Idk what’s worse: Not being able to see messy data or fixing it by manually adjusting the columns. Instead, clean up messy data in seconds by selecting it and pressing ALT H O I. ALT H O I automatically adjusts the column widths to the length of the data.
2. ALT =
If you don’t like math, luckily, Excel’s AutoSum tool can do the math for you. AutoSum automatically sums detected data. Just select the cell you want to calculate the sum in, and press ALT =.
3. CTRL ~
Don’t make auditing formulas within your worksheet more painful than it already is. Instead of viewing each cell’s formula in the formula bar, just hit CTRL ~. CTRL ~ toggles between showing a cell’s value and formula.
4. ALT W FF
Nothing’s worse than not being able to see headers when scrolling through a worksheet. To prevent this, select the first cell containing data in the table and press ALT W FF to freeze the panes. Now, the headers remain visible when scrolling throughout the worksheet.
5. CTRL [
Tracing down cell references can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Instead of tracing the file path, opening the file, navigating to the worksheet, and mapping the cell, just press CTRL [ to teleport to a cell reference. So much faster.
6. CTRL K
If you need to link external data in your worksheet, CTRL K will be your new BFF. CTRL K opens the insert hyperlink dialog box. From here, just enter the address of the data you want to link and press OK!
7. F8
Don’t be that person who still selects data using their mouse… To make selecting data without the mouse easier, press F8 to activate extend selection mode, and then just select the data you want to include in the selection using the arrow keys.
8. CTRL 9/CTRL 0
Instead of hiding rows within a worksheet using the mouse, just press CTRL 9 to automatically hide the row. CTRL 9 hides rows x15 faster than using the mouse. If you want to hide columns instead of rows, press CTRL 0.
9. ALT F1
Visualizing your data using a chart may seem like a complicated task, but ALT F1 makes it easier than ever. Just select the data you want to visualize and press ALT F1 To automatically create a chart.
10. CTRL R
Instead of filling cell contents by clicking and dragging the mouse, meet CTRL R. CTRL R automatically fills the contents in the first column to the right of the selection. Similarly, you can fill contents down the selection by pressing CTRL D.
If you want to learn all of Excel's shortcuts, make sure to join the waitlist for my course to learn all of Excel’s shortcuts and productivity hacks.
The LEFT function extracts a specified number of characters from the left of a text value. Just enter the text string as the text argument and the number of characters you want to extract as the num_chars argument.
2. RIGHT
Similarly, the RIGHT function extracts a specified number of characters from the right of a text value. You can just enter the text string as the text argument and the number of characters you want to extract as the num_chars argument.
The Arrange All dialog box is used to stack all open workbook windows so they can all be viewed simultaneously. To open the Arrange All box, navigate to the View tab, select Arrange All, or press ALT W A.
2. Excel Options
The Excel Options dialog box is used to personalize the system settings of Excel. To open the Excel Options box, go to the File tab, select Options, or hit ALT F T.
Importing data never goes as smoothly as it should. If your data contains blank rows, instead of deleting blank rows individually, you can delete them all at once using Go To Special: CTRL G > Special > Blanks > OK > CTRL - > Shift cells up > OK.
2. Delete Constants
If you are worried about accidentally deleting formulas when deleting data from a table, Go To Special is here to help. You can delete all constants at once by pressing CTRL G > Special > Select constants and uncheck all options but Numbers > OK > Delete!
If you’ve tried copying and pasting PDF data into Excel, you know the results aren't pretty; instead of entering the data manually, go to the Data Tab > Get Data > From File > From PDF. Then, select the PDF and hit load to import the data into your worksheet.
2. Multiple Workbooks
If you need to combine data from multiple workbooks for analysis, instead of combining them manually, go to the Data tab > Get Data > From File > From Folder > select the folder containing the files > select combine & load!
Have you ever opened a workbook and not been able to see the data? Instead of manually adjusting the column widths in the header, try ALT H O I. ALT H O I automatically adjusts the selected cells’ column widths to equal the size of their contents.
2. ALT H O A
Now that we know how to automatically adjust our cells' column widths, let's learn how to adjust their row heights! ALT H O A automatically adjusts the selected cells’ row heights to equal the size of their contents.
5 ways Excel's Flash Fill tool can save you hours:
1. Combining text
Instead of using Excel’s text functions to combine first, middle, and last names, we can use Flash Fill. Just enter the first full name and hit CTRL E in the row below to combine all of the names using Flash Fill.
2. Separating Text
Not only can you combine text using flash fill, but you can also separate text. To split full names into first, middle, and last name, type each name in its own column and then hit CTRL E below to fill each of the name columns using Flash Fill.