Excel Blog
Long-form guides for the Excel problems one exercise can't explain.
Latest · 16 Oct 2026 · 13 min read
VSTACK in Excel: Combine Data From Multiple Sheets
A stack aligns by position, never by heading
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15 Oct 2026 · Dropdown Lists
Dependent Drop-Down Lists in Excel: Build and Audit Them
Validation checks a cell once, as the value is typed, and never again
COUNTIFS18 min14 Oct 2026 · Date Functions
Prorate a Date Range Across Months in Excel
A month is not a flag on a contract; it is the overlap between two date ranges
MIN, MAX18 min13 Oct 2026 · Conditional Formatting
Conditional Formatting Not Working in Excel? Fix the Range
A rule only formats the cells in its Applies to box, and that box never grows by itself
COUNTIFS12 min12 Oct 2026 · Date Grouping
Group Dates by Month and Year in Excel Pivot Tables
Grouping a date field by Months alone puts every January on the same row
EOMONTH12 min11 Oct 2026 · Timesheets
Excel Timesheet Hours: Sum Past 24 and Split Overtime
A total formatted h:mm starts again at every midnight
MOD14 min10 Oct 2026 · Time Zones
Convert UTC Timestamps to Local Time in Excel
A fixed +1/24 is an hour wrong for five months of the year
TIMEVALUE17 min9 Oct 2026 · Gantt Charts
How to Make a Gantt Chart in Excel With Working Days
A duration in days is working days, and only WORKDAY knows that
WORKDAY15 min8 Oct 2026 · Lookups
XLOOKUP With Multiple Criteria in Excel: Two-Column Match
A lookup stops at the first row that matches and never says there was a second
XLOOKUP13 min7 Oct 2026 · Troubleshooting
Excel Formula Not Calculating? Manual Mode and Text Cells
A workbook set to Manual answers with yesterday's numbers and never says so
SUMPRODUCT16 min6 Oct 2026 · Power Query
Power Query Merge in Excel: Join Types and Extra Rows
A merge can add rows; a lookup never can
XLOOKUP15 min5 Oct 2026 · Checkboxes
Excel Checkboxes: Count and Sum TRUE/FALSE Columns
A checkbox is a value in the cell, not an object floating over it
COUNTIF13 min4 Oct 2026 · Fiscal Year
How to Calculate Fiscal Year and Quarter in Excel
A fiscal year is a column you build, not a setting Excel has
EOMONTH15 min3 Oct 2026 · GROUPBY
GROUPBY and PIVOTBY in Excel: Pivot Tables as Formulas
A GROUPBY result has no fixed address
SUMIFS20 min2 Oct 2026 · Calculated Fields
Pivot Table Calculated Fields in Excel: Fix Wrong Totals
A calculated field adds first and multiplies second
SUMPRODUCT22 min1 Oct 2026 · Unique Values
Count Unique Values in Excel: UNIQUE, COUNTIF and Pivots
"Unique" means two different things and both have a formula
COUNT, COUNTA23 min30 Sept 2026 · Text to Columns
Text to Columns in Excel: Split One Column Into Many
0️⃣ General strips leading zeros, and no number format puts them back
TEXTSPLIT23 min29 Sept 2026 · Advanced Filter
Excel Advanced Filter: How Criteria Ranges Really Work
A blank row in the criteria range returns every record
FILTER21 min28 Sept 2026 · Power Query
Combine Multiple Excel Files Into One With Power Query
Folder.Files is recursive
SUM22 min27 Sept 2026 · Rows and Columns
Insert or Delete Rows in Excel Without Breaking Formulas
Excel rewrites a reference by following the cells it points at
SUM21 min26 Sept 2026 · Hidden Data
Remove Hidden Data in Excel Before You Send a File
Hiding is a display property
SUM34 min25 Sept 2026 · Find and Replace
Excel Find and Replace: What Replace All Really Changes
The Replace tab has one Look in setting and it is Formulas
TRIM29 min24 Sept 2026 · File Formats
Save Excel as CSV Without Losing Data: What Gets Dropped
A CSV saves the display, not the value
ROUND29 min23 Sept 2026 · Working Days
NETWORKDAYS and WORKDAY in Excel: Count Working Days Right
NETWORKDAYS counts working days inclusive of both dates, so same-day is 1 and Monday to the following Monday is 6
WORKDAY22 min22 Sept 2026 · GETPIVOTDATA
GETPIVOTDATA in Excel: Reference Pivot Table Cells Safely
Clicking a pivot cell writes one of two formulas
SUMIFS23 min21 Sept 2026 · AutoFill
Excel Fill Handle Not Filling All Rows? AutoFill Explained
A double-click on the fill handle does not fill the column
SUM20 min20 Sept 2026 · Week Numbers
WEEKNUM vs ISOWEEKNUM in Excel: Which Week Number to Use
WEEKNUM's week 1 is simply the week containing 1 January, so it can be one day long or seven
WEEKDAY22 min19 Sept 2026 · Slicers
Excel Slicer Not Filtering Every Pivot Table? Fix It
A slicer is not a sheet filter
SUMIFS20 min18 Sept 2026 · Precision
Excel Changes Long Numbers? The 15-Digit Precision Limit
Excel keeps fifteen significant digits and writes zeros over everything past them, at the moment of entry, permanently
ROUND25 min17 Sept 2026 · INDIRECT
INDIRECT and OFFSET in Excel: References Built From Text
A normal reference is a relationship Excel maintains; an INDIRECT is a sentence about a relationship, and nobody maintains a sentence
INDEX MATCH29 min16 Sept 2026 · Regional Settings
Excel Decimal Comma vs Point: Regional Settings Explained
The same file totalled 577,574.80 in Munich and 1,526.95 in Manchester
VALUE22 min15 Sept 2026 · Hyperlinks
Excel Hyperlinks Not Working? Broken Paths and HYPERLINK
A Ctrl+K hyperlink is an object attached to a cell, not a value in it
CONCAT and &27 min14 Sept 2026 · CSV Import
Open a CSV in Excel Without Losing Leading Zeros or Digits
Excel stores fifteen significant digits and sets the rest to zero, so eighteen of twenty sixteen-digit references lost their last digit
LEN26 min13 Sept 2026 · Paste Special
Paste Special and Filtered Rows in Excel: Paste Safely
Seven prices copied, seven rows changed, one row right
SUMPRODUCT25 min12 Sept 2026 · Print Area
Excel Print Area: Why Rows Don't Print and How to Fix It
£175,698.65 of invoices in the file, £93,940.40 on the printed listing, and the £81,758.25 difference contained the two largest invoices in the book
SUM26 min11 Sept 2026 · Flash Fill
Flash Fill in Excel: When Ctrl+E Guesses Wrong
£63,500.00 of remittances went in, a six-line supplier report of £55,921.00 came out, and the missing £7,579.00 never appeared as an error, a blank or a zero
TEXTBEFORE, TEXTAFTER21 min10 Sept 2026 · Data Model
Excel Data Model and Power Pivot Relationships Explained
The pack's bottom line — £63,900.75 against £60,000.00, +£3,900.75, 106.50% of plan
SUMIFS24 min9 Sept 2026 · Unpivot
How to Unpivot Data in Excel: Crosstab to Flat Table
Q2 £59,043.80 plus Q3 £72,198.05 equals the £131,241.85 grand total to the penny, and all three are the wrong months
INDEX MATCH23 min8 Sept 2026 · Random Sampling
Random Sampling in Excel With RAND and RANDARRAY
The same four-invoice sample reads £11,166.80 one day and £7,228.40 the next, and the coverage cell recalculates from 27.76% to 17.97% alongside it, so the w…
RANK21 min7 Sept 2026 · Running Totals
How to Calculate a Running Total in Excel
The same fourteen movements produce three different "lowest balance this month" figures
SUM25 min6 Sept 2026 · Binning
Group Numbers Into Bins in Excel With FREQUENCY
One column of 14 resolution times produces four different answers to "how many closed inside four hours"
COUNTIF23 min5 Sept 2026 · Wildcards
Excel Wildcards: Partial Text Match With COUNTIF and SEARCH
The month's Travel line reports 1,624.30 against a 1,600.00 budget and real travel is 1,570.30
COUNTIF21 min4 Sept 2026 · Merged Cells
Merged Cells in Excel: What They Break and What to Use
Four SUMIFS across a merged region column total 177,500.00 on a sales column that sums to 459,700.00
SUMIFS22 min3 Sept 2026 · Blank Cells
Blank Cells vs Zeros vs Empty Text in Excel Formulas
Twelve branches, 355,000.00 of sales, and three correct averages
COUNT, COUNTA22 min2 Sept 2026 · Tiered Rates
Tiered Commission Rates in Excel With VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP
Ten reps, 1,389,990.00 of sales, 99,398.40 paid and 50,398.40 owed
VLOOKUP26 min1 Sept 2026 · Duplicates
How to Find and Remove Duplicates in Excel Safely
Ten rows, 39,488.00 of payment run, 23,081.75 of actual invoices
COUNTIF20 min31 Aug 2026 · Multi-Currency
Currency Conversion in Excel With Exchange Rate Lookups
One rate cell, three readings of one closed month
INDEX MATCH21 min30 Aug 2026 · Charts
Excel Charts: Axis Scales, Combo Charts and Picking One
The chart that was drawn showed revenue up 39.3%; the chart nobody drew showed ad spend up 59.4%
MIN, MAX21 min29 Aug 2026 · Circular References
Circular Reference in Excel: How to Find and Fix It
The bonus pool is ten per cent of profit after the bonus, so the honest formula reads its own cell
SUM23 min28 Aug 2026 · External Links
Excel Links Not Updating? External References Explained
A link to a closed workbook is served from a copy of the value stored inside your own file, so a source that has moved on shows you the last number Excel read
SUMIFS17 min27 Aug 2026 · Sorting and Filtering
Sorting and Filtering in Excel Without Scrambling Rows
Sorting is an edit and filtering is a view
SORT21 min26 Aug 2026 · SUMPRODUCT
Excel SUMPRODUCT: Weighted Averages and Conditional Sums
=AVERAGE(E2:E13) returns 104.91 because it averages twelve prices; =SUMPRODUCT(D2:D13,E2:E13)/SUM(D2:D13) returns 18.79 because it averages 6,000 units
SUMPRODUCT19 min25 Aug 2026 · Performance
Why Is My Excel Workbook Slow? Fix Recalculation Speed
Measure before you touch anything
SUMIFS20 min24 Aug 2026 · Percentages
Percentages in Excel: Margin, Markup and Percent Change
A 30% markup is not a 30% margin
ROUND25 min23 Aug 2026 · Forecasting
Forecasting in Excel: TREND, FORECAST.LINEAR, Seasonality
A straight line through a seasonal series does not fail loudly
AVERAGE26 min22 Aug 2026 · Error Handling
Excel Error Values Explained: IFERROR, IFNA and #N/A
Excel has nine error values in everyday use and they are nine different accusations
IFERROR28 min21 Aug 2026 · Comparing Lists
How to Compare Two Lists in Excel and Find Differences
=A2=D2 compares row 5 with row 5, not INV-2291 with INV-2291
COUNTIF25 min20 Aug 2026 · Multi-Sheet Formulas
Sum Across Multiple Sheets in Excel With 3D References
=SUM(Jan:Dec!E14) is a sandwich, not a list
SUM26 min19 Aug 2026 · Statistics
MEDIAN, Percentiles and RANK in Excel: Statistics Guide
AVERAGE says 263,791.67 and MEDIAN says 158,000
MEDIAN24 min18 Aug 2026 · Number Formats
Excel Custom Number Formats: A Practical Guide
The format is a mask: the cell holds 0.3125, the screen says 7:30, and SUM adds 0.3125
DOLLAR25 min17 Aug 2026 · SUBTOTAL
SUBTOTAL and AGGREGATE in Excel: Sum Only Visible Rows
A filter hides rows from you, not from SUM
SUM22 min16 Aug 2026 · Rounding
Excel Rounding Functions: ROUND, MROUND and CEILING
A number format changes what you see; ROUND changes what SUM sees
ROUND22 min15 Aug 2026 · LAMBDA
LET and LAMBDA in Excel: Write Your Own Functions
LET names the parts of a formula
LET26 min14 Aug 2026 · What-If Analysis
What-If Analysis in Excel: Goal Seek and Data Tables
Four tools, four question shapes
PMT29 min13 Aug 2026 · Cell References
Absolute vs Relative References in Excel ($A$1 Explained)
What Excel really stores when you type A1
VLOOKUP22 min12 Aug 2026 · Financial Functions
Excel Financial Functions: PMT, NPV and IRR Explained
The convention underneath all of it
PMT24 min11 Aug 2026 · Sheet Protection
How to Protect an Excel Sheet and Lock Cells
The rule everything else follows from
IF21 min10 Aug 2026 · Text Functions
Excel Text Functions: Split and Extract Text From Cells
The three questions all text work reduces to
LEFT, RIGHT, MID19 min9 Aug 2026 · Power Query
Power Query in Excel: Clean Imported Data Automatically
What a query really is — a recorded list of steps that re-runs on new data, not a one-time clean
TRIM19 min8 Aug 2026 · Named Ranges
Named Ranges and Structured References in Excel
What a name really is — an entry storing a formula, not a label stuck on cells
SUMIFS19 min7 Aug 2026 · Logical Functions
IF, IFS, AND and OR in Excel: Logical Functions Guide
What IF actually returns, and why omitting value_if_false writes FALSE into your report
IF15 min6 Aug 2026 · Dynamic Arrays
Excel Dynamic Arrays: FILTER, SORT and UNIQUE Explained
Spill, anchor cells and ghost cells
FILTER19 min5 Aug 2026 · Lookup Functions
How to Use INDEX MATCH in Excel (With Examples)
MATCH returns a position, INDEX returns a value
INDEX MATCH19 min4 Aug 2026 · Date Functions
Excel Date and Time Formulas: EOMONTH, NETWORKDAYS, DATEDIF
The serial number model — why 9 Jan 2026 is 46031, and what that unlocks
DATE22 min3 Aug 2026 · Data Validation
Excel Data Validation: Create Dropdown Lists and Rules
Dropdown lists in three flavours
UNIQUE18 min2 Aug 2026 · Conditional Aggregation
SUMIFS and COUNTIFS in Excel: Sum With Multiple Criteria
Why SUMIFS beats SUMIF even when you only have one condition
SUMIFS16 min2 Aug 2026 · Lookup Functions
XLOOKUP vs VLOOKUP: Differences and When to Use Each
The one-line rewrite that turns any VLOOKUP into an XLOOKUP
XLOOKUP12 min20 Feb 2026
Conditional Formatting With Formulas in Excel
Formula-based conditional formatting rules (IF, comparisons, averages)
AND, OR, NOT11 min29 Jan 2026
How to Build an Excel Dashboard (No VBA Needed)
Clear definition of what a “good” Excel dashboard looks like
SUMIFS7 min20 Dec 2025
Excel Pivot Tables Tutorial: Analyze Data in Minutes
Step-by-step Pivot Table creation from raw data
SUMIFS12 min15 Dec 2025
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts: 50+ Shortcuts to Work Faster
Formula editing shortcuts that save hours (F2, Ctrl+Enter, F9)
SUM9 min11 Dec 2025 · Data Cleaning
How to Clean Messy Imported Data in Excel
Quick diagnostics to spot text-numbers, bad dates, and hidden blanks
TRIM3 min10 Sept 2025
Excel Formulas at Work: Practical Examples by Department
Practical scenarios across Sales, Finance, HR, and Operations
SUMIFS4 min24 Aug 2025 · Excel Tips
How to Troubleshoot Excel Formulas Step by Step
Systematic approach to identify formula errors
IFERROR6 min7 Aug 2025
Top 10 Excel Formulas Everyone Should Know (With Examples)
Real datasets and scenarios for every formula
SUM4 min
Build a sorted, duplicate-free category breakdown from a ticket log with UNIQUE, SORT and COUNTIF
A new exercise every day, solved in a real grid.