Monday, June 20, 2005

Shading and Borders in Excel

I have said it before and I will say it again, presentation is the most important thing about spreadsheets, other than auditing for correctness in the results created.
The use of colour, borders and shading can turn a drab report into a glittering example of spreadsheeting and win you accolades from your boss and clients.

Here a few ideas that I use.

Front pages, header pages and menus.
I always use a single background colour for the entire sheet and a contrasting bold font colour. Usually I will put dark colour text on a lighter background as this is both easier to read and prints better in black and white if necessary.
To make the menu options, or selections easier to see and use I will make the columns wide, the rows wide and center the text vertically and horizontally and wrap the text in the cells. I often use a contrasting thick border around the cells with text in them, using the same colour as the font, or maybe a darker or lighter shade of the same colour. If I put macro buttons into the page I will contrast these colours also.
The main point is to create a visually aesthetically appealing page with contrasting colours and easy to read text and instructions.

Data entry and calculation pages.
Where the user is required to select options from drop downs or enter data into cells I will create this page in as visually appealing way as possible without sacrificing fucntionality of formula construction.
I always create a standard data entry format, drop down format, and formula and "dont touch" areas. Where possible these calculation and "don't touch" areas are on hidden sheets, or on their own sheet. If possible these are also locked for further security.

The main two things to remember are:

What will it look like when it is printed? and
Will someone else other than me be able to intuitively operate it?


Posted by: Jethro | 12:52 AM |