Excel Hacks: Tips & Tools for Streamlining Your Spreadsheets

411 Pages·2007·8.41 MB·english

by  David Hawley

SECOND EDITION
EXCEL
HACKS
TM
David and Raina Hawley
Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Paris • Sebastopol • Taipei • Tokyo
Excel Hacks™
by David and Raina Hawley
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March 2004: First Edition.
June 2007: Second Edition.
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Small print:The technologies discussed in this publication, the limitations on these technologies
thattechnologyandcontentownersseektoimpose,andthelawsactuallylimitingtheuseofthese
technologies are constantly changing. Thus, some of the hacks described in this publication may
notwork,maycauseunintendedharmtosystemsonwhichtheyareused,ormaynotbeconsistent
withapplicableuseragreements.Youruseofthesehacksisatyourownrisk,andO’ReillyMedia,
Inc.disclaimsresponsibilityforanydamageorexpenseresultingfromtheiruse.Inanyevent,you
should take care that your use of these hacks does not violate any applicable laws, including
copyright laws.
This book uses RepKover™, a durable and flexible lay-flat binding.
ISBN-10: 0-596-52834-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-596-52834-8
[M]
Contents
Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Chapter1. Reducing Workbook and Worksheet Frustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.Create a Personal View of Your Workbooks 5
2.Enter Data into Multiple Worksheets Simultaneously 8
3.Prevent Users from Performing Certain Actions 11
4.Prevent Seemingly Unnecessary Prompts 15
5.Hide Worksheets So That They Cannot Be Unhidden 19
6.Customize the Templates Dialog and Default Workbook 21
7.Create an Index of Sheets in Your Workbook 23
8.Limit the Scrolling Range of Your Worksheet 26
9.Lock and Protect Cells Containing Formulas 30
10.Find Duplicate Data Using Conditional Formatting 34
11.Find Data That Appears Two or More Times Using Conditional
Formatting 35
12.Tie Custom Toolbars to a Particular Workbook 36
13.Outsmart Excel’s Relative Reference Handler 38
14.Remove Phantom Workbook Links 39
15.Reduce Workbook Bloat 42
16.Extract Data from a Corrupt Workbook 45
Chapter2. Hacking Excel’s Built-in Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
17.Validate Data Based on a List on Another Worksheet 48
18.Control Conditional Formatting with Checkboxes 50
vii
19.Identify Formulas with Conditional Formatting 54
20.Count or Sum Cells That Meet Conditional Formatting Criteria 56
21.Highlight Every Other Row or Column 58
22.Create 3-D Effects in Tables or Cells 60
23.Turn Conditional Formatting and Data Validation On and Off
withaCheckbox 62
24.Support Multiple Lists in a ComboBox 64
25.Create Validation Lists That Change Based on a Selection from
Another List 66
26.Use Replace... to Remove Unwanted Characters 68
27.Convert Text Numbers to Real Numbers 68
28.Extract the Numeric Portion of a Cell Entry 70
29.Customize Cell Comments 71
30.Sort by More Than Three Columns 73
31.Random Sorting 74
32.Manipulate Data with the Advanced Filter 75
33.Create Custom Number Formats 79
34.Add More Levels of Undo to Excel for Windows 84
35.Create Custom Lists 84
36.Boldface Excel Subtotals 85
37.Convert Excel Formulas and Functions to Values 89
38.Automatically Add Data to a Validation List 91
39.Hack Excel’s Date and Time Features 94
40.Enable Grouping and Outlining on a Protected Worksheet 98
41.Prevent Blanks/Missing Fields in a Table 100
42.Provide Decreasing Data Validation Lists 101
43.Add a Custom List to the Fill Handle 102
Chapter3. Naming Hacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
44.Address Data by Name 105
45.Use the Same Name for Ranges on Different Worksheets 106
46.Create Custom Functions Using Names 108
47.Create Ranges That Expand and Contract 112
48.Nest Dynamic Ranges for Maximum Flexibility 118
49.Identify Named Ranges on a Worksheet 121
viii | Contents
Chapter4. Hacking PivotTables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
50.PivotTables: A Hack in Themselves 124
51.Share PivotTables but Not Their Data 129
52.Automate PivotTable Creation 131
53.Move PivotTable Grand Totals 135
54.Efficiently Pivot Another Workbook’s Data 137
Chapter5. Charting Hacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
55.Explode a Single Slice from a Pie Chart 140
56.Create Two Sets of Slices in One Pie Chart 142
57.Create Charts That Adjust to Data 144
58.Interact with Your Charts Using Custom Controls 148
59.Four Quick Ways to Update Your Charts 152
60.Hack Together a Simple Thermometer Chart 157
61.Create a Column Chart with Variable Widths and Heights 160
62.Create a Speedometer Chart 164
63.Link Chart Text Elements to a Cell 171
64.Hack Chart Data So That Empty or FALSE Formula Cells Are
NotPlotted 173
65.Add a Directional Arrow to the End of a Line Series 175
66.Place an Arrow on the End of a Horizontal (X) Axis 177
67.Correct Narrow Columns When Using Dates 180
68.Position Axis Labels 181
69.Tornado Chart 184
70.Gauge Chart 186
71.Conditional Highlighting Axis Labels 188
72.Create Totals on a Stacked Column Chart 190
Chapter6. Hacking Formulas and Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
73.Add Descriptive Text to Your Formulas 193
74.Move Relative Formulas Without Changing References 194
75.Compare Two Excel Ranges 195
76.Fill All Blank Cells in a List 197
77.Make Your Formulas Increment by Rows When You Copy
AcrossColumns 199
78.Convert Dates to Excel Formatted Dates 202
Contents | ix
79.Sum or Count Cells While Avoiding Error Values 203
80.Reduce the Impact of Volatile Functions on Recalculation 205
81.Count Only One Instance of Each Entry in a List 206
82.Sum Every Second, Third, or Nth Row or Cell 208
83.Find the Nth Occurrence of a Value 210
84.Make the Excel Subtotal Function Dynamic 212
85.Add Date Extensions 214
86.Convert Numbers with the Negative Sign on the Right
toExcelNumbers 215
87.Display Negative Time Values 217
88.Use the VLOOKUP Function Across Multiple Tables 219
89.Show Total Time As Days, Hours, and Minutes 221
90.Determine the Number of Specified Days in Any Month 222
91.Construct Mega-Formulas 224
92.Hack Mega-Formulas that Reference Other Workbooks 226
93.Hack One of Excel’s Database Functions to Take the Place
ofManyFunctions 227
94.Extract Specified Words from a Text String 233
95.Count Words in a Cell or Range of Cells 234
96.Return a Worksheet Name to a Cell 236
97.Sum Cells with Multiple Criteria 239
98.Count Cells with Multiple Criteria 243
99.Calculate a Sliding Tax Scale 246
100.Add/Subtract Months from a Date 251
101.Find the Last Day of Any Given Month 253
102.Calculate a Person’s Age 255
103.Return the Weekday of a Date 256
104.Evaluate a Text Equation 258
105.Lookup from Within a Cell 259
Chapter7. Macro Hacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
106.Speed Up Code While Halting Screen Flicker 263
107.Run a Macro at a Set Time 264
108.Use CodeNames to Reference Sheets in Excel Workbooks 266
109.Connect Buttons to Macros Easily 267
110.Create a Workbook Splash Screen 268
x | Contents
111.Display a “Please Wait” Message 270
112.Have a Cell Ticked or Unticked upon Selection 271
113.Count or Sum Cells That Have a Specified Fill Color 273
114.Add the Microsoft Excel Calendar Control to Any Excel
Workbook 274
115.Password-Protect and Unprotect All Excel Worksheets
inOneFellSwoop 276
116.Retrieve a Workbook’s Name and Path 279
117.Get Around Excel’s Three-Criteria Limit for Conditional
Formatting 280
118.Run Procedures on Protected Worksheets 282
119.Distribute Macros 283
120.Delete Rows Based on a Condition 289
121.Track and Report Changes in Excel 293
122.Automatically Add Date/Time to a Cell upon Entry 297
123.Create a List of Workbook Hyperlinks 298
124.Advanced Find 300
125.Find a Number Between Two Numbers 306
126.Convert Formula References from Relative to Absolute 310
127.Name a Workbook with the Text in a Cell 315
128.Hide and Restore Toolbars in Excel 316
129.Sort Worksheets 319
130.Password-Protect a Worksheet from Viewing 320
131.Change Text to Upper- or Proper Case 322
132.Force Text to Upper- or Proper Case 324
133.Prevent Case Sensitivity in VBA Code 328
134.Display AutoFilter Criteria 329
Chapter8. Cross-Application Hacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
135.Import Data from Access 2007 into Excel 2007 331
136.Retrieve Data from Closed Workbooks 336
137.Automate Word from Excel 344
138.Automate Outlook from Excel 349
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Contents | xi
0
Credits
About the Authors
David and Raina Hawley provide business applications, software, develop-
ment,consultancy,training,andtutoringinallaspectsofExcelandVBAfor
Excel through OzGrid Business Applications in Western Australia.
David Hawley has spent the last 15 years creating business applications
using Excel and VBA for Excel on a day-to-day basis. He produces a
monthlynewslettercontaininginformationontheuseofExcelandVBAfor
Excel. He runs and maintains one of the largest Excel forums in the world
on the OzGrid web site.
Raina Hawley lectures in industry and in the college education system, and
isaregisteredworkplaceassessor.RainarunstheOzGridoffice,administra-
tion,consultancy,development,andtrainingsideofthebusiness,andworks
in Excel solutions alongside her husband.
David and Raina offer hundreds of Excel Add-Ins and business software
designed for data analysis in all industry areas through their web site at
http://www.ozgrid.com. The web site contains over 50,000 pages of free
Excelinformation.TheyliveinBunbury,WesternAustralia,withtheirtwo
children.
Contributors
The following people contributed their hacks, writing, and inspiration to
this book:
• Andy Pope is a programmer working in London. He has been using
computerssincethemid’80s.Hiscurrentroleinvolveswritingcustom-
izedsolutionsforreportingprojectsutilizingtheMSOfficeproductsvia
VBA. Andy also runs his own web site (http://www.andypope.info). His
xiii
contributions to the Excel community have been recognized by
Microsoft, which has awarded Andy with MVP status for the past four
years.
• DennisWallentinhasbeenworkingasanindependentExcelconsultant
sincethelate’80s.HeutilizesMSExcelandothertoolstodeveloppro-
fessionalsolutionsforallsizesofcompanies,includingthepublicsector
both in Sweden and internationally. He is currently focused on Visual
Studio Tools for Office System (VSTO). Dennis has a Masters in Busi-
ness and Management Accounting. He runs an English web site (http://
www.excelkb.com) and a blog (http://xldennis.wordpress.com).
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, we would like to thank our parents, Walter and Beryl
Fenlon and Mike and Marlene Hawley, for without their love and support,
we never would have made it through.
Thanks must also go to the team at O’Reilly, first and foremost Brian Saw-
yer, for all the hard work that he has put into this book. Andy Pope and
DennisWallentinmustbethankedalsoforthehacks theycontributed,and
wehavetomentionallthevisitorstoourwebsiteandforum,whohelpedus
to identify some of the most common issues that people face.
We would also like to say a special thanks to all moderators and Oz MVPs
on our free Q/A forum who share their time and knowledge in such an
unselfishway.Finally,wemustthankAleishaandKate,asalways,ourinspi-
ration.Theirunderstandingandextraeffortstobegoodwhilethebookwas
in progress will be remembered!!
xiv | Credits
0
Preface
Millions of Microsoft Excel users are busy creating and sharing spread-
sheetseveryday.Indeed,thespreadsheethasgrownfromapowerfulconve-
niencetoatransformativefoundationformanybusinesses,drivingdecision-
making around the planet.
AlthoughExcelisacriticaltool,manyExcelusersknowonlyaboutasubset
of its functionality. They utilize the pieces they need, often reusing more
complex pieces from existing templates, and don’t dive too deeply into
everything Excel has to offer. Odds are good that no single user actually
needs every feature in Excel, so this approach is pretty reasonable. At the
same time, though, it means a lot of people never get far enough along the
learning curve to see the techniques they can use to make their work much
easier.
WiththereleaseofMSOffice2007comesanewversionofExcel.Thereare
many changes with Excel 2007, the most obvious being the new user inter-
face.Theintroductionoftheribbonprovidesaresults-orientedinterfacethat
presents tools when you need them, in a clear and organized fashion. The
sizeofaspreadsheethasalsobeengreatlyincreased,withthenumberofcol-
umns now well over 16,000 and the number of rows over 1,000,000. The
total amount of memory that Excel can use has also been increased and is
limited only by the maximum available memory Windows will allow on
your PC.
Other improvements include easier use of PivotTables, conditional format-
ting and named ranges, live visual previews, predefined style galleries, table
formats, and SmartArt graphics allowing you to use more complicated
graphics in your spreadsheets. As most of us are usually required to work
acrossarangeofapplications,shareworkbooks,andconnectwiththeWeb,
Excel 2007 makes this much more user-friendly and easy to manage.
xv