The Power Map feature was improved last month, and this short video shows some of the things you can do with custom maps in Excel.
Or watch on YouTube: 6 Cool Ways To Use Custom Maps in Power Map
Author: Debra Dalgleish
Mysterious Excel 2013 Filter Problems
A couple of days ago, I had problems while trying to run a simple macro in Excel 2013. Things didn’t go too well, and it took me quite a while to solve the problem. You can read the details below, and I hope it helps, if you ever run into a similar error.
Continue reading “Mysterious Excel 2013 Filter Problems”
Excel Roundup 20141006
In this video, Annie Cushing shows how to create a scrolling table, by using the INDEX function and a scroll bar form control. This technique would work nicely in a dashboard, where space is limited.
For more dashboard tips, take a look at Mynda Treacy’s Excel Dashboard course which has just opened for registration, until Oct. 23rd. Details are in the Announcements section, below.
Add Your Own Icon to an Excel Custom Ribbon Tab
Are you building custom tabs for your workbooks yet? Last year, I wrote a couple of articles about custom tabs:
- Custom Ribbon Tab for Excel File – how to open and edit the Ribbon Code
- Add Custom Ribbon Tab to Excel Workbook – create a custom tab and add buttons
Continue reading “Add Your Own Icon to an Excel Custom Ribbon Tab”
Excel Roundup 20140929
I’ve seen lots of non-spreadsheet items with “Excel” in their names, such as gum, and bowling gloves, and hand dryers.
However, this is the first time that I’ve seen a product named after a pivot table. Do you think that they help you analyze your data more efficiently? I wonder if they have a women’s version too.
Kenneth Cole REACTION Men’s Pivot Table LE Oxford
(photo no longer available)
Contextures Posts
Here’s what I posted recently:
- Color data entry cells with conditional formatting, to make them easy to find
- Use GetPivotData function to pull the total amount from a pivot table on specific sheet
- For a humorous peek at what other people are saying about spreadsheets, read the latest collection of Excel tweets, on my Excel Theatre blog.
Other Excel Articles
Here are a few of the Excel articles that I read recently, that you might find useful:
- Kyle LeFevre would appreciate your input in his keyboard shortcuts survey (it’s done in a Google form)
- On the Frankens Team blog, Krisztina Szabó shows how to copy charts based on named formulas to another workbook.
- Microsoft has made it easier for students and teachers to get a free Office 365 license.
- To enhance your dashboard, use the tips from Gašper Kamenšek, to show the Top 5 or Bottom 5 results, by clicking a radio button.
- If you do any programming in Excel, read Jon Acampora’s tips for using the Immediate window.
- Tom S, from Microsoft, shares his troubleshooting tips for unsupported features and corruption, in Excel Services and Office Web Apps Server 2013
- Bill Jelen (Mr. Excel) shows how to look for 3 specific names, in adjacent cells of a lookup table, by using an array formula that I hadn’t seen before. Watch the video from 1:15 to 2:45, if you’re pressed for time.
Excel Announcements
Here are some upcoming events, courses, recently published books, and other new items, related to Excel.
| Practical Numerical Methods for Chemical Engineers: Using Excel with VBA by Richard A. Davis
“This latest 3rd edition continues to expand the breadth of practical numerical methods with over 100 VBA macros for extending Excel’s power for engineering & scientific analysis. Engineers & scientists will find the enhanced coverage of computational tools applicable to a variety of problems in their own disciplines.” |
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| Financial Modeling for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs, by Tom Y. Sawyer.
“You’ll learn to create operational and financial models in Excel that describe the workings of your company in quantitative terms.” |
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Excel VBA for Financials, 2-day course led by Excel experts, Jan Karel Pieterse and Tony de Jonker
This Dutch course is specifically aimed at the Finance professional. It has no frills, and no technical mumbo-jumbo – just the VBA you need to achieve more success in your daily job. Date: November 19 and December 3, 2014 Location: Utrecht (Netherlands) |
| Beginning Power BI with Excel 2013, by Dan Clark
“Guides you step by step through the process of analyzing and visualizing your data. Daniel R. Clark, an expert in BI training and a regular speaker on these topics, takes you through each tool in turn, using hands-on activities to consolidate what you’ve learned in each chapter.” |
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Registration is open for this year’s ModelOff competition.
Test your financial modeling skills against top modelers from around the world. Participants from over 100 countries progress through two Online Qualification Rounds with a Live Finals Event held in New York.
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Share Your Events and Articles
If you read or wrote any other interesting Excel articles recently, or have upcoming Excel events, please share a link in the comments below, with a brief description. Thanks!
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Show Color With Conditional Formatting
I like to color data entry cells, so they’re easy to spot on an Excel worksheet. If you know that you should type a value in every blue cell, it’s quicker, and safer, to fill in a worksheet.
Recently, I was asked how to color a specific number of data entry cells, based on a number that someone selected from a drop down list. So, instead of manually coloring the data entry cells, I used conditional formatting to color them.
In the screen shot below, 3 was selected in cell C2, so 3 data entry cells are blue, in cells C5:C7.
Excel Roundup 20140922
If you love Jambalaya, you’ll appreciate the Excel Jambalaya Calculator that Jay Crush has worked on for several years. He just released version 7.0, and you can read about the calculator, and get the file download link, in Judy Walker’s article in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
I downloaded the file, and you can see a screen shot below. Now, if 150 people drop by for dinner, I’ll be able to cook up a giant batch! Please call ahead, to let me know if you’ll want a full plate, or just an 8 oz bowl.
Worksheet Combo Box Problem in Excel 2013
On of my favourite Excel tricks is to show a combo box, when you click a cell that has a drop down list. The combo box can have larger font, and it autocompletes, so it’s easier for people to use.
There is only one ActiveX combo box on the worksheet, and it is hidden until you click on a drop down cell. When it appears, it shows the data validation list for the selected cell.
Continue reading “Worksheet Combo Box Problem in Excel 2013”
Excel Roundup 20140915
Are you brave enough to enter the ModelOff competition, that tests your financial modeling skills in Excel?
To help you decide if you’d like to enter, there are workbooks with questions from previous years, available for download. For example, can you find and fix the errors in a complex workbook?
Clear Dependent Drop Down Cells
You can use data validation to create a drop down list on an Excel worksheet. For example, show a list of countries, if you click a cell in column B.
After you’ve set up that first list, you can make another list, in column C, to show the cities for the selected country.