Explore 10 essential Excel tips and tricks presented by Mytour that will enhance your work performance. Additionally, readers can explore more articles on Mytour to discover shortcut keys in Excel for enhancing overall productivity.
10 Incredibly Useful Excel Tips and Tricks Everyone Should Know
1. Utilize the Status Bar in Excel
2. Use shortcuts for quicker navigation
3. Freeze rows for better visibility
4. Quickly select formulas
5. Automatically fill information
6. Create macros for task automation
7. Generate a spreadsheet in seconds
8. Use the Go To tool to find specific cells
9. Customize the Enter key's functionality
10. Copy data to multiple cells simultaneously
Here are 10 incredibly useful Excel tips and tricks, especially for those in accounting and office settings:
1. Utilize the Status Bar in Excel
Whenever you select a range of numbers, the Status Bar at the bottom of Excel provides useful information, including totals, average, and the count of numbers.
Additionally, right-clicking on the Status Bar reveals more features on the screen. For instance, you can add maximum and minimum values within a range.
2. Use Shortcuts for Quicker Navigation
To swiftly navigate through a spreadsheet, leverage keyboard shortcuts for faster navigation. Here are some shortcuts to enhance your spreadsheet navigation:
- Ctrl + End: Navigate to the last cell containing content on the spreadsheet.
- Ctrl + Home: Navigate to the first cell of the spreadsheet.
- Ctrl + Right Arrow: Move to the right of the cell.
- Ctrl + Left Arrow: Move to the left of the cell.
- Ctrl + Up Arrow: Move to the top-left corner of the Excel spreadsheet.
- Ctrl + Down Arrow: Move to the bottom-right corner of the Excel spreadsheet.
3. Fix Rows
If you want to fix rows at the top of your Excel spreadsheet whenever you scroll, follow these steps: first, select the rows by clicking the letter labels on the left, then click View at the top, and select Freeze Panes. The screen will display the following options:
- Freeze Panes: Fix all rows based on the current view.
- Freeze Top Row: Fix only the top rows of the spreadsheet.
- Freeze First Column: Fix only the first column.
=>Apply Alternating Colors in Excel
4. Quickly Select Formulas
This tip saves a significant amount of time, especially when continuously entering formulas. As you start typing a formula, use the up/down arrow keys to scroll through suggested formulas and use the Tab key to automatically select them. This trick is much quicker than typing out each formula every time.
5. Automatically Fill Information
When filling in data across a range of cells in a spreadsheet, you can select and mark these cells, then drag down to automatically fill information into the cells. In many cases, you can use this feature to enhance work efficiency, such as automatically inputting consecutive dates.
Excel is quite intelligent in predicting the information users want to autofill.
6. Create Macros for Task Automation
Suppose you need to perform a repetitive task in Excel. In that case, you can create a macro to automate the process. To do this, follow the steps below:
- Click on File.
- Select Options.
- Click on Customize Ribbon.
- In the Main tab, check the box to enable Developer.
- Click on OK.
- Click on the Developer tab located in the top corner of the Excel Ribbon.
- Next, click on the Record Macro button.
- Name your macro and assign a shortcut key.
- Additionally, you can add a description for easy identification of the related task.
- Then, simply perform any task as you normally would in Excel.
- Once finished, click on Stop Recording.
Now you can use the shortcut you just created to perform a specific task.
7. Create a Spreadsheet in Just a Few Seconds
Follow the steps below to visually create a spreadsheet in a matter of seconds:
- First, select the data you want in the spreadsheet.
- Next, access the Insert tab.
- Click on Table.
- The selected area will now have a border around it.
- Click on OK to create the table.
Additionally, you can use the table icons at the top right corner to change colors and utilize the boxes within the Design tab to modify the layout.
Click on the small icon below after hovering the mouse over the spreadsheet to open a menu with options for creating charts, tables, rules, and more.
8. Use the Go To Tool to Locate Specific Cells
If your Excel spreadsheet contains a large dataset, keeping track of everything can become challenging. In such cases, you can use the Go To tool to locate specific cells more easily. Essentially, the Go To tool in Excel functions similarly to the Find tool in Microsoft Word.
- First, select the data range you want to search.
- Alternatively, another method is to press Ctrl + A to select all.
- Locate the Edit option in the Home tab at the top right corner.
- Click on Go To.
- Then, you can enter a value, keyword, or use tab Special to find more specific elements.
Handy Tip: You can add comments to any cell to make future searches easier. To do this, select the Comment option in the Special tab when using the Go To tool.
9. Modify the Functionality of the Enter Key
By default, pressing the Enter key moves to the next cell. However, if you wish, you can alter how the Enter key functions in Excel. To do this, navigate to File =>Options => click on the Advanced tab.
Here, you can choose how the Enter key moves, either up, down, right, or left. Additionally, if desired, you can disable the Enter key functionality.
10. Copy Data to Multiple Cells at Once
If needed, you can copy data from one cell to multiple cells simultaneously. To do this, press Ctrl + C on the cell with the data you want to copy, then select the cells where you want to paste the data and press Ctrl + V.
Here are 10 incredibly useful Excel tips and tricks that everyone should know. If you have any queries or questions that need clarification, readers can leave their thoughts in the comments section below the article.
