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Excel 97 Beginner

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  A B C    
 1  Location Date Dollars     Pivoted Data
 2  Town 1 January 2001 $37,235     January 2001 February 2001 Grand Total
 3  Town 2 January 2001 $32,682   Town 1 $37,235 $34,591 $71,826
 4  Town 1 February 2001 $34,591   Town 2 $32,682 $36,378 $69,060
 5  Town 2 February 2001 $36,378   Grand Total $69,917 $70,969 $140,886
Use Excel to enter numbers & perform math, make charts, reports, or similar presentations.
Build good habits now & always enter data in columns, with headings at the top of each column.

for ex. In cell A1 "Location", B1 "Date", C1 "Dollars"...
Enter data for each purchase "record", sale, or any event in the next blank row under the column headings.
For your first purchase record, entries are made in A2, B2, & C2.

Always spell & capitalize the same, so groups of data can be analyzed.
A simple but powerful structure later to sort data, filter, use PivotTables, or other features.

Beginner Info: LCL Resources

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  I J K   Easier entries, PivotTables, & charts with the proper structure.
 1  Chart Image     Pivoted Data
 2      January 2001 February 2001 Grand Total
 3    Town 1 $37,235 $34,591 $71,826
 4    Town 2 $32,682 $36,378 $69,060
 5    Grand Total $69,917 $70,969 $140,886
When creating a chart (use the Chart Wizard) the last step is telling Excel where you want it.

Place charts on an existing "worksheet" (insert a new worksheet first if necessary), not a "chart" sheet.

Chart sheets are more cumbersome for adjusting & display of multiple charts on one page.
There are several inconveniences you can avoid later on by doing this.

If limited or continually updated data entry use the same worksheet as your data.
This allows you to instantly see the results of your input.

If anyone knows of a REALLY good reason to use chart sheets over worksheets we'd love to hear it!

Posted by: LCL Resources

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Excel 97 Intermediate

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Using IF & CONCATENATE can combine for dynamic & creative titles! For ex.

=IF(A1="","All Office's Sales",CONCATENATE(A1," ","Office's Sales"))

The formula is =IF(Expression,True,False) which checks first to see if A1="" (blank) is True/False.

If true then "All Office's Sales" is used.

If false then the CONCATENATE (join) function is used to combine A1 "Anytown" & a space " " & the text "Office's Sales" to create "Anytown Office's Sales" (without the quotation marks).

Note how ( ) defines both the primary IF formula, & the nested inside CONCATENATE function.
Also how commas separate the requirements of each.

Linking a title to these & further nested formulas can provide incredible flexibility!

Posted by: LCL Resources

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Excel 97 Advanced

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AutoFilter & PivotTables are two of the fastest & most powerful Excel features for large databases!

Data must be in columns, with headings at the top of each.

AutoFilter uses drop-down arrows to select & quickly view data for any group or many combinations.

PivotTables quickly add, multiply, average, & perform other functions.
Combine further with calculated fields & items.

There are quirks, such as hiding data for time periods that haven't occured yet.
For ex. you might have actual data through March, but all months from last year, in your database.
You need to "hide" April-December to compare performance against Jan-Mar last year.
Otherwise you'll be adding only 3 months this year, against 12 months last year!
Each month, after entering/importing new data & refreshing, unhide the next month.

There are other subleties to using PivotTables.
But in our opinion the most powerful & effective method to dissect, group, & analyze data!

Posted by: LCL Resources

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Excel 97 VBA

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Always consider "how often will I be doing this?"

If the answer is frequently, VBA or simple macros can be amazing tools.
If not, coding may take more time to accomodate the multitude of variables or user errors.

In code to be distributed to others, always include error handling, failsafes to protect from data loss or unpredictable results!
On Error GoTo Err_MakeUpAnErrorName
is a basic example, place first in your code right below Sub YourCodeName() then after all your other code place this
Err_MakeUpAnErrorName:
add an Exit Sub right before this statement so the error handling code ONLY runs if there's an error
below Err_MakeUpAnErrorName: place code to restore any defaults you've altered, restore screenupdating to true, etc. & then Exit Sub!
Don't leave your users stuck in the Visual Basic Editor trying to decide "debug or end error number what"?
A message box is a good idea to let them know something went wrong & possibly to notify you or...

The Immediate Window is one the most powerful tools, often the best use for this is quick snippets of code to perform tasks immediately that you really don't need to write an entire procedure for, but are impossible or time consuming using normal Excel features!
Otherwise use it to test portions of code as you write complex procedures!

Userforms can help with many structured data input requirements.
Setting properties on their objects can provide some protection for desired input.
Mouse-over commands & message boxes can provide feedback & tips to guide users.

Posted by: LCL Resources

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All in the Presentation

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Usually it's not enough to know what you know, you have to "show what you know"!
Communication is tough between executives, subordinate managers, techies, & front-liners.
And another language entirely must be spoken for Customers.

Those in production operations, or working with Customers, may not understand (or care about) the language used in corporate goals, mission statements, charts, or reports.

Executives may miss the significance of points presented, & miss many an opportunity!

Managers in the middle have to effectively bridge many such gaps.

When preparing performance information downstream, show any effect on the audience or individuals.
Only in management does the reality of bad business = bad pay, or failure, register easily.
It's crucial to make a simple connection between performance or goals & their effect on the employee!

When presenting upstream, show impact on the highest grouping possible.
Have subsequent layers available to display as needed to support your contentions.
Avoid busy displays & use the absolute minimum data, color, & "noise" to show
significance with style!

Posted by: LCL Resources

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PowerPoint

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PowerPoint can make exciting & fun presentations with sound & video!

Click on Slide Show / Custom Animation. Select each "object" on a slide & assign a variety of options.

Timing & order of appearance of each text box, image, & other objects you've placed on a slide. Timing either by click or seconds.
Effects for how the initial appearance of each object occurs, zooming onto the screen or many choices (preset transitions for the entire slide or presentation from Slide Show / Transitions).
Sounds by browsing your computer for a .wav file to play.
Chart Effects where lines, bars, etc. have some neat optional effects to experiment with.
Play Settings provides additional options for movies, sounds, & other OLE objects.

Posted by: LCL Resources

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Updated - 8/05/01.     Top