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Tag: quick tip

Show more of your workbook on screens [quick tip]

Ever wanted to show your workbook to someone and felt that you had less screen real estate? This tip will help you get more out of your workbook.

So how to get 50% more space for your workbooks?

Simple, just follow these steps.

Figure out slot from given time [quick tip]

Here is an interesting scenario.

Let’s say you are looking at a time, like 9:42 AM and want to know which 15 minute slot it fits into. The answer is 9:30 – 9:45. But how would you get this answer thru Excel formulas?

Format charts quickly with chart styles & color themes [quick tip]

Here is a quick tip to reduce the time you spend on chart formatting – use chart styles & color themes.

Excel offers various pre-defined color schemes and chart styles. Using them is very simple.

  1. Select your chart
  2. Go to Chart Design ribbon
  3. Click on the style or color scheme you want.
  4. Your chart changes instantly.

Edit cells & formulas faster [shortcut]

Let’s keep this simple & short.

Whenever you are editing cells or formulas, the usual sequence is like this:

  1. Double click on the cell you want to edit
  2. For existing cells: Go to the left most / right most part and start typing
  3. For blank cells: start typing right away

Here is a faster sequence:

Read on…

Show forecast values in a different color with this simple trick [charting]

Let’s say you made a chart to show actual and forecast values. By default, both values look in same color. But we would like to separate forecast values by showing them in another color.

If you are a seasoned Excel user, you may be thinking, “Oh, that’s easy. I will just create 2 sets of data (one for actual and one for forecast), make a chart from them and apply separate colors.”

But here is a really simple way to get the same effect.

Use a semi-transparent box to mask the forecast values, as shown above. Read on to learn how to do this.

Give descriptive titles to your charts for best results

Here is a simple & effective tip on charting.

Give your charts descriptive & bold titles.

How to set up title that are smart & descriptive?

Simple, follow below steps.

  1. Create the title you want in a cell
  2. Select the chart title
  3. Go to formula bar, press = and point to the cell with title
  4. Press enter.