Microsoft Excel is one of those rare cases in technology that gets bigger with longevity. Excel is used by an estimated 750 million people around the world.
It is the standby when you want to easily look at data without having to build a database. Most people only scratch the surface of what Excel can do.
They look at profit and loss statements, customer data, and accounting transactions. If you know the top Excel tips and tricks, you’ll be able to take advantage of everything that the software has to offer.
You’ll also be a bit more marketable because everyone uses Excel. Keep reading to learn the best Microsoft Excel tips to upgrade your skills.
1. Get to Know Hotkeys
There are so many more keyboard shortcuts than copy, paste, and select all. You can create new spreadsheets, choose fill colors, and hide rows and columns.
You can even create your own shortcuts. Go to File, then Options, which is all the way at the bottom. Select Quick Access Toolbar and select All Commands. You’ll be able to pick a command and assign a keystroke to it.
2. Import a Table
Have you ever come across a data set on the internet that you want to import into a spreadsheet? Excel makes it easy to do. Click on Data at the top of the menu ribbon.
Click on From Web. Enter the URL where you want to import the data from. Excel will give you an option to import the table. Select Import and OK.
3. Move Data Around
Most people use copy and paste to select data and place it elsewhere in the spreadsheet. That works, but there’s an easier way to do it.
Select the data you want to move and place the cursor at the edge. You’ll see the cursor turns into a cross, which allows you to drag and drop the data.
4. Read Excel in C#
Can C# read Excel data? If you’re an IT person who relies on the .NET framework, you’ll want to learn how to get C# to read Excel files.
Learning this Excel trick opens the door to automation. There are tools that work with Visual Studio that allows you to do this and so much more.
5. Remove Duplicates
Does your spreadsheet have a lot of data? You don’t have time to scan and adjust the spreadsheet to find duplicates. You can let Excel do that for you.
Select the data that you want to scan for duplicates. If it’s the entire sheet, Control + A works. At the top of the screen, click on Data->Remove Duplicates. Select if your range has a header row or not. Click OK and that’s it.
Microsoft Excel Tips and Tricks
The Excel tips and tricks in this article scratch the surface of the power that Excel has. Hopefully, you learned a few quick tips that you can apply right away.
If you found this article helpful, you’ll enjoy the other tech tips on this site. Check them out today!
