Data Tab

The Data Tab helps you manage, analyze and organize your data efficiently. It is a pack of functionalities such as sorting, filtering, importing and summarizing data from other sources and allows you to handle large datasets to perform complex data analysis.

Get & Transform Data

Allows you to import, clean and transform data from different sources into Excel.

• Get Data (Alt, A, T, D): Gives options to import data from a wide range of sources such as files, databases, online services like the web and more which is essential to bring external data into Excel to perform analysis.
• From Text/CSV (Alt, A, T, C): Imports data from text files and CSV files which allows you to specify delimiters and data formats while importing the data.
• From Web (Alt, A, T, W): Imports data from a web page which gives you the flexibility to pull data directly from online sources and load the data into your workbook.
• From Table/Range (Alt, A, T, T): Converts the range of cells with headers into a table which can be used in Power Query for further analysis.
• Recent Sources: Gives quick access to recently used data sources to re-import or update data from those sources.
• Existing Connections: Gives the list of existing connections that are used in your current workbook.

Queries & Connections

Provides tools to manage the queries and data connections used within your workbook.

• Queries & Connections Pane (Alt, A, O): A pane on the right side of the Excel window opens which consists of a list of all active queries and connections giving a quick overview of data sources and the status of each data source.
• Refresh All (Ctrl + Alt + F5): Refresh all your queries, connections, pivot tables data etc. in your workbook to update to the latest data.
• Properties: A query properties dialog box is opened to adjust settings such as adjusting the width of a column, preserving the formatting of cells, and much more.

Sort & Filter

This allows you to organize and narrow down your data to make it more manageable and relevant.

• Sort (Alt, A, S, S): Arrange your selected columns into ascending or descending order which helps you organize and identify trends and patterns.
• Sort Ascending/Descending (Alt, A, S, A and Alt, A, S, D): Sort your data quickly into ascending or descending with just a quick or with the shortcuts specified.
• Filter (Ctrl + Shift + L): Adds a drop-down filter for the column headers that helps you to display only required rows that meet specific criteria.
• Clear (Alt, A, C): If any filters are applied to your data, it removes all the filters and restores them to the default view.
• Advanced Filter (Alt, A, Q): A complex and more advanced filtering option compared to the regular filter which provides the flexibility to filter your data in its original location or copy the filtered results to another location. It is useful when you need to filter your data using multiple conditions or wish to extract only a specific part that matches certain criteria.

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Data Tools

Offers a set of advanced features to manage and refine your data, and ensure accuracy making it easy for analysis.

• Text to Columns (Alt, A, E): Splits the data of a single column into multiple columns based on the delimiters specified such as commas, spaces and much more or even fixed widths—a useful tool to separate data where data is merged like name and address.
• Flash Fill (Ctrl + E): An interesting and time-saving feature in Excel that fills the values based on a pattern it detects in your data. We can call it an AI to fill the data in a specific format automatically. For example, if you start typing a list of initials from a specified name, it will flash-fill for you.
• Remove Duplicates (Alt, A, M): Plenty of chances you have duplicate values in a column and with this feature, it will check if any duplicates and remove them making them unique which can prevent errors in analysis.
• Data Validation (Alt, A, V): Allows you to set rules and limit users what can be entered into a cell such as just allowing numbers, dates etc.
• Consolidate (Alt, A, N): Combines data from various ranges or worksheets into one summary which is useful when you need to analyze data from different parts of your workbook.

Forecast

Provides tools to perform forecasting, and advanced data analysis that allows you to explore different scenarios, set goals and create predictive models.

• What-if Analysis: Includes several tools that are useful to explore different possibilities in your data by changing input values and observing the effect on your results.
  • Scenario Manager (Alt, T, E): Allows you to create and also save different sets of input values to compare how they affect your worksheet’s outcomes which are useful to analyze the best-case and worst-case in financial or project planning.
  • Goal Seek (Alt, T, G): To achieve a specific goal, this tool helps you find the necessary input value such as finding out the total sales required to reach a desired profit level.
  • Data Table (Alt, A, W, T): Allows you to see the effects of changing one or two variables in a formula which is useful for sensitivity analysis.
• Forecast Sheet (Alt, A, F, C): Automatically creates a new worksheet in the same workbook with a chart and table that forecasts based on historical data. It is used in advanced algorithms to predict future values and trends based on past data patterns.

Outline

Helps you group and manage data that makes it easier to navigate and present large datasets in Excel.

• Group (Alt, A, G, G): Selected rows and columns are grouped giving you the option to expand or collapse the sections of the data. This is useful while working with large datasets to organize them and focus on the specific part of the data without losing its structure.
• Ungroup (Alt, A, U, U): If any group section is available for rows or columns, it will remove the grouping and return to original state.
• Subtotal (Alt, A, B): Based on the specific grouping, Excel will analyze and automatically add a new row showing the summary of them such as sum, average and count. This feature provides a quick overview of key metrics without manual calculation.
• Show/Hide Detail (Alt, A, J and Alt, A, H): Expand or collapse the grouped rows or columns to enhance the data readability by enabling a quick toggle between detailed and summary views.

Conclusion

In summary, the Data tab provides powerful tools to analyze, manage and visualize your data efficiently From importing and transforming data (ETL) features to sorting, filtering and advanced tools like Flash Fill and removing duplicate values, it enables you to handle large datasets easily.