course description
author and excel expert david h. ringstrom, cpa, coined the phrase "either you work excel, or it works you!" the daunting nature of data entry sometimes causes users to hunker down and "grind through it", often because they’re unaware that alternatives exist. in this course, you'll learn how to click and drag a value into a cell to populate frequently used lists and minimize data entry for users by way of the data validation feature. you'll learn techniques that can simplify unavoidable data entry, then see how you can check your work by having excel read your inputs aloud to you. david will also compare different approaches to combining, separating, and formatting text.
david is the author of exploring microsoft excel's hidden treasures: turbocharge your excel proficiency with expert tips, automation techniques, and overlooked features. he demonstrates every technique at least twice: first, on a powerpoint slide with numbered steps, and second, in the subscription-based excel for microsoft 365. david draws your attention to any differences in excel 2021, 2019 or 2016 during the presentation and in his detailed handouts. the handouts include an excel workbook with most of the examples he uses during his demonstrations.
excel for microsoft 365 is a subscription-based product that receives periodic feature updates. conversely, perpetually licensed versions have year numbers in their names and do not receive any feature updates.
who should attend: professionals seeking to use microsoft excel more effectively.
level: intermediate
topics typically covered:
- merging text from two or more columns into a single column without using formulas or repetitive retyping with flash fill.
- combining words or other text together by concatenating.
- using text to columns in any version of excel to quickly separate city, state, and zip code into separate columns.
- creating an in-cell list by way of excel’s data validation feature.
- when text to columns won’t suffice, use the left, mid, and right functions to extract text from a cell.
- double-checking manual inputs easily by having excel read numbers aloud to you.
- transforming text by way of excel’s upper, lower, proper, and trim functions.
- separating first/last names into two columns without using formulas or retyping.
- change the cursor direction in excel to right instead of down to facilitate faster data entry.
- extracting data from pdf files with power query in microsoft 365.
learning objectives:
- recall where the custom lists feature resides within the options dialog box.
- state the functionality that the flash fill feature offers.
- recall where choose the text to speech command within the quick access toolbar customization screen.
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