Excel

To make a chart in Excel, select your data, open the Insert tab, and pick a chart type from the Charts group — or use Recommended Charts to let Excel choose. Here is how to build, choose, and format the right chart.

Conditional formatting changes a cell's color automatically based on its value — to highlight, rank, or flag data. Select your cells, open Home > Conditional Formatting, and pick a rule. Here is how to use every type, step by step.

COUNTIF counts only the cells that meet a condition. The syntax is =COUNTIF(range, criteria) — like counting how many sales came from one region. Here is exactly how it works, plus wildcards, counting duplicates, and COUNTIFS.

To create a drop-down list in Excel, select the cells, go to Data > Data Validation, choose Allow: List, and type your options or point to a range. Here is how to build, edit, and troubleshoot one.

To freeze the top row in Excel, go to View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Top Row. To freeze several rows and columns at once, select the cell below and to the right of them first, then choose Freeze Panes. Here is exactly how.

The IF function returns one value when a condition is true and another when it is false. The syntax is =IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false). Here is how to use it, nest it, and avoid the usual mistakes.

INDEX MATCH is the flexible lookup that fixes VLOOKUP's biggest limits — it can look to the left and it does not break when you add columns. Here is exactly how INDEX and MATCH work together, step by step.

A pivot table summarizes a large table into a short, readable report in seconds. In Excel: select your data, click Insert > PivotTable, then drag fields into Rows, Columns, and Values. Here is the full walkthrough.

The fastest way to remove duplicates in Excel is Data > Remove Duplicates: select your range, choose which columns to check, and click OK. You can also highlight duplicates first or use the UNIQUE function. Here is each method.

To sort in Excel, select your table and use Data > Sort; to filter, use Data > Filter and pick which rows to show. Sorting reorders your data, filtering hides rows without deleting them. Here is how to do both, step by step.

SUMIF adds up only the numbers that meet a condition. The syntax is =SUMIF(range, criteria, [sum_range]) — like totaling sales for one region. Here is exactly how each part works, plus SUMIFS and wildcards.

VLOOKUP finds a value in the first column of a table and returns a value from another column in the same row. The formula is =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, FALSE). Here is exactly how each part works.

XLOOKUP is the modern, all-in-one lookup that replaces VLOOKUP. The syntax is =XLOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array) — it looks in any direction and handles "not found" on its own. Here is exactly how it works.

The #DIV/0! error means a formula is dividing by zero or by an empty cell. The fix is to correct the denominator, or wrap the formula in IFERROR or IF so it returns a blank or a message instead. Here is how.

The #N/A error means a lookup could not find what it was searching for — VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, or MATCH came up empty. The fix is to check the lookup value for typos, spaces, and type mismatches, or handle it cleanly with IFNA. Here is how.

The #NAME? error means Excel does not recognize something in your formula — usually a misspelled function, missing quotation marks around text, or an unknown name. Here is how to find the cause and fix it.

The #REF! error means a formula points to a cell that no longer exists — usually because a row, column, or cell it referenced was deleted. The fastest fix is Ctrl+Z; if that is too late, you rebuild the broken reference. Here is how.

The #VALUE! error means a formula is trying to do math with something that is not a number — usually text or a stray space in a cell. The fix is to find the offending cell and clean it, or use a function that ignores text. Here is how.