The Magic of Excel –Formatting Like a Pro

Jeff SteubenAlliance to Save Energy

jsteuben@ase.org

Session Overview

• Introduction

• What you can do with Excel

• Key features of Excel

• Before you start…

• Jeff’s Rules for better spreadsheets

• Questions

Introduction

• Session goal

• My background

• Excel is a tool to organize #’s/data

WHAT can we do with Excel?

Things you can do with Excel

• Making tables (easier than Word!)

• Calculator

• Fill out forms

• Ongoing data tracking

Things you can do with Excel

• Data analysis

• Present data

• Event organizing

Things you can do with Excel

• Mail merge

Key features of Excel

• Experienced users please bear with us

Formulas

• All formulas start with =

• SUM

– sums up all the cells inside the ( )

– Specify a range or individual cells

Formulas

• IF

– Conducts a logical test and can do one of two actions if test is TRUE or FALSE

Formulas

• ISBLANK

– Used in logical tests to see if a cell is blank

– Great for making calculations work without making things look ugly

Dragging formulas

• You don’t want to type this on every line

• Hover near the bottom right cornerof a selected cell until you see this

• Click and drag to copy

Dragging formulas

This becomes

And so on…

Relative vs. Absolute position

• Still looking at these two:

• Position won’t change (absolute) in the Column “$F” and the Row “$8”

Exclamation!

• Referencing a location on another tab uses this format:

Tab Name!

Followed by the cell location

• Needs single quotation marks iftab name is multiple words

Protecting Cells

• Two stage process

• By default, all cells will lock once youenable “Protect”

1. Select cells you want to be editable (e.g. data entry cells)

- Right Click

- “Format Cells” “Protection” Tab

- Uncheck “Locked”

Protecting Cells

2. Protect your sheet.

Enter a password &

select options

What you see when you open Excel

• Center your screen on what you want the user to see.

• Do this for every tab

• THEN save

What you see when you open Excel• The difference between seeing …

Hide Cells

• Remove cells from sight without deleting

• Save blank areas for future use

• Improve visual clarity

• Select ROWS or COLUMNS (not cells)

– Right click

– “Hide”

Becomes…

Before you start…

• Identify your process/goals for the project

• Ask yourself some questions:

Q: Will other people be using this?

• Always design as if you will get amnesia

• Don’t cut corners on labeling

• If your document is good, it will resurface in unexpected places

Q: Will the data be ongoing or one-time?

Or: Will I need limited or unlimited space for my data?

• Don’t box yourself in

Q: How many tabs will I need / should I have?

• As few as possible without overcrowding

• One document that tries to do everything is less helpful in the end

Q: How should I spatially arrange my data?

• Rows, Columns or boxes (areas)

• Depends on what you’re doing

Rows

C

o

l

u

m

n

s

Q: Will multiple people provide data to the sheet?

• Make a google doc

• Or track versions with file naming scheme –v1, v2, etc. or timestamp “2-6-2011”

Q: Will I need to prevent people from changing certain cells?

A: Protect the sheet

• Further editing becomes a pain – do this last

Take away message:

Design your document with the project in mind.

Jeff’s Rules

• But first…

WHY are people scared of Excel?

Jeff’s Rule #1

• Design with people in mind– Label all your data

– Make your spreadsheeteasy to read

Jeff’s Rule #2

• No hidden numbers inside cells

– Cells have either calculations (formulas) OR numbers

– Not both

Jeff’s Rule #3

• State your assumptions– The world runs on assumptions

– Do the best you can

– Be able to justify how you got them

– Be flexible to adjusting them

Jeff’s Rule #4

• Take advantage of visual formatting to improve clarity

– White border

– Bold outlines

– Fonts

– Cell colors (don’t overdo it!)

Jeff’s Rule #4b

• Use consistent design

– Color scheme

– Fonts

– Rows vs. columns

Jeff’s Rule #5

• Avoid clutter and over complexity

– Don’t overcrowd a sheet, make multiple tabs

– Keep tabs to minimum

– Adding more and more features/information results in a bloated document

– Significant figures

Wrap-up

• Excel can do many things

• Take advantage of Excel’s features

• Think before you start

• Remember Jeff’s Rules

and above all…

Design for CLARITY and TRANSPARENCY

Thank You!Questions?

Jeff Steuben

Alliance to Save Energy

jsteuben@ase.org