Section C.4. Insert Menu

C.4. Insert Menu

The Insert menu gives you one-stop shopping for adding a variety of items to your worksheet, including new rows and columns , charts , functions, comments, and hyperlinks .

C.4.1. Cells

Use this command to insert a new cell in your worksheet. Insert Cells opens the Insert dialog box, where you can choose how to move existing data out of the way (either by pushing it down the spreadsheet or to the right). You can also use this command to insert multiple cells at once: just select the area where you want to insert new cells before you select Insert Cell.

C.4.2. Rows

Insert Rows places a new row in your worksheet and shifts the rest of the worksheet data down to make space.

C.4.3. Columns

Insert Columns places a new column in your worksheet and shifts the rest of the worksheet data to the right to make space.

C.4.4. Worksheet

This command inserts a new, blank worksheet into your workbook. To learn more about managing workbooks with multiple worksheets, see Chapter 5.

C.4.5. Chart

The Chart Wizard (Insert Chart) lets you configure and generate a new chart. To make your life easy, select the data you want to place in the chart before selecting Insert Chart. For a step-by-step overview of the Chart Wizard, see Section 16.1.2 (Chapter 16).

C.4.6. Symbol

The Symbol dialog box (Insert Symbol) lets you pick from, and enter into your worksheet, special characters (like a smiley face or the copyright symbol ). Just select the symbol you want to add to the current cell, and click the Insert button. Different fonts may provide different symbols (the Wingdings font, for example, is packed with interesting icons), so you may want to select a different font in the Symbol dialog box for more options.

C.4.7. Page Break

This command inserts a page break separation line just above the current cell. In other words, Excel will place the current cell on a new page when you print it out. The page break line appears on the worksheet grid as a dashed line.

C.4.8. Function

The Insert Function dialog box (Insert Function) lets you choose a function to use in a formula, choose its parameters, and get information from Excel's help (click the "Help on this function" link). Page Section 7.2.3 (Chapter 7) has more details on all your choices.

C.4.9. Name

This submenu lets you create names for cell ranges and apply them to formulas. (Names are descriptive labels for cell references. For example, you might give cell A6 the name InvoiceAmount.) Use the Define command to create new names by hand, or use the Create command to generate them automatically for the selected cells. You can also modify formulas automatically so that they use your new names by selecting the appropriate cells and choosing the Apply command. For more information on how to use names , and for a description of the rules Excel uses when it generates or applies them automatically, see Section 12.2 (Chapter 12).

C.4.10. Comment

Attach a comment to the current cell by using the Insert Comment command. A comment appears as a yellow box with an arrow pointing to the cell. You can click the yellow box to type in the comment.

C.4.11. Picture

You can insert a variety of picture objects by using the Insert Picture command. Choose Clip Art to search the free art on Office Online, From File to insert a picture that's stored in an image file on your computer, and AutoShapes to draw your own picture using a surprisingly full-featured set of shapes that are provided by Excel. Chapter 18 discusses graphics in detail.

C.4.12. Diagram

Insert Diagram places a new diagram object on your worksheet and lets you customize it and add text using a diagram drawing tool that's included with Office. You can choose from several diagram styles, including organizational charts (trees) and pyramid diagrams. Although you can use the diagram drawing tool in Excel, it's really more practical for adding figures to Word documents.

C.4.13. Object

The Object dialog box (Insert Object) displays a list of registered OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) document types on your computer. Click OK to insert the selected object into your worksheet (it will appear inside a floating box). Usually, you won't use this option because it's much more straightforward to create your content in another program (such as Microsoft Word), and then copy and paste it into Excel. Chapter 22 explains more about how to do this and how the process works.

C.4.14. Hyperlink

The Insert Hyperlink dialog box (Insert Hyperlink) lets you add a hyperlink in the current cell. You specify the link text and the link target (which can include a Web page or a file on your computer). Once you've inserted your link, you can click it to open the Web page in your Web browser (or, if it's not a Web page, launch the document in the appropriate application).