Conventions Used in This Book

This book uses several conventions to make its meaning clear without wasting words:

• Ribbon commands. The ~TRA arrow shows the sequence for choosing an item from the Ribbon. For example, “choose Layout ~TRA Print ~TRA Preview” means that you click the Layout tab of the Ribbon (displaying the tab's contents), go to the Print group, and then click the Preview button.
• Menu commands. The ~TRA arrow shows the sequence of commands for choosing an item from the menu bar. For example, “choose Data ~TRA Data Table” means that you open the Data menu and then click the Data Table item on it.
• Special paragraphs. Special paragraphs present information that you may want to pay extra attention to. Note paragraphs contain information you may want to know; Tip paragraphs present techniques you may benefit from using; and Caution paragraphs warn you of potential problems.
• Check boxes. Excel uses many check boxes—the square boxes that can either have a check mark in them (indicate that the option is turned on) or not (indicating that the option is turned off). This book tells you to “select” a check box when you need to put a check mark in the check box, and to “clear” a check box when you need to remove the check mark from it. If the check box is already selected or cleared, you don't need to change it—just make sure it's set the right way.
• Keyboard shortcuts. In Excel, you can often save time and effort by using a keyboard shortcut rather than a Ribbon command or a menu command. This book uses + signs to represent keyboard shortcuts. For example, “press Cmd+S” means that you hold down the Cmd key, press the S key, and then release the Cmd key. “Press Cmd+Option+T” means that you hold down the Cmd key and the Option key, press the T key, and then release the Cmd key and the Option key.