if a shortcut requires pressing two or more keys at the same time, keys are separated by a + sign.

An exhaustive list of shortcuts is available on the Microsoft Office Support pages. Below are a small
number of shortcuts that we have selected to improve your speed and efficiency. The list is by no
means exhaustive. If different, Mac shortcuts are listed in second position. For a list of Mac specific
keyboard shortcuts see the Microsoft Office ( for Mac) Support page.

Undo/Redo

Possibly some of the most frequently used keyboard shortcuts ever are CTRL+Z and CTRL+Y |
CMD+Z or CMD+Y. Z stands for undo and Y for redo. Both operate on multiple levels, meaning that
you can go back in time a long way. As always there are of course exceptions to the rule and some
actions cannot be undone. In some of these cases, Excel will give you a warning (e.g., deleting a
worksheet that has content in it, cannot be undone and Excel will warn you about this) and then
there are other events that you cannot undo and no warning message is displayed (e.g. using the
'Move Chart' tool - more on this in Week 6).

CTRL-Y will redo your most recent action which comes in really handy if/when you want to apply a
certain step more than once.

New File/ New Workbook

To create a new workbook or new file, you do not need to go into any menu's. You can simply
press: CTRL+N | CMD+N

Open file / Open Workbook

To open the dialogue box and select an existing file (workbook) you can use the shortcut: CTRL+O |
CMD+O

Close file / Close Workbook

To close your current Workbook, you can click on the 'x' located at the top right (Windows) or top left
(Mac), But as shortcut keys are sometimes quicker, you can press: CTRL+W | CMD+W

Save file / Save Workbook

Saving your work regularly should become second nature. This shortcut will help. If you haven't
saved your file beforehand, Excel will ask you to assign a name and storage location to your file. If
you have, this shortcut will quickly save your file. CTRL+S | CMD+S

Select all

The select all shortcut actually behaves differently based on context. If you are in an empty cell and
select all, you will select the entire worksheet. If the active cell contains data that is part of a group
(cells containing contiguous data) select all will just select the group of cells instead. You can press it
again to select the entire worksheet. The shortcut for select all is: CTRL+A | CMD+A)
Enter a new line of Text

Sometimes when entering data into a cell, you may want to go to a new line below your current one,
within the same cell. Rather than let Excel choose when this happens you can use this key press
combination to force this behaviour. When editing a cell, press: ALT + Enter

Moving around the worksheet

You can use the arrow keys to move a single cell in any direction. Page Up and Page Down will
move one "page" (the number of rows shown on the screen) up or down. CTRL+arrow keys will
move to the next blank cell in that direction. If you have a large dataset with no gaps this will move to
the edges of the dataset. CTRL+Home takes you to the first cell that contains data in the top-left
corner of the sheet. CTRL+End goes to the last cell in the bottom-right. On certain keyboards
without a Home key, you might need to use CTRL+Fn+Home to use this shortcut.

Using the keyboard can make your work faster and smoother.

Terminology

Active Cell

The cell in the spreadsheet that is currently selected. It looks like this:

Cell

A cell is at the intersection between a row and a column. A cell is referenced by the column letter
and row number. The example below show cell B3:

Fill handle

The fill handle is the small black square on the bottom right-hand corner of the active cell.
You can display or hide the fill handle by:

1. Click File > Options. In Excel 2007 only: Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then
click Excel Options.
2. In the Advanced category, under Editing options, select or clear the Enable fill handle
and cell drag-and-drop check box.

For more information, go to https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Display-or-hide-the-fill-handle-

80918200-9ae9-4615-93c9-13d4f1496f81.

Ribbon

The ribbon is the main menu bar at the top of the Excel screen. The ribbon is several tabs. The
HOME tab has some of the most frequently used tools. You can collapse the ribbon to allow more
space for the spreadsheet in the main window by double-clicking on any of the tab labels (single-
click for Mac users). When you repeat the action, the ribbon will re-appear. Once your ribbon is
hidden, you can bring it back temporarily with a single-click, use the tools you needed, and then
make it disappear again with another single-click on the tab or anywhere in the spreadsheet.

Row

The rows are counted in numbers. There are 1,048,576 rows in an Excel spreadsheet. You can read
more about the specifications and limits of Excel spreadsheets.

Column

The columns are listed in letters. There are 16,384 columns in an Excel spreadsheet. You can read
more about the specifications and limits of Excel spreadsheets.

Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar sits above the ribbon (can also be customized to sit below the ribbon).
Tools from any of the ribbon tabs can be added for quick access without switching between tabs.

Status bar
The Status Bar is below the spreadsheet. It contains several useful areas. The Zoom tool, access to
three different view options as well as, by default, several calculation results which display
dynamically whenever data is selected in the spreadsheet:

Workbook

The term workbook refers to the entire Excel file. The file name of each workbook is at the top of the
file window.

Worksheet

A workbook can contain several worksheets. You can add worksheets at the bottom left by clicking
on the plus sign next to the last worksheet tab. Right-click on the worksheet tab and you can rename
the worksheet and execute a range of other commands.

Ninja Tips for the Week:

Take charge of those endless rows and columns

One of the amazing features of Excel is the sheer endless number of rows and columns. However,
sometimes they add to the confusion more than they help. You can actually hide the ones you don't
need. Open one of this week's workbooks and try this out step-by-step. Here is how

 Select the first column you don't need to see and then press the keyboard shortcut
CTRL+SHIFT+right arrow (for Mac use Command+Shift+right arrow). Right-click anywhere in
this new selection and select Hide.
 Select the first row you don't need to see and then press the keyboard shortcut
CTRL+SHIFT+down arrow (for Mac use Command+Shift+down arrow). Right-click anywhere in
this new selection and select Hide.

Tada :)

P.S: Just in case you want them back, select the last visible row and drag down into the hidden area,
or the last visible column and drag right, and click on Unhide. Everything is back to the way it was.

Keyboard Shortcuts:
Windows Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support pages | Mac Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support
pages

CTRL + Z — Undo previous action

F4 (fn + F4 / CMD + T) — Cycle through all 4 types of cell references. (Absolute, Mixed x2, Relative)

CTRL + ~ (CTRL + `) — Show formulas in the worksheet

SHIFT + F3 (CTRL + A) — Open Formula Builder/ Function Wizard

CTRL + PgUp (CMD + PgUp) — Go to the previous sheet.

CTRL + PgDn (CMD + PgDn) — Go to the next sheet.

Excel Terminology

Formula

A formula is entered into a cell to perform a calculation. A formula always starts with an equal sign
(=) and once committed (press Enter), the result is displayed in that cell. At its most basic, formulas
can be simple mathematical calculations with values much like you would type into a calculator. An
example of a formula would be: =A1+B1 which would take whatever value was entered into
cell A1 and add it to the value that was typed into B1. After typing the formula and pressing the
Enter key, the resulting value will be displayed in the cell in which you entered the formula.

Function

A function is what we referred to in the videos a 'mini-program' that you can use to make more
complex calculations. Functions are used inside formulas and therefore, you need to start with an
equal sign (=). Formulas operate with cell references and are very powerful. One commonly used
function is SUM, which will add up the values in a defined range. The function: =SUM(A1:A12) will
sum up all values contained in cells A1through to A12 and return the result once you commit the
function by pressing the ENTER key.

Formula Bar

The formula bar is located underneath the ribbon. The first edit line shows cell reference of the
currently active cell - this is called the Name Box. The second edit line provides space to enter cell
content and a helper tool to enter formulas:
Once you enter an equal sign into the active cell, frequently used functions appear in the Name Box
on the left - a drop-down menu offers more options.

Value

Values are numeric data that is entered into a cell. When text is entered into a cell without being
assigned a number format, we refer to them as labels. When data is formatted as a value type, it can
be referred to in formulas and functions and used in calculations.

Range

A range refers to two or more cells. When these cells are together, we call this an adjacent range.
Consider this example:

This adjacent range covers all the cells from A1 through to C2 - or in Excel syntax this is written
as A1:C2. The colon (:) basically stands for 'through to'. Whenever we want to define a range of
cells that are not all in one place, we talk about non-adjacent ranges:

This range includes cells A1:A2 and C1:C2. In Excel syntax this is written as A1:A2,C1:C2.

Reference, relative

A relative cell reference is one that changes relative to the direction in which it is copied. Consider
this example:

A2 and B2 are relative cell references. When we copy the formula in C2 downwards

into C3 and C4 with the fill handle, then Excel will assume that you want to conduct the same
calculation in rows 3 and 4 as you did in row 2. In other words, Excel will perform the
calculation A3*B3 in C3 and A4*B4 in C4. Excel effectively updates the row number in each of the
cell references for every row that you copy your formula downwards.

Reference, absolute

Or, as we like to fondly call it, the dollar thingy. A cell reference is absolute when it does not change
whenever it is copied. To make a cell reference absolute, you must include a $ before each element
of the cell reference: $A$1. This can be a bit cumbersome. The keyboard shortcut to turn a cell
reference into an absolute cell reference is to press F4.

Ninja Tip for the Week

Order of basic mathematical operations

Calculations in Excel follow the general mathematical rules for calculations, in other words,
Multiplication (*) and Division (/) come before Addition (+) and Subtraction (-). So, when you are
using these arithmetic operators in your calculations, you need to keep these general rules in mind.

Example: =3+4*5

Excel reads the formula from left to right, so one might assume that it adds 3 and 4 together before it
multiplies the result by 5. However, as multiplication takes precedence over addition, Excel will
calculate 3 plus the result of 4 multiplied by 5. If you wanted Excel to choose the first path, you need
to 'tell' this to Excel with the help of parentheses. The formula should look like this: =(3+4)*5

Week 2: Excellent Tips and Resources

Use Excel instead of a hat: Using the function RANDBETWEEN, you can have Excel randomly
select a number between a range of numbers you specify. In our example, you can use Excel to
randomly assign 'cake-duty' to one of your team members.

The two values you need to use are the lowest and highest numbers, which should be at the ends of
the range of numbers you’ve applied to each person’s name.

Once you hit the Enter key, the function will randomly select one of the numbers within the range.

Most of the functions that we looked at this week only have 1 argument (input value). However, the
function RANDBETWEEN has 2 arguments: bottom and top. In the screenshot below these
arguments are separated by a comma, e.g. RANDBETWEEN(B4,B17). In some countries the
comma is used as the decimal separator in numbers, so it cannot be used as the argument
separator as well. In these countries a semicolon is used instead, so your function will look
like RANDBETWEEN(B4;B17). Do not be alarmed — this is one of the many regional differences in
Excel.

Download the example spreadsheet here and have a play with it.

Week 3: Toolbox
Keyboard Shortcuts:

Windows Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support pages | Mac Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support

pages

CTRL + SHIFT + & (CMD + OPTION + 0) -- Add a border around the outside of selected cells

CTRL + B (CMD + B) -- Change selection to Bold Text

CTRL+Arrow keys (CMD+Arrow keys) -- Go to first/last cell in a row, column.

CTRL+Home (CMD+Home) -- Select the first non-blank cell.

CTRL + End (CMD+End) -- Go to the last non-blank cell.

Ninja Tips for the Week:

Format Painter

You can double-click on the Format Painter and it will remain active as long as you need it. When
you are done, simply press Escape. This is very cool - switch over to Excel and try it out now!

Widening Columns

So, you have been entering data into your spreadsheet but all of sudden you notice that one entry
has turned into this: #####. Don't panic, your data is still there - Excel is just giving you a nudge to
let you know that your column is not wide enough to display all of the data. There are three easy
ways of widening your column. Option 1: Double click on the black line between your column and the
next. Your column will automatically widen to display your number. Option 2: Hover your mouse
cursor over the little black line between your column and the next, then drag it to the desired width.
Option 3: right-click on the column and select 'Column Width' from the context menu, then enter a
width of your choosing.

Week 4: Toolbox
Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support pages | Mac Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support

pages

CTRL + 0 (CMD + 0) -- Hide the column containing the selected cell.

CTRL + 9 (CMD + 9) -- Hide the row containing the selected cell.

CTRL + SHIFT + 0 (CMD + SHIFT + 0) -- Unhide the column containing the selected cell. (Select
cells surrounding hidden column) In some versions of Windows, this shortcut is assigned to a
Windows feature. If you have difficulty getting this keyboard shortcut to work you should follow the
instructions in this article to disable the shortcut for that feature.

CTRL + SHIFT + 9 (CMD + SHIFT + 9) -- Unhide the row containing the selected cell. (Select cells
surrounding hidden row)

CTRL + SHIFT + L (CMD + SHIFT + F) -- Add or remove a filter

Excel Terminology

Filter

Applying a filter to a column (or columns) quickly displays only those rows that contain the
information you are looking for. There are three different ways to access the filter tool: the right-click
context menu, the Home tab, or the Data tab. The filter tool allows you to control the data that is
displayed on your screen. Any data contained in rows that don't meet the selected criteria will remain
hidden as long as the filter is applied. Once the filter is cleared, the data display will return back to
normal.

Sorting

The Sorting tool helps you to arrange your data in a specific order. There are three different ways to
access the sorting tool: the right-click context menu, the Home tab, or the Data tab. The sorting tool
is quite powerful and allows you to sort by multiple levels, match case and sort from left to right as
well as from top to bottom. When you want to sort your data, simply click anywhere in your data set
and then open up Sorting.

Conditional Formatting

At its most basic, Conditional Formatting allows you to automatically apply formatting whenever
certain criteria are met. Access the tool in the Styles group on the Home tab once you have selected
the data you want to format conditionally. There are a number of options available:
Conditional formatting is a great tool with lots of versatile use cases. The formatting updates
dynamically based on new values entered which make it super-useful.

Ninja Tip of the Week

Conditional Formatting vs. Filtering

They both let you show data based on specific criteria or conditions. Why would you choose one
over the other?

Filtering will only show data that matches the criteria. You can provide multiple filters, but only data
that matches all conditions will be visible.

Conditional formatting will show data that fits any of the conditions chosen. It also provides more
visual and graphical elements.

Week 5: Toolbox
Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL + P | CMD + P: Open Print dialogue

CTRL + X | CMD + X: Cut selection

CTRL + C | CMD + C: Copy selection

CTRL + V | CMD + V: Paste data (from previous cut/copy action)

CTRL + F2: Open Print Preview window

Selecting cells with your keyboard and mouse:

The SHIFT key: When you use the SHIFT key in conjunction with your mouse to select cells, you
can select whole ranges. Single click on your first cell, press down Shift - hold it down, then single-
click the last cell of your selection. All cells between your first and last cell will be selected.

The CTRL key: When you hold the CTRL key and click cells/columns/rows with your mouse you can
select multiple items that are non-contiguous. Non-contiguous means the items are not directly next
to each other.

Windows Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support pages | Mac Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support

pages

Excel Terminology

Print titles

You can find this tool on the PAGE LAYOUT tab. In the dialogue box that opens you can configure a
number of settings. In these two edit boxes you can set which rows/columns to repeat at the left and
top of every printed page. In this sense, printing titles works a bit like Freeze Panes - except that
Freeze Panes has no bearing on the printed page.
Print area

The Print area of a spreadsheet is set up in the Print Titles dialogue box (see Print Titles). This is a
great tool to use when you are working with large sets of data and you are intending to print only one
particular section of it.

Page break

Page breaks in Excel divide a worksheet into separate pages for printing. There are two types of
page breaks: automatic (dotted blue line) and manual breaks (solid line). Automatic page breaks will
adjust to other page layout settings such as orientation, margins, and scale. Access the Page Break
tool via the PAGE LAYOUT tab. The page break view is accessible through the VIEW tab or the
Status bar.

Ninja Tip of the Week

Font size vs Zoom slider

It can be tempting to enlarge a sheet's font so you can see things better on the screen. The problem
is though that the font size is relative to a printed page and something that looked great on the
screen, is oversized once we print. Remember to use the zoom slider in the Status Bar to enlarge
data on the screen instead.
Week 6: Toolbox
Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support pages | Mac Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support

pages

F11 (F11*) -- Insert new Chart sheet from selection.

* To use the Function keys in Excel on a Mac you will need to use the fn key in addition to the
function key.

If you don't want to press the fn key each time, you can change your Apple system preferences:

1. On the Apple menu, press System Preferences.

2. Select Keyboard.
3. On the Keyboard tab, select the check box for Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard
function keys.

This will now mean you need to use the fn key in addition to the Function key of choiceto perform
the special operations (change volume for instance)

Some function keys may be set to Operating System tasks. F11 may show your desktop rather than
creating a chart. If you wish to modify this behavior you can do change this from the Apple System
Preferences:

1. On the Apple menu, press System Preferences.

2. Select Keyboard.
3. On the Shortcuts tab, select mission control
4. Uncheck Show Desktop

You may find other Function keys are set to certain Operating System behaviors also. You can
change the key associated with the behavior, or disable it. Please exercise caution when modifying
the key to perform a behavior as this will override other expected behavior performed by the key.

Excel Terminology

Chart Area

The chart area refers to the entire chart; typical elements are the data series, axes, titles and
legends.
Chart Sheet

A chart sheet is a worksheet that only contains one chart. If you want to move your chart to a chart
sheet, you need to use the Move Chart tool on the CHARTS/DESIGN tab. When charts appear on
worksheets along with other information, they are embedded.

Data Label

Extra information associated with a data point. Often used to show the actual value of a data point,
e.g. the height of a bar or percentage of a pie slice. Data labels are not always displayed on the
chart.

Data Points

Values from cells on worksheets, displayed as bars, lines, columns, pie slices or other shapes on a
chart.

Data Series

A collection of related values plotted on a chart.

Embedded Chart

The chart is embedded as an object on the worksheet, alongside the data it is generated from. The
chart can be printed as part of that sheet or as a separate item. Best used when the data needs to
be shown in the context of the worksheet data.

Gridlines

Lines across the plot area, allowing the eye to travel more easily back to the values on the axes.

Legend

The legend is displayed in a location outside of the grid framed by the axis. A key that appears in a
small box beside your chart, showing which colours and symbols represent each data series.

Plot Area

The part of the chart bound by the vertical and horizontal axes and their opposing sides.

X & Y Axes

The X axis lies along the bottom of the chart and is usually used for categories. The Y axis goes up
one side and is used for data series values. The axes are reversed on bar charts.

Ninja Tip of the Week

Don't underestimate the right-click

Right-clicking on a chart in Excel allows you to alter pretty much any part and aspect of a chart. The
right-click gives you quick and convenient access to most options for a productive and efficient
workflow.

Transposing columns into rows (and vice versa)

Every now and then you create a nice set of data only to realise that you would have preferred that
the data that is currently in columns to appear in rows (or the other way around). Excel provides a
little-known feature that allows you to do change your rows and columns by transposing them.

Sometimes you’ll be working with data formatted in columns and you really need it to be in rows (or
the other way around). Simply copy the row or column you’d like to transpose, right click on the
destination cell and select Paste Special. A checkbox on the bottom of the resulting popup window is
labeled Transpose. Check the box and click OK. Excel will do the rest.

Excel essential skills : Intermediate I

Week 1: Toolbox
Keyboard Shortcuts

If a shortcut requires pressing two or more keys at the same time, keys are separated by a + sign.
An exhaustive list of shortcuts is available on the Microsoft Office Support pages. Below are a small
number of shortcuts that we have selected to improve your speed and efficiency. The list is by no
means exhaustive. Mac shortcuts are listed in brackets (In newer versions of Excel on Mac, the
CTRL+ shortcut keys also work). For a list of Mac specific keyboard shortcuts see the Microsoft
Office ( for Mac) Support page.

If you need to move to another worksheet but don’t want to take your hands off the keyboard, you
can use these shortcuts:

CTRL + Page Down | Option + Right Arrow: Move to the next sheet in the workbook.
CTRL + Page Up | Option + Left Arrow: Move to the next sheet in the workbook.

------------------------------------------------

Windows Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support pages | Mac Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support

pages

Excel Terminology

3-D Reference

The references we have used before can be thought of as 2-D references because they have 2
dimensions (2 important things to specify to identify a cell): columns (letters) and rows (numbers).
They might refer to a single cell (A3), a range in the same row or column (A3:D3, B2:B5), or span
multiple rows and columns (A3:D6). These cells must all be on the same Worksheet.

If you expand these references to include multiple Worksheets, you get a 3-D reference (an extra
dimension to specify to identify a cell). Again, these can refer to a single cell on multiple Worksheets
(Sean:Carlos!C8), or a range of cells on multiple Worksheets (Sean:Carlos!C8:E13).

Structure

In this topic, structure refers to the way the data is arranged in the workbook (this means the number
of rows and columns into which the data is entered and also the order of the rows and columns that
the data appears in).

Workbook

This is your entire Excel file. It contains 1 or more Worksheets.

Worksheet

Often just called a Sheet, this is where your data and charts live in Excel. You must have at least 1
Worksheet in your Workbook and the upper limit is only limited by the resources on your computer.

Ninja Tip of the Week

If you have many Worksheets in your Workbook, it can be difficult to move between them to find the
one you are looking for. You can use the Activate dialog to move directly to a sheet. Right-click on
the arrows next to the Worksheet tabs:
You will see the Activate dialog:

You can select the Worksheet to move to and click OK. In this Workbook there are only 4
Worksheets, so it does not save much time, but it would be very useful if you had many Worksheets.

Week 2: Toolbox
Keyboard Shortcuts

The CTRL (CMD) key When you are using a function like CONCAT to join text from multiple cells,
hold down the CTRL key while selecting the cells and Excel will automatically insert the comma
between each cell reference for you. For example, if you want the
formula =CONCAT(A2,D2,G2) then hold down CTRL while you click on cell A2 then D2 then G2.
CTRL + ; Inserts today’s date as a fixed value. (Note that this is different to the =TODAY() function
because this date is fixed and will not change when you come back to your workbook tomorrow or
next week.)

CTRL + SHIFT + ;| CMD + ; Inserts the current time as a fixed value. (Note that this is different to
the =NOW() function because the time is fixed and will not change when you come back to your
workbook an hour or a month later).

F4 | CMD + T Toggle between relative and absolute references.

------------------------------------------------

Windows Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support pages | Mac Shortcuts: Microsoft Office Support

pages

Excel Terminology

The anatomy of a function

Let’s look at the MID function as an example: =MID(text, start_num, num_chars)

= [equals] Every function must start with an equals sign.

MID [FUNCTION NAME] The standard syntax is to use upper-case letters, but the function will still
work in lower-case letters!

( [Open bracket] After a function name you must have an open bracket, "(", after this open bracket
you can start entering your arguments.

text, start_num, num_chars [arguments] These are the arguments that we input into a function.
An argument is an input into a function, where a function reads this argument, and other arguments
if needed, to process the function. You can directly type in arguments yourself or you can have other
functions calculate the values of the arguments for you. We explain this latter bit under nested
functions below.

A2 [Cell reference] Within a function, depending on the function, you may either need to specify a
cell reference or you may need to specify a range. If a range is needed (not for this function), a
range would be specified in the syntax: A2:A10. Here A2:A10 which reads in natural language
as A2 to A10, in other words, the colon, ":" is the natural language equivalent of "to".
, [comma] Commas are used to separate arguments within a function. This way, Excel knows that
the input of one argument has ended and the input of the next argument is beginning. Some
functions have only one argument, and thus, a comma will not be needed.

) [Close bracket] At the end of the function, you must have a close bracket, ")", then Excel knows
that you have stopped inputting arguments. In the latest versions of Excel, you can get away without
typing the last bracket and then pressing Enter and Excel will automatically add this bracket for you.

Nested Functions

We can also have a function inside another function, where a function is used as an argument, such
as:

=MID(A2,2,FIND(" ",A2))

Here, the FIND function is used within another function, MID, this entire then becomes a nested
function. Excel will work the innermost function first and gradually work its way outwards. Inner
functions are sometimes called helper functions.

Here, FIND(" ",A2) is used as the third argument of the MID function which should be num_chars,
i.e. the number of characters. In other words, instead of us telling Excel the number of characters,
and this value being static, the helper function, FIND, is telling Excel to find the number of
characters, and hence this value becomes dynamic.

CONCAT, CONCATENATE and &

The CONCAT function joins text together. The text being joined can be entered by referring to other
cells, e.g. =CONCAT(B4,B3), or the text can be typed directly =CONCAT("John","Smith"), the
comma specifies what you would like to join. Remember that when inputting text into a function
use " " around the text.

The & works in a similar way. It can be viewed that & is what tells Excel to join the text
so =B4&B3 joins B4 and B3. The same rules apply if the reference is made to text
directly ="John"&"Smith". Remember that & is used as part of a formula so you need to start
with =.

CONCAT is the newer version of CONCATENATE function which became available in the Office
365 version of Excel. It does everything that CONCATENATE does and it also supports using a
range as an argument, for example, =CONCAT(A5:A20). CONCATENATE is still available in the
newer versions of Excel but you will not get the extra functionality.

CONCAT became available in the January 2016 version of Excel, which is only available if you have
the Office 365 version of Microsoft Office. You can read the Release Notes for the various versions
of Excel and you can also find out which version of Excel you are using.
Text to Columns

Open the file W2_Extracting_Text, where we want to extract the Floor, Wing and Extension
from Column K that contains all this information under Location.

Select the Location column, go to the Data tab and click on Text to Columns. You should get a
dialog box that looks like this where you can select Delimited or Fixed Width.

For Step 1, let’s start with Delimited and click Next.

In Step 2 above, check Space and Other, and type "-" next to Other. Here, Excel will split the string
of text in the Location column whenever it sees a space, " ", as well as whenever Excel sees a
hyphen, "-".

Now click Next and you will see Step 3 as below:

Here you can specify the data format. Since ours is the default, General, we just need to
click Finish. Excel will then warn you that there is already data, and ask you whether you want to
replace it. Click OK.

Now you should see the Location data split into 3 columns in your spreadsheet – the floor, the wing,
and the extension.

Another option to split the text into columns in Excel is to choose Fixed Width in Step 1 and then
click Next. Then Step 2 will appear as below:
You will then need to click within Data preview to add arrow markers to split the text according to a
fixed width.

This works well if the data follows a fixed length pattern like it does for the characters of the floor.
However, this does not work well for the wing (as you can see above) which sometimes has 4
characters, and at other times has 5 characters.

Text to columns is a great tool for one-off changes, and when you do not need to retain the original
raw data. However, for more automated dynamic changes that need to occur as our spreadsheet is
populated, functions are much more useful, as we discuss in this week’s Practice Videos.

Ninja Tip of the Week

TEXTJOIN
TEXTJOIN is another function that can be used to join text together, this works well because of the
following:

1. You can specify once that you want a space between each word and don’t have to include a
space each time like we did in CONCAT
2. You now have the choice to ignore empty cells in a range.

For example =TEXTJOIN(" ", FALSE, "JOHN", "SMITH") returns JOHN SMITH. The first argument
specifies the separator you would like to see between each word (a space in this instance), the
second argument specifies whether to ignore empty cells or not, and then the text follows. You can
specify the text as a range, so =TEXTJOIN(" ", TRUE, A5:A12) is also valid and the text is
contained in the specified range.

Like CONCAT, TEXTJOIN is only available in the latest Office 365 version of Excel.

Inserting a line break within text functions

In the course Excel Skills for Business: Essentials we saw that you can enter a line break inside a
cell using the shortcut ALT + ENTER (or CTRL + OPTION + RETURN for Mac), however this
shortcut will not work when you want to include a line break inside a text function. For example, say
we have been given the data in cells A2 and B2 below, and we want to join them on two lines in
cell C2.

We can insert a line break using the function CHAR(10), so cell C2 could be entered as either of the
following functions:

=A2&CHAR(10)&B2

=CONCAT(A2,CHAR(10),B2)

Remember to turn on "Wrap Text" formatting for cell C2, otherwise it will display with all of the text
on a single line.