All articles with 'Learn Excel' Tag

Last week, we had an interesting homework problem – What is the average speed of this road trip?

We received more than 150 answers. But to my surprise, 57 of them are wrong. So today, lets learn how to calculate the average speed correct way.

Today, lets learn how to create an interesting chart. This, called as network chart helps us visualize relationships between various people.

Demo of interactive network chart in Excel

First take a look at what we are trying to build.

Looks interesting? Then read on to learn how to create this.

Its homework time again. This time, lets tackle an interesting & everyday problem. Lets introduce our protagonist of the story – Jack. Jack likes long road trips, smell of freshly brewed Colombian coffee, clicky-clack sound of his computer keyboard. He hates toll plazas (they slow him down) & Potassium permanganate. And oh yes, Jack is […]

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In the 16th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets review 3 very useful books for aspiring analysts.

What is in this session?

Analytics is an increasingly popular area now. Every day, scores of fresh graduates are reporting to their first day of work as analysts. But to succeed as an analyst?

By learning & practicing of course.

And books play a vital role in opening new pathways for us. They can alter the way we think, shape our behavior and make us awesome, all in a few page turns.

So in this episode, let me share 3 must have books for (aspiring) analysts.

Ok people. Let me tell you that this post is almost not about Excel. It is about how one Excel blogger’s (yours truly) dream of long distance cycling came true. So sit back, grab your favorite drink and read between sips.

So what is this all about?

Last Sunday (27th July) & Monday (28th), I finished my first ever 200KM bicycle ride. I rode for a little more than 12 hours, burned 5,179 calories & rode 206 kilometers.

It is definitely one of the most memorable, tiresome & uplifting experiences in my life. So naturally, I want to share the story with you.

Hello friends,

Let me stop our broadcast of Excel tips to bring an announcement.

Houston, we are going to get awesome

As you may know, I am doing 4 days of live masterclasses on Advanced Excel, Dashboards, Power Pivot & Data Analytics in Houston (Texas) this September.

• 15 & 16 September (Mon & Tue) on Advanced Excel & Dashboard Reporting
• 17 & 18 September (Wed & Thu) on Power Pivot & Data Analytics

This 4 day masterclass is aimed at managers, analysts, reporting professionals, executives in sales, marketing, customer service or anyone who wants to learn about Data Analytics, Advanced Excel, Dashboard reporting.

Please click here to know more.

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In the 15th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets answer some of your burning Excel questions.

What is in this session?

Around last week, I invited you to ask me anything. More than 150 people responded to this call and sent in their questions. Since answering all the questions is not possible, I handpicked roughly 10 questions to answer in this episode of Chandoo.org podcast.

In this podcast, you will learn,

1. How to fill blank cells with data from above
2. How to work with Big data in Excel
3. How to combine data from multiple sources & analyze it in Excel
4. How I am managing my life after starting Chandoo.org
5. How to create and distribute stand-alone Excel products
6. How to control a model railroad set using Excel VBA (not fully answered)
7. & more…

Time for another round of open-mic weekend.

As you know, Chandoo.org has been running a podcast show for last few months. We have completed 14 episodes as of today. For the 15th episode, lets have an “Ask Chandoo” as the theme.

What you need to do:

Simple. Head over to ask.chandoo.org and submit your questions. You can leave me a voice-mail or post your questions

What happens next?

I will listen (or read) your questions and choose a handful for the session 15 of our podcast.

What you get:

If your question is picked up for the podcast, you will receive the 25 Excel tips e-book.

Today lets learn about Excel CHOOSE() function.
CHOOSE eh? What does it do?
To understand CHOOSE() and appreciate its uses, lets invent an imaginary boos-subordinate pair.

Jasmine is the boss. She is, well, lets call her peculiar. She likes olives, Tuesdays & color Red. She hates potatoes.

Martin is the faithful butler of Jasmine. He is obedient, quirky and tall. He likes lotuses, Fridays & color blue. He hates potassium.

Enter Jasmine’s scarf problem:

Jasmine likes to wear a different colored scarf every weekday. She likes to wear Red colored scarf on Mondays & Tuesdays. She likes to put on the blue polka dot scarf on Wednesdays. On Thursdays, she wears her olive colored scarf. On Fridays & Saturdays, she prefers the lovely orange blue scarf. Sundays are no scarf days.

No wonder she is peculiar.

This is a guest post written by Joel Zaslofsky, author of Experience Curating.

How to Make “Put It in a Spreadsheet” Who You Are (and Not Just What You Do)
It seemed like a crazy question:

Could I use my passion for Excel as motivation to transform my leaky brain from a weakness into a strength?

Sure, I already had a fifteen year love affair going with Excel.

Every other email I sent to my co-workers had an attached Excel spreadsheet. And when I wasn’t using Excel for work purposes, I was using it for grocery list templates or budget tracking.

But I had to discover the answer to my crazy question.

So I told my wife Melinda in January 2012, “Honey, this is the year I put it in a spreadsheet!”

If you listen carefully, you can hear my screams of joy. I have 2 very happy news to share with you.

1. I am speaking at Excelapalooza Excel conference, happening at Dallas (Texas) between September 21 to 24.
2. I will be conducting an Advanced Excel, Dashboards & Power Pivot masterclass at Houston (Texas) between September 15 to 18.

To all our readers & friends from USA,

I wish you a happy, fun & safe 4th of July.

For the last 4th of July (2013), we (Jo, kids & I) were in USA. We went to Washington DC to meet up a few friends for that weekend. And we had one of the most memorable evenings of our lives when we went to national mall area in the evening to watch beautifully choreographed fireworks. Kids really loved the amazing display of fire-crackers and enthusiasm.

While we all are back in India this time, it doesn’t mean we cant celebrate 4th of July. So I made some fireworks. In Excel of course.

Here is a little Excel animation I made for all of us.

4th of July Fireworks – Excel animation

First watch this quick demo (<15 secs)

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In the 12th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets get productive fast.

Announcement: Short format podcasts sessions once a month

Based on listener feedback, I am adding short format sessions (20 mins). This short format sessions will run once a month (along with longer sessions that we publish almost every week) so that you have something light & easy to chew between heavy doses of Excel awesomeness.

I hope you like this new format. Do let me know what you think in comments.

And I really appreciate your reviews & comments on iTunes. Please click here and post your review.

Just like millions of viewers around the world, I too have been spending hours watching FIFA world cup football matches on TV. I don’t like spending hours watching TV. But when its FIFA world-cup time (which is once every 4 years), I am glued to the idiot box. Blame it on PaWaRa, my school teacher in 8th grade who instilled this passion.

So while watching the match day before yesterday (it was Holland vs. Chile), the commentator said, “This has been a world-cup of late goals” as both teams maintained 0-0 until 77 minute mark when Leroy Fer scored a goal for Holland.

That got me thinking,

Is this really a world-cup of late goals?

But I quickly brushed away the thought to focus on the match.

Later yesterday, I went looking and downloaded all the goal data for 2006, 2010 & 2014 FIFA world-cup matches (2014 data for first 36 matches).

Lets examine the hypothesis “2014 has been a world-cup of late goals”.

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If you want to create magical effect with your Excel workbook (or report, dashboard, model), then hear no further. In this episode, we explore 5 very powerful magic tricks you can apply to get jaw dropping reactions from your bosses, clients & colleagues.

In this podcast, you will learn,

• Annoucements
• Why magic
• 5 Excel Magic Tricks
• 1: Conditional formatting
• 2: Form controls + Charts
• 3: Pivot tables + Slicers
• 4: Macros + Automation
• 5: Using right feature @ right time
• How to learn these magic tricks
• Conclusions