The most common type of Data Validation in Excel is a drop down list. In the example below I allow the user to select a year, then a month (using a drop down) and then enter a valid day in the month.
Category Archives: Excel Blog
Hyperlinking to a Cell in Another Excel File
It is possible
You can create a hyperlink to another Excel file in Excel but you can’t control what sheet or cell will be active. Well you can actually, but you need to know how.
Grouping Icon Above Group Rows in Excel
Finding a well hidden setting
The default setting is to have the grouping icon below the grouped rows. But you can switch things and have the icon at the top of the grouped rows.
Grouping Measures in Power BI
Its in the Model View
It is considered best practice to use Measures for all your values in Power BI reports and dashboards. One way to make it easier to find Measures is to group them together.
Creating Groups for Power Queries in Excel
Put some order in your queries
Once you start to use Power Query you may find yourself with quite a few queries in the one file. To make it easier to control them you can use groups to keep similar queries together.
Excel Sort within a Sort
Colour by numbers
Did you know you can sort by colour in Excel? Did you know you can sort ascending or descending within that colour? I was asked a question in a recent webinar and in answering I found out that you can sort within a sort.
Applying a standard custom format in Excel
Styles to the rescue
One of the most common custom number formats used in Excel is the mmm-yy format. As an example this format displays all the dates in January 2019 as Jan-19. This format is used in most reports, budgets and financial models. There is quicker way to apply it than using the Format Cells dialog.
Counting Duplicates in an Excel Range
Another SUMPRODUCT solution
The Duplicates option under conditional formatting is useful to identify when there are duplicate entries within a range. This requires you to review the range to see if there are any duplicates. You can use a formula to identify ranges that contain duplicates.
Putting Emphasis on Words in Excel
Don't overdo the colours
Did you know that you can format individual words and letters differently within an Excel cell or text box?
Extracting initials in Excel
Handling a space or a comma separator
If you have a system that uses initials to identify people then being able to extract initials from a first name and last name combination can be handy. A formula can automate the process and there is also a quick, manual way to do it.
Top 5 reports with PivotTable and PivotCharts
Switch the order of the Axis
When you create a top 5 sorted report with a PivotTable, the Pivot Chart isn’t always what you expect, there is an easy solution.
Activating a Sheet When an Excel File is Opened
Its a macro
There are times when you would like to have the same sheet visible each time a file is opened. You can achieve that with a Workbook Event macro.
Changing the Close & Load settings in a Power Query
Its a right click option
A recent attendee at a webinar posed the question, can you change the Close & Load setting on an existing query? Here is the answer.
Conditionally Selecting a Column in Excel
The IF function can return a range
When creating a formula sometimes you need to conditionally choose the column to perform a calculation on. The IF function can be used, but there is a trick to shorten the formula.
Excel Macro to Insert a Formula
When I am creating a file for my training or for my blog or other articles that I write I regularly use the FORMULATEXT function to display the formula in a cell on the right of the actual formula. To save time I created a macro to do the work for me.
Sequential Numbers Formula
A ROWS by any other name
Getting a single formula to create a series of sequential numbers is most commonly done with the ROWS function.
Extract Email from Copied Outlook Address
Macro to the rescue
I frequently copy an email address from Outlook to Excel and most times it looks like John Smith<jsmith@email.com>. To be used as an email I need to extract from between < and >. To do that in a single cell is tedious, so I wrote a macro to do it for me.
Allocating Across Financial Years
Make the most of MOD
A recent question from a CPA in Canberra allowed me to combine the MOD function and helper cells to offer a solution.
Hiding Zero Rows in Excel with No Macros
Filter technique
Over the years I have had regular requests for a technique to hide zero rows in reports. You can use macros but you can also use filters. Let’s see how you can implement a filter solution.
Linking sheet controls to cells
Easy and quick way
Most spreadsheet controls need to link to a cell to enable interaction with the spreadsheet. There is an easy way to do that.