Visualizing Financial Metrics – 30 Alternatives

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Around 2 months back, I asked you to visualize multiple variable data for 4 companies using Excel.  30 of you responded to the challenge with several interesting and awesome charts, dashboards and reports to visualize the financial metric data. Today, let’s take a look at the contest entries and learn from them.

First a quick note:

I am really sorry for the delay in compiling the results for this contest. Originally I planned to announce them during last week of July. But my move to New Zealand disrupted the workflow. I know the contestants have poured in a lot of time & effort in creating these fabulous workbook and it is unfair on my part. I am sorry and I will manage future contests better.

visualizing-financial-metrics

How to read this post?

This is a fairly large post. If you are reading this in email or news-reader, it may not look properly. Click here to read it on chandoo.org.

  1. Each entry is shown in a box with the contestant’s name on top. Entries are shown in alphabetical order of contestant’s name.
  2. You can see a snapshot of the entry and more thumbnails below.
  3. The thumb-nails are click-able, so that you can enlarge and see the details.
  4. You can download the contest entry workbook, see & play with the files.
  5. You can read my comments & suggestions for improvements at the bottom.
  6. At the bottom of this post, you can find a list of key charting & dashboard design techniques. Go thru them to learn how to create similar reports at work.

Thank you

Thank you very much for all the participants in this contest. I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring your work & learned a lot from them. I am sure you had fun creating these too.

So go ahead and enjoy the entries.

Dashboard by Abhay

Dashboard by Abhay - snapshot

More snapshots (click to enlarge):
Dashboard by Abhay -snapshot1Interactive dashboard -snapshot2Download Workbook
Comments:

  • Interactive dashboard
  • Dynamic, can add years and companies. Built with Power Query.
  • Simple and easy to read layout
  • Can add % changes for top & bottom companies
Slicers, Timelines Power Query

Interactive Chart by Akongnwi

Interactive Chart by Akongnwi - snapshot

More snapshots (click to enlarge):
Interactive Chart by Akongnwi -snapshot1Dynamic pivot chart -snapshot2Download Workbook
Comments:

  • Dynamic pivot chart
  • Could have used regular line chart. Smoothed chart creates wrong impression.

Interactive Chart by Alex

Interactive Chart by Alex - snapshot

More snapshots (click to enlarge):
Interactive Chart by Alex -snapshot1Interesting layout and execution -snapshot2Download Workbook
Comments:

  • Interesting layout and execution
  • Allows various comparisons
  • Can add labels to the bars.
Form controls

Interactive Chart by Arnaud

Interactive Chart by Arnaud - snapshot

More snapshots (click to enlarge):
Interactive Chart by Arnaud -snapshot1Interesting layout and story telling -snapshot2Download Workbook
Comments:

  • Interesting layout and story telling
  • Allows various comparisons
  • Can be a bit hard to understand as there are few labels
  • Could have added another set of bubbles (or just labels) to compare previous year’s values
Form controls

Dashboard by Chandeep

Dashboard by Chandeep - snapshot

More snapshots (click to enlarge):
Dashboard by Chandeep -snapshot1Awesome design and analysis -snapshot2Offers additional metrics and comparisons -snapshot3 -snapshot4Download Workbook
Comments:

  • Awesome design and analysis
  • Offers additional metrics and comparisons
    Slicers Conditional formatting

    Interactive Chart by Chirayu

    Interactive Chart by Chirayu - snapshot

    More snapshots (click to enlarge):
    Interactive Chart by Chirayu -snapshot1Interactive chart to analyze financial performance YoY -snapshot2Download Workbook
    Comments:

    • Interactive chart to analyze financial performance YoY
    • Simple and easy to read
      Thermometer charts Form controls

      Dashboard by Edouard

      Dashboard by Edouard - snapshot

      More snapshots (click to enlarge):
      Dashboard by Edouard -snapshot1Interactive dashboard with lots of comparison options -snapshot2Download Workbook
      Comments:

      • Interactive dashboard with lots of comparison options
      • Very cool line chart with relative performance
      • Could have re-arranged to fit on one screen. Feels too long.
      Form controls Indexed charts

      Chart by Edwin

      Chart by Edwin - snapshot

      More snapshots (click to enlarge):
      Chart by Edwin -snapshot1Download Workbook
      Comments:

      • Very interesting normalized chart
      • Can be hard to read. Could have added explanation.

      Interactive Chart by Elchin

      Interactive Chart by Elchin - snapshot

      More snapshots (click to enlarge):
      Interactive Chart by Elchin -snapshot1Interactive charts -snapshot2Download Workbook
      Comments:

      • Interactive charts
      • Simple and easy to read
      • Could have removed the filtering buttons from pivot chart
      Slicers

      Chart by Emlyn

      Chart by Emlyn - snapshot

      More snapshots (click to enlarge):
      Chart by Emlyn -snapshot1Multiple charts to visualize various trends -snapshot2Simple and easy to read -snapshot3Download Workbook
      Comments:

      • Multiple charts to visualize various trends
      • Simple and easy to read
      • Can add some insights (% changes etc.)
      Panel Charts

      Become Awesome in Excel & VBA – Create dashboards like these…

      VBA & Excel Classes by Chandoo

      My comments:

      • Learn how to create interactive dashboards & reports using Excel
      • Develop your own macros & VBA code
      • 50+ hours of video training
      • Learn at your own pace
      • Click here to know more

      Interactive Chart by Erik

      Interactive Chart by Erik - snapshot

      More snapshots (click to enlarge):
      Interactive Chart by Erik -snapshot1Interactive dashboard -snapshot2Download Workbook
      Comments:

      • Interactive dashboard
      • VBA driven, allows multiple selections & comparisons
      • Few errors and alignment issues
      • Can add commentary on what metrics / companies are important.
      Slicers

      Chart by Gareth

      Chart by Gareth - snapshot

      More snapshots (click to enlarge):
      Chart by Gareth -snapshot1Download Workbook
      Comments:

      • Simple and easy to read panel chart
      • Could have highlighted trends that are important
      Panel Charts

      Chart by Gerard

      Chart by Gerard - snapshot

      More snapshots (click to enlarge):
      Chart by Gerard -snapshot1Download Workbook
      Comments:

      • An elegant presentation of profit vs expenses data
      • Very good colors and easy to read
      • Could have added ability to sort by latest figures for a selected metric. This can expose key trends easily.
      Panel Charts

      Chart by Marcel

      Chart by Marcel - snapshot

      More snapshots (click to enlarge):
      Chart by Marcel -snapshot1Download Workbook
      Comments:

      • An interesting panel chart to analyze yearly trends and comparisons
      • Somewhat hard to read, could have used left aligned bars.
      Panel Charts

      Chart by MF Wong

      Chart by MF Wong - snapshot

      More snapshots (click to enlarge):
      Chart by MF Wong -snapshot1Download Workbook
      Comments:

      • Elegant panel chart with profit vs. costs view.
      • Very interesting column chart (container chart?)
        Panel Charts Conditional formatting

        Interactive Chart by Michael

        Interactive Chart by Michael - snapshot

        More snapshots (click to enlarge):
        Interactive Chart by Michael -snapshot1Panel chart with YoY and company comparisons -snapshot2Download Workbook
        Comments:

        • Panel chart with YoY and company comparisons
        • Slicers to mix and match values you want to analyze
        • Could have used lines instead of columns, this way fewer colors can be used.
        Panel Charts Slicers

        Chart by Miguel

        Chart by Miguel - snapshot

        More snapshots (click to enlarge):
        Chart by Miguel -snapshot1Download Workbook
        Comments:

        • A panel / combination chart to see all trends in one place
        • Could have used a form control to toggle between indexed vs. regular values. This will make the chart easier to read.
        Panel Charts Indexed charts

        Interactive Chart by Nanna

        Interactive Chart by Nanna - snapshot

        More snapshots (click to enlarge):
        Interactive Chart by Nanna -snapshot1Dynamic dashboard with profit vs. costs view -snapshot2Download Workbook
        Comments:

        • Dynamic dashboard with profit vs. costs view
        • View by company or metric
        • Time is shown on vertical axis. This makes comparisons / trend analysis hard.

        Chart by Pawel

        Chart by Pawel - snapshot

        More snapshots (click to enlarge):
        Chart by Pawel -snapshot1Download Workbook
        Comments:

        • A simple and elegant indexed panel chart to view all trends in one place
        • Nice colors and design. We can call it sperm chart 😉
        • Faint but visible vertical grid lines could make reading easier.
        Panel Charts Indexed charts

        Interactive Chart by Peter

        Interactive Chart by Peter - snapshot

        More snapshots (click to enlarge):
        Interactive Chart by Peter -snapshot1A pivot chart with slicers to toggle measures and companies -snapshot2Download Workbook
        Comments:

        • A pivot chart with slicers to toggle measures and companies
        • Could have added color legend and made the labels shorter
        Slicers

        Become Awesome in Excel & VBA – Create dashboards like these…

        VBA & Excel Classes by Chandoo

        My comments:

        • Learn how to create interactive dashboards & reports using Excel
        • Develop your own macros & VBA code
        • 50+ hours of video training
        • Learn at your own pace
        • Click here to know more

        Infographic by Pinank

        Infographic by Pinank - snapshot

        More snapshots (click to enlarge):
        Infographic by Pinank -snapshot1Download Workbook
        Comments:

        • Nice infographic style report in Excel.
        • Interesting use of icons to represent costs

          Interactive Chart by Ronny

          Interactive Chart by Ronny - snapshot

          More snapshots (click to enlarge):
          Interactive Chart by Ronny -snapshot1Download Workbook
          Comments:

          • A pivot chart with slicers to pick measures
          • Adding values across companies is not a good idea
          Slicers

          Chart by Salim

          Chart by Salim - snapshot

          More snapshots (click to enlarge):
          Chart by Salim -snapshot1Download Workbook
          Comments:

          • Charts made with Power View
          • Can be filtered using PV filters
          • Should have added views to see only one year value. Selecting year just highlights the values.

          Chart by Shivraj

          Chart by Shivraj - snapshot

          More snapshots (click to enlarge):
          Chart by Shivraj -snapshot1Download Workbook
          Comments:

          • An interesting panel chart with stacked columns to view yearly trends by all measures
          • Simple colors and easy to read
          • Since all the numbers add up 100 anyway, visualizing trends becomes hard. Should have used a slicer / form control to show one measure at a time.
          Panel Charts

          Dashboard by Simayan

          Dashboard by Simayan - snapshot

          More snapshots (click to enlarge):
          Dashboard by Simayan -snapshot1A dashboard to understanding yearly trends -snapshot2Download Workbook
          Comments:

          • A dashboard to understanding yearly trends
          • Slicers to focus on any individual year.
          • 3D pie charts are tricky to read. Should have used a stacked bar chart.
          • Some of the labels are redundant.
          Panel Charts Slicers

          Chart by Sudhir

          Chart by Sudhir - snapshot

          More snapshots (click to enlarge):
          Chart by Sudhir -snapshot1Download Workbook
          Comments:

          • A simple line chart to understand yearly trends
          • The tiles to show low cost / high profit companies is interesting.
          • Could have used standard chart colors in Excel 2010. They offer better contrast.
          Panel Charts

          Interactive Chart by Thomas

          Interactive Chart by Thomas - snapshot

          More snapshots (click to enlarge):
          Interactive Chart by Thomas -snapshot1A set of dynamic charts, each offering trends or comparisons based on user input. -snapshot2Download Workbook
          Comments:

          • A set of dynamic charts, each offering trends or comparisons based on user input.
          • Lots of comparisons and variations possible
          • Years on vertical axis can be tricky to read. Should have used another type of chart.
          Dynamic charts Data validation Min Max Charts

          Interactive Chart by Vishesh

          Interactive Chart by Vishesh - snapshot

          More snapshots (click to enlarge):
          Interactive Chart by Vishesh -snapshot1Download Workbook
          Comments:

          • A dynamic chart with cost breakup by year
          • The data table above is redundant.
          Dynamic charts

          Interactive Chart by William

          Interactive Chart by William - snapshot

          More snapshots (click to enlarge):
          Interactive Chart by William -snapshot1A dynamic chart with lots of comparisons and analysis. -snapshot2Download Workbook
          Comments:

          • A dynamic chart with lots of comparisons and analysis.
          • Feels a bit buggy. The picture links are not updating on slicer selection.
          Picture links Dynamic charts Slicers

          Chart by Yuhanna

          Chart by Yuhanna - snapshot

          More snapshots (click to enlarge):
          Chart by Yuhanna -snapshot1Simple XY charts with yearly trends and variance analysis -snapshot2Download Workbook
          Comments:

          • Simple XY charts with yearly trends and variance analysis
          • A bit harder to read as lots of dots overlap. Should have added an option to highlight one company at a time.
          Panel Charts

          Become Awesome in Excel & VBA – Create dashboards like these…

          VBA & Excel Classes by Chandoo

          My comments:

          • Learn how to create interactive dashboards & reports using Excel
          • Develop your own macros & VBA code
          • 50+ hours of video training
          • Learn at your own pace
          • Click here to know more

          Techniques used in these dashboards & charts

          If you want to create these kind of charts & reports at work, I suggest reading up the Excel Dashboards & Excel Dynamic Charts pages. Also check out below links to know more about specific techniques.

          Form Controls Data validation Pivot tables Slicers Clickable Cells (VBA)
          VBA Formulas Sortable Tables Data bars (CF)
          Conditional Formatting Scrollable Tables Picture links Sparklines
          Indexed Charts Panel Charts

          How do you like these charts & dashboards? Which are your top 3?

          Quite a few of these entries are really impressive. You can learn a lot by deciphering the techniques in these workbooks. Many thanks to everyone who participated. I will publish the winner names in next few days. Meanwhile, share your comments and tell me what you think. Share your top 3 entries too. 🙂

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          104 Responses to “Form Controls – Adding Interactivity to Your Worksheets”

          1. kyrel says:

            how to change the font and font size in list box or combo box?

          2. Hui... says:

            @Kyrel
            You cannot change the font size/type in a List or Combo Box Form Control
            The Active X versions do give you that functionaility.

          3. kyrel says:

            tq so much...

          4. Luke M says:

            Just curious, has anyone been able to get a valid cell link from a list box when multiple selections are made? With both the combo and list boxes, I can get them to work okay when selecting 1 entry, but as soon as I try to get multiple selections, the list box seems to simply stop working.
            FYI, I'm using XL 2003.

          5. dan l says:

            Great post.

          6. Hui... says:

            @Luke
            You can only access the Multi Select options through VBA programming and is beyond the scope of the post.

          7. Luke M says:

            @Hui
            Thanks for the response. I was thinking that was the case, but figured it didn't hurt to hope this was somehow available. Great post on explaining all the different forms.

          8. Robert says:

            Luke,

            I discussed different techniques of implementing a multi-select input feature in Excel. A combobox / listbox and some other. As Hui already pointed out, there is some VBA needed. However it is not too complicated and the post provides all example workbooks for free download:

            http://www.clearlyandsimply.com/clearly_and_simply/2009/01/approach-with-caution.html

          9. Fred says:

            Great Post. I use form control whenever I can. The only thing I don't quite understand when to use form control or active x control. Most often I'd do a trial and error and see which fits my needs. If one doesn't then most often than not it's the other control that I'll need.

            I like form control very much as it makes things cleaner to look at, and limit how others interract with my spreadsheet.

          10. Fred says:

            question on list box: what if I pick "Multi" under control on List box format control? I have never use that one. How would chosen 1st, 4th and 7th and 9th on the list would make an impact on follow up formula/equation??

          11. bill says:

            @Fred -VBA code need to be used to untangle choices with a box that allows multi selection. i have not found any example code.

          12. Roji says:

            Why not have just one (Form Controls or ActiveX Controls) and make it work on all platforms? Wouldn't it be a lot simpler?

            Also, it would have been good if we're able to format Form controls.

            Something for Microsoft to think about.

          13. Hui... says:

            @Roji
            Form Controls have been around for a long time in Excel.
            Active X is the relatively new boy in town.

            Microsoft has always tried to maintain backward compatibility with file formats and I would suggest that is why it is maintained.

          14. Ken M says:

            A general observation - if you put too many of these controls on any one sheet ie Checkboxes then that sheet takes for ever to take focus so I am reluctant to overdo it

          15. MarkyB says:

            Chandoo - Just downloaded your excellent "Excel 2007+ Examples" file. Most useful !

            What I can't quite figure out is on the Check Box tab how the TRUE/FALSE indicators show or hide the data line / chart element ? A brief explanation would be gratefully received.

            Many Thanks

          16. Pedro Wave says:

            I just design an example of how to add interactivity to worksheets.

            I've been playing with the pictures of shapes to create a solitaire where cards are generated in VBA from scratch. You can view and download from my blog.

          17. Chandoo says:

            @MarkyB: Thank you so much for your purchase. See http://chandoo.org/wp/2010/08/31/dynamic-chart-with-check-boxes/ for an example on what you are asking.

          18. Hui... says:

            @MarkyB
            The Check Boxes and other Form Controls don't show or hide the data line.
            That is they don't control the chart.
            .
            They can be used to control the data that feeds the chart
            I don't plot the data directly but via an intermediate range where I can use formulas to control the data
            .
            There are 2 techniques I use to do this
            .
            When a Check box is ticked a linked cell will be true
            a) So use a formula for your data to make it say 200 when the Y Axis is set to a Maximum of 100
            eg: =if(b1=TRUE,a10,200)
            or
            b) set the cells value to na()
            eg: =if(b1=TRUE,a10,na())
            .
            Either way the point wont be plotted on your chart.
            .
            An Example of This is on the Check Box page of the example file above
            http://rapidshare.com/files/455058939/Form_Controls.xlsm

          19. Gregory says:

            I didn't realize ActiveX controls didn't work in Excel for Mac so I tested it out and you're absolutely correct. In fact, any VBA code that references an ActiveX control will fail when run by the compiler.

          20. RichG says:

            With form controls you can really look like a spreadsheet master. It also make it really easy for other users to enter data and ensure the integrity of the formats. Great information, thanks!

          21. pibfer says:

            Hi there,
            I have a question, It's very simple for you, I guess!!!
            How can I get a vertical scroll bar (I get it yet) and an horizontal scroll bar (the challenge) in the same table?
            The main idea is to show a 10x10 table, wich contains more than 100 rows and 100 columns?
            I appreciate your advise a lot!!!
            Kind regards,

            pibfer

          22. Hui... says:

            @Pibfer
            You can use scroll bars linked to a cell and then use an Offset in your table to do what you want
            Refer an example at: https://rapidshare.com/files/4271493887/Table_Scroll.xlsx

          23. bkourtni says:

            Is there a way to wrap text in a form control list box? I do not want to increase the horizontal size of my box to fit my list choices. Thanks!

          24. Pooja says:

            How do we get the vale of a dropdown box in excel ?

          25. Hui... says:

            @Pooja
            Right click on the Drop Down box and Look at the Cell Link cell Reference
            That cell has a number which can be used to lookup using Vlookup or Index the value from the source range
            Lets say your source Range was AA1:AA10 and cell link was AB1
            You can put =INDEX(AA1:AA10,AB1,1)
            anywhere to return the value displayed in the DropDown

          26. JR says:

            Verging on off-topic, but an important consideration! The Selected property of the listbox on the Mac appears to be broken, so it seems useless cross platform. If you looking to iterate through to work out which items are selected using (for example):

            For i = 1 To .ListCount - 1
            If .Selected(i) Then
            Action here
            End If
            Next i

            The method works on Excel 2010 but seems not be supported in Excel 2011.

            Anyone got a work around?

          27. Eric says:

            I'd like to use the radio-select buttons on one sheet, for multiple things. Example... Question 1... Select Yes or No. "Yes" performs a function, "No" performs another. Works great on the first question. However, when I get to question 2.... My Yes / No button's cell reference defaults to the cell references in question 1. If I change it, question 1 defaults to question 2. Can you only use these form controls once-per sheet? ugh!

          28. Hui... says:

            @Eric
            Insert 2 radio buttons
            Set their properties, cell links, text
            Then add a group box
            Group the 3 items
            .
            Repeat

          29. Tim M says:

            Is there a way to completely lock an option button or check box so when it is selected and you have protected the workbook/sheet, no one else can change it. Currently anyone can click on a checkbox and remove the check.

          30. Carrie says:

            Is there a way to lock the checkbox so it can not be unchecked by the user? I would like the checkbox to "default" to checked and not let the user change it.

            • Kevin says:

              My suggestion would be to right click the check box, click form control, then under control and then value, click checked then ok. Then protect the worksheet.

          31. Phil says:

            Anyone know if there's a way around the fact that the Extend option for Forms listboxes no longer works?
            In 2003, if you checked Extend in a listbox, you could select multiple entries by keeping the CTRL button pressed while clicking each entry. In 2010, when you press the CTRL button and click on an entry in the listbox, the whole listbox gets selected.
            I'd prefer not to use the Mutli option.
            Thanks!

          32. infinitedrifter says:

            Is there a way to make the vertical scroll bar on an active x drop down list wider? The one I'm working with is super tiny & I haven't found in the properties how to change it.

          33. Hui... says:

            @Infinitedrifter
            Not that I am aware of

          34. clif says:

            hi there! tanks for the post. 🙂 im starting familiarizing those control.. i want to have an idea of making an option form as reference to any formula..and how it works when it is included in the equation.. Tnx..

          35. MES says:

            is this possible to assign a value to each button and it will appear to the linked cell?

          36. Kaloyan says:

            Hi! Thanks for the tips! All I need are scroll bars to increase/decrease cell values, for which I use excel mixer pro (convexdna.com, I think). It makes amazing charts, on top of providing sliders. Has anyone tried it on excel 2011 for Mac? Do you know of any other similar tool?

          37. AB says:

            Hi!

            I am trying to add insert tick box. I have thousands of documents that i am recieving and would like to tick the box when i have recieved this information so i need to have alot of tick boxes over a wide cell range, how can i insert tick boxes over a wide range without individually adding them? I also would like to lock this box once i have selected it so that i cant mistakenly click it, is this possible?

            Thanks!

          38. silva says:

            hello,

            i wonder if there is a way to ajuste a range size controling a spinbutton.
            ex:

            when spinbottun says 1, the range became (a10:a10)
            when spinbottun says 2, the range became (a10:a12)
            when spinbottun says 3, the range became (a10:a13)
            and so on
            ....

            and i wonder if ther is a way to establice a range size with a formula inspired in this thing: =(a1:a"(=COUNTA(b1:b10000)")

            thanks

            • Hui... says:

              @Silva
              Q1- Maybe
              Do you mean like
              =OFFSET(A10,,,Spinbuttonlink,)
              or
              =Sum(OFFSET(A10,,,Spinbuttonlink,))
              .
              Q2 - Yes, Use Indirect
              =INDIRECT("A1:A"&COUNTA(A:A))
              or as a range
              =SUM(INDIRECT("A1:A"&COUNTA(A:A)))

          39. Mozzy says:

            is there a way that you can show like an order form with check boxes on a facebook page then once submitted it will be compiled in another workbook or page where it cannot be accesed by visitors or viewers anymore? I am trying to prevent pranksters from vandalizing clients orders on an order form I am trying to create using excel. thanks.

          40. Ashwin says:

            I have spread sheet with Name of player in Row and his career highlights in column. I wanted to fetch particular details of player in one click so I created the combo box from form control. Combo box will give list of player and respective position in input range. Using if statement the data will be fetched to show particular details of player. I got what I wanted using simple "if" statement.

            In my actual spread sheet the column and rows are more than 15. Is there any better alternate formula or neat formula for this?

          41. raymond says:

            how to use button (form control) to function like spin button, to increase value to an existing cell?

            eg. value 10 in cell A1, and with a click of the button, it increases to 11

            thanks

          42. Chad says:

            I saw a question here earlier and wondering if anyone knows the answer. Tim asked above in September. I think I have same question. I'm working on a form where we complete some data and customer completes the rest - we use the protect sheet featuer. I have used the locked cell option to lock down cells from customer changes. It doesn't seem to work for drop down lists though. If I click format control on the drop down list and select "locked" on the protection tab it doesn't work. When I protect the sheet, the user can still change the value slected in the drop down. Looking to lock that down. Thanks in advance for any help.

            • Ken M says:

              If you are working within a sheet using data validation it is possible to enter a 'new' value if there is a blank cell within the drop down list range and 'Ignore blank' is checked - may be a clue to your data entry form problem - Good luck

          43. Ryan says:

            Check Box

            ? Under Format Object, move and size with cells is grayed out, why is this not available?

            I want to format the checked box to a specific cell.

            Thanks. 

          44. Abdul wahed says:

            Namaste chandoo garu,

            I am abdul wahed. How are you ?

            I have a small query regarding ms excel .
            In the institute I am working that is NIIT,THANE 1 of mumbai. I have accidently deleted one excel sheet tab called poonam tab and saved the file.That tab conatined data of 6 years students details.The cashier si screaming at me and crying like anything .
            I said that She should have put the backup of file ? Big problem has happened here ?
            Now how can I recover the lost data ?
            How to create an excel backup file ?
            Help me.
            Waiting eagerly for your reply
            bye

            Regards,
            Abdul wahed

            • Hui... says:

              @Abdul wahed

              1. Look for backups!, Official Backups, Has anybody taken a copy or emailed it recently etc

              2. Using Windows Explorer Look in the directory where the file was, are there any odd named files? If so copy them and put them aside somewhere. On the copies rename them to *.xlsx and then try and open them in excel

              3. Start typing!

          45. [...] Check boxes – to mark each activity as done (or not done) [...]

          46. Brett says:

            Spin Button Challenge
             
            I successfully linked a spin button form control to a cell, and have the spin button update the value shown in the cell. Great!
            Now I want to take this further. I want to have the spin button cell link to a formula such as indirect or offset so that I might update another cell, which in turn easily changes the cell to which a particular Cell Link, the spin button refers. The Cell Link doesn't seem to be able to accept a formula such as OFFSET or INDIRECT. Can anyone help me with this please?
            Ultimately what I want to achieve is to set up a template with spin buttons that update a summary page value which in turn change the displayed value on the template.
            I want to have many templates, so I need many rows on summary page, and I want to have a cell on each template such as  1, 2, 3 etc. that is used to refer to the row number offset, which in turn is used in the spin button Cell Link to update the correct row in the summary worksheet based on the template number.
            I would appreciate any help, even to solving this problem via a completely different method.
            Many thanks in advance

            • Hui... says:

              @Brett
              Hi from West Perth

              You cannot link controls to formulas as you are suggesting
              As you have already done, you link a control to a Cell
              You can then use that cell in a Offset or Indirect formula as you have suggested

              The Spin control changes the cell link cell
              The cell link value is then used in the Offset/Indirect to adjust the range/sheet that is being sought

              If that doesn't help you can email me, click on Hui... above, email address at bottom of the page

          47. Brett says:

            Thanks Hui
            Happy Greetings to another Perthian.
            Your help is much appreciated.
            I need to digest what you have said. I can use offset or indirect functions but I can't see how I can get them to work in this instance. I will likely write to you.
            Take care,
            Brett

          48. [...] Specify input range as lstChartTypes and cell link as a blank cell in your output sheet (or data sheet). [Related: Detailed tutorial on Excel Combo box & other form controls] [...]

          49. Aniket Reddy says:

            How to add list name in Combo-box ??

          50. Jacques Deseure says:

            How do you refer to a worksheet form control (e.g. button) in VBA code?
            Something like:
            Dim btnHelp As Shape
            Set btnHelp = ActiveSheet.Shapes("button 1793")
            Is this correct? Or should one do it differently?

            • Hui... says:

              @Jacques

              It really depends on what you want to do with the buttons with VBA?

              As most controls have a cell link, it is generally easier to reference that address to collect the status/value of the button

          51. Chelsea says:

            Hi,

            Is it possible to have a Check Box (Form Control) appear/disappear in a cell by selecting a value from a dropdown menu? For example: I have my dropdown menu in cell b2. Based on certain dropdown values, I would like different Check Boxes to appear in B4-B6.

            Meaning, if B2="Apple", I need B4 to have a check box to enable "Granny Smith", B5 to have a check box to enable "Pink Lady", and B6 to have a check box to enable "Fuji". But if B2="Grape", I need B4 to have a check box to enable "Green" and B5 to have a check box to enable "Purple".

            I am open to using other types of form controls or coding to make this happen--it's just that my knowledge in that area is slim.

            Appreciate the assistance!

          52. Zachary Bass says:

            How do you change change the index value of form control spin button with vba? The spin butoon contains two items. Something like Worksheets("Sheet2").Shapes("ListBox_TASKS").

            Thanks...

          53. Zachary Bass says:

            Thanks very much!

          54. […] you know, there is a form control in Excel that behaves like on/off switch. It is called check box. Although they are easy to use, check boxes are not very slick. So I though, why not make an on/off […]

          55. JC says:

            I like this template. I may modify how the checkboxes work though for a couple reasons:

            1) It's a pain to add more rows. If I want to add 10 more rows, it appears that I have to re-point each new object to the appropriate link-cell. Otherwise, they all point back to the copied row - checking one causes all of them to check.

            2) I can't group and collapse rows in the checklist without all the objects stacking together and remaining visible in the lowest non-collapsed row. With a simple "x", this would be ok.

            One solution would be to have a simple "x" instead of a checkbox object. I could just use an "x" to mark complete, and make the TRUE/FALSE based on an If formula (If "x" then TRUE; otherwise FALSE).

          56. You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually something that I think I
            would never understand. It seems too complicated and
            very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I'll try to get the hang
            of it!

          57. Chris Vyhnal says:

            So I've got a spreadsheet with some scrollbars, and when I quit the sheet, it doesn't save my format controls for the page change. Minimum and maximum values and incremental change are stored, but my page change is not--upon opening it always defaults to 0 page change.

            What the heck? Suggestions?

            C

            • Hui... says:

              @Chris
              I've never seen Excel do that

              A few ideas:

              1. Are you using Form Controls or Active X Controls?
              Changing to Active X Controls has fixed up a few odd things for me in the past

              2. Try resetting the internal links in the file
              Close Excel if open
              .
              Start Excel
              Open your File
              Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F9
              Save your file
              Close Excel
              .
              Start Excel
              Open Your file

          58. Paul says:

            "They also have much better ties to VBA in terms of programmability and have a number of events that can be accessed programmatically."

            I don't understand how you can say this if you can't even acess them programatically in any reasonable way. Sorry to come off so negatively but, I wasted days on trying to find a solution that should be as fundamental as incrementing a counter.

            And BTW, Google searches for an answer that doesn't exist is great at producing thousands of dead ends.

            You cannot put them in an array such as ShapeRange, you cannot identify the control name in an expression and requires some kind of awkward workaround like finding a unique property I guess?

            Only solution seems to be hard coding the control name So if I have a 25x25 array of buttons, to change one I need to select from 625 cases? And once I give up I need to completely change my strategy and now 2 weeks work is trash.

            But to work with a shape it's just a matter of:
            ShapeName = "SomeName" & i
            Shape(ShapeName).someproperty

            Or create a ShapeRange array and reset a large group with a single statement

            Am I offbase here? I really hope I'm wrong but I can't seem to find the answer other than one trick that required a new class but that treats all controls like they are clones which might work for some unique cases.

            If you think this in just non constructive criticism, I wish I'd found one statement like this in my searches weeks ago.

          59. Sasi Rekha says:

            Hi.. I am using combobox for one report. My need is i want to link 3 to 4 combo boxes to show the report understandably. Eg. If i am selecting "Zone 1" from combobox1, the combobox2 should show all the "Regions" under region 1 and combobox3 should all the "Branches". ie-Combobox1 for "Zone", Combobox2 for "Region" and Combobox3 for "Branch".. Please help me out sir... Thanks...

          60. Sasi Rekha says:

            Hi.. I am using combobox for one report. My need is i want to link 3 to 4 combo boxes to show the report understandably. Eg. If i am selecting “Zone 1? from combobox1, the combobox2 should show all the “Regions” under Zone 1 and combobox3 should all the “Branches”under region 1. ie-Combobox1 for “Zone”, Combobox2 for “Region” and Combobox3 for “Branch”.. Please help me out sir… Thanks…

          61. Chris says:

            Not sure this is still monitored, but hoping you can help. I've created a worksheet that is sortable by checkboxes. This is probably outside the scope of this page, but . . . The macro code is as follows:
            Sub Front_Door_click()
            '
            ' Front_Door_click Macro
            ' When clicked, opens all FR DR options
            '

            '

            If Check_Box_28 = True Then
            Check_Box_30.Value = False
            Check_Box_32.Value = False
            Check_Box_34.Value = False
            End If

            If Sheets("Master List").CheckBoxes("Check Box 28").Value = 1 Then
            Range("C193").Select
            ActiveSheet.Range("$A$8:$X$206").AutoFilter Field:=3, Criteria1:=Array( _
            "FR-LH", "FR-RH", "FR-RH FR-LH", "FR-RH FR-LH RR-RH RR-LH", _
            "FR-RH FR-LH RR-RH RR-LH SD-RH SD-LH", "FR-RH FR-LH SD-RD SD-LH"), Operator:= _
            xlFilterValues

            Else
            Range("C193").Select
            ActiveSheet.Range("$A$8:$X$206").AutoFilter Field:=3, Criteria1:=Array( _
            "FR-LH", "FR-RH", "FR-RH FR-LH", "RR-LH", "RR-RH", "RR-RH RR-LH", "SD-RH", "SD-LH", "SD-RH SD-LH", "FR-RH FR-LH RR-RH RR-LH", _
            "FR-RH FR-LH RR-RH RR-LH SD-RH SD-LH", "FR-RH FR-LH SD-RD SD-LH", "RR-RH RR-LH SD-RD SD-LH"), Operator:= _
            xlFilterValues
            End If
            End Sub

            That's the code for one button, the other buttons list Rear Door options or Sideliners. The code works perfectly, but when a checkbox is chosen it jumps you down the page, sometimes below the list completely. How can I force it to stay at the top of the page?

          62. Adil says:

            hi Chandu,

            I am facing problem in adding ALL option in combo box and then sum upon selection.

            Like Sales of Region
            A
            b
            c
            d
            All region
            Can you help me ? How Can I do that?

          63. Prajakta says:

            Hi,

            I have created a dashboard using "Option/ Radio Button" and received a lot of appreciation.

            Thank you for that!!!

            Moving ahead, I have a query in the same.
            Now I want to put those option button/check boxes in a way that whenever I'll select both of them, there will be two charts appearing at the same time so that I can compare.

            I hope you got it what I am trying to say.

            Awaiting your reply.

            Regards,
            Prajakta

          64. amir says:

            hi
            i am iranian
            i like to leaning excel industrial

          65. Mahantesh says:

            Hello,

            I want to learn sumproduct() function.. can anyone discuss with proper example as i found it very tough to understand.

            Where it is used and how?

            Regards,
            Mahantesh

          66. irul says:

            its very interactive form in excel.. how to create form by calling value from one column..? How to create pop up entry data form in excel, by clicking a member

          67. Ramesh says:

            Hi Chandoo,

            Is there any chance to select multiple radio buttons at a time in excel 2013.
            please help me on this.

            Regards,
            Ramesh

            • Hui... says:

              @Ramesh
              If your talking about Form Control Option Buttons
              No, They are either on or off and when grouped only a single one can be active

              If you want to select multiple items use a Check Box Form Control instead

              You can use separate Radio Control Buttons
              Each must belong to its own group
              Each group will have different cell links
              Then you will need to apply the logic to control them yourself

          68. Andrew says:

            I have added the SEP date control to a spreadsheet to provide a date picker.

            Does anyone know if it is possible to link the output (the picked date) to a text box or cell elsewhere in a workbook?

            I have a form where I'd like to be able to pick the date, and then show this date on an output worksheet somewhere else.

            Thanks

            Andrew

          69. donna dennis says:

            Hi,
            Regarding the cell link in the Form Control. Can the cell link value be dragged from cell to cell vertically without having to input individually as a time saver? I would like to have c3, c4, c5, c6, etc. but when I try dragging it just populates c3 all the way down.

          70. Sandeep Kothari says:

            Comprehensive guide on excel form controls.

          71. Sandeep Kothari says:

            What are problems with using Active X controls?

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