Time-Saving Excel Tips to Boost Your Efficiency

The amazing Excel hacks will make you realize that most of what you do manually can be done automatically. This post will cover the most effective Excel techniques to help you execute tasks quickly and become more productive.

1. Freeze Rows and Columns

Employees often need to work on lengthy spreadsheets with considerable data. To view a particular column or row, you may have to keep scrolling, which can soon become frustrating. Freezing rows and columns in Excel will make them visible no matter how far you scroll.

• To freeze a column or row, navigate to the ‘View’ tab and tap the ‘Freeze Panes’ button.
• Tap the ‘Freeze first’ column in the menu.
• If you want to freeze the top row, tap the ‘Freeze top row’ option.

2. Insert a Dropdown List

Do you want to save specific rows but not fill up a wrong value accidentally? Just place a dropdown list in your sheet.

• Choose the cell where you wish the dropdown arrow to appear.
• Tap the ‘Data’ tab and press ‘Validation’.
• In the Allow field, choose ‘List’.
• Put in the source of the cell from where you are using data to list.
• That’s it; you have successfully added a dropdown list.

3. Make Your Own Shortcuts

Who said you have to limit yourself to the three options of Save, Undo, and Redo on the toolbar? You can make your own shortcuts, such as those for pasting, copying, or printing, among others. Doing so is extremely simple.

Just tap the dropdown arrow on the toolbar. Now, place a tick on the options you desire to add. That’s it. You have just created your own shortcut link. Similar to creating these shortcuts, it is also relatively easy to sharpen your Excel skills with online courses. The free courses are suitable for beginners and advanced Excel users and come with various downloadable resources, which you can use to increase your knowledge of the program.

4. Hide the Formula in a Cell

You will always find the formula in a cell appearing at the top in the Preview section when you click the cell. However, this becomes problematic if it is too complex. Use this Excel hack to hide this formula and make your spreadsheet less chaotic.

• Choose the cell with the formula, right-tap, and select ‘Format Cells’.
• Now, go to ‘Protection’.
• Place a check on the ‘Hidden’ box.
• Now, press the ‘OK’ button.
• Head to the ‘Review’ tab.
• Click ‘Protect Sheet’.

Type in a password and re-enter it to hide the formulas.

5. Personalize the Toolbar and Ribbon in Excel

Did you know that you can customize the Excel toolbar to add the tools you require to save time?

• Go to ‘File’ in the Excel toolbar to add another command.
• Now, choose ‘Options’.
• After that, select either ‘Quick Access Toolbar’ or ‘Customize ribbon’.
• Choose ‘All commands’ for ‘Choose commands from’.
• Now, scroll down and tap the desired command.
• Insert the command on the toolbar by tapping the ‘Add’ button.

6. Use the SUBTOTAL Function

Using the SUBTOTAL function is more accurate than the SUM function. SUBTOTAL excludes other SUBTOTAL functions in its range. You can use it repeatedly in the same column and also at the end of the column for computing a grand total. Besides simply adding numbers, this function can also provide you with the minimum, maximum, and average totals for a particular range.

7. Use PivotTables

If your tasks mainly involve evaluating and summarizing data, use the PivotTable feature. It prevents you from parsing a spreadsheet manually. The PivotTable feature puts all your summarized information in front of your eyes. These tables can summarize many complicated formulas and make trends more visible.

Summing up

Microsoft Excel will now seem much easier if you know the various time-saving hacks. Use them while doing your next project. You can also share them with your friends encountering similar challenges while navigating Excel.