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Quick Access Toolbar, Views, Freeze Panes, Properties, Display Formulas

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Microsoft Excel Microsoft 365 Apps

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1 Introduction & Exam Overview

About the MO-210 Exam Performance-Based Exam Strategy

2 Import Data & Navigate Workbooks

Import Data from Text Files Import Data from Online Sources Search and Navigate to Named Cells, Ranges, Elements Insert and Remove Hyperlinks

3 Format Worksheets, Views & Collaboration

Page Setup, Headers, Footers, Row Height & Column Width Quick Access Toolbar, Views, Freeze Panes, Properties, Display Formulas Print Area, Export Formats, Print Settings, Inspect, Comments & Notes

4 Manipulate Data in Worksheets

Paste Special and Auto Fill Insert and Delete Rows, Columns, and Cells Generate Numeric Data with RANDBETWEEN and SEQUENCE

5 Format Cells and Ranges

Merge, Alignment, Orientation, Indentation, Wrap Text Number Formats, Format Painter, Format Cells Dialog Cell Styles, Clear Formatting, Group Worksheets

6 Named Ranges & Visual Summaries

Define and Reference Named Ranges Insert and Manage Sparklines Apply and Remove Conditional Formatting

7 Create and Format Tables

Create Excel Tables from Cell Ranges Apply Table Styles and Convert Tables to Ranges Add or Remove Table Rows and Columns

8 Table Options, Filter & Sort

Configure Table Style Options Insert and Configure Total Rows Filter Table Records Sort Data by Multiple Columns

9 Formula References

Relative, Absolute, and Mixed References Structured References in Tables

10 Calculate and Transform Data

SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, and MAX COUNT, COUNTA, and COUNTBLANK Conditional Operations with IF SORT and UNIQUE Functions

11 Format and Modify Text

LEFT, RIGHT, and MID UPPER, LOWER, LEN, CONCAT, and TEXTJOIN

12 Create Charts

Create Charts from Data Create Chart Sheets

13 Modify and Format Charts

Add Data Series and Switch Rows/Columns Add and Modify Chart Elements Chart Layouts, Styles, and Alternative Text

Quick Access Toolbar, Views, Freeze Panes, Properties, Display Formulas

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Customize the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) above or below the ribbon to pin frequent commands such as Print Preview or Freeze Panes for faster MO-210 performance tasks

Switch among Normal, Page Layout, and Page Break Preview from the View tab or status bar to edit content, headers, or page breaks

Freeze Top Row, Freeze First Column, or Freeze Panes (based on the active cell) keeps labels visible while scrolling; this is separate from Print Titles

Use View > Window tools (New Window, Arrange All, View Side by Side) to compare sheets or workbooks on screen

Modify built-in workbook properties under File > Info, and toggle Formulas > Show Formulas (or Ctrl+`) when a task asks to display formulas instead of results

Last updated: August 2026

Quick Access Toolbar, Views, Freeze Panes, Properties, Display Formulas

Quick Answer: Domain 1's Customize options and views objective covers the Quick Access Toolbar , Normal / Page Layout / Page Break Preview , Freeze Panes , window arrangement , built-in workbook properties , and Show Formulas — all common MO-210 performance tasks.

These skills do not change your data values; they change how you navigate, document, and inspect the workbook. On a timed Associate exam, small efficiency gains (a pinned command, a frozen header row, formulas visible for audit) prevent missed requirements.

Manage the Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) sits above the ribbon by default (or below it if you choose that placement). It holds one-click icons independent of which ribbon tab is active.

Ways to customize it:

  • Action How
  • Add a command Right-click a ribbon command > Add to Quick Access Toolbar
  • Remove a command Right-click the QAT icon > Remove from Quick Access Toolbar
  • More options Click the QAT dropdown > More Commands… (Excel Options > Quick Access Toolbar)
  • Move position QAT dropdown > Show Below the Ribbon / Show Above the Ribbon
  • Reset In More Commands, choose Reset

Popular exam-friendly pins include Print Preview and Print , Freeze Panes , Sort , and Touch/Mouse Mode if the lab environment is awkward. Prompts may say "Add the [command] to the Quick Access Toolbar" — complete the add, then leave it there; do not remove it unless asked.

In Excel Options you can also choose whether customizations apply to For all documents (default) or only the current workbook. Unless the task mentions a workbook-specific QAT, use the default (all documents) setting.

Display and Modify Worksheets in Different Views

On the View tab, Workbook Views offers three primary modes:

  • View Best for What you see
  • Normal Everyday editing Standard grid; headers/footers not inline
  • Page Layout Headers/footers, margins feel WYSIWYG pages with header regions
  • Page Break Preview Adjusting where pages split Blue dashed/solid page-break lines; drag to move breaks

Status-bar icons at the bottom-right also switch these views quickly. MO-210 might ask you to switch to Page Break Preview and move a break so a table stays together, or to use Page Layout view to edit a footer. After finishing a print-layout task, return to Normal unless the prompt says otherwise — graders look at the requested end state.

Related View options (Zoom, Show group checkboxes for Formula Bar , Headings , Gridlines ) appear nearby. Turning gridlines off is a display change for the sheet; printing gridlines is a separate Page Setup Sheet tab setting. Read prompts carefully so you do not confuse on-screen Show Gridlines with Print Gridlines.

Freeze Worksheet Rows and Columns

View > Freeze Panes keeps rows and/or columns visible while the rest of the sheet scrolls.

  • Command Behavior
  • Freeze Panes Freezes rows above and columns left of the active cell
  • Freeze Top Row Always freezes row 1
  • Freeze First Column Always freezes column A
  • Unfreeze Panes Clears any freeze (replaces Freeze Panes when active)
  • Choosing the active cell

For Freeze Panes (custom): select the cell just below the rows you want frozen and just to the right of the columns you want frozen. Examples:

Freeze rows 1–2 only → select A3 , then Freeze Panes.

Freeze column A and row 1 → select B2 , then Freeze Panes.

Freeze columns A:B only → select C1 , then Freeze Panes.

If Freeze Panes seems wrong, Unfreeze Panes and reset the selection. Remember again: freezing does not repeat headings when printing — use Print Titles for that.

Change Window Views

When you must compare two sheets or two parts of a large model, use the View > Window group:

  • Tool Purpose
  • New Window Opens another window on the same workbook so you can show different sheets or ranges
  • Arrange All Tiles open windows (Tiled, Horizontal, Vertical, Cascade)
  • View Side by Side Compares two windows; enable Synchronous Scrolling to move them together
  • Switch Windows Activates a specific open workbook window
  • Hide / Unhide Hides a window without closing the file

A typical task: "Open a new window for the workbook, arrange the windows vertically, and display the Summary sheet in one window and Detail in the other." Sequence: New Window → switch one window to Summary and the other to Detail → Arrange All > Vertical.

View Side by Side is ideal for comparing two different workbooks (for example, last month vs this month). If Synchronous Scrolling is on and you do not want it, toggle it off on the View tab.

Modify Built-in Workbook Properties

Document properties travel with the file and matter for collaboration and Inspect Document cleanup.

Go to File > Info .

On the right, review properties such as Title , Tags , Categories , and Author .

Click Properties > Advanced Properties for the classic Summary/Statistics/Contents/Custom tabs (Subject, Company, Comments field, custom name/value pairs).

MO-210 Associate tasks usually change built-in fields like Title or Tags rather than obscure custom properties. After editing, save so properties persist. Be aware that Inspect Workbook (next section) can remove personal information stored in properties if a distribution task requires it — but only remove properties when the prompt asks you to inspect/clean the workbook.

Display Formulas

To show formulas instead of calculated results across the sheet:

Formulas > Formula Auditing > Show Formulas , or

Keyboard shortcut Ctrl+` (Ctrl + grave accent, often above Tab).

While Show Formulas is on, columns widen to reveal formulas, cell references, and function names — useful when a task says "display the formulas in the worksheet" or when you need to verify absolute references before turning the view back off. Toggle the same command (or Ctrl+`) to return to values. Showing formulas is a view state; it does not convert formulas to text. Do not confuse it with Paste Special > Values , which permanently replaces formulas.

Exam Scenario Walkthrough

Prompt: Add Freeze Panes to the QAT. Freeze the top row of the Data sheet. Switch to Page Break Preview and ensure the break does not split the Totals row awkwardly. Set the workbook Title property to "Q3 Pipeline". Display formulas on the Rates sheet.

Right-click View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Top Row (or the Freeze Panes split button) > Add to Quick Access Toolbar; then apply Freeze Top Row on Data.

View > Page Break Preview; drag blue breaks if needed so Totals stays with its section.

File > Info → set Title to Q3 Pipeline.

On Rates, Formulas > Show Formulas (or Ctrl+`).

Completing this cluster demonstrates every bullet under Customize options and views on the MO-210 outline.