May 30, '08 07:30:03AM • Contributed by: kioarthurdane
You can also drop files on it as a replacement for the Excel icon in your Dock! You can either download the script [24KB], or read the rest of this hint to view the source.
[robg adds: I've also provided an alternative solution that's not nearly as elegant, but which works for me, in the remainder of the hint.]
Here's the code... [robg adds: I searched the net for a simpler way to make all documents appear at a higher zoom level, but didn't find an easy answer. You can modify the Normal template, I believe, to force new documents to appear at your chosen zoom level, but that won't affect existing documents. You can, of course, use the mouse to zoom the sheet -- Control-Command and scroll wheel in 10.5 will increase or decrease the zoom level. The control isn't all that precise, though, and you have to scroll very slowly to find the exact zoom level you want. As an alternative, you can create keyboard shortcuts for zoom in and zoom out, which is what I've done.
Go to Views » Customize Toolbars and Menus, then click on the Commands tab. Click on All Commands in the left-side box, then scroll down and find Zoom In in the right-hand box.
Now drag Zoom In from that dialog up to the small representation of the main menu that appears just below the actual menu bar. Drag and drop it onto a menu where you'll be able to find it -- I placed it at the bottom of the View menu. Click OK to close the dialog in Excel, then open the Keyboard Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences panel. Click the plus sign to add a new shortcut, set Excel 2008 as the application and Zoom In as the menu title. Enter the shortcut you'd like to use (Control-Option-plus or whatever), and (if you're running 10.5) switch back to Excel 2008 and try your new shortcut. (For previous versions of OS X, you'll need to quit and relaunch Excel to see the new shortcut.)
Repeat the above steps for Zoom Out (Control-Option-minus), and you've got handy shortcuts to precisely set the zoom levels. While this method isn't as elegant as the above AppleScript, it works pretty well for my needs.]
