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If you are like most people, you may not have spent much time in the Options area of Excel. That is unfortunate because you can choose some settings that can really customize your version of the program to your own personal preferences and work situation.

This blog will share some examples of the things you can do with options and settings. Hopefully these “golden nuggets” will encourage you to explore other options and settings that you might find helpful to you.

To change options/settings in Excel, click File > Options. Then you can choose a category such as General, Formulas, Proofing, etc. The examples below are all included in the Advanced category.

Control the Display of Zero Values

Excel displays zero values by default. However, you can hide zero values if you prefer, which may make it easier to read the data.

For example:

To do this, in the Advanced category, find “Display Options for this Worksheet” and click to uncheck the box below.

Create Custom Lists for Autofill Series

You may already be familiar with the fact that you can use the Autofill feature with a series of common text items such as months and days. However, did you know there is also a way to create custom lists? For example, if your company has four sales regions: North, South, East, and West.

To do this, in the Advanced category, find the option below in the General subcategory and click “Edit Custom Lists“.

Then in the subsequent dialog box, select “NEW LIST“, type out your list, and click “Add” and then “OK”.

Options for Showing Comments in Cells

By default, Excel displays a red indicator only when a cell contains a comment with the comment becoming visible when you hover over it. However, you can control how Excel displays comments and indicators in cells by changing the settings (for example, showing comments and indicators by default instead).

To do this, in the Advanced category, find the option below in the Display subcategory.

As you can see, the options that you can set in Excel are really both super and outstanding! Besides the settings discussed in this article, you can also change the default font size, calculation preferences, autocorrect options, theme color choices, color alternatives for grid lines, and much, much more. Have fun exploring!

For more information about Options and other Excel features, take an Excel Class from Centriq. For course descriptions and dates, see our website at https://centriq.com/corporate/class-schedule/?q=Excel.

This was the last blog article in this Excel series. For previous blogs in this series, visit https://centriq.com/blog/author/cgerdes/. A free Excel Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, September 12 will feature live demonstrations of all of the items covered during this Excel blog series. If you would like to attend, CLICK HERE to register.