Time Calculations in Excel

Judging by the number of calls that I get from my viewers, working with Time Period Calculations is one of the most problematic challenges in Excel. My goal for this tutorial is to demonstrate how you can easily avoid the frustrations when you calculate elapsed time and total a series of time – e.g. hours worked during the week.

Apply a Custom Format to Formula Cells

When you create an Excel Formula that subtracts a Start Time from an End Time, you are likely to get a result that looks like 2:30 AM. This is not what you want to see! The solution is to apply a Custom Time Format – e.g. h:mm – to the formula cell(s).

Time that “Spans Midnight”

Many people work the “Graveyard Shift.” The start work late in the evening and they end work early the next morning. The problem that occurs when you want to calculate the number of hours worked is that Excel believes that you are performing a “negative time” operation and the result is a cell filled with ######## (Hash Marks). This happens because Excel thinks that both the Start Time and the End Time belong in the same day. To solve this, you could use an IF() Function formula. However, there is a much easier formula to use as I demonstrate in this video. It uses the MOD() Function.

Total Hours Worked

Use the SUM() function to total 8:00 hours worked each weekday. You are expecting to see 40:00 hours worked. So why does Excel return 16:00 hours instead? By default, Excel interprets 24:00 hours as a single day. So it subtracts 24:00 from the 40:00 hours worked to return 16:00 hours. Unless you make a formatting change to the formula cell you are going to have many unhappy and under paid employees.

The solution? Apply the [h]:mm Custom Formatting to the Formula Cells. Amazingly enough, Excel does not include [h]:mm as one of the Custom Formats in the list. So, simply edit one of the other formats and you will now have the correct answer displayed for your formula!

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Filter with a Roll Up by Month Summary

In this Excel tutorial, I respond to a viewer request. He likes the new “Roll Up Summary by Month” feature for filtering a field in an Excel 2007 – 2010 Field. What he finds frustrating – there seems to be no natural way to accomplish this with an Excel Pivot Table.

Natural Language Date Filters in Excel

Before I solve my readers dilemma, I demonstrate how to take advantage of the new “Natural Language” Date Filters that were introduced in Excel 2007. Date Filters allow you to filter records from “Today,” “Last Week,” “Next Month,” etc. They are available for Excel Tables and Excel Pivot Tables. These “Natural Language” Date Filters are a major improvement in Excel!

Group a Field for Pivot Tables

To solve my viewers question, I “Grouped” the original Date Field in his Pivot Table to produce “virtual” fields for “Month,” and “Year.” Now, it is a simple step to filter the “virtual” Month Field to obtain a “roll up” filter for individual months in the Pivot Table. Just select a single cell in the Pivot Table Date Field and choose Group Field. Make your choices in the Grouping Dialog Box and you are “good to go!”

I also show you how to take advantage of the Expand and Collapse Field Commands in a Pivot Table.

In-Depth Video Tutorial for Excel Pivot Tables

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Conditional Formatting in Excel

Conditional Formatting has been available for many years in Excel. However, beginning with Excel 2007, Conditional Formatting got a major boost in its ease-of use and new visualization tools.

In this tutorial, I demonstrate how to use Conditional Formatting to highlight – via formatting – the cells in a range that anser “TRUE” to a set of criteria. For example, is the cell value “Above Average” or is it Greater than the value in a Target Cell.

How Does Conditional Formatting Work?

Conditional Formatting is “dynamic.” If you update the values – or formulas that generate cell values” the cell that receive the Conditional Formatting may change – based upon the criteria that you set as “the condition.”

Versions of Excel Covered

For this lesson, I demonstrate Conditional Formatting in BOTH Excel 2010 and Excel 2003.

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Advantages of Pivot Tables

This is the first in a series of tutorials that I am creating in partnership with Tri-Technical Systems – a leading provider of Point-of-sale (POS) Systems. In this video lesson, I use an Excel Pivot Table to present the information that I require from a standard “Inventory by Location” report.

Point-of-Sale Reports

Most POS Systems allow you to print out standard reports – compact, professionally formatted “snapshots” of your inventory status, sales data and customer information. Likewise, most POS Systems will allow you to easily export the data behind these reports to Excel – where you can analyze or “number crunch” the data.

Advantages of Pivot Tables

• Pivot Tables combine the best elements of Subtotals, Outlines and Filtered Reports.
• With a Pivot Table, you select only the Fields that you wish to focus on.
• You can quickly reposition any field on your Pivot Table – e.g. change it from a Vertical to a Horizontal position.
• Pivot Tables allow you to easily add multiple summaries – e.g. Sum, Average, Percentage of Total, etc. without writing a Formula!
• It is impossible to harm your underlying data when you work with a Pivot Table because you are working with a “virtual snapshot” of your data. You cannot directly change any value in a Pivot Table Report!

Learn More About Pivot Tables

Pivot Tables are easy to learn. However, it does take practice if you want to really tap into the analytical power of  a Pivot Table Report. Fortunately, I have a great resource for you – a 90 minute focused video tutorial on Pivot Tables. Follow this link to go to the information page for my Excel 2010 Pivot Table DVD-ROM. I have also created Pivot Table videos for Excel 2007 and Excel 2003.

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Protect Excel Formula Cells

Learning how to Protect the Excel Worksheet Cells that contain Formulas is a three-step process. This process tends to confuse and frustrate many Excel users. Some of the steps seem counter-intuitive when you first begin the process. That is why I created this video tutorial – To demonstrate each of the steps; to remove the confusion.

First, I show you how this is done in Excel 2010 / Excel 2007. Next, I show you how to protect the Formula Cells in Excel 2003.

Key Concept for Protecting Formula Cells

By default, all cells in an Excel Workbook are “Locked!”

So, if you are going to allow a user to input current values in the worksheet, you must first “select” the input cells and then, “Unlock” them.

Protecting Excel Worksheet

The final step in the process is to Protect the Worksheet. I rarely use a password for the worksheet because I tend to forget it and then I cannot even access the protected worksheet!

Take care in the Protect Sheet Dialog Box to select only the options that best suit your purpose. For example, in this video tutorial, I choose to limit users to select only the cells that I unlocked in steps 1 and 2.

Go To Special Dialog Box

The quickest way to select the cells that you wish to “unlock” is to open the Go To Special Dialog Box. There, choose “Constants.” You can limit the constants to “Numbers” as I do in this tutorial.

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Paste Named Ranges in Formula

I am a strong proponent for using Named Cell Ranges when creating Excel Formulas. But what if you have already created formulas – formulas that use cell references. How do you insert or apply a newly created named range into an existing Excel Formula?

Simple answer – watch this short video to see me demonstrate how this is done.

Better answer:

Follow These Steps

1. Activate in-cell formula editing by either double-clicking the formula cell or using the Keyboard Shortcut F2.
2. Highlight the cell reference that you wish to replace with a named range.
3. Choose the Name from the “Use in Formulas” drop-down menu. You can also use the F3 Keyboard Shortcut to open the Paste Names Dialog Box.
4. Repeat these steps to complete replacing additional cell references with named cell ranges.

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Use Named Ranges in Formulas

In my opinion, there are three reasons to use Named Range references in Excel Formulas:

1. They are easier to write. Particularly, if you are referencing cells in another worksheet.
2. They are easier to remember. Using =Sales – Cost of Goods Sold to determine Gross Profit vs. =A1 – B1
3. They are easier to explain. Especially, if you are sending an Excel Workbook to a client or a colleague.

Creating Named Ranges in Excel

In this tutorial, I demonstrate two methods for creating a named range:

1. Select the cells in the range and then type the name in the “Name Box” in the Upper Left Corner of the worksheet.
2. Select both the cell with the “Name” and the adjacent cells for the range. Then use the Keyboard Shortcut Ctrl + Shit + F3 to open the Create Names from Selection Dialog Box

Remember that all Named Ranges MUST begin with a Letter or an Underscore and they CANNOT contain any Spaces!

Paste Named Ranges into Formulas

If you are using Excel 2007 or Excel 2010, you can take advantage of Formula AutoComplete to quickly and accurately include named ranges in your formulas. In ALL versions of Excel you can use the F3 Keyboard Shortcut to open the Paste Names Dialog Box and select the named range that you wish to paste into your formula.

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Excel Formulas to Analyze Inventory

My friend, Alan Friedman, is a CPA and Partner in Friedman Kannenberg and Company, PC. I have been using one of the Excel Worksheets that Alan developed to teach retail store owners and managers how to analyze their inventory. In this lesson, I demonstrate how to write and copy the Excel formulas needed to perform this analysis.

Excel Formulas for Analyzing Inventory

Many retailers use a Point-of-Sale (POS) System that can generate three numbers: Sales by Product Category, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) by Product Category and Average Inventory by Product Category. Taking these three numbers – also known as “hard-coded” values – you can use Excel Formulas to give you:

• Gross Profit Dollars (Sales minus COGS)
• Gross Profit Percentage (Gross Profit Dollars divided by Sales)
• Inventory Turns (COGS divided by Average Inventory)
• Product Category Sales as a Percentage of Total Sales (Category Sales divided by Total Sales) – Use an Absolute Cell Reference
• Inventory by Category as a Percentage of Total Inventory – (Inventory by Category divided by Total Inventory) – Use an Absolute Cell Reference
• Gross Margin Return on Inventory (GMROI) – (Gross Profit Dollars divided by Average Inventory)

Tips for Entering and Copying Excel Formulas

As I demonstrate in this tutorial, you can write and copy an Excel Formula in one step when you first select the cells to receive the formula and use the Ctrl + Enter Keyboard Shortcut to complete the formula. Instead of clicking on the AutoSum Command or writing =SUM(), use the Alt + = (equal sign) to sum up the values in the adjacent range of cells.

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Relative and Absolute Cell References

Formulas and Functions are the “core elements” of Excel. It is vital that you have a solid grounding in understanding how formulas and functions work; especially when you need to copy and paste them into other cells.

Relative and Absolute Cell References

When you use Relative Cell References – the default setting in Excel – the Row numbers and Column letters adjust automatically when you copy and paste a formula.

There are, however, situations where you need to “freeze in place” part of an Excel Formula. For example, you need to “freeze” or use an Absolute Cell Reference to the cell with “Total Sales,” when creating and copying a formula to determine Product Sales as a Percentage of Total Sales.

Copying Excel Formulas

In this tutorial, I demonstrate two methods for copying and pasting formulas and functions:

• Standard Practice is to select the cell with the formula and use the Ctrl + C Keyboard Shortcut to place the formula cell on the Excel clipboard. Then, after selecting the destination cell(s), use the Ctrl + V Keyboard Shortcut to paste the formula in the new location(s)
• AutoFill Tool.If you are copying the formula cell into adjacent cells, use the AutoFill tool to do this quickly and accurately!

Tips that You May Not Know

In my experience, many Excel veterans are not familiar with these tips and tricks which I demonstrate in this tutorial:

• The Ctrl + ~ (tilde) Keyboard Shortcut to “toggle” the Show Formulas view for the active Excel Worksheet.
• The Alt + Enter Keyboard Shortcut to automatically use the =SUM() Function – for adjacent cells.
• The F4 Key to automatically add Absolute Cell Reference when creating or editing a formula. For example, converts A1 to $A$1.

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50 Best Tips DVD-ROM

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Wrap Text for Labels

In this tutorial – the second in my series explaining how a worksheet, that my accountant friend Alan Friedman created, works – I focus on improving the formatting for the column labels and other descriptive text.

Wrap Text for Labels

In my experience, I find that many accountants and other financial managers have not mastered the basics of formatting an Excel Worksheet. It seems that they are still using “old fashioned IBM typewriter tricks” when it comes time to create the labels for the columns of data in their spreadsheet.

Case in Point: Using two or more vertical cells to type “Cost of” (Return key on Computer) “Goods Sold.” This “old fashioned” process will lead to multiple problems. For example, improper sorting and filtering of data.

In this tutorial, I demonstrate how to use the Wrap Text command to format a single-cell text label. You will also learn how to use the Keyboard Shortcut Alt + Enter to control where your text “breaks” when wrapping text.

Merge Cells Across Columns

When you have a long, descriptive text – e.g. Your Company Name – it is best to type this into a single cell and then use the Merge Cells Command. Now, when you double-click between Column Letters to automatically expand the width of a column, only the “um-merged” labels in the column are extended in width.

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Click on this link to download the Excel Worksheet – created by Alan Friedman – that I use in this lesson.

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Alternate Row Shading w/ Conditional Formatting

This is the first tutorial in a new series. In collaboration with my good friend, Alan Friedman – CPA and partner with the firm Friedman, Kannenberg & Co., PC – I am using Alan’s Financial worksheets to demonstrate how to get the most out of Excel. In this lesson, I show you how to apply Alternate Row Shading – aka “Green Bar Shading” – to a Year-end Inventory Analysis Excel worksheet.

Conditional Formatting in Excel

In this lesson, I create a new rule that uses a formula to determine the “condition” – or criteria – that must be met in order to apply the “formatting” to my selection of cells. The “key” to understanding this rule: The formula that you use for this “rule” must return either TRUE or FALSE. The cells – in the selection – that evaluate to TRUE will receive the special formatting – a background shading.

Extending Range of Cells to Receive Conditional Formatting

In general, you can use Excel’s AutoFill Handle to extend Conditional Formatting to adjacent cells. If, however, you want to apply the “Rule Using a Formula” to non-adjacent cells, first copy a cell that contains the Conditional Formatting. Then, use Paste Special – Formatting to apply this rule to your new selection of cells.

Resources for This Tutorial

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Please visit the Friedman, Kanneberg & Co. website to download the worksheet used in this series of lessons – and other seminar handouts.

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Custom Excel Views

This is Part 2 in my series of video tutorials demonstrating the Commands found on the View Tab of the Excel Ribbon. Building on the concepts that I demonstrated in Part 1 (“How to Freeze Row and Column Labels While Scrolling in Excel”), I now show you how to save these settings as a Custom View.

Create a Custom View in Excel

1. Display the settings that you wish to save as a Custom View – e.g. Changing the ZOOM Level of Magnification, Freezing Rows or Columns, etc.
2. From the View Tab on the Ribbon, choose the Custom Views Command.
3. In Custom Views Dialog Box, click Add; Give your View a Name and Click OK.
4. Remember to Save your Excel Workbook. To test your custom view, I recommend that you revert to your normal or default view and save that version. Then close the workbook and reopen it. Now, it will display the last view displayed when you saved the workbook. Click on the Custom Views Command and select the Custom View that you recently added; the Custom Settings will now display.
5. Add – and Save – additional Custom Views.

Custom Views are Worksheet Level Views

When you create a Custom View, it only applies to the Excel Worksheet where you created it. In fact, while you “Show” a Custom View, all other Worksheets in the Active Workbook are NOT available.

Excel Tables and Custom Views

 There is one “gotcha” with Custom Views. If you have formatted a data set as an Excel Table on ANY worksheet in the workbook, ALL Custom Views are blocked out. Watch  this video to see how to “work around” this roadblock.

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Split Panes on Worksheet

This is Part 1 in a multiple part series of tutorials. I am responding to the requests of several viewers who want to know the best ways to view an Excel Worksheet.

Freeze Panes and Split Bars

In this tutorial, I demonstrate how to use the three commands on the Freeze Pane Menu:

1. Freeze Top Row
2. Freeze Panes – Rows above and Columns to the left of the Active Cell
3. Freeze First Column

When you need more flexibility to control the visible panes on your worksheet, use the Split Bars. I show you how to apply, modify and remove Split Bars – Vertical and Horizontal – on your worksheet.

With the Split Bars, you gain additional Navigation Scroll Bars – One above the Split and one below the Split with a Horizontal Split Bar. And, one to the left and one to the right of the Vertical Split Bar.

Go to Additional Tutorials in this Series

• How to Create Custom Views for Worksheets in Excel

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Clear Underlying Formatting

Have you ever typed data or a formula in a cell only to be surprised by the result? For example, you type in a number and then, unexpectedly,  Excel displays a Date or a Time in that cell. This happens frequently when you reuse an older Excel Worksheet of if you start working on a worksheet that a colleague or client has sent you.

Why does this happen?

Clear All Underlying Cell Formatting

In my experience, I have found that many Excel users mistakenly think that pressing the DELETE Key will “erase” the cells in the selection. No, No, No. The Delete key only erased the cell content – the data, text or formulas entered or pasted into the cell(s). The Delete key does NOT remove the Underlying Cell Formatting!

In this tutorial, I demonstrate how to remove the underlying cell formatting while leaving the cell Contents in place.

Topics Covered in this Tutorial

• Using the Clear Formatting Command
• Adding the Clear Command to your Quick Access Toolbar
• Using Go To Special to Find and Select all cell that use either Conditional Formatting or Data Validation
• Finding the Last Cell in your worksheet – you may be surprised to find a “remote cell” is NOT Blank!

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Sum Across Worksheets

This is the third episode in my series of Excel Tutorials where I share my best practices for creating an Excel Workbook that contains 52 weeks of Employee Time Cards. In this lesson, I focus on techniques to Summarize – or Consolidate – the hours worked or taken as vacation, by each employee, over a period of several weeks.

Sum Across Worksheets

This is a great tip to learn! In my experience, I find that very few experienced users of Excel know that you can do this! This will eliminate the hassle of linking to a cell in individual worksheets to create your formula. There is, after all, a limit to the number of characters that you are allowed in a formula!

Consolidate Data By Position

Since each worksheet in this workbook is identical in structure, Data Consolidation is simple. Provided, that is, that you remember to “Add” each worksheet range reference in the Dialog Box. In this example, I have “created a link” to each worksheet so that the data can be easily updated.

Links to Other Tutorials in this Series

• Use a Template to Create a 52 Week Employee Time Card Workbook in Excel
• Tips for Creating a 52 Week Employee Time Card in Excel

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Time Card Templates in Excel

This is Part Two in my new series of Excel Tutorials where I share my best practice tips for creating 52 weeks of Employee Time Cards – for hours worked. In this segment, I focus on starting the process with an Excel Template.

Finding Templates for Time Cards

As I demonstrate in the video, there are at least two easy sources for finding a Time Card Template:

1. Sample Templates Installed on your Computer
2. Templates that you can preview and download from the Microsoft Office Templates Website

Examining Templates that You Download

Before you even think about duplicating the Excel Template that you just downloaded, it is important for you to take a few minutes to explore:

• The Formulas used in the Template
• The Formatting used in the Template – especially the formatting for Dates and Times
• The Protection Applied (if any) to the cells or the entire worksheet

Creating Drop-down Menus for your Template

Since our premise here is that we will copy the template to 51 additional worksheets, it makes sense to use Data Validation to create a series of “drop-down menus” for Employee names and the Start Date for each week. I demonstrate how to do this in the video tutorial.

Links to Additional Video Tutorials in this Series

• How to Efficiently Duplicate 52 Time Card Worksheets in Excel
• Summarize Hours Worked by Employees over a 52 Week Period in Excel

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Insert & Copy Worksheets

We are now winding down the end of the year 2011. Several of my viewers and clients have asked my for help in creating one Excel Workbook that will contain 52 weeks of employee time card information:

• Name and Department of Employee
• Hours Worked each day of the week – Regular and Overtime
• Number of Holiday / Sick Days that were used / that remain, etc.

First Tutorial in this Series

Rather than trying to create each individual – and some are very specific – request, I have decided to combine multiple requests into a series of Best Practice Tips for my general audience to consider.

In this lesson, I demonstrate:

• Two methods for adding new blank worksheets to the Excel workbook
• Two Methods for inserting an exact copy of an existing – and formatted – worksheet
• My favorite tip – Fill Across Worksheets – either the formatting only, the contents only or the default setting – both formatting and contents.

Links to Additional Tutorials in this Series

• Use an Excel Template to Create and Duplicate 52 Weeks of Employee Time Cards
• Summarize Hours Worked by Employees on a 52 Week Time Card in Excel

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Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

This is the latest installment in my series of Video Tutorials for Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel. This time the focus is on Keyboard Shortcuts for Navigating between:

• Cells in a worksheet. For example, to move to the last “occupied” cell ( a cell with data) in a column or row
• Worksheets in the active Workbook
• Other Excel workbooks or documents that are open on your computer
• Other programs that are open on your computer

Links to Other Videos in Keyboard Shortcuts Series

Here is the link that will take you to the other Video Tutorials that I have created for Excel Keyboard Shortcuts.

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YouTube Tutorial for Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

Cell Content vs. Cell Formatting

Many Excel Users are surprised to discover that the Delete Key does not clear the formatting for the selected cell or range of cells. This can cause some unusual “surprises” you you or one of your colleagues later uses this “Deleted” Cell Range!

On the other hand, some cells must be formatted properly in order to return the correct result. This is especially true for cells that contain Time and Date Calculations. For example, in order to properly calculate a Sum of Hours that exceeds 24 hours, you need to apply the Custom Format [h]:mm to the formula cell.

Topics Taught in this Tutorial

• Adding the Clear Command to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT).
• Using Go To Special – Last Cell, to find the last cell in the worksheet that contains either content or formatting – or both!
• Understanding how Excel Stores Dates (as a Serial Number) and Times (as a Decimal Number) vs. How you use Cell Formatting to make Dates & Times easier to understand.
• Using Keyboard Shortcuts to add the Current Date – Ctrl + ; (semi-colon) or Current Time -Ctrl + Shift + : (colon), or to “Toggle” between Formulas and Displayed Results  -Ctrl + ~ tilde).

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SUMIFS and DSUM Functions

The new SUMIFS() Function was introduced in Excel 2007. With SUMIFS, you can sum the values in one field based up criteria that comes from multiple fields. This is a very valuable Function.

SUMIFS Function

The key to understanding SUMIFS, is that you “pair” a criteria range with the criteria for that range. As you watch my tutorial, the importance of this concept will become clear to you.

DSUM Function

If you are using – or need to create workbooks that are compatible with – older versions of Excel – e.g. Excel 2003, you can use the DSUM Function to achieve the same results. The DSUM belongs to the Database Functions set in Excel.

Use Named Cell Ranges in Formulas

I highly recommend that you learn how to create – and then use – named cell references in your Excel Formulas and Functions. In this tutorial, I show you how to do this. Once you have created a named cell reference, you can use the F3 Keyboard Shortcut to show a dialog box that lists all of the named Ranges that you can post into your formulas. This will save you time and help to ensure accuracy in your formulas – especially when you cop a formula to another location.

Bonus: Create Drop-down Menu with Data Validation

When using Multiple Criteria, I like to be able to select my criteria values from a drop-down list. In this lesson, I demonstrate how to do this using Data Validation in Excel.

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Matches with VLOOKUP

One of my viewers asked me to explain – with examples – how and when to choose either an Approximate or an Exact Match using the VLOOKUP Function in Excel. .

Approximate Match for VLOOKUP

The Approximate Match is the Default setting for Vlookup. This means that you can either omit the 4th, optional, argument or use the word TRUE. However, as you will see in this video tutorial, there are other considerations to consider in order to get the correct result that you are looking for.

Exact Match for VLOOKUP

In the example that I use on the Video Tutorial, I am setting up an Employee Payroll worksheet. I definitely want to have an Exact Match for each employee to ensure that they are getting the correct amount of compensation for the hours that they worked during this period. Watch the tutorial to see how I set this up.

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Follow this link to watch this Excel Tutorial in High Definition on my YouTube Channel - DannyRocksExcels

Get More Excel Tips

I invite you to visit my online shopping website – http://shop.thecompanyrocks.com – to preview the many resources that I offer. Here is the link to go directly to the information page for my DVD-ROM, “The 50 Best TIps for Excel 2007.”

Two Ways to AutoFill Letters in the Alphabet

1. Use a Formula – =CHAR(ROW(A65)) and AutoFill Down in the Column – This is not ideal
2. Create and Use a Custom List in Excel. – So, use the Formula to create your list of 26 Alphabetical Letters. Copy the List and use Paste Special Values to convert the formulas to values. Then create your Custom List.

Using the CHAR() Function in Excel

There are 255 ASCI Characters that you can use in Formulas. For example, =CHAR(169) will return the © Symbol. In this lesson, I share a great Keyboard Shortcut that you can use to add this Symbol into the Footer of your printed Excel worksheet – Watch the video to discover this!

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Watch Tutorial in High Definition

On my YouTube Channel – DannyRocksExcels – I have posted this tutorial in High Definition Mode. Click here to go directly to this video.

Natural Language Date Filters

Recently, one of my viewers asked me to go into greater detail in demonstrating how the new Natural Language Date Filters work in Excel. Natural Language Filters were introduced in Excel 2007 and they are a great tool to use! Now, instead of writing complex formulas as criteria in Advanced Filters, you can simply click, “Yesterday” to see all of the records from the previous day!

Of course, you must actually have records in your data set for that date!

The Natural Language Date Filters are related, by position, to TODAY(). The TODAY() Function is a “Volatile Function” that returns the value for the current date as found in your computer systems internal clock. The result of the TODAY() Function will change each day. And so, by definition, will the result for a “Yesterday” filter!

Filter for Specific Date

There are several methods that you can use to filter for a specific date or range of dates. One method that I demonstrate in this tutorial is the “Custom Date” dialog box.

Watch Tutorial in High Definition

Follow this link to watch this Excel Tutorial in High Definition on my YouTube Channel - DannyRocksExcels

Learn About My New Extended Length Video Tutorials

I have recently released a series of extended length (90 minutes) video tutorials. They are part of my “Master Excel in Minutes” Series. Each video focuses on one topic. My first video is focused on Excel Pivot Tables. I have created Videos for Excel 2010, Excel 2007 and for Excel 2003. You also have the choice of purchasing the video for immediate downloading or shipped to you on a DVD-ROM.

Follow this link to go to the information page for my “Master Excel in Minutes” video tutorial series.

VBA Code to add Time Stamp

In this video tutorial, I respond to one of the most frequent requests that I get from my viewers – “How do I automatically add a ‘Time / Date Stamp’ whenever I add or edit a record in my Excel Worksheet?”

On the surface, this might appear to be a “simple” question to answer. However, I promise that you will be frustrated if you try to solve this problem by using the =NOW() Function or one or both of these Keyboard Shortcuts:

• Ctrl + ; (Semi-colon) to add a Date Stamp
• Ctrl + Shift + : (Colon) to add a Time Stamp

Because … NOW() is a “Volatile Function” that automatically updates to display – in all records that refer to NOW() – the current date and time. And … because, it is difficuly to automate the combination of Keyboard Shortcuts to apply a Date / Time Stamp.

So … what is the solution?

Use VBA to Create a Simple “Event Handler” Macro

Don’t get scared off! Don’t say, “I can’t write a VBA Macro!”

I PROMISE you – an Intermediate Level User of Excel – that by investing 10 minutes to watch this tutorial – that you WILL be able to automate this process to add a Time / Date Stamp whenever you add or edit a record in Excel.

I had you – the Intermediate / Early Advanced Level Excel user in mind when I created this video tutorial. I take you step-by-step through the process. I point out the potential “got’cha” steps. I am confident that I can help you to advance your skill set in Excel with this video tutorial!

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I invite you to watch this Excel Tutorial in High Definition on my YouTube Channel - DannyRocksExcels

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Presenting to Group

Have you been asked to speak or deliver a presentation at an upcoming event? Once you have accepted the invitation to speak or present, you need to start preparing. Where do you begin?

Successful presenters follow a process. They have a system which they have developed over the years. They use a checklist of Best Practices to help ensure that they deliver successful presentations every time!

So, you may be asking … “Where do I get a list of tips? Has someone created a checklist that I can use?”

Fortunately, you have come to the right location! I have created a checklist of “20 Tips for a Successful Presentation” that you can download – for free!

Click on this link to download my 20 Tips for a Successful Presentation as an Adobe PDF.

Here is my list of the 20 Tips that I use whenever I speak or deliver a presentation. These are also the tips that I share with my clients when I coach them to deliver successful presentations.  You will learn about:

• How to discover your “Words-per-Minute” (WPM) Count
• The “B-L-O-T” (Bottom Line On Top) Technique
• The “Power of the Pause”

And 17 additional tips. Be sure to download the complete checklist  of  ”20 Tips for a Successful Presentation” to get more information about each tip:

Tips While Preparing Your Presentation

• Tip #1 – Prepare with your audience in mind
• Tip #2 – Begin your presentation with “The End in Mind”
• Tip #3 – Use the classic model to structure your presentation
• Tip #4 – Prepare by writing out your presentation

Click on this link to download your copy of my 20 Tips for a Successful Presentation

Tips for Delivering Your Presentation

• Tip #5 – Memorize two sections of your presentation
• Tip #6 – Communicate and confirm your equipment needs in advance
• Tip #7 – Get comfortable with the physical setting
• Tip #8 – Your audience will “Tune-in / Tune out” during your presentation
• Tip #9 – Remember the “Power of the Pause!”
• Tip #10 – Maintain Eye-contact with your audience
• Tip #11 – Pace your presentation

Follow this link to download a PDF of my 20 Tips for a Successful Presentation

PowerPoint Tips

Tips for Creating PowerPoint Slides

• Tip #12 – You are the Presentation!
• Tip #13 – Do not write complete sentences on your slides!
• Tip #14 – Take advantage of the “White Space” on your slides
• Tip #15 – Choose appropriate visual images

Want to get a copy of this checklist – complete with details for each of these tips? Click here to download 20 Tips for a Successful Presentation as a PDF.

Do you want to learn how to use PowerPoint effectively? Click on this link to learn more about my DVD-ROM, “The 50 Best Tips for PowerPoint 2007″

Tips for Engaging Your Audience

• Tip #16 – Phrases to avoid
• Tip #17 – Phrases to substitute
• Tip #18 Encourage audience questions
• Tip #19 – Audiences remember stories

Get your free copy of this checklist. Click on this link to download 20 Tips for a Successful Presentation

Tip for Delivering a Successful Presentation

• Tip #20 – Visualize your Successful Presentation!

So, there is the checklist that I use. Be sure to download your copy to learn more about each of these “20 Tips for a Successful Presentation.”

Do you have a favorite tip? What works for you? Add your comment in the area below this article. Or you can send it to me via email: danny@thecompanyrocks.com

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