Dynamic infographics with Microsoft Excel data on a real map

Have you wished you could plot numbers in a table on a real map; and not use map picture. Also, this infographic thus created should dynamically refresh based on data. There is a very easy way to do this, even for a complete non-techie without having to fiddle with geo-coding, latitudes and longitudes.

MS Excel feature “Format as Table” a mandatory option!

Microsoft Excel Tip: When you have rows/columns in Excel, you can convert a range to a “table”. This feature is “Format as Table” in the styles group of the Home ribbon menu. Select the cells which form the table and click on “Format as Table” button. Select the style (colors) for your table. IMPORTANT: Check

Looking up values in 2-Dimensional tables

Microsoft Excel Tip: I was recently working on process for a manufacturing company, where they had costing in tables. Typically, the materials in rows and across columns were size, ratings, type, etc. depending on the item. To retrieve a price, this required a look-up on material and then a cross lookup on the type /

Calculating Year-to-Date (YTD) total… and the right way to learn Excel

Microsoft Excel Tip: We often have data (sales, production, expenses, etc.) for months and require a year-to-date (YTD) total. Here is an sample Excel sheet – In cell M2 enter the formula: =SUM(A2:INDEX(A2:L2,MATCH(=TEXT(NOW(),”mmm”),A1:L1,0))) You can edit cells and ranges to match your tables and sheets. =TEXT(NOW(),”mmm”) returns the current month. You also substitute this with