IFERROR and IFNA – what to do with errors.
Last week I wrote about IF. There are three other formula that start with IF, I will cover two of those here, IFERROR and IFNA. IFERROR IFERROR is a very helpful function. You can use it to sit in front of another function and deal with errors before they become a problem. For example, if […]
IF – powerful word, just ask Rudyard Kipling.
If is a little word with a big impact. Likewise, the IF function in Excel is one of the smallest (in letters) of the Excel functions, but can be powerful, and is often a gateway to formula use. =IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false]) The IF function looks like it requires a minimum of 1 input, (note the […]
Counting is hard….
Counting can be tricky. It is not always obvious what you are counting, what counts and what doesn’t? In Excel, there are several options of functions for counting, so you can get just what you are looking for. =COUNT(value1, [value2], …) is the first option you might choose, but it is not the most generic. […]
What a difference a t makes… Sept or Sep?
Sept or Sep? Which looks better? Which is consistent with the other months? Who decides which is “correct”? Microsoft has made an update to the way months are displayed. Well, one month actually. But only if you are in certain places in the world, or at least your computer settings are set to that location. […]
Finding the middle
Excel has many ways for you to find the middle point to your data. The three most common are average (what I would call mean), median, and mode. Now I will try not to go all maths teacher on you here, but a quick refresh on each of these. Average is what you get when […]
Take it to the Max with Min and Max
Min and Max functions in Excel are used to finding the smallest (or biggest) number in a list. For that, you can use functions in Excel, Min (for smallest – minimum) and Max (for largest – maximum) These functions just can take one input, the range of cells that you are looking at where you […]
Python in Excel
I have just finished Python in Excel course by XelPlus! If you are looking for comprehensive online courses in Excel, then I recommend XelPlus. The videos are clear and thorough. There are worked examples to go through and extra help if that is required. I was skeptical about the need for Python, but I can […]
Excel is turning 40!
Excel is turning 40 on September 30. To celebrate this milestone, Microsoft have put together “40 days of Excel” and you can see it all here. If I had to choose my favourite feature, I think I would go with conditional formatting. It is easily accessible for a new user and is often the first […]
A refresh on refreshing PivotTables.
Refreshing PivotTables – not just for updating the data. I just found out that sometimes you have to refresh the PivotTable to get all the columns of the source table to show in the PivotTable fields before you even start building it. On the subject of PivotTables, they are getting a long awaited update with […]
Get two Excels – Separate instances of Excel.
You can have more than one Excel open at the same time. Now I don’t mean two workbooks, but two separate instances of Excel. So, if one is busy running a macro, or updating a power query, you can have a completely separate instance of Excel open be working on that. Think about it like […]