle, or top 00:02:09.619 --> 00:02:11.180 of the cell. 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:16.100 Aligning the header text in the middle center should make it nice and easy to read. 00:02:16.100 --> 00:02:22.780 Why don't we give the rest of the chart some color now, and then modify the whole thing 00:02:22.780 --> 00:02:26.189 to include borders that'll define the cells. 00:02:26.189 --> 00:02:31.580 The Borders command gives you lots of options, including top and bottom borders, a thick 00:02:31.580 --> 00:02:37.760 outside border - even different line colors and line styles. 00:02:37.760 --> 00:02:43.010 For a border that goes around the outside and in between cells, choose All Borders. 00:02:43.010 --> 00:02:48.540 Finally, one of Excel's most useful features is its ability to format dates and numbers 00:02:48.540 --> 00:02:49.980 depending on what you need. 00:02:49.980 --> 00:02:54.500 For example, it would help me to know not only that dates that I took these measurements, 00:02:54.500 --> 00:02:57.189 but also the days of the week. 00:02:57.189 --> 00:03:01.770 Just click the drop-down arrow for the Number Format command, and choose a format - in my 00:03:01.770 --> 00:03:03.990 case, the Long Date. 00:03:03.990 --> 00:03:07.010 You can accomplish a lot of things with date and number formatting. 00:03:07.010 --> 00:03:10.790 Take this column of percentages, just numbers with a decimal place. 00:03:10.790 --> 00:03:15.480 Switching to the Percentage format will instantly display them properly. 00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:16.670 There we go! 00:03:16.670 --> 00:03:19.040 What a big difference formatting can make. 00:03:19.040 --> 00:03:45.230 Not only does my worksheet look nice - it's also easier to read and understand 00:03:45.230 --> 00:03:47.730 the data.