Microsoft^® Excel^® Dashboards & Reports For Dummies^®, 4th Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and may not be used without written permission. Microsoft and Excel are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS WORK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES, WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS OR PROMOTIONAL STATEMENTS FOR THIS WORK. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS ENDORSE THE INFORMATION OR SERVICES THE ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A SPECIALIST WHERE APPROPRIATE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR AUTHORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022931501

ISBN 978-1-119-84439-6 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-84440-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-84441-9 (ebk)

Microsoft® Excel® Dashboards & Reports For Dummies®

To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Excel Dashboards Reports For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Introduction

About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here

Part 1: Getting Started with Excel Dashboards and Reports

Chapter 1: Getting in the Dashboard State of Mind
1. Defining Dashboards and Reports
2. Preparing for Greatness
3. A Quick Look at Dashboard Design Principles
Chapter 2: Building a Super Model
1. Data Modeling Best Practices
2. Excel Functions That Really Deliver
3. Using Smart Tables That Expand with Data
4. Introducing Dynamic Arrays
5. Exploring Dynamic Array Functions
Chapter 3: The Pivotal Pivot Table
1. An Introduction to the Pivot Table
2. The Four Areas of a Pivot Table
3. Creating Your First Pivot Table
4. Customizing Pivot Table Reports
5. Creating Useful Pivot-Driven Views
Chapter 4: Using External Data for Your Dashboards and Reports
1. Leveraging Power Query to Extract and Transform Data
2. Importing Data from Files
3. Importing Data from Database Systems

Part 2: Building Basic Dashboard Components

Chapter 5: Dressing Up Your Data Tables
1. Table Design Principles
2. Getting Fancy with Custom Number Formatting
Chapter 6: Sparking Inspiration with Sparklines
1. Introducing Sparklines
2. Understanding Sparklines
3. Customizing Sparklines
Chapter 7: Formatting Your Way to Visualizations
1. Enhancing Reports with Conditional Formatting
2. Using Symbols to Enhance Reporting
3. Wielding the Magical Camera Tool
4. Enhancing Excel Reports with Shapes

Part 3: Adding Charts to Your Dashboards

Chapter 8: Charts That Show Trending
1. Trending Dos and Don’ts
2. Comparative Trending
3. Emphasizing Periods of Time
4. Other Trending Techniques
Chapter 9: Grouping and Bucketing Data
1. Creating Top and Bottom Displays
2. Top Values in Charts
3. Using Histograms to Track Relationships and Frequency
Chapter 10: Displaying Performance against a Target
1. Showing Performance with Variances
2. Showing Performance against Organizational Trends
3. Using a Thermometer-Style Chart
4. Using a Bullet Graph
5. Showing Performance against a Target Range

Part 4: Advanced Reporting Techniques

Chapter 11: Giving Users an Interactive Interface
1. Introducing Macros
2. Getting Started with Form Controls
3. Using the Button Control
4. Using the Check Box Control
5. Using the Option Button Control
6. Using the Combo Box Control
7. Using the List Box Control
Chapter 12: Adding Interactivity with Pivot Slicers
1. Understanding Slicers
2. Creating a Standard Slicer
3. Getting Fancy with Slicer Customizations
4. Controlling Multiple Pivot Tables with One Slicer
5. Creating a Timeline Slicer
6. Using Slicers as Form Controls
7. Using Slicers on Excel Table Objects
Chapter 13: Sharing Your Workbook with the Outside World
1. Protecting Your Dashboards and Reports
2. Linking Your Excel Dashboards to PowerPoint
3. Distributing Your Dashboards via a PDF
4. Distributing Your Dashboards to OneDrive
5. Limitations When Publishing to the Web

Part 5: The Part of Tens

Chapter 14: Ten Chart Design Principles
1. Avoid Fancy Formatting
2. Skip the Unnecessary Chart Junk
3. Format Large Numbers Where Possible
4. Use Data Tables Instead of Data Labels
5. Make Effective Use of Chart Titles
6. Sort Your Data before Charting
7. Limit the Use of Pie Charts
8. Don’t Be Afraid to Parse Data into Separate Charts
9. Maintain Appropriate Aspect Ratios
10. Don’t Be Afraid to Use Something Other Than a Chart
Chapter 15: Ten Questions to Ask Before Distributing Your Dashboard
1. Does My Dashboard Present the Right Information?
2. Does Everything on My Dashboard Have a Purpose?
3. Does My Dashboard Prominently Display the Key Message?
4. Can I Maintain This Dashboard?
5. Does My Dashboard Clearly Display Its Scope and Shelf Life?
6. Is My Dashboard Well Documented?
7. Is My Dashboard Overwhelmed with Formatting and Graphics?
8. Does My Dashboard Overuse Charts When Tables Will Do?
9. Is My Dashboard User-Friendly?
10. Is My Dashboard Accurate?

Index

About the Author

Advertisement Page

Connect with Dummies

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1

FIGURE 1-1: Reports present data for viewing but don’t lead readers to conclusi...
FIGURE 1-2: Dashboards provide at-a-glance views into key measures relevant to ...
FIGURE 1-3: Each box in this dashboard layout mockup represents a component and...
FIGURE 1-4: Studies show that users pay particular attention to the upper left ...

Chapter 2

FIGURE 2-1: Avoid hard-coded tables that fuse data, analysis, and presentation.
FIGURE 2-2: An effective data model separates data, analysis, and presentation.
FIGURE 2-3: A spreadsheet report.
FIGURE 2-4: A flat data file.
FIGURE 2-5: A tabular data set.
FIGURE 2-6: A model map allows you to document how each range interacts with yo...
FIGURE 2-7: In this example, the VLOOKUP function helps to look up the appropri...
FIGURE 2-8: Using the VLOOKUP function to extract and shape data.
FIGURE 2-9: You can use data validation to create a predefined list of valid va...
FIGURE 2-10: HLOOKUP formulas help to find March and June numbers from the look...
FIGURE 2-11: In this example, HLOOKUP formulas pull and reshape data without di...
FIGURE 2-12: Without the SUMPRODUCT function, getting the total sales involves ...
FIGURE 2-13: The SUMPRODUCT function allows you to perform the same analysis wi...
FIGURE 2-14: The SUMPRODUCT function can be used to filter data based on criter...
FIGURE 2-15: The SUMPRODUCT function can be used to pull summarized numbers fro...
FIGURE 2-16: The CHOOSE function allows you to find values from a defined set o...
FIGURE 2-17: The CHOOSE formulas ensure that the appropriate data is synchronou...
FIGURE 2-18: The date in both the table and chart ends in June.
FIGURE 2-19: Converting a range of data to an Excel table.
FIGURE 2-20: Excel tables can be used as the source for charts, pivot tables, n...
FIGURE 2-21: Excel tables automatically expand when new data is added.
FIGURE 2-22: To remove Excel table functionality, convert the table back to a r...
FIGURE 2-23: A simple formula that references a range.
FIGURE 2-24: Excel automatically spills the results into the surrounding cells.
FIGURE 2-25: Dynamic arrays work with any traditional Excel function that accep...
FIGURE 2-26: Spill ranges will visually show a line around them.
FIGURE 2-27: A spill error caused by an obstruction in the spill range.
FIGURE 2-28: Referencing a single cell in a spill range won't allow you to capt...
FIGURE 2-29: Using the spill range operator to apply a function to the entire s...
FIGURE 2-30: Using the spill range operator to count all values in the referenc...
FIGURE 2-31: Using the SORT function to sort students by the change in test sco...
FIGURE 2-32: Using the SORT function to sort by columns.
FIGURE 2-33: Using the SORTBY function to apply a multi-column sort.
FIGURE 2-34: Adding the Exactly_once argument extracts only values that appear ...
FIGURE 2-35: Filtering records where the Change value is greater than 10.
FIGURE 2-36: Getting the FILTER criteria from cell F1.
FIGURE 2-37: Combining SORT with FILTER to sort results.
FIGURE 2-38: Using multiple filter conditions.
FIGURE 2-39: Criteria evaluation behind the scenes.
FIGURE 2-40: Using the + operator to return results if the first condition is T...
FIGURE 2-41: A basic XLOOKUP function to find Customer Type based on revenue.
FIGURE 2-42: Enter a comma to see choices for the next argument.
FIGURE 2-43: XLOOKUP results using approximate matching.
FIGURE 2-44: Using wildcard characters to perform complex searches.

Chapter 3

FIGURE 3-1: The values area of a pivot table calculates and counts data.
FIGURE 3-2: The row area of a pivot table gives you a row-oriented perspective.
FIGURE 3-3: The column area of a pivot table gives you a column-oriented perspe...
FIGURE 3-4: The filter area allows you to easily apply filters to a pivot table...
FIGURE 3-5: Start a pivot table via the Insert tab.
FIGURE 3-6: The Create PivotTable dialog box.
FIGURE 3-7: The PivotTable Fields task pane.
FIGURE 3-8: Select the Market check box.
FIGURE 3-9: Add the Sales Amount field by selecting its check box.
FIGURE 3-10: Adding a layer of analysis is as easy as bringing in another field...
FIGURE 3-11: Your business segments are now column-oriented.
FIGURE 3-12: Using pivot tables to analyze regions.
FIGURE 3-13: Refreshing your pivot table captures changes made to your data.
FIGURE 3-14: Changing the range that feeds the pivot table.
FIGURE 3-15: Select the new range that feeds the pivot table.
FIGURE 3-16: The three layouts for a pivot table report.
FIGURE 3-17: Changing the layout of the pivot table.
FIGURE 3-18: Right-click any value in the target field to select the Value Fiel...
FIGURE 3-19: Use the Custom Name input box to change the name of the field.
FIGURE 3-20: Changing the type of summary calculation used in a field.
FIGURE 3-21: Subtotals sometimes muddle the data you’re trying to show.
FIGURE 3-22: Use the Do Not Show Subtotals option to remove all subtotals at on...
FIGURE 3-23: The report shown in Figure 3-21, without subtotals.
FIGURE 3-24: Choose the None option to remove subtotals for one field.
FIGURE 3-25: To remove Bikes from this analysis …
FIGURE 3-26: … deselect the Bikes check box.
FIGURE 3-27: The analysis from Figure 3-25, without the Bikes segment.
FIGURE 3-28: Clicking the Select All check box forces all data items in that fi...
FIGURE 3-29: All sales periods are showing.
FIGURE 3-30: Filtering for the Europe region causes some sales periods to disap...
FIGURE 3-31: Click the Show Items with No Data option to force Excel to display...
FIGURE 3-32: All sales periods are now displayed, even if there is no data to b...
FIGURE 3-33: Applying a sort to a pivot table field.
FIGURE 3-34: Build this pivot table to start.
FIGURE 3-35: Select the Top 10 filter option.
FIGURE 3-36: Specify the filter you want to apply.
FIGURE 3-37: Filter your pivot table report to show Accessories.
FIGURE 3-38: The final report.
FIGURE 3-39: You can easily adapt this report to produce any combination of vie...
FIGURE 3-40: Select Clear Filters to clear the applied filters in a field.
FIGURE 3-41: Adding date fields will automatically group data by Years and Quar...
FIGURE 3-42: Click the plus and minus icons to expand or collapse time periods.
FIGURE 3-43: Ungrouping a date field to show individual dates.
FIGURE 3-44: The ungrouped Order Date field.
FIGURE 3-45: This view shows percent of total for the row.
FIGURE 3-46: Showing the percent of total for the column.
FIGURE 3-47: This view shows a running total of sales for each month.
FIGURE 3-48: Applying a running total based on the Order Date field.
FIGURE 3-49: Build a pivot table that contains the Sum of Sales Amount twice.
FIGURE 3-50: Comparing each Order Date month with the previous item.
FIGURE 3-51: The second Sum of Sales Amount field now displays the month-over-m...

Chapter 4

FIGURE 4-1: Starting a Power Query web query.
FIGURE 4-2: Enter the target URL containing the data you need.
FIGURE 4-3: Select the correct data source and then click the Transform Data bu...
FIGURE 4-4: The Query Editor window allows you to shape, clean, and transform d...
FIGURE 4-5: Change the data type of the High, Low, and Close fields to currency...
FIGURE 4-6: Select unneeded columns, and then select Remove Other Columns to ge...
FIGURE 4-7: Removing errors caused by text values that couldn’t be converted to...
FIGURE 4-8: You can use the Power Query Editor to apply transformation actions ...
FIGURE 4-9: The Load To dialog box gives you more control over how the results ...
FIGURE 4-10: Your final query pulled from the Internet: transformed, put into a...
FIGURE 4-11: Query steps can be viewed and managed in the Applied Steps section...
FIGURE 4-12: Right-click any query step to edit, rename, delete, or move the st...
FIGURE 4-13: Select the data sources you want to work with, and then click the ...
FIGURE 4-14: Preview the data and use the option drop-down menus to tell Power ...
FIGURE 4-15: Select the view you want imported, and then click the Load button.
FIGURE 4-16: The final imported database data.
FIGURE 4-17: Edit a data source by selecting it and clicking the Edit Permissio...
FIGURE 4-18: Click the Edit button in the Edit Permissions dialog box to change...

Chapter 5

FIGURE 5-1: A poorly designed table.
FIGURE 5-2: Remove unnecessary cell coloring.
FIGURE 5-3: Use the No Fill option to clear cell colors.
FIGURE 5-4: Minimize the use of borders and use the single accounting underline...
FIGURE 5-5: Use the Border tab of the Format Cells dialog box to customize your...
FIGURE 5-6: Single accounting underlines effectively call out your column heade...
FIGURE 5-7: Use number formatting to eliminate clutter in the table and draw at...
FIGURE 5-8: Send your labels and headers to the background by subduing their co...
FIGURE 5-9: Before and after applying table design principles.
FIGURE 5-10: Choose a base format.
FIGURE 5-11: The Type input box allows you to customize the syntax for the numb...
FIGURE 5-12: Go to the Custom screen of the Format Cells dialog box.
FIGURE 5-13: Formatting numbers applies only a cosmetic look. Look on the formu...
FIGURE 5-14: Custom number formatting that shows zeroes as n/a.
FIGURE 5-15: Dates and times can also be formatted using the Format Cells dialo...

Chapter 6

FIGURE 6-1: Although this KPI summary is useful, it cannot show a full-year tre...
FIGURE 6-2: Sparklines allow you to add trending in a compact space, enabling y...
FIGURE 6-3: Three types of sparklines.
FIGURE 6-4: Data that you want to summarize with sparkline graphics.
FIGURE 6-5: Use the Create Sparklines dialog box to specify the data range and ...
FIGURE 6-6: Column sparklines summarize the precipitation data for nine cities.
FIGURE 6-7: A sparkline at various sizes.
FIGURE 6-8: Sparklines in merged cells (E2:I7 and E9:I14).
FIGURE 6-9: Sparklines can use data in hidden rows or columns.
FIGURE 6-10: The bottom group of sparklines shows the effect of using the same ...
FIGURE 6-11: Sparklines display the number of pages read per month.
FIGURE 6-12: Using Win/Loss sparklines to display goal status.
FIGURE 6-13: The axis in the sparklines represents the goal.
FIGURE 6-14: The sparkline displays the values as though they are at equal time...
FIGURE 6-15: After you specify a date axis, the sparkline shows the values accu...
FIGURE 6-16: Creating a sparkline from data in a table.

Chapter 7

FIGURE 7-1: The predefined conditional formatting scenarios available in Excel.
FIGURE 7-2: The Highlight Cells Rules scenarios apply formats if specific condi...
FIGURE 7-3: Each scenario has its own dialog box you can use to define the trig...
FIGURE 7-4: Cells greater than 400 are formatted.
FIGURE 7-5: The Top/Bottom Rules scenarios apply formats if specific thresholds...
FIGURE 7-6: Each scenario has its own dialog box you can use to define the trig...
FIGURE 7-7: With conditional formatting, you can easily see that September thro...
FIGURE 7-8: Applying Data Bars.
FIGURE 7-9: Conditional formatting with Data Bars.
FIGURE 7-10: Applying Color Scales.
FIGURE 7-11: Conditional formatting with Color Scales.
FIGURE 7-12: Applying Icon Sets.
FIGURE 7-13: Conditional formatting with Icon Sets.
FIGURE 7-14: With a custom formatting rule, you can tag the above-average value...
FIGURE 7-15: Select the target range and then select New Rule.
FIGURE 7-16: Select the Format All Cells Based on Their Values rule and then us...
FIGURE 7-17: Change the Type drop-down boxes to Formula and enter the appropria...
FIGURE 7-18: Too many icons can hide the items you want to draw attention to.
FIGURE 7-19: Open the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager dialog box and click...
FIGURE 7-20: This new rule is meant to apply to any cell value that you don’t w...
FIGURE 7-21: Click Stop If True to tell Excel to stop evaluating those cells th...
FIGURE 7-22: This table is now formatted to show only one icon.
FIGURE 7-23: Showing Data Bars inside the same cell as values can make it diffi...
FIGURE 7-24: Edit the formatting rule to show only the Data Bars, not the data.
FIGURE 7-25: Data Bars, cleanly placed next to the data values.
FIGURE 7-26: Conditional Formatting Icon Sets enable trending visualizations.
FIGURE 7-27: The up arrow indicates an upward trend; the down arrow indicates a...
FIGURE 7-28: You can adjust the thresholds that define what up, down, and flat ...
FIGURE 7-29: Use symbols to add an extra layer of analysis to charts.
FIGURE 7-30: The starting data with a holding cell for symbols.
FIGURE 7-31: Use the Symbol dialog box to insert symbols into the holding cell.
FIGURE 7-32: Copy the newly inserted symbols to the Clipboard.
FIGURE 7-33: Create a custom number format using the symbols.
FIGURE 7-34: Your symbols are now part of the number formatting.
FIGURE 7-35: Add the Camera tool to the Quick Access toolbar.
FIGURE 7-36: Not surprisingly, the icon for the Camera tool looks like a camera...
FIGURE 7-37: Enter some simple numbers in a range and create a basic chart from...
FIGURE 7-38: A live picture is created via the Camera tool.
FIGURE 7-39: Use the Camera tool to get multiple source ranges into a compact a...
FIGURE 7-40: A peekaboo tab.
FIGURE 7-41: A deconstructed view of the peekaboo tab.
FIGURE 7-42: A visual banner made with shapes.
FIGURE 7-43: Combine shapes with a chart to save dashboard real estate.
FIGURE 7-44: Use the Edit Points feature to construct your own shape.
FIGURE 7-45: Using a newly constructed shape to create custom infographic eleme...

Chapter 8

FIGURE 8-1: Line charts are the chart of choice when you need to show trending ...
FIGURE 8-2: Area charts can be used to trend over a large time span.
FIGURE 8-3: Using columns and lines emphasizes the trending differences between...
FIGURE 8-4: Vertical scales should always start at zero.
FIGURE 8-5: Always set the Minimum value of the vertical axis to zero.
FIGURE 8-6: A standard linear scale doesn’t allow for accurate trending in this...
FIGURE 8-7: Using the logarithmic scale helps bring out trending in charts that...
FIGURE 8-8: Setting the vertical axis to logarithmic scale.
FIGURE 8-9: Choose to abbreviate category names instead of changing alignment.
FIGURE 8-10: To save real estate on your dashboard, try labeling only certain d...
FIGURE 8-11: A bar chart can prove to be effective when trending days extend to...
FIGURE 8-12: Excel is smart enough to recognize and plot multiple layers of lab...
FIGURE 8-13: You can show trends for different time periods side by side.
FIGURE 8-14: The source data needed to display side-by-side trends.
FIGURE 8-15: Change the chart type to Stacked Column Chart to present columns i...
FIGURE 8-16: If you want to separate each year with a space, simply add a space...
FIGURE 8-17: A stacked time comparison allows you to view and compare two years...
FIGURE 8-18: Start with a structure containing the data for two time periods.
FIGURE 8-19: You often need to trend two different units of measure, such as co...
FIGURE 8-20: The trending for percentage of labor cost gets lost at the bottom ...
FIGURE 8-21: Placing a data series on the secondary axis.
FIGURE 8-22: Thanks to the secondary axis, both trends are clearly defined.
FIGURE 8-23: Changing the chart type of one data series can underscore comparis...
FIGURE 8-24: The spike in October warrants emphasis.
FIGURE 8-25: Right-click a single data point to see a shortcut menu of options.
FIGURE 8-26: The chart now draws attention to the spike in October and provides...
FIGURE 8-27: Use a simple line to mark particular events along a trend.
FIGURE 8-28: You can easily see where sales trending ends and forecast trending...
FIGURE 8-29: Start with a table that places your actual data and your forecasts...
FIGURE 8-30: Directional trending (top) can help you reveal trends that may be ...
FIGURE 8-31: The volatile nature of this data makes it difficult to see the und...
FIGURE 8-32: A four-month moving average trend line has been added to smooth th...
FIGURE 8-33: Applying a 4-month moving average trend line.
FIGURE 8-34: A calculated smoothing column feeds a new series to your chart.
FIGURE 8-35: Plotting the smoothed data reveals the underlying trend.

Chapter 9

FIGURE 9-1: Top and bottom displays that emphasize certain metrics.
FIGURE 9-2: You can use conditional formatting to add visual components to your...
FIGURE 9-3: Start with a pivot table that contains the data you want to filter.
FIGURE 9-4: Select the Top 10 filter option.
FIGURE 9-5: Specify the filter you want to apply.
FIGURE 9-6: You can interactively filter the pivot table report to instantly sh...
FIGURE 9-7: You now have two pivot tables that show top and bottom displays.
FIGURE 9-8: This chart highlights the top five quarters with different font and...
FIGURE 9-9: Using the LARGE function returns the nth largest number from a data...
FIGURE 9-10: Build a new chart feeder that consists of formulas that plot value...
FIGURE 9-11: After you add data labels to the top five data series and do a bit...
FIGURE 9-12: Entering #,##0;; as the custom format for a data label hides all z...
FIGURE 9-13: Use the SMALL function to highlight the bottom values in a chart.
FIGURE 9-14: A histogram showing the distribution of units sold per month among...
FIGURE 9-15: Select your data then choose a Histogram as the chart type.
FIGURE 9-16: Excel’s initial attempt at creating a histogram.
FIGURE 9-17: Use the Format Axis task pane to adjust how the chart groups data ...
FIGURE 9-18: A cleaner histogram after making a few adjustments to the bins.
FIGURE 9-19: Start with your raw data table and a bin table.
FIGURE 9-20: Type the FREQUENCY formula you see here and then be sure to hold d...
FIGURE 9-21: Build a simple chart feeder table that creates appropriate labels ...
FIGURE 9-22: Plot your histogram data into a column chart.
FIGURE 9-23: To eliminate the spaces between columns, set the Gap Width to 0%.
FIGURE 9-24: The cumulative percent series shows the percent of the population ...
FIGURE 9-25: In a new column, create a formula that calculates the percent of t...
FIGURE 9-26: The initial chart will need some formatting to make it look like a...
FIGURE 9-27: Place your data values in the Rows drop zone and the Sales Rep fie...
FIGURE 9-28: The Grouping dialog box.
FIGURE 9-29: The result of grouping the values in the row area is a frequency d...

Chapter 10

FIGURE 10-1: A typical chart showing performance against a target.
FIGURE 10-2: Consider using variances to plot performance against a target.
FIGURE 10-3: Measuring data when there’s no target for a measure.
FIGURE 10-4: Start a new column and enter a formula.
FIGURE 10-5: Thermometer-style charts offer a unique way to show performance ag...
FIGURE 10-6: Bullet graphs display multiple perspectives in an incredibly compa...
FIGURE 10-7: The parts of a bullet graph.
FIGURE 10-8: Start with data that contains the main data points of the bullet g...
FIGURE 10-9: Switch the orientation of the chart to read from columns.
FIGURE 10-10: Use the Change Chart Type dialog box to change the Target series ...
FIGURE 10-11: Adjust the marker to a dash.
FIGURE 10-12: Be sure to delete the newly created secondary vertical axis.
FIGURE 10-13: Your formatted bullet graph.
FIGURE 10-14: To add more data to your chart, manually expand the chart’s data ...
FIGURE 10-15: Expanding the data source automatically creates new bullet graphs...
FIGURE 10-16: Try setting gap widths to zero to create clean-looking qualitativ...
FIGURE 10-17: Rotate all labels so that they’re on their sides.
FIGURE 10-18: A horizontal bullet graph.
FIGURE 10-19: You can create a component that plots performance against a targe...
FIGURE 10-20: Create a chart feeder that contains formulas that define the data...
FIGURE 10-21: Add a row for the performance values.
FIGURE 10-22: Use the Change Chart Type dialog box to change the Values series ...
FIGURE 10-23: Format the Lower Limit series so that it’s hidden.

Chapter 11

FIGURE 11-1: Enabling the Developer tab.
FIGURE 11-2: The Record Macro dialog box.
FIGURE 11-3: Start recording a new macro called AddDataBars.
FIGURE 11-4: Start recording a new macro called RemoveDataBars.
FIGURE 11-5: Use the Macro dialog box to select a macro and run it.
FIGURE 11-6: Your macro applies Data Bars automatically!
FIGURE 11-7: The RemoveDataBars macro removes the applied Data Bars.
FIGURE 11-8: You can find the Form Controls menu on the Developer tab.
FIGURE 11-9: Assign a macro to the newly added button.
FIGURE 11-10: The Trusted Locations menu allows you to add directories that are...
FIGURE 11-11: Use macros to build buttons that help users navigate your reports...
FIGURE 11-12: This report allows users to choose their perspective.
FIGURE 11-13: The macros behind these buttons rearrange the data fields in a pi...
FIGURE 11-14: Macros can offer your users prerecorded views.
FIGURE 11-15: You can give your audience a choice in how they view data.
FIGURE 11-16: Form controls and ActiveX controls.
FIGURE 11-17: Nine labeled Form controls that you can add to your worksheet.
FIGURE 11-18: Right-click and select Format Control to open a dialog box with t...
FIGURE 11-19: Formatting the Check Box control.
FIGURE 11-20: The two states of the check box.
FIGURE 11-21: A check box can help create the disappearing data series effect.
FIGURE 11-22: Start with raw data and a cell in which a Check Box control can o...
FIGURE 11-23: Create a staging table that will feed the chart. The values of th...
FIGURE 11-24: When cell A12 reads True, 2020 data is displayed; when it reads F...
FIGURE 11-25: You can use check boxes to control how much data is shown in your...
FIGURE 11-26: Formatting the Option Button control.
FIGURE 11-27: This chart is dynamically fed different data based on the selecte...
FIGURE 11-28: Start with the raw data sets and a cell where the option buttons ...
FIGURE 11-29: Create a staging table and enter this formula in the first cell.
FIGURE 11-30: Formatting the Combo Box control.
FIGURE 11-31: Use combo boxes to give your users an intuitive drop-down selecto...
FIGURE 11-32: Start with the raw data set and a cell where the combo box can ou...
FIGURE 11-33: Create a staging table that uses the INDEX function to extract th...
FIGURE 11-34: Create a chart using this clean staging table.
FIGURE 11-35: Formatting the List Box control.
FIGURE 11-36: This list box feeds the region selection to multiple charts, chan...
FIGURE 11-37: Start with the raw data sets that contain one line per region.
FIGURE 11-38: Add a list box and note the cell where the output value will be p...
FIGURE 11-39: Use the CHOOSE function to capture the correct data corresponding...
FIGURE 11-40: Create similar CHOOSE formulas for each row/category of data, and...

Chapter 12

FIGURE 12-1: Default pivot table Filter fields do not work together to limit fi...
FIGURE 12-2: Filter fields show the text (Multiple Items) when multiple selecti...
FIGURE 12-3: Slicers work together to show you relevant data items based on you...
FIGURE 12-4: Slicers do a better job of displaying multiple item selections.
FIGURE 12-5: Select the dimensions for which you want slicers created.
FIGURE 12-6: Select the dimensions you want filtered using slicers.
FIGURE 12-7: The fact that you can see the current filter state gives slicers a...
FIGURE 12-8: Click the Clear Filter icon to reset the slicer.
FIGURE 12-9: Adjust the slicer size and placement by dragging the circular posi...
FIGURE 12-10: The Format Slicer pane offers more control over how the slicer be...
FIGURE 12-11: Adjust the Number of Columns property to display the slicer data ...
FIGURE 12-12: The Slicer Settings dialog box.
FIGURE 12-13: Examples of how drastically different you can make your slicers l...
FIGURE 12-14: The Slicer Styles gallery has an option for you to create your ow...
FIGURE 12-15: The New Slicer Style dialog box.
FIGURE 12-16: Slicers allow you to format each element separately.
FIGURE 12-17: You can modify, duplicate, or delete any of your custom styles.
FIGURE 12-18: Choose the pivot tables that will be filtered by this slicer.
FIGURE 12-19: Select the date fields for which you want slicers created.
FIGURE 12-20: Click a date selection to filter your pivot table or pivot chart.
FIGURE 12-21: You can expand the range on the Timeline slicer to include more d...
FIGURE 12-22: Quickly switch among quarters, years, months, and days.
FIGURE 12-23: You can hijack pivot slicers and use them as more attractive Form...
FIGURE 12-24: Create a simple table that holds the names you want for your cont...
FIGURE 12-25: Create a slicer for the Metric field.
FIGURE 12-26: Use the Slicer Settings dialog to uncheck the Display Header sett...
FIGURE 12-27: Clicking an item in the slicer filters out the correct index numb...
FIGURE 12-28: Use the filtered trigger cell to drive the formulas in the stagin...
FIGURE 12-29: The final staging table fed via the slicer.
FIGURE 12-30: You can use slicers to filter Table objects.

Chapter 13

FIGURE 13-1: The file-sharing options are hidden away in the Save As dialog box...
FIGURE 13-2: Type the password needed to modify the file.
FIGURE 13-3: A password is now needed to make changes to the file.
FIGURE 13-4: Type the password needed to open the file.
FIGURE 13-5: Though this sheet is protected, users can enter their data into th...
FIGURE 13-6: To ensure that a cell remains unlocked when the worksheet is prote...
FIGURE 13-7: Click Protect Sheet on the Review tab.
FIGURE 13-8: Specify a password that removes worksheet protection.
FIGURE 13-9: The Unprotect Sheet dialog box removes worksheet protection.
FIGURE 13-10: The Protect Structure and Windows dialog box.
FIGURE 13-11: Select Paste Special from the Home tab in PowerPoint.
FIGURE 13-12: Be sure to select Paste Link and set the link as an Excel Chart O...
FIGURE 13-13: Your Excel chart is now linked into your new PowerPoint presentat...
FIGURE 13-14: With a linked chart, you can make changes to the raw data without...
FIGURE 13-15: You can manually update links.
FIGURE 13-16: PowerPoint, by default, asks whether you want to update all links...
FIGURE 13-17: Open the dialog box to manage your links.
FIGURE 13-18: Deselect the Automatic Update check box to turn off automatic lin...
FIGURE 13-19: You can export your Excel workbook to PDF.
FIGURE 13-20: Select a location for your PDF; then click the Options button.
FIGURE 13-21: Excel allows you to define what gets sent to PDF.
FIGURE 13-22: Click the More Options hyperlink.
FIGURE 13-23: You have full control over which sheets and objects are available...
FIGURE 13-24: Sharing options in an Excel web document.

Chapter 14

FIGURE 14-1: Fancy formatting can be overwhelming, subduing the very data you’r...
FIGURE 14-2: Charts should present data as simply as possible.
FIGURE 14-3: Charts with too many chart elements can become convoluted and hard...
FIGURE 14-4: Formatting large numbers to millions or thousands makes for a clea...
FIGURE 14-5: Select Custom in the Category list, and enter a number format code...
FIGURE 14-6: Data tables enable you to show data values without overloading you...
FIGURE 14-7: Adding a data table to a chart.
FIGURE 14-8: The Format Data Table task pane.
FIGURE 14-9: Use chart titles to present extra layers of data without taking up...
FIGURE 14-10: Using sorted data in a chart improves readability and clarity.
FIGURE 14-11: Pie charts can’t clearly represent more than two or three data ca...
FIGURE 14-12: Bar charts are an alternative to pie charts when you have more th...
FIGURE 14-13: Sometimes you work with so much data that your charts no longer m...
FIGURE 14-14: Creating separate, individual charts is often better than one con...
FIGURE 14-15: A skewed aspect ratio can distort your charts.

Chapter 15

FIGURE 15-1: Don’t use charts for charting’s sake.

Introduction

The term business intelligence (BI), coined by Howard Dresner of Gartner, Inc., describes the set of concepts and methods to improve business decision-making by using fact-based support systems. Practically speaking, BI is what you get when you analyze raw data and turn that analysis into knowledge. BI can help an organization identify cost-cutting opportunities, uncover new business opportunities, recognize changing business environments, identify data anomalies, and create widely accessible reports.

Over the past few years, the BI concept has overtaken corporate executives who are eager to turn impossible amounts of data into knowledge. As a result of this trend, whole industries have been created. Software vendors that focus on BI and dashboarding are coming out of the woodwork. New consulting firms touting their BI knowledge are popping up virtually every week. And even the traditional enterprise solution providers, like Business Objects and SAP, are offering new BI capabilities.

This need for BI has manifested itself in many forms. Most recently, it has come in the form of dashboard fever. Dashboards are reporting mechanisms that deliver business intelligence in a graphical form.

Maybe you’ve been hit with dashboard fever. Or maybe your manager is hitting you with dashboard fever. Nevertheless, you’re probably holding this book because you’re being asked to create BI solutions (that is, dashboards) in Excel.

Although many IT managers would scoff at the thought of using Excel as a BI tool, Excel is inherently part of the enterprise BI tool portfolio. Whether or not IT managers are keen to acknowledge it, most of the data analysis and reporting done in business today is done by using a spreadsheet. You have several significant reasons to use Excel as the platform for your dashboards and reports, including

Tool familiarity: If you work in corporate America, you are conversant in the language of Excel. You can send even the most seasoned of senior vice presidents an Excel-based reporting tool and trust that they will know what to do with it. With an Excel reporting process, your users spend less time figuring out how to use the tool and more time looking at the data.
Built-in flexibility: In most enterprise dashboarding solutions, the capability to perform analyses outside the predefined views is either disabled or unavailable. How many times have you dumped enterprise-level data into Excel so that you can analyze it yourself? I know I have. You can bet that if you give users an inflexible reporting mechanism, they’ll do what it takes to create their own usable reports. In Excel, features such as pivot tables, autofilters, and Form controls let you create mechanisms that don’t lock your audience into one view. And because you can have multiple worksheets in one workbook, you can give your audience space to do their own side analysis as needed.
Rapid development: Building your own reporting capabilities in Excel can liberate you from the IT department’s resource and time limitations. With Excel, not only can you develop reporting mechanisms faster, but you also have the flexibility to adapt more quickly to changing requirements.
Powerful data connectivity and automation capabilities: Excel is not the toy application some IT managers make it out to be. With its own native programming language and its robust object model, Excel can be used to automate processes and can import data from a wide range of external data sources. With a few advanced techniques, you can make Excel a hands-off reporting mechanism that practically runs on its own.
Little to no incremental costs: Not all of us can work for multibillion-dollar companies that can afford enterprise-level reporting solutions. In most companies, funding for new computers and servers is limited, let alone funding for expensive BI reporting packages. For those companies, leveraging Microsoft Office is frankly the most cost-effective way to deliver key business reporting tools without compromising too deeply on usability and functionality.

All that being said, it’s true that Excel has so many reporting functions and tools that it’s difficult to know where to start. Enter your humble author, spirited into your hands via this book. Here, I show you how you can turn Excel into your own personal BI tool. Using a few fundamentals and some of the new BI functionality that Microsoft has included in this latest version of Excel, you can go from reporting data with simple tables to creating meaningful reporting components that are sure to wow management.

About This Book

The goal of this book is to show you how to leverage Excel functionality to build and manage better reporting mechanisms. Each chapter in this book provides a comprehensive review of the technical and analytical concepts that help you create better reporting components — components that can be used for both dashboards and reports. It’s important to note that this book is not a guide to visualizations or dashboarding best practices — although those subjects are worthy of their own book. This book is focused on the technical aspects of using Excel’s various tools and functionality and applying them to reporting.

The chapters in this book are designed to be standalone chapters that you can selectively refer to as needed. As you move through this book, you’ll be able to create increasingly sophisticated dashboard and report components. After reading this book, you’ll be able to

Analyze large amounts of data and report them in a meaningful way.
Gain better visibility into data from different perspectives.
Quickly slice data into various views on the fly.
Automate redundant reporting and analyses.
Create interactive reporting processes.

This book covers features released as of the October 2021 update of Office 365. The functionality covered here is available to those on Office 365 subscriptions and those using the standalone (perpetual license) version of Office/Excel 2021 for the desktop. Please note that this book is not applicable to Microsoft Excel for Mac.

Excel is available in several versions, including a web version and a version for tablets and phones. Though this book was written for the desktop version of Excel, much of the information here will also apply to the web and tablet versions.

Over the last few years, Microsoft has adopted an agile release cycle, releasing updates to Office 365 practically on a monthly basis. This is great news for those who love seeing new features added to Excel. It’s not so great if you’re trying to document the features of these tools in a book.

Microsoft will likely continue to add new bells and whistles to Excel at a rapid pace after this book is published. So you may encounter new functionality not covered in this book. That said, Excel has a broad feature set, much of which is stable and here to stay. So, even though changes will be made to Excel, they won’t be so drastic as to turn this book into a doorstop. The core functionality covered in this book will remain relevant — even if the mechanics change a bit.

Foolish Assumptions

I make three assumptions about you as the reader. I assume that you

Have already installed Microsoft Excel.
Have some familiarity with the basic concepts of data analysis, such as working with tables, aggregating data, and performing calculations.
Have a strong grasp of basic Excel concepts such as managing table structures, creating formulas, referencing cells, filtering, and sorting.

Icons Used in This Book

As you read this book, you’ll see icons in the margins that indicate material of interest (or not, as the case may be).This section briefly describes each icon in this book.

Tips are nice because they help you save time or perform a task without having to do a lot of extra work. The tips in this book are time-saving techniques or pointers to resources that you should try in order to get the maximum benefit from Excel.

Try to avoid doing anything marked with a Warning icon, which (as you might expect) represents a danger of one sort or another.

Whenever you see this icon, think advanced tip or technique. You might find these tidbits of useful information too boring for words, or they could contain the solution you need to get a program running. Skip these bits of information whenever you like.

If you don’t get anything else out of a particular chapter or section, remember the material marked by this icon. This text usually contains an essential process or a bit of information you ought to remember.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the book you have in your hands, you can access some extra content online. Check out the free Cheat Sheet for tips on adding symbol fonts to your Excel dashboards and reports, as well as a list of online resources for even more information on Excel dashboards and reports. Just go to www.dummies.com and type Microsoft Excel Dashboards & Reports For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.

If you want to follow along with the examples in this book, you can download the sample files at www.dummies.com/go/exceldashboardsreportsfd4e. The files are organized by chapter.

Where to Go from Here

It’s time to start your Excel dashboarding adventure! If you’re a complete dashboard novice, start with Chapter 1 and progress through the book at a pace that allows you to absorb as much of the material as possible. If you’ve got the basics down and you’re interested in advanced charting techniques that help create meaningful visualizations, skip to Part 3. Turn to Part 4 for an in-depth look at turning your basic dashboards into macro-driven interactive reporting.

Part 1

Getting Started with Excel Dashboards and Reports

IN THIS PART …

Discover how to think about your data in terms of creating effective dashboards and reports and get a solid understanding of the fundamentals and basic ground rules for creating effective dashboards and reports.

Uncover the best practices for setting up the source data for your dashboards and reports and explore the key Excel functions that help you build effective dashboard models.