Academy

A pivot table in Excel is an extraction or recap of your original table with source data. A pivot table can provide quick answers to questions about your table that can otherwise only be answered by complicated formulas.

A cell range in an Excel file is a selection of cells. This range is usually symmetrical (square), but can exist of separate cells just the same. You can refer to a cell range in a formula as well.

Place a formula close to its input variables. It’ll reduce the chance of mistakes, you’ll make optimal use of Excel’s support, and your spreadsheet becomes easier to carry over to someone else. Essentially, having formulas near their input makes your spreadsheet better.

It’s very tempting to merge cells in Excel, so that they form a header above two or more columns. Yes, we must admit, it looks nice, but resist the temptation because it can be dangerous!

The use of hard coded numbers is a bad idea. Other users will not know where it came from, and hard coded numbers don’t change automatically, and thus might be overlooked when a change is made.

Excel horror stories are often related to accidentally changing, shifting or changing units or number formats.