Solutions for Excel How to accomplish a common task in a fast, flexible and efficient way

Table of contents

Preface

For those who buy this book on Kindle

What this book is about

Glossary

Contact

Create sequential table rows and columns

Tools: custom lists, autofill

Level: beginner

Fill blank range

Tools: keyboard navigation and selection shortcuts

Level: beginner

Fill table with formulas with row and column inputs

Tools: absolute and relative references

Level: beginner

Convert formula to its results

Tools: Paste Special

Level: beginner

A legible formula

Tools: range names

Level: beginner

A dynamic date range

Tools: functions DATE, YEAR, MONTH, DAY, TODAY

Level: intermediate

Check for a condition

Tools: function IF

Level: intermediate

Select one from a range of options

Tools: functions VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP

Level: intermediate

Combine data from several data ranges in one

Tools: functions VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP

Level: intermediate

Make 1 look as "Q1"

Tools: Number Format Codes

Level: intermediate

Make 12125551212 look as "+1 (212) 555 - 1212"

Tools: Number Format Codes

Level: intermediate

Make 1000 look as "1M"

Tools: Number Format Codes

Level: intermediate

Make 123 look as "000000123"

Tools: Number Format Codes

Level: intermediate

Sum or count only certain values in a range

Tools: functions SUMIF, COUNTIF

Level: intermediate

Find data in a table

Tools: functions INDEX and MATCH

Level: advanced

Create an alphabetic list

Tools: functions CHAR

Level: advanced

Create a random password

Tools: functions RANDBETWEEN, INDEX, CHAR, CONCATENATE

Level: advanced

Get data from a cell N columns to the left or right

Tools: functions OFFSET, IF

Level: advanced

A drop-down list of values

Tools: Data Validation

Level: advanced

Compare positive and negative numbers

Tools: Function ABS

Level: advanced

Let formula read address name from an external cell

Tools: function INDIRECT

Level: advanced

Preface

For those who buy this book on Kindle

Excel Solutions is a practical reference book for practical people.

Do not buy this book if

• you are looking for a comprehensive Excel manual – this book is not a print version of online or built-in help;

• you need to learn Excel from scratch and thoroughly – this book assumes you know Excel enough to be using it on your own but not enough to use it efficiently at your level of mastery;

• you expect to learn or use macros and VBA for Excel – this book is focused on solutions for a commoner that do not require programming;

• you need a functional reference to Excel – this book is task-oriented, we solve problems and describe common algorithms.

Do buy this book if

• you want to have a quick reference close at hand and instead of thinking how to solve a specific problem;

• you plan to see your copy updated several times in 2012 and 2013 from 20 solutions to 30, 50, 100 and so on over time;

• you plan to come to Firemba.com, leave me a description of your problem, get a solution and later see your solution included in a book (of course, with a courtesy mention of you).

Skim a few sample chapters. There's six of them: two basic, two intermediate and two advanced level. And if you decide you do not need this book after you buy it, keep in mind Amazon accepts Kindle returns within 1 week.

What this book is about

How do you convert business situations into interactive set of numbers?

This book originally began as an Excel study guide I wrote for my students in Financial Modeling at Moscow Institute of Physics & Technology. PhysTech, as it is known worldwide, is one of the most selective science and tech schools in the world. By the time students were admitted to my class, they were exceptionally well trained in higher math, basic science and computer science but this turned to be of little help with getting the work done in Excel. My students had good knowledge of what's inside Excel and what all menus and buttons do. And yet, despite all this knowledge and intellect it took them forever to accomplish even the easiest tasks, and their resulting spreadsheets were primitive, inflexible and just plain ugly. Each class had to be shown the same common how-tos and examples along the class. Eventually, the library of these training examples resulted in the first edition of this book. Now it is available to general readers, too.

The book is split by solutions to specific common problems.

• Each chapter first states a "Problem" in more or less plain and definitely non-Excel language, occasionally presenting a final result as a goal.

• Next follows a "Solution", which is a step-by-step instruction on how to accomplish the task.

• Two optional sections follow.

  • First is "Formula Syntax" if a formula or function was involved in a solution – this is a table that breaks the formula in terms, explain what every term does and what every argument is for.

  • Second is "Similar Problems" that either shows other tasks done the same way as described or alternative ways to get the same result.

Some of text in the book is highlighted as "code". "Code" is what you type or enter in a cell.

This book is a part of bigger Firemba series for entrepreneurs, SMB workers and other folks of practical mindset who want to get better at "number crunching". Expect other titles in 2013-2013.

Glossary

Before proceeding, let's define the terms that this book is peppered with.

Term	Definition
Cell	A single unit of a spreadsheet, a rectangular frame where user can type or otherwise add some content.
Active cell	Cell where your cursor is currently in. It is highlighted with a bold frame around it.
Column	All cells on the same vertical line that share the letter part of the cell address (e.g. "A" in "A1)
Row	All cells on the same horizontal line that share the digit part of the cell address (e.g. "1" in "A1").
Range	Most often, a rectangular block of cells in a worksheet. Can be addressed to as Sheet1!A1:B2. Excel also allows ranges to consist of non-adjacent cells.
Matrix	A rectangular range filled with data of the same type (usually values or, less often, text strings).
Table	Any arrangement or cells that has one of more header rows and/or one or more left columns, with data placed down and/or right of these rows and/or columns. The Excel 2003 term will be "data table". This term changed from Excel 2003, where it meant "data table", an array formula for sensitivity analysis, to Excel 2007-2010, where it means an ordered part of worksheet with definitive header row that can be filtered in place.
List	An ordered single set of unique data. It does not have to be sequential such as {1,2,3…} or {A,B,C}, but has to be arranged in a consistent way by some parameter. Most often a list is vertical, less often, it's horizontal.
Database	A set of data divided into unique records and unique fields inside them. Visually, Excel database is similar both to a list and a table. It is most often vertical, must have column headers, each corresponding to a particular field, and have a unique sequential identification number for each row (a record). It does not have to be ordered by default.
Value	Any output of a non-empty cell. Output is what you see in the spreadsheet or get from the cell. Text or number typed in a cell is a value. Result of a formula is also a value. For example, if cell A1 contains "1", cell B1 contains "=1+1" and C1 contains "=A1+0" then, despite different content, they will all have the same value of "1".
Data	Number, text or any other cell content (such as Boolean values).
Number	One or more digits.
Text string	One or more letters.
Variable	A formula input or value that can change or comes from an external cell or source.
Constant	A formula input or value that is a fixed part of formula and cannot be changed.
Formula	Any expression that performs a calculation. Formulas normally start with "=" sign.
Function	A type of a formula that is built in Excel and returns a value based on the arguments it takes as an input. An Excel function is a named command written as =NAME(argument1,argument2…). Functions can also be created by users in VBA but we are not reviewing those in this book.
Argument	A defined function variable.

Contact

After reading this book, stop by http://firemba.com to tell me what problems I should solve for next edition, what corrections the book needs or that the book sucks and I suck. All these references will be appreciated and acknowledged in next edition and your name saved on Amazon server for posterity and eternity.

Yours sincerely –

Yuri Ammosov,

Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship,

Department of Computer Science,

Moscow Institute of Physics & Technology