I’m loving using the new Design Ideas slide designs in PowerPoint. However, I found myself wanting to make changes to it and it took a bit of working out before I managed to do it. Read more
Author: Sharyn Baines
Creating a new Microsoft Account
If you don’t yet have a Microsoft Account follow the steps below to set one up.
- First head to account.microsoft.com and click ‘Sign in with Microsoft’. You will be presented with the screen below. Click ‘Create one!’.
Use Conditional Formatting to identify cells that are of interest
Learn how to use Conditional Formatting to identify cells that are of interest.
For example, you can apply a Conditional Format that checks to see a cell’s value is greater than $500. If it is the Conditional Format can change the Fill colour of the cell. Therefore making it really easy for you (and others using the file) to quickly identify any cell with a value greater than $500. Read more
Find, modify and break links to an Excel workbook
Learn how to find, modify and break links to an Excel workbook.
Linking is great, until you no longer need it. Then it can be a bit of a pain.
A couple of challenges may come your way if you weren’t the creator of the workbook that contains links. One challenge is identifying where the linked data is within your workbook and another is actually breaking the link. Read more
Link cells in the same or different Excel worksheets
Learn how to link Link cells in the same or different Excel worksheets.
Linking saves a huge amount of time (and a huge amount of mistakes) in that it allows you to create connections from one cell to another.
Use the SUMIF function to total only the cells that match your requirement
Use the SUMIF function to total only the cells that match your requirement.
For example, if you wanted to know the total sales made by one of your sales team members you can use the SUMIF function to only add to the total the sales made by a certain member. Gold! This function saves you a lot of time.
Prior to learning this function most people filter their data based on their requirement, e.g. the team member’s name, and then copy and paste the info into another worksheet. Once in the new worksheet they then use the SUM function to create the total. Read more
Insert an Excel function into your workbook
Learn how to insert an Excel function into your workbook.
Excel comes equipped with a large number of pre-defined formulas. These are known as functions.
There is a great amount of functions available in Excel. Each created for a specific purpose. There are functions specific to Maths, Science, Finance, and Engineering to name a few. Read more
Insert subtotal rows into sorted data
Learn how to insert subtotal rows into sorted data without having to spend time doing it manually.
Recently I ran a training session for an Accounts Manager and her staff. They spent a lot of time pulling data out of their in-house computer system, sorting it by customer and then inserting a new row at every change in the customer name. This was so that they could place a SUM into the row to total what the customer had spent with them.
Using the Subtotals feature I showed them a quick and effective way in which to summarise their data. And yep! They were pretty impressed! Read more
Sort an Excel list into numerical, date or alphabetical order
Sort an Excel list into numerical, date or alphabetical order to organise your data into a more useful arrangement.
Once you know how to use the Sort command you can organise information so that it’s easier to interpret. For example, if you receive a list of purchases made by many different clients on different days of the month it may be easier to see which clients are buying from you at different times of the month. By sorting the data by client and by date you can easily analyse who is buying and when.
Freezing column and row labels in Excel
Freezing column and row labels in Excel (a.k.a Freeze Panes) locks parts of your screen so that you don’t lose sight of the heading labels at the top of a column or beginning of a row when you scroll.
When working on large worksheets, labels used to identify data can be lost when you scroll in either direction, and then you find yourself wasting time scrolling backwards and forwards, up and down, just to check you are actually in the correct column and row. Read more