COUNTBLANK allows you to count the number of empty or blank cells in a range in Excel. This lesson shows you how to use COUNTBLANK, and also shares a couple of things to watch out for when you use COUNTBLANK in an Excel formula.
Learn Microsoft Excel
If you want to learn Microsoft Excel, you're in the right place. There is a lot to learn about Microsoft Excel, and not everything is in the manual. We've got a range of free online lessons on how to get the best out of Excel, starting from the basics right up to advanced subjects. We'll help you to do your job better - with the right Excel skills you could even get a raise or a better job! If you don't see what you want to learn, why not get in touch and suggest a lesson we should write.
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This lesson shows you how to calculate a running total between two dates in a column of data. An example might be calculating the total sales for the last 30 days up to today. Each row in the spreadsheet will calculate a new total based on the date in that row, counting back a specified number of days.
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One of the last keyboard shortcuts I mastered in Excel was moving between worksheets. Fortunately it's easy, and you don't need to wait as long as I did.
This lesson shows you a way to calculate the number of times a single character occurs in a cell in Excel, and provides a real-life example where I needed to split a column of cells containing part numbers into individual components for each part number.
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In this lesson, we cover how to print an Excel spreadsheet with page numbers on each page. Excel has changed a lot over the years, but one thing that hasn't changed is the way that you insert page numbers into a spreadsheet. Unfortunately, Excel 2010 does not make it easy to find the options for doing this. This lesson covers the basics of inserting page numbers as well as providing an overview of some more advanced options.
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This lesson shows you how to use Conditional Formatting in Excel to format cells containing dates that are in the past, using a conditional formatting rule that compares the date in a cell with today's date, and formats it a different colour if it is in the past. We'll also extend this conditional formatting example to check the value of another cell as part of our criteria for applying the formatting.
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When printing in Excel, it is sometimes useful to print a set of rows (e.g. column headings) on each page in the print out. There is nothing worse than having a printout that runs to multiple pages, with the column headings only printed on the first page. This lesson shows you how to get header rows printing at the top of every page in Microsoft Excel 2011 for Mac. You will also learn how to print header columns on the left of every page in your printout.
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This lesson shows you a formula to convert a month name into its corresponding number (i.e. Jan = 1, Feb =2, etc).
Entering the same formula or value into multiple cells can be time consuming and boring. Most people, if they want to enter the same formula into a row or column of data, will enter the formula in the first cell, then copy and paste it into the rest of the cells where they need the formula. This lesson shows you an even faster way to do it.
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Autofilter is one of the most powerful features of Excel if you need to work with data in tabulated (table) format. It lets you treat a range of cells as a table and then filter out certain rows based on different criteria. It is very powerful if you need to "mine" data in a list and find out specific information about the data in that list. This tutorial covers how to set up a data table in Excel to use with Autofilter, and also shows you how to enable Autofilter and use it for basic filtering. This lesson is applicable for all versions of Excel (including Excel for Mac) although the visual presentation of the options may change from version to version.
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This lesson shows you now to extract text from a cell in Excel. This is useful when you have a cell containing combining numbers and text, such as a part number, or several text values separated by commas. It introduces the RIGHT() and LEFT() functions, which are essential text manipulation functions in Excel.
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Excel offers a number of ways to find rows that contain duplicate values. However, most of them focus on finding rows where the value in just one column is repeated. In this lesson, we look at how to use the COUNTIFS function to find rows where values in moree than one column is repeated. We then use the COUNTIFS function in combination with Excel's Conditional Formatting feature to highlight duplicate and even triplicate rows.
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When printing in Excel 2010 for Windows, it is sometimes useful to print a set of rows (e.g. column headings) on each page in the print out. There is nothing worse than having a printout that runs to multiple pages, with the column headings only printed on the first page. This lesson shows you how to get header rows printing at the top of every page.
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The WORKDAY.INTL() function extends the WORKDAY() function so that you can specify which days are weekend days when adding days to dates. This lesson shows you how to use it.
There are many scenarios where you may need to use the current date and time in your spreadsheets. You may simply need to display the current date in a spreadsheet report. Or, you may need to perform a calculation that uses the current date or time. This lesson shows you how to enter a formula into a cell in Excel that outputs the current date and/or time, and updates automatically as time passes.
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Excel Formulas
Do you need help with an Excel formula or function? We have lessons on a range of different Excel functions, and the list is growing all the time.
Click here to see the full list of Excel Formulas and Functions