If you’d like Microsoft to make Power Pivot available in all the Office 2013 and Office 365 packages, please sign the Friends of Power Pivot petition.
Author: Debra Dalgleish
Excel Chart Compares High and Low Scores
Last weekend, I helped someone who needed a chart for a fantasy football league, to show the highest and lowest win/loss scores for each week. To help explain what it should look like, they posted a picture of a hand drawn chart, similar to the picture below.
By the way, I created the sketch in Excel, by using the Marker option, in the Artistic Effects. Who knew that Excel was so artistically talented?
Excel Roundup 20141020
In this video, sports scientist, John Lythe, shows how you can create 4 dynamic Excel charts in 10 minutes.
Or watch on YouTube: Make Four Dynamic Excel Charts in 10 Minutes
Excel Report Diagnostic Display
Did you ever print and distribute pivot table reports in Excel, only to discover – too late – that they weren’t showing the correct information? To help save you from wasted time and paper, and possible embarrassment, AlexJ is sharing his Report Diagnostic Display technique today.
You might remember some of his other handy tips, such as
Excel Roundup 20141013
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
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
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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.” | |
| 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 JonkerThis 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.” | |
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.