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Excel 2020: Line Up Dashboard Sections with Different Column Widths

June 08, 2020 - by

Excel Line Up Dashboard Sections with Different Column Widths. Photo Credit: rawpixel at Unsplash.com

If you are anything like me, you often need to fit a lot of data into a small area in a dashboard. What if columns in one dashboard tile don‘t line up with columns in another tile? Using a linked picture will solve the problem. In the figure below, the report in A1:M9 requires 13 columns. But the report in Rows 11:13 needs that same space to be two columns. I am never one to recommend merged cells, so let‘s not broach that evil topic.

A classic problem - rows 2:9 need to show narrow data in columns B:M. Rows 12:13 need wide data in column B.

Instead, go to another section of the workbook and build the report tile. Copy the cells that encompass the tile.

Go far off to the right, and build the 2-column report in P & Q. Copy this report to the clipboard with Ctrl+C

Select where you want the tile to appear. On the Home tab, click on the lower half of the Paste dropdown to open the paste options. The last icon is Paste Picture Link. Click that icon. A live picture of the other cells appears.

Paste the two wide columns as a Linked Picture below the narrow columns.

Title Photo: rawpixel at Unsplash.com

This article is an excerpt from MrExcel 2020 - Seeing Excel Clearly.