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

Introducing the Solver feature

I’m only going to lightly touch on Excel’s Solver feature so that I can compare it to Goal Seek. Often, I describe Solver as Goal Seek on steroids. You can solve for multiple missing inputs, place constraints on the solve, and much more. With that said, if you like Goal Seek, you’ll like Solver even more once you get past the busier user interface. The Solver feature is an Excel add-in, which enables additional functionality that is not available in the default installation of Excel. The first step to using Solver is to enable the add-in:

  1. Choose File | Options | Add-Ins (or choose Tools | Excel Add-Ins in Excel for Mac).
  2. Click on the Go… button in the Manage: Excel Add-ins section of the Options dialog box (skip this step in Excel for Mac).
  3. Click on the Solver Add-In checkbox, as shown in Figure 6.23:

Figure 6.23 – Enabling the Solver Add-in checkbox

  1. Click on OK...