I am entering in a series of times to be calculated in Excel. Is there a way
to "assign" a key on the keyboard to mean "shift + colon" rather than having
to type the shift key and the colon every time?

you can go into autocorrect and add something:

replace ; with :

just remember to delete it when you're done

in 2003,
tools
autocorrect options

in 2007
click the office button then
Excel Options
Proofing
AutoCorrect Options.

--

Gary Keramidas
Excel 2003


"OfficeGirl" wrote in message
...
I am entering in a series of times to be calculated in Excel. Is there a
way
to "assign" a key on the keyboard to mean "shift + colon" rather than
having
to type the shift key and the colon every time?

Directly answering your question, yes, there's a way.

Assuming you use the numeric keypad to enter numbers, typing in a decimal
point should be second-nature.

**Temporarily** set an AutoCorrect option to replace . (dot, period, decimal
point) with : (colon).

Then enter the times in 24hr decimal point format. For example, 1:45 PM gets
typed in as 13.45.

After you're done make sure you delete the temporary AutoCorrect option then
format the time entries in the style of your choice.

Also see this: quick date/time entry:

http://www.cpearson.com/Excel/DateTimeEntry.htm

--
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP


"OfficeGirl" wrote in message
...
I am entering in a series of times to be calculated in Excel. Is there a
way
to "assign" a key on the keyboard to mean "shift + colon" rather than
having
to type the shift key and the colon every time?

T. wrote on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:30:47 -0400:

Assuming you use the numeric keypad to enter numbers, typing
in a decimal point should be second-nature.

**Temporarily** set an AutoCorrect option to replace . (dot,
period, decimal point) with : (colon).

Then enter the times in 24hr decimal point format. For
example, 1:45 PM gets typed in as 13.45.

After you're done make sure you delete the temporary
AutoCorrect option then format the time entries in the style
of your choice.

Also see this: quick date/time entry:

http://www.cpearson.com/Excel/DateTimeEntry.htm

Why not set a two symbol autocorrect with something you can remember and
don't other wise use like " ~; " ";s" to autocorrect to ": " ? You could
also record a macro for SHFT-; and give it an icon couldn't you?

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

the reason i wouldn't do that is you're adding another keystroke. with your
~; example, why not just use the shift colon because a ~ is another shifted
character and it would be easier just to type the shift colon.

i'm guessing the op wants to use as few keystrokes as possible.

--

Gary Keramidas
Excel 2003


"James Silverton" wrote in message
...
T. wrote on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:30:47 -0400:

Assuming you use the numeric keypad to enter numbers, typing
in a decimal point should be second-nature.

**Temporarily** set an AutoCorrect option to replace . (dot,
period, decimal point) with : (colon).

Then enter the times in 24hr decimal point format. For
example, 1:45 PM gets typed in as 13.45.

After you're done make sure you delete the temporary
AutoCorrect option then format the time entries in the style
of your choice.

Also see this: quick date/time entry:

http://www.cpearson.com/Excel/DateTimeEntry.htm

Why not set a two symbol autocorrect with something you can remember and
don't other wise use like " ~; " ";s" to autocorrect to ": " ? You could
also record a macro for SHFT-; and give it an icon couldn't you?

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

If I had to do this my first choice would be to use the event macro
mentioned in Chip Pearson's article.

If for some reason I couldn't do that then I'd use the technique I
described. You can use any key replacement you want but the whole idea is to
*not have to move your hand/fingers away from the numeric keypad to "search"
the keyboard for the replacement key*. Professional number crunchers can use
10 key blindfolded! You don't have to "search" for the decimal point key,
it's right there!

--
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP


"James Silverton" wrote in message
...
T. wrote on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:30:47 -0400:

Assuming you use the numeric keypad to enter numbers, typing
in a decimal point should be second-nature.

**Temporarily** set an AutoCorrect option to replace . (dot,
period, decimal point) with : (colon).

Then enter the times in 24hr decimal point format. For
example, 1:45 PM gets typed in as 13.45.

After you're done make sure you delete the temporary
AutoCorrect option then format the time entries in the style
of your choice.

Also see this: quick date/time entry:

http://www.cpearson.com/Excel/DateTimeEntry.htm

Why not set a two symbol autocorrect with something you can remember and
don't other wise use like " ~; " ";s" to autocorrect to ": " ? You could
also record a macro for SHFT-; and give it an icon couldn't you?

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

For that exact reason I've set-up the girls in our offices to use *double
decimal* entry to denote the colon for Monday morning time card entry.

5..45 is an easy 10key entry, and most of them leave it on their machines
permanently.
--

Regards,

RD
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please keep all correspondence within the Group, so all may benefit !
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"T. Valko" wrote in message
...
If I had to do this my first choice would be to use the event macro
mentioned in Chip Pearson's article.

If for some reason I couldn't do that then I'd use the technique I
described. You can use any key replacement you want but the whole idea is to
*not have to move your hand/fingers away from the numeric keypad to "search"
the keyboard for the replacement key*. Professional number crunchers can use
10 key blindfolded! You don't have to "search" for the decimal point key,
it's right there!

--
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP


"James Silverton" wrote in message
...
T. wrote on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:30:47 -0400:

Assuming you use the numeric keypad to enter numbers, typing
in a decimal point should be second-nature.

**Temporarily** set an AutoCorrect option to replace . (dot,
period, decimal point) with : (colon).

Then enter the times in 24hr decimal point format. For
example, 1:45 PM gets typed in as 13.45.

After you're done make sure you delete the temporary
AutoCorrect option then format the time entries in the style
of your choice.

Also see this: quick date/time entry:

http://www.cpearson.com/Excel/DateTimeEntry.htm

Why not set a two symbol autocorrect with something you can remember and
don't other wise use like " ~; " ";s" to autocorrect to ": " ? You could
also record a macro for SHFT-; and give it an icon couldn't you?

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not