Excel is an indispensable work tool for every office because it can process any type of data and present it in aggregate form so that it can be studied without difficulty. Those who have already used Excel and know the program, already know that it is not so simple to juggle the many formulas and shortcuts for data management and that it is very easy to make mistakes.
In this article we see 7 fairly simple Excel tricks, which can be used by those who work with this program to save time, to make a good impression and impress the office manager or anyone in data presentations with graphs and calculations that may seem, to those who look, very elaborate, like a real expert .
This series of tricks comes from the MicrosoftTraining.net website which publishes them in the form of an infographic.
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1) Automatic filling of cells
For example, if you need to write repeating data, you can use the Preview command in Excel 2013 and later versions to automatically complete the contents of a cell.
For example, if you have a column of email addresses composed of name.surname, you can create a new Name column, write the first one and then use the Preview Tips function to fill in all the other cells.
To do this first, just press the shortcut CTRL-E .
2) Pivot tables
One of the most important and most powerful Excel tools is that of Pivot tables, to easily summarize large quantities of data without writing any formula.
To use it, just go to the Insert menu, insert the Pivot table and select the data to be analyzed.
On the Office website you will find the complete guide to Pivot tables.
This is certainly one of those essential steps to get good at spreadsheets and Excel .
3) Objective research
If you already know what the result of a calculation is and you need to generate the data to get it, you have to use the Goal Search function of Excel 2013 and 2015.
The tool is found in Data -> Data Tools (Excel 2013) or Forecast (Excel 2016)> Simulation Analysis > Goal Search .
In the Cell box, select the cell with the formula to be determined, in the Value box write the result to be obtained, in the Changing the cell box write the cell number that must vary.
An example of how to use this trick is on the Office guide.
4) Conditional formatting
If you are checking a table with the boss or another person, it is convenient to highlight the results or important values in a different color.
Then select a series of cells and choose conditional formatting from the Home menu by choosing one of the graphic options provided.
You can then ask Excel to highlight values above 10 or below 100 or whatever you want.
Also for this tool, you can read the example of the Office guide to understand how to use it.
5) Index and compare
In another article I had described, among the most useful Excel functions to filter data and see graphs, how to use the Search.vert function which allows you to search for data only in the first column of the table.
If, on the other hand, you want to filter data on the whole table, you must use the INDEX and COMPARE formulas which allow you to find the row and column where a certain value is found.
An example of use is still in the Office guide.
6) Cascade chart
This type of chart is one of the most used to show statistical and financial data.
The waterfall chart is predefined only in Excel 2016 where it can be selected directly from the Insert menu.
On the Terzaghi website you can download an example file of a waterfall chart for Excel 2013.
7) Forecast
The Forecast tool allows you to generate future data from past data.
Error margins and seasonality can then be calculated.
In Excel 2016 (see guide) the Forecast function is in the Data menu and is automatic.
In Excel 2013 instead you have to use the FORECAST formula and it is quite laborious.
I refer to the official Office guide for his creation.
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