One of my favorite cricket player, the GOD – Sachin Tendulkar has become highest test run scorer.
What do I get if Sachin becomes highest scorer, you may ask.
In order to celebrate this occasion I have created a cool sports dashboard in excel with some of the top test cricket players’ statistics. And, you get to learn how to make one. So read on and wish the little master many more successes.
Download the sports dashboards in excel and continue reading.
1. Find out which data you want to show in the dashboard
Not all data is important. Especially when you are creating a dashboard, it is vital to provide only data and insights that are necessary to draw conclusions. A simple rule of thumb is:
Your car is complex machine with thousands of parts, few micro-processors and tons of other stuff. But the driver dashboard shows only three (at most 4) data points at any time – speed of car, engine heat, tachometer showing how fast your engine is rotating. Few on/off indicators that wont bother you unless you need to notice: “seat belt sign, gear indicators, airbag status, batter status etc.”
So next time you have hundreds of data elements just use this analogy to cut down to the bare minimum and show only those.
For our tutorial, the data comes from this rediff article with statistics for various test cricket players:
From the looks of it, there are just 4 things that are vital: total runs ever scored, highest score, average score per innings, Total number of centuries(and half-centuries).
2. Create one chart
First let us create a simple bar chart for the total score data. Just select the cells with total scores and click on insert chart icon and select “bar chart” as chart type.
Now we get a default excel chart. I have used the following steps to adjust the formatting:
- Remove background
- Remove grid lines
Adjust axis scaling:
You may not want to adjust the axis scaling minimums. Read the follow up discussion here: Should bar charts always start at zero? Reader PollSince the score are from 8001 (minimum) to 12027 (max) I have adjusted the axis scaling options set minimum value as 7500 and max. as 12500.- Remove axis
- Add data labels and adjust their alignment, adjust font-scaling as well.
- Adjust colors and change the bar color for maximum value
- Adjust gap width (from 150 to 10 or something)
See this image with how the charts looked after each step:
[larger version]
3. Adjust the chart size / location so that it fits snugly inside the table with data
Just select the chart and adjust its size and location until it fits inside the table. You may want to use aligning chart objects on spreadsheet trick.
4. Repeat the steps 2 & 3 for remaining charts
Just copy paste the first chart you have created and change data source and scaling options. Adjust formatting if needed. Once they are all ready the dashboard should look like what you see below.
Download and play with sports dashboards in excel
Have fun 🙂
More excel dashboard tutorials:
Creating KPI (Key Performance Indicator) Dashboards in Excel – 4 part tutorial
Making Visualizations for Dashboards
Too much data? Use tables instead
14 Responses to “How to Add your Macros to QAT or Excel toolbars?”
We have only just got excel 2007 so this is helping me navigate my way through the differences cheers.
For Macro's i always add a Command Button, rename it something obvious, change the colour of it and finally add the following to its View Code section.
Application.Run "MAcro1"
This way anyone opening the file knows what to do if i ever win the lottery and dont make it in 🙂
Hi,
Good article. But I have this problem.
1) Customized QAT with a macro. Macro name = MacroX
2) Runs OK from original location (e.g. C:\TestLoaction1\TestFile.xls)
3) Copy past file to new location (e.g. C:\TestLoaction2\TestFile.xls)
Menu button now fails:
Cannot run the macro "C:\TestLoaction1\TestFile.xls'!MacroX' The macro may not be available in this workbook...
Of course the code is there, and macros are enabled.
Could get it to work after deleting and recreating macro custom buttons. So have to re-assign macro to QAT button every time I move the file?
If I put a form button on he worksheet and assign the macro to that, it's location independent.
Any ideas?
Thanks
@Ron
What you have said is correct
Macros within a worksheet are stored within the worksheet and hence follow it.
Macros referenced by a button in the QAT or elsewhere are locaed in a file and if that file is moved the linkages don't follow.
The easiest way around this is to store all your macros in a location that doesn't move and is in fact reloaded everytime that Excel starts and that is called the Personal.xlsx/b file.
These are refered to several time at Chandoo.org or have a read of
http://www.rondebruin.nl/personal.htm
or
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/deploy-your-excel-macros-from-a-central-file-HA001087296.aspx
In Excel 2003 and prior versions, a button added to the Toolbar maintained a DYNAMIC link to the file (e.g. Personal.xlsb) holding the assigned macro, such that if the file was relocated for any reason (by using Excel's native Save As command rather than just moving it via Windows Explorer), the link between the button and the file was updated.
I expected the same to occur with Excel 2007+, but alas, Microsoft in their infinite wisdom have removed another feature useful to advanced users (just as they did by removing the ability to design your own buttons)!!
So having just done some reorganisation of my files, I now have to remove and recreate every friggin macro button on my QAT (I have lots) - what a pain in the proverbial!!
Hi Hui,
Thanks for the help, that's really useful.
1) The macros I'm adding are for one specific Excel application, so I really wanted the macros to follow the file
2) I didn't want to have to pass other files around too and have users installing those - either Personal.xlsx/b or as an Add-In.
3) I realise now that the QAT additions will appear for other Excel workbooks in which I don't want the macros available.
So, it looks like I need to keep it local, by using a button on the worksheet. Unless you can suggest any way of adding to menus just for a specific workbook.
Thanks again for your help. Great site, so I'll be signing up for the emails.
Ron
I know I'm a little late jumping on this post, but wondering if anyone knows how to add a UDF to the QAT? I've saved my UDF in my personal workbook, but it does not show up in my list when I choose Macros when customizing my QAT. Suggestions? Thanks!!
@Cheryl: UDFs cannot be accessed like Macros. You can use them from other macros or from worksheet cells as formulas...
@David: If you save your macros file and then install it as an add-in then it will be always available for you.
The instructions work great when you are creating a new file, and it is still open. I find that I can't access macros after I've saved a file as an xlam and closed it. When I reopen the xlam, either by browsing to it, or by having it set to open as an addin using Excel Options, the macros are no longer available in the macros list when I go to edit the QAT. Any way around that?
[...] Add this macro as a button to Quick Access Toolbar [...]
I need to create a button that will run a macro. Once you click the button it needs to open up a browser asking you to select a report/file. Once you select the file, it will run the macro on the selected file and then save it as a new report with a name and the current date. I created the macro to sort/modify the report but I do not know how to do what I mentioned above. I hope this makes sense.
I'm having trouble adding a macro to the QAT. I've done everything up to step 5 but my macro isn't showing up. What am I doing wrong?
[...] Add Macros to Quick Access Toolbar (works in Excel 2003 & above) [...]
Hi,
Thank you for the explanation. Very useful for a recent switcher from office 2003 to office 2010.
My follow-up question is: in Excel (or ppt) 2010, can you customize the macro button that you put in the QAT?
In office 2003, once you chose the custom button for your Macro, you could then edit pixel by pixel the said button.
For instance, I've created 2 Macros in PPT that are converting all my slides to either English or French language, so I'd like one button to show EN and the other FR... that would be more meaningful that any of the possible "custom" office 2010 buttons
I read all the post and one important aspect to the QAT was never mentioned. That is, you have a macro driven worksheet that you want to share with other. You have customized the QAT with two icons to run the macros (VBA programs in reality). However, when the others receive the workbook, the icons are no where to be found. It's my understanding those "customized buttons" have been saved to an outside file, Excel.qat. QUESTION: Could one simply attach that file to your email, along with the worksheet, and tell the recipients to copy that file to correct location on their computer - C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office|\
Would the customize macro buttons then appear in the worksheet and, more importantly, work? Thanks for your thoughtfulness and thanks for well written instructions Chandoo!
MortW