AARP Tax-Aide Helpful Hints for Using the Volunteer Excel Expense Form and Other Excel Documents

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1 AARP Tax-Aide Helpful Hints for Using the Volunteer Excel Expense Form and Other Excel Documents This document is designed to give you information to help you perform Excel file functions associated with the Excel Volunteer Expense Statements (either the Leader or Non-Leader versions) that have been posted on the AARP Tax-Aide Volunteer Extranet. This document, along with the Brainshark training document on how to appropriately fill out the form(s), should provide you with many of the tools necessary to use the files. This document may be updated periodically with additional help references. These expense statements were developed in Microsoft Excel, have been tested by both staff and volunteers and should work when using Microsoft Excel or later versions. Some Volunteers without access to Microsoft Excel have used Open Office to use the expense statements, a free program that can be found at: USOPENOFFICE02&googleid= Please be aware that the files may run slower with Open Office than they would with Microsoft Excel. Additionally, Open Office is not 100% compatible with Microsoft Excel so the appearance of the form or its functions may be slightly different in Open Office. How do I access the expense file on the Volunteer Extranet? When you log onto the volunteer extranet, go to the Forms tab. Half way down the page you will see a section referencing Expense Statements (see image below) 1

2 The image below is a close up of the area circled. As you will see there are symbols after the name of the file. Select the GREEN Excel symbol next to the version of the statement you wish to use. 2

3 To select the green symbol, use your mouse to click it. At this point, you should see an option to Open, Save, or Cancel. You should select Save.. You will then be prompted to save the file to a location of your choosing on your computer and to name the file. If you do not decide to rename the file, the system will automatically name it. Once it is saved, you will see the following option appear on the screen: From here, you can either open the file to work on it or continue on with other things and return to the file later. I don t see any tabs when I open the file. 3

4 When you first try to open the excel file, you should see a series of tabs on the bottom of the file (as shown in the picture below that shows 5 tabs). If you do not see these tabs, chances are that you do not have the file maximized for your computer screen. To maximize the file for your computer screen, you should go to the section in the upper right corner of the file. This section has functions developed by Microsoft that you can use to change the size of the file on your computer screen. In this area of the file you will see 3 symbols: a dash, a box with a heavy line on top, and an X. 4

5 You should click on the second symbol (the box with the heavy line on top). By doing this, you will ensure that the file is maximized for your computer screen and you should now be able to view the tabs on the bottom of the screen. 5

6 I can see the tabs, but I don t know how to move from one tab to the other. Using your mouse, click on the tab that you wish to go to. You will automatically be moved out of the current tab and into the new tab. How do I print my statement? You will need to print the statement sheet along with any of the detailed sheets in which you made entries. You should review the printing instructions on the Instructions tab of the form. You can also print by going to the tab corresponding to the sheet you wish to print. Using your keyboard, hold down the CTRL key and the P key at the same time. When you do this, you will get something that appears on the screen that looks like this. The only thing that you will need to do is identify the number of copies to print and then hit the OK button. 6

7 I have saved the excel version of the file and now want to work it in. However when I try to open the file I cannot open it. When you double-click on a workbook in Windows, the Excel program should be started and the workbook loaded. When this doesn't happen, it means something has gone wrong and you need to try to track down the problem. (This following tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.) 1. Make sure that Excel is not running for another file (exit the program). 2. Click the Start button to displays the Start menu. 3. From the Start menu, choose Run. Windows displays the Run dialog box. 4. In the Open box, enter the full path name to your Excel program, followed by the /regserver switch. If the full path name includes spaces, surround the full path name by quote marks. The following is an example of what you can enter in the Open box (your path may be different): "c:\program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Excel.exe" /regserver Click OK. 7

8 Now try double-clicking on your workbook again. It should open as you expect. If it doesn't, try this in versions of Excel prior to Excel 2007: 1. In Excel, choose Options from the Tools menu. Excel displays the Options dialog box. 2. Make sure the General tab is selected. (Click here to see a related figure.) 3. Make sure the Ignore Other Applications check box is selected. 4. Click on OK. If you are using Excel 2007, follow these steps instead: 1. Click the Office button an then click Excel Options. Excel displays the Excel Options dialog box. 2. Click Advanced at the left side of the dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.) 3. In the General section, make sure the Ignore Other Applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) check box is selected. 4. Click on OK. If you still cannot double-click on a workbook to open it, try these steps: 1. Get out of Excel completely. 2. Open a My Computer window. 3. Choose Tool Folder Options. You should see the Folder Options dialog box. 4. Make sure the File Types tab is displayed. 5. In the list of registered file types, find and select the entry for XLS (Microsoft Excel Worksheet). 6. Depending on your version of Windows, click on either the Edit or the Advanced button. You should see the Edit File Type dialog box. 7. In the list of actions, choose Open. 8. Click the Edit button. Windows displays the Editing Action dialog box. 9. The Application Used to Perform Action box contains the actual command line used to start Word. Double-check the line to make sure there are no strange extra filenames at the end of the command line. 10. Make sure the Use DDE check box is selected, and that the DDE Message box is set to the following: [open("%1")] 1. Click on OK. 2. Close all the other open dialog boxes. 8

9 What if I don t have Excel or Open Office? What do I do? Suggestions to resolve this issue: There may be a situation when you have an Excel spreadsheet to be viewed but the Computer you are using do not contain any Office application like Microsoft Office or Open Office. There is a website that exists that may be able to offer some additional options for you to consider. To access this site, double click on the link below. If this link is not working, copy and past the link s address onto the Internet address bar. I am still having difficulty in using the excel expense files. What do I do? If you are having problems downloading the document, remember to check your pop-up blocking or security software, which can sometimes interfere with downloading or using files or programs. The original intent of these files is to make it easier for volunteers to identify and submit their expenses. Please remember that using these excel files are optional. If a volunteer cannot use the excel files, there are still paper copies of the expense forms that can be used by volunteers to identify and submit their requests for reimbursement. Assistance beyond what is outlined in this document may be obtained from your volunteer supervisor. Finally, you can also request assistance from your Senior Volunteer Technician. 9