QUESTION: In Excel, I keep track of receipts, which use credit cards. I want to include a reference to the credit card in my spread sheet using twelve x's followed by four digits but I do not want to have to type the x's. What do I have to do?

ANSWER:

1. Highlight the column you want the credit cards to be typed into before typing any of the numbers.

2. Format menu

3. Cells command

4. Make sure the Number tab is active.

5. In the Category section, choose Custom

6. In the box where "General" appears, click once behind the word and use Backspace to remove the word.

7. Type xxxxxxxxxxxx0000

8. (The twelve x's are the x's you desire to show in each cell in the credit card column while the four zero's represent the four positions that you will use to type the credit card references. The zero's will not display unless they appear in the actual credit card number.)

9. Click the OK button.