For the most part, you're probably accustomed to using Microsoft Excel for tasks such as preparing reports, forecasts, and budgets. However, Excel is much more powerful than that. It can be used to ...

Much of the data that you use Excel to analyze comes in a list form. You might need to sort the data, filter it, sum it, and perhaps even chart it. Excel tables provide superior tools for working with ...

Excel used to be the poor schmuck’s database, with spreadsheets that just sort of sat there. You could create something more sophisticated with LOOKUP functions, but they were a huge hassle to set up.

Create a report using charts: Select Insert > Recommended Charts, then choose the one you want to add to the report sheet. Create a report with pivot tables: Select Insert > PivotTable. Select the ...

Filters are used to create subsets of data in a Microsoft Excel worksheet. The "AutoFilter" or "Sort and Filter" function in Excel allows you to create views of data matching your specified criteria.

Create a Picture Link to keep an eye on Excel data Your email has been sent Take snapshots of Excel data so you can keep an eye on it while working in other areas of your workbook. It’s hard to keep ...

Data validation in Excel lets you restrict what can be entered into a cell, whether whole numbers, decimals, dates, or a certain number of characters. However, one of the most powerful capabilities of ...

is a senior editor and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Microsoft Excel used to only allow two types of data: text and numbers. After ...