how to make assignment on ms excel

Organized Charm

Professional Organization and Interior Design for Kids' Spaces

How to Create a Semester Assignment Spreadsheet

(Read: How to Make a Daily, Prioritized Study List )

1. Gather the syllabi from all of your classes

That would be completely catastrophic. 

2. Open a Spreadsheet in Excel

(Read: How to Organize Your Class Binders )

3. Create Columns

4. put in every assignment due date.

Then, check it (23 times, if you’re me) to make sure you didn’t skip over any.

5. Sort by due date

A. select the due date column.

B. Order the list the old fashioned way

6. Format it so that it all fits onto one page

(Read: How to Get Better Grades in College )

7. Print it out

(Related: Your Ultimate Back to School Checklist )

8. Track your progress

Here is what I do:

(Related: 5 Must-Know Time Management Tips for College )

What are some ways that you keep track of your assignments?  How do you prioritize your projects? 

Share this:.

Published by Kirsten Horton

Hi, I'm Kirsten! An organization-obsessed Kindergarten teacher and kids' interior designer who believes in making life as bright, cheery, and orderly as possible! :) View all posts by Kirsten Horton

1 thought on “How to Create a Semester Assignment Spreadsheet”

• Pingback: How to Make a Daily Prioritized Study List – Organized Charm

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Templates for college and university assignments

Include customizable templates in your college toolbox. stay focused on your studies and leave the assignment structuring to tried and true layout templates for all kinds of papers, reports, and more..

Keep your college toolbox stocked with easy-to-use templates

Work smarter with higher-ed helpers from our college tools collection. Presentations are on point from start to finish when you start your project using a designer-created template; you'll be sure to catch and keep your professor's attention. Staying on track semester after semester takes work, but that work gets a little easier when you take control of your scheduling, list making, and planning by using trackers and planners that bring you joy. Learning good habits in college will serve you well into your professional life after graduation, so don't reinvent the wheel—use what is known to work!

Sep 22, 2022

Assign tasks with @mentions in Excel

Scott McFadden

• Add our blog to your RSS feed reader" href="/rss/blog.xml" data-bi-name="RSS Subscription" data-bi-id="rss_feed" data-bi-bhvr="120" data-bi-socchn="RSSSubscription" title="Microsoft 365 Insider Blog RSS" target="blank" class="d-inline-block">

Hi, Office Insiders. My name is Scott McFadden and I’m a Product Manager on the Excel team. I’m excited to share that you can now assign tasks with @mentions in worksheets in Excel for Windows and Excel for Mac!   

Assign Tasks  

We’ve brought this popular capability (previously only available in Excel for the web) to your Windows and Mac desktops.  

This feature allows you and your team to conveniently create and assign tasks directly from within your Excel worksheet using @mentions in comments. The people to whom you assign the tasks will receive email notifications, letting them know they need to take action.

How it works  

• Right-click the cell that contains the information you want to comment on and select  New Comment .  

Scenarios to try 

• Reassign a task  

• Hover over the circle at the top of the comment and click  Resolve thread .  
• Hover over the cell that contains the comment, and then click  Reopen thread .  

Requirements  

To see Tasks in Excel, the Excel file must be stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.  

Availability  

This feature is available to all users on the web and to Beta Channel users running:

• Windows: Version 2208 (Build 15504.10000) or later
• Mac: Version 16.66 (Build 22090700) or later

Don’t have it yet? It’s probably us, not you.  

Features are released over some time to ensure things are working smoothly. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as an Insider, have had the opportunity to try it.   

Feedback   

There are a couple of ways to give feedback and suggestions:  

• Click  Help > Feedback .  
• Add  #AssignTasks  in your feedback so that we can easily find input about the feature.  

Learn what  other information you should include in your feedback  to ensure  it’s actionable and reaches the right people. We’re excited to hear from you!  

Sorry, JavaScript must be enabled to use this app.

Practice And Learn Excel Online For Free

Welcome to Excel Practice Online!

Now you can practice Excel everywhere! You can even practice on your mobile phone!

Every function and tool has an explanation followed by an online excel exercise which can be solved within the page itself, no need to download anything – All thanks to the amazing powers of Excel Online!

The tutorials are sorted from beginner level to advanced level. If you like this site please share it with your friends! 🙂

Tip for mobile phone users – tap twice on the cell you want to edit in order to edit it.

• Free Excel Courses and Resources
• Excel Self-Assessment Tool
• Free Excel Online Exercises
• Excel Basics – Zero to Hero
• Excel Tests
• Top 10 formulas and functions in Excel
• Vlookup – Tutorial with Example and Exercise Sheet
• Pivot Tables Tutorial
• Excel Shortcuts – Windows and Mac
• HOT! – Excel Mortgage Calculator – Calculate your mortgage payments and get the payment schedule for the entire period of the loan – Step-by-step tutorial on how to build a Mortgage Calculator in Excel.
• New! Excel Online Cheat Sheet – A Quick Guide To Excel’s Web Version
• Can’t find what you’re looking for? Suggest a tutorial here!

• Excel Basics – Start here if you are new to Excel! Learn how Excel works, how to perform basic calculations, and how to use cell references to save time and increase efficiency!
• Addition (Plus)
• Subtraction (Minus)
• Multiplication
• Excel Shortcuts for Windows – Master Excel Shortcuts to save time and increase efficiency!
• Excel Shortcuts for Mac – Learn how to make the most of Excel on your Mac!

Formulas/Functions

• SUM function – Sum multiple values in Excel
• MAX – find the maximum value in a range
• MIN – find the minimum value in a range
• COUNT – Count numeric values in a range
• COUNTA – Count numeric and textual values
• AVERAGE – Calculate average of a range
• Filtering in Excel – Learn how to filter your data using Excel’s Filter Tool
• Excel Sort – Learn how to sort your data in Excel.
• Flash Fill – Excel’s hidden gem for auto-completing data based on a pattern
• Remove Duplicates – Remove duplicate values in a single column or multiple columns!

Intermediate

Conditional.

• IF function – check if a condition is met
• NESTED IF – Multiple if conditions
• Conditional Formatting – Format Excel Cells based on criteria
• COUNTIF – Count cells in range which meet a certain criteria
• SUMIF – Sum range based on criteria
• AVERAGEIF – Calculate the average of a range based on criteria
• SUMIFS – Sum cells using multiple criteria
• COUNTIFS – Count cells using multiple criteria
• MAXIFS – Find maximum value in a range based on criteria
• MINIFS – Find minimum value in a range based on criteria
• AND/OR – Check if multiple criteria are met (Works great when combined with an IF function!)
• ISBLANK – Check if a cell is blank or not

• VLOOKUP – lookup value and return corresponding value from a table
• HLOOKUP – lookup value and return corresponding value from a table
• Hot!!! XLOOKUP – Excel’s next generation lookup function which combines the best features from VLOOKUP, INDEX MATCH, HLOOKUP and IFERROR/IFNA

Pivot tables

• Pivot Table – Quickly Analyze and Summarize your data using Excel’s most powerful tool!

Text Formulas

• LEFT, MID, RIGHT – Basic Text Functions
• HOT! – TEXTBEFORE & TEXTAFTER – Extract text before or after a delimiter using Excel’s brand new powerful functions!
• HOT! – TEXTSPLIT – Split your text into multiple cells using this super powerful new function!
• TEXTJOIN – Easily combine multiple cells using delimiter
• CONCAT – Combine range of cells without delimiter
• CONCATENATE – Combine two cells or more into one cell
• LEN – Find the length of a cell
• FIND – Find the position of a text within another text (Case-sensitive)
• SEARCH – Find the position of a text within another text (Case-insensitive)
• SUBSTITUTE – Replace text with another text in a cell/expression
• TRIM – Remove extra spaces from the text
• LOWER, UPPER, PROPER – Convert text to lowercase, uppercase and proper case
• VALUE – Convert data stored as text into values
• TEXT – Convert and format numbers into text
• Text to Columns – Quickly split a column into multiple columns using a delimiter. Bonus – Quickly change date formats or convert text to numbers!
• FORMULATEXT – display a formula in another cell as text

Date functions

• DAY, MONTH, YEAR – Extract day, month and year from a date in Excel
• DATE – Create a date from individual values
• WEEKDAY – Return the number of the day of the week
• EOMONTH – Return the date of the last day of the month based on a specific date

Index & Match lookup

• INDEX – Retrieve cell in nth position in a range
• MATCH – Find position of value in a range
• INDEX MATCH – Just like VLOOKUP, only better.

Other advanced tools

• SUMPRODUCT – Sum the products of Excel ranges
• Excel Wildcards – Advanced searching and matching in Excel
• Advanced Filter – Filter by multiple criteria in the same column, or even in different columns!

Power Query

• Combine data from multiple Excel workbooks using Power Query
• Column from Examples tool – Learn the secret to mastering Power Query without any prior knowledge!
• Unpivot columns easily using Power Query

Secret Excel Functions

This section covers Excel functions that are not available in most of Excel’s versions. These functions will unlock a new set of capabilities such as fining only unique values, sorting, and filtering – the tutorials below will help you with mastering Excel’s new functions!

• UNIQUE – Extract unique values from a range
• SORT Function – Sort range dynamically
• SORTBY – Sort range dynamically by using another range
• FILTER Function – Filter range by specific criteria
• RANDARRAY – Create an array of random numbers 
• SEQUENCE – Create a range of sequential values
• LET – Assign values and calculations to names to improve your formula’s ease of use, readability, and performance!
• HOT! – LAMBDA – The mother of all functions that will help you create amazing and powerful custom functions for your own need! 
• VSTACK – Vertically stack arrays/ranges in Excel
• HSTACK – Horizontally stack arrays/ranges in Excel
• CHOOSEROWS – Return specific rows from a range or array
• CHOOSECOLS – Return specific columns from a range or array
• TOROW – Convert a range/array into a single row
• TOCOL – Convert a range/array into a single column

Financial Functions

Learn how to use Excel to make financial calculations!

• Excel Financial Calculator – quickly calculate PV, FV, PMT, NPV, IRR
• PMT – Calculate the periodic payment amount of a loan, mortgage, or another financial instrument
• PPMT & IPMT – Find the Principal and Interest portion of a certain payment
• PV – Find the Present Value of a loan, mortgage, or any other financial instrument 

Excel Macros – VBA (Visual Basic for Applications)

• Start here – How to run your first VBA Macro in Excel without knowing VBA? 

Excel Data Sheets for Practice

Want to do some freestyle practice? Create your own Excel playground with our blank excel Worksheet!

• Excel-Online Blank Worksheet
• Excel Practice Data

How to Calculate in Excel – Excel-Online Calculators

• How to Calculate GPA in Excel
• How to Calculate BMI in Excel
• How to Calculate Density in Excel
• How to Calculate Weighted Average in Excel

Lists in Excel (Download Link Available)

• List of Numbers in Excel –  Generate sequential or custom patterns of numbers for your Excel projects.
• ABC List in Excel –  Easily create alphabetical lists from A-Z for indexing, sorting, and categorization.
• List of U.S. States   in Excel –  Access a comprehensive list of all 50 U.S. states.
• Days of the Week in Excel –  A quick list of the days of the week, essential for scheduling and planning.
• Months of the Year in Excel –  Download a list of the 12 months of the year for time-based analyses.
• List of Colors in Excel –  Explore a list of standard color names for data visualization and UI design.
• Country List in Excel –  A global list of countries for international datasets or geographic studies.
• Holiday List in Excel –  A curated list of standard holidays for planning and project management.
• List of Currencies : A list of world currencies for financial modeling or international business.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Computers and Electronics
• Spreadsheets
• Microsoft Excel

Create a Gradebook on Microsoft Excel: Make a Weighted Points Grade Sheet

A simple way to record your students’ grades

Last Updated: August 26, 2024 Fact Checked

Create a New Workbook

Create the layout, calculate grades with formulas, assign letter grades, weight assignments, expert q&a, things you'll need.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Kyle Smith . Kyle Smith is a wikiHow Technology Writer, learning and sharing information about the latest technology. He has presented his research at multiple engineering conferences and is the writer and editor of hundreds of online electronics repair guides. Kyle received a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 239,985 times. Learn more...

Microsoft Excel is a great program for creating simple grade books! Using a spreadsheet (and a couple formulas) will reduce the time it takes to record and calculate grades. You don’t need to be familiar with Excel to follow our quickstart guide. This wikiHow article will walkthrough how to create a point-based grade book on Microsoft Excel.

Things You Should Know

• Create columns for student names, assignment grades, total points, possible points, numeric grade, and letter grade.
• Use the SUM function to add each student’s assignment points, then use the “/” division operator to divide their total earned points by the total possible points.
• Weight assignments by assigning more or less points.

• Alternatively, there are free templates for grade books online! Click More templates on the home page to search for “grade book” templates. You may see different templates depending on what version of Excel you’re using.
• The web app version of Excel has two grade book templates, one for points-based grading and another for percentage-based grading.

• For more general spreadsheet info, check out our guide on making a spreadsheet in Excel .

• Double click "Sheet1" at the bottom window. "Sheet1" should be highlighted.
• Type a name for the sheet. For example, “Section 1.”
• Press Enter .

• Click cell A1 to select it.
• Type the instructor’s name and press Enter . This will move your selection to A2.
• Type the class name in A3. For example, “World Geography.”
• Type the section number and meeting time in A4.
• Enter the term in A5. For example, “Fall 2022”

• This guide will cover one way to arrange your grade book. However, there are infinite ways to format an Excel spreadsheet . Try different templates and formats to find what works best for you!

• Select A7 and type “Student Number.” Row 7 will contain the column headers for each type of information you have in your grade book.
• Select A8 and type the number 1. Press Enter to enter the number in the cell and move down one.
• Type the number 2 in A9.
• Click and drag the cursor from A8 to A9. Both cells should be highlighted with a box around them.
• Hover your cursor over the lower right corner of the box until the cursor becomes a plus + (this is called the fill handle).
• Click and drag until you have a list of numbers for each student in your section.

• Select B7 and type the column header “First Name.”
• Select C7 and type the column header “Last Name.”
• Type in the students’ first and last names in columns B and C.

• You’ll insert the students’ assignment grades under each column.
• Note: For this guide, we’ll use a point-based grading structure, meaning each assignment is worth a certain amount of points.

• Note: Make sure to check your spreadsheet calculations by doing a few calculations by hand. This is a great way to catch any errors in your spreadsheet.
• Read more about the SUM function in our complete guide.

• Alternatively, you can type in the range instead.
• For example, if you have 5 assignments in columns D through H and the student names start on row 8, you’ll enter D8:H8

• Select the cell with the total summation formula. Click and drag the fill handle (the square in the bottom-right of the selection) down to the last student to automatically apply the sum formula to each row.
• Using our earlier five-assignment example, let’s say there are 10 students. The second student summation should now have a range of D9:H9, the third student D10:H10, down to the last student with D17:H17.

• Enter the possible points in each cell below the header.
• For example, if each assignment is out of 10 points, and there are five assignments, the possible points will be 50.

• The “/” symbol will divide the total cell by the possible points cell, giving you the student’s grade as a value under 1.
• For example, if a student earned 45 total points out of 50 possible points, their grade will be 0.90 (90 percent).

• You can change the grades to percentages by selecting the grade values and changing the data type to “percentage.” Find this by navigating to Fields tab > Properties group > Data Type .

• Compare the student’s grade to your grading structure.
• Insert the letter associated with that student’s grade.
• For example, if an “A” is 89 to 100 percent and a student scores a grade of 93, place an “A” in the “letter” column.

• For example, a 20-point assignments has double the weighting of a 10-point assignment.
• To weight entire categories, make their points add to the percentage of the total grade you want the category to represent.
• For example, if your course has 100 total points and you want five quizzes to represent 20 percent of the total grade, each quiz should be worth 4 points.

• Always give your grade-book a title, by clicking on the "file" tab, choose "Save As", in the Save As window, choose a location and type a name for your document. Press "Save" when ready to save. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Refer to Excel's extensive "Help" menu when in need. It offers tools on creating statistics of data. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• To find out what operating system your PC has, press "Start", right click on "Computer", scroll down and click on "Properties", a system dialog box will appear with basic information about your computer. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Be sure to confirm that the equations you created for your grade book are calculating correctly. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 1
• Make sure you save your progress throughout to prevent losing information as you work. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1
• Always save a backup of your grade book and maintain hard copies. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 2
• Computer with Windows 7, XP, or Vista
• Microsoft Office Excel 2010

You Might Also Like

About This Article

• Send fan mail to authors

Is this article up to date?

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help:

Tech troubles got you down? We've got the tips you need

How-To Geek

Excel for beginners: the 6 most important tasks to know.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Quick Links

Entering data in excel, managing spreadsheets, adding and removing columns and rows, formatting numbers, formatting fonts and cells, performing quick calculations.

If you've never spent time using Microsoft Excel, it can feel a bit overwhelming at first. We'll teach you the basic tasks you need to know to use this popular spreadsheet application.

From entering data and formatting numbers to adding cell borders and shading, knowing these essentials will ease the stress of learning to use Excel.

You have two easy ways to enter data in the cells of an Excel sheet.

Related: All the Best Microsoft Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

First, you can click the cell and type your data into it. Second, you can click the cell and type the data into the Formula Bar which is at the top of the sheet.

You can also copy data from another location and paste it in your sheet . Once you copy it, select the cell in your sheet and paste it by doing one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V on Windows or Command+V on Mac.
• Click "Paste" in the Clipboard section on the Home tab.
• Right-click the cell and pick "Paste" in the shortcut menu.

For more ways to paste like multiplying numbers as you do, look at our how-to on using Paste Special in Excel .

You can add many sheets to your Excel workbook. This is handy for handling projects that require separate spreadsheets.

Related: How to Change the Color of the Worksheet Tabs in Excel

To add a sheet, click the plus sign on the far-right side of the sheet tab row. This adds a spreadsheet to the right of the active one.

Alternatively, go to the Home tab, select the Insert drop-down box in the Cells section of the ribbon, and pick "Insert Sheet." This adds a spreadsheet to the left of the active one.

When you add a sheet, it has a default name of Sheet with a number. So, you'll see Sheet1, Sheet2, and so on. To rename a sheet, double-click the current name or right-click and pick "Rename." Then, type the new name and press Enter or Return.

To rearrange sheets, select one and drag it left or right to the spot where you want it. Then, release.

To color the tab for a sheet , right-click the tab, move to Tab Color, and select a color in the pop-out menu. This is a great way to spot certain sheets at a glance or color-code them for specific tasks.

To remove a sheet , right-click and choose "Delete." If the sheet contains data, you'll be asked to confirm that you want to delete the sheet and the data. Select "Delete" to continue or "Cancel" to keep the sheet.

You may discover that you need an additional column or row within your data set. Or, you might decide to remove a column or row you no longer need.

Related: How to Add and Remove Columns and Rows in Microsoft Excel

Add a Column or Row

You can insert a column or row a couple of different ways.

• Right-click a column or row and choose "Insert" from the shortcut menu. 
• Select a column or row and go to the Home tab. Open the Insert drop-down box in the Cells section and pick "Insert Sheet Rows" or "Insert Sheet Columns."

Both of the above actions insert a column to the left of the selected column or a row above the selected row.

Remove a Column or Row

To remove a column or row, you can use similar actions. To select a column, click the column header which is the letter at the top. To select a row, click the row header which is the number on the left.

• Right-click the column or row and choose "Delete" from the shortcut menu. 
• Select the column or row and go to the Home tab. Open the Delete drop-down box in the Cells section and pick "Delete Sheet Rows" or "Delete Sheet Columns."

For more, look at our tutorial for inserting multiple rows in Excel .

When you enter numbers in Excel , you can format them as ordinary numbers, currencies, decimals, percentages, dates, times, and fractions. 

Related: How to Use the Accounting Number Format in Microsoft Excel

Select a cell, go to the Home tab, and use the drop-down box in the Number section of the ribbon to pick the format. As you review the list of options, you'll see examples of how the data will appear. 

Pick the format you want, and you'll see your data update.

You can also choose the style for the number format you use. Click the small arrow on the bottom right of the Number section in the ribbon.

When the Format Cells box appears, go to the Number tab and select an option on the left.

On the right, you'll see a preview of the format with options below you can adjust. For example, you can choose the number of decimal places and how you want to display negative numbers .

After you make your selections, click "OK" to apply them to the value.

Along with formatting the data within a cell, you can format the cell itself. You may want to use a specific font style, apply a cell border , or add shading to a cell.

Related: How To Add and Change Cell Borders In Excel

Select the cell you want to change and head to the Home tab. You'll see several options in the Font section of the ribbon.

Font style and size : Use the drop-down boxes at the top to change the font style or size. You can also use the buttons to the right to increase or decrease the font size.

Bold, italics, and underline : Simply select one of these buttons to apply bold, italics, or underline to the font in a cell.

Border : Use the Border drop-down box to choose the type and style for the cell border.

Fill and font colors : Select the Fill Color drop-down box to pick a color for the cell or the Font Color box to pick a color for the font.

When you work with numbers in your sheet, it's common to perform calculations. Rather than delve into creating formulas in Excel, which is a bit more advanced, you can quickly add, average, or get the minimum or maximum number in a data set.

Related: 12 Basic Excel Functions Everybody Should Know

Go to the cell where you want to add the calculation. As an example, we'll sum the cells B2 through B6, so we pick cell B7.

Head to the Home tab and select the Sum drop-down box in the Editing section of the ribbon. You'll see the basic calculations you can perform. For our example, we select "Sum."

You'll then see Excel highlight the cells it believes you want to calculate. It also shows you the function and formula it'll use. Simply press Enter or Return to accept the suggestion and get the result.

Alternatively, you can start by selecting the cells you want to calculate. Then, choose the calculation from the Sum drop-down box. 

You'll see the result of the calculation below cells in a column or to the right of cells in a row.

As an Excel beginner, these basic tasks should get you off to a great start using the application. Once you master these actions, be sure to check out our additional Excel articles for things like creating a graph , using a table , and sorting or filtering data .

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Excel

• Ablebits blog
• Excel formulas

Basic Excel formulas & functions with examples

The tutorial provides a list of Excel basic formulas and functions with examples and links to related in-depth tutorials.

Being primarily designed as a spreadsheet program, Microsoft Excel is extremely powerful and versatile when it comes to calculating numbers or solving math and engineering problems. It enables you to total or average a column of numbers in the blink of an eye. Apart from that, you can compute a compound interest and weighted average, get the optimal budget for your advertising campaign, minimize the shipment costs or make the optimal work schedule for your employees. All this is done by entering formulas in cells.

This tutorial aims to teach you the essentials of Excel functions and show how to use basic formulas in Excel.

The basics of Excel formulas

Before providing the basic Excel formulas list, let's define the key terms just to make sure we are on the same page. So, what do we call an Excel formula and Excel function?

• Function is a predefined formula already available in Excel. Functions perform specific calculations in a particular order based on the specified values, called arguments, or parameters.

For example, instead of specifying each value to be summed like in the above formula, you can use the SUM function to add up a range of cells: =SUM(A2:A4)

Clicking the function's name will turn it into a blue hyperlink, which will open the Help topic for that function.

Tip. You don't necessarily have to type a function name in all caps, Microsoft Excel will automatically capitalize it once you finish typing the formula and press the Enter key to complete it.

10 Excel basic functions you should definitely know

What follows below is a list of 10 simple yet really helpful functions that are a necessary skill for everyone who wishes to turn from an Excel novice to an Excel professional.

The first Excel function you should be familiar with is the one that performs the basic arithmetic operation of addition:

In the syntax of all Excel functions, an argument enclosed in [square brackets] is optional, other arguments are required. Meaning, your Sum formula should include at least 1 number, reference to a cell or a range of cells. For example:

=SUM(B2:B6) - adds up values in cells B2 through B6.

=SUM(B2, B6) - adds up values in cells B2 and B6.

If necessary, you can perform other calculations within a single formula, for example, add up values in cells B2 through B6, and then divide the sum by 5:

=SUM(B2:B6)/5

To sum with conditions, use the SUMIF function: in the 1st argument, you enter the range of cells to be tested against the criteria (A2:A6), in the 2nd argument - the criteria itself (D2), and in the last argument - the cells to sum (B2:B6):

=SUMIF(A2:A6, D2, B2:B6)

Useful resources:

• Excel Sum formula examples - formulas to total a column, rows, only filtered (visible) cells, or sum across sheets.
• Excel AutoSum - the fastest way to sum a column or row of numbers.
• SUMIF in Excel - formula examples to conditionally sum cells.
• SUMIFS in Excel - formula examples to sum cells based on multiple criteria.

The Excel AVERAGE function does exactly what its name suggests, i.e. finds an average, or arithmetic mean, of numbers. Its syntax is similar to SUM's:

Having a closer look at the formula from the previous section ( =SUM(B2:B6)/5 ), what does it actually do? Sums values in cells B2 through B6, and then divides the result by 5. And what do you call adding up a group of numbers and then dividing the sum by the count of those numbers? Yep, an average!

The Excel AVERAGE function performs these calculations behind the scenes. So, instead of dividing sum by count, you can simply put this formula in a cell:

=AVERAGE(B2:B6)

To average cells based on condition, use the following AVERAGEIF formula, where A2:A6 is the criteria range, D3 is he criteria, and B2:B6 are the cells to average:

• Excel AVERAGE - average cells with numbers.
• Excel AVERAGEA - find an average of cells with any data (numbers, Boolean and text values).
• Excel AVERAGEIF - average cells based on one criterion.
• Excel AVERAGEIFS - average cells based on multiple criteria.
• How to calculate weighted average in Excel
• How to find moving average in Excel

MAX & MIN

The MAX and MIN formulas in Excel get the largest and smallest value in a set of numbers, respectively. For our sample data set, the formulas will be as simple as:

=MAX(B2:B6)

• MAX function - find the highest value.
• MAX IF formula - get the highest number with conditions.
• MAXIFS function - get the largest value based on multiple criteria.
• MIN function - return the smallest value in a data set.
• MINIFS function - find the smallest number based on one or several conditions.

COUNT & COUNTA

If you are curious to know how many cells in a given range contain numeric values (numbers or dates), don't waste your time counting them by hand. The Excel COUNT function will bring you the count in a heartbeat:

While the COUNT function deals only with those cells that contain numbers, the COUNTA function counts all cells that are not blank , whether they contain numbers, dates, times, text, logical values of TRUE and FALSE, errors or empty text strings (""):

For example, to find out how many cells in column B contain numbers, use this formula:

=COUNT(B:B)

To count all non-empty cells in column B, go with this one:

=COUNTA(B:B)

In both formulas, you use the so-called "whole column reference" (B:B) that refers to all the cells within column B.

• Excel COUNT function - a quick way to count cells with numbers.
• Excel COUNTA function - count cells with any values (non-empty cells).
• Excel COUNTIF function - count cells that meet one condition.
• Excel COUNTIFS function - count cells with several criteria.

Judging by the number of IF-related comments on our blog, it's the most popular function in Excel. In simple terms, you use an IF formula to ask Excel to test a certain condition and return one value or perform one calculation if the condition is met, and another value or calculation if the condition is not met:

For example, the following IF statement checks if the order is completed (i.e. there is a value in column C) or not. To test if a cell is not blank, you use the "not equal to" operator ( <>) in combination with an empty string (""). As the result, if cell C2 is not empty, the formula returns "Yes", otherwise "No":

• IF function in Excel with formula examples
• How to use nested IFs in Excel
• IF formulas with multiple AND/OR conditions

If your obviously correct Excel formulas return just a bunch of errors, one of the first things to check is extra spaces in the referenced cells (You may be surprised to know how many leading, trailing and in-between spaces lurk unnoticed in your sheets just until something goes wrong!).

There are several ways to remove unwanted spaces in Excel, with the TRIM function being the easiest one:

For example, to trim extra spaces in column A, enter the following formula in cell A1, and then copy it down the column:

• Excel TRIM function with formula examples
• How to delete line breaks and non-printing characters
• How to remove non-breaking spaces (&nbsp;)
• How to delete a specific non-printing character

Whenever you want to know the number of characters in a certain cell, LEN is the function to use:

Wish to find out how many characters are in cell A2? Just type the below formula into another cell:

Want to get the total count of characters in a range or cells or count only specific characters? Please check out the following resources.

• Excel LEN formulas to count characters in a cell
• Count the number of characters in cells and ranges

AND & OR

These are the two most popular logical functions to check multiple criteria. The difference is how they do this:

• AND returns TRUE if all conditions are met, FALSE otherwise.
• OR returns TRUE if any condition is met, FALSE otherwise.

While rarely used on their own, these functions come in very handy as part of bigger formulas.

For example, to check the test results in columns B and C and return "Pass" if both are greater than 60, "Fail" otherwise, use the following IF formula with an embedded AND statement:

=IF(AND(B2>60, B2>60), "Pass", "Fail")

If it's sufficient to have just one test score greater than 60 (either test 1 or test 2), embed the OR statement:

• Excel AND function with formula examples
• Excel OR function with formula examples

CONCATENATE

In case you want to take values from two or more cells and combine them into one cell, use the concatenate operator (&) or the CONCATENATE function:

For example, to combine the values from cells A2 and B2, just enter the following formula in a different cell:

=CONCATENATE(A2, B2)

To separate the combined values with a space, type the space character (" ") in the arguments list:

• How to concatenate in Excel - formula examples to combine text strings, cells and columns.
• CONCAT function - newer and improved function to combine the contents of multiple cells into one cell.

TODAY & NOW

To see the current date and time whenever you open your worksheet without having to manually update it on a daily basis, use either:

=TODAY() to insert the today's date in a cell.

=NOW() to insert the current date and time in a cell.

• How to insert today's date in Excel - different ways to enter the current date in Excel: as an unchangeable time stamp or automatically updatable date and time.
• Excel date functions with formula examples - formulas to convert date to text and vice versa, extract a day, month or year from a date, calculate the difference between two dates, and a lot more.

Best practices for writing Excel formulas

Now that you are familiar with the basic Excel formulas, these tips will give you some guidance on how to use them most effectively and avoid common formula errors.

Do not enclose numbers in double quotes

Any text included in your Excel formulas should be enclosed in "quotation marks". However, you should never do that to numbers, unless you want Excel to treat them as text values.

For example, to check the value in cell B2 and return 1 for "Passed", 0 otherwise, you put the following formula, say, in C2:

=IF(B2="pass", 1, 0)

Copy the formula down to other cells and you will have a column of 1's and 0's that can be calculated without a hitch.

Now, see what happens if you double quote the numbers:

=IF(B2="pass", "1", "0")

Don't format numbers in Excel formulas

Match all opening and closing parentheses, copy the same formula to other cells instead of re-typing it.

Note. After copying the formula, make sure that all cell references are correct. Cell references may change depending on whether they are absolute (do not change) or relative (change).

How to delete formula, but keep calculated value

When you remove a formula by pressing the Delete key, a calculated value is also deleted. However, you can delete only the formula and keep the resulting value in the cell. Here's how:

• Select all cells with your formulas.
• Press Ctrl + C to copy the selected cells.
• Right-click the selection, and then click Paste Values > Values to paste the calculated values back to the selected cells. Or, press the Paste Special shortcut: Shift+F10 and then V .

Make sure Calculation Options are set to Automatic

If all of a sudden your Excel formulas have stopped recalculating automatically, most likely the Calculation Options somehow switched to Manual . To fix this, go to the Formulas tab > Calculation group, click the Calculation Options button, and select Automatic .

This is how you make and manage basic formulas in Excel. I how you will find this information helpful. Anyway, I thank you for reading and hope to see you on our blog next week.

You may also be interested in

• How to make formulas in Excel
• Microsoft Excel formulas with examples
• Excel formulas not working, not updating, not calculating

Table of contents

412 comments

Thank you for this sharing

A VERY BIG THANKS .

I need the Excel formula number combination

One hundred and ten units (HTF) : 345,345,678,890,567

Summary of analysis results from 5 data If there is no incorrect information 036-037-046-047-056-057-058-158-258-358 368-369-378-379-458-468-469-478-479-558 568-569-578-579-588-589 (26 sets / total 26 sets)

Sorry, I have no idea exactly what the task is. It's hard to tell exactly what you're asking for as it's currently written.

For me personally It's clear that actually "seeing" something written down is easier to understand and remember than "hearing" it, but both together is even better.

Post a comment

How to Organize Assignments In Excel

• / How to Organize Assignments In Excel

In today’s fast-paced world, effective organization and time management are crucial for success, especially when dealing with numerous assignments and tasks. Microsoft Excel, a powerful and versatile spreadsheet application, can be an invaluable tool for organizing assignments . This article will delve into the significance of organizing assignments in Excel, provide a step-by-step guide on how to organize assignments in excel, and discuss the pros and cons of using Excel for this purpose.

Significance of Organizing Assignments in Excel

Organizing assignments in Excel offers several benefits:

Enhanced Productivity:

With a clear overview of tasks, deadlines, and progress, you can manage your time more efficiently and prioritize effectively.

Improved Time Management:

Excel allows you to set deadlines and reminders, ensuring that you stay on track and meet your targets.

Customization:

Excel’s flexibility enables you to tailor your assignment tracker to fit your specific needs and preferences.

Data Analysis:

By organizing your assignments in Excel, you can easily analyze patterns and trends, helping you to optimize your workflow and identify areas for improvement.

Centralized Information:

Having all your assignments in one place reduces the risk of losing track of tasks and ensures that all relevant information is easily accessible.

Step-by-Step Process to Organize Assignments in Excel

Step 1: create a new workbook.

Open Excel and create a new workbook. This workbook will serve as your assignment tracker.

• Open Excel.
• Click on “File” in the top left corner.
• Select “New” and choose “Blank Workbook.”

Step 2: Set Up Your Spreadsheet

Create a structured layout for your assignments by setting up columns for essential information. Common columns include:

• Assignment Name : The title or description of the assignment.
• Due Date : The deadline for the assignment.
• Priority : The importance level of the assignment (e.g., high, medium, low).
• Status : The current status of the assignment (e.g., not started, in progress, completed).
• Notes : Any additional information or comments about the assignment.

In your blank workbook, label the columns in the first row:

Step 3: Enter Assignment Details

Begin entering the details of your assignments into the respective columns. For example:

Step 4: Apply Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting can help you quickly identify high-priority tasks and approaching deadlines.

• Select the cells you want to format (e.g., the “Due Date” column).
• Click on “Home” in the top menu.
• Select “Conditional Formatting.”
• Choose “Highlight Cells Rules” and then “Less Than.”
• Enter a date that is a few days from today to highlight approaching deadlines.

You can also use conditional formatting to color-code priorities. For instance, high-priority tasks can be highlighted in red, medium in yellow, and low in green.

Step 5: Add Data Validation

To maintain consistency and accuracy, use data validation for columns like “Priority” and “Status.”

• Select the cells in the “Priority” column.
• Go to “Data” in the top menu.
• Click “ Data Validation .”
• In the “Settings” tab, choose “List” from the “Allow” dropdown menu.
• Enter your priority options (e.g., High, Medium, Low) in the “Source” box.
• Repeat these steps for the “Status” column with options like “Not Started,” “In Progress,” and “Completed.”

Step 6: Create a Dashboard

A dashboard provides a visual summary of your assignments, helping you to monitor progress at a glance.

• Create a new sheet in your workbook and name it “Dashboard.”
• Use charts and graphs to display key metrics, such as the number of assignments per priority level or the percentage of completed tasks.
• To insert a chart, go to “Insert” in the top menu, select “Chart,” and choose the type of chart that best represents your data (e.g., pie chart, bar chart).

Step 7: Automate with Formulas

Excel’s formulas can automate calculations and updates, saving you time and reducing errors.

• SUM: Calculate the total number of assignments.

• COUNTIF: Count assignments based on their status.

Step 8: Set Up Reminders

Use Excel’s built-in features to set up reminders for upcoming deadlines.

• Highlight the “Due Date” column.
• Apply conditional formatting to change the cell color when the due date is approaching.
• Alternatively, integrate Excel with Outlook to receive email reminders for upcoming deadlines.

Pros and Cons of Organizing Assignments in Excel

Versatility:.

Excel’s flexibility allows for a high degree of customization, enabling you to create a tracker that meets your specific needs.

Excel’s powerful data analysis tools, such as pivot tables and charts, help you identify trends and optimize your workflow.

Centralization:

Keeping all your assignments in one place reduces the risk of losing track of tasks and ensures easy access to all relevant information.

Automation:

Excel’s formulas and macros can automate repetitive tasks, saving you time and reducing errors.

Collaboration:

Excel supports collaboration, allowing multiple users to update and manage the assignment tracker simultaneously.

Learning Curve:

For beginners, Excel’s vast array of features can be overwhelming, and it may take time to learn how to use the application effectively.

Complexity:

As the number of assignments grows, the spreadsheet can become complex and difficult to manage.

Manual Updates:

Although Excel supports automation, some updates and entries may still need to be done manually, which can be time-consuming.

Limited Notifications:

Unlike dedicated task management software, Excel does not have built-in notification features, which means you may need to rely on external reminders.

File Management:

Managing multiple Excel files or sharing them across different devices and platforms can sometimes be cumbersome.

Conclusion:

• Understanding how to organize assignments in excelis a powerful method for managing tasks, enhancing productivity, and improving time management. By following a structured approach and leveraging Excel’s features, you can create an effective assignment tracker that meets your needs.
• While Excel offers numerous benefits, it is essential to be aware of its limitations and consider complementary tools or strategies to address these challenges.
• With practice and customization, Excel can become an indispensable tool in your assignment management toolkit.

Share With:

Write your comment Here Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

© 2024 Earn and Excel. All Rights Reserved

• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions

8 Excel Project Ideas To Improve Your Skills + Build Your Portfolio

Travis Cuzick

In This Post:

1: personal finance management tool, 2: employee scheduling planner, 3: inventory management system, 4: loan calculator, 5: student grade manager, 6: fitness tracker, 7: sales trend analysis, 8: dynamic dashboard, which will you solve first.

One thing I’ve found from working with Excel spreadsheets for well over a decade , is that regardless of how much you know about Excel, there’s always more to learn .

But just acquiring more knowledge has its limits, and oftentimes the best way to learn is by doing and applying what you've learned so far.

That’s why if you want to truly master Excel, then you need to solve messy, complex, real-world problems with it .

With that in mind, here are 9 Excel project ideas that will strengthen the skills you already have, AND inspire you to add plenty of new ones to add to your Excel toolbox .

However, there’s a slight caveat. I want to make this practice as realistic as possible.

What do you mean?

Well, in the real world, you’ll usually start off with raw data from sources.

It’s then up to you to:

• Figure out what's important
• Clean it up
• And extract insights from that data to meet your goals

That's why I’m not going to give you specific steps to follow like I would in a normal tutorial . That’s easy mode.

Instead, I’m going to assign tasks for you to figure out how to implement for yourself , as if you were a Data Analyst being assigned a project, or if you were sitting for an interview.

The goal is for you to go through each recommended task and try to figure out how you would apply each of the recommendations that I give you. (Like an exam question but with less pressure).

Don’t worry, as I’ll give some hints along the way.

The basic structure will be:

• You map out the problem
• Figure out a solution
• Then try to build it in Excel on your own

This proactive approach will not only help you to test out your skills but it’ll also push you beyond your comfort zone that you actually improve your skills by working on real world projects.

So let’s dive in!...

Sidenote: If you struggle to figure out how to solve some of these problems, are not sure how the features work, or simply want to improve your Excel skills, then check out my complete Excel course .

It’s the only course you need to become an Excel and Data Analysis master. You’ll learn Excel from scratch including advanced topics like data analysis & modeling, pivot tables, and VBA. You'll build your own professional spreadsheets and charts, and have the skills to get hired as a Data Analyst in 2024! Check it out here , or watch the first videos for free . As an added bonus, not only do you get access to the course content, but you can also ask me, and other students questions in our private Discord channel .

With that out of the way, let’s dive into these Excel projects!

Are you ready to up your finance game and take control of your money?

For this Excel project, you'll design and build a personal finance management tool to help you keep track of your investments, savings, and debts.

Recommended tasks

• Setting up a budget
• Tracking your income and expenses
• Analyzing your spending patterns
• Visualize your financial data

Next, you'll dive into managing investments by:

• Keeping track of stock prices, dividends, and portfolio performance
• And, of course, you'll be able to manage your savings and track your debts so you can see exactly where your money is going

Recommended skills

This project will give you the opportunity to practice and strengthen your Excel skills by leveraging:

• and many other Excel features

But beyond just technical skills, you'll also learn some pretty important life skills - like how to create a budget, track your spending, and make informed financial decisions.

And, by managing your investments, savings, and debts in one place ( hint ), you'll have a clear picture of your financial situation and be able to make more informed decisions about your money.

Again, if you're reading this and thinking... "I still have no idea where to start" then come take my Excel Bootcamp course where I take you step-by-step to build a project just like this.

Imagine you're the manager of a company and you need to create a weekly schedule for your employees.

Your mission here then will be to develop an employee schedule planning tool that can help you easily create a schedule that takes into account each employee's availability and preferred hours.

• You'll start by gathering information on your employees' schedules, including the days and hours they're available to work
• Then, using that information, you'll create an Excel spreadsheet that generates a weekly schedule for your team
• The schedule should be flexible and allow for changes, such as time off requests or shift swaps.

The end result should be a user-friendly and efficient schedule planner that saves time and reduces manual effort.

• Organizational planning
• Conditional formatting

Looking for a practical, real-world project using Microsoft Excel? Try designing and building an inventory management spreadsheet for an ecommerce business.

There are millions of ecomm stores these days and any of them selling a physical good are likely having to manage inventory.

There are definitely tools out there that help track this for businesses but they can be expensive or might not be exactly what the business needs. Most people still rely on Excel.

So this is definitely something you could build for a business and deliver a lot of value.

The ultimate objective of this project is to:

• Track inventory levels
• Generate reports to help the business keep track of what they have in stock
• Bonus points if you can do some time-series analysis and estimate future sales volume.
• More bonus points if you set it up with alerts for when the business should replenish inventory (so they don't run out!)

You'll need to make sure the spreadsheet can update in real-time as inventory levels change, and provide an easy-to-read overview of what's going on with the business's inventory.

Building this out will give you a taste of what it's like to work on a realistic business problem. You'll learn about the different factors that go into managing inventory, like keeping track of stock levels, assessing customer demand, reordering products, and generating reports for management.

This is the kind of stuff that you'll use in your future career, no matter what industry you end up in .

So by completing this project, you'll add a valuable showpiece to your portfolio, that demonstrates to future employers that you not only know how to use Excel, but that you can apply your skills to real-world scenarios to create something useful for a business.

Another great way to challenge your Microsoft Excel skills is to build a loan calculator spreadsheet.

The idea is simple. You'll create a spreadsheet that helps calculate how much people will pay on a loan including the interest and amortization.

You'll need to think about what information you need from the user, like the loan amount, interest rate, and number of years.

Then you'll use that information to calculate the monthly payment, total interest paid, and the amortization schedule.

The end result should be a user-friendly spreadsheet that anyone can use to calculate their loan payments.

It's a great opportunity to boost your Excel skills, learn about personal finance, and develop your problem-solving abilities - all while having fun and creating a useful tool that you can actually use in real life!

Another great way to hone your Excel skills while solving a real-world problem is to build a spreadsheet that makes it easy for teachers to track and manage students' grades.

With this tool, you'll be able to input grades for each student, across different classes, and then calculate their overall GPAs. (And no, you can’t make it automatically give you an A+ - sorry!)

• To start, you'll need to set up the basic structure of the spreadsheet, including columns for the student name, class name, individual grades, and GPA
• Then you'll get to work creating formulas that will automatically calculate the overall GPA for each student. This means that every time you add a new grade for a student, their GPA will be updated automatically

In the end, you’ll have created a tool that saves teachers time and makes it easy for them to keep track of their students' grades.

All your Excel skills, from formula and function wizardry to data management, will be that much sharper as a result.

For your next Microsoft Excel project, try creating a fitness tracker spreadsheet.

(A good way to answer some of the questions to build this, is to imagine you’re creating this tool to help you set your own fitness goals).

Here are just a few ideas for features you could include in your project:

• A section to record all your workout details, including date, type of workout, duration, and any notes you want to include
• A way to calculate and track your progress, such as your total calories burned, miles ran, or weight lifted
• A section to set fitness goals and track your progress towards reaching them
• Any charts or graphs you want to include to visually represent your progress over time
• Visualization

You'll learn about many of the cool things you can do with Excel as you design this spreadsheet to meet your requirements, while also making it usable and visually appealing.

If you're looking for a way to flex those analytical muscles, how about creating a spreadsheet to analyze sales trends for a business?

This project will give you the opportunity to dive deep into sales data to find meaningful insights that can help management make informed decisions.

You'll start by collecting sales data from a business and then organizing it in a spreadsheet. But that’s just a prelude to the fun stuff... leveraging Excel’s vast feature set to:

• Analyze the data
• Identify patterns and trends, and ultimately
• Make some recommendations
• Create charts and graphs to visualize the data
• Use conditional formatting to highlight important information
• Use PivotTables to summarize and aggregate data
• And you could even play around with the Excel Data Model . (The Data Model helps when working with huge datasets. Although you don’t technically have any data to work with, running your solution through there, is good practice)

Think of this as your chance to see what it would be like to be a Data Analyst for a day !

By the end of the project, you'll have a better understanding of how sales data can be used to make a real impact on a business.

And you’ll also get to flex your problem-solving muscles as you figure out how to turn raw sales data into meaningful insights, and present those findings in a clear and compelling way.

The goal of this project is to create a dashboard that allows users to explore and interact with the data in different ways.

The end result will be a dynamic dashboard that provides valuable insights and helps users make informed decisions based on the data.

For example

The user should be able to specify a particular time period, or filter the data by any number of the attributes in the dataset. Helpful right?

Ok so some spoilers, as this is technically some more advanced features to standard Excel:

• You'll start by cleaning and transforming your data using Power Query
• Then you'll use DAX, Pivot Tables and formulas to create calculated fields and perform analysis on the data
• You'll then create charts and other visualizations that present the data in a way that makes it easy to understand

For this project, you use Excel's business intelligence tools to create a dynamic dashboard that presents data in an interactive and visually appealing way .

You'll be working with tools like:

• Pivot Tables
• Power Query, and

This project is a great opportunity for you to apply your advanced Excel skills, while also developing your business intelligence and data analysis skills .

BONUS: Create a retirement planning tool

One final project, and unlike the others on this list, this one is actually guided to help you improve your skills .

In fact, it's a new mini-course project that I just created for members of Zero To Mastery to test and improve their Excel skills.

Ideal for both intermediate and advanced users, this project combines practicality with complexity, enabling you to go beyond Excel's basic functionality to build a genuinely useful, interactive tool - a perfect way to keep those Excel muscles active and growing.

The goal of the project is for you to create a retirement planning tool using Excel, that you can use yourself and help you start planning that early retirement you've dreamed of.

The skills you hone in this project have real-world applications, enhancing your employability in roles that require data analysis, financial planning, and spreadsheet management. So get ready for a journey that combines education with excitement and practicality, as you transform a starter file into a fully-fledged Retirement Planning Tool.

You'll build charts and other visual elements that instantaneously update as you smoothly change inputs with slider controls and drop-down lists, reflecting the impact of different retirement ages on your projected retirement savings.

But as an equally important part of the project, you'll also engineer a formula-driven calculation engine that - while unseen to the end user - forms the heartbeat of the tool.

This project isn't just a learning exercise...it's a demonstration of your prowess with Excel and an asset for your portfolio.

• An intermediate to advanced knowledge of Excel

That being said, remember that this is a guided project, so you'll be able to also learn more of the intricacies and advanced methods as you go.

So there you have it - 9 practice project ideas that will help you level up your skills from spreadsheet All-Star to Excel MVP. Showing a potential employer any of these projects will definitley make you stand out as well.

• Do you have an idea which you’ll do first?
• How about the problems? Do you think you can solve them and set up the code in Excel to perform each task if you added in a dataset?

If so, then get to work and start creating these now! The best way to learn is to apply what you know in new situations and problems.

And if you’re struggling to figure out how to solve some of these problems, are not sure how the features work, or simply want to improve your Excel skills, then check out my complete Excel course .

It’s the only course you need to become an Excel and Data Analysis master.

You’ll learn Excel from scratch including advanced topics like data analysis & modeling, pivot tables, and VBA.

You'll build your own professional spreadsheets and charts, and have the skills to get hired as a Data Analyst in 2024!

Check it out here , or watch the first videos for free.

Don’t forget: Not only do you get access to the course content, but you can also ask me, and other students questions in our private Discord channel .

The Excel Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery

Become a data wizard in Excel. Learn Excel Formulas and Functions, Data Visualization, Pivot Tables, VBA Macros, and much more. Start or supplement your career with data analysis & science skills & get hired in 2024.

Power BI Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery

Go from absolute beginner in Power BI to getting hired as a confident and effective Analyst. Learn Power BI (+ much more) by analyzing real-world datasets and building enterprise-level projects.

VBA Programming Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery

Become a data analytics pro by using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) Programming in Excel. Learn VBA Macros, Variables, Userforms, Loops, Arrays, and Pivot Tables. Build your career in data analysis & get hired.

Advanced Excel Bootcamp: Data Analytics and Business Intelligence

Become a Data Professional. You'll learn to master Excel's built-in power tools, including Power Query, Power Pivot Tables, Data Modeling, the DAX formula language, and so much more.

More from Zero To Mastery

If you enjoy numbers, problem-solving, and finding out WHY things happen, then becoming a Business Intelligence Analyst might be the perfect new role for you!

This VBA tutorial will teach you 3 VBA loops that you can use in VBA for Excel to automate repetitive tasks. You'll learn For Next, Nested, and For Each Loops.

Still not even sure if you should learn VBA for Excel? We break down our top 5 reasons why you should start learning VBA and how you can get started today.

Excel Practice Exercises PDF with Answers

To solve the following exercises, you will need to know about the SUM , AVERAGE , IF , VLOOKUP , INDEX , MATCH , ROUNDUP , UNIQUE , COUNTIF , LEFT , SEARCH , MID , RIGHT , LEN , FIND , SUBSTITUTE , AND , and SUMIF functions and the Data Bars feature of Excel. You can use Excel 2010 or later, except for the UNIQUE function, which is only available in Excel 2021 .

Download the Practice Files

You can download the PDF and Excel files by filling out this form:

Eleven Practice Exercises with Solutions.pdf [/wpsm_box] [wpsm_box type="download" float="none" textalign="left"] Eleven Practice Exercises.xlsx [/wpsm_box] -->

Problem Overview

Here is a snapshot of the first two problems. The solutions to all problems are given in a separate sheet.

• Exercise 01 – Class Performance Evaluation . You will find these values –
• The total number for each student,
• Their average on those subjects,
• Based on the average score, you will return a GPA. For GPA calculation, less than 60 is B and higher is A .
• You need to find the employee salary in the lookup table on the right side.
• Exercise 03 – Lookup Values (Any Direction) .
• Here your task is the same as the second task. However, this time the lookup range is on the right side. Therefore, you cannot use the VLOOKUP function here.
• You will need to round the sales generated values in this exercise.
• You will need to add the first name and last name.
• Your task is to create a Data Bar for the salary values and hide the salary values.
• Firstly, you need to find the unique values in a list of names.
• Then, you will find how many times that value occurred in that lis
• You need to separate the three parts of a name from a given list.
• You will need to find the total sales for a particular country.
• Your objective is to ensure that users cannot type less than 0 in a column.
• Your target is to determine whether a date is between two dates or not.

Here is a screenshot of the solutions to the first two problems.

What is ExcelDemy?

Rafiul Haq worked as an Excel and VBA Content Developer in Exceldemy for over two years and published almost 200 articles for the website. He is passionate about exploring new aspects of Excel and VBA. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Production Engineering (MPE) from the Islamic University of Technology. Rafiul furthered his education by obtaining an MBA in Finance from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) at the University of Dhaka. Apart from creating... Read Full Bio

You really help me alot thanks

Hello, Aleem!

Thanks for your appreciation. stay in touch with ExcelDemy .

Regards ExcelDemy

Thanks a lot

Dear Rashmi ,

You are most welcome.

This is very helpful. You are God send

Thanks for your appreciation.

Leave a reply Cancel reply

ExcelDemy is a place where you can learn Excel, and get solutions to your Excel & Excel VBA-related problems, Data Analysis with Excel, etc. We provide tips, how to guide, provide online training, and also provide Excel solutions to your business problems.

Contact  |  Privacy Policy  |  TOS

• User Reviews
• List of Services
• Service Pricing

• Create Basic Excel Pivot Tables
• Excel Formulas and Functions
• Excel Charts and SmartArt Graphics
• Advanced Excel Training
• Data Analysis Excel for Beginners

Advanced Excel Exercises with Solutions PDF

Excel Tutorial: How To Make Assignment Schedule In Excel

Introduction.

Managing assignments and deadlines can be a daunting task, especially when dealing with multiple projects simultaneously. This is where Excel comes in handy, allowing you to create well-organized and efficient assignment schedules . In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of creating an assignment schedule in Excel, helping you stay on top of your tasks and deadlines.

Key Takeaways

• Excel is a valuable tool for creating and managing assignment schedules, especially for multiple projects.
• Understanding the basic layout and functions of Excel is essential for creating an efficient assignment schedule.
• Color-coding and formatting options can help visually organize and prioritize tasks in the assignment schedule.
• Learning and utilizing basic Excel formulas and functions can automate calculations and updates in the assignment schedule.
• Efficient data entry and management practices, such as sorting and filtering options, are crucial for maintaining a well-organized assignment schedule in Excel.

Understanding the Excel Interface

Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool for creating spreadsheets and organizing data. Before diving into creating an assignment schedule, it's important to have a good understanding of the Excel interface.

• Excel opens with a blank worksheet, consisting of a grid of cells organized into rows and columns.
• The ribbon at the top of the window contains tabs, each of which has several groups of related commands.
• The Quick Access Toolbar provides easy access to commonly used commands.
• Cells are the individual rectangular boxes on the worksheet where you enter data.
• Rows run horizontally across the worksheet, and columns run vertically.
• Each cell is referenced by its column letter and row number, such as A1 or B5.
• Excel offers a wide range of formatting options to customize the appearance of your worksheet, including font styles, colors, and borders.
• You can also apply number formats, such as currency or percentage, to make your data easier to read.
• Conditional formatting allows you to highlight specific cells based on their values.

Creating a New Worksheet

When it comes to creating an assignment schedule in Excel, the first step is to start a new worksheet.

A. Step-by-step guide to starting a new Excel worksheet

To begin, open Excel and click on the “File” tab in the top left corner. From the drop-down menu, select “New” to create a new worksheet. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + N to start a new worksheet instantly.

B. Naming and saving the worksheet file

After creating the new worksheet, it is important to name and save the file to avoid losing any work. Click on the “File” tab and select “Save As” to choose a location on your computer and give the file a name. Be sure to save the file periodically as you work on it to prevent any data loss.

C. Understanding different file formats

Excel offers various file formats for saving your worksheet, such as .xlsx, .xlsm, and .xlsb. Each format has its own features and compatibility with other software, so it is important to understand the differences and choose the appropriate format for your needs.

Setting Up the Assignment Schedule

Creating an assignment schedule in Excel can help you stay organized and on top of your workload. To effectively set up your schedule, follow these steps:

• Dates: Begin by creating a column for dates, starting with the due date of the first assignment and continuing through the end of the semester or project timeline.
• Assignments: Next, create a column for listing the assignments or tasks that need to be completed, corresponding to the dates in the first column.
• Deadlines: In a third column, enter the deadlines for each assignment, ensuring that they align with the corresponding date and assignment.
• Start Date: Use the =TODAY() function to automatically populate the start date of the schedule. This will ensure that the schedule always reflects the current date.
• Date Calculations: Utilize Excel's date functions, such as =EDATE() and =DATE() , to calculate and display future dates based on the start date and assignment deadlines.
• Color-Coding: Use Excel's formatting options to apply color-coding to the schedule, such as highlighting past due assignments in red, upcoming deadlines in yellow, and completed tasks in green.
• Conditional Formatting: Take advantage of Excel's conditional formatting feature to automatically apply colors based on specific criteria, making it easier to visually identify important dates and tasks.

Adding Formulas and Functions

When it comes to creating an assignment schedule in Excel, adding formulas and functions can help automate calculations and updates, making the process more efficient and less prone to human error. In this section, we will introduce basic Excel formulas for calculating due dates and progress, discuss the use of functions to automate calculations and updates, and troubleshoot common formula errors.

Excel offers a wide range of formulas that can be utilized to calculate due dates and track progress for assignments. Some basic formulas that can be used include:

• Today: This function can be used to automatically insert the current date in a cell. For example, =TODAY()
• Date calculations: Formulas such as =E2+7 can be used to calculate a due date by adding a specified number of days to a start date.
• Progress percentage: Formulas like =F2/D2 can be used to calculate the percentage of progress based on completed tasks and the total number of tasks.

Excel functions are powerful tools that can be used to automate calculations and updates. Some useful functions for creating an assignment schedule include:

• IF function: This function can be used to set up conditional statements based on specific criteria. For example, =IF(D2>TODAY(),"Not Yet Due","Past Due")
• VLOOKUP function: This function can be used to retrieve specific data from a table based on a lookup value. For example, =VLOOKUP(E2, A2:B10, 2, FALSE)
• SUMIF function: This function can be used to sum values based on specified criteria. For example, =SUMIF(A2:A10, "Complete", C2:C10)

While working with formulas and functions, it is common to encounter errors. Some common formula errors in Excel include:

• #DIV/0!: This error occurs when a formula attempts to divide by zero. It can be resolved by adding a conditional statement to check for zero denominators.
• #VALUE!: This error occurs when a formula includes invalid data types. It can be resolved by checking for mismatched data types and ensuring that all data is entered correctly.
• #REF!: This error occurs when a cell reference is invalid. It can be resolved by checking for broken or incorrect cell references.

Data Entry and Management

A. Best practices for data entry in the assignment schedule

• Consistent Formatting: Ensure that all data is entered in a consistent format, such as dates in the same style and naming conventions for tasks.
• Use Data Validation: Implement data validation to restrict input to specific criteria, such as valid dates or designated options for task types.
• Accuracy Check: Double-check all entries for accuracy and completeness to avoid errors in the schedule.

B. Sorting and filtering options for managing large sets of data

• Sorting Data: Utilize Excel's sorting feature to arrange the assignment schedule based on criteria such as due dates or task priorities.
• Filtering Data: Utilize Excel's filtering feature to display specific subsets of the assignment schedule, making it easier to focus on particular tasks or deadlines.
• Custom Views: Create custom views to quickly switch between different arrangements of the assignment schedule for various purposes.

C. Tips for efficient data management within Excel

• Use Tables: Convert the assignment schedule into a table to take advantage of dynamic updates and built-in filtering options.
• Conditional Formatting: Apply conditional formatting to highlight important deadlines or overdue tasks for better visibility.
• Utilize Formulas: Implement Excel formulas to automate calculations, such as calculating task durations or remaining time until deadlines.

Throughout this tutorial, we covered the key steps to create an assignment schedule in Excel , including setting up the layout, entering the data, and applying formatting. I encourage you to practice and explore further the features of Excel to become more proficient in using this powerful tool for organizing and managing your assignments.

Don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback or questions you may have. We're here to help!

Immediate Download

MAC & PC Compatible

Free Email Support

Related aticles

The Benefits of Excel Dashboards for Data Analysts

Unlock the Power of Real-Time Data Visualization with Excel Dashboards

Unlocking the Potential of Excel's Data Dashboard

Unleashing the Benefits of a Dashboard with Maximum Impact in Excel

Exploring Data Easily and Securely: Essential Features for Excel Dashboards

Unlock the Benefits of Real-Time Dashboard Updates in Excel

Unleashing the Power of Excel Dashboards

Understanding the Benefits and Challenges of Excel Dashboard Design and Development

Leverage Your Data with Excel Dashboards

Crafting the Perfect Dashboard for Excel

An Introduction to Excel Dashboards

How to Create an Effective Excel Dashboard

• Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.

#1 Excel tutorial on the net

• Assignment Problem

Formulate the Model | Trial and Error | Solve the Model

Use the solver in Excel to find the assignment of persons to tasks that minimizes the total cost.

Formulate the Model

The model we are going to solve looks as follows in Excel.

1. To formulate this assignment problem , answer the following three questions.

a. What are the decisions to be made? For this problem, we need Excel to find out which person to assign to which task (Yes=1, No=0). For example, if we assign Person 1 to Task 1, cell C10 equals 1. If not, cell C10 equals 0.

b. What are the constraints on these decisions? Each person can only do one task (Supply=1). Each task only needs one person (Demand=1).

c. What is the overall measure of performance for these decisions? The overall measure of performance is the total cost of the assignment, so the objective is to minimize this quantity.

2. To make the model easier to understand, create the following named ranges .

3. Insert the following functions.

Explanation: The SUM functions calculate the number of tasks assigned to a person and the number of persons assigned to a task. Total Cost equals the sumproduct of Cost and Assignment.

Trial and Error

With this formulation, it becomes easy to analyze any trial solution.

For example, if we assign Person 1 to Task 1, Person 2 to task 2 and Person 3 to Task 3, Tasks Assigned equals Supply and Persons Assigned equals Demand. This solution has a total cost of 147.

It is not necessary to use trial and error. We shall describe next how the Excel Solver can be used to quickly find the optimal solution.

Solve the Model

To find the optimal solution, execute the following steps.

1. On the Data tab, in the Analyze group, click Solver.

Note: can't find the Solver button? Click here to load the Solver add-in .

Enter the solver parameters (read on). The result should be consistent with the picture below.

You have the choice of typing the range names or clicking on the cells in the spreadsheet.

2. Enter TotalCost for the Objective.

3. Click Min.

4. Enter Assignment for the Changing Variable Cells.

5. Click Add to enter the following constraint.

Note: binary variables are either 0 or 1.

6. Click Add to enter the following constraint.

7. Click Add to enter the following constraint.

8. Check 'Make Unconstrained Variables Non-Negative' and select 'Simplex LP'.

9. Finally, click Solve.

The optimal solution:

Conclusion: it is optimal to assign Person 1 to task 2, Person 2 to Task 3 and Person 3 to Task 1. This solution gives the minimum cost of 129. All constraints are satisfied.

Learn more, it's easy

• Transportation Problem
• Shortest Path Problem
• Maximum Flow Problem
• Capital Investment
• Sensitivity Analysis
• System of Linear Equations

Download Excel File

• assignment-problem.xlsx

Next Chapter

• Analysis ToolPak

Follow Excel Easy

Become an Excel Pro

• 300 Examples

Assignment Problem • © 2010-2024 Excel is Awesome, we'll show you: Introduction • Basics • Functions • Data Analysis • VBA

Learn to automate and grow your business with spreadsheets

• Error Troubleshooting
• Free PDF Cheat Sheet
• Ultimate Cheat Sheet spreadsheet
• Microsoft Excel Templates
• Google Sheets Templates
• Full dashboards course
• Basic dashboard tutorial
• Hire an expert
• All Excel Lessons
• Excel Templates
• Excel Formulas
• Excel Formatting
• Excel Error Troubleshooting

Excel Gradebook Templates (Points + Percentage)

If you are looking for a Microsoft Excel gradebook that will help you easily record and calculate grades for your students, then you will find exactly what you need on this page!

The Excel gradebook templates will allow you to keep track of your class grades in a very organized and efficient way. Spreadsheets make it fast to enter student attendance which is why when I was an academic coach I used spreadsheets to track my student grades, as well as every other type of student data that I could get my hands on.

This page contains the Excel gradebook templates, which were created specifically to be used in Microsoft Excel. Click here to get the Google Sheets versions of the gradebook templates .

Points based + percentage based version

There are two different gradebook templates that you can choose from, depending on whether you want to record points, or percentages. The points-based version allows you to enter the points per assignment, and then automatically displays the percentages on a separate tab. With the percentage-based version, you can directly enter the percentages for each assignment.

Points based (with Automatic percentage tab) (.xlsx)

This version of the gradebook template will allow you to enter the points possible & points earned on one tab… and it has an additional tab that will calculate the percentage of each assignment for you.

Percentage based (.xlsx)

This version of the template allows you to record the percentages of each assignment.

Click here to see the attendance templates for Excel .

Excused assignments

In the template you will have the option to mark assignments as “Excused” in the points-based gradebook template. If you have a student that you would like to excuse an assignment for, simply enter the letter “E” into the appropriate cell for that assignment / student, and that assignment will not factor into the calculations.

Gradebook color coding

Both templates have automatic color coding for the average grades of each student (Column B), and the average grades for each assignment (Row 1). This conditional formatting will allow you to easily identify students who are struggling, or assignments that may have been too difficult or too easy.

Points-based gradebook template for Excel

Get the template (.xlsx)

In this template, you can set the “Points Possible” for each assignment, and then record the points that were earned for each student, on each assignment. After entering the points possible and the points earned, the total points earned for each student/ assignment will calculate, and so will the average percentage.

In this template you can excuse a student from any assignment that you want, by entering the letter “E” for the score. That assignment for that student will not factor into the calculations.

You will also be able to see the overall class average at the top.

Instructions:

• Enter student names in column A
• Enter assignment names in row 4
• Enter the points possible for each assignment in row 3
• Enter the points earned for each student, on each assignment
• Optional- Click the second tab to view assignment percentages

This points-based template also has a second tab that doesn’t require any editing, and will automatically calculate the percentage of each individual assignment for you, as shown in the image below.

As you can see in the image above, the second tab of the percentage-based template shows the percentages that are associated with each score you entered in the form of points (on the first tab).

The total number of students in your class / in the template, will display at the top of the sheet.

This template was created by and is owned by Corey Bustos / SpreadsheetClass.com

Percentage based gradebook template for Excel

In this template, you will be able to directly record the percentage that is earned for each assignment. Whether you are calculating the percentages yourself or if you have a learning platform that reports percentages directly, this will allow you to record the percentage based scores for your students.

After entering the percentages earned for each assignment, the average score for each student, each assignment, and for the class overall, will calculate automatically.

• Enter assignment names in row 3
• Enter the percentage earned for each student, on each assignment

The total number of students on the sheet will display at the top of the sheet.

I hope that you enjoy these templates!

Click here to see more Microsoft Excel lessons .

Or check out the Microsoft Excel templates .

Related Posts:

• Google Sheets Gradebook Templates (Points and Percentage)
• Google Sheets Templates for Teachers
• Free Microsoft Excel Templates
• Attendance tracker templates for Microsoft Excel
• 24 of the Best Free Google Sheets Templates
• Attendance tracker templates for Google Sheets

Welcome to Spreadsheet Class!

My name is Corey, I have been building spreadsheets for companies for over 7 years, I was a data specialist at an online school for 5 years, and I created this website to help people learn how to use spreadsheets.

• Video course
• Formula cheat sheet
• YouTube lessons

Best Templates

The world’s largest Template Marketplace Powerful Templates – Ready Made

• Achievement
• Appreciation
• Architecture
• Authenticity
• Beauty Salon
• Board of Directors
• Business Cards
• Certificates
• Congratulations
• Construction
• Customer Service
• Educational
• Email Signatures
• Human Resource (HR)
• Incorporation
• Interior Design
• Invitations
• Job Descriptions
• Meeting Minutes
• Planning & Management
• Press and PR
• Professional
• Promissory Notes
• Purchase Order
• Quotation Templates
• Real Estate
• Recognition
• Recruitment / Hiring
• Assignments
• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Google Slides
• Photography
• Start a Business
• subscription
• Word Templates
• All Categories

Assignment Planner Excel Template

Available in stock

Subscribe & Get Access to Entire Website

or Buy Single Template

• Description
• Additional information
• Reviews (0)

The Assignment Planner Excel Template from Besttemplates.com is a must-have tool for students, educators, and professionals who need an organized way to manage multiple assignments and deadlines. This template is specifically designed to help users keep track of their assignments, monitor progress, and stay on top of submission dates. It offers a structured and visual approach to assignment management, reducing stress and improving time management.

Key features of this template include:

• Daily Assignment Overview : The Assignment Planner provides an easy-to-use dashboard that displays the current date, along with categorized lists of assignments—Not Started, In Progress, and Completed. This feature helps users to quickly assess their workload and prioritize tasks effectively.
• Countdown to Submission : The planner includes a submission countdown section that displays assignments according to the number of days left until their due dates. This visual representation allows users to stay aware of approaching deadlines and plan their study or work schedules accordingly.
• Comprehensive Assignment Tracker : The integrated Assignment Tracker sheet enables users to log all their assignments with detailed information such as subject, type (e.g., presentation, project, group work), submission date, and status. This comprehensive view ensures no assignment is overlooked.
• Progress Tracking : Users can update the status of each assignment (e.g., Not Started, In Progress, Completed) to monitor their progress in real-time. This feature helps in maintaining a structured workflow and encourages timely completion of tasks.
• Customizable and User-Friendly : The template is designed with a clean and straightforward layout, making it easy to customize to fit individual needs. It is suitable for students, educators, and professionals managing multiple assignments or projects.
• Stay Organized and Efficient : By using this template, users can keep all their assignment-related information in one place, eliminating the risk of missing deadlines and enhancing productivity.

Ideal for academic use and professional environments, the Assignment Planner Excel Template from Besttemplates.com helps users efficiently manage their assignments, ensuring a balanced and organized approach to meeting deadlines.

• Compatibility: Excel 2021, Office 365
• Functionality: No VBA Macros or custom scripts needed
• Orientation Options: Portrait/Landscape
• Color Mode: RGB Color Space
• License Type: Standard License
• Customization: Easily editable and customizable
• Font Style: Business standard fonts are used
• Digital Optimization: Optimized for digital use only
• Printing Suitability: Suitable for printing

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

There are no reviews yet.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Related Templates

Hotel Invoice Template

Legal Invoice Template

Labour Invoice Format Template

VAT Invoice Template

Commercial Invoice Template

Lease Invoice Template

Bakery Invoice Template

Auto Repair Invoice Template

General Invoice Template

Freelance Invoice Template

Plumbing Invoice Template

Blank Invoice Template

• Create Account