Make your spreadsheet look less like a spreadsheet.
If you want your spreadsheet to look less like a spreadsheet, or you want more space for your data when showing it to others, then you can change the look of your sheet with a few clicks. Turning off the gridlines and the headings (the letters across the top, and the numbers down the side) […]
What is faster than scrolling? Jumping. Go To…
Home menu, Editing section, Find & Select, Go To… or Shortcut key Ctrl + G, or F5. You can type in a cell reference, click OK and be taken right there. You can use it to jump to another sheet, but have to type in the name of the sheet, then !, then the cell […]
I still haven’t found what I am looking for… solved.
Hiding under the Find & Select drop down is Go To Special… Find & Select, can be found on the Home Menu and is the Editing section. Click on the drop down and choose Go To Special… Shortcut key F5 will open the Go To dialogue box, and from here you can choose Go To […]
When Delete just won’t do: How to Clear a cell.
Use Clear All when you want to remove everything from a cell. This will remove the value in the cell, and any formatting. Use the Clear options in the Editing section of the Home menu to remove data or formatting or both from the cells you have selected. Shortcut keys to Clear All are Alt, […]
Pivot Tables are amazing!
I was reminded again this week how great Pivot Tables are. If you haven’t used these little beauties in your Excel workbooks you might be missing out. Sometimes, they can require a little bit of manipulating to get your data into a state that is ready for a Pivot Table, but it is totally worth […]
Text to Columns to the rescue!
I have had two times in the past couple of days when I have needed to use Text to Columns. (Short cuts keys Alt, A, E) It is a niche tool, but so good when it is needed, saving a lot of time compared to doing things manually. So, what did I use it for? […]
Flash Fill: Fill in a flash!
The Flash Fill tool in Excel is a massive time saver and is very easy to use. Use to complete tasks like splitting out first names from a list with first and last names. Yes, you can achieve this with a formula, but for most people that is too complex, and it is quicker and […]
Stop people messing with your cells.
If you share a workbook with others and want to stop them changing the sheet cells you can protect the sheet. By default all cells are protected. If you want to allow them to enter information in some cells, but not others, then you need to unlock the cells to allow them to be changed. […]
Fitting data into a cell and getting it just right.
When the information you want to enter into a cell is too long for the width of the cell you would like, you can use Wrap Text. This will fit the information to the cell by expanding it down to fit. Find Wrap Text on the Home menu, in the Alignment Section. (Shortcut keys Alt, […]
Save time, fill across worksheets…
The Fill menu has a number of interesting options. One allows you to copy the same data into multiple worksheets in one go. Select the data to copy.Hold down Ctrl and select the other worksheets that you want to copy to.Go to the Home menu, find the Editing section, select the Fill dropdown. Choose Across […]