How to Learn Excel: 3 Tips from Experts

Excel software was first created almost 30 years ago by Microsoft and since then has evolved into a powerful tool used daily. Excel spreadsheets became an inseparable part of data management processes that leverage business, technology, education, and other important areas that move society forward. The Excel program is so popular that this is a must to know for most jobs and the major requirements set by the career recruiters.

Despite a common misconception, which most newbies have thinking that Excel is a hard nut to crack,  this program can be easily learned if you approach it correctly. Once you get a good grasp on handling Excel spreadsheets, it will become so handy that it will automate most job assignments generated in Excel. After a while, you’ll only happily reap benefits. 

Let’s say you’re a successful marketer who has just enough knowledge in Excel for planning events, daily meetings, sorting data necessary for creating tables and charts, etc. But you want to know more tricks for using Excel software fast and easy. Are there any? Let’s find out.

Excel spreadsheets became an inseparable part of data management processes that leverage business, technology, education, and other important areas that move society forward.

In this blog post, we’ll talk about some most effective ways of learning Excel. Also, we’ll provide handy hints that help to use Excel software more wisely. We hope that after reading this post your learning experience will be easier. And don’t forget to have fun on the go!

Tip 1. Learn Excel with great shortcuts

We all love shortcuts because they help to manage time and use it more efficiently. When it comes down to Excel, shortcuts help to handle huge amounts of data more easily. Shortcuts let you skip some unnecessary steps with just one click increasing productivity after all. More importantly – they will contribute tremendously to calm moods helping you to remain focused while working on tedious projects.

Here are useful shortcuts for you to use while managing spreadsheets:

F2 – let to select a cell in a spreadsheet fast for editing;

Ctrl+ – let you add a current date by inserting to the cell;

Ctrl+F6 – whenever have open Excel files,  you can switch between them going between windows back and forth;

Ctrl+Shift+# – don’t like in what format the current date is? This shortcut will let you change it with just one click;

Ctrl+Shift+ – sets clock reading;

Ctrl+5 – you can apply a strikethrough to data;

Shift+F10 – you can open the right-click menu fast;

CTRL+R – takes data from the leftmost cell and copies it to the right;

Ctrl+PageUp/PageDown – shifts fast between the spreadsheets;

CTRL+SHIFT+$ – applies specific currency you need to insert;

ALT+SHIFT+F1 – adds new worksheets into current workbooks;

CTRL+D – copies the content of the topmost cell;

Ctrl+9 – hides rows;

CTRL+SHIFT+@ – sets the default value of time with an hour, minute;

ALT+F1 – let generate charts utilizing all raw data acquired;

After starting to use shortcuts in practice, you’ll notice how quickly some boring or tedious tasks become faster to handle. Shortcuts save not only time but also lots of nerves. Print a list of shortcuts out and have them handy at your workstation. After a while, you won’t have any problems memorizing those shortcuts that you use more often.

Tip 2. Learn Excel fast and easy with training online

If you wonder “where can I learn Excel?” or “where can I learn Excel quickly?” – keep on reading because we have some great information for you. 

The best way to learn Excel online is to register on one of the e-Learning platforms. Going through sessions on online platforms is probably one of the most effective ways you can follow to learn and practice Excel. No secret, most online educational platforms strive to accommodate learners with all materials and information needed for boosting skills. 

Once you enroll in an online course, you will be provided with all current and fresh information. You’ll get the most useful materials that share knowledge accumulated by experienced instructors and experts. The best part of it is studying and practicing at the comfort of your home without any need of going out there and sitting in the classroom. This is especially convenient today, taking into account current threads caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have selected some great websites for online platforms that will let you study and learn to use Excel with little-to-no-sweat whatsoever. So, check it out and go  through this list of online sources:

Excelexposure.com – courses both in written and video-based formats on this platform. You can choose whatever, depending on your actual preference. Most materials are available for no fees and absolutely free. Master Excel regardless of the current level of skills you have with this great online resource. The greatest advantage of this platform is that it lets you practice with its master workbooks, which are also offered for no charge.

Contextures.com – another great free resource available online for reading instructions, quick tips, and hints, blogs, etc. You’ll even find .zip files that are downloadable and contain information about how Excel functions work with raw data.

Chandoo.org – this online blog was created in 2007 and now contains more than 500 articles, posts, tutorials, practical examples, etc. After becoming a part of this blog’s community and starting learning Excel software, you’ll realize how fun and simple this process can be.

About.com spreadsheets page – detailed instructions that come along with handy illustrations, diagrams that are great for visual learning. Also, they make lots of instructional articles which they upload with fresh content daily. Everything is organized by categories to make it more convenient to sort all info in accordance to current needs or problems. You’ll find anything from learning how to create templates and do formatting fast and easy by watching educational videos or reading news about Excel functions. Keep an eye on free newsletters and find lots of tips and hints about Excel.

MrExcel.com – this resource is set up by pros in Excel. It offers a vast ocean of practical info,  as well as forums to exchange some effective hints. You’ll not only find detailed tutorials but also will stay connected with most experienced Excel users. These gurus are constantly monitoring information to make sure that it’s relevant, so take advantage of its interactive message board where you can ask questions and find good advice. You can ask anything and find any info there from hints on how to simplify your Excel tasks to how to find the best solution for urgent inquiries. Even if you are not fluent in English, not a problem – ask questions in your native language! This site also has an online library that you can access for finding useful ebooks which will help you with more complex problems.

Exceljet.net – this site provides information on Excel formulas and can walk you through the steps that are needed for completing the task. There are also useful videos and blog posts that can be selected according to specific requirements set by current projects. Once you decide to go deeper into the subject and learn more complex things about Excel, this site offers special programs that are available for a fee.

Annielytics.com – are you a Youtube fan? Then you’ll like a blog created by Annie Cushing. She is one of the most experienced web analytics and data experts. The Analytics blog that Annie maintains provides lots of useful and specific information that is spiced up with a whole bunch of in-depth tips regarding web analytics. Not all content in this blog speaks about Excel, but if you have an intention or interest to learn more about Google Analytics – this one would be a gold mine of useful info.

LinkedIn Learning – LinkedIn is a great resource not just for career networking now but also a great educational resource as well. This platform offers lots of topics that cover business matters and provide assistance from experts (SMEs). This group of professionals host training sessions on the LinkedIn Learning platform. Of course, among other important things Microsoft Excel is one of the most popular topics that always drives lots of attention from users. Go ahead and check it out, you will be surprised how much useful information you’ll find on how to earn Excel there.

Grinfer e-Learning platform – Grinfer is an e-Learning hub that connects learners, teachers, coaches, and consultants to help everyone benefit from sharing knowledge with each other. The platform offers a great selection of on-demand courses that covers a wide variety of topics including Business, Marketing, Design, Technology, Photography, Personal Development, Beauty, and much more. For those learners who are interested in learning Excel from scratch or in-depth, there are quite a few useful online courses for any level of skills to choose from. Take a course “Excel 2019/365 Beginners” and you’ll gain the most up-to-date knowledge and skills that will become a master of Excel spreadsheets. Your skills will be sharpened to such a level that it will make your colleagues jealous.

Exceleverest.com – an out-of-the-box resource that teaches Excel while you’re in Excel. This online resource will walk you through (right from a sample spreadsheet) over 40 different Excel functions and formulas. There are not only a vast number of video tutorials available for free viewing but also you will be offered hundreds of hands-on exercises during training sessions.

Tip 3. Learn Excel with new formulas

Since the new edition Excel was released in 2019, it came with lots of useful features and enhancements of . Take a look at this information and learn Excel formulas to make the learning process easier.

Concat – allows choosing the whole range of cells and will save 5 keystrokes. 

Textjoin – will let you use separators (spaces or commas) for a whole range of cells. 

Xlookup – used as the replacement for Index + Match functions. In case you want to learn more about this Excel formula, check out some resources available online.

Switch – an alternative to Ifs and Choose functions which are used whenever you have to return a specific result in accordance with criteria chosen. Look at informative posts online to learn more about this useful Excel formula.

Summing-up all the info that we provided above – it doesn’t matter what level you currently have in Excel, there is always an effective way to learn it. We hope the tips that we found were useful to you, or that at least they pointed you out in the right direction. And remember that on Grinfer you’ll always find the right course to learn Excel and advance your existing knowledge to boost your career.