Here’s the problem, we have four separate tables with the same layout. They hold four different metrics: Actuals, Budget, Forecast and Last Year. A column called Type is used to hold the metric name. We need to populate the Type column.
Tag Archives: data
Excel Subtotal Sort Magic
Sorting by subtotals is possible
Sometimes Excel surprises me. In this case it sorts in a way I didn’t expect, but in a good way. Thanks to Mr Excel for the tip.
Do You Have Excel Inquire?
Its a built-in audit add-in
Inquire is a new add-in in some versions of Excel 2013 and later versions It is an auditing Add-in that can analyse and report on your Excel files.
Trailing Minus For Negatives in CSV vs TXT Files
You can control TXT files much better
Some Accounting systems (I think SAP is one) downloads negative values with a trailing minus sign. Excel doesn’t recognise this as a number. When you import TXT files, negatives are handled correctly. CSV files don’t.
Alt Key Shortcuts
Two more
I use Alt key shortcuts a lot when I am working and I have found a couple more useful ones.
Creating a Hyperlink in Excel Based on a Search
Teleport to a cell in a data table
Let’s say you have a table of codes and every month there are a few you want to check out. You could use a VLOOKUP to extract all the details for each code, but let’s say you want to view the codes in the table.
Totalling Tip For Excel
Make the most of SUMIF
I wanted to offer a solution to a common problem I see in Excel. It relates to creating totals in data that isn’t structured that well.
Using Lists in Excel
Make the most of Format as Table
It is common to work with lists in Excel. Lists of departments, names and other categories you frequently use. This blog post covers a few techniques that work really well together to create robust reporting systems.
VLOOKUP and COLUMN Function Warning
Be very careful using these two together
I saw a technique demonstrated recently with VLOOKUP that I hadn’t seen used before and thought at the time, that’s handy. Upon reflection however, I thought that’s a bit dangerous.
Publishing a Power BI Report
Getting it out there
Well after getting the data and creating a report and then a chart, let’s get the report onto the web.
Sorting By Colour in Excel
It is possible
Yes, you can sort by colour in Excel! This feature makes it easy for you to colour code cells and then place them together at the top of your data set.
Power BI – A Chart
The ultimate goal
Dashboard Charts are the ultimate goal of most Power BI reports, so let’s dive in.
Vote For a New UNIQUE Function
Dynamically extract a list of unique entries from a list
The Excel team has a great site that encourages people to post new ideas for Excel. It also encourages people to vote for the new suggested features.
I have just posted an idea for a UNIQUE function that extracts unique entries from a list.
Currently you have to manually maintain a separate list of entries for a drop down lists. You can’t use a list that contains duplicates for a drop down list.
What if that list was updated automatically via a formula from the original data source? So as new items are added at the data source they automatically appear in the drop down list?
Currently a dynamic solution requires a complex array formula or a UDF (User Defined Function – macro).
This would also make creating formula-based reports so much easier.
Please take the time to vote for my suggestion. Feel free to post your own suggestions as well.
Creating a Report in Power BI
Converting Data into Information
In the previous post we extracted the data from a CSV file. Now let’s create a report. It won’t be the greatest report as the data is pretty basic, but at least its a start.
Custom List Trick
Create looping sequential codes
It is common to use Q1 for quarter one. Excel will even cycle through Q1,Q2,Q3 and Q4 when you drag a cell contain Q1. What if you want to use the sequence M1 to M12 for months? Custom Lists to the rescue!