5 Tools to Use Excel Like a Pro. Learn Basic Skills at Home by Computer Training Expert Ankit Patel

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Microsoft Excel is a big program and can be complex. There are some rules to help you make things easier and here are 5 quick free tips that will make your office life with Excel a little easier:

1) Use Reference Cells.

Most people tend to just type the values for cells directly into the cell. If you have numbers or text that need to be repeatedly used throughout the spreadsheet you will want to use a reference cell. A reference cell is a cell that contains a value and you can "refer" to in your spreadsheet. An example might be you have a budget and you know that your mortgage isn´t going to change so your mortgage value will be in a reference cell.

2) Link to Other Sheets and Workbooks.

Don´t reinvent the wheel. If you need certain pieces of information and the information is already located in the file or another file then simply link the information. Linking takes a little effort upfront but you´ll be thankful you did it when there are systemic changes that need to be made to your spreadsheet file.

3) Make It Easy to Read.

The better you or anyone else can "see" the spreadsheet the more effective it will be. Some common formatting practices are making titles in bold, putting borders around cells, and changing font and background colors.

4) K.I.S.S.

K.I.S.S stands for Keep It Simple and Straightforward (or keep it simple stupid it depends on your preference) and usually the simpler the better. When you include too much material in one spreadsheet it can cause confusion especially to someone who is not familiar with the spreadsheet. Consider hiding columns that aren´t needed or moving data to a different sheet in the same file. You might want to consider keep all important data that other people will see on one sheet and move all the other data to other sheets and out of sight.

5) Standardize.

This is the most important piece for the long run. You want to standardize as much as you can but at a bear minimum standardize how you name your files. This will save you time and energy when you need to find what your looking for. An example might be MyBudget2009 01-02-2009. The name is in the front "MyBudget2009" and the date is at the back "01-02-2009." You can also include department names or project names in the titles but make sure you are consistent. Standardization also applies to the contents of the page. If I´m doing a budget chances are I did one last year as well. I want to make sure that both budgets look the same. The numbers will be different but everything is in the same spot than that makes it easier to find items in the file.

These tips will make a big difference on how easily you and your coworkers communicate with Microsoft Excel.

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Ankit Patel

Owner/CEO

My Computer Buddies

ContactUs@MyComputerBuddies.com

www.MyComputerBuddies.com