Four practical tips to improve Excel efficiency

Efficient Excel operations are crucial in data processing. This article will share four practical tips to improve Excel's work efficiency to help you complete data processing tasks quickly.

1. Use the name box to quickly navigate

Similar to bookmarks in Word documents, Excel uses "name" as a anchor point in the workbook, accessed through the name box in the upper left corner. Each cell has its own name (i.e. column number - line number, e.g. E7).

To quickly jump to a specific cell in the active worksheet, simply enter the column-row reference of the cell in the name box (e.g. E7) and press Enter. For large spreadsheets, this method avoids repeated scrolling searches, greatly improving efficiency.

If you have multiple active sheets, you can jump to cells in other sheets by entering the sheet name, exclamation mark, and cell reference in the Name box. For example, entering Sheet2!G5 will jump to cell G5 of Sheet2's worksheet.

In addition, you can customize the name of a cell or cell range. Select the cell and enter a new name in the Name box. This is especially useful for frequently visited important data areas.

After naming the data, a drop-down arrow will appear next to the name box. Click to view all named items in the worksheet.

Spaces are not allowed in Excel names, and it is recommended to use underscore (_) instead. For example, "Total_Prices".

For formatted Excel tables, the naming method is slightly different, and you need to use Excel's table naming tool. Select any cell in the table and enter the table name in the Properties group on the "Table Design" tab.

Navigate to a named table the same way as jumping to a cell: enter the table name in the name box and press Enter, or click the drop-down menu in the name box to view a list of all named items.

2. Freeze the pane to avoid excessive scrolling

Freeze pane feature is one of the powerful tools in Excel to save time. Keep important rows or columns (such as titles) visible when scrolling through large spreadsheets, avoiding the hassle of constantly scrolling back to view titles.

Frozen pane keeps the data contextually related, keeping you informed about what the data means at any time.

Click "Frozen Pane" in the "View" tab to view the freezing options.

Click "Frozen Top Row" or "Frozen First Column" to lock the first row or first column. Note that selecting one of the commands will cancel the other command.

To freeze the first few columns or rows, select the first column or row that you do not need to freeze, and then click "Frozen Pane". For example, to freeze rows 1 and 2, select row 3, and then click Freeze Pane.

To freeze both rows and columns, select the highest and leftmost cells that do not need to be frozen, and then click Freeze Pane. For example, to freeze row 1 and column A, select cell B2 and click "Frozen Pane".

To unfreeze pane, click "Freeze Pane" > "Unfreeze Pane". Ctrl Z (Undo) The freeze operation cannot be canceled.

3. Use Excel data prediction tools

Excel's data prediction tool allows you to predict future trends based on historical data with just a few clicks, avoiding the cumbersomeness of manual prediction.

Select a range of cells that contain dates and existing data, and then click Prediction Worksheet in the Data tab.

The Create Prediction Worksheet dialog box displays a prediction preview. You can use the fields below the chart to change the end date and click Options to optimize how predictions are generated, such as setting confidence intervals or choosing whether to include seasonal factors automatically.

After clicking "Create", Excel will open a new worksheet with prediction data in the form of tables and charts.

4. Personalized quick access toolbar

Excel provides many tools, and sometimes finding the right one can reduce efficiency. If you often use the same buttons and commands, a custom Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) is a great choice.

Learning all Excel shortcuts can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, while custom QAT is easier. QAT is located in the upper left corner of the Excel window.

If you only see the Excel logo and workbook name, QAT is not enabled. Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Open tab and click "Show Quick Access Toolbar".

QAT will appear next to the Excel logo, which contains some default buttons such as AutoSave and Save.

You can add or delete buttons as needed. Right-click the relevant icon and select "Delete from Quick Access Toolbar" to delete the button.

Similarly, right-click the icon on the ribbon and select "Add to Quick Access Toolbar" to add the button. Alternatively, click the "Custom Quick Access Toolbar" drop-down arrow, select the options in the drop-down list, or click "More Commands" to view and add additional actions.

In addition to these techniques, small adjustments such as compressing pictures, simplifying formulas and limiting volatile functions can also improve the efficiency of Excel file operation.

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