all the different choices for selecting stuff in Excel, you need to be aware of a few click-and-drag conventions used throughout this book. When I say click something (a command button, cell, or whatever), this means click the primary mouse button (the left one unless you change it) on a physical mouse or tap with your finger or a stylus on a touchscreen. When I say double-click something, this means click the primary button twice in rapid succession on a physical mouse and double-tap the object with your finger or stylus. When I say right-click, this means click with the secondary button (the right-hand button unless you change it) on a physical mouse or tap the object and keep your finger or stylus on the touchscreen until the context menu or pop-up gallery or whatever appears. Finally, when I say drag through a cell selection, with a physical mouse this means click the cell and then hold down the primary mouse button as you swipe and then release the button when the selection is made. On a touchscreen, you tap the cell to make the selection handles appear (the circles that appear at the upper-left and lower-right corners of the cell) and then use your finger or stylus to drag the selection handle through the cells.
When you start using Excel 2016, the Quick Access toolbar contains only the following few buttons:
❯❯ Save to save any changes made to the current workbook using the same filename, file format, and location
❯❯ Undo to undo the last editing, formatting, or layout change you made
❯❯ Redo to reapply the previous editing, formatting, or layout change that you just removed with the Undo button
❯❯ Touch/Mouse Mode (tablets and computers with touchscreens only) to place more space around Ribbon command buttons to make it easier to select commands with your finger or stylus
The Quick Access toolbar is very customizable because Excel makes it easy to add any Ribbon command to it. Moreover, you’re not restricted to adding buttons for just the commands on the Ribbon; you can add any Excel command you want to the toolbar, even the obscure ones that don’t rate an appearance on any of its tabs.
When you click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar button, a drop-down menu appears containing the following commands:
❯❯ New to open a new workbook
❯❯ Open to display the Open dialog box for opening an existing workbook
❯❯ Save to save changes to your current workbook
❯❯ Email to open your mail
❯❯ Quick Print to send the current worksheet to your default printer
❯❯ Print Preview and Print to open the Print panel in Backstage view with a preview of the current worksheet in the right pane
❯❯ Spelling to check the current worksheet for spelling errors
❯❯ Undo to undo your latest worksheet edit
❯❯ Redo to reapply the last edit that you removed with Undo
❯❯ Sort Ascending to sort the current cell selection or column in A to Z alphabetical order, lowest to highest numerical order, or oldest to newest date order
❯❯ Sort Descending to sort the current cell selection or column in Z to A alphabetical order, highest to lowest numerical order, or newest to oldest date order
❯❯ Touch /Mouse Mode to switch in and out of Touch mode that adds extra space around the command buttons on the individual Ribbon tabs to make them easier to select on a touchscreen device regardless of whether you tap with your finger or a stylus
When you open this menu, only the Save, Undo, Redo, and possibly the Touch/Mouse Mode options are the ones selected (indicated by the check marks); therefore, these buttons are the only buttons to appear on the Quick Access toolbar. To add any of the other commands on this menu to the toolbar, you simply click the option on the drop-down menu. Excel then adds a button for that command to the end of the Quick Access toolbar (and a check mark to its option on the drop-down menu).
To remove a command button that you add to the Quick Access toolbar in this manner, click the option a second time on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar button’s drop-down menu. Excel removes its command button from the toolbar and the check mark from its option on the drop-down menu.
To add a Ribbon command to the Quick Access toolbar, open the command button’s shortcut menu (right-click with a mouse or tap and hold on a touchscreen) and then select the Add to Quick Access Toolbar menu item. Excel then immediately adds the selected Ribbon command button to the very end of the Quick Access toolbar, immediately in front of the Customize Quick Access Toolbar button.
If you want to move the command button to a new location on the Quick Access toolbar or group it with other buttons on the toolbar, select the Customize Quick Access Toolbar button followed by the More Commands option near the bottom of its drop-down menu.
Excel then opens the Excel Options dialog box with the Quick Access Toolbar tab selected (similar to the one shown in Figure 1-6). On the right side of the dialog box, Excel shows all the buttons added to the Quick Access toolbar. The order in which they appear from left to right on the toolbar corresponds to the top-down order in the list box.
FIGURE 1-6: Use the buttons on the Quick Access Toolbar tab of the Excel Options dialog box to customize the appearance of the Quick Access toolbar.
To reposition a particular button on the toolbar, select it in the list box on the right and then select either the Move Up button (the one with the black triangle pointing upward) or the Move Down button (the one with the black triangle pointing downward) until the button is promoted or demoted to the desired position on the toolbar.
When you finish adding and positioning your command buttons, select OK in the Excel Options dialog box to return to the Excel screen with the new buttons displayed on the Quick Access toolbar. To later remove a button you’ve added, open the Quick Access toolbar’s shortcut menu (right-click or tap and hold on
