Sometimes values in your Excel worksheets look like numbers, but they don't add up, don't multiply and produce errors in formulas. A common reason for this is numbers formatted as text. This tutorial will teach you how to convert numeric strings to actual numbers. Continue reading
Normally, Microsoft Excel recognizes numbers stored as text and converts them to the numerical format automatically. However, if the data is in a format that Excel cannot recognize, numeric values can be left as text making calculations impossible. Continue reading
One of the fundamental things we know about numbers is that they can be positive and negative. But sometimes you may need to use only positive numbers, and that's where the absolute value comes in handy. Continue reading
CHOOSE is one of those Excel functions that may not look useful on their own, but combined with other functions give a number of awesome benefits. At the most basic level, you use the CHOOSE function to get a value from a list by specifying the position of that value. Continue reading
Are you looking to calculate the expiration date that is exactly 90 days from now? Or you need to know the date that occurred 60 days before today? Whatever your task is, this tutorial will teach you how to make your own date calculator in Excel in under 5 minutes. Continue reading
As everyone knows, Excel COUNTIF function is designed to count cells based on just one criterion while COUNTIFS evaluates multiple criteria with AND logic. But what if your task requires OR logic – when several conditions are provided, any one can match to be included in the count? Continue reading
Are you wondering how many days are between two dates? Maybe, you need to know the number of days between today and some specific date in the past or future? Or, you just want to count working days between two dates? Whatever your task is, one of the below examples will certainly provide the solution. Continue reading
Excel VLOOKUP and IFERROR - these two functions may be pretty hard to understand separately, let alone when they are combined. In this article, you will find a few easy-to-follow examples that address common uses and clearly illustrate the formula logic. Continue reading
Whilst VLOOKUP and IF functions are useful on their own, together they deliver even more valuable experiences. Today, we will be looking at a few simple examples that will show you how to Vlookup with If condition in Excel. Continue reading
It is a very common situation in Excel that your worksheet contains a column of full names, and you want to split the first and last names into separate columns. The task can be accomplished in three different ways - by using the Text to Columns feature, formulas, and Split Names tool. Continue reading
To extract number from string in Excel, it'd take a little ingenuity, a bit of patience, and a bunch of different functions nested into each other. Or, you can run the Extract tool and have the job done with a mouse click. Continue reading
Although there is no such thing as Substring function in Excel, there exist three Text functions to extract text of a given length from a cell. Additionally, there are FIND and SEARCH functions to get a substring before or after a specific character. Continue reading
As with other basic math operations, Microsoft Excel provides several ways to divide numbers and cells. Which one to use depends on your personal preferences and a particular task you need to solve. Continue reading
In our previous tutorial, we were looking at Excel If contains formulas that return some value to another column if the target cell contains a specific value. Aside from that, what else can you do if a cell contains certain text or number? Continue reading
One of the most common tasks in Excel is checking whether a cell contains a value of interest. What kind of value can that be? Just any text or number, specific text, or any value at all (not empty cell). Continue reading
As with all basic arithmetic operations, there is more than one way to multiply columns in Excel. This tutorial will show you a few possible solutions so you can choose the one that works best for you. Continue reading
How can we change the case of the first letter from lower to upper in Excel cells? Do we have to type each character manually into every cell? Not anymore! Today I will share three methods of capitalizing first letters in your table. Continue reading
This tutorial shows how to use the multiplication operator in Excel and how to write a formula to multiply cells, columns and rows, numbers and percentages, and more. Continue reading
"Give me a formula, and I shall make it return an error," an Excel user would say. In this tutorial, we won't be looking at how to return errors in Excel, we'd rather learn how to prevent them in order to keep your worksheets clean and your formulas transparent. Continue reading
You want to put today's date in some cell? Or you wish to highlight the current date in your Excel calendar? Or you'd like to find the date closest to today? All this can be done by using the Excel TODAY function and this tutorial will teach you how. Continue reading
The Excel MOD function is designed to get the division remainder, but it can do much more than its original purpose. In this tutorial, you will find a few non-trivial uses of MOD in Excel that may prove useful in your worksheets. Continue reading
When you need to determine the relative position of a number in a list of numbers, the easiest way is to sort the numbers in ascending or descending order. If for some reason sorting is not possible, the Excel RANK function is the perfect tool to do the job. Continue reading
In yesterday's tutorial we started to look at Excel Data Validation - what its purpose is, how it works, and how to use built-in rules to validate data in your worksheets. Today, we are going to take a step further and talk about the nitty-gritty aspects of custom data validation. Continue reading
When setting up a workbook for your users, you may often want to control information input into specific cells to make sure all data entries are accurate and consistent. Among other things, you may want to allow only particular data type such as numbers or dates in a cell, or limit numbers to a certain range and text to a given length. Continue reading
Flipping data in Excel sounds like a trivial one-click task, but surprisingly there is no such inbuilt option. In this tutorial, you will find a few quick ways to flip tables vertically and horizontally preserving the original formatting and formulas. Continue reading
If you are working with a continuously changing data set, you may want to make your named range dynamic so that it automatically expands to accommodate newly added data. In this tutorial, you will find detailed step-by-step guidance on how to do this. Continue reading
Names in Excel are a paradoxical thing: being one of the most useful features, they are often considered pointless or nerdy. This tutorial will teach you different ways to create a named range in Excel to make your formulas much easier to write, read, and re-use. Continue reading
To be able to use Excel formulas efficiently, you need to understand how Microsoft Excel calculates them. Not less important are calculation settings that can speed up, slow down or even stop your Excel calculations as well as maintain their accuracy. Continue reading
When it comes to calculations, there is almost noting that Microsoft Excel cannot do, from totaling a column of numbers to solving complex linear programming problems. Apart from that, you can use Excel as a calculator to do math - add, divide, multiply, and subtract numbers as well as raise to power and find roots. Continue reading
Being primarily designed as a spreadsheet program, Microsoft Excel is extremely powerful and versatile when it comes to calculating numbers or solving math and engineering problems. This tutorial aims to teach you the essentials of Excel functions and show how to use basic formulas in Excel. Continue reading
