Quick Links

• Goal Seeking for Long-Term Planning

• Camera Feature for Capturing Data Snapshots

• Data Grouping for Handling Large Datasets

• Custom Number Formats for Swift Data Visualization

Microsoft Excel boasts hundreds of tools and functions, making it quite simple to overlook some of the most valuable ones. In this guide, I'll share four lesser-known, hidden tricks that could revolutionize how you use the popular spreadsheet software.

4 Goal Seeking for Long-Term Planning

Excel's underused Goal Seek tool is designed to assist when you know the desired outcome but aren't sure how to reach it.

Imagine you're planning to purchase a new home in two years. At present, you're saving $400 monthly at an annual interest rate of 2.5%, meaning over the two years, you'll accumulate $9833.55, as calculated using the Future Value (FV) function:

<code>=FV(B1/12,B2,-B3)</code>

Here, B1/12 converts the annual interest rate (rate, cell B1) into a monthly rate, B2 represents the number of payments (nper), and B3 is the payment amount (pmt), expressed as a negative figure (since it's leaving your account regularly).

However, your goal is to raise a total of $15,000 to cover the deposit and additional moving costs, so you need to determine how much you must save each month over two years to achieve this goal. This is where Excel's Goal Seek tool comes into play.

First, select the cell containing the calculation (in this case, cell B4), and in the Data tab on the ribbon, click What-If Analysis > Goal Seek.

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PostsFirst, manually adjust the *pmt* value in cell B3 to $400. Then, select the cell containing the end value calculation, and click What-If Analysis > Goal Seek in the Data tab.

Again, the set cell is B4, and the end value remains 15000, but the adjustable cell is the month cell, which is B2.

Finally, click "OK" to find out that saving $15,000 by paying $400 a month with an interest rate of 2.5% will take just over 36 months.

Thus, Excel's Goal Seek tool has shown you that if you're eager to move house in two years, you'll need to increase your monthly savings to $610.16. Conversely, if you prefer to stick with $400 a month, you can achieve your goal in just over three years.

Besides aiding with savings, Excel's Goal Seek tool can help you calculate how many products you must sell to meet your target or what interest rate you need to secure to afford a loan.

Related ##### How to Utilize Goal Seek in Microsoft Excel

You don’t have to repeatedly alter numbers to see what achieves your objective.

Posts 3 Camera Feature for Capturing Data Snapshots -----------------------------------------

Excel's lesser-known Camera tool enables you to capture a snapshot of some data and paste it as an image. Moreover, this image is dynamic, meaning it updates to reflect any changes in the original data.

This tool can be beneficial if you want to create a dashboard that pulls in data from multiple sheets within your workbook, and it can also be helpful when dealing with large datasets and wanting to keep key information visible. Since the data is duplicated as an image, it sits on top of Excel's cells without affecting the layout of your spreadsheet.

Related ##### If You Aren't Using Excel's Hidden Camera Tool, You're Missing Out

Generate a dynamic image of your data.

Posts 4 Among all the tools I discuss in this guide, the Camera tool is likely the most concealed because it's not readily available through the ribbon. Instead, you must add it to your Quick Access Toolbar (QAT).

To do this, click the down arrow on the right-hand side of the ribbon. If you see "Hide Quick Access Toolbar," the QAT is already active. However, if you see "Show Quick Access Toolbar," click this option to activate it.

Then, click the down arrow in the QAT at the top of the Excel window, and select "More Commands."

Next, in the Choose Command From drop-down menu, click "All Commands," and scroll to and select "Camera." Then, click "Add" to add it to your QAT, and click "OK" to close the dialog box.

Now, the Camera tool is positioned on your QAT, ready for use.

Let’s assume you need to capture a snapshot of some data entered into an Excel table. To do this, select the cells containing that data, and click the "Camera" icon in your QAT.

2 Data Grouping for Handling Large Datasets If you're working on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that includes numerous columns, you might grow tired of constantly scrolling left and right to view your data. Additionally, certain columns may not always need to be visible.

Suppose you have this workbook with monthly sales figures for various stores and a yearly total in the rightmost column.

To analyze the annual data and make the figures easier to read, you want to hide columns B to Q, meaning columns A and R will sit adjacent to each other on your worksheet.

At this point, you might be inclined to select columns B to Q, right-click one of the selected column headers, and click "Hide." However, it's easy to forget that these columns are hidden, and the process of un-hiding them again is cumbersome.

Related ##### Don’t Hide and Unhide Columns in Excel—Use Groups Instead

Conceal and reveal different levels of detail with this useful Excel tool.

Posts 1 Instead, select columns B to Q by clicking the header for column B and dragging the selection to column Q.

1 Custom Number Formats for Swift Data Visualization The Custom Number Format tool is one of my favorite hidden features in Microsoft Excel because it likely saves me the most time.

Every cell in a new spreadsheet has the General number format.

This means that numbers are displayed exactly as they are typed, unless they're a decimalized number that's too wide for the cell or a number that starts with zero.

However, when you enter a specific type of number—like a date or a percentage—into a cell, Excel recognizes it and adjusts the number format accordingly.

Related ##### Excel's 12 Number Format Options and How They Impact Your Data

Modify your cells' number formats to align with their data type.

PostsOne hidden number

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