Multiple title lines in Excel

That's not really what I'm after. I've taken a screenshot of the spreadsheet and linked it below to better illustrate what I'm doing. You can see the three rows of title headings, and perhaps get a better idea of why I need three separate rows of titles rather than one row with multiple lines of text.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8641/excelcl9.jpg

Print options. I could also fix this by not changing that cell width but I'll decline to provide a step by step here.

There are ways to fix this. You only need to find the method acceptable to you.

Bob

Thanks for the dubious help. :-/ No offense, but I didn't go to the trouble of registering here and seeking help just to be told that I can figure this out on my own. I've already spent hours trying to figure it out on my own, and failed. I'm out of ideas and not looking to waste more time on this problem.

As I said previously, there are 3 Major Divisions (Pre-operative variables, Intra-operative variables, and Post-operative variables), so I can't simply make "Intra-operative variables" the page title. Note that in the image, we're starting with Column S - there is a huge chunk of data to the left, and another huge chunk to the right, of what you see in the image.

It's all volunteers here. Just so you know.

I see in Row B you found a way to use the same row count yet get your text where you want. You could use that in Row A so you can get it over with. OR move that title to page title. Your choice here.

The solution is ultimately your choice but it can be solved.

Bob

"I see in Row B you found a way to use the same row count yet get your text where you want."

Not true, those cells are merged and the text centered in the resulting large cell, just like in Row 1, so that is not my solution. You keep saying "the solution is my choice" but you've not offered me a solution and I don't have one of my own. I appreciate that you're trying, but what I need is for someone to say, "Try doing _____, _______, and ______." Doing stuff that, by your own admission, I've already done, is not going to solve it.

I tried it here and it appears to work as I noted. Maybe someone else will explain with other words so you can understand it. At least you have the option of the page header title to sub in for row A but you dismissed it.

It appears you need someone to come over to work this for you. Do you have an IT staffer to call in?

As to step by step I see no reason to do that since you appear to have the skill level to use or try the page header solution, unless you are calling that a non-solution. Here it looks the same on the print out.

Bob

As I said previously, the data range to be sorted contains literally thousands of cells and highlighting that huge mess every time I need to sort is highly impractical.

You are a very dismissive person, you seem to want to dismiss a practical solution before you really try it. I have read that you now have a solution to your problem, courtesy of Kees Bakker. Well good, I am glad for you. Now you have added something to your table that you have to hide. Not the way I would have gone, but if it works for you, fine.

As for highlighting this "huge mess" it is as easy as typing x:y
Where x is the top left corner of your range, and y is the bottom right corner of the range.
All you do is click in the cell reference area (the box on the left end of the Formula Bar) and type in that x:y and press Enter.

For example, if the corners of the data needing to be sorted are D5 and K24 you just type in D5:K24 and press Enter, and Bingo! that area is highlighted!
If that area is often needing to be selected, you could even name that area a name you like, perhaps something like "Biggie" and then any time you want to select that defined area just go to the cell reference pull-down arrow and select "Biggie"

It is pretty simple. And sorting that selected area is still as simple as I have already described.

But, then again, you already have something that works for you, so I guess there is no reason to learn something new.

I will give this a try and report back. Thanks for the idea.

worked like a charm. THANKS!

Hi, just found this thread while googling a similar problem.

I have been using the 'blank line' to solve this problem for years, so I can vouch that it works. However, I'm currently working on a sheet that REFUSES to sort the top row of the actual data - it doesn't matter which cell I select, if I use the A-Z sort icon, it sorts everything beautifully EXCEPT the very top row of data (which is line 4 in this case, line 1 being a heading, line 2 being totals of their respective columns, & line 3 being blank).

I don't remember seeing this happen before, so it is possible I've inadvertently changed a preference or some attributes somewhere.

Any ideas?!

Obviously I'm not expert since I needed help with it myself, but maybe try inserting another blank line and hiding it?

Thanks, but it didn't work.

For now I've copied and pasted (values and number formats only) into a new worksheet, which has done the trick. So it is obviously some strange attribute that somehow attached itself to that particular row of data, preventing it from sorting like the other rows.

Would have been nice to figure out what the heck it was, but what can you do.

Well, you could put the file 'out there' where we can retrieve it, and look it over, to figure it out for you.