Using textboxes by themselves can be a good way to add extra content to a spreadsheet. Combining a text box, an icon and an arrow with some colour may make it even better.
Category Archives: Tips & Tricks
Excel Formula Updating Technique [Video]
A recent project required editing many formulas to insert an IF function to display the NA error in certain circumstances. Here’s how I did it.
Are you Partial to Calculations?
Excel has re-badged one of the Calculation Options in the Formulas tab – see below. This is a change relating to the new Python capabilities.
The middle option used to ignore Data Tables (a What If feature on the Data ribbon tab).
The newly named Partial option also ignores Data Tables plus any Python calculations that may take a long time to calculate.
Python calculations are done in the “cloud” and require an internet connection.
Selecting a Formatted Table in a Formula
You can select a formatted table when you have a cell or range selected in the table by pressing Ctr + A. But that shortcut won’t work when creating a formula that refers to a formatted table.
To select the table in a formula you must click a cell in the table and press Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar.
Excel Macro for Yesterday
I frequently use the shortcut Ctr + ; to enter today’s date in a cell. I thought it would be useful to be able to enter yesterday’s date in a cell. I wrote a one-line macro to do it for me.
Excel Hyperlink Formula Solution
Hyperlinks in Excel are a great way to navigate around a file, but they can be easily broken. Try this solution using a formula to create a hyperlink that doesn’t break so easily.
In the image below there is a formula in cell C3 that creates a hyperlink to cell A1.
Here is the formula.
=HYPERLINK("#"&CELL("address",A1),"<link text>")Simply change the cell reference from A1 to whatever cell you want to link to. This works for cell in the current sheet.
Hyperlinks to other sheets
In the image below is an example of a link to another sheet.
The formula is.
=HYPERLINK("#"&CELL("address",Report!A1),"<link text>")Again, change the reference to create a hyperlink that doesn’t break if the sheet name changes.
Pro Tip
To return after following a hyperlink press in sequence, function key F5 and then press Enter. Don’t hold them down just press F5 then press Enter.
Hyperlink Drop Down List
I recently saw a post on LinkedIn about making a drop-down list for a hyperlink interface. It was using a range name and the ADDRESS function. I thought I could streamline it with just the CELL function.
Counting the Number of Cells in an Excel Range
Excel has functions to count the number of rows and columns in a range. It doesn’t have a function to count the number of cells in a range. We can still perform the calculation with the COUNTA function.
Excel’s Magic Percentage Symbol
I recently saw a post of LinkedIn (from Patryk Samborski) that used the percentage symbol with the SEQUENCE function to produce a list of decimals and I thought I would have a play with that idea.
Double Click the Excel Icon
You can close Excel down (with multiple files open) by double clicking the Excel icon – top left of screen.
This works for the other Office apps too.
If you haven’t saved a file Excel will ask if you want to.
To close a single file down use the X on the top right of screen.
Using Emojis in Excel Formulas
You can use conditional formatting to insert symbols in cells. You can also use formulas with emojis. using range names makes it even easier.
To insert an emoji icon in a cell you can use press the Windows key and the full stop.
This opens the Emojis dialog box.
In this example we are going to insert three separate symbols in formulas.
I have named each cell that has an emoji. A1 = Tick, A2 = Cross and A3 = Dash.
You can use these names in formulas throughout the file.
The formula in cell F2 (Sales) is.
=IF(D2>E2,Tick,IF(D2<E2,Cross,Dash))
The formula in cell F3 (Costs) is.
=IF(D3<E3,Tick,IF(D3>E3,Cross,Dash))
The advantages with using formulas instead of conditional formatting is that you can format the cells. Plus using formulas in cells is easier than using formulas in conditional formats.
Naming your emojis makes then easier to use. You can use these emoji icons names in your formulas throughout the file.
Excel and Range References
The typical range reference looks something like A1:A10. You always refer to the top left cell followed by the colon followed by the bottom right cell of the range. Did you know Excel can handle you entering the last cell followed by the first and it corrects it for you?
Clear all formats
To clear all the formats for a cell or a range select the cell/range and press in sequence Alt H E F don’t hold the keys down.
All the formats will be removed.
If you need to see the underlying number for a date this is an easy way to find it.
Working with Shapes and Other Graphic Objects in Excel
Shapes can be frustrating to work with in Excel until you find out there are two types of selections with shapes.
Excel, Laptops and Function Keys
Laptop keyboards tend to re-purpose function keys to handle other features. Often the default for the function keys is the laptop features. You then must press the Fn key to access the software function key options. Look out for a FnLock option.
Excel Sheet Names and Emojis
Did you know you can use Emojis on the sheet tabs? The font on sheet tabs is small, so some emojis may not be that effective, but simple emojis can be.
Useful Excel Keyboard Shortcuts for Data Entry
When making entries in Excel there are a few keyboard shortcuts worth knowing. These can save you time and effort.
Yet Another Post on Hiding Sheets in Excel
If you want to hide sheets and then stop people unhiding them, here is yet another technique.
Sparkline Horizontal Axis Technique
Excel Sparkline charts don’t have a horizontal axis. Here is a technique that creates one in the cell above or below the Sparkline. This works best for the Column Sparkline.
SUMIFS Wildcard Limitation
SUMIFS can use wildcard characters, but the wildcards only work on text-based codes.
Clearing All Formats in Excel
Sometimes with Excel formatting you just want to clear everything and start again from scratch. You can clear just the formats, and there is an icon you can add to the Quick Access Toolbar to make clearing all the formats earlier.
Changing row and column grouping in Excel
Excel allows you to easily hide and unhide rows and columns using a feature called grouping. There are two keyboard shortcuts that allow you to apply and remove grouping. These shortcuts can also be used to amend existing groupings.
Paste Special Values Shortcut
Excel has a new keyboard shortcut for Paste Special Values.
Ctrl + Shift + V
Formats Affect Excel’s Fill Handle
Applying a date format before you drag with the Fill Handle may save you some time. See why.
Drop Down Selection update
Woohoo!
It has taken a decade or so but Excel finally has an in-cell drop down that you can type a letter and reduce the entries listed – see screen shot below.
Excel Has Ordinals
Woohoo, I don’t know when this happened, but you can now get Excel to extend your ordinals when you drag with the Fill Handle and use things like 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th etc.
Type 1st January in a cell and drag the cell down.
It seems to work with ordinals at the start rather than at the end of a text string. So January 1st doesn’t work. 1st by itself does work.
Restarting Excel and Windows
Even now sometimes a full restart is a possible solution.
I recently had a macro returning a weird error message about an action taking too long. Restarting Excel did not fix it.
So, I restarted Windows and the macro worked as expected.
These days with so many apps running in the background, sometimes the only solution is a restart of Excel and Windows.
Turning it off and turning it on can still solve issues.
Extract Text Before a Number in Excel
Excel’s new TEXTBEFORE function simplifies extracting text from the left. In this example I share how to extract all the text before a number in a code.
Forcing a Spill with the Magic Plus Sign
I posted recently about a technique to force a function to spill if it didn’t spill automatically. I have since learned of a much easier way.
Excel VBA to Get to the Top Left of the Screen
Sometimes when you are using Excel VBA you need the screen to always display at the top, left of the sheet. Here is how you do it.