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

The Always create backup setting

You can instruct Excel for Windows to create an automatic fallback position for critical workbooks. There are a few caveats:

  • You must enable this setting on a workbook-by-workbook basis.
  • Your backup copy is the most previously saved copy of your workbook.
  • Excel creates a file that has a .XLK extension that it will not recognize when you open your backup file, which we'll discuss.
  • The backup file must reside in the same folder as the original document, as there is no provision for saving backup files elsewhere.
  • This feature is not available in Excel for macOS.

Let’s see how to establish an automatic backup for key workbooks:

  1. Choose File | Save As | Browse or More Options.
  2. Click on Tools in the Save As dialog box, to the left-hand side of the Save button.
  3. Click on General Options.
  4. Click on the Always Create Backup checkbox, as shown in Figure 2.12, and then click on OK.
  5. Click on Save:
  6. ...