Book Image

Exploring Microsoft Excel’s Hidden Treasures

By : David Ringstrom
Book Image

Exploring Microsoft Excel’s Hidden Treasures

By: David Ringstrom

Overview of this book

David Ringstrom coined the phrase “Either you work Excel, or it works you!” after observing how many users carry out tasks inefficiently. In this book, you’ll learn how to get more done with less effort. This book will enable you to create resilient spreadsheets that are easy for others to use as well, while incorporating spreadsheet disaster preparedness techniques. The time-saving techniques covered in the book include creating custom shortcuts and icons to streamline repetitive tasks, as well as automating them with features such as Tables and Custom Views. You’ll see how Conditional Formatting enables you to apply colors, Cell icons, and other formatting on-demand as your data changes. You’ll be empowered to protect the integrity of spreadsheets and increase usability by implementing internal controls, and understand how to solve problems with What-If Analysis features. In addition, you’ll master new features and functions such as XLOOKUP, Dynamic Array functions, LET and LAMBDA, and Power Query, while learning how to leverage shortcuts and nuances in Excel. By the end of this book, you’ll have a broader awareness of how to avoid pitfalls in Excel. You’ll be empowered to work more effectively in Excel, having gained a deeper understanding of the frustrating oddities that can arise daily in Excel.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
1
Part 1: Improving Accessibility
6
Part 2:Spreadsheet Interactivity and Automation
12
Part 3: Data Analysis

Compatibility Checker feature

If you share spreadsheets with others, both inside and outside of your organization, there's a decent chance that the recipient is using an older version of Excel, meaning Excel 2016 or earlier. Microsoft 365 brings us a steady stream of new functionality, such as the dynamic array functions that I discuss in Chapter 10, Lookup and Dynamic Array Functions, and the somewhat new LET function as well as the newer LAMBDA function that I discuss in Chapter 11, Names, LET, and LAMBDA. It’s invigorating to have new tools to bring to bear in Excel, until the user you shared a workbook with asks “Why am I seeing #NAME? everywhere in this workbook?”. It's hard to keep tabs on what new functionality works where. For instance, you can use LET but not LAMBDA in Excel 2021. You can't use either in Excel 2019 and earlier. I regret to inform any Excel for macOS users that the Compatibility Checker is not available to you, but it is...