Calculating Dates for Thanksgiving

Ever wonder how to calculate the date for Thanksgiving in the United States? In this tip you discover not only that, but also how to figure it out for five consecutive years.

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(Thanks to Steve Aprahamian, Ryszard Raciborski, Jos Graindor, James Woolley, Steve Neas, Joe Smith, John Gent, Fred Potter, Leszek Rozpedek, Tomek Dluzniewski, Michael Avidan (MVP), Joan Koskela, Rick Stockton, and Joel Courtheyn for contributing to this tip.)

Displaying a Count of Zeros on the Status Bar

Excel allows you to display the results of several common worksheet functions on the status bar. The available functions are limited, and you may wonder if you can add other functions to what is available.

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Lookup Exactly the Data You Want

Excel's lookup functions are easily the most powerful worksheet functions you can use. Master these seven functions you'll never again view a worksheet full of data in the same way. The power these functions provide you is anything but small. Take your first step today!

Remembering Workbook Settings from Session to Session

You can spend a lot of time getting your workbook to look "just right." Wouldn't it be great if Excel was able to remember how you like your workbook to appear when you next open it? Here are a few ideas you can try.

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Unique Date Displays

Need to print an elapsed date in a strange format? It's easier to do than may appear at first glance. Here's a discussion on how to get your results in just the format you want.

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(Thanks to Peter Atherton, Yvan Loranger, and Dennis Costello for contributing to this tip.)

Replacing Links with Values

Need to get rid of the links in your workbook but save the values that were retrieved by those links? It could be easy or hard, depending on the complexity of your workbook. Here are some great ideas you can try.

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Using Macros in Protected Workbooks

Having problems with using macros in a protected workbook? There could be any number of causes (and solutions) as described in this tip.

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This section is for those having problems making Excel behave. If Excel is giving you fits, feel free to submit your own Help Wanted question.

If you have a solution for the problems below, click the link after the problem to send us your answer. (All responses become the sole property of Sharon Parq Associates, Inc., and can be used in any way deemed appropriate.) If your response is used in a future issue, you will be credited for your contribution to the answer.

Cannot Use Dotted Diagonal Borders

I often use diagonal borders through a cell to mark off certain items on my reports. Excel allows me to use solid lines for diagonal borders, but it won't allow me to create diagonal lines that use dots. Why is this?
—Gina Russell (provide an answer for this Help Wanted question)