Getting the Most from your Microsoft Excel

Transcription

1 Getting the Most from your Microsoft Excel Anne Del Pizzo PATHS, LLC What we will cover What s new in 2007/2010 Conditional formatting Sparklines Pivot Table Slicers Functions Macros Pivot Tables 1

2 What is new in Excel 2007/2010 Size 16,384 columns and 1,048,576 rows Conditional formatting Excel 2010's conditional formatting lets you change the appearance of a cell based on its value or another cell's value. You specify certain conditions, and when those conditions are met, Excel applies the formatting that you choose. You might use conditional formatting to locate dates that meet a certain criteria, to call out the highest or lowest values in a range, or to indicate values that fall under, over, or between specified amounts. What is new in Excel 2007/2010 Sparklines One of the cool features of Excel 2010 is the addition of Sparklines. A Sparkline is basically a little chart displayed in a cell representing your selected data set that allows you to quickly and easily spot trends at a glance. Pivot Table Slicers Slicers are a new feature in Excel 2010 that you can use to filter your pivot tables. Slicers make it a snap to filter the contents of your pivot table on more than one field. Because slicers are Excel graphic objects (albeit some pretty fancy ones), you can move, resize, and 2

3 Functions Excel Function SUM AVERAGE COUNT INT ROUND IF NOW TODAY SUMIF COUNTIF Description Calculates the sum of a group of values Calculates the mean of a group of values Counts the number of cells in a range that contains numbers Removes the decimal portion of a number, leaving just the integer portion Rounds a number to a specified number of decimal places or digit positions Tests for a true or false condition and then returns one value or another Returns the system date and time Returns the system date, without the time Calculates a sum from a group of values, but just of values that are included because a condition is met Counts the number of cells in a range that match a criteria Text Functions Function LEFT RIGHT MID CONCATENATE REPLACE LOWER UPPER PROPER LEN Description Extracts one or more characters from the left side of a text string Extracts one or more characters from the right side of a text string Extracts characters from the middle of a text string; you specify which character position to start from and how many characters to include Assembles two or more text strings into one Replaces part of a text string with other text Converts a text string to all lowercase Converts a text string to all uppercase Converts a text string to proper case Returns a text string s length (number of characters) 3

4 HLOOKUP and VLOOKUP The most popular of the lookup functions in Excel 2010 are HLOOKUP (for Horizontal Lookup) and VLOOKUP (for Vertical Lookup). These functions are located in the Lookup & Reference category on the Formulas tab of the Ribbon and in the Insert Function dialog box. They are part of a powerful group of functions that can return values by looking them up in data tables. The HLOOKUP function searches horizontally (left to right) the topmost row of a Lookup table until it locates a value that matches or nearly matches the one that you're looking up. The VLOOKUP function searches vertically (top to bottom) the leftmost column of a Lookup table until it locates a value that matches or nearly matches the one you're looking up. When using the VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP functions, the text or numeric entries in the Lookup column or row (that is, the leftmost column of a vertical Lookup table or the top row of a horizontal Lookup table) must be unique. These entries must also be arranged or sorted in ascending order; that is, alphabetical order for text entries, and lowest to highest order for numeric entries How to Automate Tasks with Macros You can use macros in Excel 2007 to save time by automating tasks that you perform frequently. A macro is a series of commands grouped together that you can run whenever you need to perform the task. Although you can write your own complex macros in the Visual Basic programming language, the easiest method for creating many macros is to use the macro recorder. When you record a macro, Excel stores information about each step you take as you perform a series of commands. You then run the macro to repeat, or play back, the commands. The macro recorder records every action you complete. Therefore, planning your macro before you begin the recording process is very important so you don t record unnecessary steps. 4

5 Short Cuts Apply Auto Fill: You can quickly fill adjacent cells with data that continues a formula or a series of numbers, days, or dates, either manually from the Fill menu or automatically by dragging the fill handle. Filter Data: To locate a specific value, you can apply a filter. To filter by multiple criteria, you can apply additional filters to the results of the first one. In addition to filtering on entire values, you can use ready made filters to locate the values that meet certain criteria. Dropdown List To make data entry easier, or to limit entries to certain items that you define, you can create a drop down list of valid entries that is compiled from cells elsewhere in the workbook. When you create a drop down list for a cell, it displays an arrow in that cell. To enter information in that cell, click the arrow, and then click the entry that you want. 5

6 Apply and Manipulate Pivot Tables: Arranging a large data set as a Pivot Table can help facilitate your analysis and presentation of the information it contains. In a Pivot Table you can: Apply filters Summarize Outline data Quickly change how data is organized Creating Data Connections: From Access From Web From Text Contact Information: Anne DelPizzo PATHS, LLC adelpizzo@hcpaths.com (w) x (m)