TLC Tips of the Week:                          from Helen Olberg

This tip applies to Excel 2002 and 2003.

Here’s the situation: you’d like to keep checking a particular cell while you change or perform data entry in another part of your worksheet or workbook. Most probably you currently check it after making your change, then scrolling to view the affected cell. Here’s an easier way – by using Excel’s Watch Window.

The Watch Window lets you monitor several cells in a small, always-on-top window, regardless of where those cells exist in the worksheet or workbook. As you make changes to other cells, you’ll immediately see the effect on the monitored cells without needing to scroll or to switch workbooks.

To add a cell to the Watch Window, right-click the cell and choose ‘Add Watch’. The Watch Window will pop open, with your cell on its list. The Watch Window stays on the screen, on top of your work, no matter where you scroll or make changes in the workbook. You can move it to the top, bottom, left, or right side of the screen by dragging its title bar. If you close it, you can re-view it by clicking View>Toolbars>Watch Window.

To change the width of a column within the Watch Window, drag the boundary on the right side of the column heading.

To display the cell that an entry in Watch Window toolbar refers to, double-click the entry.

Cells that have links to other workbooks are also displayed in the Watch Window toolbar only when the other workbook is open.

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