TableofContents

TitlePage

Acknowledgments

Copyright

UsingForms

ExcelModelDataStructure

FormObjects

OtherLessons

MasteringExcelUserFormsMarkMoore

AcknowledgmentsIwouldliketothankSharonDeitchforherinvaluablehelpintesting,proofreadingandmakingthisinformationasclearaspossible.Itendtoskipstepshereandthere.Sharonkeepsmeinline.

Copyright©2015byMarkMoore.Allrightsreservedworldwide.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereplicated,redistributed,orgivenawayinanyformwithoutthepriorwrittenconsentoftheauthor/publisherorthetermsrelayedtoyouherein.

UserInterfaceWhyshouldyouuseaform?Becauseitgivesyoumorecontroloverdatacollection.ByusingExcel’sbuilt-informobjects,youcanlimitwhattheusercaninput.Formsalsogiveyouanalternatewaytodisplayoptionstheusercanmake.YourExcelmodelcanthenreacttothechoicesmadebytheuser.Withoutforms,userinputsarelimitedtotypinginnumbersortextinacell.Usingformsgivestheuseraricherexperience.

Youcandownloadthefollowalongworkbookatmywebsite:http://markmoorebooks.com/user-forms/

Youwillneedtosignupandtheclickonthelinkintheconfirmationemail.Thenyouwillreceiveanemailwiththeworkbooksattached.EmailsmightgetcaughtinyourSpamfoldersomakesureyoucheckitifyoudon’tgettheemailwithinafewminutes.

AddingFormsAlltheformobjectsarelocatedontheDevelopertab.

IfyoudonothavetheDevelopertabvisible,dothefollowing(inExcel2013):

1–OntheFiletab,clickOptions.

3–IntheExcelOptionsdialogbox,clickonCustomizeRibbon.

4-Inthewindowontheright,selectDeveloper.

ToshowtheDevelopertabinExcel2007:

1. ClicktheOfficebutton,andthenclickExcelOptions.2. ClickPopularatthetopoftheleftwindow,andthenclickShowDeveloperTabin

the

Ribbon.

3.ClickInsert,andyouwillseethisboxappearintheRibbon:

FormControlsvs.ActiveXControls

You’llnoticethatthedrop-downboxhastwosections,FormControlsandActiveXcontrols.

FormControlsarebuiltintoExcel.TheyarebackwardscompatibletoExcel5.Youcanuseformcontrolswithorwithoutmacros.TheyaresimpletouseandcanmeetmostofregularExcelusers’needs.

ActiveXControlsarebasedontheActiveXtechnology(developedbyMicrosoft).ThesecontrolsareloadedbyExcelandhavemuchmoreflexibilitythantheFormControls(youcancontroljustaboutanythingonanActiveXControl,fontstyle,fontcolor,etc.).However,ActiveXControlshaveafewdrawbacks.SomeActiveXControlscannotbeuseddirectlyonaworksheetbutratherneedacustomform(wewillcoverthislater).ManycomputerswillnotallowActiveXtorunnatively,soyouwillhavetoaddthefiletotheTrustedSites(eventhentheITdepartmentmightnotallowit).Lastly,theycanbeunstableandcrashunexpectedly.

Therefore,fortherestofthelesson,youwillbeusingFormControls.

UsingFormsToreallyunderstandhowtouseforms,youaregoingtousethesampledatainthefollowalongworkbooktobuildseveralmini-dashboards.Eachdashboardusesoneformcomponent,soyoucangetexperiencewitheachobject.IbuilddashboardsaparticularwaythatleveragesExcel’sabilitytoextractdatafromadatabase.IexplainedthistopicindetailintheMasteringExcel:PivotTableslesson.Ifyouhavenotreadthatlessonorit’sbeenawhilesinceyoureadit,here’saquickreview.

ExcelModelDataStructureToleverageyourtimeandmakeyourExcelmodelasflexibleaspossible,youshouldthinkofbuildingyourmodelwiththreedistinctlayers.

DataLayer

Thisisthefoundationofyourreports.ThisisanextractfromGreatPlains,Oracle,SAP,orwhateversystemyouuse.Eachfieldneedstohaveatitleandmustcontainsimilardata.Forexample,ifthecolumnhasatitleofName,theentirecolumnneedstohavenamesinit.Don’tsticksomeone’semployeeIDinthere.AddanothercolumnforEmployeeID.Itmakesnosenseto‘save’acolumn.Exceldoesn’tcareandyouhave16,000columns,useasmanyasyouneed.

Thedatawillendatthefirstcompletelyemptyrowandthefirstcompletelyemptycolumn.Donotaddemptyrowstomakethedatamorereadable.Dataisnotsupposedtobereadable.Itissimplyusedtostorerandomfacts.Yourreportsarewhatneedstobereadable.

Hereisascreenshotofasampledatalayer:

ReportLayer

Thisisthelayerthateveryonesees.Ithasthecharts,PivotTable,reports,prettycolors,logos,etc.Youmakethisoneshineandlookgreat.Thisisthelayerthatgetsprintedanddisplayedinpresentations.

BusinessLogic

ThisiswhattiestogethertheDatalayerandtheReportlayer.Thesearetheformulas,

charts,andothercalculationsthatextractdatafromthedatalayerandconvertitintoinformation.

Thelayersarewhatiscalled‘looselycoupled’.Thismeansthatalthoughtheycommunicatewitheachother,youcanchangeonelayerwithoutaffectingtheother.Forexample,youwon’thavetorebuildyourentiremodelwhenanewfieldisaddedtothedatalayer.

Howdoformsfitin?FormsliveintheReportlayer.Theyallowyouruserstohavesomedecision-makingcapabilitiestochangetheinformation.Forexample,ifyoubuiltareportthatshowedJanuaryresultsthatwouldonlyworkforapersonthatwantedtoseeJanuarydata.YouwouldhavetobuildanotherreporttoshowFebruarydata.Attheendoftheyearyouwouldendupwith12reports.Instead,Isuggestyoubuildareportthatallowstheuserstochoosewhichmonththeywanttosee.Onereportnowcanbesentto12people,eachofwhomwantstoseeadifferentmonth.Withalittlebitofadvanceplanning,youhaveincreasedtheefficiencyofthisreport12timesover.Makesense?

ButtonThebuttonisthesimplestofformobjectstouse.Theprincipalfunctionofthebuttoncontrolistorunamacrobyclickingthebutton.

Eventhoughthislessondoesnotgointomacros,youcancreateabuttoncontroltoseehowitworks.

Youcandownloadthefollowalongworkbookatmywebsite:http://markmoorebooks.com/user-forms/

1-OpentheForms.xlsxfollowalongworkbook.

2-SelecttheButtonworksheet

3–OntheDevelopertab,clickInsert,andthenclickthebuttoniconunderFormControls.

Yourmouseiconwillchangetoasmallcross-hair.

6-Clickanddragthecross-hairtocreateabutton

Whenyoureleasethemouse,theAssignmacrodialogboxappears.

Ifyouhadamacrorecordedinthisworkbook,youcouldassignittothisbutton.Thenallyouneedtodotorunthemacroisclickthebutton.

7-Eventhoughyoudon’thaveamacro,clickOK

Thisishowmybuttonlooks:

Noticehowthebuttonhasthesmallsquaresaroundtheedges?Thatmeansyoucaneditthebutton.Draggingthesquarehandlesletsyouresizethebutton.Ifyouclickonthetext‘Button1’,youcanchangethetextinsidethebutton.

Ifyoudonothavethesquarehandles,youcannotedit(i.e.,Design)thebutton.Togetintodesignmode,right-clickthebuttontomakethesquarehandlesappear.

WhenyouarenotinDesignmode,themousecursorwillturnintoasmallhandindicatingyoucanclickthebutton.

Isthisparticularexample,ifyouclickthebutton,itreturnsanerror.

Thisisbecauseyoudidnothaveanymacrosavailabletoassigntothebutton.

ComboBoxAcombobox(shortforcombinationbox)isaboxwheretheusercaneithertypeinavalidvalue(likeatextboxthatwewillcoverlater)orshowalistofacceptablevalues(likealistbox,whichwewillalsocoverlater).

YouaregoingtobuildareportthatallowsuserstoseeSalesbySalespersonbytheStatetheyselect.

1-OpentheForms.xlsxfollowalongworkbook.

2-SelecttheComboBoxworksheet

3-OntheDevelopertab,ClickInsert,andthenclickComboBox.

4-Clickanddragtocreatethecombobox

Thecomboboxhasbeencreatedbutitdoesn’tdoanything;youneedtochangethepropertiestomakeitfunctional.

5-Right-clickthecomboboxandthenclickFormatControl

Inthiswindow,youcanadjustallthebehaviorsandappearanceofthecombobox.Allformitemsyouwillbuildwillhaveasimilarpropertiesboxwhereyouwillmakeitemsfunctional.Let’srevieweachtab.

Size

Thesizetabiswhereyoucanchangetheheightandwidthofthecombobox.Youcanalsoresizeusingthesquarehandlesontheobjectitself.However,thistabgivesyouprecisesizingcontrol.

Protection

Lockingacontroldoesnothinguntilyouprotecttheworksheet.Ifaformobjectislocked(allobjectsarelockedbydefault),whenyouapplyExcelprotection,otherswillnotbeabletochangetheformobject.Thisisusuallythebehaviorthatyouwant.Ifyouunlocktheformobject,thenwhenyouprotecttheworksheet,userswillstillbeabletochangetheformobject.

Properties

Selecting‘Movebutdon’tsizewithcells’meansthatifyouinsertseveralcolumnsorrows,theformobjectwillalsomoveintandemwiththeinsertions.Ifyouselectthesecondoption,‘Don’tmoveorsizewithcells,’theobjectwillnotbeaffectedbyanyinsertionsordeletionsofrows/columns.Theobjectwillstaywhereyouputit.

AltText

IfyouaregoingtopublishyourExcelfiletotheweb,somebrowsersmightnotbeabletodisplaytheformobject.Forthosecases,youcaninsertexplanatorytexthere.

FormatControl

Thisiswherethemagichappens!

InputRange:Thisiswhatthecomboboxwilldisplay

CellLink:Thecellthatwillbedesignatedtostorethechosenvalue

Dropdownlines:Howmanylinestoshow

3-Dshading:Addsabitofshadingtothebox

Inthismodel,Ibuiltaworksheettostoreallthevariouslookupsyouwillbeusing.ThiscomboboxwillbepopulatedwithalltheUSStates.Youcouldhaveputthelistof50StatesdirectlyintheComboBoxworksheetbutwhydothat?Ifnextweekyouneedtoaddmorecharts,pivottables,orwhatevertothismini-dashboard,youaregoingtohavetorememberthatyouhavealistthatneedstobehiddenormovedover.Itismucheasiertohaveonespecificworksheetwithallyourlookupsandthenhidetheentireworksheetbeforedistributingthefiletoothers.

7-ClicktheInputrangebox.

8-SelecttheLookupssheet

9-SelectrangeA2:A51

10-ClicktheCelllinkbox

11-SelectcellF2intheComboBoxsheet

YourFormatControltabshouldlooklikethis:

12-ClickOK

ChooseaStateandlookatwhathappens.

Thecomboboxdoesn’tputthestateyouchoseincellF2.ItputthenumberofthechoiceyoumadeincellF2.Inotherwords,Arizonaisthethirdmemberinthebox’schoicessotheboxputsinthenumber3inthecell.Yes,it’skindofannoyingbutwecandealwithit.

13-Bestpracticetip:Shadethecelllinkcell!Whenyouhavemanyformobjectswithmanycelllinks,itiseasytoforgetwheretheyare.Shadethecellacertaincolorsoyoucanidentifythemeasily.

GoaheadandshadeF2withanycoloryoulike.Iamalsogoingtolabelthecelllinkcell.Right-clickthecomboboxandlookattheNameboxtoseethenameExcelhasgiventhecombobox.MycomboboxisnamedDropDown4.

Onemorethingbeforewemoveon.Thecelllinkcelldoesnothavetobeinthecomboboxworksheet;youcanputitinthelookupworksheettopreventanyclutterofthedashboardworksheet.However,untilyougetcomfortablewithusingforms,Iwouldsuggestyouputthecelllinkonthesameworksheet.

OK,nowyouhaveanumberthatrepresentstheState.YouneedtoconvertthatintothenameoftheState.Therearemanywaystodothis.Theyarealljustascorrect.Ifyouknowofanotherway,goaheadanduseit.Insteadofjustgivingyoumyanswer,Iamgoingtothinkthroughithere.

LookattheLookupsworksheet.

Thecomboboxreturneda3forArizona.Arizonaisonrow4.Theextrarowisrow1,whichhasthecolumnlabel.IfyoutakeF2+1,youwillgetthecorrectrownumber.Thislistisnotgoingtochangeanytimesoon(Yeah,Ihearyou.PuertoRicomightbecomeaState.They’vebeensayingthatforyears!).

Hmmm,youcan’tuseVLOOKUPbecauseyouhavethenumber3,notthename.IntheLookupworksheet,youcouldmakecolumnAnumbersandthencolumnBtheStates.ThatwouldworkbutIwanttoshowyouanewformula:INDIRECT.

Indirectisafunnyformula.Ittakesatextrepresentationofacelladdressandgoestothatcelladdress.Itkindof‘reads’yourwords.Forexample,=INDIRECT(“B5”)wouldreturntheresultofwhateverwasinB5.

Inthiscase,youarereturningavaluefromtheLookupsworksheet,youknowthattheStateswillalwaysbeincolumnA.YoualsoknowthattherownumbercanbeexpressedasF2+1.DoyouseewhereI’mgoingwiththis?Ifnot,you’llseesoon.

Wearegoingtobuildatextstringthatevaluatestothecellchosenbytheuser.Let’suseArizonaasanexample.TheaddressofthecellthatcontainsArizonaintheLookupsworksheetis:

Lookups!A4

Tomakethatupusingtextvaluesyouwoulduse”Lookups!A4”.

Almostthere.However,youneedtoconnectthetexttothecombobox.Don’thardcodethe4.InsteaduseF2+1.

“Lookups!A”&F2+1

Note:IfyouareusingtheCONCATENATEfunctiontojointexttogether…STOPIT.Use&instead.Itdoesthesamethingandisfastertotype.

NowputthatderivedcelladdressinsideINDIRECT

=INDIRECT(“lookups!A”&F2+1)

14-InputtheaboveINDIRECTformulaintocellG2intheComboboxworksheet

15-Testitout.ThecomboboxwillchangethenumberandtheINDIRECTformulawillpullthecorrectStatename.

NowyouneedaSUMIFSformulatogetthesumofSalesbySalespersonandState

16-IncellC5,inputthisformula:

=SUMIFS(Data!G:G,Data!D:D,‘ComboBox’!$B5,Data!F:F,‘ComboBox’!$G$2)

(IgoindepthonhowtouseSUMIFandSUMIFSinmyotherlesson,MasteringExcelFormulas:SUM,SUMIF)

ThisiswhatIgetafterinputtingtheformula:

17-Prettyupthedashboardabit.Youcouldhidethelabelsandcelllinkcolumns.That’scertainlyaviableoption.WhatIliketodoisresizethecomboboxandmoveitontopofthecellsIneedtohide.

Aftermoving/resizingitlookslikethis:

Kindasneakyhuh?Nohiddenrowsorcolumns.OnceIprotecttheworksheet,noonewillbeabletomovetheobjecttoseebehindit.

DataValidation

Somemoreexperiencedreadersmightbeasking,‘whygothroughallthiswhenIjustuseDataValidationtobuildanin-celldropdownbox?”Granted,buildingaDataValidationBoxhasfewerstepsthanwhatyoujustdid,butthedrawbackisthatthedrop-downisnowboundtoacell.Changingthedashboardwouldtheninvolveinsertingrows/columns,resizingcolumnwidths,etc.togetitpositionedjustright.Itisquitetedious.Withacombobox,youjustrightclickandmovetheboxtowhereveryouwant.

CheckBoxCheckboxesareusedtoselectanoptionfromasetofoptions.Checkboxesallowuserstomakemultipleselections.

YouaregoingtoaddacheckboxtotheCheckBoxworksheet.ThischeckboxwillinteractivelyhideordisplaytheStateacustomerislocatedin.

1-IntheForms.xlsxfollowalongworkbook,selecttheCheckBoxworksheet

2-Insertacheckboxcontrol(Developertab>Insert>Checkbox)

3-Clickanddragthecross-hairtocreatethecheckbox

4-Clickinthebox,andthendeletethe“Checkbox1”textandtypein“DisplayState,”

Notethatyoucanonlychangethetextwhensquareresizehandlesarevisible.Iftheyarenotvisible,right-clickthecheckbox.

Thecheckboxhasbeencreatedbutitisnotfunctionalyet.Youneedtoalterthecheckboxpropertiestomakeitwork.

5-Right-clickthecheckbox,andselectFormatControl

ColorsandLines

ThecheckboxcontrolhasoneextratabthattheButtoncontroldidnot,theColorsandLinestab.

Fill:Thisoptionletsyousetthebackgroundcolorofthecheckbox.‘NoFill’meansthecheckboxistransparentanduserswillbeabletoseethroughit.

Line:Thisoptionletsyousetacoloredborderaroundthecheckbox

6-SettheFilltoawhitebackgroundandaddablackborder

7-ClicktheControltab.

Acheckboxcanhavethreestates,Unchecked,Checked,andMixed(acombinationofonandoffstateswhenthereareseveralcheckboxesselectedinagroup).Theoptionsinthistabarethedefaultstatethecheckboxwillhave.LeavethedefaultasUnchecked.

8-ClicktheCelllinkbox,andthenselectcellF2.

10-ClickOK.

Clickthecheckboxafewtimes.YouwillseethatthevalueincellF2changesfromTruetoFalsebasedonthecheckbox.Thecheckboxisnowworking.Thenextstepistochangetheformulastorespondtothecheckboxvalue.YouwilldothisusinganIFstatement.

11-ShadecellF2(tokeeptrackofthelinkedcell)

12-SelectcellD5

CellD5hasthefollowingformulathatpullsovertheStateofthecustomerincolumnB

=VLOOKUP(B5,Data!E:F,2,FALSE)

WhatyouneedtodoishavetheformulaworkonlyifcellF2saysTRUE.IfitsaysFALSE,thenthecellshouldbeblank.Todothis,nesttheentireVLOOKUPformulainsideanIFstatement.Here’saquickrefresheronIFstatements:

=IF([logicalconditionthatresultsinTrueorFalse],[resultifconditionisTRUE],[resultifconditionisFALSE])

ThisIFstatementisatinybiteasierthananormalonebecauseyoualreadyhaveacellthathasTRUEorFALSE(thecelllinkcell,F2).

13-ChangetheformulainD5toreadasfollows:

=IF($F$2=TRUE,VLOOKUP(B5,Data!E:F,2,FALSE),””)

Whatissaysis:ifthevalueofF2isTRUE,thengoaheadanddotheVLOOKUP,elsedon’tdoanything.

Testouttheformulabyclickingthecheckboxtoturnitonandthentoturnitoff.F5say“Alabama”whenthecheckboxisselectedandisblankwhenthecheckboxisclear.

Note:Youneedtouse$F$2,notF2.IfyouuseplainoldF2,whenyoucopytheformuladownitwillchangetoF3,F4,etc.Also,onewaytohaveExcelreturnnothingistousetwoquotations“”

14-CopytheformulaincellD5(theoneyoujustchanged)

15-SelectrangeD6:D21

16-RightclickandselectPasteSpecial>Formulas(Don’tdragdownorjustpaste,itwillmessuptheformatting)

Youarealmostdone.Thisishowthereportlookslikenow.

Youaregoingtoputsomefinishingtouches.FirstyouaregoingtohidetheStatelabelandthenyouaregoingtohidetheCellLinkcell.

17-ClickcellD4.IthasthewordStateinit.

18-AddanIFstatementthatwilldisplaythewordifcellF2saysTRUE.

=IF($F$2=TRUE,“State”,””)

Note:Bearinmindthattheword“TRUE”isdifferentthanthekeywordTRUE.TrueandFalsearekeywordsinExcel.TheyactuallymeanTrue(a1behindthescenes)andFalse(a0behindthescenes).Sincetheyarekeywords,youdonothavetoenclosetheminquotations“”.

Nowwhenyouclickthecheckbox,thetextinthecolumnwillappear/disappear.

19-MovethecheckboxovercellF2tohideitfromview.(Tip:right-clickittogetthehandlesandthendragitover.)

Whatabouttheformatting?Whenthecheckboxisuncheckedyouwillseeanemptyformattedrow.

TherearetwowaystohidecolumnDfromtheusers:

1-WriteamacrothatreactstothevalueinF2andhidescolumnD

2-WriteconditionalformattingrulesthatwillchangethecellformatsbasedoncellF2

Thislessonisn’tgoingtocoverhowtodoeitherofthosebecausetheyaren’twithinthescopeoflearninghowtouseforms.

SpinButtonThespinbuttonisadouble-headedarrowthatuserscanclicktoincrementordecrementanumber.Toincreasethevalue,theuserclickstheuparrow;todecreaseavalue,theuserclicksthedownarrow.

Thisexercisewillcenteronthisphrase:

Thexlargestcustomerisy

Youwilluseapinbuttontolettheuserdeterminehowmuchthenthlargestcustomerpurchased(5thlargest,3rdlargest,etc.).Youwillalsogetpracticeonhowtocombineformularesultswithtext.

1-ClicktheSpinButtonworksheet.

2-Clickthespinbutton(Developertab>Insert).

3-Clickanddragthecross-hairtocreatethespinbutton

4-Right-clickthespinbutton,andthenclick“FormatControl.”

Becausethebuttoncontrolonlyeitherincreasesordecreasesanumber,theoptionsareprettyself-explanatory.

6-Settheminimumvalueto1(What?Youwanttoseethe0thlargestcustomer?Thatmakesnosense!)

7-Clickinthecelllinkbox

8-SelectcellF2

9-ClickOK

10-ShadecellF2tokeeptrackofit(Iknowitseemsuselesstodobutit’sagoodpracticetogetinto.Whenyouhavemultipleformobjectseachwithdifferentcelllinkcells,theshadingwillreallyhelp.)

11-ClickOK.

12-Clickthespinbuttonafewtimestoseehowitworks.Whenthenoveltywearsoff,comebackhere.:-)

NowyouaregoingtostartchangingthetextincellB3toupdateitselfbasedonthespinbutton.

13-MakethetextinB2aformula.Inserta=beforethe‘The’andenclosethewholesentenceinquotations“”

Itshouldlooklikethis:

=“Thexlargestcustomerpurchasedy”

ThexinthesentenceisgoingtobethevalueinF2.Youcan’tjustdothis:

=“TheF2largestcustomerpurchasedy”

ExcelwilltreattheF2aspartofthesentence.Itdoesn’tknowthatF2isacellreference.Cellreferencesneedtobeoutsidethequotations.Youhavetosplitthesentenceintotwo;thepartbeforethexandthepartafterthex.Youwilljointhesentenceandthecellreferencewithaampersand.It’llmakemoresensewhenyouseeit:

=“The“&F2&”largestcustomerpurchasedy”

Theformulastartswith‘The’,joinsthevalueofF2,andthenjoinstherestofthesentence.Allthestaticwordsareenclosedinquotations,whilethecellreferenceisnot.

Myspinnerboxisshowingnumber3.Howdoyougetthethirdlargestcustomer?YouusetheLARGEfunction.Thesyntaxis:

=LARGE(array,k)

Array:Thisistherangeofnumberstoevaluate

k:thisisthekthnumbertoreturn

Toseethe3rdlargestnumberintherangeA1:10,usethis:

=LARGE(A1:10,3)

Ihopeyouseewherewearegoingwiththis.YouaregoingtousetheLARGEfunctionontheInvoiceTotalcolumnandthekwillbeF2.YouaregoingtodothisincellB3.

14-ChangetheformulainB3toread:=“The“&F2&”largestcustomerpurchased“

Noticethatthereisaspaceafterthewordpurchased.Keepittheresothesentencereadsnormally.

15-Typeinan&attheendoftheformulainB3.

16-TypeintheLargefunction.ItshouldlookupdatainData!G:GandthekparameterwillpointtocellF2

=“The“&F2&”largestcustomerpurchased“&LARGE(Data!G:G,‘SpinButton’!F2)

Nowusethespinnertochangethesentence.

Myworksheetlookslikethis:

Youcan’tpresentsomethinglikethat.Thenumbersaren’tformattedcorrectly.Unfortunately,youcan’tjustformatthenumbersusingthenumberformatbuttonbecausethetextandformulasconfuseExcel.Instead,youaregoingtouseaformulatoformatthenumber.

TheTEXTfunctionwillapplythespecifiedformattotheformula/numberthatisinsideit.Thesyntaxis:

=TEXT(value,format_text)

value:Thenumbertoformat

format_text:Thecustomnumberformatpatterntoapply

Customnumberformattoapply?What’sthat?Excelusesspecialcharacterstoapplynumberformatting,YouwillneedtoinputthosespecialcharactersasthesecondparameteroftheTEXTfunction.It’sveryeasytoseethecharacters.

ToFindtheCustomNumberFormatString

A-OntheHometab,clicktheNumberFormatbox,andthenselectMoreNumberFormats..

B-ClickCustom

Thecustomformatsaredisplayedinthepaneontheright.Ifyouselectedacellwithanumber,theSampleboxatthetoprightshowsyouwhatthenumberwilllooklike.

Youdon’thavetoremembertheformatstring.Asyoucansee,theycangetprettycomplicated.YoucanselecttheoneyouwantthenhighlightitintheType:boxandthencopyit.Iamgoingtousethe#,##0format.(Commasandnodecimals)

OKbacktotheexercise…

Onceagain,theformattextisgoingtobe#,##0.YouaregoingtocombinetheLARGEfunctionwiththeexistingfunction.

Thefunctionyouhaveisthis:

=“The“&F2&”largestcustomerpurchased“&LARGE(Data!G:G,‘SpinButton’!F2)

YouneedtoputtheLARGEfunctioninsidetheTEXTfunctionandusetheformatstring,likethis:

TEXT(LARGE(Data!G:G,‘SpinButton’!F2),“#,##0”)

Theentirefunctionwillnowbethis:

=“The“&F2&”largestcustomerpurchased“&TEXT(LARGE(Data!G:G,‘SpinButton’!F2),”#,##0”)

Andtheresultisthis:

17-ThelaststepistohidetheCellLinkcell.Youcanmakethespinboxwiderandplaceitoverthecelloryoucanhidethecolumn.It’syourchoice.

ListBox

Alistboxisaboxthatdisplaysalistofitemsfromwhichausercanchooseoneitem.Thisisagoodcontroltousewhentherearemanychoicesandyouwanttodisplaythemalltotheuser.

Let’slookattheFormatControloptionsfirstandthenworkthroughthisexercise.

InputRange:therangethatpopulatesthelistbox

CellLink:thecellthatwillstoretheselection(s)

SelectionType:

Single:Thisoptionenablesonlyasinglechoicefromtheitemsinthelist

Multi:Thisoptionallowseitheroneormultiplechoicesbutthechoicesmustbenexttoeachother

Extend:Thisoptionallowsonechoice,severalchoicesnexttoeachotherandchoicesnotnexttoeachother

Unfortunately,whentheMultiandExtendoptionsareselected,theCellLinkvalueisignoredandyouhavetousemacros(VBA)toworkwiththelistboxobject.YouaregoingtoworkwiththeSingleselector.

TheListBoxworksheethasthisreport:

YouaregoingtoaddalistboxthatdisplaystheUSStatesandthenwriteaformulathatextractsthatinformationfromtheDataworksheet.

1-SelecttheListBoxworksheetintheForms.xlsxworkbook.

2-CreateanewListBox(DeveloperTab>Insert)

3-Clickanddragthecross-hairtocreatetheListBox.

4-Right-clicktheListBox,select“FormatControl,”andselecttheControltab.

5-ClicktheInputRangeboxandselecttheSalespersonintheLookupworksheet(B2:B11).

6-ClicktheCellLinkboxandselectcellF2.

7-ClickOK

8-ShadecellF2inacolorofyourchoice.

9-LeavetheSelectiontypeasSingle.

10-ClickOK.

11-Right-clicktheListBoxandadjusttheheightsoyoucanseetheentirelistofsalespeople

Asyouclickdifferentsalespeople,youwillnoticethattheListBoxpopulatescellF2withthenumberoftheitemselected,nottheitemitself.Youaregoingtowriteaformulathatretrievesthesalesperson.Thentheformulainthetablewillretrievethesumfortheselectedsalesperson.

12-TypeinthisformulaincellG2:

=INDEX(Lookups!$B$2:$B$11,F2)

TheINDEXfunctionreturnsthecellfromarangeofcellsbasedontherowandcolumnnumber.It’sanotherkindofVLOOKUP.Whatthisformulaissayingis:Fromrange$B$2:$B$11,returnthevaluefromtherowshowninF2.

NowyouneedtoinputaSUMIFSformulainrangeC5:C54.

13-SelectcellC5

14-Inputthisformula:

=SUMIFS(Data!G:G,Data!D:D,$G$2,Data!F:F,B5)

15–CopythisformulatoalltheotherrowswithUSStatesincolumnC

Youneedtoupdatethereporttitletobedynamic.

16-SelectcellB2

17-Changethetexttothisformula:

=“SalesbyStatefor“&G2

18-Movethelistboxtocoverthecelllinkcell

OptionButton

Theoptionbuttoncontrolisverysimilartothecheckboxcontrolinthattheyarebothcontrolsthatletusersmakeaselection.Themaindifferenceisthatcheckboxesallowuserstomakemultiplechoices;thatis,theycancheckmultipleboxes.Optionboxes,ontheotherhand,aredesignedtoallowonlyonechoice.Ifyouhaveasetofthreeoptionboxes,selectingonewillautomaticallydeselecttheothers.

YouaregoingtocreatetwooptionbuttonsthatwillallowyoutodisplayeithertheOrderDateortheInvoiceDateinasamplereport.

1-OpentheForms.xlsxworkbook(ifitisn’topen).

2-GototheOptionButtonworksheet.

3-Createtwooptionbuttons(DeveloperTab>Insert).

4-Right-clickOptionButton1andselect“EditText.”

6-ChangethetextfromOptionButton1toInvoiceDate

7-RepeatthepreviousstepstochangethetextofOptionButton2toOrderDate

8-Right-clickonInvoiceDate,andselect“FormatControl.”

10-SelecttheControltab.

TheOptionButtononlyhastwovalues,UncheckedandChecked.

CelllinkthecellthatwillstorethevalueofthecheckedoruncheckedOptionButton.

11-ClickinsidetheCelllinkboxandselect….youguessedit,cellF2.

12-ClickOK.

13-ShadecellF2anycoloryouliketokeeptrackofit.

14-Right-clicktheOrderDateoptionbutton,andselect“FormatControl.”

16-SelecttheControltab,andthenclickinside…whoatheCelllinkisalreadypopulated?

Yes,whenyouhaveseveraloptionbuttonstheyallinheritthecelllinkcellofthefirstone.Thatcell,F2inyourcase,willhavethenumberoftheoptionbuttonthatwasclicked.HavingthesamecellstorethevalueofalltheoptionboxesishowExcelpreventsauserfrommakingmultipleselections.

Clickeachoftheoptionbuttonstoseehowthenumberchangesfrom1to2.

NowyouhavetoputaformulaincolumnDthatwillretrieveeithertheInvoiceDateortheOrderDatebasedonthevalueinF2.

18-SelectcellD5.

19-Inputthisformula:

=IF($F$2=1,INDEX(Data!$A$2:$A$100,MATCH(‘OptionButtonComplete’!B5,Data!$C$2:$C$100,0)),INDEX(Data!$B$2:$B$100,MATCH(‘OptionButtonComplete’!B5,Data!$C$2:$C$100,0)))

OK,Iknowit’sahugeformula.Youdon’thavetotypeitin.Iputitinatextboxinthefollowalongworkbookforyou.CopytheformulaandpasteitintocellD5.Thencopytheformulatoalltheothercells.

LaststepistoputanIFstatementincellD4tohavethecolumntitleupdateautomatically.

20-SelectcellD4.

21-Inputthisformula:

=IF(F2=1,“InvoiceDate”,“OrderDate”)

Nowyouhavetohidethecelllinkcell.Ifyouwanttohavetheoptionbuttonshidethecelllinkcell,youhavetochangetheirtransparency.

22-Right-clicktheInvoiceDateoptionbuttonandselect“FormatControl.”

24-SelecttheColorsandLinestab.

25-Changethe‘NoFill’colortoAutomatic.

26-ClickOK.

27-DothesametotheOrderDateoptionbutton.

28-Move/Resizethebuttonstocoverthecelllinkcell.

29-Optional:Removethegridlinestogivethereportacleanerlook

Note:WhataboutthatHUGEformula?WhatisINDEX,whatitisdoing?LookattheIndexworksheetinthefollowalongworkbooktolearnhowitworks.Iknowitlooksintimidatingbutitreallyisn’t.

GroupBox

TheGroupboxisacategorizationobjectthatyoucanusetogroupsimilarformobjects.Forexample,theimagebelowshowsfouroptionbuttonsthathavebeengroupedinsideaGroupBoxwiththetitleRegion.

GroupBoxesandOptionButtonsinteractinaspecialway.GroupBoxeschangehowOptionButtonsfunction.

Considerthissituation(thisisintheGroupBoxworksheet):

Youwanttheusertochooseoneoptionfrom(North,South,East,West)andaseparateoptionfrom(Red,Orange,Yellow,Green,Blue,Indigo,Violet).Asyoulearnedinthelastsection,Optionbuttonsareformsthatallowonlyonechoice.Whenyouselectone,alltheothersaredeselected.Tryit.SelectaRegionandassoonasyouselectaColor,theRegionwillbedeselected.Additionally,alltheOptionButtonswillhavethesameCellLinkcell.

Howcanyouresolvethis?ByusingtheGroupBox.WhenaGroupBoxenclosesseveraloptionbuttons,ExceltreatsthoseOptionButtonsasadistinctgroup.UserswillbeabletochooseonlyoneoptionfromthegroupinsidetheGroupBox.EachgroupwillhaveitsownCellLinkcell.

YouaregoingtoaddtotwoGroupBoxestoseparatetheOptionbuttonsintotwogroups.

1-SelecttheGroupBoxworksheet.

2-InontheDevelopertab,clickInsert,andthenclicktheGroupBoxbutton.

4-Clickanddragthecross-hairtocreatetheGroupBoxthatsurroundstheRegionoptionbuttons

5-Right-clicktheGroupBoxtitle,andthenselect“EditText.”

7-ChangetheGroupBoxtitletoRegions.

8-CreateanotherGroupboxaroundthecoloroptionbuttons,andthenchangeitstitleto“Colors.”

12-Right-clicktheRedOptionButton,andthenselectFormatControl.

14-ClickinsidetheCelllinkbox,andselectcellH2.

Thisistricky!!!TheGroupBoxmustenclosetheENTIREOptionbuttoncontrol.

Lookatthis:

IrightclickedtheBlueoptionbuttonbutitisnotentirelysurroundedbythegroupbox.Thismeansitisnotpartoftheset.Ineedtoresizethegroupboxortheoptionbuttonsothebuttonfitsinside.NowIhavetochangetheCelllinktoH2fortheBlue,IndigoandVioletoptionbuttons.

16-Makesuretheentireoptionbuttonsfitinsidetheirrespectivegroupboxes(bothRegionsandColors)

17-ChangethecellLinkforeachgroup(RegionslinktoF2,ColorslinktoH2)

Sometimes,Excelgetsconfused.Ifyoucan’tgettheCelllinktostick,deletetheGroupBoxanddrawanotherone.

NowyoushouldbeabletoclickoneregionandseetheresultincellF2andthenclickacolorandseetheresultincellH2.

Labels

Labelsdon’t‘do’anything.Theyhavenofunctionalityotherthantoconveyinformation.Theyaresimilartocommentsandtextboxes.OnceyoucreateaLabel(followingthesamestepswehaveusedinapreviousexercises)justclickinsidethelabelandputwhatevertextyouwantinit.

Labelsareverysimple,sothereisnoworksheetfortheminthefollowalongworkbook.

ScrollBarScrollbarsareeverywhereinWindows.ScrollbarsaretheobjectsyouclickinExcel,Firefox,andInternetExplorertopageupanddown.Scrollbarscanbepositionedhorizontallyorvertically.

TheScrollbarworksheethasthisreportonit.Youaregoingtochangethisreportsothatuserscandecidehowmanycustomerstheywanttosee.

1-SelecttheScrollBoxworksheet.

2-IntheDevelopertab,clickInsert,andthenclicktheScrollBarbutton.

4-Clickanddragthecross-hairtocreateascrollbar(itcanbehorizontalorvertical)

5-Right-clickthescrollbarcontrol,andthenselect“FormatControl.”

7-SelecttheControltab.

Mostoftheitemshereareself-explanatory.ThePagechangeitemdetermineshowmanypagestoscrolldownwhenthegraypartofthescrollbarisclicked.TheIncrementalchangeitemdeterminestheincreasewhenthetoporbottomarrowisclicked.

8-Filloutthesettingspertheimagebelow.Sinceyouwanttheuserstoselectanumberbetween1and10,thosewillbetheminimumandmaximumvalues,respectively.Thepagechangeis2sowhentheuserclicksinthatareathevalueswillincreaseby2.

9-ClickOK.

10-ShadecellF2anycoloryoulike

NowyouhavetoconnectthereporttocellF2.Iputtheformulasinthereforyou(cellsC5:C14havetheLARGEfunctioninthem),allyouneedtodoisputanIFstatementaroundtheformulassotheyinteractwithcellF2.

11-SelectcellB3(thetitle),andchangeitstextto

=“Top“&F2&”InvoicedCustomers”

13-SelectcellB5.

ThegoalistoshowthecountofcustomersthatareincellF2.Thatisthelimit;youdonotwanttoshowanymorecustomersthanthat.Toaccomplishthis,youaregoingtocomparethenumberincolumnAtothenumberinF2.IfthecolumnAnumber>F2,donotdisplayanything.

14-ChangetheformulaincellB5tothis:

=IF(A5>$F$2,””,INDEX(Data!E:E,MATCH(ScrollBar!C5,Data!G:G,0)))

15-CopytheformuladowntherangetocellB14.

16-SelectcellC5.

YouaregoingtoputtheC5formulainsideanidenticalIFstatement

17-ChangetheformulaincellC5tothis:

=IF(A5>$F$2,””,LARGE(Data!G:G,ScrollBar!A5))

18-CopytheformuladowntocellC10

Nowclickthescrollbarandseehowthereportreactstothechanges.

19-Thelaststepistohidethecelllinkcell.Youcanresizethescrollbarandmoveitoverthecelloryoucanhidethecolumns.It’syourchoice.

MovingandPositioningControls

Havinganicelookingformisimportanttoyourusers.However,gettingformobjectsalignedjustrightisverytediousandtimeconsuming.I’mgoingtoshowyousomeExceltrickstohelpyougeteverythingpositionedeasily.

1-SelectthePositioningworksheet.

Noticehowtheformobjectsarenotalignedcorrectly.

Selectingobjects:ClickandholdtheCTRLkeywhileclickingonseveralobjectstoselectandmovethem

OR

IntheHometab,selectFind&Select>SelectionPane

ClickingontheSelectionPaneletsyouselectanyorallobjects(usetheCTRLkeytoselectmultipleobjects).Youcanalsohideobjects(Justhide,notdelete)byclickingtheeyeiconontherightofthepane.Ifyouselectandobject,thendoubleclickit,youcanchangeitsTitlerightintheSelectionPane.Forexample,youcandoubleclickCheckBox7andrenameittoTulips.

1-SelectalltheOptionButtons.

AnewFormattabappearswhenyouselectaformobject.

2-ClicktheDrawingTools,Formattab.

3-ClicktheAlignbutton.

Youwillseetheseoptions:

Usetheseoptionstogettheselectedobjectspreciselyaligned.Mostofthechoicesareself-explanatory.Thereareafewthatneedsomeclarification.

DistributeHorizontally/DistributeVertically

-Theseoptionsdonotmovethetoporbottomitems.Rather,theyspreadoutallthe‘inbetween’itemssotheyareevenlyspacedout.

SnaptoGrid

-Ifyouclickthison,whenyoumoveanobject,itsnapstothenearestgridintersection

SnaptoShape

-Ifyouclickthison,whenyoumoveanobject,itsnapstotheedgesofthenearestobject

OtherLessonsMasteringExcel90InterviewQuestions

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SZYDOC)

MasteringExcelFormulaTipsandTricks

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G4USD5E)

MasteringExcelFormulasIF,AND,OR

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009FD7J2K)

MasteringExcelFormulasSUM,SUMIF

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A9JFER6)

MasteringExcelFormulasVLOOKUP

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009M5F5IG)

MasteringExcel:Autofilter,AdvancedAutofilter

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ASJBZFW)

MasteringExcel:ConditionalFormatting

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K7USCH6)

MasteringExcel:MSQuery

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DT5FH5G)

MasteringExcel:NamedRanges,OFFSETandDynamicCharts

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B6I25BW)

MasteringExcel:PivotTables

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C56564M)

MasteringExcel:SharingWorkbooks

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KVGRI4Y)

MasteringExcelMacros:Introduction

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O2OOJ7A)

MasteringExcelMacros:Introduction(Book1)

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O2OOJ7A)

MasteringExcelMacros:Debugging(Book2)

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OE4821W)

MasteringExcelMacros:BeginningtoCode(Book3)

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PFWDZXC)

MasteringExcelMacros:IfStatements(Book4)

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QGWP8PI)

MasteringExcelMacros:Looping(Book5)

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SCPTJH0)

MasteringExcelMacros:ObjectVariables(Book6)

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TSN7IP0)