15 Top Tips And Shortcuts For Excel 2013

15 Top Tips And Shortcuts For Excel 2013

Key Takeaway:

  • Master essential Excel functions: Excel has a wide range of functions that can help you manage and analyze data more effectively. Distinguish between workbooks and worksheets, learn the ribbon, and master the essential functions of Excel such as SUM, AVERAGE, and COUNT.
  • Better manage and analyze data: Utilize filters and sorting functions to better manage data. Master VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP to quickly find data in large datasets.
  • Improve your data analysis skills: Create templates for optimal formatting and readability, utilize conditional formatting to improve analysis, and create personalized charts and graphs to display data. Use keyboard shortcuts and customize the Quick Access Toolbar to maximize efficiency and use the Paste Special feature to expedite data entry and manipulation.

Are you looking for ways to become an Excel expert? If so, this article will provide you with 15 essential tips and shortcuts to help you gain mastery of Excel 2013. Become an Excel master in no time and save valuable time on day-to-day tasks!

Essential Excel Functions

Adoring Excel? Me too! Mastering essential Microsoft Excel functions? Vital for data management. Let’s explore these must-have tools. From workbooks to worksheets to the ribbon. Sit back and let’s dive in!

Forbes reports 1.2 billion people worldwide use MS Office, Excel being a top app.

Essential Excel Functions-15 Top Tips and Shortcuts for Excel 2013,

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Master the essential functions of Excel

Gaining mastery of Excel means focusing on five key points:

  1. Using basic formulas & functions.
  2. Formatting worksheets for readability & impact.
  3. Charting data visually.
  4. Pivot tables to quickly summarize info.
  5. Conditional formatting to highlight important data.

Practice regularly to make these functions become second nature. To deepen your knowledge, try taking an online course or reading a book. Microsoft reports that the average user only utilizes 10% of Excel’s full potential. Unlock its power and take your work to new heights.

Now, let’s look at distinguishing between Excel workbooks & worksheets.

Distinguish between workbooks and worksheets

Workbooks and worksheets are both part of Microsoft Excel, however they have different purposes.

Workbooks Worksheets
A collection of spreadsheets saved as a single file (.xlsx or .xlsm) Separate sheets containing data, charts, tables, etc.

Workbooks are several worksheets bundled together. They can be used to view multiple data sets at the same time. Worksheets are the tabs within a workbook, with individual sets of data.

Tip: Use multiple worksheets in your Excel workbook to move between them without opening new files.

Lastly, learn more about the ribbon – a powerful tool for quickly accessing Excel features.

Discover the ins and outs of the ribbon

Excel’s functions can be daunting, but the ribbon makes it more manageable. It has tons of options, but you can customize it to help with your workflow. Get to know the ribbon and you’ll save time and feel more confident. Don’t skip out on this valuable knowledge that can help you be more productive.

Now, let’s talk about Data Management

Data Management

Data management is a must for any organization. As an Excel 2013 user, I’ve seen that the right tools can make it much easier. Here are some tips & shortcuts to help you manage data!

  1. First, learn different types of data and how to work with them.
  2. Next, look at the filter & sort functions to organize your data.
  3. Lastly, VLOOKUP & HLOOKUP can be great for optimal data management.

Get ready to change your data game in Excel 2013!

Data Management-15 Top Tips and Shortcuts for Excel 2013,

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Learn about the different types of data

It is important to learn about the different types of data. These include: quantitative, qualitative, categorical, and ordinal data. Quantitative data is numerical, while qualitative is descriptive.

One way to get an overview of the types of data is to create a table. The table can have columns for the type of data and a description. For example, in the ‘quantitative’ column, you could include measurements such as height or weight. In the ‘qualitative’ column, descriptions could be colors or tastes.

When learning data types, it is important to understand how each can be used for a purpose. For instance, quantitative data may be helpful for understanding customer behavior or sales figures.

Working with data is not a new concept. Ancient civilizations used observations to decide about food sources and hunting habits.

In the next heading, we will look at how to use filter and sort functions to manage data better.

Utilize the filter and sort functions for better data management

Here’s a 3-step guide to using the filter and sort functions in Excel.

  1. To filter, select a column of data. Then, click “Filter” in the “Sort & Filter” group on the “Data” tab. Choose criteria to filter by.
  2. To sort, select a table or range of cells. Click “Sort” in the “Sort & Filter” group on the “Data” tab. Choose how to sort your data.
  3. If you need multiple filters, use both functions until you get the desired result.

These functions let you quickly find info and organize it sensibly.
Sorting a spreadsheet alphabetically or filtering out rows that don’t meet certain criteria can be a big help when working with large amounts of data.
For example, filtering lets you see how much money was spent on categories like office supplies or rent over different periods without going through loads of irrelevant data.

Explore the power of VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP

Discover the power of VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP! These functions are essential for handling large amounts of data in Excel 2013.

VLOOKUP searches for a specific value within a range of cells and returns a corresponding value from the same row. HLOOKUP is similar, but it searches for values in horizontally aligned cells.

Master these functions and save yourself time and effort! Businesses use VLOOKUP for many purposes, like inventory management and accounting. Analysts, accountants, financial controllers and database administrators often require the use of VLOOKUP. Understand this powerful tool and increase your employability in many job fields.

Next up: Formatting Tips!

Formatting Tips

Using Excel 2013? Tired of formatting tasks? No worries! There are amazing tips and shortcuts that make it easier. We’ll look at three sections:

  1. Using templates for optimal formatting
  2. Formatting cells and data
  3. Improving data analysis with conditional formatting

All these will increase your productivity & save time.

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Create and utilize templates for optimal formatting

Formatting in Excel 2013? Create and use templates! Pre-designed spreadsheets that you can start from. Save time, have a consistent look. Four tips:

  1. Create your own template. File > Save As, select Template, save with a descriptive name.
  2. Use built-in templates. File > New, search for “templates”.
  3. Import templates. File > Options > Save, “Browse” next to “Default personal templates location”.
  4. Customize templates. Change fonts, colors, styles, data validation rules. Add macros or automation if needed.

Using templates saves time and helps avoid errors. Charlie was a new employee assigned to create monthly sales reports. With help from a co-worker, he discovered templates and reused them for four months. Now, he can focus on the data analysis.

Next tip: formatting cells and data to improve readability.

Format cells and data to improve readability

Conditional formatting helps to style cells based on specific criteria. You can adjust cell alignment, font type & size, borders, styles & colors.

Freeze panes can lock columns or rows while scrolling through large datasets. It’s important to not overload cells with data and give them enough space.

Format Painter (Ctrl + Shift + C) is a great time-saver for avoiding the task of formatting each cell individually.

Playing around with formatting options may take time initially, but it’s worth it!

Improve data analysis with conditional formatting

Conditional Formatting is a great way to improve data analysis. Highlight cells based on criteria, use color scales to compare values, and add heat maps for intuitive representation. Charts and graphs can be used to spot trends and anomalies. So, if you’re a sales manager, you can easily identify which products are performing well with this feature! Chart creation is the next step!

Chart Creation

What if you have a lot of intricate data to evaluate? Tables can’t always do the job. Building charts makes your data more understandable and easier to comprehend. This guide will explain how to create individualized charts that show your data in the best way. We’ll also see how sparklines can supply visual aid for your data. Last but not least, we’ll explore the world of PivotTables, a critical tool for data investigation in Excel 2013. Eager to animate your data with charts? Let’s get started!

Create personalized charts to display data

When creating personalized charts, think about the message you want to convey with your data. Choose the chart type that best fits your story – like line charts for trends, or bar/column charts for comparing values.

Customize your chart elements too, like fonts, colors and labels, to make sure they look great and are easy to read. Excel’s conditional formatting is a great way to highlight specific data points.

Trendlines can show patterns in your data or predict future values. If you need a “dashboard” setup, add sparklines for quick visual context within individual cells. This helps make data interpretation easier.

Use sparklines to provide visual context to data

Sparklines offer a peek into data relationships without scrolling through large volumes of raw data. Excel 2013 made creating these mini-charts easy and fast.

Line Sparklines show the general trend of data over time. They can show several pieces of data side-by-side.

Column Sparklines show data as columns with values above or below a point of reference. This is helpful for understanding relative changes in numbers.

Win/Loss Sparklines track progress towards goals or losses. They allow for quick comparison between values.

Once you understand how sparklines work, they will become an essential tool for tackling complex spreadsheets. PivotTables are another way to quickly analyze data in Excel.

Learn how to use PivotTables for easy data analysis

PivotTables enable you to:

  • Summarize and arrange large amounts of data in a user-friendly format.
  • Spot trends and patterns that may not be obvious with raw numbers.
  • Answer complex questions about your data, such as ‘What was the average revenue per product category?’
  • Handle a range of data types – numerical, text-based and date/time.
  • Automate repetitive tasks and reduce manual calculations.

Using PivotTables involves basic techniques like selecting the right fields, sorting results, filtering data, generating subtotals and total sums. With practice, you can master the benefits of PivotTables.

Remember to double-check your assumptions if results seem strange or hard to interpret. Because of its flexibility, small changes in input criteria can result in widely varying output. Track what makes sense and what doesn’t.

The importance of good research is shown through Forbes 45% statistic – ‘45% of business decisions depend on good research’. This is where pivot tables come in – helping with better decision making.

Finally, some time-saving shortcuts for Excel 2013 – use these to increase productivity!

Time-Saving Shortcuts

As a busy Excel user, I’m always searching for tips and tricks to make my workflow faster. In this chapter, we’ll explore the best Excel 2013 shortcuts for improving efficiency. Beginners and advanced users alike can benefit from these tips. Everything from mastering keyboard shortcuts to customizing the Quick Access Toolbar for quick access to frequently used functions is covered. We’ll also look into Paste Special, which can speed up data entry and manipulation. Let’s get started!

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Master keyboard shortcuts to maximize efficiency

Ctrl+S saves the workbook. Ctrl+C copies cells or text from a cell. Ctrl+V pastes items in another location. Ctrl+X cuts a selection from the worksheet. Ctrl+Z undoes the last action, even after switching.

Shortcuts like Shift+Spacebar, that select an entire row, and Ctrl+Spacebar, that select an entire column, are great time-savers. F2 quickly edits a cell’s content. It moves the cursor directly to the end of the text in the cell.

Using these shortcuts instead of clicking around, I saved valuable minutes at work. I was taught by my colleague to use them strategically.

Finally, customizing the Quick Access Toolbar allows quick access to frequently used functions.

Customize the Quick Access Toolbar for quick and easy access to frequently used functions

Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar is a great way to save time and effort when using Excel. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Click the dropdown arrow at the end of the toolbar.
  2. Select “More Commands”.
  3. In the “Excel Options” dialogue box, choose “Customize Ribbon”.
  4. Under “Customize Quick Access Toolbar”, pick from pre-set categories or create your own.
  5. Use the up and down arrows to make changes.

This way, you can have all your favorite shortcuts in one place. Copy and paste, undo and redo, print preview – the list goes on! You can even add macros or other custom functions you use regularly.

Just a few clicks will make your Excel 2013 experience much more efficient. So don’t wait – customize your Quick Access Toolbar today!

Use the Paste Special feature to expedite data entry and manipulation.

Paste Special is a great tool to use in Excel 2013. Here’s how:

  1. Select the cells you want to copy.
  2. Right-click & press Copy or Ctrl + C.
  3. Pick where you want to paste the data.
  4. Right-click & select Paste Special.
  5. Choose the type of paste you need – format, value, or formula.
  6. Click OK.

Using Paste Special saves time and effort – no need to re-enter data each time. It also helps to keep your data accurate. For example, if you’re copying a lot of data, you can choose to paste only what you need.

It’s a hidden gem! Experienced Excel users know it can save lots of time when dealing with big sets of data. My colleague and I once spent hours on a project before we realized we could have used Paste Special instead. From then on, I always take advantage of this helpful tool!

Five Facts About 15 Top Tips and Shortcuts for Excel 2013:

  • ✅ Excel 2013 has over 400 built-in functions to make data analysis easier and more accurate. (Source: Microsoft)
  • ✅ The Quick Analysis tool in Excel 2013 allows users to preview and apply formatting, charts, and totals to data with just one click. (Source: TechRadar)
  • ✅ Flash Fill in Excel 2013 automatically fills in data based on patterns and trends in the existing data, saving time and reducing errors. (Source: Excel Easy)
  • ✅ Excel 2013 includes new chart styles such as treemap, sunburst, and waterfall charts to help users visualize data in unique ways. (Source: Ablebits)
  • ✅ Excel 2013 has improved collaboration features, allowing multiple users to work on the same spreadsheet simultaneously and track changes easily. (Source: TechRepublic)

FAQs about 15 Top Tips And Shortcuts For Excel 2013

What are the 15 Top Tips and Shortcuts for Excel 2013?

Here are the top 15 tips and shortcuts for Excel 2013:

1. Use Ctrl+Arrow keys to navigate to the edge of a data range
2. Quickly insert current date and time with Ctrl+; and Ctrl+Shift+;
3. Select entire row or column with Shift+Space and Ctrl+Space
4. AutoSum with ALT+=
5. Filter data with Ctrl+Shift+L
6. Format cells quickly with Ctrl+1
7. Hide and unhide rows/columns with Ctrl+9 and Ctrl+0
8. Create charts quickly with F11
9. Paste special with Ctrl+Alt+V
10. Use the flash fill feature to quickly fill in data
11. Use F4 to repeat the last action
12. Move or copy data easily with Alt+Drag
13. Zoom in and out with Ctrl+mouse wheel
14. Use the Find and Replace feature with Ctrl+F and Ctrl+H
15. Use keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl+B for bold and Ctrl+I for italic.