A recent update has introduced a new way to refer to ranges in Excel. This update makes it much easier to refer to flexible ranges in Excel.
Tag Archives: data
Comparing Lists in Excel
I have been going through Mike Girvin’s recent book Microsoft 365 Excel: The Only App That Matters, and found an elegant technique of comparing lists using FILTER and XMATCH. It inspired me to create a custom function to show missing or matching entries.
Extracting Data from the Web with Power Query
Power Query can import table-based data direct from the web. As an example, we can extract the public holiday dates for Western Australia from the WA government website. This process is sometimes called web scraping.
Fake Data in Excel via Python Part 2
Following on from last week’s post on creating some fake data we will expand on the functionality with a few setting changes.
Fake Data in Excel via Python – Part 1
Python in Excel is new. Since it is the year of the snake let’s slither into Python in Excel.
Introduction to Power Query 2025
In January 2025 I ran a free webinar on Power Query – the best way to import data into Excel.
170 attended and over 100 people provided feedback with an average score of 92%.
Some of the feedback is shown below.
Introduction to Power Query
10/10
Really enjoyed this webinar – the conversion of MYOB style reports is such a useful tool to know.
C Stevenson
January 2025
Introduction to Power Query
10/10
Terrific session – very clear and concise and very useful information. The explanation of the meaning of town names in WA was a bonus!
A Roberts
January 2025
You can download the materials for the session using the button below the video.
Excel PivotTable Formats
A recent update to Excel has made a major improvement to Excel PivotTables.
Its the first week of 2025 and I just built my first pivot of the year AND the number format from the source data was applied to the PivotTable – WOOHOO!
I did a short video showing the new feature in action.
Using a Prefix for Excel Table Names
I have been using the tbl prefix for my formatted table names in Excel for a long time. There are a few good reasons I use it.
Solving a Date – Time Issue in Excel
Often when you import data into Excel the dates may include a time. This can make summarising the data more difficult as time is included as a fraction of a date. You can use an old function to fix the problem. This solution requires the subscription version of Excel.
Excel Drop Down Improvement
In previous versions of Excel when you had a drop-down list that contained duplicates those duplicates would show up in the drop-down list. This has been fixed in the latest versions of Excel. The duplicates are now removed.
Padding Entries in Excel
Another post inspired by the book 101 Ready-to-Use Excel Formulas by Michael Alexander and Dick Kusleika. This one is Formula #22 and covers padding entries with zeroes.
Excel PivotTable Subtotal Label Trick
I just learned a new trick for labelling subtotal rows in a PivotTable. Hat tip to Ken Puls MVP of Excel Guru for this tip.
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.
More Adjusting in Excel
Following on from last week’s post on a single adjustment formula this post will share a more robust solution for including or excluding adjustments.
FILTER Function Technique
An application I use recently updated it’s filtering options to allow you to filter by any filters or all filters. This was a useful addition to the software and I thought that I could apply the same idea to Excel’s FILTER function.
Benford’s Law in Excel – Part Two
Benford’s law is used in auditing to identify data sets that may have been manipulated or adjusted. In my previous post I created a report to analyse a data set based on Benford’s Law. In this post we will create a single formula to create the report and then convert that into a custom function.
Benford’s Law in Excel – Part One
Benford’s law is used in auditing to identify data sets that may have been manipulated or adjusted. In actual data sets when reviewing values the 1st digit of the values tends to follow a predetermined frequency. For example, roughly 30% of the values should start with a 1.
Comparing Averages in Excel
It is common in Excel to use averages to summarise large data sets. It is also common to compare the averages across different segments. Here’s a technique you might find useful when comparing a segment against all other segments.
Excel Power Query Errors List
Sometimes Power Queries generate errors. Some errors stop all data being returned and others will return a blank cell for the error in the returned table. You can list the rows that are generating the errors. This can help you identify what is causing the error.
Excel Power Query and Multiple Files 2023
In this recording of a live webinar I ran in late January 2023 you will learn how to import multiple files in a single Power Query. If you use data at all then Power Query is an essential skill to possess.
Use the buttons below the video to download the materials.
Building on the skills covered in the Introduction session, we will start working with multiple files. For example you may have 12 separate CSV files in a folder. All with the same layout, one for each month of the year. Power Query can import all 12 files as if they were a single file and create a table for the whole year
This session covers
• importing multiple CSV files from a folder
• a technique to capture the file name in a field (column)
• importing multiple Excel files
• merging data from multiple tables
• Extracting header information into a column from multiple CSV files
As always, I shared other tips and tricks along the way.
Introduction to Excel Power Query 2023
In this recording of a live session ran in late January 2023 you will learn how to automate data importation in Excel with Power Query. If you use data at all then Power Query is an essential skill to possess.
Use the buttons below the video to download the materials.
Power Query allows you to automatically perform data cleansing routines on your data sources – no manual intervention required. Simply refresh and your data is ready to use. You can use csv files; txt files; databases and existing Excel tables as your data sources.
Learn the basics, plus an advanced technique to automate data cleansing routines on your data sources.
This session covers
- fixing dates so that Excel can recognise them
- formatting columns as text – retaining leading zeroes in CSV files
- deleting unwanted rows and columns from your data
- removing leading and trailing spaces
- populating blank values with zeroes
- populating blanks with entries from above
- correcting trailing minus signs
- unpivot a report – converting a report layout into a table layout
- converting a MYOB report into a data table
- capture header information in a column
As always, I shared other tips and tricks along the way.
Format As Table Webinar Recording 2023
In this session you will learn all about Excel’s formatted tables. Using Formatted Tables is an essential skill in Excel. Use the buttons below the video to download the materials and completed file.
Many of Excel’s features and functions work seamlessly with formatted tables. They can help you improve the structure and reliability of your spreadsheet files.
Formatted tables can allow you to create powerful reports like those in a relational databases.
Topics covered
- advantages and limitations of formatted tables
- keyboard shortcuts
- using formatted tables with formulas
- solutions to some of the limitations of formatted tables
- using range names with formatted tables
- using formatted tables with data validations
- creating a running total
- using PivotTables
- Relationships (Data tab)
- introduction to dynamic arrays
As always I shared a few other tips.
Selecting a Column Range within a Merged Cell in Excel [video]
I am not a fan of the merged cell format. It causes more problems that it solves. One issue you will face is trying to select a single column range within a range that has a merged cell. Here is how you handle it.
This post is a video post as it easier to show the problem and the solution in a video.
Excel Month on Month Movement
A PivotTable solution
If you need to find the movement from the previous month a PivotTable can be your friend and do most of the work for you.
MIN and MAX and Dates in Excel
Automating the latest date
The MIN and MAX functions can provide easy ways to capture current dates.
Excel Data Validation Blind Spot
Macro to fix it
One of the problems with Excel’s Data Validation is that it is possible to have an invalid entry in a data validation cell. This can be caused by Paste Special Values or linked drop downs that don’t update if an earlier drop down is changed. To easily identify invalid cells you can use a macro.
UNIQUE Function and Blank Cells in Excel
Zero in on a problem
The UNIQUE function has a bit of an issue with blank cells, formulas that return blank cells and zeroes.
Identifying if a List has Unique Entries in Excel
A MODE solution
If you need a logical test to determine if a list is unique you can use the MODE function with the ISNA function.
Data Entry Formats in Excel [Video]
Format as you go
When you enter data into Excel you can format as you type. See how in this short video.
Related Posts
Excel Power Query and Multiple Files 2022
Webinar recording from April 12, 2022
This is the recording of the second free Power Query webinar I ran in 2022.
You can watch the first one at this link.
In this session we see how to import multiple files in one Power Query. We look at importing CSV and Excel files.
You can download the materials, including a detailed pdf manual using the button below.