If you’re using Microsoft Excel day in day out then you probably think you know what you need to know to make your life easier. The problem is that because you’re using it all of the time you have probably got yourself into habits and have ignored things that could help. Below are 5 tricks to make Excel easier.
Adding Multiple Rows and Columns
It’s easy to add a single row or column to a spreadsheet but if you need to add more than that it can get really annoying to add them all in individually. If you select the rows above where you want to insert and select the same amount of rows you wish to add just right click and insert. All you have to do then is select to shift the rows down.
Move Data from a Row to a Column
Sometimes you may input all of your data and then realise that it would look a lot better if the columns were where the rows were and vice versa. You don’t need to redo everything you have already done to achieve this. All you have to do is copy the data that you want to switch around and then when you right click to paste it you choose ‘Paste Special’ and tick the ‘Transpose’ box. This will switch your data round for you and save you time.
Name a Range
If you want to be able to return to a certain set of cells quickly you can do this by naming the range. Just select the data in question and then click in the box to the left of the formula bar. Type the name you want to give the range and then hit enter. You will now be able to easily get back to this range of cells if needed.
Automatically Fill a Column or Row
If you’re inputting something that is in a known frequency like months or weekdays, Excel can auto-fill the column or row for you. Just put in the first few cells and then select all and drag down or across from the bottom right hand corner. If there is a series of words or names that you often use you can even create a custom list so that Excel will do the same with those.
Data Validation
Sometimes the wrong data can end up in a cell and mess everything up, for example if a word ends up where a number is supposed to be. You can stop this from happening by selecting the area of cells where only the one kind of data should be and then in the Data tab select Data Validation. Data Validation will let you specify which data is supposed to be in the cells.
