EXCEL THE SMART WAY 51 EXCEL TIPS SUMIT BANSAL EXCEL MYPHey there, ‘My name is Sumit Bansal and | started TrumpExcel.com as an effort to learn and share amazing Microsoft Excel Tips and Tutorials. It’s @ journey, where | aim for continuous learning, and at the same time, take you all with me. In this Ebook, | share 51 Excel Tips that you can start using today and be more productive in your work. For more such tips and tricks, visit my blog - http://TrumpExcel.com Feel free to email a copy to friends, share this, print this, and refer to these tips in your blogs. You are NOT allowed to edit or sell this e-guide. Only | have that Exclusive right. In case you wish to sell this or plan to customize/commercialize it, get in touch with me at sumitbansal@trumpexcel.com Cheers. ‘Sumit Bansal Excel MVP. Disclaimer: | nave tested these tips on Excet 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. | have NOT tested these on Excel 2003, Al the snapshots in this e-book are from Excel 2018. anneTable of Contents Excel Efficiency Tips: Xcel Tip # 1 Switch Between Excel Spreadsheets Only 7 Excel Tip #2: Quickly Make @ Copy of a Worksheet. Excel Tip # 3: Multiply/Divide with @ number using Paste Specie. Excel Tip # 4: Freeze Panes to always Display Headers 10 {Excl Tip # 5: STOP using Merge and Center (use Center Across Selection instead) " Excel Tp #6: Selective Clearing format, content, comments, hypertinks) a2 £xcel Tip # 7 Select and Delete all Comments at Once. 3 Excel Tip # 8: Use Control + Enter to Fill an Entire Range. 14 Excel Tip # 9: Copy Formula on Clipboard to be use Later. 15 {Excel Tip # 10: Too Many Worksheets: Use the New Window Feature 16 Excel Tip # 11: Spit your Worksheet to be more Efficient a7 cel Tip # 12: A Quick Way to Mave Rows and Columns. 18 Excel Tp #13: Quickly Create Named Ranges from Data 19 The Smart Way (S1 Tips)Excel Day-to-day Tips Excel Tip # 14: Display a Message when a Cell is Selected 20 Excel Tip # 15: Group and Ungroup data. 2 Excel Tip # 16: Select Visible Cells only Excel Tip # 17: Remove Blank Cells from a List 24 Excel Tip # 18: Angle Cell Text to make Column’s Width Narrow .. Excel Tip # 19: Split a Cell by a Diagonal Line to get 2 Headers Excel Tip #20: Snap Objects/Pictures to Cell Borders Excel Conditional Formatting Tips: Excel Tip #21: Highlight Alternate Rows Using Conditional Formatting. 7 Excel Tip #22: Search and Highlight Cells using Conditional Formatting 28 Excel Tip # 23: Highlighting Errors//Blanks using Conditional Formatting 29 Excel Tip # 24: Create a Simple Gantt Chart Using Conditional Formatting. The Smart Way (S1 Tips)Excel Magic Tricks: Excel Tip #25: Find and Replace Partial Matches (Using Wildcard Characters) 32 Excel Tip #26: Put a comment in an Excel Formula. Excel Tip # 27: Create Custom Sorting Criteria 33 Excel Tip # 28: Enter Bullets in Excel Excel Tip # 29: Display Negatives values in Red using Number formatting. 35 Excel Tip # 30: Insert Picture into a Comment Box Excel Tip # 31: Keep the Headers at the Top while Printing Excel Tip # 32: Enable Data Entry only when the Previous Celli Filled. 38 Excel Tip # 33: Create your Own Error Messages in Data Validation ... 39 Excel Tip # 34: Perform Multi-Level Sorting .. Excel Formula Tips: at Excel Tip # 35: Disguise Numbers as Text Using Custom Number Formatting Excel Tip # 36: Evaluate a formula Step by Step .. 42 Excel Tip # 37: Get a Unique List (2 Methods) a The Smart Way (S1 Tips)Excel Tip # 38: Intersect Operator in Excel .. Excel Tip # 39: Join Contents in 2 or more Cells - Concatenate Excel Tip # 40: Debug Formula using F9 46 Excel Tip # 41: Handle Errors in Excel Formula. 48 Excel Tip # 42: Work with Imported Data - Some useful Tips 49 Excel Tip # 43: Count Non-blank Cells (Fool-proof method). Other Useful Excel Tips: Excel Tip # 44: Enable Fill Handle to auto-complete lists. Excel Tip # 45: Create a Scrollable List in Excel... Excel Tip # 46: Get Camera Tool in Excel. Excel Tip # 47: Custom design in the bars of a charts Excel Tip #48: Get the Developer Tab Displayed in Excel Ribbon Excel Tip # 49: Reference to an area in a Worksheet. Excel Tip # 50: Display Columns Headers as Numbers (instead of alphabets). 37 Excel Tip # 51: Create your own Calculated Field in Pivot Tables.. The Smart Way (S1 Tips)Excel Tip # 1: Switch Between Excel Spreadsheets Only It’s very frustrating when you have multiple applications ‘open (such as Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Chrome, and IE) land you want to switch between Excel spreadsheets only. No matter how efficient you are, this can get on to your nerves in a few minutes. In this tip, let me show you how to handle this. Use Control + Tab to toggle between open spreadsheets only (keep the Control button pressed while you press Tab button to switch) That's it! It's this simple and will save you a lat of time ‘Note: While most of the people are addicted to ALT + Tab, the drawback is that it does NOT differentiate between different applications. So if you have 2 excel workbooks ‘open along with a Chrome/FireFox/IE browser window, it will toggle one by one through each of these. Contral + Tab will toggle between open Excel workbooks only. Selec any ofthe oven workbook Now CTRL + TAB wiltogpe beeen open Excel workbooks ontr Bonus Tip: This technique works with any Microsoft application, including Power Point and Word Peer ee)Excel Tip # 2: Quickly Make a Copy of a Worksheet Alot of times you may need to quickly make a copy of the How to: worksheet in which you are working. Select the worksheet tab for which you want to Normally, one would right-click on the tab and select make a copy. ‘move or copy, and then check the “Create a Copy” check Press and hold the Control Key. box. While there is nothing wrong in this, here isa faster Left-click on the worksheet tab for which you way to do this, ‘want to create a copy (a plus sign within a sheet {con will appear next to the cursor).. ‘hile still holding the Control key and the Left button of the mouse, drag the tab within the worksheet. Leave the mouse left-button and then leave the Control Key. ‘This would create a copy of the worksheet in the same workbook. Peer ee)Excel Tip # 3: Multiply/Divide with a number using Paste Special Ever faced a situation when you had to convert all the ‘numbers into percentages or millions to billions (for ‘example 10,000 million to 10 billion). The long way to do this isto first divide each number by 1,000 in a separate column and then copy paste the values. The faster way would be to use Paste Special options. Millions Bilions 28.718 28.73 44386 44.386 37.015 7.015 2376] SP [asx 2922 2922 73.695 73695 33574 33574 How to: - Let's say you want to convert values in millions to billions. in an empty cell, type the number with which you want to divide the numbers (in this case it would be 1000). - Copy the cell in which you entered 1000 (CTRL + C) 3. Select the cells in which you want to convert millions to billions. Right Click and Select Paste Special. This will open Paste Special dialogue box (Key board shortcut - Alt +E+S), 5. In the Operations category select Divide. - Click OK. Peer eeExcel Tip # 4: Freeze Panes to always Display Headers While working with large data sets, it’s frustrating to come back again to the row/colurnn that has the headers. There {sa way you can freeze the header rows/columns. It’s called Freeze Panes. 0 Tek nht yor ati de Tiverstewse EY A 2 SB coal botnernnaan @ stant men peter serey How to: 1. Goto the View Tab. - Select Freeze Panes. . Select Freeze Panes/Freeze Top Row/Freeze First Column (based on what you want to freeze ~ described below): © Freeze Panes: This option freezes both rows ‘and columns. Select a cell and then go to View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes. This will freeze the columns to the left of the cell and the rows above it. Freeze Top Row: Select the data set and choose this option to freeze the top row in the data set. Freeze First Column: Select the data set and ‘choose this option to freeze the first column in the data set, The Smart Way (S1 Tips) rtExcel Tip # 5: STOP using Merge and Center (use Center Across Selection instead) Alot of people use the Merge and Center feature when they want to combine cells and show it as one cell. While ‘it gets the work done, it has a few drawbacks. For example, you can have issues while sorting or Filtering the data. It also causes issues when you try to select cells ‘in a column that contains merged cells. In all most all cases, a better alternative is the Center ‘Across Selection option (when merging cells in columns). How to: Select the cells that you want to merge. - Go to Home > Alignment > Alignment Settings (click on the small tilted arrow in the bottom right of the group, or use the keyboard shortcut Control + 1nd the select the Alignment tab). BB wapter | EB veges center + - In the Text Alignment Horizontal dropdown, select Center Across Selection. Click Ok, Peer ee)Excel Tip # 6: Selective Clearing (format, content, comments, hyperlinks) Excel gives you the flexibility to selectively clear contents, from a cell. You can choose to clear contents only (keeping the formatting intact), or clear formatting only, while keeping the content as its. Or you can choose to clear everything. Other alternatives include clearing comments or hypertinks. : fg EAutosum - A, i 5 sy 2 ae ee - wee Fier Select> © Ga ee omcmne Coven Gear hypetinks How to: 4, Select the cell(s) from which you wish to clear the contents formatting / comments hyperlinks, 2. Go to Home > Editing Category > Clear > Clear {(AlU/Formats/Contents/Comments/ Hyperlinks). 3. Select the required option. Peer ee)Excel Tip # 7: Select and Delete all Comments at Once Ifyou have a large dataset full of comments, and you How to: want to delete all the comment, there isa super quick tab a . Select the entire worksheet (Keyboard shortcut - Control + A). . Press F5, This opens the Go To dialogue box. 3. In the Go To dialogue box, click on Special. In Go To Special dialogue box, ensure that Comments option is selected. . Click Ok (this would select all the cells that have comment init). - Go To Home > Editing - Clear > Clear Comments. an ay £ feo et The Smart Way (S1 Tips)Excel Tip # 8: Use Control + Enter to Fill an Entire Range This tip can help you to speed up your work significantly. 4 | How to: (ot of times we have to apply the same formula for a range of cells (see image below, 1. Select the entire data in which you wish to enter the formula. You will notice that the first cell fs Normally, we put it in one cell and then copy and paste Lighter in color when compared to the other the formula in all the other cells, or (if contiguous selected cells. It’s the active cell. ‘rows/columns), we drag the auto fill handle to apply the ‘Start typing the formula (or text) that you want in same formula for all the cells all the cells in the active cell. . Use Control + Enter instead of Enter (Keep Control Here is an alternative that save you a few seconds. a diesel then jour hiceneeey You'll see that all the selected cells have been filled with the result of the formula. ‘Sales (in $ million) aya | a [oe a 10 | er |e] 2 Ea Note thot the octive cali ger thon the a reitf the slection Once you hove entered seer tesserae oreo ‘hoformula, press Control» Enter onait Soest wi pope the ete selected range || 199 | 105 Ea | 1 [ 18 | ve] 173] a Pear n mane)Excel Tip # 9: Copy Formula on Clipboard to be used Later Often when we work with long formulas or text strings in How to: Excel, there is a need to copy and paste the same part of the text of the formula again and again ‘Yu first have to enable this feature to copy in clipboard: There isa clipboard feature in Excel that lets you copy and - Go to the Home tab. store the copied text/formula at a single place, and you - Inthe Clipboard category, click onthe arrow at the can then quickly retrieve it and paste it later. bottom-right (shown in the pic). This wil! open the clipboard on the left. aor Click the Options button (at the bottom-left of the oo pane) and select ‘Show Office Clipboard When Ctrle C pressed Twice’. A % (ream - Close the Clipboard section. 8 5. Now when you wish to copy the content of any cell, rae Oar get into the edit mode (by pressing F2) and select pee) the tee (or fou. - With the text selected, press Control + C + C thold the Control key and hit ‘C’ key twice). This will, si coy eo ne ipo —— _ ro you wrt pate aed text someting later, go to the cell where you want to paste this, ‘open the clipboard pane, and double click the text that you want to paste. Sheet Peer ee)Excel Tip # 10: Too Many Worksheets - Use the New Window Feature If you work with an Excel workbook where you have to scroll up and down in the same worksheet, or go back and forth between worksheets, it could lead to a lot of, frustration and time-waste. | will show you a simple & elegant way to deal with this: How to: 1, Goto the View Tab. 2, Select New Window in the Windows group. .Ga@ieiet 318 ont | ta brane 6 Foot el ard What this does: ‘© Suppose you have a worksheet named Test.xisx. ‘When you click on New Window in the View tab, it replaces the Test.xslx spreadsheet with 2 replicas - Test.xlsx:1 and Test.xlsx:2. Any changes made in ‘one of the workbook would be reflected in the other ‘one (in real time). This is quite useful when you have multiple sheets within a workbook and need to refer to data in multiple worksheets. For example, {you may want to see what changes in Sheet2 when ‘you change the values in Sheet. ‘+ You can choose to arrange them vertically or horizontally to view these side by side. To do this: © Goto View > Arrange All. Inthe Arrange Window dialogue box, select the way you want to arrange these. This could be particularly helpful when you need to refer various sheets in the same workbook. The Smart Way (S1 Tips) 16Excel Tip # 11: Split your Worksheet to be more Efficient Excel is made to handle large data sets, but it could get This will spit will our worksheet into 4 parts really frustrating if you have to scroll back and forth again and again in the same worksheet. This neat trick will help Pre rene ares you to get more efficient while you work with large data Now you can treat each of the four panes as a separate space and scroll up or down. This enables you to create a jae formuta in the 100th column while you can still see the 1st column (or any column you wish). sets in Excel 1, Goto View Tab. ii tastes eoesetey fice sae Ifyou only want a vertical spit, just go to the erizontat split line and double click on it, and it will go away. Super! n't i sal a = “at = a ql