Excel Tips and Tricks

Jon Paul
Progressive System Solutions, Inc.
847-295-7179
[email protected]
(Note- this was produced in 1997 for
the 97 version of Excel)
 How Cold Was It?
So cold I know someone who slept with 16
sheets on their bed!
 Just Open 1 Sheet!
• Select Tools from Menu Bar
• Select Options
• Select General
• Sheets in new workbook- change to 1
 Moving Between Worksheets
• Find arrow buttons in lower left hand side of
screen
• Right mouse click on far right arrow button
• You now get list of sheets
• If large number of sheets, select more sheets
on the bottom
• Scroll down to find the sheet you want
• Click OK- away you go!
Moving or Copying a Worksheet
• Right mouse click on worksheet name
• Select move or copy
• Choose a workbook you want to send it to
– selects current workbook by default
• Select where in the workbook you want it
• Check Create a copy if you want to copy it
– Otherwise you could be moving and not be
expecting it!
 Inserting or Deleting a
Worksheet
• Right mouse click on any worksheet name in
your workbook
• Select Insert
• Double click on Worksheet to add a blank
worksheet to your workbook
• Can use same technique to add chart
• Deleting- follow same steps only select Delete
rather than Insert- be careful!
 Driving With Half a Windshield
• Give yourself a full view of your worksheet
• One way to show the whole width- find
Zoom box- on toolbar and shrink percentage
• Even better way-
– highlight every column in your worksheet
– go to Zoom box on toolbar
– choose Selection
– will automatically resize worksheet for you
• Just changes size of view, not column size
 Your Car Has More Than One
Window- So Can Your Worksheet
• Window menu- select New Window
• Gives you a second view of your current
workbook
• Second window is not sized
• If going back to one window, make sure
you are closing out the second
• Windows will be identified by :1 or :2
Do You Leave Your Doors
Unlocked?
No

But How About Your Spreadsheets

Is Your Neighborhood Safe?

 Protect Your Work!
• Protecting a Worksheet
– First unlock cells you don’t want to protect- such
as input cells
– Then from Tools menu, select Protect Worksheet
– Decide if you want Password protection- not
needed if just protecting against input errors
– Remember your password, or your work goes to
spreadsheet heaven
Add the Club to Your Workbook
• Protect Your Whole Workbook
– In Tools menu, select Protection
– Then select Protect WorkBook
– Decide if you want password protection
– Structure- prevents modifying structure
– Windows- prevents opening, closing windows
 You “Auto” Save This One!
• Ever have your computer crash
• Ever turned off your computer too quickly

And

• You forgot to save your file!

 Your Insurance- AutoSave
• To enable AutoSave
– Go to the Tools menu
– Select Add-ins
– The Add-in dialog box appears
– Check AutoSave and click on OK
 AutoSave Options
• AutoSave is now in your Tools menu
• Go to Tools and select AutoSave
• The AutoSave dialog appears
• Select your choices
– save automatically or prompt you
– how often to save
– open workbook or all workbooks
 Painting Your House With a
Small Paintbrush?
• Excel’s Paintbrush- like a power sprayer
• Select range of cells with format you like
• Click on the Paintbrush button
• Click the cells you want to reformat
• When you release, cells are reformatted
• If you double click on Paintbrush button,
you can select non adjacient cells
 Wrap That Text!
• Put long strings of text together neatly in your
columns without having to:
– Run over to the next column
– Make your column super wide
• Select the cell or range (such as column)
• Go to Format menu and select Cells
• Go to Alignment Tab
• Click in Wrap Text box
 Does Your Data Make ‘Cents’?
Does anyone have $0.50 that I can borrow for
the pop machine?

No, but I might have 50 cents.

 Custom Formats- Adding Cents
• Select a cell you want to format
• From the Format menu select Cells
• Choose Number and then Custom
• Select a format for the number portion
• Go to the type box and the right hand side
– For the cent symbol, hold Alt key and type
0162- you see cent symbol on the screen
– For the cent name, type a space and cents
The Lawyers are Coming!
©
SM
TM
 Make Your Lawyer Happy!
• Copyright-
– type ( c ) and enter
Your Lawyer Is Getting Happier!
• Supersript
– type SM
– highlight SM in formula bar
– select format
– check Superscript
– cut down size of font
Now Your Lawyer Wants You to
Train Their Staff!
• Trademark- much easier
– type ( t m ) and enter
– no spaces inbetween
 Come Together- Merging Text
• Concatenate- easier to use than pronounce
• Select cell where you want merged text
• Click on formula bar or select Insert menu
and then Function
• In the Function dialog, choose Text on the
left side and Concatenate on the right
 Concatenating Tips
• Remember to include blank spaces
inbetween items
• Can refer to cells or put in text, but not at
same time
• Can copy concatenation formulas
• Can use text and number results
 It’s Time to Concatenate
• Save retyping the same thing
• Allow for automatic updates
• Copying text where only part of the text is
the same
 If Only the Cubs Could Replace
Their Lineup This Quick!

• Find & Replace

• Select Edit menu, then choose Replace
Replace Only What You Want To
• Highlight what you want to change
• Select Edit menu, then choose Replace
• Enter what you want to find and what you
want to replace it with
• Decide if you want to match case or entire
cell
 Replacing- Finishing Steps-
Selective Replacement
• Choose option button to the right
• Find Next- when you only want to replace in
certain cases- you control the replacing
• Replace- to go ahead and replace after you have
found a cell you want
• Click Find Next to find the next case
• Click Replace for only those you want
• Click OK when done
 Replacing- Finishing Steps-
Automatic Process
• Use when you are sure you want to replace
every instance in the area you selected
• Activate by choosing Replace All button in
right side of dialog box
• Replaces everything in the area you choose
– cell, cell block, worksheet, workbook
• If you overdid it, go to the Edit menu and
select undo (or click Ctrl + Z)
 Replacing- Some Ways to Use
• When something new is in the air!
• Copying workbook, worksheet or formulas
and using elsewhere
• Changing links, text or formulas
Help- I Can’t Get This Unstuck!
Are you using Superglue when regular Elmers
will do?
 Pick Your ‘Glue’
Use the Paste Special Button
• To begin, same step as full blown copy
– Highlight area you want to copy
– Go to area you want to paste to
• Then select paste special one of two ways
– Right mouse click or
– Pull down from edit menu
• Choose the Paste Special Option
• Click on OK
 Paste Special Options
• Formulas
• Values
• Formats
• All Except Borders
• Transpose
• Arithmetic Operation
• Paste Link
 They Have It In Rows, But I
Want It In Columns- Transposing
• Changing from rows to columns
• Changing from columns to rows
• When to use
– Change layout on new sheet
– Pull in information from a different layout (like
he has it in columns and I want it in rows!)
– Converting to database format
 I Value Your Information-
Paste Special- Value Option
• You want to capture the value, but:
– don’t need the formula
– can’t use the formula because it won’t work in
the new spot
 I Like Your Layout-
Paste Special- Format Option
• You have a layout you want to copy, but don’t
need the formulas or values
• Particularly good if dealing with a whole
block of cells
• Consider the paintbrush button as another way
to do this
• Can do with another paste special option
– first do the other option, then do format
I Like Your Formula- But Where
Did You Get That Layout?
• Use the Paste Special- Formula option to
just copy the formula
• Can then format any way you like
• Great to use when you already have your
format set up in your destination and don’t
want to override it
I Like Your Formula- But Don’t
Box Me In!
• Paste Special- All Except Borders
• Pastes formulas and formats except for the
borders
• Use where you like the formula and formats
but have a different setup for borders
 Changing Data- We Won’t Tell
Your Boss How Easy It Is
• Paste Special- Operation option
• Fast way to change data automatically
• Add, subtract, multiply or divide
• Usually use with the value option in Paste
Special
 How to Operate
• Put change in separate inactive cell
– such as 1.10 to multiply by 10%
• Copy that inactive cell
• Go to where you want to make changes
– this could be a whole range of cells
• Select paste special and the operation
– such as value and multiply
• Click on OK to finish
• Go back and erase the inactive cell
How Many Kids Do You Have?
We have an average size family

2.3 kids
 Get A ‘Round’ to This
• Round functions for more meaningful
numbers
– 2 or 3 kids, not 2.3 kids
• Changes to whole number so next
calculation also makes sense
– at 10,000 per kid, cost is 20,000 or 30,000
• Round, Roundup or Rounddown
 Round to Your Size
• Round- rounds up (5-9) or down (0-4),
depending on the digits being rounded
• Roundup- rounds up, away from zero
• Rounddown- rounds down, closer to zero
• How to do:
– = Round(calculation, decimal places)
– decimal places can be negative number
– substitute Roundup or Rounddown if wanted
 How Do You Eat at a Buffet?
Do You Take Everything They Offer You?

Rumor Has It That I Do!

 You Wouldn’t Build a House
Without These
• Ceiling-
– Round up to a nearest multiple (such as 10, 25)
• Floor-
– Same thing, only now you round down to a
nearest multiple
 You Don’t Have to Sum
Everything Either
• SUMIF function- choose just what you
want to sum
• Enter your criteria
• Click on the cell where you want the sum
• Pull down the Function dialog box
• =SUMIF(Criteria Range,Criteria,Value
Range)
 More on SUMIF
• Criteria Range- list describing what you
want to sum-
– such as rate plan chosen
• Criteria- which item from the list do you
want to sum
– such as which rate plan
• Value Range- range which holds the values
you want to sum
– such as monthly bills by rate plan
 Okay- How Many Did You
Take?
• COUNTIF- like SUMIF, but instead gives
you a count
• Not adding any values, so you only need the
Criteria Range and the Criteria
• =COUNTIF(Criteria Range, Criteria)
• = COUNTIF(A2:A20,Basic Rate Plan)
– counts number of times in A2:A20 that people
chose the Basic Rate Plan
 How Much or How Little?
• MAXIMUM
– =MAX(Range)
– gives highest value in a range
• MINIMUM
– =MIN(Range)
– gives lowest value in a range
 Who’s Number Two?-
You Might Care
• Get LARGE or SMALL
• =LARGE(Range,2)
– shows who is 2nd largest in the Range
• =SMALL(Range,3)
– shows who is 3rd smallest in the Range
 We Even Like Average Things
• AVERAGE(Range)
– =AVERAGE(A1:A20) gives average in A1-A20
– Excludes blank cells; includes zeros
• MEDIAN(Range)
– Gives middle-most value in a range
• MODE(Range)
– Gives value that shows most often
 Going Around in Circles?
• The dreaded Circ message
• Shows on bottom of screen
• Keeps you from recalculating
• Happens when two formulas refer to each
other
 Break out of the ‘Circ’
• Find where the Circ is
– If it just says Circ, it is in some other worksheet
– If it says Circ F34 for example, you are there
– go to the cell it mentions
 Fixing the Circ- Next
• Find the link
– use the auditing function if needed
• Check for cross referrals
– such as a=b and b=a
• Remember your last move before the Circ
 The Circ Still Won’t Go Away!
or
I Have Grown a Whole Colony!
• How old is your backup of the file?
• Change one formula at a time to values
– when the Circ message goes away, that is the formula
you need to fix
• Delete sheets, columns or rows
– when the Circ message goes away, that is the formula
you need to fix
• Restore the copy and fix at that point
Make an Auditor Work for You!
• Select tools from the menu bar
• Pull down to auditing
• Select the direction you want to go
– dependents- where this cell links to
– precedents- what links into this cell
• Click on the arrow to go to that link
• When done, go back to the auditing menu to
remove the arrows
 Other Auditing Tools
• Display formulas instead of values
– Tools menu- select Options
– Choose View tab
– Select formulas in Windows options
• Display information box for a cell
– Tools menu- select Options
– Choose View tab
– Select Information Box in display options
Ever See Someone Weigh
Themselves

One Limb at a Time?

 Weighted Averages in One
Calculation
• Use the sum function
• Sum the first group, but dotn’t close yet
• Multiply times the second group
• Enter the closing parenthesis, but don’t enter yet
• To enter the formula:
– Ctrl + Shift + Enter (all together)
• You will see brackets around the sum
 Weighted Average Example
• = sum(c4:c15*d4:d15)
• to enter formula hit Ctrl + Shift + Enter
• now looks like = sum{(c4:c15*d4:d15)}
• if you just hit enter, you will get a Value?
error message
• to fix, click on the formula in the formula
bar and hit Ctrl + Shift + Enter
What’s Your Name?
Hi A3, I’m C4
 What to Name
• Columns
• Rows
• Ranges
• Worksheets
• Charts
 Why Use Names?
Because It’s Easier To:
• Remember names than references
• Write formulas
• Check and debug formulas
• Copy formulas
• Make links
• Protect against broken links
• Do search and replace
• Update as needed
Which Formula Is Easier to
Check?
• A3 - A5

• Sales - Costs
 How to Add Names- Name Box
• Using the Name box- left of Formula bar
– highlight the cell or range you want to name
– click in the box and enter the name (no spaces)
– hit enter (otherwise name does not get saved)
 Adding Names- With Menu Bar
• Using the Menu- individually define
– highlight the cell or range you want to name
– in Insert menu, select Names
– select Define Names
– give it a name and click OK
• Using the Menu- group define
– highlight the range you want to name
– in Insert menu, select Names and Create Names
– select rows and/or columns and click OK
 Use Names to Add Constants
• Example: WeekendFee = 9.95
• Suppose you have a value you will use over and
over again in a workbook
• Use names to set up that constant
• Makes sure you always use the same value
• If needs to be changed, can do all at once
• To set up constant, have to use Names menu
 Referring to Names in Formulas
• Go to cell and hit = or + to start formula
• From Insert menu, choose Names and Paste
• Select the Name and click OK
• Can also select name by going to Name Box
• Click on down arrow to pull up Name list
• Select the Name and Enter
• A third way- type in Name manually
 Multiple Names in Formulas
• You can have multiple names in formulas
• To put in additional name:
– Put in first name
– Add the next part of your formula
– Put in second name
– Continue as needed
 Show List of Names
• You can paste a list of all names to a sheet
• Insert new worksheet and call it Names
• From Insert menu choose Names and Paste
• From dialog box select Paste List
• Expand size of column as needed
• Note- new Names not automatically added
– Do paste link again as needed
 Let’s Link Up
• Paste Special- Paste Link Option
• Use when you want to have an automatic
link to the original cell
• Only works with pasting all or pasting all
except borders
• Great for starting at source and copying to
the destination
 More Than One Way to Link
• Can also link starting from the destination
cell:
– Click on the destination cell
– Enter “+” or “=“
– Go to the source of the information
– Hit enter to complete the link
 Can You Name Another Link
• Have you set up Names?
• If so, you have an even better way to link
• Get on the destination cell
• Go to the Insert menu and select Names
• Choose Paste option and select the Name
• You now have a link to a Name range
• Link needs to be in same relative position
 Is Your Fence In Good Shape?-
Check Your Links
• In Edit menu, select Links
– If Links is greyed out, you have no links
• Can change source to different workbook
• Open source if you want to check it out
• If Update Source highlighted, may need to click
on Update Now to update
• If source already open, should automatically
update
Sherlock Holmes Wishes He Was
Around For This
• Solver- find the answer you are looking for
• Get the right answer right away, rather than
having to keep guessing until you get it
• Solve complex what-ifs very quickly
• Solver is an add-in- to install:
– In Tools menu, select Add-ins
– In Add-in dialog, click on Solver and then OK
 Solver Steps
• In Tools menu, select Solver
– if Solver is not a choice, you need to add it in
• Target cell- where your target to solve is
• Equal to- specify value (or min or max)
• By changing cells- cells you want to change
to get target to desired value
• Can add constraints but not needed
• Click on Solve to let it run
 Solver Result
• If Solver finds results, you get Solver
Results dialog box
– Get choice to keep choice or restore original
• Can also save choice as a scenario
• If there is not a logical choice, Solver will
come back and say it could not find one
– In that case, restore original solution
Can’t Make Up Your Mind-
Then Don’t
With Scenario Manager

You can see it many ways

 Scenario Manager
• In Tools Menu, select Scenario Manager
• Choose Add to add a scenario
• Give scenario a name
• Enter range of cells you want to change
– can do by clicking on each cell or range
– use comma inbetween multiples to separate
• Next you get dialog box to input values
 Scenario Setup Tips
• Start with a scenario for the values you
have in place- such as Expected
• Percentages should go in at the decimal or
percent value- .05 or 5% rather than 5
• Can change multiple values in same
scenario
• Can go back and edit later
• Add scenario toolbar
 Showing Scenarios
• In Tool menu select Scenario Manager
• You get the Scenario Manager dialog box
• Highlight a scenario
• Click on show to show the scenario
• Can see results without closing dialog box
• Even better way- use Scenario Manager
toolbox
 Tools Tim Allen Would Love!
• Go to toolbar area- right click in open
section to the right
• Or in View menu, select Toolbars
• You get a toolbar menu- go to Customize
• Select the Utility category
• Click and hold on scenario box at right
• Drag to open area in toolbar section
• You are done- now click Close
 Scenario Summary-
Show Your Scenario Results
• In Tools menu, select Scenarios
• In Scenario Manager, choose Summary
• In next dialog box, select Scenario
Summary and click OK
• Your Scenario Summary is done in a
separate worksheet
 If I Could Lookup My Remote
Control This Easy
• Do powerful lookups in groups of data
• Horizontal Lookup
– Lookup rows of data in column that you select
• Vertical Lookup
– Lookup columns of data in row that you select
 Horizontal Lookup
• Enter lookup value in a cell
• Go to cell where you want the result
• Click on formula bar or Insert menu and
then Function to pull up Function box
• Select Hlookup
– Lookup value- cell where you have the value
– Table array- range of data you want to lookup
– Row index number- row number in the range of
data you are looking up
– Whether you want exact or approximate match
 Vertical Lookup
• Enter lookup value in a cell
• Go to cell where you want the result
• Click on formula bar or Insert menu and
then Function to pull up Function box
• Select Vlookup
– Lookup value- cell where you have the value
– Table array- range of data you want to lookup
– Column index number- Column number in the
range of data you are looking up
– Whether you want exact or approximate match
When to Use Lookups- In Case
You Ever Need to Look This Up
• When the data in the table will change- just
change it in the table
• When your If statements are getting too
long
• When you need a good way to summarize
information
 Lookup Pointers
• Have your data organized in a table
• Use a range name for the table
• Row and column numbers don’t change
when you copy a lookup formula-
– you need to edit these manually
• Make the input cell absolute for copying or
set it up as a range name also
When You Get to a Fork in the Road

Take it!

Your formulas can have forks to!

 If Statements
• Get different results based on conditions
• If(condition, value if true, value if false)
• To do an If statement
– Go to cell and type =If(
– Type in condition- such as A1>B1
– Type in value if condition is true- like +C3
– Type in value if condition is false- like +C4
– Type in ) and enter to finish
– Here is a formula- =If(A1>B1,+C3,+C4)
 Nests- Not Just For Birds
Use nesting to make powerful formulas!
 Nesting- Here’s How
• Basic If statement
– =if(b3=c3,+c1,+d1)
• Nested If statement
– =if(b3=c3,+c1,if(b3=d3,+d1,+e1))
• A bigger nest
– =if(b3=c3,+c1,if(b3=d3,+d1,if(b3=e3,+e1,+f1)))
Picture This- Building Better Charts
• Store chart in separate sheet
• Need to reformat a line?
– double click on chart, then right mouse click the
line, bar, etc. you want to change
• Need to add or delete a section-
– double click on the Chart Wizard
– manually change the reference
• Can’t find a line you are looking for?
– hide the source of other lines to isolate this one
 Help- My Chart Is In Mars
• You have gotten the ugly External
Reference is not valid message
– happens when you delete a section in a
worksheet that is still referred to in a chart
• It is there in the chart, but now just a dot
– Find the dot and click on it
– Reference should show in formula bar
– Delete the reference
 Copying- Part of a Cell
• Click on the cell
• Go to the formula bar
• Highlight the section you want
• Right mouse click
• Select copy
• Go to where you want to paste
• Select paste
Copying Part of a Cell- Use When:
• Copying part of a formula from one cell to
another
• Debugging part of a long formula
– copy pieces to individual cells to see the results
of the various parts of the formula
• Also can use this in reverse
– do long formulas in pieces in different cells to
test out first
– then piece together the formula
Calculating Alternatives One at a
Time?

Table that idea!

Instead, use data tables

 Sample Data Table Layout
Cell 1 Name sample value Sample Data Table Layout
Cell 2 Name sample value

Result Cell sample result

Headers- Optional
Formula Cell Input Cell 2 Values

Input Cell 1 Values Data Table Results

 Data Table Setup
• Set up input cells 1 and 2 with sample value
• Set up result cells with sample calculation
• Block out rectangle for data table
• Put formula in upper left corner of rectangle
• Put input values in left column and top row
of rectangle
• Now ready for finishing steps
• Format formula cell same color as its
background so it doesn’t show
 Data Tables- the Finish
• Highlight the Data Table range
– should be rectangle that includes row and
column values; start in upper left corner
• From Data menu, select Tables
• Enter Row Input cell
• Enter Column Input cell
• You are done!
And You Thought Vegematic
Could Slice and Dice!
Slice and Dice Your Data

Make Your Data Dance

Check Out Pivot Tables

Go 3D and Beyond
 Get Your Data Ready
• Needs to be in a database format
• Titles in the first row
• Data in the other rows
• Can use data imported from other files
Transfering Data to a Pivot Table
• From Data menu, select Pivot Table
• The Pivot Table Wizard appears
• Choose your source- usually Excel database
• Select the database range- include titles
• Next drag field buttons to where you want
that data in the pivot table (more on this)
• Finish- create pivot table name
Pivot Table Field Buttons Options
• Page- show data one “page” at at time on
the screen- such as one MTA, then another
• Rows and Columns- just as you think it is
• Data- the data in the middle
– remember, best if it is data (this is easy to
forget)
 Explore Pivot Table Power!
• Move your field buttons around- like
looking in a cube from a different angle
– in and out of page view
– from rows to columns
– different order of fields
 Here’s What One Looks Like
Date (All)

Sum of Amount MTA

AcctType Referral Colorado Oregon Wisconsin Grand Total
1 Year Advertising 2096 500 435 3031
Direct Sale 14231 3442 1100 18773
1 Year Total 16327 3942 1535 21804
2 Year Advertising 422 0 1496 1918
Direct Sale 6467 5500 1763 13730
2 Year Total 6889 5500 3259 15648
IRA Advertising 364 0 920 1284
Direct Sale 270 100 426 796
IRA Total 634 100 1346 2080
Monthly Advertising 650 1298 315 2263
Direct Sale 7941 2151 7986 18078
Monthly Total 8591 3449 8301 20341
Grand Total 32441 12991 14441 59873
 Other Pivoting Tips
• When you refresh data you lose formats-
consider a macro to restore the formats
• You can do other things with the data-
averages, counts, maximums, minimums
• Can show same field twice-
– such as a sum and an average
• Consider different pivot tables for favorite
views
 Calculations- Just For You
• You can build custom calculations
• Great for repeat calculations that you will
use in different workbooks or worksheets
• Great for changing a factor (such as
commissions) all at once
• Gets automatically added to the User
Defined function list
• Call up the calculation from the Function
Wizard just like built-in Excel functions
 Calculation Example
Revenues
Min Max Rate
- 999 0%
1,000 2,499 4%
2,500 4,999 7%
5,000 9,999 10%
10,000 19,999 13%
20,000 15%
 Calculation Function
• Function Commission2(Revenue)
• Select Case Revenue
• Case 0 To 999.99: Commission2 = 0
• Case 1000# To 2499.99: Commission2 = 0.04
• Case 2500# To 4999.99: Commission2 = 0.07
• Case 5000# To 9999.99: Commission2 = 0.1
• Case 10000# To 19999.99: Commission2 = 0.13
• Case Is > 19999.99: Commission2 = 0.15
• End Select
• End Function
Calculating the Commission
Enter Revenues 15,000
Commission Rate 13%
Commission Amount 1,950
 Elephants Can’t Fly, But Your
Printer Can
• Use macros to automate your page setups
and printing
• Use buttons to set up print routines you can
easily go back to
 Printing Macros- Setup
• In Tools menu, select Record Macro
• Then select Record New Macro
• Give macro a name (like Print (and sheet))
– can’t have space (so Print_Solver is OK)
• Select options and assign it to the menu if
you want it on the menu
• Select OK to start recording
 Print Macro- Recording
• Go to sheet you want to print
– If already on the sheet when you set up macro,
then move to another sheet and back
• Click on the print button
• Then stop recording- click on the black box
• You are done with the macro
 Check Out the Print Macro
• ' Print_Solver Macro
• ' Macro recorded 4/8/97 by Preferred Customer
• '

• Sub Print_Solver()
• Sheets("Solver").Select
• ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1
• End Sub
 Make More Print Macros
• Go to the sheet where the print macro is
located (name it Print Macros)
• Highlight and copy Print_Solver
• Go below Print_Solver and paste
• Highlight the new macro
• Change Solver in new macro to Scenarios
• You now have your second print macro!
 As Jay Leno Said- We’ll Make
More- Here’s a Faster Way
• Code a macro directly- here’s how
• Go below Print_Scenarios
• Enter two spaces
• Start with ‘ (apostrophe) for comment
• Finish the comment line
– ‘ Print_Sumif Macro
• Enter another space- see next chart
 Set Up Your Coding
• Now you are ready for the code
• Enter Sub and Macro name in first code line
– Sub Print_Sumif
• Hit enter to finish this line
• Hit enter again for a blank line
• Next enter End Sub
• Now we will go and enter the body
 Finish Your Coding
• Go back to the blank space inbetween the Sub
and End Sub line- this is where we will put
the code
• Indent and then enter:
– Sheets(“Sumif”).Select
• Enter to finish that line; on next line enter:
– ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1
• That’s it- you finished!
 Test Your Print Macro
• You can test your macro while still in the
Print Macro sheet
• Keep your cursor in the body of the
Print_Sumif macro
• Then click on the green arrow in the toolbar
above
• Your macro is running!
 Summary- Macro Parts
• Introductory Comments
• Sub- starts the macro
• Body of the macro
• End Sub- ends the macro
 Tying the Macros Together
• Macros can also run other macros
• First, manually set up another macro
• Name this macro Print_All
• In the body add names of other print macros
– Print_Solver
– Print_Scenarios
– Print_Sumif
• This macro will run all 3 at the same time
That’s Fine But I Don’t Like the Page
• One of the most cumbersome things in
Excel can be setting up pages
• Updating page setups isn’t much more fun
• Macros to the rescue here too!
 Setup the Print Setup Macro
• Select a sheet you want to setup
• Set up recording a macro like before
– Tools menu, Record Macro
– Select Record New Macro
– Give macro a name- call it Print_Setup
– Click OK to start recording the macro
 Record the Print Setup Macro
• You are now recording the macro
• Go to the File menu- select Print Setup
• Make the print setup choices you want
• Click on OK to close print setup
• Click black recorder button to stop
recording macro
 Using the Print Setup Macro
• If settings you want are already same as the
macro, just go ahead and run the macro
• If not, go to Macro sheet with Print_Setup
• Edit any setups you want to do differently
on another sheet
• Go to the sheet where you want to change
the print setup
• Run the macro
 You Wouldn’t Dress Without
Buttons
• Use buttons for quick access to your macros
• Ways to use:
– For different print versions of the same sheet
– On a print index worksheet to choose which
sheets to print
 Using Buttons
• Locate a sheet for the buttons (Print Index)
• Right click in toolbar area and select Forms
• Click the Button button (sorry, had to say it)
• Go to the spot where you want the button
• Click and draw the button in
• You can assign a macro; click OK to finish
• Right click on the button to rename it
• Add label next to button if you like
 Adding More Buttons
• Repeat previous steps or
• Copy current button
– right mouse click and select copy
• Paste the button to the new spot
• Rename the new button
• Right mouse click new button and choose Assign
Macro
• Assign macro that belongs to new button
 Waiter- It’s Not on the Menu
• Another option to buttons
• Put it on the menu
• In Tools, select Macro
• Click on the macro and then Options
• Check the box, Assign to Menu Item
• Add a name for the menu bar (spaces okay)
• Click OK
• It’s now on the bottom of the Tools menu
 Closing Ideas
• Use Those Names!
• Keep Values in Separate Cells-
– don’t bury them in formulas
• Build Formulas in Pieces
• Split Your Work Into Separate Sheets or
Workbooks
– don’t overload a sheet or workbook
• Keep Learning and Experiment
 Congratulations
You’re Ready to Excel!

Jon Paul
Progressive System Solutions, Inc.
847-295-7179
[email protected]