Question:     I would like to multiply a list of values by 1.1 without inserting a formula.  Can this be done in MS Excel? Answer:        Yes, by using the Paste special function.  Why:            To quickly increase values by 10% without inserting a formula.  Applies To: Excel 2003, 2007, 2010 For this example the screen shot […]

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Question:         How can I create a shared workbook so that several people can edit the contents simultaneously? Answer:            By using a shared workbook to collaborate Why:                Can be used to track the progress of the user’s work and update information Applies To: Excel 2003, 2007 and 2010 The following screen shot will be used […]

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Question:     How do I calculate the depreciation for an asset using the straight line method? Answer:        By using the SLN function Why:            To return the straight-line depreciation of an asset for one period  Applies To: Excel 2003, 2007 and 2010 Reference is made to the example in the following screen shot 2.         Select […]

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Question:     When doing a conditional formatting command, I frequently wish I could extract/highlight the rows in which my data appears.  Is there a way to do this? Answer:        Yes, by using the conditional formatting formula function.  Why:            To highlight/extract the rows in which the Product Category item “Bath” appears by formatting the background color […]

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Question:     I have cash flow projections for two projects, how do I select the most viable project between the two? Answer:        By using The Net Present value (NPV), function and selecting the project with the highest  NPV Why:            Calculates the net present value of an investment by using a discount rate and a series […]

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Question:     How do I calculate the interest rate received for an investment consisting of payments (negative values) and income (positive values) that occur at regular periods? Answer:        By using the internal rate of return (IRR) Why:        Returns the internal rate of return for a series of cash flows represented by the […]

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Question:     How do I format cells to show dates as the day of the week? Answer:        By using the Custom number format command Why:            To display dates as the day of the week. (The text function can also be used to show dates as the day of the week)  Applies To: Excel 2003, 2007, […]

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Question:     Can I bypass the Text Import wizard when importing text files into Excel? Answer:        Yes  Why:            To quickly import a correctly parsed text file into excel and bypass the text import wizard Applies To: Excel 2003, 2007, 2010 The following text file will be used for this example. Assuming the name of the […]

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Question:     How do I display the total sales amount by way of a chart?  I don’t want to use the normal chart options given in Microsoft Excel. Is there an alternative to the normal chart options? Answer:        Yes, the REPT function Why:            Repeats text a given number of times. Use REPT to fill a […]

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Question:     We commissioned a research into the buying habits of our clients. How can we find the most frequently ordered quantity of our product? Answer:        By using the Mode function Why:            Returns the most frequently occurring, or repetitive, value in an array or range of data. Syntax MODE(number1,number2,…) Number1, number2, …   are 1 to […]

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