This week’s hint and tip is looking at how you can create a PivotTable by Copilot in Excel. We cover PivotTables on our Advanced Excel training course but not how to create one using Copilot.  We are going to go through it now below.

Copilot in Excel

Copilot is the AI tool that is available for users in all the Microsoft packages. It can be used for a variety of tasks and there are a number of options it can be used for in Excel.

We have done a previous hint and tip post as a brief introduction to using Copilot. You can find that information here in the hint and tip post.

PivotTable by Copilot in Excel example

We are going to demonstrate the use of the AI tool to analyse and create a PivotTable to summarise the data in a spreadsheet below.

Clicking on the drop down arrow on the Copilot button found on the Home Tab, select the ‘App Skills’ option.

From here a prompt window will appear on the right where you can type in your message with what you want Copilot to do.

We are typing in the following: “PivotTable with sum of sales with part no in rows and customer in columns”. This produces the following screenshot where it is analysing the data.

Once it has finishing analysing, it gives you the summary in the side pane with the option to ‘Add to a new sheet’. This will insert the PivotTable into the workbook for you.

When typing in your message/prompt to Copilot, being more specific and detailed is the key to getting exactly what you require. As we did not mention what to put in the Filters PivotTable field, there is nothing currently there.

PivotTable second example

We are now going to create another PivotTable to analyse the data with a more detailed prompt to show how adding in more information will give you the PivotTable you want.

So, the prompt we are using now is: “PivotTable with sum of sales with part no in rows, customers in columns, sales period and sales year in filters”.

This then produces the PivotTable above which you can see is the same as the previous one except there are now filter options included.

Each time there is then an option to click on the button to ‘add to a new sheet’ so that the PivotTable can be added into your workbook.

The video below shows you how you can create a PivotTable by Copilot in Excel. Copilot can be a good aid tool for a user with some detailed and specific prompts in helping streamline their data analysis.

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

The post PivotTable by Copilot in Excel – how you can create one using Copilot appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is slightly different as it looks at a brief introduction to using Copilot in Excel. Copilot is Microsoft’s AI tool and so we thought we’d do a short hint and tip on some key points of using it as well as a little introduction to it.  We are going to go through it now below.

** note: currently at the date this is published all the information is correct, but as Copilot is updated, some of the information below might update and change. It is always worth checking your subscription information or check the Microsoft website if you are unsure **

Copilot in Excel

Copilot is an AI tool that is available for users in all the Microsoft packages. It can be used for a variety of tasks and there are a number of options it can be used for in Excel.

Within your Microsoft subscription package you will receive a number of AI credits. The amount will depend on the subscription package that you have. Each action you do which uses AI will deduct a credit from your balance. This balance resets at the beginning of each month. If you want more credits you can subscribe to Copilot Pro.

Some key points

For Copilot to work on your documents, AutoSave must be turned on. If it is not, then you will only be able to chat to Copilot and not use the other features it has available within the package. You might also need to go into your Excel options settings and enable it.

Once you have AutoSave turned on, your data will need to be formatted in a specific way for Copilot to work and be able to carry out the task you require in Excel.

You will need to either have your data formatted as an Excel Table or as a supported range. Formatting as an Excel Table is through the use of the option found on the Home Tab. A supported range is data where it has not been formatted as a table but meets all the following requirements:

• Only one header row
• No blank headers
• Headers are only on columns, not on rows
• Headers are unique, no duplicate headers
• No merged cells
• No empty rows or columns
• Data is formatted in a consistent way
• No subtotals

Versions of Excel

Some options are currently only available to the web version of Excel (e.g. Clean Data) but are being rolled out to the desktop versions soon.

Copilot is seen as being especially useful for users who have large datasets that need tidying up or summarising quickly. We are going to go through an example of how it can be used for data analysis in a future hint and tip.

When using Copilot within Excel, it’s important to click on the arrow and choose the ‘App Skills’ option. This allows you to use the AI tool with your data within the workbook you are currently in, rather than just asking the AI tool a chat based question.

The post Using Copilot in Excel – a brief introduction to the AI package appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is looking at how you can use the presenter view in PowerPoint when you are presenting your presentations. We do cover this on our Basic PowerPoint training course but we also decided to do a hint and tip on it.  We are going to go through it now below.

Running a presentation

There are several ways to run your slide show presentation, some being:

• Pressing F5
• Clicking on the small slide show button (bottom right corner of screen)
• The options on the slide show tab

The option you choose will depend on how you want to start off your presentation. Once you start it, there are then further options for how you progress through it. We are going through this now below.

Slide show view

Your screen will look slightly different depending on how many screens you have linked up. If you just have the one screen (a laptop screen or a desktop monitor) then it will look like the print screen shot below.

Here you can see just the presentation slide itself. At the bottom of the screen you can see buttons when you hover your mouse over it. These buttons give you other options available for use during your presentation. You can also still use your right-hand mouse click for options too. You can run your presentation in this view even if you have two screens if you prefer.

Presenter view

However, if you have a monitor plugged into a laptop/desktop screen, you will get two different screens. The monitor screen will look like the slideshow one above and then the print screen below seen on your laptop/desktop screen. This screen on your laptop/desktop is called presenter view and can be seen below.

This second screen gives you the same options as the slide show view, but it gives you a bit more of a detailed view. This is optimised for presenting on a projector as it gives the presenter more options without interfering with the appearance of the presentation itself.

This two-way view can be altered through the display settings option at the top. Here you can choose to duplicate the screen so that both screens will look like the slide show view.

The video below shows you what the presenter view is in PowerPoint and how it can be used in your presentations. The presenter view is a great aid that can be used when you are presenting.

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

The post Presenter View in PowerPoint – how you can use it in your presentations? appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is looking at inserting hierarchy SmartArt diagrams into a slide within the PowerPoint package. This is covered on our Basic PowerPoint training course but we also decided to do a hint and tip on it.  We are going to go through it now below.

Inserting a Hierarchy SmartArt Diagram

Here we shall show you two ways you can insert a hierarchy SmartArt diagram into a PowerPoint presentation slide. SmartArt diagrams can be a useful way to visually demonstrate or explain something. Similar to shapes, but the ‘Smart’ part allows them to automatically adapt and change as you add to or remove from it.

First Way – using the Insert Tab

Here we will go through the first way to insert a cycle SmartArt diagram. This is through the use of the Insert Tab.

Firstly, insert a new slide into your presentation and choose the Title Only slide layout or blank if you don’t need a Title box.

To insert a SmartArt diagram, click on the Insert Tab and then click on the SmartArt button on the ribbon.

After you have clicked on this button, a pop up window below should appear on your screen. From here click on the hierarchy option from the list that appears on the left hand side. From the list, choose the Organisation Chart option and then click OK.

A SmartArt diagram will then be inserted into your presentation for you. Now that it is on the slide, you can resize it so that it fits in the slide under the title box. From here you can edit the text by clicking on the text pane option on your ribbon or by selecting a box and typing in it. This will bring up a pop up box where you can then edit the text. We will cover how to add shapes further down in the post

Second Way – Using the Insert a SmartArt Graphic option in the content box

This second way will show you how to insert a hierarchy SmartArt diagram through the use of the content box on your slide. This content box is useful as it has several icons that you can use to insert something into your slide. In this example we are going to use the insert SmartArt graphic icon.

In the content box on your slide, hover over the 4th icon on the first row (the words Insert a SmartArt Graphic should appear when you hover over it).

Click on the icon and a pop up window will appear with options of SmartArt graphics to choose from as it did in the first way mentioned above. From here, follow the same steps as covered above in the first way to choose the SmartArt graphic and insert it into your slide. Same as previously, we will go through adding shapes further down in the blog post.

Adding shapes to a SmartArt graphic

Once you have inserted the diagram, you can now add in extra shapes to your diagram. To add a shape to your diagram, firstly select a shape in your diagram and then click on the ‘Add Shape’ button on the SmartArt Design Tab. To see all the options available for adding in shapes, click on the drop down arrow next to the button.

For the hierarchy diagram there are a few more options you can choose from. For this type of diagram you are able to add a shape before or after, above or below and also assistant. Before or after, will insert a shape to the left or right of the one you selected in the diagram. Above or below, will insert a shape above or below the level of the shape you have selected in a diagram. Finally assistant will add an assistant shape to the shape that you have selected.

Formatting a SmartArt graphic

Once you have inserted the SmartArt graphic, you can then format it. You can format the appearance of the graphic by changing the colours used by using the SmartArt Styles gallery or by clicking on the Change Colours button on the ribbon on the Chart Design Tab. You are also able to manually format it by using the Format tab.

The video below shows how to insert the hierarchy SmartArt diagram using the ways mentioned above in your PowerPoint presentations. SmartArt diagrams are a great tool to use to display processes or data in a more visual way.

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

The post Inserting Hierarchy SmartArt Diagrams in PowerPoint – how do I insert them into my slides? appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is looking at inserting cycle SmartArt diagrams into a slide within the PowerPoint package. We cover this on our Basic PowerPoint training course but we also decided to do a hint and tip on it.  We are going to go through it now below.

Inserting a Cycle SmartArt Diagram

We are going to show you two ways you can insert a cycle SmartArt diagram into a PowerPoint presentation slide. SmartArt diagrams can be a useful way to visually demonstrate or explain something. They are similar to shapes, but the ‘Smart’ part adds to them and allows them to automatically change and adapt as you add to or remove from it.

First Way – using the Insert Tab

Here we shall go through the first way to insert a cycle SmartArt diagram. This is through the use of the Insert Tab.

Firstly, insert a new slide into your presentation and choose the Title Only slide layout or blank if you don’t need a Title box.

To insert a SmartArt diagram, click on the Insert Tab and then click on the SmartArt button on the ribbon.

Once you have clicked on this button, the pop up window below should appear on your screen. From here click on the cycle option from the list on the left hand side and then select the Basic Cycle option and then click OK.

A SmartArt diagram will then be inserted into your presentation for you. Once inserted you can resize it so that it fits in the slide under the title box. From here you can edit the text by selecting a box and typing in it or by clicking on the text pane option on your ribbon. This will give you a pop up box where you can then edit the text. We will cover how to add shapes further down in the post

Second Way – Using the Insert a SmartArt Graphic option in the content box

The second way we are going to cover for inserting a cycle SmartArt diagram is through the use of the content box on your slide. This content box is very useful and it has several icons that you can use to insert something into your slide. In this example we are going to use the insert SmartArt graphic icon.

In the content box on your slide, hover over the 4th icon on the first row (the words Insert a SmartArt Graphic should appear when you hover over it).

Click on this icon and a pop up window should appear with options of SmartArt graphics to choose from as it did in the first way mentioned above. From here you follow the same steps as covered above in the first way to choose the SmartArt graphic and insert it into your slide. Same as above, we will go through adding shapes further down in the blog post.

Adding shapes to a SmartArt graphic

After you have inserted the diagram, you can add in extra shapes to your diagram. To add a shape to your diagram, firstly select a shape in your diagram and then click on the ‘Add Shape’ button on the SmartArt Design Tab. To see all the options available for adding in shapes, click on the drop down arrow next to the button. For this type of diagram you are able to add a shape before or after. This will insert a shape to the left or right of the one you selected in the diagram.

Formatting a SmartArt graphic

After you have inserted the SmartArt graphic, you can then format it. The appearance of the graphic can be formatted by changing the colours used by using the SmartArt Styles gallery or by clicking on the Change Colours button on the ribbon on the Chart Design Tab. You can also manually format it by using the Format tab.

The video below shows you how to insert the cycle SmartArt diagram using these the ways mentioned above in your PowerPoint presentations. SmartArt diagrams  are a great tool to use to display processes or data in a more visual way.

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

The post Inserting Cycle SmartArt Diagrams in PowerPoint – how do I insert them into my slides? appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is looking at inserting process SmartArt diagrams into a slide within the PowerPoint package. We cover this on our Basic PowerPoint training course but we also decided to do a hint and tip on it.  We are going to go through it now below.

Inserting a Process SmartArt Diagram

We will show you two ways in which you can insert a process SmartArt diagram into a PowerPoint presentation slide. SmartArt diagrams are a good way to visually explain and demonstrate something. Similar to shapes, but the element of ‘Smart’ adds to them and allows them to automatically adapt and change as you add to or remove from it.

First Way – using the Insert Tab

We are going to go through the first way to insert a process SmartArt diagram now. This is through the use of the Insert Tab.

Firstly, insert a new slide into your presentation and make sure that the slide layout applied is Title Only or blank if you don’t need a Title box.

To insert a SmartArt diagram, firstly click on the Insert Tab and click on the SmartArt button on the ribbon.

After clicking on this button, the pop up window below should appear on your screen. From here you click on the process option from the list on the left hand side and then select the Basic Process option and then click OK.

This will then insert a the SmartArt diagram into your presentation for you. Once inserted you can resize it to fit in underneath the title box. From here you can edit the text by clicking into the boxes themselves or by clicking on the text pane option on your ribbon where it will give you a pop up box where you can also edit the text. We will cover how to add shapes further down in the post

Second Way – Using the Insert a SmartArt Graphic option in the content box

The second way we are going to look at for inserting a process SmartArt diagram is through the use of the content box on your slide. The content box on your slide is very useful and has a number of icons that you can use to insert something into your slide. For this example we are going to use the insert SmartArt graphic icon.

In your content box hover over the 4th icon on the first row (the words Insert a SmartArt Graphic should appear when you hover over it).

Click on this icon and a pop up window should appear with options for the type of SmartArt graphic you want as it did in the first way mentioned above. From here you follow the same steps as the first way above to choose the SmartArt graphic and insert it into your slide. Same as above, we will go through adding shapes further down in the blog post.

Adding shapes to a SmartArt graphic

Once you have the diagram inserted, you can then add extra shapes to your diagram. To add a shape to your diagram, firstly select an existing shape and then click on the ‘Add Shape’ button on the SmartArt Design Tab. Clicking on the drop down arrow next to the button shows you the options you can choose from. For this type of diagram you can add a shape before or after. This will insert a shape to the left or right of the one you selected in the diagram.

Formatting a SmartArt graphic

Once your SmartArt graphic is inserted into the slide, you can then format it. You can format the appearance of the graphic by changing the colours used by clicking on the Change Colours button on the ribbon or by using the SmartArt Styles gallery on the Chart Design Tab. You can also manually format it by using the Format tab.

The video below shows you how to insert the process SmartArt diagram using these two ways in your PowerPoint presentations. SmartArt diagrams are a good way of displaying data or processes in a more visual way.

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

The post Inserting Process SmartArt Diagrams in PowerPoint – how do I insert them into my slides? appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is looking at inserting charts into a slide within the PowerPoint package. We cover this on our Basic PowerPoint training course but we also decided to do a hint and tip on it.  We are going to go through it now below.

Inserting a Chart

We are going to cover two ways in which you can insert a chart into a PowerPoint presentation slide. Charts are a great way of being able to visually display your data, rather than just including a lot of numbers on a slide. They can also be a good way of showing trends in figures, for example sales.

First Way – using the Insert Tab

The first way to insert a chart is through the use of the Insert Tab.

Insert a new slide into your presentation and make sure that the slide layout applied is Title Only or blank if you don’t need a Title box.

To insert a chart, firstly click on the Insert Tab and click on the Chart button on the ribbon.

Once you click on this button, the pop up window below should appear on your screen. From here you can choose the style of chart you wish and then click OK.

This will then insert a chart in to your presentation for you. You will notice from the screenshot that it inserts a chart for you and gives you a small window of a simple Excel spreadsheet with some sample data in it. This data is there to just show what the chart will look like.

You are then able to edit the category and series names and values to what you need them to be. As you do this in the spreadsheet, it will automatically update in the chart on your slide.

Once you have typed in all the data you need for your chart, you can click on the cross in the top corner of the Excel spreadsheet to close down that window. This will then leave your chart by itself in your presentation slide ready to add any further details to it or a title to the slide itself.

Second Way – Using the Insert Chart option in the content box

The second way to insert a chart is through the use of the content box on your slide. The content box on your slide is very useful and has a number of icons that you can use to insert something in to your slide. For this example we are going to use the insert chart icon.

In your content box hover over the 8th icon on the second row (the words Insert Chart should appear when you hover over it).

Click on this icon and a pop up window should appear with options for the type of chart you want. Choose the style of chart you require and click OK.

This will now insert in a ‘template’ chart as well as give you a small Excel window with the data that your chart has been created from. From here you can now edit the Series and Category names and also the figures to match your data. As you do this, it should update the chart behind on your slide.

Once you have done this, click on the cross to close down the small Excel window. This will then leave your chart by itself in your presentation slide ready to add any further details to it or a title to the slide itself.

Formatting a Chart

Once you have your chart inserted into the slide, you can then format it. You can format the appearance of the chart by using the Chart Styles gallery on the Chart Design Tab. You can also manually format it by using the Format tab.

As well as formatting the chart, you can now add more detail to your chart. This is done via the Add Chart Elements option which is found either on the far left of your Chart Design Tab or by clicking on the cross top right hand corner of your chart itself. From here you will see that there is a list of options that you can add to your chart, for example axis titles or data labels.

The video below shows you how to insert charts using these two ways in your PowerPoint presentations. Charts are a good way of displaying information in your slides more visually or for showing trends in your data.

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

The post Inserting Charts in PowerPoint – how do I insert them into my slides? appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is looking at inserting tables in to a slide within the PowerPoint package. We cover this on our Basic PowerPoint training course but we also decided to do a hint and tip on it.  We are going to go through it now below.

Inserting a Table

We are going to cover three ways in which you can insert a table into a PowerPoint presentation slide.

Firstly you need to make sure you have a slide inserted into your presentation. Make sure that the slide layout you have is Title and Content. Once you have the slide in the right layout you can now insert a Table.

First Way – using the Insert Tab, white boxes

The first way to insert a table is through the use of the Insert Tab.

Insert a new slide and make sure that the slide layout is Title Only.

To insert a table, firstly click on the Insert Tab and click on the Table option on the ribbon. When clicking on this option, a drop down style menu will appear with a lot of small white boxes at the top of it. As you hover over these, you will see a preview of the table on the slide.

Once you have the correct number of boxes hovered over for the table, click on the box. This will then insert the table into the slide for you.

Second Way – using the Insert Tab, insert table option

The second way to insert a table is still through the use of the Inert Tab but using the ‘insert table’ option listed in the drop down menu. Click on the Table option on the insert tab and from the drop down menu that appears, click on the ‘insert table’ option listed.

This will produce a small pop up window where you can type in the number of columns and rows you want for your table. Once you have done this, click ok.

This will now insert the table in to your slide same as it did in the first way mentioned above.

Third Way – Using the Insert Table option in the content box

The third way to insert a table is through the use of the content box on your slide. The content box on your slide has a number of icons that you can use to insert something in to your slide. For this example we are going to use the insert table icon.

In your content box hover over the 7th icon on the second row (the words Insert Table should appear when you hover over it).

Click on this icon and a little box will appear. This box allows you to type in the number of columns and rows you want to be in your table. Once you have typed the numbers in, click OK to insert it in to your slide.

Once you have done this, you will find that the content box has disappeared and there is now a table in its place. Here you can re-size the table to the size you need it to be.

Formatting a Table

Once inserted, there are other formatting options you can use (as shown below) for editing your picture. These options are found on the Table Design and Layout Tabs which appear at the top of your screen when you click onto your table. These tabs are the same no matter which method you choose to insert your table via.

The video below shows you how to insert tables using these three different ways in your PowerPoint presentations. Tables are a good way of summarising information in your slides, especially if you are doing comparisons.

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

The post Inserting Tables in PowerPoint – how do I insert them into my slides? appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

Ashorne Hill are a dedicated venue for meetings, training and events in Warwickshire. They provide high quality meeting rooms, conference space and accommodation for companies seeking to take time out for training and conferencing.

This is the meeting block where we trained the staff in July 2022 and the wonderful view across the Warwickshire countryside

How we help Ashorne Hill

JPL IT Training Limited have delivered training for Ashorne Hill in Excel, Word and PowerPoint courses for their staff. The courses were small in numbers therefore allowing a maximum of time time spent with each staff member.

Comments from staff members on the courses

“John was lovely and made sure we were happy before moving on. We were comfortable asking questions.  Lucy”

“Very friendly trainer. Fun whilst learning.  Sally”

“Best part of the course – all the shortcuts and John!!”

To learn more about the Microsoft Office training courses we have carried out for Ashorne Hill, view our agendas here.

The post Ashorne Hill – Training staff in Excel, Word and PowerPoint appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

Since the middle of March 2020 and the start of the Coronavirus we have been able to deliver via Webex a series of short on-line Microsoft Office training courses in Excel, Word and PowerPoint. The length of these sessions tend to be between 2 and 3 hours long. These have gone down particularly well as they are short in duration. This shorter length means that they can be fit in during the day a bit easier. Also it means that you don’t have to set aside a whole day to attend it! We have also conducted virtual consultancy for a number of our customers to help with a specific need or issue.

Due to the face that are shorter sessions have gone well we have created some new courses. We are launching 3 brand new short courses and can deliver these on line for individuals and groups. The topics for these courses can be seen below and you can view the agendas by clicking on the titles.

Courses

Excel Hints and Tips – 2 hours

Word Hints and Tips – 1.5 hours

PowerPoint Creating a Presentation Course – 2 hours

These on-line Microsoft Office training courses are ideally suited for beginners in Excel, Word and PowerPoint. They all contain many unknown shortcuts helpful for more experienced users of Microsoft Office.

If you are interested in any of the courses mentioned above, please get in touch. We can give you more information on each course and chat about your training needs. Contact us by emailing at johnlegge@jplcomputer.co.uk or by calling 07903 840105.

Want to know more about the remote training that we offer? Then please click here for more information on the remote training we can offer. Otherwise if you are interested in knowing more about our standard courses, then please click here for more information.

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