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More Counting in Excel
By Jane H
Last year I wrote a blog about using the COUNT and COUNTA functions in Excel, but what if you wanted to count the number of cells within a range that meet a single criterion that you specify. For example, I want to know how many OFF2007NF classes we’ve scheduled for this year (see following image).
In this instance, I will use the COUNTIF function which has two arguments. The Range of non-blank cells you want to count and the Criteria which determines which cells will be counted (see following image). The Criteria is not case sensitive.
Some possible valid Criteria values follow:
- text string or a number (i.e. “off2007nf”)
- a cellular reference to that value (i.e. B4)
- wild cards (i.e. “*2007*”)
Note: There is a new enhanced function in Microsoft Excel 2007, called COUNTIFS, which works like COUNTIF only you can define multiple criteria.
Filed Under Excel |
Customize Excel Comments
By Jane H
If you know how to create comments, did you know that you can change that drab yellow box to a more exciting, eye-catching shape? Ok, this is easy to do in Excel 2003 and is a great way to catch people’s attention. After you insert a comment on an Excel cell, select the border of the comment (Notice the pointer has a four-header when I clicked the border).
Filed Under Excel |
Custom Order Sort in Excel
By Jane H
Sorting is a popular and easy feature in Excel. You simply select a cell in the column you want sorted and the click Sort button to sort in ascending or descending order. But what if you wanted an exception to the normal sort rules? In the following image the list is sorted by last name. Rosa Garcia is my best client and I want her to always be on top of the list when I sort by last name. This article will show you how a custom order sort easily achieves that result (Click image for larger view).
Filed Under Excel |
Pie charts are great for data that is arranged in one column. Pie charts show the size of items, proportional to the sum of the items. The data points in a pie chart are percentages of the whole pie. But what do you do when some of your values are so small that they display as slivers of the pie (see following image)? It’s really difficult to evaluate kumquats, kiwis, and cherries in this traditional pie.
Filed Under Excel |
A while back a client was having some problems with an imported text file in Excel. There were date columns that he needed to be formatted as dates so that he could calculate with them (i.e. # of days elapsed between two dates). In Excel, he tried a Text to Columns and change the date columns to dates, but the date displays as a series of ###.
Filed Under Excel |
Copy and Paste Techniques for Excel
By Jane H
Most people know how to do a basic copy and paste procedure within the same Microsoft application. But did you know that when you copy cells of data from Excel, the way you paste it into Word or PowerPoint will produce different effects?
In both the 2003 and 2007 versions of Microsoft Office, you will find not only a simple copy/Paste function, but the ability to paste Excel information into Word or PowerPoint as a Link or a Picture! When you paste the Excel information as a link, changes to the data will be reflected on the Word or PowerPoint file. Pasting information from Excel as a pictures ensures that no one changes the data on the Word or PowerPoint file. Read more
Filed Under Excel, PowerPoint, Word |
If you have ever collected customer information in an Excel 2003 workbook and wished you could transfer it to an Outlook contacts folders, the good news is that it is relatively simple to bring into Outlook 2003. You should start by examining the Excel data and making sure it is arranged into a proper list. Read more
Sooner or later you will need to know how many items are within a range of cells. If you try to count them by hand, it will be difficult and time-consuming. For example, imagine trying to count the items in a range consisting of 200 cells. Excel provides different functions that you can use to do such tasks. Read more
Filed Under Excel |
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