Microsoft Excel measures row height in points, the same units used to measure font size. When creating reports this makes it easy to relate the height of rows to the required line spacing. This means that you can increase the line spacing simply by increasing the height of your rows.

The methods used for changing column widths (something that Excel users do far more frequently) can also be used to change row height. Firstly. we can make a selection and. in the Cells section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon, choose Format then Row Height. If you double Excel’s default row height, you will obtain an approximation of double line spacing. If you multiple the default by a factor of 1.5, you will obtain approximately 1 1/2 line spacing, and so forth.

Excel’s AutoFit facility can also be used to automatically resize the height of rows to accommodate the largest font size contained in a given selection. To AutoFit a single row position the cursor at the bottom of the row heading and simply double-click. To AutoFit a range of rows make a selection and then double-click at the bottom of any of the row headings. The same thing can also be achieved by using Format – AutoFit Row Height in the Cells section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon.

It is very often the case that row height can be completely ignored since Excel will automatically adjust the height of rows to accommodate the largest font size found on each row. Let us suppose, for example, that we insert a header row at the top of a worksheet centred across all the columns containing data. If we were to increase the font size of our heading, Excel will automatically increase the height of the row to accommodate the new font size, pushing the rest of the data down.

It is also possible to increase the row height interactively. This is done by placing the cursor on the line below the row heading and dragging up or down. As you drag, Excel displays the row height, both in points and in pixels.

Increasing the height of a row makes the vertical alignment of your text more apparent. By default Excel aligns text vertically at the bottom of the cell. In the case of headings, changing the vertical alignment to centred is often far more useful.

Microsoft Excel has a number of different ways of changing the width of columns and the height of rows. The width of columns is specified in characters. By default, every column has a width of just over eight characters. This means that if you’re using the spreadsheets primarily for numerical data, you can enter eight digits in each column using the default width.

If you plan to modify the default width, it makes sense to do so before you start entering data into your worksheet. For example, if you know that you’ll be entering fairly short pieces of data in each column, you might want to reduce the default width. To customise the default width, go to the Cells section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon. Click the Format button and choose Default Width from the drop-down. In the window which appears, you will see Excel’s standard column width of approximately 8 characters. Simply input a new entry and click OK.

As long as you haven’t changed a column width using any other technique, you can change the default width at any time and any cells that have been left at the default width will automatically change to reflect the new setting.

The second method of changing column widths is to use Excel’s AutoFit feature. This technique automatically adjusts the width of a column to ensure that the contents of the selected cells are completely visible. To AutoFit a range columns, highlight the cells that you want Excel to take into account or simply highlight the entire column. Next, position the cursor on the right hand edge of the column and, when the cursor changes to a double arrow, double-click.

To AutoFit data in a range of columns either select a range of data across several columns or highlight several entire columns. With your selection in place, choose Format then AutoFit Column Width in the Cells group of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon.

When using Excel’s AutoFit feature, it’s inevitable that you’ll end up with columns that have different widths. If you want a range of columns to have exactly the same width then simply select the range and choose Format then Column Widths and enter the required width.

Excel also allows you to interactively adjust the width of columns. To do this, position the cursor on the right hand edge of the column. When the cursor changes to a double arrow, click, hold and drag. As you drag, the width of the column is displayed both in characters and in pixels. This technique can be used either to adjust the width of a single column or a range of columns.

Excel’s AutoFill feature is based on the program’s ability to spot patterns in the data that you enter. For example, if you type “Week 1″ in a given cell, you can have Excel automatically fill in “Week 2″, “Week 3″, etc. simply by dragging the AutoFill handle. This is to be found in the bottom right of the cell. If the cursor moves over it, the cursor changes appearance to a plus sign (+). When it changes you simply click, hold, drag in any direction and Excel will spot the pattern and maintain it to generate automatic data entries.

Whenever you use the AutoFill handle Excel displays the AutoFill Options drop down menu just below the last cell which has been automatically generated. If the program has not entered the correct data, you can choose one of the entries in the AutoFill Options to tell it what you actually meant it to do. For example, if you choose Copy Cells, you simply get an exact copy of what was in the original cell.

Excel also has the ability to automatically enter arbitrary series of data using a feature called Custom Lists. Certain lists are built into Excel, for example, the months of the year. To use the AutoFill feature, enter the first value in the list, for example, “Jan” or “January”. Next drag the AutoFill handle (located in the bottom right of the active cell) in any direction to automatically enter the rest of the custom list.

As well as these built-in lists, Excel allows you to create your own custom lists. For example, suppose you work for a company that has branches in several towns. It’s a safe bet that you’ll need to list these towns quite frequently in your spreadsheets. You could therefore save yourself considerable time by setting up the towns as a custom list.

To do this, simply select cells in one of your worksheets that contain the information. Next, click on the Office button and choose Excel options. Click on “Edit Custom Lists” in the “Popular” category. Excel displays the contents of the cells that we highlighted. To convert the selected data into a custom list, we simply click on the “Import” button.

This custom list can now be used in any of our worksheets, not just the sheet that contained the original information. Whenever we need out list, we simply type the first value. We then use the AutoFill handle to generate the remaining entries. When using AutoFill, you can drag in any direction and you don’t have to start with the first element in the custom list.

Custom lists can also be created directly in the “Custom Lists” dialog box. To do this, click on the “List Entries” button and type the entries separated by a carriage return. When you’ve finished entering the list, click on the Add button.

To delete an unwanted custom list, just click on it and press the “Delete” button. Excel checks that you want to delete the list and when you click “OK”, the custom list is removed.

Software programs are the lifeblood of our computers, without up to date software programs we wouldn’t be able to do all of the things that we need to do on our computers.

Some software updates may not be quite as necessary as others, but regular updates to some software are crucial to provide necessary security against the latest internet threats.

What Types of Updates are a Necessity?

If you spend time on the internet, send and receive e-mails or send and receive instant messages then internet security software is a necessity. Internet security software is what will protect you against viruses, spy-ware, ad-ware, mal-ware and all other sorts of threats present to those who spend time on the internet. New viruses and other forms of internet threats are generated every single day, in order for you to stay safe from these threats you need the best and most up to date security that you can get.

Some internet security software companies, like the producers of Norton Internet Security 2009, are constantly generating protection from the latest forms of internet threats and they make these updates available for their customers as soon as they are ready. Subscribers to Norton Internet Security 2009 can receive ‘pulse’ updates that are available with up to the minute protection to ensure that the user is protected from every type of threat as soon as it’s discovered.

Continuously updating your computer security software is an absolute necessity if you want your computer to be protected and to be running as fast and efficient as it’s capable.

What Types of Updates are Optional?

Some software companies tend to go a little bit overboard with updates, releasing a “brand new” version of a program when their users have barely even gotten a chance to get used to the previous version of the same program. These are the updates that you have to make a decision as to whether of not you want or need it enough to download the update.

You sometimes need to be wary of potential bugs that may be introduced with updates, manufacturers all too often rush the release of an update and let it hit the market before all of the bugs and incompatibilities are worked out. It’s not always necessary for a software package to be updated every few weeks or months.

For software packages or programs that you have installed on your computer that don’t have to do with your PC’s security, you have the freedom to be able to choose when and if you will install an update without the fear of an imminent threat making the decision for you. You can take the time to take into account how much you like the current version of the software and how well it runs on your system. You can compare the features listed in the update to the features of the version that you are currently running – if the features on the version you have are more appealing to you, or if the new version has no new features that you want or need, then you don’t have to update. You have the freedom to sit back and wait for reviews and reactions to the latest updates of programs that you are running, if the risk of incompatibilities outweighs the new features offered you can wait until the bugs are worked out in a future update, or just keep running the current version that you already have installed.

Ultimately – any update that becomes available on any type of software is optional, but you can keep your computer running at an optimal level by continuously updating discount computer software as the updates become available. Any updates that fix existing problems with software that you run are beneficial to download, as is any update that will increase the speed of the programs you are running, but the biggest benefit of updates comes with security software. Continuously updating your security software guarantees that you will be safe from the latest threats that may invade and cause problems with your PC, it will give you the piece of mind to surf the internet freely because you are protected.

The Mini toolbar is a ghostly floating palette which automatically appears whenever you highlight text. Initially all the options it contains are discreetly semi-transparent. However, when you position your cursor over the various controls it contains, the Mini toolbar becomes activated.

It contains a number of buttons for formatting your text. All of these buttons can also be found in the Home tab of the Word Ribbon. The top row of buttons allows you to alter the font, size and colour of our text and also contains Word’s nifty Format Painter. The Format Painter tool allows you to copy the format of the selected text to other areas of your document.

The second row of the Mini toolbar contains buttons for making text bold, italic, centre aligned. It also has options for changing the colour of the highlighted text, indenting text and inserting bullets.

In short, the Mini toolbar offers a very convenient way of quickly formatting your text without having to go back to the Ribbon to find the options you’re looking for. However, there may be times when you will find it inconvenient. This is particularly likely when using the drag-and-drop facility within Microsoft Word.

This feature enables you to highlight text and simply drag it to a new location. However, as you are about to drag, it’s very easy for the cursor to collide with the Mini toolbar and instead of dragging your text you end up changing its format.

As a user of Word 2007, only you can decide whether you like the Mini toolbar facility or not. If you decide it’s not for you, Word allows you to deactivate the Mini toolbar facility. Choose Word Options from the Office button. The very first option in the Popular category is “Show Mini Toolbar on selection”. If you decide that the you not like the Mini toolbar, simply switch off this option. Now, whenever you highlight text, no Mini toolbar palette will appear.

Even when you have asked Word not to display the Mini toolbar, it is still possible to show it by simply right-clicking on selected text.