Tables Contents

1. Cell and work books

2. Sorting and filtering data
3. How formula works
4. Cell references
5. Mathematical functions
6. Logical functions
7. Creating charts
8. Pivot tables
9. Advanced formatting
How to Use Excel:
The Top 10 Things to Learn
Excel is one of the most-used business tools on the planet.
Excel is one of the most powerful software tools in the world for
collecting, analyzing, and summarizing data. But its incredible power
comes at a cost: Excel is a massive program, and it can take beginners
months or even years to master it. Many first-time Excel users don't take
advantage of all of the program's functionality; we often find new
learners manually entering data when they could be using formulas and
functions to speed up and expedite their work.
With that in mind, we've compiled a list of the 10 most important places
to start when you're learning how to use Excel.
The goal of this guide is to familiarize you with Excel's most useful
functions — not to provide an in-depth overview of all of them. If you
find yourself struggling to follow along, use the Further Reading section
of each chapter for more detailed tutorials and additional examples.
Without further ado: here's our beginner's primer on how to use Excel —
from worksheet basics to formulas and functions to Pivot Tables.
Cell and workbook basics
Before getting started with Excel, it's important to learn the program's
basic structure so that you can navigate it effectively. Each Excel file is
called a workbook — we often use the terms 'workbook' and 'file'
interchangeably when talking about Excel. Like many other programs,
Excel allows you to save, open, and close workbooks from
the File menu, which is located in the top left corner of the screen in
the Ribbon, the menu of options along the top of an Excel document.

Within each workbook, Excel contains multiple worksheets, which

appear as tabs along the bottom of the screen. Worksheets are an easy
way to contain multiple pages of data within one workbook in a logical
manner. Generally, we place every individual calculation or table within
its own worksheet to keep our data organized and easily accessible.

Each worksheet contains a grid of rows, columns, and cells. Rows

appear along the side of the sheet, and are labeled using numbers starting
with 1. Columns appear along the top of the sheet, and are labeled using
letters starting with A. At the intersection of every row and column lies a
cell, which is a combination of its row number and cell letter. For
example, the cell C5 lies at the intersection of row 5 and column C.
We can also refer to cells using ranges. For example, the range between
cells C3 and C6 can be selected all at once. When we refer to a cell
range, we put a colon (:) between the first and last cells within that
range. Like this C3:C6
Any individual cell can contain any of the following types of data
accepted by Excel:

 Numbers, which are numerical values like 5 or 21.3. Numbers can

be used as part of calculations like addition, subtraction, and
multiplication.
 Strings, which are bits of text
 Dates, which represent days in our standard calendar,
like 1/19/2018.
 Cell references, which point Excel to other cells in your workbook,
like C9.
 Functions, which are formulas that allow you to quickly and easily
perform calculations that would be difficult to do by hand. And if
you enter a function into Excel that doesn't make sense, it'll give you
an error, like #N/A. Whenever you see an error like this, it means
that there's a problem with your function and you need to revise it.
Sorting and filtering data
One of the simplest and most immediately useful features of Excel is
that it can sort and filter large sets of data incredibly quickly and easily.
To sort a list, position your cursor in the header cell of the column you'd
like to sort, head to the Data tab on the Ribbon, and click the Quick
sort button.
In addition to sorting, we can also filter our data. Filtering means cutting
down a large data set to a smaller subset of rows that satisfy certain
specified criteria. To test filtering, we'll place our cursor within our data
table, then head to the Data tab on the ribbon and hit the Filter
Notice that after filtering our data, small dropdown arrows appear next
to the headings of each of our columns. We can click these arrows to
open up the Filter Dialogue, which allows us to filter our data set so that
it shows only certain rows.
How formulas work
Formulas are the backbone of most advanced calculations within Excel.
You can tell Excel that you're entering a formula in Excel by starting
your input with the equals sign (=). For example, try entering the
following into a cell:

=1+2 Output: 3

Since Excel sees the = sign at the beginning of the line, it realizes that
it's being given a formula to calculate. It then sees 1+2 and adds the two
numbers together, outputting a final value of 3.
 Each function is made up of three parts:

 First, a function name, Function names are built into Excel. For
example, there is a SUM, AVERAGE…
 Second, arguments, which combine within the function to output
something. For example, if we wanted to take the AVERAGE of 4
and 6, the arguments to the function would be the numbers four and
six. In a function, arguments are separated by commas within
parentheses.
 Third, output, which is what comes out of the function when it's
finished calculating. For example, if we took
the AVERAGE of 4 and 6, the output would be 5.
Take a look at the examples of completed formulae below. Can you
identify the function names, arguments, and output?

=AVERAGE (4, 6) Output: 5

=MAX (4, 6, 2, 34) Output: 34

Explore the 5 must-learn 'fundamentals' of Excel

Getting started with Excel is easy.

 The basics of rows, columns, and cells...

 How to sort and filter data like a pro...
 Plus, we'll reveal why formulas and cell references are so
important and how to use them...
 Cell references
Excel really starts to get interesting when you start using cell references.
Cell references are parts of a formula that connect to another cell or cell
range within your worksheet.
Cell references enables us to perform complex calculations based on sets
of cells that would otherwise be difficult to perform manually. For
example, take the following SUM function:

=SUM (C3:C7)

This function will automatically SUM up all values in the entire

range C3:C7 — in other words, cells C3, C4, C5, C6, and C7.
By default, cell references are relative. This means that they will change
as we copy and paste them from cell to cell.
Relative cell references are convenient, but there are some times during
which we don't want our cell references to shift when we copy and paste.
Consider the following sheet, in which we've created a static value in
cell H4 to represent a tax amount taken off of our total sales:
=C7*H4 Output: $4,800,000

Our formula works in cell C8, but when we copy and paste it to the
right, our relative cell references change and our formula breaks:

=D7*I4 Output: 0

Fortunately, there's a good solution to this problem: absolute cell

references. Absolute cell references allow us to lock the row or column
of a reference — or both! — so that they do not change when we copy
and paste from one cell to another.
The $ symbol indicates an absolute cell reference. It can be used before
the column letter, the row number, or both, and indicates that the given
column letter or row number should not be changed when copying and
pasting from cell to cell.
Here's an updated version of our formula, with an absolute reference
used to lock the column letter on the reference to our tax rate cell, $H4:
=C7*$H4
Output: $4,800,000

Notice what happens when we copy and paste this formula to the right.
Our $H4 reference doesn't change, because the column letter is locked.
Our formula now works for all cells into which we're pasting it!

=D7*$H4 Output: $4,800,000

When working with absolute and relative cell references, it's important
to remember that you can use them on the row, column, or both. Here's a
handy table to help understand what that $ symbol means when it
appears:

Format Meaning Explanation

$A$1 Row and column Cell reference will not change at all as
locked cell is copied and pasted.
$A1 Column locked Only row reference will change as cell
is copied and pasted.
A$1 Row locked Only column reference will change as
cell is copied and pasted.
A1 Nothing locked Both row and column will change as
cell is copied and pasted.
Remember, rows and columns in a cell range can also be locked. For
example, the range $A1:$B8 will have its columns locked as it is copied
and pasted. The range A$1: B$8 will lock its rows.
Those are the basics of cell references — both relative and absolute.
Mathematical functions
Now that we've covered the basics of Excel, it's time to get into the
program's more advanced features — starting with mathematical
functions themselves. Excel has hundreds of functions available for use,
and it would be impossible to cover all of them in this short tutorial. So,
to start, we'll provide a brief overview of some of Excel's most common
mathematical functions.

SUM
SUM is one of Excel's simplest — and most-used — mathematical
functions. It can take as many arguments as you want to give it, in the
form of numbers, cell references, or cell ranges. Given these arguments
as inputs, it outputs the SUM of all values provided — including each
individual cell within a cell range.
Here's a basic use of the SUM function, in which we add up a series of
manually-entered numbers:

=SUM(3, 7)
Output: 10

Here's a slightly more complicated use of the SUM function, in which

we add up a series of individual cells by specifying them as unique
arguments to the function:
=SUM(C3, C4, C5)
Output: $18,000,000

And, finally, here's a better use of the SUM function, in which we use a
cell range to add up the values in a series of contiguous cells:

=SUM(C3:C5)
Output: $18,000,000

Check out our detailed SUM tutorial for even more details and
information.
AVERAGE
The AVERAGE function works much like the SUM function: it takes as
arguments a list of numbers or cell ranges. Unlike SUM it outputs
the AVERAGE of the values provided.
Here's a basic use of AVERAGE in action:

=AVERAGE(10, 20)
Output: 15

And here's AVERAGE used with a cell range:

=AVERAGE(C3:C5)
Output: $6,000,000

Head over to our overview of the AVERAGE function for more info.

MAX
The MAX function starts to get a little more complicated: given input
arguments of numbers, cell references, or cell ranges, MAX finds the
maximum individual value provided and outputs it. MAX is particularly
useful when working with large quantities of data to determine high
values within a set — like students' highest score on a test or a daily
high stock price.
Take a look at the following formula, in which we've used MAX to find
the maximum value within a series of individual numbers:

=MAX(4, 5, 6)
Output: 6

Of course, like SUM and AVERAGE, MAX is most useful when

applied to large ranges of cells. Consider the following example, in
which a SnackWorld analyst uses MAX to find the highest dollar sales
value out of a set of product categories for a given month:
=MAX(C3:C6)
Output: $5,000,000

MAX has many applications, and as you get more and more comfortable
with Excel, you're sure to find multiple uses for it within your
spreadsheets. You can also use the closely-related MIN formula to find
minimum values within a set. Check our our MAX and MINtutorials for
more.

COUNT
COUNT is another frequently-used function in Excel. Given a cell range
or set of values, it counts the instances in which a number appears in the
given range. Consider the following example:

=COUNT(5, 9, 10)
Output: 3

The above formula outputs 3, because there are three instances of

numbers provided as arguments. A COUNT function provided with non-
numerical inputs would not count them — it would only include the
count of numbers provided as arguments:

=COUNT(5, "Seven", 10, #N/A, 45)

Output: 3

COUNT can also be used on a range of values like so:

=COUNT(B2:B8)
Output: 5

How is this useful in practice? Use the COUNT function in your sheets
to count data points, like number of test scores, number of items sold in
a given period of time, and more. COUNTalso has a sister function
called COUNTA, which includes cells that contain text in its totals. Stop
by our COUNT and COUNTA tutorial pages for more info.

FURTHER READING

 Excel's SUM function

 AVERAGE formula in Excel
 Using Excel's MAX Formula
 Minimum Values in Excel Using MIN
  How To Use Excel's COUNT Function
 Using Excel's COUNTA Function

Lookup functions
Now that we've got a handle on some of Excel's basic mathematical
functions, it's time to move on to a more complicated class of tools:
lookups. Lookup functions allow us to look up a given value on a table
with multiple rows and columns dynamically. That's quite a mouthful, so
let's take a look at a real-world example to give you an idea what we
mean.
Take a look at the below spreadsheet, which lists SnackWorld unit sales
and profit for various item categories in a given month.
Let's say that a SnackWorld analyst wants to pull the Unit Sales number
for the Lollipopscategory. She could just look it up on the table — but
manually looking it up becomes infeasible if the table is too large — for
example, if it contains hundreds or thousands of rows and columns. It's
also time-consuming. What if we could create a tool in which we enter a
category name, and the Unit Sales number for that category is
automatically pulled from our input table?

VLOOKUP
We can accomplish the above using
the VLOOKUP function. VLOOKUP takes a table and a lookup value as
inputs, browses the given table for the lookup value in question, and
finds whatever sits in a corresponding column number specified. Here's
how it works:

=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num)

Given a set table_array, VLOOKUP finds the given lookup_value within

that array, then moves over col_index_num columns to pull the
corresponding data point. Take a look at the following use
of VLOOKUP in action, in which we use the formula to pull the unit
sales numbers for Lollipops:
=VLOOKUP("Lollipops", B2:D7, 2)
Output: 35,000,000

In the example above, we provide VLOOKUP with a lookup

value, "Lollipops", and a table to look in B2:D7. We also tell it that in
the table specified, we want it to look 2 columns in for the data point,
which corresponds to the Unit Sales column. When VLOOKUP finds
the "Lollipops" value in our table B2:D7, it moves over 2 columns and
pulls our unit sales number: 25,000,000. We've just successfully created
a simple lookup formula!
How is this useful in practice? VLOOKUP can be used with cell
references to create a dynamic data-pulling tool very quickly and easily.
Take a look at the following example, in which we've used
cells C9 and C10 to create dynamic input and output fields for a formula
to pull profitability numbers:

=VLOOKUP(C9, B2:D7, 3)
Output: $24,000,000

Notice that our VLOOKUP formula now references cell C9 instead of a

hard-coded value like "Lollipops". And when we change the text
in C9 to another category name on our table, the formula
in C10 automatically updates by pulling profitability numbers for the
given category. Like magic, we've created a quick tool to pull data based
on simple user inputs — all with one simple VLOOKUP formula!
Check out our in-depth VLOOKUP tutorial for more info on this
powerful function.

INDEX MATCH
Once you've mastered VLOOKUP, it's time to move on to an even more
powerful lookup formula: INDEX MATCH. INDEX MATCH isn't
actually a single function, but rather a combination of two separate
Excel functions: INDEX and MATCH. We use it in place
of VLOOKUP for almost all of our lookups, because it confers several
important advantages:

 Counting isn't necessary. VLOOKUP forces you to count columns,

providing it with a col_index_num to indicate which column to pull
data from. INDEX MATCH allows you to skip this step, instead
selecting the column in question directly.
 Inserting columns is easy. Since VLOOKUP uses
a col_index_num for its lookup, inserting columns into your lookup
table can often break your formulas. INDEX MATCH prevents these
problems by eliminating the col_index_num argument.
 Backwards lookups are possible. INDEX MATCH allows you to
look up values that are to the left of your item or category list, rather
than only those that are to the right.
 Even more functionality. INDEX MATCH allows you to take
advantage of a plethora of more advanced functionality — including
both vertical and horizontal lookups; two-dimensional lookups; and
lookups with more than one criteria.
Covering how INDEX MATCH works is beyond the scope of this
tutorial, but check out our complete guide to INDEX MATCH for more
information and a full explanation.

FURTHER READING

 How to do a VLOOKUP
 Using INDEX MATCH
  Using INDEX MATCH MATCH (look up in two dimensions)
 INDEX MATCH with multiple criteria

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Logical functions
Logical functions are some of the most advanced formulas you can
create in Excel. They allow us to tell Excel to choose one of various
possible outputs depending on a condition that we specify. This
functionality becomes incredibly useful when you want Excel to make
decisions for you: for example, marking a test score as "Passing" if it is
over 70%; marking a salesperson's quota as "met" if she has exceeded
$20M in monthly sales; or marking a stock as "High-priority" if its price
drops below a certain limit.

IF statements
IF statements are the foundation of logical functions in
Excel. IF statements look like this:
=IF(logical_expression, value_if_true, value_if_false)

When an IF statement runs, it first takes a look at

the logical_expression provided by the user. If the logical_expression is
a TRUE statement, the IF statement outputs value_if_true; otherwise, it
outputs value_if_false.
Let's take a look at a very basic IF statement as a practical example:

=IF(7<3, "Correct answer!", "Incorrect answer")

Output: "Incorrect answer"

In the formula above, IF first evaluates its logical_expression, 7<3.

Since this expression is FALSE, Excel ignores
the value_if_true argument and instead outputs
the value_if_falseargument, "Incorrect answer".
Of course, the above example isn't particularly useful, because we don't
need a complicated formula to tell us that 7 is not equal to 3.
But IF becomes significantly more useful when we combine it with other
functions — for example, SUM.
In the following example, we use IF statements to dynamically provide
output based on whether a salesperson met her sales quota for the first
quarter of the year. The salesperson's monthly sales are listed in a table;
we nest a SUM function inside an IF statement to total up the sales and
compare it to a quota, which we've included in the formula via a cell
reference.
=IF(SUM(C3:C5)>=F2, F3, F4)
Step 1: =IF($22,000,000>=$20,000,000, F3, F4)
Step 2: =IF(TRUE, F3, F4)
Output: Great job!

Let's break down what's happening in the above formula. First,

our IF statement evaluates its logical_expression, which asks whether
the SUM of cells C3:C5 is greater than or equal to the value in cell F2. If
it is, the sales quota is met and the formula outputs its value_if_true,
which is set as a cell reference to the text in cell F3. If not, the sales
quota is not met and the formula outputs its value_if_false, which is set
as a cell reference to the text in cell F4. In this case, our sales quota is
met, and the formula outputs a message of congratulations: "Great job!".
But try lowering the values in cells C3:C5 so that their sum is
below $20,000,000. You'll see that our message changes dynamically
once our salesperson falls below quota.
Those are the basics of IF statements, but you can do much more with
them than just compare whether two values are equal to each other, or
whether one is greater than the other. Check out the following list of
logical operators in Excel for a full overview of how IFcan be used to
compare values or strings:

Operator Meaning Explanation

= Equals Returns TRUE if the two sides of the
equation are equal to one
another FALSE if they are not.
> Greater than Returns TRUE if the left side of the
equation is greater than the right side of
the equation and FALSE if it is not.
< Less than Returns TRUE if the left side of the
equation is less than the right side of the
equation and FALSE if it is not.
>= Greater than Returns TRUE if the left side of the
or equal to equation is greater than or equal to the
right side of the equation and FALSE if it
is not.
<= Less than or Returns TRUE if the left side of the
equal to equation is less than or equal to the right
side of the equation and FALSE if it is
not.
<> Not equal Returns TRUE if the two sides of the
 equation are not equal to one another
and FALSE if they are equal to one
another.
For more information, stop on by our tutorial on IF statements.

SUMIF
Once you've got a handle on the IF statement, it's time to move on to an
even more useful Excel feature: SUMIF. This handy function allows us
to take the SUM of every number in a range of values, provided that
certain external criteria for those values are met.
Let's take a look at a basic example of SUMIF in action to demonstrate.
Consider the following spreadsheet, which lists SnackWorld's monthly
sales by item type and product category.
We already know how to use VLOOKUP and INDEX MATCH to
dynamically pull the sales numbers for any individual Item. But what if
we wanted to SUM up sales for every item within a given Category?
We can do this using the SUMIF function. Take a look at its syntax
below:

=SUMIF(range, criteria, sum_range (optional))

Given an input range of data points and a set criteria that we want those
data points to fulfill, SUMIF will take the SUM of all numbers within a
separately-provided sum_range. Here's a practical example
of SUMIF used to solve our category problem above:
=SUMIF(C3:C7,"="&G4,D3:D7)
Output: $11,000,000

In the above example, SUMIF takes a look at the range C3:C7 and
evaluates each cell in that range based on its provided criteria: the value
in the given cell is equal to the value in cell G4. Note the syntax we've
used to tell Excel that we want to evaluate equality to cell G4:
The =sign, in quotes, the ampersand (&), and then a reference to cell G4.
This syntax might be confusing at first, but it's just how SUMIF works;
note that we can replace that = sign with any other logical operator,
like <= or <>.
After examining each cell in the range C3:C7, Excel adds the
corresponding value in the range D3:D7 to a SUM total if and only
if our criteria is true — in this case, if the Category is equal to the value
in cell G4, "Baked Goods". In this case, our final output is $11,000,000,
because there were $11,000,000 total sales of Baked Goods in the data
set provided.
The best part about this formula is that it's dynamic. Try changing the
string in cell G4 from Baked Goods to Candy and watch as our category
sales calculation automatically updates.
The above may take a little time to digest, but walk through it a couple
times and you'll get a handle on how SUMIF works. If you're still having
trouble, take a look at our in-depth SUMIFtutorial for more details and
examples.
Once you've mastered SUMIF, it's also worth checking out our overview
of SUMIFS, which is SUMIF's big brother. SUMIFS allows you to
conditionally SUM values in a row based on multiple criteria rather than
just a single criteria.
It's also worth noting that SUM isn't the only function that has a
conditional formula. COUNTIF works much the same way, but
it COUNTs rows instead of SUMming them.

FURTHER READING

 The TRUE and FALSE Excel functions

 Using IF statements in Excel
 Excel's SUMIF function
 Excel SUMIF with multiple criteria: SUMIFS
 Excel's COUNTIF function

Creating charts
Formulas and numbers aren't all that Excel has to offer. In addition to
displaying data numerically, it's also excellent at displaying data visually
using charts and graphs. In this section, we'll give you a brief overview
of Excel's charting capabilities, and show you how to generate graphs
based off of your data.
The most important first step to creating a chart is preparing your data.
To generate a chart, you'll need to create a data summary table that
shows the exact data points that you'd like to appear on your chart.
Oftentimes, we create summary table for use with charts and graphs by
leveraging the Excel functions we discussed above, including
lookups, SUMIF, and COUNTIF. In the example below, we've
consolidated a list of SnackWorld sales by category and month.
Once your data is ready for charting, select your entire table by clicking
and dragging your mouse, or using hotkeys (Ctrl + A using Windows
or ⌘ + A on a Mac). Then, navigate to the Insert tab on the Ribbon, hit
the Charts button, and select the type of chart you would like to create.
In our example, we'll create a Clustered Column chart from our data.
Our chart is created! With just a few simple clicks, we've taken a data
summary table and made it visually clear and accessible for our users.
There are many different chart types available in Excel, so it's important
to think carefully about which visual will most clearly communicate
your data. In the example below, we've used the same data to create
a Stacked Column chart, which gives us a more useful look at total sales
by month segmented by product category.
Of course, the chart above is lacking some crucial details — for
example, it doesn't have a title, so we have no idea what year our data
comes from (or, for that matter, what company's sales data it represents).
Once you've created your chart, ensure that your users have all the data
they need by adding a title, axis labels, and other formatting, like a
legend and data labels. All of these options are available when you select
your chart and go to the Layout tab on the Ribbon:
There are many complex charting options in Excel — including
advanced features like manually-set axis labels, statistical analysis, and
customized styling. Play around with the options in the Layout, Design,
and Format tabs on the ribbon to familiarize yourself with the full range
of Excel's capabilities. Or, check out our in-depth article on charting for
more information.

FURTHER READING

 How to make a chart in Excel

Pivot Tables
Once you've mastered Excel's basic formulas —
like SUM, SUMIF, IF statements, and VLOOKUPs — you should be
able to perform some fairly complex analysis on your spreadsheets given
enough time. But what if you need to perform calculations quickly and
accurately under tight deadlines? Oftentimes, writing formulas it too
time-intensive and error-prone for real business applications, particularly
when faced with time constraints.
Fortunately, there's an easy alternative to complex formulas: Pivot
Tables. Pivot Tables are a tool built into Excel that allows you to
analyze large amounts of data quickly and accurately. Let's take a look at
a Pivot Table in action to explain the concept.
The spreadsheet below contains sales data for a number of SnackWorld
orders in the first quarter of the year 2019.
The data is in what we call flat file format, which means that it is broken
down to its most granular level: each individual order is on its own line;
all relevant information (including the customer name, order date,
quantity ordered, item, and total price) is broken out in each row; and
each column heading represents a distinct type of data
(like Customer or Item) rather than a data point (like January
2019 or February 2019). Making sure that our data is properly structured
in flat file format is a critical first step in building a Pivot Table. For
more information and specifics on flat file format, be sure to check out
our article on how to make a Pivot Table.
Once we've got our data in order, we can make our Pivot Table. Start by
selecting any cell within the input data table; then, head to the Insert tab
on the Ribbon and select the PivotTable option:
A Create PivotTable dialogue will appear. We can change some of these
options when we get to more advanced Pivot Table training down the
line, but for now feel free to leave everything as-is and click
the OK button:
A new sheet will appear that contains our Pivot Table. Notice that Excel
has inserted a blank Pivot Table graphic on the left-hand side of the
screen, and opened a new PivotTable Field Listdialogue on the right:
The PivotTable Field List contains a listing of all of the column
headings within the data table we used as an input. We can add any of
these column headings to the Report Filter, Column Labels, Row Labels,
and Values sections below to generate different types of Pivot Table
reports that segment our data different ways. Specifically:

 Report Filter allows us to filter our output based on the values in one
or more fields.
 Column labels lets us summarize by a particular field across the top
of the screen (columns).
  Row Labels lets us summarize by a particular field down the side of
the screen (rows).
 Values Specifies the column data that we'd like to summarize — for
example, Total price.
That's all a lot to keep track of — so let's take a look at a real-life
example to get a better handle on what this all means. Suppose that a
SnackWorld analyst wants to summarize total sales by customer over the
entire period contained within our data table. She could do so by
dragging the Customer column to the Row Labels section — to indicate
that we want each row of our Pivot Table to represent a unique customer
— and the Total Price column to the Values section — to indicate that
we want to sum up Total Price by customer. Move the field names
around to different sections of the Pivot Table by clicking and dragging
with your mouse.
Without any formulas or functions, Excel has automatically added up
the Total Price column for each of our customers. We've created an
accurate summary table quickly and easily with minimal effort based on
a large input data set — that's the magic of Pivot Tables!
There are lots more things we can do with Pivot Tables by moving our
columns between the four boxes at the bottom of the screen. For
example, by dragging the Quantity column into the Values section
alongside Total Price, we can sum both fields at once, segmented by
customer. This view shows both total sales dollars and total quantity of
goods ordered by customer:
We can also drag another field — like Item — to the Column
Labels section of the report to create a two-dimensional summary
breaking out total sales by customer and item:
Or, we can drag a field to the Report Filter section to filter our output
table based on one or more criteria that we specify. In the following
example, we've dragged the Item column to the Report Filter box to
open up a dialogue that allows us to filter our output based on item type.
The power of Pivot Tables is practically limitless — they can be used in
a massive variety of situations to segment and summarize data. They're
particularly valuable when calculating a SUM, COUNT,
or AVERAGE across a large data set. For more detailed information
about how to set up and use Pivot Tables, be sure to check out our in-
depth explanation of Pivot Table features.
Advanced formatting
Now that you've got a handle on data manipulation in Excel, it's time to
learn some advanced formatting techniques to polish your spreadsheets
— making them both beautiful to look at and easy to interpret.
The most useful of these features is called Conditional Formatting. It's
an Excel tool that allows you to format cells (i.e. change how they look)
based on the values that they contain. For example, you could use
Conditional Formatting to highlight all cells that contain values over a
certain threshold; or, you could use it to turn cells that contain larger
numbers green and cells that contain smaller numbers red.
Let's take a look at a common example of conditional formatting in
practice to get a first-hand view of just how useful it is. Take a look at
the below spreadsheet, prepared by a SnackWorld analyst. It shows the
company's total monthly sales by product category for the year of 2019:

The SnackWorld CEO, upon seeing this data, had an important

comment: the information is all there, but it's very hard to read the chart
and identify trends without spending a significant amount of time
looking at the numbers. Our analyst could create a chart or graph
representing the data, but she wants to preserve it in table form so that
exact sales numbers for each category and month can quickly be pulled.
Is there an easy way that we could make this data easier to look at while
preserving its integrity?
The answer is conditional formatting. Let's test it out by highlighting our
data set — excluding the dates on the left-hand side of the chart, because
we do not want to format those — and clicking the Conditional
Formatting button on the Home tab of the Ribbon:

A large formatting menu opens up giving us several options:

 Highlight Cells Rules allow us to highlight particular cells based on

the values that they contain. We can specify criteria telling Excel to
highlight cells that contain values greater than or less than a certain
threshold; between two numbers; equal to a certain value or string;
containing a given substring; and more.
  Top / Bottom Rules allow us to highlight particular cells that are
important relative to other values in our data set. For example, we
could highlight the ten largest or smallest cells by value; the top or
bottom 10% of cells by value; or cells containing values greater than
or less than the data set average.
 Data Bars show values relative to the whole data set using a graph-
type visual overlay.
 Color Scales change the background color of cells based on the
values that those cells contain on a scale. Color scales use color
gradients, with the highest-value cells appearing at one end of the
gradient spectrum and the lowest-value cells appearing at the other
end.
For our analyst's purposes, the Color Scales option will work the best to
show our data. Let's select it and choose one of the color scales
available. The first option, which we'll choose, highlights the highest-
value cells in green, the middle value cells in yellow, and the lowest-
value cells in red.
When we select this color scale, Excel tints our cells on a spectrum, with
the highest values in green and the lowest values in red. Note that the
program automatically uses a gradient, making it very easy to tell where
our data values fall in the range.
To clear conditional formatting, select all formatted cells and look at
the Clear Rules menu in the Conditional Formatting dialogue:
Those are the basics of conditional formatting, but there's much more to
learn. Check out our full conditional formatting tutorial for more
information!

FURTHER READING

 How to use Conditional Formatting

There you have it: the top ten places to start when you're learning how to
use Excel. We hope that this tutorial has been helpful as you start off
with this amazing and powerful program. Our website features dozens of
free, easy-to-follow courses on how to use Excel's formulas, functions,
and other features, so be sure to check it out for more information as you
learn. And if you have any questions or comments for us, we'd love to
hear them — sound off in the Comments section below. Thanks for
coming by!