Excel Tip of the Day
Have Excel remind you to enter workbook properties (Excel 97/2000/2001/2002)
Chances are that when you save a new workbook you simply name the file and move on to the rest of the work you need to get done. You probably don't take the time to fill in any of the document properties that can make working with the file later on easier. For example, you can define a number of properties that describe your document, like the subject, document title, and comments regarding the workbook's purpose.
Why would you go to the trouble of filling in this information? Doing so can save you time when you later search for documents. For instance, although long workbook names can be descriptive and good file management habits help, you still probably find yourself in a routine of opening and closing workbooks just to find a particular one.
If document properties are filled in, you can see them displayed as you select files in a Window folder. In Windows Me/2000/XP, the properties are displayed in the Status bar when a file is selected. They're also displayed when you hover your mouse pointer over a file. In Windows 98, the properties are listed on the left side of the Window if the Web page folder view is enabled (choose View | As Web Page from the folder's menu). In addition, Excel has a built-in search feature that can search for text strings in specific properties, allowing you to speed the process of finding files when you can't recall their names or locations.
The biggest challenge to working with document properties is that it's so easy to ignore them. If you're interested in consistently using document properties, you can configure Excel to remind you to fill them in when you initially save a file. To do so, choose Tools | Options from the menu bar (Edit | Preferences on a Mac). Then, click on the General tab, select the Prompt For Workbook Properties check box and click OK. When you save a new file, the Properties dialog box is automatically displayed after you name and save the file. Note that Excel doesn't automatically show the dialog box after subsequent saves; it only does so the first time.
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