Excel is a program that many people distrust, it is a complex software, with a lot of functionality that hides below the surface. It's easy to see why newbies would be put off by something so complicated, but this powerful software is well worth the effort.
The key is to break the learning process. 27 Fantastic Learning Websites You May Have Missed 27 Fantastic Learning Websites You May Have Missed Many fantastic educational websites fly under the radar. Thanks to the breadth of knowledge from these twenty-seven sites, lifelong learning is a smoother ride. Read more on manageable components. It's impossible to learn Excel in a day or a week, but if you focus on understanding the individual processes one by one, you'll soon find that you have a working knowledge of the software.
Work your way through these techniques, and it won't be long before you're comfortable with the basics of Excel. From there, you'll be well on your way to becoming a true spreadsheet master.
These are some of the first techniques you'll need to master if you want to get to grips with Excel. They are largely very simple, but it is important that you are familiar with them before you start trying more complex tasks.
To get started, start with the most basic math problems you'll need to get into Excel. The first thing to remember about techniques like this is that Excel expects to see an equal sign first when you're giving it a problem to solve. Enter =10 + 10 in a cell of your spreadsheet and press enter; The cell should display the number 20..
Addition and subtraction are pretty self-explanatory, but you'll need to use an asterisk (*) instead of a multiplication sign and a forward slash (/) instead of a division sign.
If you're just getting started with Excel Need help with Excel formulas? 7 resources to check out Need help with Excel formulas? 7 Resources to Reference Excel is the gold standard of spreadsheets. If you must use Excel and yet become familiar with it, these resources will quickly introduce you to the basics and beyond. Read More First, enter any two numbers in cells that are next to each other, either side by side or top and bottom works fine. Next, select the cell directly to the right or below those cells and navigate to Home> AutoSum .
This will automatically fill the selected cell with a SUM formula, so press Enter to run it. Excel will add the two numbers together and return the result to the specified cell. By using the AutoSum dropdown menu, you can also choose different math functions.
Once your spreadsheets start to get a bit more complex, they are likely to contain different types of numbers; currency, dates, percentages, and more. To make sure you can work with this data, it's worth formatting it for writing.
Select the numbers you want to format:you'll have to do each different type one at a time. Find the Number at the top of the screen, and look for the dropdown menu that defaults to General .
From there you can choose from a healthy list of different number formats. If you're looking for more control, select More Number Formats from the bottom of the list, and you can specify details like the number of decimal places to use or your preferred currency.
How to Present Your Data as a Table How to Use an Excel PivotTable for Data Analysis How to Use an Excel PivotTable for Data Analysis The PivotTable is one of the most powerful tools in the Excel 2013 repertoire. It is used with frequency for big data analytics. Follow our step-by-step demo to learn all about it. Read More To get started, select the entire dataset you want to convert to a table, including headers, and click Quick Analysis Shortcut that will appear in the lower left corner of your selection.
Navigate to Tables tab and select Table . You'll notice some immediate differences in how the data looks, and there are also some changes in how it can be manipulated.
Use the arrow buttons in the table header cells to filter particular data points or sort them one way or another.
You can make a table or a chart 8 Types of Excel Charts and Graphs and When to Use Them 8 Types of Excel Charts and Graphs and When to Use Them Charts are easier to understand than text and numbers. Charts are a great way to visualize numbers. We show you how to create charts in Microsoft Excel and when to best use which type. Read More Excel can give you some advice, but it's important to be aware of what you want your chart to accomplish. With that in mind, lay out your data and select everything, just like you did when creating a table.
Hover over one of the options to preview what it will look like, or select More for additional control over the finished product.
Sooner or later, you'll probably want to take your use of Excel to the next level. The good news is that many aspects of the software's functionality are connected in some way or another, which means that learning one technique will likely reap benefits elsewhere later on.
Once you've mastered basic arithmetic in Excel, it's a good idea to start experimenting with Functions. You will discover a wide variety of different functions to perform different procedures, and they are all slightly different; however, working through simpler examples will help you become familiar with the basic practices that take place.
Let's start by using one of the most basic functions 16 Excel Formulas that will help you solve real life problems. 16 Excel Formulas to Help You Solve Real-Life Problems. The right tool is half the job. Excel can solve calculations and process data faster than your calculator can. We show you the key Excel formulas and show you how to use them. Read More included in Excel, SUM. We can use this functionality to add a series of shapes without doing the legwork ourselves.
As you can see above, I have five numbers that I would like to add, so I entered my Function in the cell just below the list. Note that you can run this task anywhere in your spreadsheet. Tell the program exactly which cells you are looking for. You can produce a working example by typing =SUM(E1:E5) , But there are also other ways to transmit this command.
You may want to enter the word SUM and open the brackets, then select the cells manually. You can do this by pressing Control Press the key and click on individual cells - dragging over multiple cells also works. Alternatively, you can type individual cell references separated by a single comma if they are not sequential.
The advantage of using cell references in Functions instead of integers is that your results will update based on the contents of those cells. Once your spreadsheet projects start to get more complex, this will certainly come in handy.
In recent years, Excel has become a powerful tool for creating dashboards. Visualize your data and make your spreadsheets easy to use with an Excel Dashboard. Visualize your data and make your spreadsheets easy to use with an Excel dashboard. enough to make your data accessible. A dashboard allows you to present your most important data in an easy-to-digest format. Read More Creating a dashboard in Excel can bring great benefits, but it can also take a lot of effort depending on your needs; however, conditional formatting can add a panel experience element to a standard spreadsheet and is very easy to implement.
For these purposes, we'll be using conditional formatting to help provide a visual shorthand for some data, so choose something worth assessing at a glance if you're going to try this one. Select that data and navigate to Home> Conditional formatting .
You will get a lot of different formatting options. We're looking at percentages, so a data bar makes sense, however color scales and icon sets can also be used very effectively in appropriate circumstances.
Remember that you can control aspects of the process by clicking on More rules in the dropdown menu. If your format doesn't provide enough differentiation to be immediately clear, consider tweaking the rules a bit.
Anyone can create a chart with Excel – the secret to becoming an expert is knowing all the tools the software has to offer to create a chart that perfectly suits your needs. A trend line is one of many components you may need to put together to accomplish that task.
This is an addition you'll make to a chart once it's created, so create one as a test or use something that's already been prepared. Once it is in place, you need to click on the chart and then click on Chart Elements shortcut that is illustrated by a plus sign icon. You can quickly add a trendline by checking the box next to it, or you can click the arrow to the right to access more detailed options.
The crucial element here is knowing what you're trying to illustrate. A trendline isn't a good addition in many situations, so it's vital that you think about the data you're trying to present and consider whether you're adding something worthwhile to your chart, or just introducing more clutter that distracts from the point being made.
There is always more to learn about Excel, but here are some good places to start. The Microsoft Office support site is home to a series of clearly presented tutorials on everything from high-level usage to the simplest tasks you can do.
Alternatively, Excel Functions provides a great reference point, whether you're an absolute beginner or a seasoned veteran. Of course, Excel will help you with tooltips when you're trying to enter a function, but it's nice to have such a comprehensive resource on hand, if it ends in a link.
Finally, there are a lot of great Excel tutorials for working on MakeUseOf. You can learn how to use the software to get the most out of your family budget. 7 Useful Excel Sheets to Instantly Improve Your Family Budget. 7 Useful Excel Sheets to Instantly Improve Your Family Budget. It's not always easy to set up a family budget. Seven templates will give you the structure you need to get started. Read More Excel games like 2048 are a great way to relax between numbers. And they can curiously amuse you about advanced Excel formulas. Read More into something useful? Microsoft Power BI can visualize your data and create automated reports. Here's how to set up your first Power BI dashboard. Read more.
Do you have any questions about your next steps to mastering Excel? Or are you an experienced user looking to share your wisdom with the next generation? Join the conversation in the comments section below.
