MS Excel Intermediate training course

This practical, 2 day MS Excel Intermediate training course focuses on the Excel skills that the typical Intermediate user would require.

If your groups Excel skill level is between 3 and 7 then this will be the best Excel course for you.

Some of the key outcomes will include:

  • Using the new tools that Microsoft has introduced
  • Easily cleaning up data received to report on
  • Understanding and making use of Pivot Tables, to turn data into reports
  • Reporting findings graphically via charts and other visualisation techniques

Delivery Methods- Intermediate MS Excel

Live MS Excel Intermediate Training

Online MS Excel Intermediate Training

Course Outline

Ultimate Excel Tool

  • Flash Fill- Your new best friend?
Split key text into their own columns

Tips and Tricks- Intermediate Excel

  • Viewing many parts of the spreadsheet (at the same time)
  • Don’t hide rows- group them rather
  • See sheet names in portrait style
  • Selecting ranges with mouse and arrow keys- short cuts
  • Enter date and time stamps- unchanging
  • Doing Quick Calculations in a spreadsheet
  • The Quick Access Toolbar

Filtering and Sorting

  • Data sorting-Revision, colour and icon sorting
  • Sorting the columns instead of the rows
  • Create a custom sorting list
  • Data Filtering
  • Remove rows with the Filter
  • Remove duplicate rows
  • Use Advanced Filter for repeating filters
Move columns around or sort based on the colour of a cell
Easily delete unwanted rows

The Specials- GOTO and Paste

  • GOTO Special- find comments, values, formulas and more
  • Find errors, conditional formatting and data validation
  • Copy Visible Cells Only
  • Fill in all the blanks
  • Paste Special- Values, Formulas with/without formatting
  • Paste Special- convert negatives to positives
  • Switch rows to columns and columns to rows
  • Paste without overwriting blank cells
  • Re Use the Format Painter
Fill in Gaps (easily)

Tools for text

  • Find Replace- standard uses
  • Find Replace- Change formatting on many cells
  • Remove between brackets or characters
  • Single Column to Multiple Columns
  • Import CSV’s into the correct columns
Put imported data into its own Excel columns

Pivot Tables

  • Required data format for Pivot tables
  • Create a Pivot Table- Step by Step
  • Inserting Values into a Pivot Table
  • Enhancing the values e.g. percentage of another column
  • Show the details of a number in the Pivot Table
  • Laying out the Pivot Report in completely separate columns
  • Working with the rows in a Pivot Table- dropdown
  • Working with the rows in a Pivot Table- field settings
  • Normalize Pivot Reports to use elsewhere as a copy paste
  • Working with the Columns in a Pivot Table
  • Working with the Filter in a Pivot Table
  • Automatically duplicate your Pivot Tables with different selections
  • Slicers in a Pivot Table
  • Control all Pivot Tables and Charts at once
  • Timelines in a Pivot Table
  • Grouping Dates into days, months, quarters and years in a Pivot Table
  • Grouping Dates into weeks in a Pivot Table
  • Grouping Text in a Pivot Table
  • Grouping Numbers in a Pivot Table
  • Pivot Charts in Excel
  • Problems with grouping in Pivot Tables
Turn data into reports (in seconds)

 

Create a dashboard type feel for your spreadsheets

Conditional Formatting

  • Change cell colour based on value
  • Change color based on benchmark in another cell
  • Highlight all above average cells
  • Add comparative bars into cells
  • Create heat maps in Excel
  • Add risk robots, milestone, up and down icons to Excel cells
  • Control the heat maps, icons and data bars in conditional formatting
Improve the visuals on your spreadsheets

Function and Formula Basics

  • Tip- Opening Frequent files
  • Enter formula into many cells (at the same time)
  • Function Wizard
  • Auditing Toolbar
  • Referring to fixed cells
  • Using the F4 shortcut for $ signs
  • Dollar Sign ($A$1) Examples
  • The basic “IF” function
Find errors in your formulas

Text Functions

  • Fitting text inside a cell
  • Quick entry of rows of data
  • Quick Drop Down List
  • Printing Tips
  • Get Excel to read out the text and numbers
  • Join text from many cells
  • Extract parts of the text from cells
  • Force Excel to see the value (instead of text)
  • Change text to lower, UPPER or Proper case
  • Remove unnecessary spaces
Neaten up your spreadsheets
Create ‘Word’ like reports in Excel

 

Join cells together

Key Lookup Functions

  • VLOOKUP explained in simple terms
  • Build your first VLOOKUP
  • The many uses of VLOOKUP
  • Handling Error Messages in Excel
Merge databases together

 

Remove errors from Formulas

Date functions and issues

  • How Excel Handles Dates
  • Safest way to capture a date in Excel
  • Pull the day, month or year out of the date
  • Create a VALID Excel date with the day, month and year
  • Calculate the proper end of month
  • Determine what day of the week a date is
  • When is the next workday
  • How many working days between dates
  • What week number is a date
  • Make Excel recognise a date

 

Fix messy system dates

 

Sort out problemsome Excel dates

Charting In Excel

  • Excel Charting introduction
  • Create a chart
  • Align chart to the grid lines
  • Chart doesn’t look right? First thing to try
  • Customise the chart title, area, legend and more
  • Vertical Axis- force the scale, reverse the order, labels and more
  • Horizontal Axis- dates vs text, reverse order, show all labels
  • Series- overlapping, big and small series, gaps
  • Add more series to the chart- 3 ways
  • Show big and small numbers on the same chart (and be able to see them)
  • Show months, quarters AND years on the chart axis
  • Bar Charts
  • Pie Charts
  • Area Charts
  • Radar Charts (to compare projects?)
  • Show mini trend charts for large reports
Insert mini charts to show the trend of data
Show big and small numbers on the same chart

 

Fix date issues on charts

 

Add more information directly to your chart

 

Differentiate between the main key chart information and the ‘Other’ information

Feedback & Who Should Attend

  • I’m glad I invested my money and time on this course, it was worth it.I also like the fact that i will be assisted even after completing the course. I walked out a different lady, just confirming what De Wet said.- Kefiloe M.
  •  It dealt with my daily challenges at work- IS Management Accountant.
  • There was nothing I did not like about the workshop. Adrian was fantastic- Accountant.
  • This course really add significant value to my life as a data analyst- Lonmin
  • … first the assessment is a good tool to determine that the trainee is allocated to the correct training, secondly, although the training is intense the content is brilliant and very well presented. Being able to express real live occurrences during the training makes for understanding of applications. All Krones personnel that have attended this training has had their skillset enhanced. Being proficient in excel has allowed the flow of work from department to department to become more and more efficient and not to mention, look more professional. Audit Excel is my only choice for Excel Training.- Debbie L- Krones

Typical Attendees

  • All persons using Excel spreadsheets. Professions that have attended include accountants, actuaries, auditors, business analysts, chartered accountants, civil engineers, construction, consulting, corporate finance, engineers, farming, finance, hr function, landlords, lawyers, quantity surveyors, research analysts, retail, scientists and engineers

Pre Requisite (s)

In order to do this course, we recommend that all delegates have a fundamental understanding of MS Excel, in that they are using MS Excel in their daily activities and want to work quicker, smarter and safer.

We recommend that all delegates should, using our free MS Excel Skills Assessment, have a skill score of  >3.0 with a level of Beginner-to-Intermediate or Intermediate (get your delegates to do the  free MS Excel Skills Assessment to make sure this is the correct level of training).

As a minimum, the basic MS Excel skills required would  be:

  • Opening & closing files
  • Moving around the spreadsheet
  • Inserting & deleting rows and columns
  • Inserting text & formulas
  • Deleting cells
  • Copying formulas
  • Printing
  • Basic formulas (+-*/) e.g. =C5+C7+sum(C9:C12), and =D5*D6/12 3.
  • Formatting

This is a very hands-on, non-intimidating, course – delegates work through various exercises under the supervision, and with the help, of the facilitator to get to grips with the nuances of Excel’s functions.