Microsoft Excel — Do You Prepare Spreadsheets To Share?
Be Professional — Attention to Little Things Get’s Noticed!
Recently, I had a discussion with a CFO who was lamenting the fact that he receives Excel files that aren’t “easy” for him to work with.
What does that mean?
In this case, content was spread across multiple tabs and it was in no shape to print for his review. He had to figure things out and set everything to print properly. Really?
Making your spreadsheets easy to work with gets noticed. And, certainly, the opposite is even MORE true. If they aren’t easy to work with, they get noticed in a BIG way and that is not a good thing.
As John Wooden said:
Here are Two Absolute Basics
1 — Make sure they are print ready (they look reasonable and they print properly when the user hits the print button)!
2 — Use proper headers and footers to help the recipient.
Here is a comment I heard from the CFO —
If you create spreadsheets, always take time to consider HOW someone would like to see them printed (this includes “printing to PDF”) and how they will appreciate a well put together spreadsheet that is “print ready”. This is just too easy an opportunity to stand out and make a positive impression!
Do. That. Every. Time. — It’s that simple. DO IT!
The following video from the ExcelIsFun YouTube channel does a fantastic job of covering the basics you should know.
Want a Little More Advanced?
Automating the process to make it easy to do your print setup and creating a PDF will greatly simplify making sure you pay attention and do it every time.
In earlier Medium posts, I touched on an Add-In I created and a macro to make it easy to create a PDF print version. You can find those linked below.
Automating Print Setup related Steps with the Invenio Add-In
One-Button Click to Print Sheet to Automatically Named PDF
Pay attention to the basic steps, AND step it up when you are ready. An approach that is guaranteed to get you noticed…and not in an unfavorable way!
Good luck!
About Don
“It’s time for different”
Don is passionate about helping professionals and organizations keep up and adapt to the changing business world that we operate in.
“What Do You Do?”
I frequently get this question. My response (it’s not what you think!)? Check it out here!
