Join our NCTS training staff for Tech Bites! The Tech Bites training series includes short-topic technology sessions paired with a yummy treat, kind of like a snack-sized lunch and learn!

All sessions will be from 11-11:30 AM and will follow the schedule below:

• Sept. 7 – Living in a Box (cloud-based file storage at Penn State)
• Sept. 21 – Email: What Do Your Words Say?
• Oct. 5 – Color-Coding Excel
• Oct. 19 – Microsoft Graphics: R.I.P. Clipart
• Nov. 2 – Peace Out: Planning to be Out of the Office
• Nov. 16 – Yammer: Social Media at Work

Registration is necessary to ensure trainers are fully prepared for the session. Let us know if you’ll be joining us at training@engr.psu.edu.

Join our NCTS training staff for Tech Bites! Tech Bites are short topic technology sessions paired with a yummy treat, like a snack sized lunch and learn!

All sessions will be from 11-11:30 AM and will follow the schedule below:

• June 8 – Microsoft Excel Shortcuts
• June 22 – Creating Online Forms Using Sites at Penn State
• July 6 – Tech My Tasks – Using Trello to Manage Projects
• July 20 – Outlook Tips and Tricks
• August 3 – Microsoft Smart Art & Graphics
• August 17 – Exploring Yammer at Penn State

Registration is preferred. Let us know if you’ll be joining us at training@engr.psu.edu.

When exporting data to Excel, the formatting is sometimes not what you need. For example, if names are capitalized in the original source, they will also be capitalized in the exported data.

There is a fast fix for this.

Using formulas, you can convert text to all uppercase, all lowercase, or sentence case (first letter of each word capitalized). In a new column, begin by typing the equals sign (=) to start a new formula. Then, use one of the following formulas:

• UPPER – uses the information from the target cell, creating a cell with all uppercase letters
• LOWER – uses the information from the target cell, creating a cell with all lowercase letters
• PROPER – uses the information from the target cell, creating a cell with an uppercase first letter of each word and all others lowercase.

Finally, enclose the cell name of the targeted cell in parenthesis. The formula to change cell B1 to sentence case (PROPER) is shown below.

The formula circled above will create a cell that utilizes information from Cell B1. The resulting cell will contain the information from B1, capitalizing the first letter of each word.

You can easily repeat the formula down the column with autofill. Click on the green square at the lower right of a cell. Excel will use the formula to complete the cells you highlight. The formula will be adjusted to coordinate with the targeted cell.

Click on the small, green square in the lower right corner of a cell. Then, drag to highlight the cells you wish to change. Excel will adjust the formula for you.

This method can also be useful if you inadvertently left the Caps Lock on.