How to Trace Precedents and Dependents in Excel
When a number looks wrong or you’re about to change a cell, it helps to see how that cell connects to your formulas. Precedents are the cells a formula uses. …
Steve Scott
How to Create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel
Custom keyboard shortcuts in Excel let you run a command you use often without finding it on the ribbon each time. Windows Excel has no screen for picking a command …
How to Calculate MAPE in Excel
MAPE (mean absolute percentage error) in Excel shows you how far your forecasts missed actual results, as an average percentage. Over- and under-forecasts don’t cancel each other out. Months with …
How to Calculate Cronbach’s Alpha in Excel
When your survey questions aim to measure the same thing, you may need Cronbach’s alpha to show their consistency for a report, thesis, or reviewer. Cronbach’s alpha tells you how …
How to Calculate Median in an Excel Pivot Table
A median gives you a typical value for your Excel PivotTable summary without letting one extreme number pull it around. You’ll find Sum, Average, Count, and other summaries in Value …
How to Create a Gauge Chart in Excel
A gauge chart in Excel shows one number against a scale, so you can see how close your sales or another performance measure is to its target. Like a car’s …
How to Create a Break-Even Chart in Excel
A break-even chart in Excel shows you how many units you need to sell before revenue covers total costs. On the chart, the revenue and total cost lines cross at …
How to Calculate Safety Stock in Excel
Safety stock helps you avoid running out when sales spike or deliveries arrive late. It’s extra inventory above what you expect to sell while you wait for a delivery. The …
How to Export Excel to a Pipe-Delimited Text File
A pipe-delimited text file puts each row on its own line, with | between values. A bank or payroll system may ask for this format when you send it data …
How to Add and Rename a Chart Legend in Excel
A chart legend in Excel tells you what each color represents, so you can read the chart without guessing. The legend has no text of its own. Its labels come …
How to Import HTML Tables into Excel
Importing an HTML table into Excel gives you usable rows and columns without retyping the web page’s data or bringing along its clutter. From Web and a VBA web query …
How to Insert and Edit Equations in Excel
Excel’s equation editor lets you show math with stacked fractions and raised exponents, so you can display a model’s calculation in familiar mathematical form. An equation sits in a box …