What is your horoscope sign?

Here’s a fun topic! At the same time, this is a good opportunity to practice working with the LOOKUP function. Although, these days, people are talking much more about the XLOOKUP function I don’t see why, in this situation, we wouldn’t use its “older cousin”. Task: determine the zodiac sign of the person whose birthday is on the given date. This is achieved by searching the table that contains the range of dates that determine zodiac signs.

Simpler analysis

In the “recipe” Simple sales analysis, you could learn how to get to the value that is in the intersection of the row and column of the sales report. On that occasion, we used the INDEX and MATCH functions. The new XLOOKUP function allows this analysis to be performed in a much simpler way, by combining two instances of this function. Let’s see how it’s done!

Filtering charts

Filtering affects the appearance of a report by setting certain criteria. If we create a pivot chart, it will be formed based on the data from the pivot table. If we change something in it, the chart will also change. Is this possible to do in traditional Excel reports? Yes, if you have an Office 2021 or Office 365 subscription, with the new XLOOKUP function. This is a simple method by which you can get effective reports.

Goal achievement chart

How to show on the chart whether the goal has been achieved? If we use the Column Chart for this purpose, the simplest way is to add a line that intersects the y axis at the point that corresponds to the value of the given target. We can do this manually, as well as add a series of data that has only one value – the goal, which could be shown in the report using the Combo chart. And we can also create a goal achievement chart by moving the y axis, which will be discussed here …

Birthday cake

“Birthday Cake” is a way of combining Stacked Column Chart, shapes and images to, with a little extra formatting, get a graphic report reminiscent of a birthday cake with candles. It can be used e.g. to show the growth of income or profit of the company over a period of several years. This kind of chart is very easy to make, so if you want to attract the attention of bosses and colleagues, pay attention and follow the steps shown.