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 Goal Seek feature

Excel’s Goal Seek feature is a means of automating guesswork in Excel. Let’s say that you want to buy a car, and you know the interest rate, the term of the loan, and the payment that you’re seeking, but you don’t know how much you can borrow. Here are the steps:

  1. Activate the Goal Seek worksheet.
  2. Choose Data | What-If Analysis | Goal Seek.
  3. Enter or select cell C5 in the Set cell field of the Goal Seek dialog box, as shown in Figure 6.12:

Figure 6.12 – The Goal Seek dialog box

  1. Enter an amount, such as 350, into the To value field.
  2. Enter or select cell C5 in the By Changing Cell field.

Nuance

Excel will show $C$4 in the Set cell field and $C$5 in the By changing cell field if you click on the worksheet with your mouse as opposed to typing the cell address into the field. The $ symbols indicate an absolute reference that is not required in this case because the Goal...