Excel University Blog

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Data Validation

Conditional Formatting With Data Validation

By Jeff Lenning | March 12, 2024 |

In today’s Excel University blog post, we’re going to explore the incredible combination of the Conditional Formatting and Data Validation features in Excel. I was recently asked the following question: How do I highlight matching customers on one worksheet based on the customer selected in a data validation drop-down list on another? And I’ll answer…

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Woman quickly entering data sets on two computer monitors using the Excel fill handle

How to Save Time Using the Microsoft Excel Fill Handle

By Excel University | August 30, 2022 |

Long lists of data can be time-consuming to enter in Excel. Here’s how to use the Excel fill handle to save yourself hours of work!

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Man holding a long list on a page that touches the floor before learning how to create a Microsoft Excel drop-down list

How to Create a Microsoft Excel Drop-Down List

By Excel University | August 9, 2022 |

Keeping your records organized is essential whether you’re running a business or taking care of the household. These days, there are a ton of apps you can use to keep track of daily to-dos, but they just can’t quite compare to the customization abilities and advanced features of Excel. One of those features is the…

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Woman looking through a magnifying glass at how to highlight duplicates in excel

How to Highlight Duplicates in Excel

By Excel University | July 26, 2022 |

A duplicate value is a value that shows up more than once in a spreadsheet. These pop up all the time when working with datasets, and they can be tedious to sort through if you don’t know the quick ways to find them. Learn how to highlight duplicates in Excel to make the process take…

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Woman pointing to the left while thinking about advanced Excel tips

Even Pros Could Learn a Thing or Two From These 8 Advanced Excel Tips

By Excel University | June 21, 2022 |

Looking for some advanced Excel tips to help you become a spreadsheet pro? We’re sharing 8 tips that will take your skills to the next level!

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AutoComplete for Data Validation Dropdown Lists

By Jeff Lenning | January 24, 2022 |

Microsoft just announced an enhancement in Excel desktop that enables autocomplete for data validation dropdown lists … YES! I have been waiting for this capability for literally decades … and it is finally here 🙂 Note: this feature is available in both Excel online and desktop. However, at the time of this writing, it is…

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Convert Foreign Currencies to USD

By Penny Li | January 4, 2022 |

My name is Penny Li, a cross-border tax accountant, and I often come across instances in my work where I need to convert foreign currencies to US dollar. I have decided to build a foreign currency conversion tool in Excel that is capable of generating single-day as well as average foreign exchange rates for multiple…

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Dependent Drop Downs with FILTER

By Jeff Lenning | November 17, 2020 |

This post shows how to create multiple dependent drop downs using the FILTER function. These are also known as cascading or conditional drop downs, where the choices in a drop down depend on the selection made in a previous drop down. The technique presented enables you to create as many drop downs as you need,…

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List of Worksheets in a Drop Down

By Jeff Lenning | May 27, 2020 |

In this post, I’ll answer a question I received from Sara about how to create a drop down with each worksheet name and reference it in a formula to retrieve values from the selected sheet. As this is Excel, there are a variety of alternatives to accomplish this. In this post, I’ll demonstrate one such…

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Excel and Budgeting

By Jeff Lenning | May 19, 2020 |

I recently wrote an article for the Minnesota Society of CPAs about a technique that helps you create budgets faster. Even if you don’t prepare budgets, the underlying features and functions used can be applied elsewhere. In summary, we use a data validation drop-down to provide several Budget Methods. Once you select a budget method…

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