This week’s hint and tip is on nested VLOOKUPs in Excel. Nesting formulas allow you to push the formulas capabilities more and can also help if the data you are matching doesn’t have a simple straightforward match to one table of data. We cover nested VLOOKUPs in our Master Class Excel Bronze training course but as they are so popular, we decided to do a hint and tip on it too. We are going to go through it now below.

What is a nested VLOOKUP?

A Nested VLOOKUP, also known as a ‘VLOOKUP within a VLOOKUP’, is an advanced Excel technique that allows you to search for information in multiple layers of data. It allows you to take a simple VLOOKUP and stretch its power and usefulness further!

When Should You Use Nested VLOOKUPs?

Nested VLOOKUPs are incredibly useful when you have complex spreadsheets, such as multi-level tables or databases. They allow you to find information that doesn’t always directly match from the value you are looking up to one table of data. Some examples of how they can be used are:

1. Employee Salary Lookup: Finding the salary of an employee based on their department and job title
2. Inventory Management: Retrieving the quantity of a specific product in a particular warehouse
3. Employee Cost for a Job: Calculating the cost of an employees time on a job based on the hours worked and their hourly rate

How to Build a Nested VLOOKUP

Here’s a simplified example to get you started:

Let’s say you have an Excel workbook with three sheets: Sales, Prices and Products. In the Sales sheet, you want to find the total cost of a product based on the product’s ID and the individual price.

1. Step 1: Use the first VLOOKUP to find the product’s ID based on its name:

=VLOOKUP(A2, Table1, 2, FALSE)

In this formula, A2 is the product name, Table1 is the named range containing the product data, and 2 is the column number with the product ID.

2. Step 2: Use the second VLOOKUP to find the price based on the product ID and the year:

=VLOOKUP(VLOOKUP(A2, Table1, 2, FALSE), Table2, 2, FALSE)

In this formula, the inner VLOOKUP retrieves the product ID, and the outer VLOOKUP uses it to find the individual price in the “Prices” sheet.

3. Finally once you have done the nested VLOOKUP, you need to times all of this by the quantity cell to work out the Total Cost.

Tips for Success:

• Always set the last argument of your VLOOKUP functions to FALSE for exact matches
• Ensure consistent data formatting and structure in both sheets
• Debug your nested VLOOKUPs step by step to catch errors
• Work ‘inside out’, this means your first VLOOKUP then becomes your lookup value for your second VLOOKUP

With the ability to navigate through multiple layers of data, nested VLOOKUPs empower you to unlock the full potential of your Excel skills. Whether you’re managing finances or analysing data, mastering this advanced technique will make you an Excel superstar.

Level up your Excel game today and embrace the magic of nested VLOOKUPs!

Worked example video

The video below shows you how you can use this feature in the spreadsheet attached here. (clicking here will download a copy to your computer so you can try it out!). We hope that you find the video useful and enjoy learning about it!

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try it out on your own computer!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on Nested VLOOKUPs in Excel. Why not take a look at our previous video hint and tip on VLOOKUPS in your Excel spreadsheets?

The post Nested VLOOKUPs in Excel: Mastering Them to Unleash Their Power Further! appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is on Word shortcuts part 6. Part 6 of these shortcuts covers the function buttons Shift+F3 and Ctrl+F6 function keys and also the shortcut keys for inserting a split into your Word documents, inserting a page break and inserting a column break. Some of these are covered on our Basic Word training course but not all are necessarily covered, so we decided to do a hint and tip on them. We are going to go through them now below.

Shift+F3 Function Key

Shift+F3 – allows you to change the text between upper case, lower case and capitalise each word. Select the text you want to apply the change of text case to and then press Shift+F3. This will first change the text to upper case, then lower case and finally capitalise each word (if you have selected less than a sentence) or sentence case (if you have selected more than a sentence).

Ctrl+F6 Function Key

Ctrl+F6 – allows you to switch to the next document window if you have more than one document open. First make sure you are in one Word document, then pressing Ctrl+F6 it will switch to another word document window you have open. It will keep cycling between all the Word document windows you have open each time you press the shortcut.

Shortcut Keys for inserting a split in a document window, inserting a page break and inserting a column break

There are many shortcut key combinations in all of the Microsoft Office packages and we are going to go through 3 more now. The shortcut keys we are looking at are for inserting a split into your document window, inserting a page break in your document and inserting a column break in your document.

The shortcut key combination for inserting a split into your Word document window is the Ctrl key, the Alt key and the letter S on your keyboard. Then the shortcut key combination for inserting a page break in your document is the Ctrl key and the Enter key on your keyboard. Finally the shortcut key combination for inserting a column break in your document is the Ctrl key, the Shift key and the Enter key on your keyboard. Using these shortcuts can save you time when working in Word on a daily basis.

Summary of the Shortcuts above…

• Shift+F3: allows you to switch between upper case, lower case and capitalise each word/sentence case
• Ctrl+F6: switches between Word document windows if you have more than one open at a time
• Ctrl+Alt+S: inserts a split in a Word document window
• Ctrl+Enter: inserts a page break in a document
• Ctrl+Shift+Enter: inserts a column break in a document

The video below shows you how you can use these shortcuts in your documents to save you time. Some of these you might know already but some you might not!

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try them out on your own computer!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on Word shortcuts part 6. Why not take a look at our previous video hint and tip on part 4 of our Word Navigation shortcuts?

The post Word Shortcuts Part 6 – Shift+F3, Ctrl+F6 and Ctrl+Alt+S, Ctrl+Enter Key and Ctrl+Shift+Enter shortcut keys appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is on Excel shortcuts part 5. Part 5 of these shortcuts covers the function buttons F9 and F9 with the Ctrl key. It also covers the lesser known shortcut keys for applying the strikethrough, currency and percentage formatting. We cover some shortcuts in our Basic Excel training course, but these aren’t all covered in it so we decided to do a hint and tip on them. We are going to go through them now below.

F9 Function Key

The F9 function key calculates your formulas for you in your spreadsheet if auto calculate is turned off. Auto calculate normally is always on, so if any number used in a formula is changed, it will automatically update the formula. However if this is turned off, then the F9 function key will update any formulas if changes have been made.

Ctrl+F9 Function Key

The Ctrl+F9 function key shortcut allows you to minimise an Excel workbook window down to an icon. This will then show the window you have open behind it on the screen instead.

Shortcut Keys for applying the strikethrough, currency and percentage formatting

There are lots of shortcut key combinations in Excel and we are going to go through 3 more now. The shortcut keys that we are going to look at are for applying the strikethrough, currency and percentage formatting.

The shortcut key combination for applying the strikethrough formatting is Ctrl+5.

Next the shortcut key combination for applying the currency formatting with 2 decimal places is Ctrl+Shift+$.

Finally the shortcut key combination for applying the percentage formatting with no decimal places is Ctrl+Shift+%.

All of these shortcut key combinations can be useful in saving you time in regular use of Excel.

Summary of the Shortcuts above…

• F9: calculates formulas after a change if auto calculate is turned off
• Ctrl+F9: minimises an Excel workbook window down to an icon
• Ctrl+5: applies strikethrough formatting
• Ctrl+Shift+$: applies currency formatting with 2 decimal places
• Ctrl+Shift+%: applies percentage formatting with no decimal places

The video below shows you how you can use these shortcuts in your spreadsheets to save you time. Some of these you might know already but some you might not!

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try them out on your own computer!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on Excel shortcuts part 5. Why not take a look at our previous video hint and tip on part 3 of our Word navigation shortcuts?

The post Excel Shortcuts Part 5 – F9, Ctrl+F9 and some other useful shortcuts appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is on Word Navigation shortcuts part 3. Part 3 of these shortcuts covers the Shift+Left arrow, Shift+Right arrow, Shift+Up arrow, Shift+Down arrow and the Ctrl+End and Ctrl+Home Key shortcut keys. Some of these are covered on our Basic Word training course but not all are necessarily covered, so we decided to do a hint and tip on them. We are going to go through them now below.

Shift+Left Arrow Keyboard Shortcut

The Shift+Left arrow keyboard shortcut can be used in Word to select one character to the left of where the cursor is. To use this firstly click into your Word document. From here press the Shift key followed by the left arrow key. This will have then selected one character to the left of where your cursor is.

Shift+Right Arrow Keyboard Shortcut

Another useful keyboard shortcut in Word is Shift+Right arrow key. This will select one character to the right of where the cursor is. To begin with, first click into your Word document. Once here press the Shift key followed by the right arrow key. This will have then selected one character to the right of where your cursor is.

Shift+Up Arrow Keyboard Shortcut

The Shift+Up arrow keyboard shortcut can be used in Word to select one line up from where the cursor is. To use this firstly click into your Word document. From here press the Shift key followed by the up arrow key. This will have then selected one line up from where your cursor is.

Shift+Down Arrow Keyboard Shortcut

Another useful keyboard shortcut in Word is Shift+Down arrow key. This will select one line down from where the cursor is. To begin with, first click into your Word document. Once here press the Shift key followed by the down arrow key. This will have then selected one line down from where your cursor is.

Shortcuts for using the End and Home Keys alongside the Ctrl Key

There are many keys on your keyboard that you use on a daily basis but then there are also some that tend to get ignored a bit. These keys often have useful shortcut options and the End and Home keys are two of these. We are going to look at shortcuts for these two keys alongside the Ctrl key on your keyboard.

The Ctrl+End key moves the cursor to the end of the document. Whereas the Ctrl+Home key moves the cursor to the beginning of the document.

Summary of the Shortcuts above…

• Shift+Left Arrow: selects one character to the left of where cursor is
• Shift+Right Arrow: selects one character to the right of where cursor is
• Shift+Up Arrow: selects one line up from where cursor is
• Shift+Down Arrow: selects one line down from where cursor is
• Ctrl+End Key: moves the cursor to the end of the document
• Ctrl+Home Key: moves the cursor to the beginning of the document

The video below shows you how you can use these shortcuts in your documents to save you time. Some of these you might know already but some you might not!

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try them out on your own computer!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on Word Navigation shortcuts part 3. Why not take a look at our previous video hint and tip on part 4 of our Word shortcuts?

The post Word Navigation Shortcuts Part 3 – Shift+Left, Right, Up or Down keys, and the Ctrl+End and Ctrl+Home key shortcut keys appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is about the array spill feature in Excel. We are looking at how you can use this feature in Excel to save you time when creating formulas. This is covered on our Master Class Excel Silver training course, but we decided to do a hint and tip on it as well. We are going to go through it now below.

What is array spill?

Array spill is a feature where formulas in Excel can be spilled easily into adjacent cells across or down instead of copying them using the fill copy button. This can often be a useful way of creating a large amount of formulas quickly and efficiently. Spill means that a formula has resulted in multiple values and those values have been placed in the neighbouring cells.

The associated video below explains this well using 2 examples. You can also download the spreadsheet in the video by clicking here (clicking here will download a copy to your computer so you can try it out!).

Example 1

The first example looks at multiplying sales unit by quantity in 2 different ways.

To see the different formulas see below:

The ‘conventional way’ is by entering a formula into B5 and then copying it across row 7.

The newer way is by entering a formula like the one in B7 which spills across automatically to column G. The formulas can only be edited in B7, the other associated formulas spilled across are greyed out.

Example 2

Another example is show in the IF statement exercise below:

Although the cells used here are relative cells it would work if one of the two cells in a formula is absolute.

See below:

The video below goes through the Array Spill examples that you can see in the spreadsheet above. It talks you through how this array spill feature can be used in Excel to copy formulas in your spreadsheet. We hope that you find the video useful and enjoy learning about it!

Take a look below at the video to find out more!

For more information of some of these features see the content of our Master Class Silver Course here.

We hope you liked this hint and tip on the Array Spill in Excel feature, why not take a look at our previous one on the FILTER and VLOOKUP Functions in Excel?

The post Array Spill in Excel – have you tried using this before? appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is about creating meetings in Outlook and the ways you can create them in Outlook. This is covered on our Outlook training course, but we also we decided to do a hint and tip on it. We are going to go through it now below.

Meetings in Outlook

Meetings are very similar to appointments but they require another person or persons to accept the event so that both events (meeting dates) appear in both calendars. The invitation is sent by email requiring a response.

When creating meetings it’s sometimes useful to have both emails and calendar open at the same time. To do this, right hand click on calendar icon and select open in new window option (when closing Outlook down use File, Exit rather than the cross as Outlook will remember the view next time you open it up)

How to set up a meeting

When creating meetings, you can either create them by using the meeting option under New Items (this will open a window like that seen below) or you can create an email straight from an email. To create a meeting from an email, click and drag the email over the calendar icon and set up the details when the meeting window comes up.

When creating a new meeting in Outlook there are a number of fields that you will fill in. These are:

• Title: this is where you type in the title of the meeting
• Required: this is where you insert the email addresses of the attendees that are required to attend the meeting
• Optional: this is where you can insert any email addresses of attendees to which this meeting is optional
• Start and End time: this is where you put in the details of the date and time of the meeting
• Location: this is where you put in the location in which the meeting will occur
• ‘White space under location field’: this is where you type in a message for all the attendees with any extra information or important details

Once you have set up the meeting, click on the ‘Send’ button. This will then send out the meeting request that you have just set up.

The attendees will then have the option to accept or reject the meeting request that you have sent to them. It will appear as an email in their inbox in Outlook.

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on creating meetings in Outlook. Why not take a look at our previous one on printing a custom range of pages in Word?

The post Creating Meetings in Outlook – have you created meetings before in Outlook? appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is on Word documents protection. In this hint and tip we are looking at a way in which you can protect just part of your Word document so that only part of it can be edited. This topic is covered in our Intermediate Word training course but we decided to do a hint and tip on it as well. We are going to go through it now below.

Styles to use in Word Documents Protection

In this blog we shall look at protecting documents in Word. We shall focus on Styles and protecting those whilst allowing other people sharing this document to be able to change the text in Normal Style and add text using the Normal Style. The Normal Style in Word is the default style used by most people when writing letters and documents in Word. Other Styles like Headings are used when you wish to apply subsequently Table of Contents and Multi Level lists etc.

How to set up the Document to Protect it

These are the steps to go through and a video of this procedure can also be watched below.

1. Type your document using Headings where required. It is the Headings which will be protected. See below example

2. Then we use the Developer Tab, Restrict Editing command button

Setting up the Restrict Editing Settings

There are some steps to go through on the right hand pane.

1. Tick the box on Formatting Restrictions and then choose Settings. Deselect all and then Choose Normal (Indent)

2. Press Ok and Say No to the next message (we want to keep the Heading Styles although not to change them)

3. On Step 2 you will select the Normal parts of the document you want others to change (Use the control key for multiple selections)

4. The last step is to enforce protection with a password.

So, the document is now protected around the Style areas of Headings 1 and 2 but not around the Normal style paragraphs!

For more details on Word documents and Styles visit our web site. Here you can look at the content of our Intermediate and Advanced Word courses.

The video below shows you how you can use these protection options to stop parts of your documents from being edited. You might have heard of this option before or this might be new to you!

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try them out on your own computer!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on Word document protection. Why not take a look at our previous video hint and tip on part 1 of Word Shortcuts?

The post Word Document Protection – how to prevent editing in part of a document appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is about XLOOKUP and Filter functions in Excel. This looks at these newer functions in Excel and how they can be used in spreadsheets. These aren’t covered in great detail in any of our courses so we decided to do a hint and tip on them. We are going to go through them now below.

XLOOKUP

XLOOKUP is the long awaited new function in Excel that everyone has been talking about! This new function allows you to match a value against a column and then return a value or multiple values on the same row to the left or right of the matched column. It has taken the VLOOKUP and made it a little more flexible in what it can do. Take a look in the video below to learn more!

Filter Functions

This FILTER function allows you to filter your data based on criteria you set but show the results separate to your raw data. This can be very useful as it allows you to still see all your data as it is, but also have your filtered results showing at the same time. Some examples of how this is done can be seen in the video below.

Newer functions added into Microsoft 365

Both of these new functions are only available to those with Microsoft 365 subscriptions and with the latest update. If you are unable to find them in your spreadsheets, try checking if there is an update pending.

The video below shows you how to use both of these functions in Excel. It goes through some explanation into them both and then also demonstrates how they work.

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try it out on your own computer!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on XLOOKUP and Filter functions in Excel. Why not take a look at our previous one on different ways you can view a formula in Excel?

The post XLOOKUP and Filter Functions – new to you in a 365 update! appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

​This week’s hint and tip is about VBA input message boxes in Excel. It looks at how to make an Excel worksheet more interactive by using a macro with input message boxes. We also did an earlier video in a similar interactive way to this on option buttons in a group as a quiz see the video here. VBA is covered in both our Master Class Excel Bronze and Silver courses. This specific example isn’t covered in either courses, so we created a hint and tip to show you. We are going to go through it now below.

What is VBA?

VBA stands for Visual Basic for Applications. VBA is a programming language which lies behind Excel macros. Therefore, an Excel macro is a series of lines of VBA code which execute a series of rather tedious operations you would otherwise have to perform manually. VBA is also used in lots of other examples, however Excel macros is a common example that most have heard of before.

Looking at an example of input message boxes

In the workbook found below called ‘copy of input boxes’ there is a macro button and a macro behind it called addemup. The video explains how the coding that has been done in VBA produces the end effect.

This Excel example may give you an idea for the use of Excel interactively in asking question and gathering answers stored in Excel cells. We cover the use of VBAS in our Master Class Silver course and see our website for details.

We hope you enjoy testing out the worksheet.

A video to demonstrate the use of input message boxes in Excel

The video below shows you how to use a input message box through the use of VBA coding. We hope that you find the video useful and enjoy learning about it!

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try it out on your own computer!

If you would like a copy of the example spreadsheet shown in the video to try it out yourself, then please drop us an email.

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on VBA input message boxes in Excel. Why not take a look at our previous one on using wrap text in Word​?

The post VBA Input message boxes in Excel – something to stretch your knowledge appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

​This week’s hint and tip is slightly different, we are bringing you a Quiz! This quiz has been created using groups of option buttons and you can see how they are used in this post. Option buttons aren’t covered in our courses yet, but they may well be in the future. Meanwhile we wanted to create a fun post to let you know more about them.

Our quiz using groups of option buttons (scroll down for the quiz spreadsheet!)

In the video below we make use of option buttons in a group. The worksheet is a quiz giving 3 questions with the total score being shown at the bottom of the sheet turning green if a person gets all 3 right.

We’ve hidden column B which in a cell for each question holds the correct option number per question. We’ve also hidden column E which has an IF statement to show “correct” or “incorrect” but you can see the formula behind cell C17 which counts the correct answers.

The 3 questions are all on topics covered in our 3 Excel courses Basic, Intermediate or Advanced.

We are using the IF function and COUNTIF function in this worksheet and have hidden redundant columns and rows and password protected the sheet.

It’s a good way of reviewing on line various topics on a virtual training course.

Have a go at the quiz by downloading the spreadsheet below the video and see if you get all 3 right; they’re not that tricky.

A video to demonstrate option buttons in the quiz

The video below shows you how the quiz works and how you can tell if you get the answers correct. We hope that you find the video useful and enjoy learning about it!

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try it out on your own computer!

Click here to download the quiz spreadsheet shown in the video and then try it out yourself!

Feel free to send your comments or questions to us at johnlegge@jplcomputer.co.uk. Alternatively, post a comment saying how many you got right first time.

We hope you have enjoyed this small quiz using groups of option buttons. Why not take a look at our previous hint and tip on Data Validation and its use in Excel?

The post Groups of option buttons in our fun quiz! Have a go and let us know! appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.