What do you use Excel for?

[Chris Stamford]

I have a question for those people, whose work is not connected with Excel very tighly. For what purposes do you use Excel for?

 

[Joe4]

Though I do use it for work, I do also use it for a bunch of non-work related purporses, such as:
- I created a program to automatically balance my checkbook in Excel (I just make the line entry, as it does all the balancing)
- do loan payment calculations when I am shopping for a new car
- store important information in lists that I can sort and filter, as I need

 

[Chris Stamford]

Thank you! I just wanted to know how I can use Excel more efficiently.

 

[Joe4]

From some of the posts online here over the years, I have also seen people use it to Catalog their music, movies, books, etc.
There are lots of different ways you can use it, depending on your needs and interests.

 

[smozgur]

There are lots of different ways you can use it, depending on your needs and interests.

I totally agree!

From my experience, Excel doesn't come to you without you having a requirement/need but you eventually end up working in Excel when you realize that you can do almost all kinds of data manipulation with it. The following is just a sample that might give another usage idea.

When I import data from other sources to a database, like Excel, text/CSV files, etc., I often use Excel to create SQL statements, so I can manipulate data as I wish before the import. Following is a sample of creating INSERT INTO statements to be executed to transfer data. Although this is for creating data, I use the same logic to create UPDATE statements which make things really faster.
(Names and information in the mini-sheets below are not real)

Book4
	A	B	C	D	E	F
1	First Name	Last Name	City	State	Zip	SQL Statement
2	James	Butt	New Orleans	LA	70116	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('James', 'Butt', 'New Orleans', 'LA', '70116');
3	Josephine	Darakjy	Brighton	MI	48116	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Josephine', 'Darakjy', 'Brighton', 'MI', '48116');
4	Art	Venere	Bridgeport	NJ	8014	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Art', 'Venere', 'Bridgeport', 'NJ', '8014');
5	Lenna	Paprocki	Anchorage	AK	99501	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Lenna', 'Paprocki', 'Anchorage', 'AK', '99501');
6	Donette	Foller	Hamilton	OH	45011	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Donette', 'Foller', 'Hamilton', 'OH', '45011');
7	Simona	Morasca	Ashland	OH	44805	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Simona', 'Morasca', 'Ashland', 'OH', '44805');
8	Mitsue	Tollner	Chicago	IL	60632	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Mitsue', 'Tollner', 'Chicago', 'IL', '60632');
9	Leota	Dilliard	San Jose	CA	95111	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Leota', 'Dilliard', 'San Jose', 'CA', '95111');
10	Sage	Wieser	Sioux Falls	SD	57105	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Sage', 'Wieser', 'Sioux Falls', 'SD', '57105');
11	Kris	Marrier	Baltimore	MD	21224	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Kris', 'Marrier', 'Baltimore', 'MD', '21224');
12	Minna	Amigon	Kulpsville	PA	19443	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Minna', 'Amigon', 'Kulpsville', 'PA', '19443');
13	Abel	Maclead	Middle Island	NY	11953	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Abel', 'Maclead', 'Middle Island', 'NY', '11953');
14	Kiley	Caldarera	Los Angeles	CA	90034	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Kiley', 'Caldarera', 'Los Angeles', 'CA', '90034');
15	Graciela	Ruta	Chagrin Falls	OH	44023	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Graciela', 'Ruta', 'Chagrin Falls', 'OH', '44023');
16	Cammy	Albares	Laredo	TX	78045	INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('Cammy', 'Albares', 'Laredo', 'TX', '78045');
customer data

Cell Formulas
Range	Formula
F2:F16	F2	="INSERT INTO customer VALUES ('" & A2 &"', '" & B2 &"', '" & C2 &"', '" & D2 &"', '" & E2 &"');"

Not only for SQL but generating text content in Excel by using formulas and its tabular structure easily helps me a lot in many other applications. The following is a sample of an HTML list that I will use in a static HTML page and created quickly instead of typing all those in the editor:

Book4
	A	B	C
1	First Name	Last Name	<ul>
2	James	Butt	<li>James Butt</li>
3	Josephine	Darakjy	<li>Josephine Darakjy</li>
4	Art	Venere	<li>Art Venere</li>
5	Lenna	Paprocki	<li>Lenna Paprocki</li>
6	Donette	Foller	<li>Donette Foller</li>
7	Simona	Morasca	<li>Simona Morasca</li>
8	Mitsue	Tollner	<li>Mitsue Tollner</li>
9	Leota	Dilliard	<li>Leota Dilliard</li>
10	Sage	Wieser	<li>Sage Wieser</li>
11	Kris	Marrier	<li>Kris Marrier</li>
12	Minna	Amigon	<li>Minna Amigon</li>
13	Abel	Maclead	<li>Abel Maclead</li>
14	Kiley	Caldarera	<li>Kiley Caldarera</li>
15	Graciela	Ruta	<li>Graciela Ruta</li>
16	Cammy	Albares	<li>Cammy Albares</li>
17			</ul>
html list data

Cell Formulas
Range	Formula
C2:C16	C2	="<li>" & A2 & " " & B2 & "</li>"

 

[Chris Stamford]

Wow, thank you very much for such a detailed description!

 

[taurean]

In our organization, I recently worked on creating a VBA based tool that
> Creates multiple AutoCAD Drawings based on a selected template
> Opens AutoCAD, updates the drawings by mapping the values assigned in a table.
It translates Engineer's work directly to drawings and reduces manual work and review time.

As you go on digging, you will find Excel with its powerful features, creates a vast array of endless possibilities. Keep exceling!!

 

[Ironman]

I've kept a running (exercise) log in Excel since 1998 and thanks to the marvellous, clever and selfless folk on this board who've tirelessly helped me out, it's become an amazing app and a pleasure to use.

 

[equidna]

I used to scrap data for my PhD.

 

[vince77]

I do a lot data processing and filteration, creating reports for my company and for that excel is my go to tool