Show the cells to be removed by Remove Duplicates in Excel
Excel has a Remove Duplicates option in the Data ribbon. It keeps the first item and removes any further items that match.
(more…)Excel Power Query and Data Types
Data types are an important part of Power Query in Excel and Power BI. They define the type of data that should be in a column. When performing some calculations, getting the column data type right is vital.
(more…)Display a New Window
If you have two or more screens (I have three) you can have separate Excel windows on separate screens. This can make copying and linking much easier. The keyboard shortcut to open a new window in the current file is Alt W N pressed in sequence not held down. This allows you to have the same file visible in two separate windows. Each window can have a separate sheet. The New Window icon is on the View ribbon tab.
Excel and Emojis
Yes, you can use emojis (those little images you see in text messages, tweets and posts) in Excel. You can even use them in formulas. I am not saying you should use them, just that you can.
(more…)Conditional Format to Display Only the First Entry
In my previous blog post I showed a technique to reduce clutter. The technique used a manual formatting method. Here is the automated version. You can see my previous post here. Below is the original table. We can use a Conditional Format to only display the first entry of each date in the Date column. Select the range A2:A11. Click the Conditional Formatting drop down and select New Rule (third from the bottom). Select the last option in the top…
Input Data Display Hack for Excel
When creating data input sheets, it is a good idea to use a table layout. Sometimes they can end up looking a little bit busy, especially if you are repeating entries down rows. To help users focus on what they need to do, you can use a little formatting hack to make the layout look a little less cluttered.
(more…)One Minute to Excel #23 – Text numbers to real number again
One thing you learn quickly about Excel is that there are many ways to achieve the same outcome. This is another example. In an earlier video I showed two separate ways to convert text numbers into real numbers. Well, I have just learned another way. An Excel MVP Rick Rothstein shared a third way. I tweaked it and share a keyboard shortcut to do it as well. Hope you enjoy it. Added Nov 27, 2021 If you use Text to…
Display an Excel Pop-up Message Without a Macro
Would you like to display a pop-up message when a user enters a value into a cell? You don’t need a macro to achieve this.
(more…)Another Excel Custom List Tweak
I posted recently about how you can amend a custom list to change the sequence of a slicer – read it here. Here is another tweak I learned from Mr Excel (Bill Jelen).
(more…)Let’s TRIM with Dynamic Arrays in Excel
Dynamic arrays allow you to use a function normally built to handle a cell, with a range of cells. The TRIM function can remove extra space characters in cells. So with dynamic arrays it can handle ranges.
(more…)Excel Macro to Clean the Data [video]
Yes, I know you should use Power Query to clean data and I demonstrated how to do that in my previous post. Sometimes it is easier to record a macro because a macro can clean the data in place.
(more…)Convert text time to real time in Excel
I recently downloaded an example file for an Excel challenge. The challenge had a lot of things to do but they were all based on a Timestamp column that had text instead of times.
(more…)Comma Format
The comma format for numbers is pretty popular. There are a couple of keyboard shortcuts to apply it. Hold the Ctrl and Shift keys down and press 1 on the keyboard. The next one uses the Alt key. Use the left Alt key. Keys pressed in sequence (don't hold them down). Alt H K Remember Hong Kong.
Excel Alt key Shortcuts
The Alt key offers a way to use icons without using the mouse. In some cases, these Alt key shortcuts can be quicker than using the mouse.
(more…)Old Macros XL4 macros
If you use the old Excel macro language - known as XL4 macros - you may need to update a setting to keep using them. This is the macro language before VBA was introduced in the Excel 5 back in the 90's. Not many people use these macros any more but there a couple of techniques that they are used for. Microsoft will soon disable them automatically and you will need to turn them back on if you want to…
Find the Closest Value in Excel
On LinkedIn recently someone posted an Excel formula solution lamenting that it was long and complex. That of course was a challenge to me to simplify it.
(more…)One Minute to Excel #22 – Normalise a budget
The standard budget layout isn't great for pivot tables. You can easily and quickly convert it into a normalised data structure using Power Query. See how in this short video. https://vimeo.com/601526539 [vimeo id="601526539"]
Monitor Cells with Excel’s Watch Window
When you are developing a file for a report, budget or forecast you may need to keep track of certain cells. They could be validations or profits or some other important value. The Watch Window can help you monitor multiple cells in one place. In the Formulas tab in the Formula Auditing section is the Watch Window icon. Clicking the icon opens the Watch Window. It will be blank. You can click the Add Watch button to add a cell…
One Minute to Excel #21 – Hiding Zeroes
If you want to display a blank cell instead of a zero there are two ways to do it. See both in this short video. https://vimeo.com/601506805
Power Query Shortcut
Have you tried right clicking a formatted table recently? There is a new option to Get Data from Table/Range - which means to import the table into Power Query so you can data cleanse the table.
Time differences in Excel
Here’s a technique to calculate the time differences when you aren’t sure which time is first or last. Note with standard Excel settings you cannot report negative time.
(more…)One Minute to Excel #20 – Custom Lists
Do you have a list or lists that you use all the time? Would you like to write the first entry and then drag it like January to get the rest of the list? Here’s how.
(more…)Back when text was just text
20 years ago my last article for the Accountants Weekly magazine was published. They spelled my name wrong after getting it right for all the other articles, maybe that’s why I stopped.
(more…)One Minute to Excel #19 – Skip Blanks
If you have data that has blanks in it you may be able to combine columns using Paste Special – Skip Blanks.
(more…)Power Query Zoom
I used this today in a live webinar. I zoomed into the Power Query window in Excel to make it easier to see. Ctrl + Shift + + (plus)
One Minute to Excel #18 – Convert real numbers to text numbers
When you are working with text numbers in tables sometimes you need to convert real numbers into text numbers to do look ups. There are at least two ways to do this. Let's see how to convert real numbers into test numbers, real fast. https://vimeo.com/594604405
Excel Custom List Override
In Australia our financial year starts in July. Excel is set up to work with calendar years and we need to do some date gymnastics to have our reports start in July. Here is a hack for Custom Lists that can make some things better in Excel.
(more…)May the fours be with you
On the weekend Sunday the 5th of September 2021 is a big day for Excel. In Excel the date system starts on 1/1/1900 - that was day 1, and each day since has its own sequential number. On Saturday September 5, 2021 (Father's day in Australia) that number is - wait for it - see the image below. May the fours be with you! If you remove the formatting from a cell with a date you will see the underlying…
One Minute to Excel #17 – Convert text numbers to real numbers
When you import numbers from other systems they sometimes come in as text and are left aligned.
There are a couple of ways to fix them and they can both be done in less than a minute.
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