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Wednesday, June 29, 2011 – Permalink –

Spreadsheet Boo-Boos

Design suggestions

A few links to sites with advice on spreadsheet design and error detection.

European Spreadsheet Risks Interest Group:
Spreadsheet mistakes - news stories

John F. Raffensperger:
(oldies but . . .)
Spreadsheet Style

Microsoft Assistance:
Worksheet design strategy

Raymond R. Panko, PhD University of Hawaii
What We Know About Spreadsheet Errors

See all Topics excel
Labels: General, Reference, Tips, Troubleshooting

<Doug Klippert@ 3:26 AM

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Saturday, June 25, 2011 – Permalink –

Web Data

Numbers from the ether

Excel has had a feature called web query. Here's an add-in that makes it a little easier.

"The Excel 2007 Web Data Add-In makes it easy to use a Web page as a data source in Excel.

The add-in plugs into Excel 2007 seamlessly, its entry point located on the Data Tab under the From Web option. The system extracts data by learning from a user’s selection of data they wish to capture into Excel. The more selections, the more the system is trained."

Web Data

Getting data from the Web in Excel

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Labels: Functions, General, Link, Reference, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:45 AM

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Saturday, June 18, 2011 – Permalink –

Smart Tags

Don't hide

In Excel, if you type a stock ticker symbol, the options offered on the Smart Tag are:

Stock quote from MSN MoneyCentral

Company report from MSN MoneyCentral

Recent news on MSN MoneyCentral

Insert a refreshable stock price

Remove the Smart Tag

Smart Tag options (This brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu.)

Complete tasks quickly with Smart Tags How to turn on smart tags. Smart tag functionality is turned off by default. Before you can use smart tag functionality, you must turn on smart tag recognition. To do this, follow these steps, as appropriate for the version of Excel that you are running.
Microsoft Office Excel 2007

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Excel Options.

Click Proofing.

Click AutoCorrect Options.

In the AutoCorrect dialog box, click the Smart Tags tab.

Click to select the Label data with smart tags check box.

In the Recognizers box, click to select the check boxes next to the specific smart tag recognizers that you want to turn on, and then click OK.

Click OK to close the Excel Options dialog box.

Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and earlier versions of Excel

On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.

In the AutoCorrect dialog box, click the Smart Tags tab.

Click to select the Label data with smart tags check box.

In the Recognizers box, click to select the check boxes next to the specific smart tag recognizers that you want to turn on, and then click OK.

Smart tag functionality

See all Topics excel
Labels: Functions, General, Reference, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:39 AM

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Sunday, June 12, 2011 – Permalink –

All the Basics

All(most) all you need to know

Office.Microsoft.com has a short demo that shows you the main things anyone needs to know about Excel.

There are many thousands of users who find that this is all they ever need.

Add numbers

Subtract numbers

Multiply numbers

Divide numbers

Use simple formulas to do the math

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Labels: Formulas, General, Reference, Shortcuts, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:37 AM

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Saturday, June 04, 2011 – Permalink –

Chart Art

Apple π

Look at how different media organizations have used graphics/graphs to illustrate the news.
Poynter Online:
The Art of Explanation

While Edward Tufte has concerns about representing data accurately in charts, he does, use pictures to demonstrate relationships.
(See Edward Tufte)

If you would like to try your hand, here are some links that will help to spice up your condiment report.

PC Magazine:
Add Images to Excel Projects

MacWorld:
Excel Chart Art

Andy Pope:
Dividing a graphic into sections

Excel 2007-10 has a great graphic look for charts, but these links still work

See all Topics excel
Labels: Charts, Customize, Graphics, Link, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:12 AM

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Thursday, June 02, 2011 – Permalink –

Loan Payment

Basic tutorial

Microsoft provides a number of learning activities related to fundamental tasks.

Here's one that walks the student through a worksheet designed to calculate interest and total payment for a purchase, based on different loan terms.

"This practical spreadsheet lesson offers easy answers to life's perplexing math problems like How much will my dream car really cost after financing?

Students will calculate the cost of purchasing their very own Lamborghini sports car and determine if the ultimate price tag is really worth the investment. "

Dream Car
Also:

Basic Financial Calculations

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Labels: Formulas, Functions, General, Reference, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:25 AM

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