5 Excel Tips You Didn’t Know You Needed

If you use Microsoft Excel regularly, you probably know the basics — SUM, filters, maybe even a pivot table or two. But Excel is packed with features that most people never tap into. These five underrated tips can save you serious time and make your spreadsheets smarter. Let’s get into it.

1. Flash Fill (Your New Best Friend)

Ever had to clean up messy data, like separating full names into first and last names? Instead of formulas, try this:

How to use it:

• In the cell next to your data, type how it should look.

• Go to Data > Flash Fill, or just press Ctrl + E.

Excel will instantly recognize the pattern and fill the rest. It’s like magic.

2. Paste Special to Multiply (Or Anything Else)

Copy → Paste is fine, but Paste Special lets you do way more — like multiplying an entire column by a value without formulas.

How to use it:

• Copy a cell with the number you want to use (say, 1.10 for a 10% increase).

• Select the range you want to change.

• Right-click → Paste Special → Multiply.

Great for bulk changes without messing with formulas.

3. Remove Duplicates in Seconds

No more scrolling through long lists to spot duplicates.

How to use it:

• Select your data.

• Go to Data > Remove Duplicates.

• Choose which columns to check and boom — cleaned up.

Perfect for email lists, contact sheets, or any kind of data cleanup.

4. Turn Your Data Into a Table (And Never Look Back)

Using Ctrl + T turns any data set into a Table with built-in formatting, filters, and auto-expanding formulas.

Why it matters:

• When you add new rows, formulas update automatically.

• You can sort and filter instantly.

• It just looks cleaner.

Tables are the MVP for anyone working with more than a few rows of data.

5. Use XLOOKUP Instead of VLOOKUP

Still using VLOOKUP? Meet its smarter cousin: XLOOKUP. It works left to right and right to left, doesn’t break when you insert columns, and it’s just easier.

Basic format:

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=XLOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array)

If you’re using Excel 365 or Excel 2019+, XLOOKUP should be your go-to.

Want More Tips Like These?

These are just a few of the power-user tricks hidden inside Excel. If you found this helpful, you’ll love my downloadable Excel Cheat Sheet — packed with shortcuts, formulas, and time-saving features all in one place. This is the combo package of cheat sheets and you will get beginning, immediate and advance cheat sheets

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Stop googling the same formulas over and over — save your time and upgrade your skills.