Help! I'm trying to write something in an excel spreadsheet and it's showing up below as well...

Okay, my answer is gonna get moderated, but this drives me nuts. Every company I’ve ever worked at, managers all want to use Excel as if it was a word processor.

Excel is not a word processor!!!

It’s a mathematical tool…

If you want to write something, use MS Word or (better yet) Open Office…

But okay, to do it, there’s a couple of little icons on the edit ribbon that lets you justify text different ways. Such as wrapping text within a cell (causing the row containing that cell to grow “thick” downward), or causing the cell to grow wide (forcing that whole column to become wide), or causing the text to continue to the into the next cell to the right.

Showing up below what? I don’t understand your question.

I completely agree with HungryGuy! Excel is a fantastic tool for many things, but it should never be used when the content is largely text. Often the tables feature of Word will provide many of the same features you’re seeking with Excel, and your text will cooperate so much better.

I don’t understand your actual question, but I had to second the motion for Hungry’s comment before we both get the boot.

Oh, I understand exactly what he means, but he shouldn’t be using Excel that way.

There ought to be a Dilbert cartoon about this!

Welcome to Fluther.

I can tell you all kinds of neat things about Excel, from the use of formulas and functions that you may have never used before, array functions (which frankly baffle me, too, but do amazing things), pivot tables and the use of VBA macros to make that program dance.

But I can’t answer your question, because the description makes no sense to me, no matter how I try to imagine “what you might have meant”. I just don’t get it.

I also agree that Excel is most often misused, when a database would serve better to secure, arrange, maintain, verify and modify data, and Excel makes a nice reporting and graphical tool. I haven’t seen Excel used as a word processor for over twenty years, and I know a lot of really backward computer users.

There are also much better forums for handling Excel questions, not that I’m trying to drive you away. Not at all. Hang around and join the collective.

Try www.mrexcel.com.. A very useful site with people who will be glad to help you out with any Excel issues. In fact, in terms of collegiality, it quite similar to Fluther.

SRM

I second Mr. Excel. I never really started to “learn” Excel until I started answering questions from other users there (and in similar forums, such as www.ozgrid.com) and getting exposed in that way to things that I had never even dreamed of with that software.

They also have an html plug-in to Excel that allows you to easily capture and post screen shots of your Excel application and formula results right into the forum post. It’s an awesome site. (And now that I’m reminded of it – and my old account there – I have another place to peruse when Fluther gets slow, boring or tedious.)