Excel Basics

Agenda Definition Uses Features Proficiency (self test) Practical examples Spreadsheet best etiquette Excel shortcuts

Definition Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program included in the Microsoft Office suite of applications. Spreadsheets present tables of values arranged in rows and columns that can be manipulated mathematically using both basic and complex arithmetic operations and functions

Important Features of Excel Useful Functions COUNTIF, COUNTIFS, SUMIF, SUMIFS Data manipulation Data importing & conditioning Text to Columns Sorting Filtering Grouping, Subtotaling What if analysis Data Table Goal Seek, Solver Visualization Conditional Formatting Charts Pivot Tables Macro recording & editing

Excel Proficiency (self test) Novice OK with Data Entry tasks. Novices formulas: SUM, IF, AVERAGE, COUNT, ROUND Intermediate Comfortable building formulas to manipulate text and dates This category includes most users who claim to know Excel very well. Intermediate Formulas: SUMIF, COUNTIF, VLOOKUP, CHOOSE, MID Advanced Knows what array formulas are and how to use them. Can create and modify macros with or without the macro recorder. Advanced Formulas: SUMPRODUCT, INDIRECT, INDEX, MATCH, OFFSET Expert Can build add-ins for distribution and widespread use. If you can think it, they can build it with Excel. Expert Formulas: A true expert knows the strengths & weaknesses of every single function Guru Probably just a handful of them in the world. If you're an Expert, you probably know their names.

Condition Imported Data Web or mainframe data may not fall into neat columns when pasted into Excel Data...Text to Columns menu item is primary tool for splitting data into columns Dates and numbers are stored as text Copy a blank cell, select the data and Paste Special...Add Use the CLEAN function to remove non-printing characters Use SUBSTITUTE to remove specific characters. Nest formula. Use TRIM to remove leading and trailing spaces

Counting & Summing with Criteria SUMIF, COUNTIF, SUMIFS and COUNTIFS Critieria are case insensitive—CIGNA vs. cigna. Only the used cells will be searched. This makes these functions much more efficient than SUMPRODUCT or array formulas. Wildcard characters in the criteria. ? matches any single character * matches 0 or more characters Tricks with criteria Concatenate operators with a cell value in the criteria Put the date in a cell, use the DATE or DATEVALUE function, or else preface a string with two minus signs

SUMPRODUCT & Array Formulas Array formulas have array arguments where normally a single value would be used Embedded IF function Boolean expression Array formulas avoid need for helper columns Control + Shift + Enter Array formulas are surrounded by curly braces { } SUMPRODUCT uses Boolean expressions, but does not need to be array-entered Less important now because of COUNTIFS & SUMIFS An array formula is a formula that can perform multiple calculations on one or more of the items in an array. Array formulas can return either multiple results or a single result. For example, you can place an array formula in a range of cells and use the array formula to calculate a column or row of subtotals

Filtering AutoFilters provide both filtering and sorting functionality. Tables inherit AutoFilters on each column Custom filter, which affords some simple logic to the filtering.

Sorting The Data...Sort menu item sorts one or more columns Options button allows sorting horizontally as well You may sort in numerical or alphabetical order You may also sort according to a Custom List Sorting also possible using AutoFilter, Table, or PivotTable

Conditional Formatting Change appearance of cells based on the values they contain Display a bar graph (data fill) proportional to cell value compared to other cells Add a highlight color to cells containing an unusual value Change formatting based on the results of a formula Formula should return TRUE or FALSE. TRUE is 1, FALSE is 0 May have more than one conditional format, either singly or in combination

Charting Many chart types possible. Choose wisely! Scatter chart vs. Line chart Bar & Column charts Eschew 3D and pie charts Text on a chart can be linked to a cell via a formula Trend lines can also show equation & R-squared Microsoft changed charting in Excel 2007. No macro recording (restored in Excel 2010) Improved discoverability with Excel 2013 chart wizard R-squared : regression testing

Data Tables One-variable and two-variable data tables perform repetitive calculations. Better to think of them as taking one or two direct inputs Many input/many output problems using indirect inputs in a lookup table Underutilized way of performing repetitive calculations Especially useful when the "calculation engine" is complex Details & formulas need be defined only once Calculation engine may include worksheet formulas and VBA functions Can be integrated with Solver

Goal Seek & Solver Goal Seek Solver Drive one target cell towards a specific value Change only one cell in model Solver Drive one target cell to a minimum, maximum or specific value Change one or more cells in model May add constraints like integer, binary, non-negative Optional install of Solver add-in Solver.com for tech support

Grouping & Subtotals Group sorted data by one or more fields At each change in value, one or more fields in each group will be counted, summed, etc. using the SUBTOTAL function. SUBTOTAL can also be used to find the minimum, maximum, average, variance of the group SUBTOTAL functions 1 through 11 will ignore values hidden by a filter SUBTOTAL functions 101 through 111 will ignore values hidden either by a filter or by manual user action

PivotTables PivotTables summarize numeric data, typically by count or sum Examine different alternatives with slicers or making dropdown selections Raw data must be normalized Each column must have a header label Use either a Table or a dynamic named range as the source for your PivotTable Formatting changes to PivotTable get overwritten after Refresh. Don’t fight it!

VBA Code Subs do things (e.g. formatting or data manipulation) Functions return values VBA code is readable, even by people with little experience Need to display Developer menu “Disable all macros with notification” ALT + F11 toggles between VBA Editor and worksheet ALT + F8 displays macro selector May record a macro (sub) Good way to learn objects, methods and properties After editing, a recorded macro can be reused in future

Spreadsheet etiquettes’ Always separate out three stages : Obtaining data, analyzing the data, presenting the data Avoid hardcoding numbers in formulae – always enter a variable in the cell and refer to the cell in a formula Don’t fiddle with data – when using data from elsewhere Use data validation where possible to minimize data entry errors, an to make it easier to analyze and report on the data Always think, “ Is there a way I could do this that would save me time next time? Lay out data to suit excel not to suit the eye. Every heading, subtotal or empty column you place among the data makes it far less useable

Spreadsheet etiquettes Get used to using the dollar signs when you refer to cells. Used well you can write a formula once and use it everywhere Protect cells with formulae in them – it can be difficult to find an incorrect formula caused by accidental typing Use color and formatting ( and descriptions) to make it obvious where data entry is required Avoid merging cells unless absolutely necessary, merged cells make a spreadsheet far harder to edit.

Excel shortcuts https://exceljet.net/keyboards-shortcuts