Here is a little formula trick if you need to sum a range of cells based on multiple conditions.
Assuming you have the starfleet, captain and flight data like this (seriously, what are you doing with excel again?)
In order to findout how many flights James Kirk did on the Amarillo, you can write an array formula like this:
=SUM(($D$3:$D$24)*($B$3:$B$24="Amarillo")*($C$3:$C$24="James Kirk"))
Remember, the above is an array formula. So you need to type it and press CTRL+SHIFT+Enter.
Update: Or you can also use SUMPRODUCT (replace SUM in the above formula with SUMPRODUCT and just hit Enter (Thanks to Simon for teaching me this tip)
As you can guess, column B has ship names, C has captains and D has # of flights.
Using the same logic, you can make a cross tab (or pivot) like the one shown on the right too.
Further Resources:
- Excel quick tips – Fast and fun way to learn microsoft excel
- Excel array formulas – Tutorials and examples
- 8 ways to use SUMIF() and COUNTIF() formulas
- List of startfleet ship names 😛
11 Responses to “Fix Incorrect Percentages with this Paste-Special Trick”
I've just taught yesterday to a colleague of mine how to convert amounts in local currency into another by pasting special the ROE.
great thing to know !!!
Chandoo - this is such a great trick and helps save time. If you don't use this shortcut, you have to take can create a formula where =(ref cell /100), copy that all the way down, covert it to a percentage and then copy/paste values to the original column. This does it all much faster. Nice job!
I was just asking peers yesterday if anyone know if an easy way to do this, I've been editing each cell and adding a % manually vs setting the cell to Percentage for months and just finally reached my wits end. What perfect timing! Thanks, great tip!
If it's just appearance you care about, another alternative is to use this custom number format:
0"%"
By adding the percent sign in quotes, it gets treated as text and won't do what you warned about here: "You can not just format the cells to % format either, excel shows 23 as 2300% then."
Dear Jon S. You are the reason I love the internet. 3 year old comments making my life easier.
Thank you.
Here is a quicker protocol.
Enter 10000% into the extra cell, copy this cell, select the range you need to convert to percentages, and use paste special > divide. Since the Paste > All option is selected, it not only divides by 10000% (i.e. 100), it also applies the % format to the cells being pasted on.
@Martin: That is another very good use of Divide / Multiply operations.
@Tony, @Jody: Thank you 🙂
@Jon S: Good one...
@Jon... now why didnt I think of that.. Excellent
Thank You so much. it is really helped me.
Big help...Thanks
Thanks. That really saved me a lot of time!
Is Show Formulas is turned on in the Formula Ribbon, it will stay in decimal form until that is turned off. Drove me batty for an hour until I just figured it out.