Sometimes we think there is very little we can improve in something and then we come across an idea that would change our perceptions. I have been writing excel formulas for such a long time that it was easier to remember when I first shaved than when I first wrote a formula. (may be, because of the razor-blade-thin-chin-trembling-hands experience)
Today I want to present a very interesting functionality in Excel that would save a lot of time when you are entering formulas in spreadsheets.
If we have 5 cells and we want to CONCATENATE all the text in them to one cell, we would usually write =CONCATENATE( and then start typing addresses of each cell one by one. But there is a faster and simpler way to do this. You can just hold the CTRL key down and select all the five cells one after another and excel will neatly type the references for you and include a comma to separate them. See this:

You can also use the same technique for speeding up formula entry for other multi-argument formulas like VLOOKUP, MATCH etc. Just select the cells corresponding to each parameter in that order while holding the CTRL key down.
Read more quick tips and save a ton of time and impress everyone.

















2 Responses to “Interview With Presentation Zen’s Garr Reynolds on Charting & Telling Stories”
Most experts recommend using shades of one color for quantitative differences and different hues for qualitative differences.
@Naomi.. that is a good point. I agree with you