Read only file

What is a read only file?
How to make changes to a read only file?
How to save changes made to a read only file?


READ ONLY FILE
A read only file, as the name implies, is a file whose contents can be only read but cannot be written into. In other words, you can view the contents of a read only file but cannot change or make modifications to that file. Of course, a read only file is not a protected file but one which cannot be written into. You can make changes and modifications to a read only file but the same cannot be saved in the same file name. For example, if you have a file name test.xls and you have made it a read only file, then changes can be made to that file but the same cannot be saved under the name test.xls but can be saved with an another name.

SAVING A READ ONLY FILE
As already pointed out, read only files cannot be saved in the original name and they must be saved in an another name. So follow the steps below to save a read only file

1. Go to FILE->SAVE AS (The save as dialog box would be displayed)
   
2. Now select the path where you want to save the file from the LOOK IN box.
3. Now type a file name in the FILE NAME box below
4. SAVE the file by clicking the SAVE button.

• The above steps holds good for almost all applications.
• If you want to save the read only file in its original name, then save the file in another name, delete the original file and rename the newly created file.

Also see,
Creating a read only file
Open a file as read only

Instance

Instance
Multiple Instances
Opening multiple instances of Microsoft Excel.

The word instance can be defined as the number of occurrences of an event. Thus when you start Microsoft Excel for the first time, then it may said as the first instance of Microsoft Excel. When you open Microsoft Excel for the second time with the first instance already running, then it is said to be the second instance of Microsoft Excel.

Normally, applications are objects created by programming languages. So you can run multiple instances of the same application. But running multiple instance causes your CPU to allocate more memory. Thus the number of times you open an application depends on your CPU memory (RAM). As long as your CPU permits, you can keep on opening multiple instances of an application.

It is normally recommended that you don't run multiple instances of the same application. This is because running multiple instances not only act as a drag on your CPU but it is difficult for the user too to navigate through the applications. Thus unless it is necessarily required, you need not open multiple instances of an application. The above apply not only to Microsoft Excel, but almost for all applications, in general.

Opening Multiple Instances
To open an other instance of Microsoft Excel, just click the Excel icon on the desktop or select Microsoft Excel from Programs->Microsoft Office->Microsoft Excel

Possible errors and solutions:
Cannot open multiple instances of Microsoft Excel

• This may due to the fact that CPU is already full on memory and cannot allocate memory for the new instance (This is almost a rarity and would happen only if you are using a RAM less than 64 MB and have loaded quite a good number of applications).
• Some or all of the libraries required for Microsoft Excel cannot open (This may happen if you have loaded a lot of add-ins and COM automation at Excel start up. Reinstalling Microsoft Excel may sort out this problem)

I get a lot of message boxes when I open the second instance of Microsoft Excel

• You may have specified Excel to open a set of files at start up. Since they are already opened in the first instance, when Excel tries to reopen them at the second instance, it displays a message box indicating the files are already open. To solve this problem, try sticking to a single instance of Microsoft Excel.

Microsoft Excel automatically opens a second instance

• When an external application such as email contains an Excel attachment, it may launch Excel again to display the contents. This is because,the external application may instruct to create a new instance of Microsoft Excel to load the file (You normally may not experience such problems with Outlook and other recognised software creators). To solve this, download the file to the computer and open it.
• If a new instance of Microsoft Excel is opened all of a sudden, then somebody might have scheduled to run it. Check Windows Scheduler for details.

I cannot open a file in the second instance of Microsoft Excel or my file open as read only

• By rule, a file with the same extension cannot be opened more than one time. Thus if you have opened file in one instance, you cannot open the same file in second instance. Also, if the file is shared on network and is opened by an other user, you cannot open it. To solve this, close the file and try reopening again or if you need to just look at the contents, open the file as read only.
  

Default workbook

Default workbook in Microsoft Excel

By default, Microsoft Excel (all versions) creates a workbook when you start Microsoft Excel. The name of the workbook is usually Book1. If you open multiple instances of Microsoft Excel, then each of the instance would open a new workbook. The number of worksheets in the workbook depend on the option set for the number of worksheets in the default options.

Microsoft Excel doesn't open a default workbook under the following circumstances,

1. When you open a file from START->DOCUMENTS.
2. When you open a file from Windows Explorer.
3. When you download and open a file from a web browser.
4. When Microsoft Excel is set to open a default workbook when it starts.
5. When any file is stored in the XLSTART folder.

There may also other circumstances where Microsoft Excel may not open a workbook. If you experienced such circumstances, you may post in the comments section.
There seems to be no way from making Microsoft Excel not open a workbook when it starts. If you have an idea, you may post it.

Entering percentages

How to enter percentages in Excel?
When I format cells as percentages, the exact percentages don't show up. They get multiplied by 100.

To convert a number into percentage,
RIGHT CLICK->FORMAT CELLS->NUMBER->PERCENTAGE and CLICK OK.
You can also specify the number of decimal places to follow percentage.

Tip:

It is always advised to format cells as percentage before you enter values. This is because if you enter your values and format it to percentage, they get multiplied 100 since cent percentage is equal to 100. For example, if you enter the number 4 and format cells as percentage, you get the value 400%. But if you format the cells as percentage and enter 4, you get the value 4%.You can also enter decimal values if you format the cells prior to entering values.

Full screen

How to maximize the screen capacity in Microsoft Excel?
How to view full screen in Microsoft Excel?
How to turn off full screen in Microsoft Excel?

Full screen is an option in Microsoft Excel, whereby you could hide all the tool bars and maximize the viewing capacity. This would especially be useful if you are to type in a large amount of data or the nature of your work don't need tool bars for a wrong time

To turn on FULL SCREEN, Go to VIEW menu and click FULL SCREEN.
To turn on FULL SCREEN, just repeat the step since the Full screen button is a toggle button.

By default, FULL SCREEN is turned off in Microsoft Excel.

When you use the Full screen option for the first time, you would see a new tool bar with the name CLOSE FULL SCREEN. Close this tool bar (To close it, click the X on the right) . Don't click the CLOSE FULL SCREEN button since it would turn off the full screen.

The full screen options removes the tool bars, status bar and the formula bar. Full screen doesn't mean that you could not have your tool bars. You can always have your favorite tool bar by selecting it from the view menu