Tag: Excel

Navigation Menu Trick

Right-click on the navigation arrows in the lower left-hand corner of the screen to display a worksheet selection menu.

Update Multiple Cells At Once

Update multiple cells at once: select two or more cells, type an entry in the first cell, and then press Ctrl-Enter.

Copying Cell Contents Down

Double-click fill handle to copy current cell down, stops at the first blank in adjacent column. Or select cells & press Ctrl-D.

AND() Function

The AND function allows you to tests for two or more conditions in an IF statement. =IF(AND(A1>=1,A1<=100),"Between 1-100","Other")

Concatenation Trick

Use an ampersand instead of the CONCATENATE function. The formula =A1&”-“&B1 is much easier than =CONCATENATE(A1,”-“,B1)

Formatting Sets Of Rows

Use this formula with Conditional Formatting to highlight alternating sets of 5 rows: =MOD(CEILING(ROW(),5),2)

Create A Series Of Month End Dates

Create month-end date series- Cell A1: 10/31/09, Cell A2: =DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1)+2,0), copy down as needed.

Number Formatting Trick

Press Ctrl-Shift-! to apply the Number format, e.g. 1,234.56, to one or more cells that you've selected.

Removing Borders Trick

Press Ctrl-Shift-_ (underscore) to remove borders from a cell.

Data Entry Trick

Press Alt-Down Arrow to get an in-cell drop-down list of adjacent entries in the current column

Hiding/Unhiding Columns

Press Ctrl-0 (zero) to hide a column. Use the F5 key to navigate to a hidden column and then press Ctrl-Shift-0 (zero) to unhide.

Resetting Excel 2003 Color Palette

Excel 2003 tip: If you suddenly can't change colors on a cell, reset your palette. Choose Tools, Options, Color tab, and then click Reset.

Workbook/Worksheet Navigation Tricks

Press Ctrl-Tab to switch between open workbooks. Use Ctrl-Page Up/Ctrl-Page Down to switch between worksheets.

Date Series Formula

This formula allows you to create a series of dates that alternate between the 15th and the last day of each month: =IF(B1=DATE(YEAR(B1),MONTH(B1)+1,0),DATE(YEAR(B1),MONTH(B1)+1,15),DATE(YEAR(B1),MONTH(B1)+1,0))

IFERROR Function

Resolve #DIV/0! errors in Excel 2007 with =IFERROR(A1/A2,0) – puts a zero in the formula cell if either A1 or A2 are blank.