WORKSHEET DESIGN


Here we will address some design issues for the worksheet.

  • Which Data Should Be in Rows, and Which in Columns?

    Generally speaking, you’ll want the data that will be most abundant to fill rows rather than columns, so that the worksheet has more row than columns. This improves the readability of the data.

    For example, a worksheet is used to keep track of the exam scores for a class of students. There are a total of 4 exams and the number of students is 35. In this case, having the data for each of the student on a separate row makes it easier to view the worksheet on-screen and easier to fit it on a printed page.

    Note that once you’ve got the worksheet filled with data, it’s very time consuming to change it—especially when it could have been designed differently from the start.

    Before you start work on a worksheet, you also need to ask yourself if the worksheet will need to be printed. You don’t need to worry about printing at all, if, for example, the worksheet is to be used for information storage or reference purposes only.

    If you will want to print the sheet, consider how your data will look and how the sheet will work on paper. This will make a huge difference to your overall worksheet design.

    It’s critical to allow for expansion and editing after your worksheet is assembled. It’s generally a good idea to add a few extra rows and columns to the detail area and to keep totals separated from the detail data by a row or column or two, if possible. One of the most common editing actions you’ll perform is inserting new rows and columns.

    There’s a rather famous tale about an accounting person who inserted a row at the bottom of a range of cells but forgot to adjust the totals formulas and was fired because his numbers were $200,000 off. The moral: Edit worksheets carefully and audit yourself ruthlessly, especially if your job is on the line.