Chapter 6: Worksheet Formatting
135
Tip
You may want to create a master workbook that contains all your custom styles so that you always know
which workbook to merge styles from. n
Controlling styles with templates ............................................................................
When you start Excel, it loads with several default settings, including the settings for stylistic
formatting. If you spend a lot of time changing the default elements, you should know about
templates.Here’s an example. You may prefer that gridlines aren’t displayed in worksheets. And maybe you
prefer Wrap Text to be the default setting for alignment. Templates provide an easy way to change
defaults.The trick is to create a workbook with the Normal style modified to the way that you want it.
Then, save the workbook as a template in your XLStart folder. After doing so, you choose
Office ➪ New to display a dialog box from which you can choose the template for the new work-
book. Template files also can store other named styles, providing you with an excellent way to give
your workbooks a consistent look.Cross-Reference
Chapter 8 discusses templates in detail. n
Understanding Document Themes ....................................................................................
To help users create more professional-looking documents, the Office designers incorporated a
concept known as document themes. Using themes is an easy (and almost foolproof) way to specify
the colors, fonts, and a variety of graphic effects in a document. And best of all, changing the entire
look of your document is a breeze. A few mouse clicks is all it takes to apply a different theme and
change the look of your workbook.Importantly, the concept of themes is incorporated into other Office 2010 (and Office 2007) appli-
cations. Therefore, a company can easily create a standard look and feel for all its documents.Note
Themes don’t override specific formatting that you apply. For example, assume that you apply the Accent 1–
named style to a range. Then you use the Fill Color control to change the background color of that range. If
you change to a different theme, the manually applied fill color will not be modified. Bottom line? If you plan
to take advantage of themes, stick with default formatting choices. n
Figure 6.14 shows a worksheet that contains a SmartArt diagram, a table, a chart, and range for-
matted with the Heading 1–named style. These items all use the default theme, which is the Office
Theme.