Leading zeros in Excel

This is a fun solution. You want to put a series of numbers in a range in Excel and you want them to have leading zeros. So you want, 001, 002, 003 etc. Problem is that Excel drops the zeros when you type them. It makes sense, leading zeros aren't required and really don't aid comprehension. However, for your own reasons, you want them.

Here's how to do this:

Select the cells and choose Format > Cells > Number tab. Select Custom from the Categories list and in the box marked Type:, type this:

00#

This tells Excel that there must always be 3 digits showing which forces leading zeros to be displayed. It doesn't do anything to the numbers so they are still numbers which is just as you would want it to be.

Calibrate your HP Tablet screen

I am the happy owner of a HP T1000 tablet but till today I had a screen that was a bit off. The stylus had to be used just to the left and a little up of whatever you wanted to select - very annoying indeed. The problem should have been easily resolved, simply recalibrate the screen. Duh! but where is the recalibrate option? I don't know. I checked the Control Panel and the pen tools. There is plenty of information on how to use the pen and how to flick and tap it, but no detail on how to make the screen work properly with it.

My screen has been out of calibration for some time now. Finally, today I found the solution. Choose Start > All Programs > Tablet PC Settings and click the General tab. There you'll find the Calibrate button - click it and then calibrate the screen and save the resulting settings. Easy when you know how but devilishly hard to find when you don't.