Microsoft Excel Features You Aren’t Making Use Of
Technology & Software
1. Combination Charts
Combo charts are two styles of charts, e.g pie, line, column etc. It is great for displaying different kinds of information.
2. PivotTables
Insert > Tables > Recommended PivotTables
PivotTables are great. They use a database that has some rows containing values and the first row containing headings, to summarise vast amounts of Excel data. You can either create your own PivotTable, or Excel 2013 will analyse your data and recommend one for you.
3. Basic Math
You can do simple calculations by entering them into the formula bar as long as you start it with the = sign. After you press enter the answer will appear in the cell. E.g, if you had the number 10 in cell A2, and the number 5 in cell A4, you’d type “=A2+A4” and when you pressed enter the answer would appear in the cell you’d selected. You can also do subtraction by using the – sign, enter * for multiplication, and / for division.
4. Conditional Formatting
Conditional Formatting is useful to help users quickly focus on important aspects of their spreadsheet, highlight errors, or identify important patterns in data. It changes the format of a cell, depending on what the cells in the workbook are, content of the cell, and range of cells.
5. Sorting and Filtering
Sorting and Filtering your data will save you a lot of time. With it you can re-order data, or just pick out what you do and don’t need. For example, you could sort by alphabetical name, or age, etc.