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Freeze Panes In Excel
If you have a large table of data in Microsoft Excel and you scroll down, it can be hard to remember what each column represents. This problem becomes exacerbated when you have a large number of columns and the data in each is of a similar size. How do you remember what each number means?
Full StoryExcel PivotTables
Excel PivotTables (pivot tables) enable us to extract meaningful information from large volumes of apparently meaningless data. Using PivotTables, we can “pivot” our data to view it from different angles to give us more useful insights. As you will see, you will soon be able to quickly discover the trends and patterns that are buried deep within your data.
Full StoryWhat’s New In Excel 2010
With the introduction of Excel 2010, Microsoft are putting the focus on analysing data, visualising trends, and sharing the results. Along with enhancements to existing functionality made across the board, Excel 2010 comes with a few new features too.
Full StoryExcel Line Chart
In Excel 2010, line charts can display continuous data over time, set against a common scale, and are therefore ideal for showing trends in data at equal intervals. In a line chart, category data is distributed evenly along the horizontal axis, and all value data is distributed evenly along the vertical axis.
Full StoryExcel Pie Chart
Unlike other charts in Microsoft Excel, pie charts require that data in your worksheet be contained in only one row or column (although an additional row or column can be used to indicate a “category”). Each piece of data is represented as a portion of a whole, so relative sizes are easy to compare. Here is a breakdown of the votes for each party in a particular consituency in the UK. We’ll use this data to create a pie chart. Don’t worry if you don’t know what this means as it’s just the numbers we’ll be looking at.
Full StoryExcel Bar Chart
Bar charts in Excel are good at displaying values for different groups for comparison. Let’s look at an example to illustrate how we might use a bar chart. Yesterday I sat on a bridge and counted how many cars of different colours I saw. Here are the results in a spreadsheet:
Full StoryExcel Area Chart
If your worksheet contains data that is arranged in columns or rows then using an area chart may be a good way to display that data. Area charts emphasize the magnitude of change over time, and can be used to draw attention to the total value across a trend. Area charts are good for emphasizing totals. They offer the time-tracking qualities of a line chart but also display relative proportions well. You can visualise area charts as being line charts with different colours in the areas below the lines.
Full StoryExcel Column Chart
Column charts in Excel are good for plotting data that is arranged in columns or rows of your worksheet. If you need to show how data changes over time, a column chart might be a good fit. Whereas scatter charts plot actual values along the x-axis, column charts use categories.
Full StoryExcel Scatter Chart
A scatter chart plots the values for two variables as a set of points on a graph. One variable controls the position on the x-axis of a point, whilst the other variable controls the position on the y-axis. If you’re familiar with graphs, you might already understand that these points are referred to as (x,y) where x is the position along the x-axis and y is the position along the y-axis of each point.
Full StoryConditional Formatting In Microsoft Excel 2010
Conditional formatting in Excel allows you to highlight cells whose data satisfies certain criteria. For example, you might want to highlight sales margins on products that are less than 5%. Or you might like to highlight sales people in your tean who have achieved more than their targets. Excel enables you to apply formatting to cells that meet certain criteria that you specify.
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