Back to basics: Formatting
Covering some of the essential knowledge when first starting to use a spreadsheet, here we will cover some Formatting of cells. On the Home menu, is a section called Number. Which is slightly misleading, because it is about a lot more than numbers. This is where you can set how the user sees the information […]
Freeze, in the name of being able to see what is what.
When you have a large sheet and you want to be able to see the top rows, even if you have scrolled down, then Freeze Panes is your friend. For example, if you have headings in the top row and want to be able to see them, even when you are at the end of […]
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) […]
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 […]
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, […]
Use Center Across Selection instead of Merge and Center.
Instead of using Merge and Center, try using Center Across Selection. It makes highlighting easy and formulas more logical. The results look the same, but what is happening in the background is different. Below is how most people will put a title across multiple cells, by using the Merge & Center button. Notice the green […]
Filter a chart the easy way.
You can filter a chart, right on the chart. Select the graph and choose the filter button, the one that looks like a funnel. Choose which series or categories you want to be able to see. Select Apply. Here is the original chart. And here is the chart with North and South unselected.
Two very handy shortcut keys for charts.
There are two particularly useful shortcut keys when using an Excel chart (graph). Use Ctrl + Left or Right arrow keys to move through selecting each chart element. From the whole chart area, to Plot area, legend, y-axis, x-axis, title, all points in the series, and then each individual point in the series. Great for […]
Sorted! Get sorted with SORT function.
Sorting used to have to be done in place, but the Excel SORT function allows you to present data from one place, in another place sorted by your specifications. Here is a simple example. This is a list of companies, in company order, their listings and market share. This is our original data. What if […]
Filter function: Return just the data you want to see.
A lot of users of Excel know about the filter buttons. You can read about them here: The filter function allows you to filter data into another place in your workbook, leaving your original data as is. Just like the filter buttons you can display some information from a list based on specified selection criteria. […]