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If you mistakenly change or delete some data in a worksheet, you can undo this action by:
- selecting Undo on the Edit menu, or
- pressing the CTRL key plus Z (CTRL+ Z), or
- clicking the Undo button
on the toolbar.
You can even undo several actions by clicking on the arrow next to the Undo button and selecting from the list the specific actions you want to undo. Nevertheless, there are actions that cannot be undone, such as those performed with commands on the File menu.
If, on the contrary, you would like to redo some actions that you undid, you have the option to:
- select Redo from the Edit menu,
- press CTRL+Y, or
- click the Redo button
from the toolbar.
Again, to redo more than one action, click the arrow next to the Redo button and select the actions from the list that you want to redo.
Excel also offers a function for repeating the last action performed:
- click the Repeat item in the Edit menu, or
- press CTRL+Y.
Some actions – such as using a function in a cell – cannot be repeated. Accordingly, the Repeat command changes to Can't Repeat, which is greyed out.
Why is this information important for translators and translation teachers?
The undo, redo and repeat functions are useful for translators as they allow them to quickly return the document they are working on to its state before the changes – which may have been made on purpose or by mistake. Moreover, being able to restore the initial form of a document is less time-consuming than looking in the original document and copying the information that has been changed.