Articles

How to set a default template in Excel

Excel has the ability to use a custom template for all new workbooks. If you find yourself making the same changes to new workbooks (changing row height, font size, zoom, etc.) a default custom template can save you time and trouble.

Excel shortcuts on the Mac

Shortcuts work great in the Mac version of Excel, but there are differences you should know about. This article explains the 5 key differences you need to be aware of to work productively with Excel shortcuts on a Mac. 

23 things you should know about VLOOKUP

Although VLOOKUP is a pretty simple function, there is plenty that can go wrong. Quickly learn more than 20 things you should know about VLOOKUP to make your experience pleasant and profitable.

Danger: beware VLOOKUP defaults

Many users aren't aware of it, but VLOOKUP will use approximate match mode by default. This can be a disaster because VLOOKUP can return a totally incorrect result. Read below to learn how match modes work in VLOOKUP, and how to avoid this dangerous problem.

Highlight dates in the same month and year

Excel has a built-in conditional formatting rule that will highlight dates that occur "this month". But what if you want to highlight dates in the same month and year for any date?

Can pivot tables save your job?

This article is for those of you who don't get pivot tables. Maybe you tried pivot tables once, and didn't see what the big deal was, or maybe you got frustrated when a pivot table wouldn't behave. They can be that way.

Pivot Table Tips

Many Excel experts believe that Pivot Tables are the single most powerful tool in Excel. This article provides more than 20 tips you should know to work productively with Excel Pivot Tables.

The value of improving a skill (a simple model)

In this article, we take a look at a simple model that calculates the time that could be saved by doing a task or activity with more skill. The goal is to visualize whether it makes sense to invest in getting better at a skill.

The 54 Excel shortcuts you really should know

A list and description of just over 50 important Excel shortcuts you should know if you spend a lot of time in Excel. This is a summarized version of the more than 200 shortcuts that are available in Excel for both Windows and Mac platforms.

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