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Is there anything Excel can't do?
August 12, 2004

Well, when it comes to working with numbers, the answer is no -- there really isn't anything Excel can't do. At least, I've been wrong whenever I thought there was something it couldn't do.

However, there are many things you can do in Excel that can only be accomplished with the use of VBA. Two of my very favorites are both available on the KB: extract data from an Excel chart and sum only the visible cells of a worksheet.

If you've ever needed to edit an Excel chart that's been disconnected from its data source -- you know the pain! Once complex chart data is lost, it's gone! But a simple macro can get all of your data back. Check out KB article 300643. It's for Excel 2002, but works just as well in 2003 -- and contains links to similar articles for earlier versions. Here's the link: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;300643

If you often work with hidden columns or rows of data, you know it can be frustrating trying to sum just the visible data in your worksheet. The SUM function sums all data in a given range -- hidden or not. KB article 213313 provides the custom function to sum only visible cells. It's written for Excel 2000, but works just fine in newer versions. Here's that link: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;213313

If you have favorite custom functions -- or know of other great Excel lifesavers, please share them! Or if there's something you need Excel to do but don't think it can, send me an email or post a comment and I'll try to help.

Posted by Stephanie

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Comments

Be careful. A lot of things Excel does with numbers might not be accurate. Several of Excel's statistical functions have been criticized for this. The chart trendline equation, however, is reputedly the best in the world.

Posted by: Jon Peltier | January 20, 2005 07:40 PM

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