Our top 5 Microsoft Excel tips of 2015

In 2015 we shared a total of 40 Microsoft® Excel® tips with you. We’ve collated the best performing tips, and put together your top 5 tips. These top 5 Excel tips were viewed and revisited the most by our subscribers throughout the year.

1. How to create a waterfall chart in Excel

A waterfall chart is a special type of column chart used for understanding how an initial value is affected by a series of intermediate positive or negative values. Usually, the initial and final values are represented by whole columns, while the intermediate values are denoted by floating columns. Revisit this tip to see how to create a waterfall chart.

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2. An easy way to use Conditional Formatting within Excel

Conditional Formatting is an effective Excel feature that allows you to highlight important information, for example; you can find duplicate values within your spreadsheet. In this tip we’ll show you how you can create your own rule by applying conditional formatting to cells, or ranges of cells.

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 3. How to quickly create a dynamic drop-down list in Excel

A dynamic drop-down list in Excel is a convenient way of selecting data without making changes to the source. When you delete or add months, the list changes to accommodate that action, whereas a normal list does not. In this tip we show you how to create a dynamic drop-down list by using Data Validation, OFFSET and COUNTA functions.

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4. Let’s take a look at some common Excel errors and how to correct them

In Excel you can encounter many different errors when creating or working with formulas. Therefore it is important to learn how to correct these errors or you risk the chance of unintended results being displayed on your spreadsheet. Revisit this tip and see how you can overcome some common Excel errors.

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5. How to create your own financial dashboard

If you are looking for quick insights into your financial business performance then creating an interactive dashboard might be the answer. By using a dashboard, you can quickly and easily recognise trends, do comparisons, and review performance indicators that will lead to more informed decision making. Follow the steps in this tip to create your own Financial Dashboard.

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Excel on Steroids Tips and Tricks will help you make the most of the business reporting features in Excel. If you wish to revisit any of our previously published tips, please visit our website.