Top 5 Under-Rated Excel Functions

Experienced Excel users usually stick to a set of formulas and functions that help them to work on a spreadsheet. However, there are hundreds of which people don’t use often or maybe forget. Surprisingly, these Excel tips are the ones that can make one’s life become more productive. Here are the top 5 under-rated Excel functions you should consider.

Flash Fill

In 2013 Excel introduced new functionality that will allow you to save time on typing. For example, if you have two columns with first and last names, you may want to put them together. Once you start typing the first name in the third column, it will auto-fill. Otherwise, we would call it Excel black magic or Flash Fill. If you do not have it activated, use Ctrl-E or from the Data tab.

Paste Special

Many finance professionals still introduce manually data from one cell and paste it into another one. But sometimes you just want to copy a small portion of a particular formula. Here is where Paste Special is a great help. By using Ctrl-Alt-V, you can choose from our top three favorites.

Paste Values copies specifically the cell and not the formula you used. That is because in some cases you just need the end result. Another option is to Paste Values and Number Formats that brings over the original cell format. It is helpful when dealing with currency or dates. Finally, Transpose helps you to flip rows and columns very quickly.

Go To Special

One of the under-rated Excel functions, Go To Special helps you to select multiple cells. For instance, you can select errors, formulas, or comments and apply certain formatting. When you have a long list of data, you might have blank cells hard to find. Therefore, Go To Special Blanks can help you to find and remove them from the list.

Sweet and Short F2

It is time to end double-clicking on a cell to activate it for editing. Once you put the cursor on your target cell, F2 will bring you straight there.

Apostrophe

Excel treats some signs as a formula and starts looking for a referring cell. This can be disturbing especially when you have a different goal. Here is where apostrophe can help. When you start the cell with an apostrophe and introduce your numbers, that data will be treated as text.

Conclusion

Excel has a lot of hidden tips and tricks to help you advance in your financial career. Sometimes, even the most simple things can make your work more productive. These top 5 under-rated Excel functions are a great beginning to a new journey. For more useful articles, do not hesitate to explore the keySkillset blog page.

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