Suuweeetttt! Here’s the sixteen that you’ll be voting for next:
Functions
#6 SUMIF
#8 SUMPRODUCT
#10 VLOOKUP
#13 LEFT
#1 Ctrl-S
#2 Ctrl-Z
#4 Ctrl-Tab
#11 F5
Data Analysis Tools
#1 Pivot Table
#2 Table
#6 Pivot Chart
#12 Filter
Other Features
#4 Group
#8 Format Cells
#10 Linked Workbooks
Oh! You’re still here? Read on for the nitty-gritty on how we’ve gotten here thus far:
Worksheet Functions
None of the top 5 seeds survived the second round:
- #8 Seed SUMPRODUCT snuck past #1 seed MATCH/INDEX. SUMPRODUCT had already smashed the PMT function, and slides up to round 3 to take on #13 seed LEFT.
- #13 seed LEFT figuratively left #12 seed DATEVALUE in its dust. LEFT leapt over #4 seed TRIM in round 1.
- #6 seed SUMIF smashed #3 seed SUBTOTAL in round 2, as well as #11 seed INDIRECT in round 1. We shall see how SUMIF stacks up against #10 seed VLOOKUP in round 3.
- #10 seed VLOOKUP vaulted over #2 seed IFERROR in round 2, as well as #7 seed SUM in round 1.
Keyboard Shortcuts
The #1, #2, and #4 seeds advance to round 3:
- #1 seed Ctrl-S stormed its way past #9 seed Ctrl-Enter in Round 2, as well as #16 seed Alt-Enter in Round 1. Next up, #4 seed Ctrl-Tab will try to unseat this perennial keyboard favorite in its march to the Final Four.
- #4 seed Ctrl-Tab polished off #5 seed Ctrl-Page Up in a battle of the navigation keys. Ctrl-Tab also zipped past #13 seed Ctrl-0 (zero) in round 1.
- #11 seed F5 felled #3 seed Ctrl-Home in Round 2 after finishing off #6 seed Alt-= in round 1. F5 now finds itself up against #2 seed Ctrl-Z in Round 3.
- #2 seed Ctrl-Z alphabetically upended #7 seed Ctrl-A in round 2, after zipping past #15 seed Alt-Down Arrow in round 1.
Data Analysis
Of the top 5, only the #1 and #2 seeds advance to round 3:
- #1 seed Pivot Table has powered its way past #9 seed Slicers in Round 2, as well as #16 seed Solver in Round 1. Pivot Table will now parry with #12 seed Filter in Round 3.
- #12 seed Filter found its way past #4 seed Text to Columns in Round 2, and flipped over #5 seed Remove Duplicates in Round 1.
- #6 seed Pivot Chart pummeled #4 seed Text to Columns in Round 2, as well as #11 seed Advanced Filter in round 1. In Round 3 Pivot Chart will take on #2 seed Table.
- #2 seed Table toppled with #7 seed Chart in Round 2, after tanking Consolidate in Round 1.
Other Excel Features
#5 Group remains thanks to winning a tie-breaker, the remaining top 5 seeds have been taken out:
#5 Group remains thanks to winning a tie-breaker, the remaining top 5 seeds have been taken out:
- #8 seed Format Cells flitted past #16 seed Merge Cells in Round 2, as well as #9 seed Center Across Selection in round 1. Format Cells will tackle #4 seed Group in Round 3.
- #4 seed Group actually tied #5 seed Text Box in round2. Since only one feature can advance we totaled the votes for these features from rounds 1 and 2, which means Text Box goes home and Group advances to Round 3.
- #6 seed Format Painter fought off #3 seed Quick Access Toolbar in Round 2, after fixing #11 seed Hyperlink in Round 1. Format Painter figures on finishing #10 seed Linked Workbooks in Round 3.
- #10 Linked Workbooks upset #2 seed Range Names in Round 2, after comfortably cruising past #7 seed Custom Views in Round 1.
David H. Ringstrom, CPA — @excelwriter on Twitter — heads up Accounting Advisors, Inc., an Atlanta-based software and database consulting firm.
