Excel

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.

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.

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.

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.