Excel 2010 Bible

581

CHAPTER

Creating and Using

Worksheet Outlines

IN THIS CHAPTER

Introducing worksheet

outlines

Creating an outline

Using outlines

I

f you use a word processor, you may be familiar with the concept of an
outline. Most word processors (including Microsoft Word) have an out-
line mode that lets you view only the headings and subheadings in your
document. You can easily expand a heading to show the text below it. Using
an outline makes visualizing the structure of your document easy.

Excel also is capable of using outlines, and understanding this feature can
make working with certain types of worksheets much easier for you.

Introducing Worksheet Outlines

You’ll find that some worksheets are more suitable for outlines than others.

You can use outlines to create summary reports in which you don’t want to

show all the details. If your worksheet uses hierarchical data with subtotals,

it’s probably a good candidate for an outline.

The best way to understand how worksheet outlining works is to look at an

example. Figure 26.1 shows a simple sales summary sheet without an out-

line. Formulas are used to calculate subtotals by region and by quarter.

Figure 26.2 shows the same worksheet after I created the outline. Notice that

Excel adds a new section to the left of the screen. This section contains out-

line controls that enable you to determine which level to view. This particu-

lar outline has three levels: States, Regions (each region consists of states

grouped into categories such as West, East, and Central), and Grand Total

(the sum of each region’s subtotal).