Most Popular Excel Features -- A Call to Participate

[SkipVought]

This is an impromptu survey. Please copy this format and 'fill in the blanks' if you care to participate.

[tt]
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Industry:

Functional Area:

Excel Version:

My Function:

My Favorite Buttons:

Features I use in support of my users (that many of my users do not use):

Other features that many of my users use:

Additional Comments:

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Here goes...
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Industry: Aerospace

Functional Area: Production Control & Logistice

Excel Version: 2007

My Function:
Data acquisition, analysis, reporting
Create work aid tools
Excel training & support

My Favorite Buttons:
Select Current Region
Create from Selection
AutoFilter / Clear (AutoFilter)
Calculate Sheet
New Database Query
Edit Query
Visual Basic (alt+F11)
Camera
Find (ctr+F)
Number Format
Document Location

Features I use in support of my users (that many of my users do not use):
Microsoft Query
Table (ctr+T) & Structured References
ActiveX COntrols / Form COntrols
VBA
ActiveX Data Objects
Named Ranges


Other features that many of my users use:
PivotTable
Chart

Additional Comments:
I create interactive work aid tools, database UDFs for ad hoc reporting to support our users in PC & L, IE, Manuf
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Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[Lilliabeth]

Powerpivot, an add-in, lets you work w data from multiple locations without using VLOOKUP, VBA, or exporting. The pivot table field list will have fields from all tables. Pivots lightning fast... a million rows as fast as a thousand rows.

You can pivot millions and millions of rows on a 64 bit machine.

I still don't understand all the benefits of DAX Measures vs Excel functions. Working on that.

The slicers (slicers are basically improved page aka filter fields) in Powerpivot are superior to the Excel 2010 slicers. They can control multiple pivots. Pretty too, so you get a very handsome dashboard.

Powerpivot:

http://www.powerpivot.com/

But perhaps a better explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerpivot

--Lilliabeth

 

[SkipVought]

Thanx Lilliabeth!

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[kjv1611]

It's also worth mentioning Report Builder. Report Builder is sort of like PowerPivot on steroids... or at least as a separate application. They are not 100% identical, but they are very closely related. We are starting to make use of it, since v3.0 - previously, I don't think anyone paid attention to it... I don't think I even know it existed.

 

[xlhelp]

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Industry: Recently Retired, Previously:Various (Insurance, IT provider, Broadcasting).

Functional Area: Prooject Portfolio Management

Excel version: Various, depending on time of day (2003, 2007, 2010)

My Function:
Systems Analyst,
HelpDesk,
Also, part time Instructor (have taught many computer related courses; lately, Excel exclusively)
Broadcaster (had my own TV show about computers for more than 10 years)

My Favorite Buttons: Many. I use keyboard for most of the stuff. Has become second nature. Favorites: CTRL/C, CTRL/V

Features I use in support of my users (that many of my users do not use): Sumproduct, Vlookup, Sumif, Countif

Other features that many of my users use: Advanced Filters, subtotals, Table features.

Additional Comments: I usually like challenges. My students usually provide a lot of those. Basically, I like solving Puzzles whether it be Excel, or logical etc.
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Canadian eh! Check out the new social forum Tek-Tips in Canada.
Finally....Done with 9 to 5

 

[xlhelp]

kjv1611

Dale Watson has a very nice FAQ about the camera tool.

Canadian eh! Check out the new social forum Tek-Tips in Canada.
Finally....Done with 9 to 5

 

[SkipVought]

Dale is who turned me on to the Camera Tool. I forgot about his FAQ: faq68-1161

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[samurusawyer]

Thanks u so much to all of you for share it very helpful post.

 

[kjv1611]

Just to test it, I'm trying the Camera by the FAQ directions (of course modified for Excel 07/2010), but so far no go...

I select the named range (or even tried manually selecting a range), then clicked the Camera button.. then went to a new sheet, and tried to paste - nothing.

So, is it a new WORKBOOK rather than WORKSHEET? I'll try that next.

 

[SkipVought]

1) SELECT the range you want to snap a picture of.

2) Navigate to the sheet/cell you want the upper-left of the pic to reside. (the small + cursor is active)

3) LEFT-CLICK in that cell.

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[mscallisto]

I love the camera command (button)and have been using it for a couple of years.

mhtml:

http://download756.mediafire.com/9uooebpf3rlg/qyx3ub84c6j3v9k/camera.mht

Sam

 

[kjv1611]

Ah, thanks Skip! Yeah, I guess that they changed it to only require the left click instead of pasting since the FAQ was written? Anyway, glad that's sorted out... I'll see how it works now..

mscallisto,

What is it that you listed in the mediafire link? I'll have to take a look at home, b/c our current firewall/proxy settings won't allow us to even open any of the "file sharing" sites any longer.

 

[mscallisto]

I showed an example of my "Bird Watching Life List" spreadsheet and it's embedded bird pictures generated with the "camera" button. The bird data is stored on sheet1 and the pics are stored on sheet2.

I also show the code for displaying the bird pic (from sheet2) whenever you click a bird on sheet1.

I sent the link because I'm not sure how to (or if I can) embed the actual .mht picture in this message area.

sam

 

[kjv1611]

Thanks. I'll definitely have to take a look at it later.

 

[SkipVought]

Linking the pic to a names range, by substituting the range name in the pic's reference in the formula bar, will automatically resize the pic if the named range changes.

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[kjv1611]

Who's on first

 

[SkipVought]

I Don't Know

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[SkipVought]

Actually it's

What's on second

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[N1GHTEYES]

Is he?

BTW Skip, thanks for alerting me to the Camera button. Nice.

It occured to me that it could be used like this:

Imagine you have a workbook with a "front" sheet - i.e. the one the user sees; the main GUI so to speak, which presents a whole bunch of info to a user. Imagine also that the workbook has some useful data the user might like to browse, but you don't want to make the page containing the data generally available to the user. So, on the front sheet, you put a couple of slider bars and use their output to control the position (and / or size) of a range dynamically named using Offset. You then reference the named range to the camera window, so the user can browse the data in a nicely controlled fashion.

I guess that is more or less the kind of idea you were suggesting, but I think the slider bars might be a neat touch in some cases.

Tony