Professional Excel Support and Consulting

Just about anybody who has a column of numbers to add up, uses Excel. In fact, Excel is probably the most used software application program ever distributed.

Although Excel is pretty user-friendly, many of the worksheets created aren’t. After all, the creation of a worksheet isn’t restricted to people who understand how to use it.

I was once called in to help figure out what was wrong with a worksheet. Although a little more complicated than this description, the worksheet consisted of columns of numbers with totals below them. The problem was that when any of the numbers in the worksheet were changed, the affected totals didn’t update. It didn’t take too long to figure out that the totals weren’t formulas. The creator of the worksheet had used an adding machine to add up the columns and then manually entered the totals.

For most of us, Excel is a great tool. I have seen many instances where people saved hours of work each month with well-designed worksheets.

But when you have an Excel worksheet that doesn’t work or you have a problem you can’t figure out, give Summit Training a call. Let us work directly with you to help identify and solve your Excel problems.

We can come to you directly, or we can work remotely and save you the cost of travel. Our introductory, hourly rate for Excel help is $95.

ASK AMY: Zoom with Mouse

This is a mouse tip that appears to work in most Microsoft Office Applications and now that I know about it, I don’t know how I’d get along without it.

I stumbled upon this a few weeks ago and it was so simple that I thought maybe everyone knew it but me. But when I asked a few people, they were surprised too.

If you want to zoom in on a particular item (a word, a picture, or other object.) using the mouse, hold down the CTRL key and roll the mouse wheel forward. To zoom out, hold down the CTRL key and roll the mouse wheel backwards. Easy! 

I find this really helpful when working in Microsoft Publisher.

ASK AMY: Using Excel's Large and Small Functions

Recently I was asked if there was a way to find the second largest number in a range of cells. Off the top of my head I didn’t know the answer; however, after a little research I discovered the LARGE and SMALL functions.

For example, if you want to find the second largest number in a range of cells in column C the formula would look like:

=LARGE(C5:C305, 2)

Where:

• =LARGE  is the name of the function
• (C5:C305, is the range of cells (data set) of the numbers to be examined
• 2) is the k-th largest number within that data set

The SMALL function works the same way.

ASK AMY: Filling a Shape with a Picture

After last month’s tip appeared (Cropping a picture to a Shape), I was asked if I could fill a shape with a picture. Here are the steps to accomplish that. This tips works in PowerPoint, Word, and Publisher:

1. Select the shape you want to fill with a picture and add it to your document. Select the shape so that it has selection handles displayed on each corner and each edge.

2. The Drawing Tools tab has been added to the tab line.

a. Click on it and from within the Shape Styles group.
b. Click on the Shape Fill button.  A gallery displays:

3. From the gallery,

a. Select Picture. The Insert Picture dialog box displays.
b. Navigate to where the picture you want to insert into the shape is saved.
c. Select it and click on the Insert button. The picture fills the shape.

Before:

 

After:

 

Ask Amy: Cropping a Picture to a Shape

Cropping a Picture to a Shape

These steps will work in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint version 2010

1. Select the picture to be cropped to shape. It will have round selection handles on each corner and square selection handles ion the middle of each side.
2. Click on the Picture Tools Format tab.
   
   
3. Perform the following steps:
1. Click on the bottom of the Crop button
2. From the drop-down menu, select Crop to Shape.
3. Make a Selection from the Shapes Gallery. In our example, we chose Trapezoid.

The picture will be cropped to the shape:

 

Ask Amy: PowerPoint SmartArt Tip

When I’m working in PowerPoint is there any way to turn a bulleted list into a piece of SmartArt without retyping it?

1. Yes, select the bulleted list to be converted to SmartArt.
2. Right click on it.
3. From the shortcut menu, select Convert to SmartArt.
4. Make a selection from the gallery of SmartArt shapes.

Your bullets are converted into SmartArt and quickly go from this ….

To this: