Top Excel Help Posts in 2013 and 2014 Goals

2013 is coming to a close so it’s that time of year to sit back and reflect about what transpired this past year and what is to come. I’m going to share my most popular Excel tips from the past year, my most popular Excel templates, and finally share what my goals and vision for next year is.

Top 5 Excel Tips from 2013

 

Listed below are the five most popular Excel tips I published on the Excel Help blog throughout 2013:

 

1. How to combine Excel files with a VBA macro
2. How to filter Data in Excel
3. How to create collapsible rows in Excel
4. How to embed Excel in a website
5. Excel pranks and practical jokes

 

Top 5 Excel Templates from 2013

 

Listed below are the top 5 most popular free Excel templates and spreadsheets I created and made available to download in 2013:

 

1. Printable Super Bowl Squares
2. Website Creation Checklist
3. Newborn Checklist for New Parents
4. Apartment Comparison Spreadsheet LITE version
5. NFL Helmet Schedule

 

Goals for 2014

I recently took a poll of my loyal followers by asking them what they would rather see more of on the blog: spreadsheet templates or tips/tricks/macros to improve spreadsheet creation efficiency? My most recent posts have primarily been spreadsheet templates I’ve made available to download for free, such as my newborn feeding schedule, college bowl prediction pool, etc. Something I’ve gotten away from lately is posting tips and macros to improve your Excel efficiency, like my earlier posts on how to create folders automatically, how to create hatching in Excel, etc.

The majority of my reader’s responses asked for more tips, tricks, and macros to improve Excel efficiency. I will still be creating and posting templates as I have been because I think a lot of people find them to be quite useful and you may pick up a few tips just by looking at them and examining the formulas I use. However, I promise to make a strong effort to post more tips and macros, especially for my email subscribers. In fact, I already have several rough drafts already written and am working on some new video tutorials. What would you like to see more of in 2014? Anything specific?

Have a great holiday season, thanks for your continued support, and see you in 2014!!!

Visit me at Excel Spreadsheets Help and leave a comment. Would love to see you there!

How to Filter Data in Excel

Learning how to filter data in Excel will help you analyse data faster and become better at your job. Filtering in Excel enables you to display only the data that you want to see on your spreadsheet without deleting anything. It’s a really great way to search through large amounts of information and you know I’m all about Excel tips that help improve your speed and efficiency!

There are three types of filters in Excel: list of values, by format, or criteria and you can sort your spreadsheet by order, color or text. What’s the difference between sorting and filtering? Sorting will rearrange the order of your list while filtering keeps the order but actually hides data based on your filter criteria.

To add a Filter in Excel, you can first select a single cell within your range of data but I recommend you highlight all your data (please note you cannot add filters to empty cells). Next, go to the Home tab then the Editing section. Under Sort & Filter click Filter (or use the filter shortcut Crtl+Shift+L). Once filtering is turned on you will see little arrows along your top row of data. Select one of the arrows to set your filter options. If you hover your mouse over the drop down arrow you will see a pop-up message displaying what the value the filter is currently set to (example: equals “Test”).

 

To remove the filtering from your spreadsheet, simply click the Filter button again. If you want to reset the filter to the original values click on the Sort & Filter button and then click “Clear."

You can also turn auto-Filter on and off with a VBA macro:

Sub TurnAutoFilterOn()

'check for filter, turn on if none exists

If Not ActiveSheet.AutoFilterMode Then

ActiveSheet.Range("A1").AutoFilter

End If

End Sub

Turn off AutoFilter with VBA:

Sub TurnFilterOff()

Worksheets("Sheet1").AutoFilterMode = False

End Sub

Here’s a great video showing you exactly how to filter data in Excel:

Follow us on Google Plus for the latest updates when I will talk about dynamic filters and Kalman filters in Excel.

Visit me at Excel Spreadsheets Help and leave a comment. Would love to see you there!