There are certain situations when you can’t “unhide” columns on the left and/or rows at the top and it is not a sheet protection issue.
Tag Archives: Shortcut key
Copying a Date Down a Long List in Excel
Two techniques make it quick and easy
There are a number of mouse and keyboard shortcuts for copying. But there is one type of copy that can be frustrating. Copying dates can be challenging because, in general, Excel wants to increment them, not copy them. There is a simple technique to instruct Excel to copy a date.
Following Links in Excel
A Name Box trick
Excel has a shortcut that allows you to follow a link to its source but it has a limitation find out how to get around that limitation.
Reduce Excel File Size
Ctrl + End is your friend
I recently helped a client reduce the size of an Excel file. The file took a while to save which was frustrating and time consuming. I thought I would share this reasonably easy solution.
Filter by Cell Value Keyboard Shortcut
Its quicker to use the keyboard
I have found a keyboard shortcut combination to one on my favourite right click options and its quicker to use.
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.
Excel and Ctrl + A
A powerful shortcut
This Excel keyboard shortcut is powerful, but it has a few quirks you need to be aware of. Its quick to use because the A and Ctrl keys are so close together.
Excel Full Screen
Maximise your grid area
There are times in Excel when you want to see as much of the Excel grid as possible. You may be reviewing or presenting a dashboard or looking at a large PivotTable. Excel has a Full Screen mode that shows just the grid and the sheet tabs.
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!
Clearing Input Cells with Colour
Let’s say you have a file that has numerous input cells, in numerous sheets. Each month you must clear the input cells and start the new month. There is a technique that allows you to clear the input cells if you have used a dedicated colour for those cells.
Is Excel a drag? [Video]
Maybe a few dragging tips will help
Excel’s Fill Handle has a lot of cool tricks. This short video demonstrates a couple of them.
Getting Excel to Recognise an Email Address
Converting it into a hyperlink
Sometimes when Excel imports email addresses they are not recognised as emails and are not hyperlinks. They are two ways to fix this.
Selecting Cells in Excel Using Comments
Comments are like post it notes for cells. They are a great documentation feature because you can add cell-specific notes to help you and other users understand the spreadsheet better. There are also a few “outside the box” uses for cell comments.
Restricting the Scroll Area in Excel
Non-VBA and VBA solution
If you need to limit where a user can scroll to in a sheet you can change a setting in the VBA screen to restrict access to a specific range.
Printing in Excel
Some tips and tricks
It is easy to print things from Word. It is not so easy in Excel. Excel has this huge grid and if you don’t tell Excel otherwise, it will print everything on the sheet, whether you want it to or not.
Excel Navigation Quick Tips
Making moving around quick and easy
There are numerous keyboard and mouse shortcuts to navigate around your spreadsheet and file.
Excel Data and Formula Entry Tips
Speeding up data entry
There are number of shortcuts you can use to speed up your data and formula entry in Excel.
Number keypad
Use the number keypad on the right of the keyboard. This has all the numbers, as well as most of the formula operators (+ * – /), you need to create formulas. It also has a large Enter key. The numbers are laid out like a calculator and so are easy to use.
Handling Relative References in Excel [VIDEO]
When you copy a formula in Excel, any relative references (those without dollar signs) may change depending on where you paste the formula. If you would like to copy a formula and not have the relative references change you have two options.
Excel Macro Keyboard Shortcut
Macros can really improve your productivity in Excel. When you record a macro you have the option to define a shortcut key. Did you know you can also define a shortcut key for non-recorded macros?
Excel Format as Table Part 2 [VIDEO]
The Format As Table feature has many useful features that are worth taking advantage of. The previous post listed them. The video of this blog is shown at the bottom of the post.