Excel Tips

Create a Quick Chart

This will allow a user to create a quick graph with a push of a button. To create quick charts within Microsoft Excel, click anywhere within your data and push F11. This will provide you with a quick chart of your data.

Switching Rows and Columns

This tip provides a way to switch information from rows to columns and vice-versa. Data from the top row of the copy area appears in the left column of the paste area, and data from the left column appears in the top row.

1. Select the cells that you want to switch.
2. Click Copy.
3. Select the upper-left cell of the paste area. The paste area must be outside the copy area.
4. Click the arrow to the right of Paste and then click Transpose.

Text String Functions – Left - This tip provides a way to extract the leftmost character from a text value in a cell.

Formula: =Left(text,num_chars) Text is the text string that contains the characters you want to extract. Num_chars specifies the number of characters you want LEFT to extract.

• Num_chars must be greater than or equal to zero.
• If num_chars is greater than the length of the text, LEFT returns all of the text.
• If num_chars is omitted, it is assumed to be 1

Eight Timesaving Excel Shortcuts

1. To enter the current date into the active cell, press [Ctrl][;]
2. To enter the current time, press [Ctrl][Shift][;]
3. To enter or edit a cell comment in the active cell, press [Shift][F2]. Deselect the cell when done. A red mark in the upper right corner of the cell indicates that comment is present. Hovering over the cell will recall/display the comment.
4. To quickly copy the contents of a cell to the cell directly to the right, select the cell that

Excel Tips

will receive the copy, then press [Ctrl][R]. If the cell contains a formula, the formula is copied, with the references adjusted relatively.

1. To copy the contents from a cell directly above the active cell, press [Ctrl][D]. If the cell contains a formula, the formula is copied, with the references adjusted relatively.
2. To copy the contents from a cell directly above the active cell, press [Ctrl][‘]. If the cell contains a formula, this shortcut makes an identical copy of that formula rather than adjusting the cell reference relatively.
3. Pressing [Ctrl][Shift][‘] also copies the contents from the cell directly above the active cell. However, if the cell contains a formula, the result of the formula is copied rather than the formula itself.
4. An easy way to view all formulas in a worksheet without having to select the cell containing it is to press [Ctrl][~]. Press the shortcut again to switch back to the Normal View.

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