RANK functions

Ranking is a data transformation in which values are replaced by their rank when the data is sorted. For any two items, the first is either ranked higher than ranked lower than ranked equal to the second. Values can be ranked from the smallest to the largest, or from the largest to the smallest.   Ordinal ranking presumes that all items will receive distinct ordinal numbers, including items that compare equally. Distinct ordinal numbers for items that are equal can

SMALL & LARGE functions

The SMALL function returns the k-th smallest number from an array of numbers. The SMALL function syntax is as follows: = SMALL ( array; k ) Array can be any row, column, or a combination of both. k is an integer number representing the position of a number in the array if data in that array would be sorted from the smallest.   Consider the following example: If k is 1, the smallest number will be returned. If k is

SUMIFS criteria: formulas, functions and conditional statements

We’ve previously established the rules for writing criteria in the SUMIFS function: we can reference any cell we can enter any number directly into the function we can enter text directly in the function, nested inside quotation marks “” a logical test is nested inside of quotation marks “”, with the comparison operator coming first and a number second. We will further expand on the topic in this article. Formulas and functions can also be nested in SUMIFS criteria. If needed,

How to customize the Quick Access Toolbar

In Microsoft Excel, the Quick Access Toolbar is a customizable toolbar independent of the tabs on the ribbon. It is usually located in the title bar of the Excel window, but it can also be configured to display below the ribbon. It will look something like this on a new installation: You can see the often-used commands Save, Undo, and Redo already on the toolbar.   If you want to remove those, or more likely, add some commands you often

Combining SUMIFS with INDEX MATCH

Using the SUMIFS function, we can sum all of the values in a defined column (or row) that meet one or more criteria. When SUMIFS is combined with INDEX MATCH, that sum range doesn’t have to be defined anymore; it is now rather specified in the function arguments. By combining SUMIFS with INDEX MATCH, we can then sum all of the values that meet multiple criteria in different rows and columns and do this in a simple way, avoiding complex and

Remove Duplicates feature

You will sometimes want to retrieve unique values from a data set, i.e., to find and remove duplicate values. While there are a few ways to do this, the most effective option is the Excel built-in feature Remove Duplicates. The Remove Duplicates feature removes duplicate rows from the selected columns. Duplicate rows are deleted in this process.   The simplest example of this process is the removal of duplicate values from a single column: In this example, we’ve started with

Combine EOMONTH with SEQUENCE: generate a sequence of dates

You will sometimes need to generate a sequence of dates in Excel. Most often, you will need month-end dates, but no matter what kind of dates you need, the simplest way to generate them will include the EOMONTH function combined with the SEQUENCE function.   The EOMONTH function returns the last day of the month in relation to the start date. The EOMONTH function syntax is as follows: = EOMONTH ( start_date; number of months ) The start date is

Custom Icons for Conditional Formatting

With conditional formatting, among other things, we can join indication icons to our numbers. While we can rearrange available icons as we wish, the choice of available icons is fairly limited: In particular, while Green Arrow Up and Red Arrow Down are available, we don’t have the often-requested Green Arrow Down and Red Arrow Up.   We can expand our choice of icons with the help of the Wingdings fonts, a series of fonts that render characters as a variety

Lookup with unique identifiers

INDEX function The INDEX function returns the value from a range of cells based on the row and column specified in the function arguments. We are simplifying here: the INDEX function can actually return values from one or more arrays, i.e., a broader term for lists of data that includes cell ranges. But the most common use is with cell ranges, as that is the typical way of structuring data in Excel.   The syntax of the INDEX function is

Conditional calculations

  IF functions for cell ranges Using conditional statements, i.e., the IF function, we can test conditions and perform actions if conditions are met. This IF-THEN-ELSE conditional processing is useful when we want to add something new to our rows. However, it is not really appropriate for retrieving data from or about whole ranges of cells, sometimes containing thousands of rows and columns. For example, in order to sum the incentive paid out to “green” team members, we had to