Chapter 8: Case studies
Exercise 35: Tidy a monthly sales report
Task
Show the amounts in thousands, show negative month-over-month changes in red parentheses, add a thick line under the headers, and give the total row a thin line above and a double line below.
Moves 0 (target 4)33 difference(s) from the model
File
Font
Alignment
Number
Styles
Cells
A1Press and release Alt to show KeyTips (Windows). Ctrl + 1 opens Format Cells, Ctrl + Z undoes.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Branch | This month | Last month | Change | |
| 2 | New York | 12450000 | 11800000 | 650000 | |
| 3 | Chicago | 8320000 | 8900000 | -580000 | |
| 4 | Houston | 5100000 | 5350000 | -250000 | |
| 5 | Seattle | 4280000 | 3900000 | 380000 | |
| 6 | Total | 30150000 | 29950000 | 200000 | |
| 7 | |||||
| 8 |
Show the amounts in thousands, show negative month-over-month changes in red parentheses, add a thick line under the headers, and give the total row a thin line above and a double line below.
This drill is for computer screens. On a phone you can review the steps.
- Format B2:C6 with the custom format #,##0, (Ctrl + 1)
- Format D2:D6 with the custom format #,##0,;[Red](#,##0,)
- Thick Bottom Border on A1:D1 (Alt → H → B → H)
- Top and Double Bottom Border on A6:D6 (Alt → H → B → U)
Key takeaway
When you show thousands, note "in thousands" above the table or in the headers.
See how to make a table in Excel for details.