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

Part 3: Data Analysis

According to Microsoft, VLOOKUP is the third most frequently used worksheet function, falling behind the SUM and AVERAGE functions. Despite its popularity, VLOOKUP hasn’t aged well, and so modern times call for a modern lookup function known as XLOOKUP. The XLOOKUP function is part of a new class of worksheet functions known as dynamic arrays that can spill results into as many adjacent cells as needed. Even better, almost every worksheet function in Excel now has the ability to take on dynamic characteristics. This part will then delve into two other recent additions to Excel, the LET and LAMBDA functions, that can greatly simplify complex formulas. This part closes out with a discussion of Power Query. The Power Query feature isn’t new, but most Excel users are unaware of this code-free solution for connecting to data sources. Power Query enables you to easily transform results into refreshable connections that protect data from being overwritten...