Maximize Excel: Error Prompts

Date: 10/2/2024
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 PM EST
CPE Credit: 2 hours

Excel spreadsheet users often are stopped in their tracks by inscrutable error prompts that arise from seemingly simple actions. In this unique session, Excel expert David Ringstrom, CPA, digs into the dark corners of Excel to explain the reasons behind many frequently encountered error prompts. During the webcast, David discusses a number of Excel’s features as well as what to do when Excel seemingly goes awry.

David teaches from the version of Excel in use by the majority of attendees, but he explains any differences in Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. His webcasts are fast-paced, and attendees often are surprised at the amount of ground he covers in a session. He welcomes participants’ questions, so come ready to pick his brain. David’s detailed handouts serve as reference tools you can fall back on after participating in one of his webcasts. He also provides an Excel workbook that includes a majority of the examples he uses during each session.

Topics Covered

• Avoid wasting time when saving workbooks as .XLS files by dispatching the Compatibility Checker.
• Bring Excel’s green error-checking prompts under control by managing the underlying rules.
• Compare and contrast IFNA, IFERROR, and ISERROR functions and learn which versions of Excel support these worksheet functions.
• Convert .XLS workbooks to the up-to-date .XLSX format with just two keystrokes.
• Convert Excel 97–2003 files to modern workbook formats with ease.
• Decipher and manage Excel’s macro security prompts.
• Diagnose formula errors, such as #VALUE!, #REF!, #N/A, and others.
• Discover how to quickly access folders and workbooks, regardless of whether they’re stored on your computer or on a network.
• Discover new worksheet functions available in Excel 2016.
• Discover techniques that automatically provide fallback positions in the event you need to see an earlier version of your spreadsheet.
• Email spreadsheets to others from your mobile devices.
• Get a rundown on what the various # sign errors in Excel mean.
• Improve the integrity of spreadsheets with Excel’s VLOOKUP function.
• Improve the odds of Excel creating a backup copy of your work so you can recover easily from program crashes.
• Learn how range names can minimize errors, save time in Excel, serve as navigation aids, and store information in hidden locations.
• Learn how the Table feature allows you to transform filtering tasks.
• Learn the basics of creating pivot tables.
• Learn the risks of linked workbooks, determine if a workbook contains links, and see how links can hide within Excel features.
• Learn what steps to take if you can’t open a damaged workbook.
• Learn what to do if a Debug prompt appears.
• Learn why certain features, including slicers, sparklines, and charts, are disabled in some workbooks.
• Learn why Excel is opposed to circular references.
• Master the nuances—and the power—of Excel’s Transpose feature.
• Remove memory-consuming add-ins that can compromise Excel.
• See what types of user actions can trigger #REF! errors.
• Simplify formula auditing by way of the Apply Names feature.
• Understand how to launch Excel in Safe Mode to troubleshoot Excel issues.
• Understand the nuances of sorting pivot tables.
• Understand when you might wish to use ISERROR or ISNA instead of IFERROR.
• Understand why the Protected View prompt should be turned off in Excel 2010 and later.
• Understand why you can’t assign the name “History” to a worksheet tab.
• Use a simple macro to eliminate redundant prompts that appear when you save a file in text or .CSV format.
• Use Excel’s Filter feature to quickly scan a column for # sign errors.
• Use the SUMPRODUCT function to count the number of # sign errors in a worksheet.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify IFNA, IFERROR, and ISERROR functions and learn which versions of Excel support each of them.
• Recall how to improve the odds of Excel creating a backup copy of your work so you can recover easily from program crashes.
• State why certain features, such as slicers, sparklines, and even charts, are disabled in some workbooks.