A data validation drop down list has ‘Beverage’, ‘Food’, ‘Dessert’. You select ‘Food’. In the 2nd drop down list you want to see only ‘Food’ items (‘Chicken’, ‘Meatloaf’, ‘Seafood’). The 2nd list depends on the 1st. This is a dependent drop down list in Excel. I’ll explain my favorite way to solve this. Continue reading
Years ago, Brad Isaac was working as a stand-up comedian. One night Brad saw Jerry Seinfeld at a comedy club and asked him if he had any advice for a young comic. Read Jerry’s advice and how this applies to learning Excel! Continue reading
When faced with a challenge in Microsoft Excel it’s rare that two very different approaches can both be equally amazing! In this post I’ll review two completely different solutions from Oz du Soleil and David Hager. Continue reading
In Microsoft Excel there are often many different ways to create a solution. The best solution is often subjective based on whether we emphasize simplicity or efficiency. Here is a good example: Continue reading
You created a cool array formula and then merged it across several cells. Later, you realize that you need to modify this array formula. When you try to press Control Shift Enter you get this horrible error: Continue reading
Every once in a while we get a unique challenge in Excel. This one required some creativity to quickly create a solution due to a pending deadline.
Continue reading
I’ve been a data analyst since 2001. It’s often challenging to accurately & quickly explain certain concepts. There is one that is a classic. I’m going to explain it with the help of Hugh MacLeod’s book “Evil Plans”. No nerdy data terms. The concept first. Continue reading
How did a New York Times article about the lack of scientific cat research lead me to this spreadsheet: “Affective norms of 875 Spanish words for five discrete emotional categories and two emotional dimensions” ? Continue reading
During our recent vacation to New York City my wife and I loved eating tacos at TACOMBI. However, when I saw the menu it reminded me of a common data challenge! Continue reading
One of Microsoft Excel’s most prolific features is the Pivot Table. Pivot Tables offer an efficiency and effectiveness in making sense of large amounts of data in almost no time. With that in mind, we now turn our attention to a scenario where we will create a Pivot Table in five minutes. Continue reading