6 Excel Tools Most Users Never Think to Use (Files Included)

6 Excel tools that everyone MUST know how to use to boost productivity
👩‍🏫 Download the FREE "Custom Number Formats" cheatsheet: bit.ly/tools24cheatsheet
⬇️ Download the example file here and follow along: bit.ly/tools24file
What if I told you there are Excel tools you're probably not using that could instantly improve your workflow? Hidden within Excel (sometimes in plain sight) are game-changing tools that most users overlook. Today, I'm going to show you how to master them to transform your productivity.
LEARN MORE
===========
📰 EXCEL NEWSLETTER - join 450K+ subscribers here: www.myonlinetraininghub.com/e...
🎯 FOLLOW me on LinkedIn: / myndatreacy
💬 EXCEL QUESTIONS: Get help on our Excel Forum: www.myonlinetraininghub.com/e...
⏲ TIMESTAMPS
==============
0:00 Tool №1
1:27 Tool №2
3:08 Tool №3
5:47 Tool №4
8:00 Tool №5
9:48 Tool №6
#Excel #ExcelTools #ExcelTips

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

❓Which one of the tools is your favorite? Let me know in the comments! Download the FREE "Custom Number Formats" cheatsheet: bit.ly/tools24cheatsheet

[@SAI-xn7yq]

I am new here someone help me guide where to start in this channel, which playlist to which? 🙏🙏🙏

[@shakiraasfoor7599]

@@SAI-xn7yq all these videos are useful, myanda is MPV.

[@shakiraasfoor7599]

Tool №3 Clipboard

[@daves902]

There are days when I think I am pretty good with Excel & then I watch one of these clips and realise there are a lot of simple things I miss… 🤦‍♂️😂

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So glad you found some new tips you can use 😊

[@bobgreenfield9158]

My Excel was fighting with me. I was trying to insert columns. It would do a few and it stopped. A big ribbon would come up. I couldn't use that. I had to really fight with it to do as I asked. It was exhausting. What is the solution to this? ​@@MyOnlineTrainingHub

[@nbjamspice]

I feel the same... I appreciate these clips

[@notesfromleisa-land]

Mon Dieu! Skip Blanks! (hiding from me all of this time!). The Formatting of the up/down custom formatting was the bell ringer for me. I always learn something new. Thanks Mynda!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😁glad you can make use of some of these techniques.

[@KittKatPawz]

Wow!! The skip blanks and multiply ones I’ve never known. Thanks for the updates on how to use! 😊

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you like them!

[@sandratruax715]

#2. Paste Special (Convert Values) is my favorite. Love your videos and your teaching style.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks for your kind words 🙏😊

[@vernacularbarnarchitecture]

I love the Visual Basic editor example. I’ve never seen someone whip it out in a handy shortcuts video, which is great because it can look intimidating at first but if normalized unlocks so much opportunity!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

That's great to hear 🙏

[@alexandercato7400]

Great list of tips! Appreciate how easy the video was to follow along.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you enjoyed it! 🙏😊

[@chrism9037]

Great video Mynda! I agree, 3 is the best

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Cheers, Chris! Glad we agree 😁

[@therealjeffg]

More gold, thanks Mynda. No. 3 if my favourite.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 🙏

[@benhaze1010]

Love, love these useful tips!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So glad!

[@kgadeberg]

I agree with no. 3 being very useful. I use the WIN+V all the time in all applications. Especially if I have a number of items I need to copy from one window to another. Instead of flipping back and forth between the windows using CTRL+C CTRL+V all the time, I pick up all I need from one window using CTRL+C multiple times and then paste them into the other window using WIN+V. Super useful.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great use case for Win+V. Thanks for sharing.

[@2bczar4u]

Brilliant as always. Love #1

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 🙏😁

[@FarhanMerchant]

Some really amazing insights ; although I have been using these... but you have made it more effective and optimized. Thank you

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sjshar1510]

Thank you for this excellent video!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad it was helpful!

[@nour-eddineoumakhlouf5296]

Endless learning ! Thank you so much for all your efforts

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Happy to hear that!

[@power-reconcile]

Wow, thanks for sharing! ❤

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks for watching! 😁

[@fayyaztabussam8611]

I like No.4 the most. Any how all numbers are super. Great stuff of course.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks for voting 😊

[@yokoyama7590]

Just when I thought I couldn't be impressed, you did it! All 6 tools are great to know, and now I know. Thank you Mynda!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😁 awesome to hear!

[@bobmoorehead8553]

You are SOOO AMAZING! Tip #3 was my favorite, too. Thank you for continuing to share your tips. Have a fabulous day!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You're so welcome! Hope you have a fabulous day too 😊

[@mohammadalbizri2013]

Thank you for usual efforts.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Always welcome 😊

[@Quidisi]

Oh, this was great. Some was new, and some were things that I once knew, but had forgotten. Thanks!!!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

That's a double win! 😁

[@alfredoluwatomi6899]

This is fantastic, always having to learn a new simple yet powerful excel function. Many thanks.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So pleased to hear that 😁

[@PritamPaul717]

Thanks a lot for this information

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You're welcome 😊

[@majidbawazirlive]

Thanks dear !!!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You're welcome 😊

[@rubysnailbar4460]

Brilliant thank you 🙏🏽

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kayespedal10]

Saw this one video and I immediately subscribed. I'll try some these tmw when I log in. A+

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Wonderful to hear 🙏

[@user-lf6yc6tq1f]

Thank you so much

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You're most welcome 😊

[@martyc5674]

A great tip to hide grouping/outlines is Ctrl 8 - toggles it on and off- it takes up a whack of real estate. Combined with Ctrl shift and F1 you maximize your screen when presenting.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great tips 🙏

[@SteveSwanson999]

I have long been a user of the Windows Key Paste you discussed. THANK YOU SO MUCH about displaying the clipboard and frequently used special characters! It's a big plus on an already powerful tool

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So pleased you can make use of it.

[@tony586ful]

Numeber 3... A real new world for me.. Thank you

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Awesome to hear!

[@christiang1878]

very good. thank you

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure!

[@SndfOmar]

Great tips. There is always something new to learn in Excel. Thank you 😊. I liked most No.# 6 @ <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="664">11:04</a>. That was totally new to me.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you enjoyed it and discovered something new!

[@SissasHeART]

I totally watched this with my morning coffee this morning, and then my hubby had a situation tonight where I got to use your tips! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and very cool hacks. ... and bonus, I got to be the Excel Hero with my hubbs! Whoot.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Love that! 😁👏

[@BureBluetooth]

Great tips! I think #5 can be very useful😃

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thank you! Be sure to download the custom number format cheat sheet here: bit.ly/tools24cheatsheet

[@TrocarSlushWeasel]

At my old job, Group Data was super useful when multiple people worked with the same spreadsheets. Hidden rows/columns aren't obvious but when you group data and hide rows/columns, it is obvious to other users that there is data hidden.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Yes, another great reason to use them. Thanks for sharing.

[@SirArsalanExcelTips]

Excellent

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thank you so much 😀

[@joshuamanampiu6489]

Honestly the highlighting cells with the triangles and custom format is so good for me. But all the tips in the video are fantastic!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you like them!

[@karolinab9749]

#2 😀 and I love custom formatting! Thank you for this video!😀

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching 😁

[@lauphyon]

Tools number 2 & 3 absolutely! The money platform report is always time time-consuming workload and converted into our company's report. Thank you!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear you can make use of them! 😊

[@Mark-Bench]

On Formating Numbers you can also add colors, so there is no need to use conditional formatting. I like to use the following format to show growth or decline in persentages. [Color50]0,0% ▲;[Red]-0,0% ▼

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Yes, good point 👍 I always find the colour formatting a bit of a hassle cause you have to find the colour codes of anything other than the standard red, green, blue etc.

[@madlarch]

Wow. I use conditional formatting with formulas all the time - although I tend to prefer doing a background fill on the cell in order to make it really stand out. I have also seen the symbols thing in another video (of yours, I think). However, I did not know any of the first four! VERY useful video. Thanks !!!!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So pleased to hear you found some new ideas 😁

[@tazguy371]

Skip Blanks is a good one! 👍

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it!

[@TalShaba]

As I already know the most tricks , the 4th one is very useful. Great one

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you can make use of it 😁

[@BuckeyeNut123]

Grouping. I create very large and ever expanding sheets in my books. I wish I had known about this many years ago. Thank you.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So pleased you can make use of this feature.

[@archonmax]

多谢老师。

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure 😊

[@aiasaiascon3894]

Group - Ungroup columns is really helpful for temp use of narrowing focus! Skip Blanks was smth I didnot know!!!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So pleased it was helpful 😊

[@daoudathiaw]

Hide a sheet from its properties, just great. Thanks !

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😉you're welcome!

[@melantha1982]

Never tried skip Blanks so will give it a go..cheers

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So pleased to hear you found something new you can use 😁

[@1348kourosh]

Skip blanks is very interesting thanks

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you think so!

[@brighttriangle]

Thank you for another great video. I love to show folks the power of Paste Special, so that is probably my favorite. I would love that Clipboard Pane, but sadly it is unavailable on Mac. 🤷‍♂

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Ah, the Mac strikes again. Another reason I will never own a Mac. 😔

[@JeffLittle-bi5jd]

#3 is great ... didn't know this one! Also think #4 is excellent!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Cheers, Jeff! Glad you like them.

[@silvo4880]

I’d not thought to put symbols in the custom format before, that’s neat. I have been using the text colour in custom format rather than conditional formatting for a wile now as the conditional formatting ranges often need a tidy up on larger spreadsheets with multiple users.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it! I know what you mean about CF. Fortunately, in 365 they've finally fixed the issue of fragmented CF ranges 😅 I prefer CF because the colours are easier to choose. With custom number formats you have to lookup the colour code if it's not one of the standard colours.

[@GraeHunter]

Great video! - 1 & 3 are competting for favorutes. But in all honesty - I'll be using all of these from now on. I already used conditional formatting, but had never thought about how utilising a colourblind palette would more accessible. Time to review old templates

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Awesome to hear, Grae!

[@rjbush7955]

Hiding sheets by VBA properties is a favourite of mine. Useful to hide lookup sheets from being tampered with in a shared workbook.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Nice to know you use it too 😁

[@cathyfrankland9158]

OMG, I'm only part of the way into the video, but - WOW, column grouping and skip blanks, thank you, they will be SO helpful ❤

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Awesome to hear 😁

[@clairezhang7351]

5. Customer number format.❤❤

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 🙏

[@richardhay645]

I'm a be fan of Grouping columns and of Paste Special I normally use keyboard shortcuts to apply the appropriate Paste Special option.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Richard. I'm a fan of Alt > E > S too 😁

[@colinekszczecin]

Skip blanks is my new favourite thing

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Awesome to hear 😁

[@doberg3191]

I also use the "Paste Special" multiply by 1 when numbers are formatted as text.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Yes, another great use case. Thanks for sharing.

[@martins8587]

Windows V is very primitive on Win 10. The functionality you displayed (that I didn't know existed!) appears to be Win 11. To be honest, I am a big fan of the Excel clipboard. Just didn't know the Ctrl C * 2 shortcut. Nice 😊

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad the CTRL + C * 2 might be handy to you 😁

[@martins8587]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub I've already shared it with a colleague, and in my line of work (data analytics) it will be a HUGE timesaver, so thank you 🙂

[@UlfatSahil]

Unbelievable way to design and do the things, like using shortcuts

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it 🙏

[@Rice0987]

Conditional formatting has one silly property. When i delete rows inside of formatted range, it starts to separate conditions on several parts. Why cant it just simply keep whole range from the beginning to the end i cant get. :/ And if my memory doesnt let me down in office XP we didnt have such mess with conditions.🤔

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Yes, that is annoying. Thankfully, in 365 they have fixed that issue.

[@Rice0987]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub maybe i have bad 365 version, so the same problem there.🤔

[@ahmedshalaby9343]

Hello Very useful tips , I want to ask question about copy and paste operations if I have 2 columns with the same numbers of 100 rows , I filtered one of them and changed some data now I want to copy the changed data to the first column how I can do that ?

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great question. I don't think there's an easy way to do that, sorry. Better to change both columns at the same time.

[@TheNeilsolaris]

With the very hidden worksheet property, you can also password protect it, so nobody else can access the objects in the developer section without entering a password. That's what I do with one of my files.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Nice.

[@TheNeilsolaris]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub In case anyone is wondering how, in the developer tab, click on tools, then select VBA Project Properties, then Protection, and enter your password.

[@michaelallan108]

Tool 2, Example 3 🎉 But yes tool 3 is amazing

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😁so pleased you liked it!

[@sskhan1762]

Great tools indeed and i am sure the 7th one is the Camera tool.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😁yes, the camera tool is another cool feature!

[@sherryfox227]

4 & 6

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😁🙏

[@alambraga]

about the formats of cel using date. Are you have any trouble when the excel is in another language? like spanish?

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Excel should automatically display dates in the format for the region the file is opened in (assuming you're using the default date format). If that's not what you meant, please post your question and sample Excel file on our forum where someone can help you further: www.myonlinetraininghub.com/excel-forum

[@alambraga]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub Thank you . i will post.

[@JJ_TheGreat]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="470">7:50</a> Question: So if you hide a sheet that way so that it is "very hidden", and then you were to go back to Excel and hide a different sheet the usual way by right- clicking it, would it allow you to "Unhide..." it in that situation - considering that the very hidden method looks like it greys out that option? I am just curious. Thanks!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

No. Very hidden sheets can only be un-hidden via the VB editor.

[@amzibell]

wow Skip Blanks is a game changer

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So pleased you liked it 😁

[@user-dn5gd1rn9f]

Jeez…How many times have I ignored the options on the paste special menu? Thank you!!!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So easy to miss 🫣

[@SAI-xn7yq]

I am new here someone help me guide where to start in this channel, which playlist to which? 🙏🙏🙏

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Welcome! You can start with any playlist. They're organised by topic as opposed to beginning to end. If you want to follow a logical path to mastering Excel, please consider my Excel Expert course: www.myonlinetraininghub.com/excel-expert-upgrade

[@SAI-xn7yq]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub mam i am lower middle class person can't pay can you guide me how to follow the playlists 🙏🙏🙏🙏please

[@SAI-xn7yq]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub can i learn power bi or power query without knowledge of excel in your playlist

[@joloblog9834]

I have a question: Is it possible to sort numbers formatted as text as numbers. Like '10 and '1000 and '200 are sorted '10,'1000,'200 but I like them sorted as '10, '200, '1000.? Thanks in advance :-)

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

No, the best fix for this is to convert the numbers to actual numbers instead of text.

[@emsartori1]

The negative sign on the percentage went away, how do you keep it?

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Just change the custom number format to include a minus sign before the negative format i.e. after the semi colon: 0%; -0%

[@simonhodges6084]

MS used to give security warnings to users when docs received etc had vba code in them. Does it still do that?

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Yes, it still does that.

[@niveketihw1897]

The multi-storage clipboard is disabled by my company with no way to enable it. Too bad. EDIT: I'm able to add the Developer tab and go into Visual Basic, however xlSheetVeryHidden is disabled -- I get "Unable to set the Visible property of the Worksheet class."

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

hmmm, I wonder if your admin has disabled VBA.

[@MrLear1976]

I never use vlookup it’s such a pain. I’ve had to rebuild a file I took over from someone who used all vlookup. The issue is if you change the structure you have to change all references so it’s not dynamic. Xlookup if far better and dynamic. Given how much you would have to complicate a vlookup to make it dynamic is the reason I never use it and after 20 years of working with data I’ve never found a use for vlookup that other methods didn’t solve more effectively.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

I agree, VLOOKUP is more restrictive, but it's super easy to learn and use, so I don't discount it outright because it's great for beginners to get a taste for more powerful functions which in turn motivates them to learn more. That said, now that we have XLOOKUP there really is no need to learn VLOOKUP anymore, unless you're on an old version of Excel....or inheriting legacy files.

[@carolynneccles823]

When I try to add a second group, it keeps adding it to the first group. Does anyone know why it would be doing this? TIA

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You need to leave a row/column ungrouped in between groups.

[@williamarthur4801]

Really liked the % format, I always get annoyed when say have 10 and want 10% and end up 1000.00%, also ctrl cc for clipboard, I was hoping it might work from within PQ but no such luck.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Ah yeah, the PQ window seems to prevent lots of functionality. You should still be able to copy to the clipboard and maybe use the Windows clipboard instead.

[@williamarthur4801]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub Yes, Win V, does work in query, 😊😊😊😊

[@jamesbennett5421]

My favorite Paste Special? when you have numbers but somehow they are represented as Text. Copy 1, then Paste Special Multiply. Poof, all of your numbers that were Text are now Numbers.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Yes, another great use 👍 thanks for sharing.

[@sureshthongati1532]

Yeah ma'am need your classes first one Starting Excel first episode videos if possible please help me

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You can start with this video on Excel for beginners: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKvHn2SsmK2DqaM

[@ajaydas-go1pk]

Dear ma'am, in excel I used to Alt + = to use sum formula. But unfortunately I changed few things from Excel option. After doing this I can't use Alt + = to sum formula. Would you please help me out of the situation. (From India)

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Hmm, not sure why that would be disabled, sorry. I tried a few settings in Options and couldn't replicate the problem. You could re-install Excel to revert to the default build.

[@ajaydas-go1pk]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub Thank you ma'm

[@kenstav1]

HMMMMM No 3 is a game changer

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@rdadamo1]

Why are all of the Change numbers positive when some of them should be negative?

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Because I'm using up/down triangles to indicate the direction of the change. If you prefer, you can modify the number format to also show the minus sign.

[@josh_excel]

# ?/?? = great!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😁🙏

[@seanys]

I don’t think I’d ever have a use for it by I do like “very hidden.” 😂

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😁

[@chubbers_uk]

the clipboard

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it!

[@bobert8618]

OK, I love her accent....

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thank you 😊

[@markwoodward9922]

Any one else having issues downloading the cheatsheet?

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Not that they've reported, Mark. Please reach out via email: website @ MyOnlineTrainingHub.com and we'll help you out.

[@robertcooper3759]

You're still lovely...

[@SnooniSnoo]

OHNOOOOO my way of hiding sheet is exposed!!!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

🫣

[@jonk3361]

Best one for me was grouping, Skipping blanks, using VBA option to hide sheet and the OG is changing numbers to %. Many thanks🤝🤝🤝

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😁too many to choose from! Thanks for watching and sharing your favourites.

[@alexrosen8762]

All of them are useful but my favourite would be number 2

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😁glad you liked it!