1-8-2016: Macros, Formulas, and Data Validation

Today was another learning day with Microsoft Excel. I finished the online video course that I worked on yesterday and later moved on to a more advanced course.

I started my morning by working with macros. Macros are a string of commands consisting of several steps that allow a user to repeat an action several times without having to manually perform each step. In other words, macros automate a repetitive task in Microsoft Excel by simply pressing a button. Users can create their own macros by the macro recorder. The recorder records and saves the user’s actions, so the macro can be run at a later time.

After finishing the course on the basics of Microsoft Excel, I moved on to a course about formulas and functions in Excel. As explained in yesterday’s blog post, formulas and functions take data and calculate them. I first began with basic formulas that calculated minimum and maximum values, medians, and modes. I then practiced creating some more complicated formulas with help from instructions in the video.

Some of what I learned today built upon what I had learned yesterday. In particular, some of these tools included table functions and lookup features. Today’s lessons covered advanced table functions, which helped me do more with tables, and went more in-depth with lookup features, which helps a user quickly find information. I now have more confidence using both of these features.

Later today, I got to data validation. Data validation adds rules to the range of information a cell can contain. When used correctly, this tool can be helpful because it prevents a user from adding incorrect data. For example, let’s say I’m a teacher creating a spreadsheet to record students’ grades. I might add a data validation to a column in that spreadsheet that contains students’ cumulative grades. I never give my students extra credit opportunities, so the highest possible grade a student could earn in my class is 100. Therefore, I would set a data validation rule to that column preventing myself from adding any grade that is not between 0 and 100. If I attempted to input a number greater than 100, an error message would show up, telling me that the inputted information does not fit the data validation rule, and I would be instructed to change it. This is how data validation can reduce errors, preventing obviously incorrect data from entering a spreadsheet.

Today was more interesting than yesterday. I got to explore other uses for Excel besides its basic functions, learning more about the powerful formulas that help me make sense of data, converting them into meaningful information. The more I learn, the more I see how powerful Microsoft Excel is and what the program can accomplish. As I’m progressing, I’m also seeing that the lessons get more and more interesting.

I will finish this video course on Monday, where I’ll go more in-depth with the What-If Analysis.