Defining data
Defining data to convert your data to an Add-In for Excel table. You can define an entire worksheet, or a subset or range of data within a worksheet.
Benefits of defined data
- Data is read-only, protecting it from accidental changes
- Formats the data consistently
- Optionally opens the selected data in a new worksheet
- Freezes the column headers so they remain visible while you scroll through the data
- Enables Excel sorting and filtering in column headers
- Displays totals of numeric data
- Displays table, column, and row details in the ACL Add-In panel
Define data using Add-In for Excel
- With an Excel worksheet active, click the ACL Add-In tab.
- Do one of the following:
- To select a range of data you want to define, click the first cell in the range and then drag to the last cell in the range, and then click Define Data.
- To select all the data in the worksheet, select an individual
cell containing data and click Define Data,
and then click Define Data.
Tip
You can also use Ctrl+a to select all and then click Define Data.
- Optional to not use the first row of data as column headers, clear Use first row as column headers.
- Optional to open the Add-In for Excel table in a new worksheet, select Create new worksheet and name the worksheet in the ACL Add-In worksheet name field.
- In the Data Source Description field, enter a description and then click OK.
The description is displayed in the Add-In for Excel table history.
Undefine data
Undefine data to remove the data protection and formatting from an Add-In for Excel table and convert it to a standard EXcel worksheet. The table history is permanently removed however row statuses, computed columns, and the content of the Notes column are retained.
- With a cell selected in the Add-In for Excel table, click the ACL Add-in tab.
- Click Undefine Data and then click Yes in the confirmation dialog box.
