Microsoft Excel Blog: Tutorials and How-Tos

Create your own custom sort in Excel

Excel already has built-in custom lists for sorting, but you can create your own custom sort list in case you don't want to sort alphabetically or A to Z.

Create a combo or two-axis chart in Excel 2016 by Chris Menard

If you are trying to chart values in Excel that are far apart numerically, you need to create a combo chart in Excel. It is very easy in Excel 2016.

How to calculate the weighted average in Excel

Need to calculate the weighted average in Excel? It is very easy if you use the sumproduct function in Excel. This is useful for school or work.

Create a treemap in Excel to spot patterns

A treemap chart provides a hierarchical view of your data and makes it easy to spot patterns, such as which items are a store's best sellers.

Use Conditional Formatting with groups in Excel

Can you use conditional formatting with groups of data in Excel by creating a helper column and using the IsOdd and IsEven function.

Protect a worksheet range in Excel

Need to make sure your formula or functions don't get deleted along with other information? You can protect a cell range in Excel.

Use Icon Set in Excel - just two arrows by Chris Menard

Present data in three categories using icon sets in excel. Each icon represents a range of values. I show how to use two arrows in this blog post.

Use Sparklines in Microsoft Excel

Sparklines in Excel provide a fast way to see patterns at a glance. There are three type of sparklines in Excel: Win/Loss, Column, and Line.

Excel - make accounting, currency, and number style zero decimal places by default

Use the Control Panel to change the default decimal places to zero for accounting, currency, and numbers in Microsoft Excel. Video by Chris Menard

Outlook mail merge - personalize email messages

Need to send emails to a group? Instead of sending to a contact group, you can do a mail merge and personalize each recipient's email.

Use the COUNTIF function in Microsoft Excel

The Countif function in Excel is one of the top 10 functions to know. You can use Countif for text, numbers, greater than, and other criteria.

Using Array Formulas in Excel by Chris Menard

Array formulas make checking your work and doing complex functions easier. If you constantly do countif functions, use the Array Frequency function instead.