Excel Tips & Tricks

Instructor email: ryan@sbtrain.com, phone: 925-462-3277

 Ctrl + spacebar = highlights column

 Ctrl + minus = removes column
 Shift + space bar = highlights row
 Ctrl + shift + plus = add row
 Ctrl + shift + L = turns on filters
 <> means not
 You can add any button from the ribbon to the quick access toolbar by right clicking it and
choosing add to quick access toolbar
 How to copy just the rows shown (not hidden ones)
o Button called select visible cells only
 Put in the quick access toolbar
o Can also hit ctrl + g, then press special
 Adding numbers: alt + equal = autosum
o Can also highlight all ‘totals’ cell and hit autosum
 Referencing
o Absolute referencing
 $C$5
o Mixed referencing
 $C5 = lock down column
 C$5 = lock down row
o When you type in a cell reference, F4 puts in dollar signs
 Press again and again, changes to mixed references
 Named Ranges
o Don’t use spaces (not allowed)
o On top left, name the cell


 Can reference cell by name in later functions
 VLookup
o 2 types of vlookup
1. Range lookup
 Where does certain data fit within a range
 Table has rules
o Thing you’re looking for has to be on the left side of the data
that you want
 o Supposed to be sorted in ascending order by the leftmost
column (may crash if you don’t)
o Name the table at the top left (see Named Ranges above)
 If you ‘look up’ vlookup under insert function, it will give you a table
with all the necessary values that you need to put in.
 Lookup_value: whatever raw data value you’re looking up
 Table_array: whatever you named the table (add a comma, and a
column number if you want to reference a specific column within the
table ex: mygrades,2)
 Range_lookup: true or false. Default is true.
2. Exact match lookup
 Name the table
 Use vlookup
 Difference from range lookup is that the range_lookup is false ,because
it is looking for exact numbers, not within a range of numbers
 IF Function
o Can be very long
o Can use ‘And’ and ‘Or’ functions in the if statement
 Advanced Filtering
o For filtering complicated ranges
o Must have list with labels (headers)
o Also need criteria range
1. Can build on same page or separate tab
o If you put an * between your criteria, it means anything between the other two criteria
1. Ex: S*Y will return things like SAY, SPY, SCIENGY, etc, but not SPA SCEOP, etc.
o If you put an ? between your criteria, it means one character between the other two
criteria
1. Ex: S?Y will return things like SPY, SKY, SLY, but not SFEAPY, SFIY, SLA ,etc
o Useful for addresses, zip codes, etc
 Headers
o Can’t have any blank headers
o Format them bold
 Pivot Table
o Double click on cell in pivot table and it creates new sheet with that information
o Value field settings
1. Show value as
 Can do percentage etc
 How to look at more than one sheet in one workbook at one time
o View
1. New window
 Arrange all
 Sumifs/Countifs
o Need lower range and upper range
o Sum_range: whole column
o Criteria_range: whole column
o Criteria 1: the criteria applying to that range (>=5001)
o Criteria range 2: whole column
o Criteria 2: second criteria applying to the range (<=10,000)