10 Excel Things You Should NEVER Do and What to do Instead

Bad Excel habits are easy to pick up when you learn on the job, but they can make you inefficient. These are the 10 worst habits I see, but thankfully they're easily avoided.
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LINKS TO SOLUTIONS
- Fix non-tabular data with Power Query: www.myonlinetraininghub.com/p...
- Fix dates formatted as text: www.myonlinetraininghub.com/f...
- Use Power Query to get data instead of External Links: • How to easily automate...
- OFFSET function for dynamic SUM ranges: www.myonlinetraininghub.com/e...
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⏲ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction
0:12 Merge & Center Cells
1:49 Non-tabular Data
3:21 Dates Formatted as Text
4:26 External Links
5:40 Formatting Ranges
7:07 Formatting to Encode Data
8:10 Formatting Colours
8:33 Cells Containing Multiple Records
9:13 Cells Omitted from SUM Formulas
10:34 Old .xls File Types

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

The PROBLEMS with using the CTRL key to select cells around a merged cell: 1. You often don't realise/remember there's a merged cell nestled in the data you're selecting until it's too late. By then you've already tried to select the cells and then the merged cell gets in the way. A waste of time that could be avoided if the cells were formatted with 'center across selection'. 2. You can't use the keyboard to select cells either side of the merged cells, so it's no good for all those keyboard shortcut users. 3. Having to hold down the CTRL key to select non-contiguous cells is more time consuming than just applying the 'center across selection' format in the first place.

[@woxz1]

Been years working with excel, but just found out "center across selection". Thank you

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad I could spread the word :-)

[@court2379]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub Was that an Office pun?.. The question I have, is there a button to add to the ribbon to replace the merge and center with center across section?

[@Ancovg]

I also didn't know about ctrl+1

[@JatinMaharaj]

@@court2379 Check out this video from MrExcel (link provided from the relevant time in the video): kzbin.info/www/bejne/narYmpJ6asxog6s

[@EduardoTicianelli]

Same here. My jaw dropped.

[@cryptidcage3615]

I was in a job I couldn't stand and asked to do a rotation in another department. Fell in love with the job during my rotation but the one skill was lacking was using excel. Ran across your videos and I love the way you break every skill down and explain the steps. My rotation was a three month only rotation but I noticed many people lacked proficient excel skill so I decided to teach myself. But thanks to the skills I was gaining my three month rotation turned into a year and at the end of the year I was offered a job because of what I was able to do. One week ago I was promoted into a job that requires a minimum of five years of experience to qualify for. It took me half that time and I have never loved a job the way I love this one. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos and doing them in a way that's easy to follow.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Wow, congratulations on your success! Just goes to show what you can achieve with hard work 👍

[@andylea5314]

Cracking story ! Well done you !

[@JatinMaharaj]

Centre across selection???? 🤯 I've been Excelling in the stone-age! Plus the other tips and tricks are super-helpful! Thanks Mynda!

[@sanandresano01]

this feature also blew my mind

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you picked up some new ideas, Jatin!

[@sideshowbobby71]

Center across selection!!! That was an amazing tip!!

[@alquinn8576]

Center across selection: there is no way I'm falling for this post-modernist vomit. Al Quinn will continue to merge cells while being mindful of and mitigating against the potential pitfalls of doing so.

[@hotflashfoto]

If you write or use any VBA in your workbooks, merged cells mess with the code there as well. Where I work, we had to ensure that everyone on our small team that modified any of our many workbooks (over 200) did so using Center Across Selection. When someone forgot, the reports for that day came to a grinding halt!

[@davidferrick]

This video was worth it as soon as I saw Center Across Selection. :)

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Dayve!

[@JohnRohoboth]

I as well wasn't aware of this. Thank you.

[@logon235]

Centre accross selection was the option well before cell merging was introduced. Merging has its uses but has side effects as this lady has shown.

[@ronspi]

This is one of those videos that remind me an Advanced Admin Class in Excell. I remember when I was stunned to find advanced features in one of the complex commands and asked: "Is this a new feature?". The instructor replied, "since 1997". Excel is such a huge boatload of functions and possibilities, it can be overwhelming and many don't use more than 1% of the functions anyhow. As a developer, it is always refreshing to see more and more usages for those features and functions. Thank you for the video. Loved it!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks so much, Ron!

[@vickieroberts9560]

much like our brains...if only we understood HOW to use it. 😁

[@stickoutofthemud]

I love ASAP Utilities. Saves me tons of labor.

[@ThothWhoWrites]

Tips #2 and #8 are part of normalization in databases. Mynda shows the proper normalization techniques in each case as if this were a database and not a spreadsheet. Bravo. There's nothing wrong with using Excel as a database, in spite of what some people will tell you. Especially if you have a low number of records and if you have issues with getting the know-how to create and use databases (such as in MS-Access) instead. Some people just don't have the time.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks, Scott! Well said 😊

[@grrgrrgrr0202]

Hard disagree. Excel might be okay for small scale projects. Or as a way to write up your initial batch of data if the alternatives are lacking. But with bigger data, Excel gets inefficient real fast. Not to mention it is way too easy to mess things up. In many cases, Excel is a necessary evil as the managers don't wanna invest into better databases. But that is just incompetence; it doesn't make Excel suitable at all.

[@themortal1]

This has to be in my top 5 most useful videos ever! We get in such ruts and ways of doing things, we don't realize what a profound impact, such simple changes can make for ourselves and others. Thank you!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Well said, Chris!

[@mariaalcala5159]

I actually learned a lot of the Tipps while doing your courses but definitely the merge and center cells is the most annoying thing I usually see in lots of files. Thanks for sharing this video Mynda!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Maria!

[@1Chitus]

Great tips! I fully agree with table formatting (5:50) however, row- and column formatting are internally stored just like that - the (default) format for an entire row or column, and not as the formatting of a million cells for a single column. Still, it's adding formatting to unused cells which can be distracting and look sloppy, so it's good to avoid it where better alternatives are available.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks 😊

[@marshalxu8082]

Thank so much for “Center across selection”. It is so helpful!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@grtraders]

Brilliant. Most of them are my pet peeves. Almost all of them, I would say. Been a long time user of excel since the past two decades but never met "center across selection". Just feel happy to keep learning something anew from you. Please keep up the good work. Thanks a lot.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Ravi!

[@ernestochavez9560]

There is something, always something, that those ex-"Excel experts" can learn. I learn and enjoy. Thank you, Mynda.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it, Ernesto!

[@Cosmioful]

So many vids claim to solve all your problems in Excel, but this is the first vid in which I actually learned something. Very well explained and paced - thanks!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So great to hear 🙏

[@nblack2867]

Not sure how I didn't know about the offset function, but that is incredibly useful. So is the "center across selection" functionality as well. Thanks for this video.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@angelacollins5666]

Thanks for this - glad to see some of my personal fixations mentioned - especially Merge/Centre and External Links. For the automatic updating of rows included in a sum I find it simpler to set my SUMs up to include a blank row and to include that in the sum. e.g. if the data is in A1:A8 the the sum will be in A10 and it will be '=SUM(A1:A9)'. Then if I need to insert a row in the sum I just insert at A9 (not A10) and the sum updates automatically.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you could relate, Angela. Your SUM fix is fine if you're the only person using the workbook and you know never to insert data in the empty row! 😉

[@wojwoj06]

0:12 Center Across Selection - simply Wow! :) Thank you for this very elegant and proper approach!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it, Max!

[@cathyb2204]

Lovely. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure 😊

[@victorrweyongeza8634]

Small Tips but very key, thanks very much for sharing.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure, Victor!

[@jawadahmadehssan6251]

Thank you for this great content. It really adds value to what we as Excel Users do on day to day basis.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure 😊

[@alistairkirk3264]

This video should be mandatory viewing for all accountants. Your point about data that is difficult to aggregate likely being in stored in the wrong shape is spot on. The amount of time I spend re-factoring other people's spreadsheets in Python into 1st normal form so that they can be pivoted! The same thing kind-of applies to merged cells - it's a giveaway sign your data is in the wrong shape. And how did I not know about ctrl-1 after all these years! Thank you!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad to hear you agree 🙏 you might like to try Power Query as an alternative to Python for automating gathering and cleaning data: www.myonlinetraininghub.com/introduction-to-power-query

[@indzara]

Relevant tips. Thanks for sharing. We have come across all these scenarios. The 'dates formatted as text' is the most common one for me. Whenever customers reach out to me asking why formula results are not as expected, the first thing I check is if the date inputs are treated as text. Best wishes.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Cheers, Indzara!

[@dearloop1513]

Kindly share Power query for external link

[@tedjohnson64]

Just showed my excel guru your first tip and they were quite excited and impressed! Thanks for sharing these tips.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@AlDunbar]

Been using excel for a long time, but in a relatively simplistic way. I have long known there was way more functionality than I knew how to use, so it is great to see some of those demonstrated with straightforward explanations. And, at least half of this video is of features I will be able to use, hopefully more effectively than my current workarounds. Subscribed, liked, and following.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Al 😊

[@TheRealStructurer]

Great advices 👍🏻 I knew some but not all, so learned something new today. Thanks for that!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Velisus]

Great refresher on some of these important nuances and even some great new tips as well. Thanks!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bccabernet]

Another brilliant video, Mynda! I've been working with excel for years and found I still have more to learn. TY and sharing!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks so much!

[@scatton61]

Thank you... I have learned loads

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@afnanforyou]

I have been using excel for 14 years but never knew the first trick. Thanks for showing such a fascinating feature.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it!

[@canebro1]

Well done. Clearly explained without being super long and wordy.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks for your kind words!

[@jajabarbd1289]

I suddenly have found this treasure. Excel was always an interest of mine. But I never dared. Now you have given me the courage after 15 years. Thank you very, very much.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

That's wonderful to hear!

[@howardOKC]

Wow, the "center across selection", the first tip, already so useful and makes a ton of sense! I haven't gone to tip No.2 yet. Thanks and great video.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@zonboss]

So much value. Thank you.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it 😊

[@humorous2me]

This video is golden for the first tip. Center across selection?!? Where has that been my whole Excel life? Thank you.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

:-) glad you liked it, Traci!

[@markman8489]

Thanks Mynda - as unusal my knowledge of Excel has grown after watching this video I like the offset trick with the Sum formula and I need to learn a lot more about Power Query. Also, had a recent issue with external links but after modifying all formulas to use the current workbook, I still encountered this message when opening the workbook. After persevering with the issue for a few days, I opened the Named Manager to modify a reference and was relieved to find a number of external references hiding in there.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Mark! Yes, those pesky external links can hide in all sorts of places including data validation and conditional formatting!

[@davidroddick91]

I always considered myself to be competent in Excel; but most of these I never knew. This will improve my worksheets significantly! Thank you!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 😊

[@tlnn6598]

EXCEL is my favorite software! I love record keeping and EXCEL makes it easy to organize all your files. Thanks for sharing these tips.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure :-)

[@angelaw7055]

These tips are fabulous. Thank you!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You are most welcome!

[@IvanCortinas_ES]

Excellent tutorial Mynda. The example with SUM-DESREF works perfectly in Excel 365 in both cases. Thank you for the tips.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Cheers, Ivan!

[@c.s.m.k5737]

Thank you so much for your tutorials. I have found them very useful.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad to hear that 🙏

[@waynethompson5098]

Brilliant information. So helpful. Thank you very much. 😃

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@alastairbishop2450]

Excellent video, thank you.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Cheers, Alastair!

[@shoaibwarriah]

This video help alot and I learned about not to Merge Cells and Sum Offset,Conditional Table formatting & Days calculation from Date formatting. Thank alot

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Shahi!

[@marshallhosel1247]

Informative, thank you!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@justinschlatter4189]

This is really outstanding, thank you so much!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Cloudsofa]

Very helpful. Thank you!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You're welcome!

[@germaingyesah5724]

Awesome excel navigation. Will use them for work. Thank you

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@JennTheWriter]

Learned a lot from this one, some of which I am doing. But, other things I had no clue about. Thank you as always!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Jennifer 😊

[@tuanvnguyen872]

This is very helpful, thank for your video.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure 😊

[@Martin-jw7xo]

you had me at "centre across selection" - brilliant!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

:-) great to hear, Martin!

[@hcandts]

This is a video to my heart, I have been trying to explain it to users that they're making life very difficult by using merged cells. I've managed to circumvent most using VBA but it is a p in the a when I run into them Great video (as always)

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Hope you can share it with others, Hans 😊

[@hcandts]

@@MyOnlineTrainingHub I always point to your site when people ask where they can find clear and concise explanations.

[@tombirkland]

I just stumbled across this today and it's brilliant. It covers a lot of my pet peeves, but I also learned a lot about Excel I didn't know before--and I thought I was sort of a power user!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@BenoitLamarche]

I am very often preaching some of the very same things to colleagues. Now I will simply share this video. However OFFSET was new to me - I’ll watch the video dedicated to it! Thanks and have a great week!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Benoit! Thanks for sharing my video too 😊

[@slideybackfast]

One of the best videos I’ve watched on excel in a very long time!!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks so much, Simon 🙏

[@goldendice2254]

Excellent job as usual. Thanks a lot

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks so much 😊

[@muhammadsaddique3634]

Offset funtion in Sum was new for me. Great!!! Thanks

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it 😊

[@tha2irtalib343]

Awesome and perfect article , it's really helpful , thanks for sharing.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 😊

[@wayneedmondson1065]

Hi Mynda. Great video! Thanks for all the useful warnings and solutions :)) Thumbs up!!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Cheers, Wayne 😊

[@ranjanajoshi3099]

Was so much useful! Thank you!!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad it was helpful!

[@charleschance80]

I love your video's so informative and to the point. As always great job and thank you so much for these videos.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So pleased to hear that 🙏

[@stoggies2421]

I've been through quite a few comments and the biggest hit is the merged cell problem. I never new center across selection existed and the ;;; trick was also new to me. Good stuff.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 😊

[@35jays]

Thanks for the tips!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You’re welcome 😉

[@lewtabakin]

Great video, thank you!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure 😊

[@kirrilywelsh]

Great tips. I knew some but definitely learnt something :)

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 😊

[@bu0sultan]

This is very useful. Thanks for posting. Keep up the good work

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ozeroner_OOT]

Brilliant tips. Thanks.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks so much!

[@adamhindle9215]

Some great tips, cheers. Interesting to see how other users tackle problems; some similar, some different. Thanks

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it 😊

[@glecas]

SUPER Useful! I am guilty of many of these myself but now I'm a bit wiser! Thank you so much.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Sixstringslust]

Your videos are really helpful & easy to understand, thanks Mynda! I just decided to watch all videos in this channel starting from the oldest one

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Wow, thanks so much!

[@snicho]

100% Mynda! Absolutely! I sometimes wonder what life would be like if everyone followed these best practices. However, in some twisted way, I'm sure that it would mean that the 'Excel gurus' of the world would be less valued. Great content as always! 😊

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

😊 the Excel help forums would certainly be quieter.

[@hoavo4061]

This is very helpful. Thanks.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it 😊

[@geoffreyschmidt]

Lots of great tips! Thanks!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You are most welcome!

[@c17nav]

Another technique I use for formatting a worksheet. I don't insert unnecessary columns or rows. Adding columns at the left (column A...) and/or rows at the top (row 1...) complicate print margin adjustments. Also, avoid inserting intermediate columns/rows that are empty but color formatted/filled for visual separation purposes. Format cells containing data with borders. Keeping data as contiguous as possible helps when using keyboard shortcuts for worksheet navigation (Ctrl+Home, Ctrl-End, etc.), and helps when creating/troubleshooting formulas.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Yes, good tip 👍

[@rabiaouenza6377]

Great video. Thank you

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure 😊

[@txkflier]

I learned several things in this one. Thanks!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 😊

[@Rice0987]

Thanks for tip with offset function. 😊

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure 😊

[@conniesky5361]

Very helpful. Thanks.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure, Connie!

[@AlipashaSadri]

Extremely useful! Thanks for making the video :)

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@smileycindy]

What a fantastic tip video! Just to learn what you shared in tip #1 alone was worth the watch (but the rest was really enlightening as well.) Thanks for all that info!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jimmysaints3289]

I learned so much from this one video. Thank you!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 😊

[@taahatube1]

I did most of these things in excel thank you for organizing them for us 🤗

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

My pleasure 😊

[@countduckula9977]

Thanks Mynda - I learnt a lot from this video.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 😊

[@castor007troy]

This was very useful and very well explained.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad it was helpful, Paawan!

[@sorenweisshartmann]

Excellent tips. Thanks

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks, Soren!

[@sgauntt]

This is awesome, thank you.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

You're very welcome!

[@betaorionis2164]

Very useful video about very specific Excel issues 👍🏻

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it :-)

[@hayekfriedman9078]

That OFFSET trick is very cool! Thanks.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you like it!

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

Love your work.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@gavdownes100]

Immediate uses. Thank you

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear 😊

[@wbtittle]

I have used the offset function before. I like your simple example...

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Cheers, Brad 😊

[@VladimirKozomara]

How did I miss this video, plenty of good stuff, Thanks Mynda

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@JimWhitaker]

Thank you. I learnt something by watching this. The Centre across selection got my attention straight away and the rest of the video kept it. Registration on your website returned a Wordpress error but the registration has been created successfully anyway.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear you found the video helpful. Thanks for the feedback about the Wordpress error. We'll look into it.

[@bertblankenstein3738]

Good info, thank you.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thanks for watching!

[@kevinreese8224]

I did an entire statistics course in Excel and I saved a lot of time by having some of the ideas you showed - now I have some more 😁

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

So pleased to hear that, Kevin!

[@paulb9453]

Thank you, your presentation style and video footage are superb, v informative.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Thank you very much, Paul!

[@rudiklein]

How is it possible that after decades of intensive advanced Excell usage, you still are able to learn me stuff that is really useful? Like the center across selection! How much more did I miss?! Great video, thanks.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad it was helpful 😊

[@tbterrorist]

I gave you a thumbs up 10 seconds into the video because I knew you were about to share pearls of wisdom! As always, thanks for sharing 😃

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

:-) thanks so much!

[@MyAudioBookCompilation]

I don't usually use the built-in features of excel but center across selection is one of the awesome features that i have learned. Thank you. 😁

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear!

[@pow9606]

I don't seem to have the same problem. Selects fine across merged cells in Libre Office.

[@mikefochtman7164]

Very nice. Learned some new things. Going to go checkout your channel right now!

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Great to hear, Mike!

[@donnasmith8529]

Oh my goodness! The first tip was so amazing. I never heard of center across the selection.

[@MyOnlineTrainingHub]

Glad you liked it!!