I'm looking for a good to͏ol to extract data from PDF to Excel without destroying the formatting or mixing up columns. Tried a couple random converters already but most need way too much cleanup after esp since most of my docs are scanned. Anyone found something legit and accurate?
I've compiled the 30 most useful shortcuts for accounting and daily data management. All tested on Windows.
File & Workbook Management
Data Entry & Editing
Formatting (The Accountant’s Toolkit)
Formulas & Calculations
Data Analysis & Navigation
Note: These are Windows shortcuts. Mac users will generally need to use Cmd instead of Ctrl, and Alt-key sequences may vary
Not trying to start a war, but I wasted years overusing VLOOKUP for stuff it’s just bad at.
A B C
ID Name Score
101 Anna 88
102 Luca 92
103 Marco 75
Most people do this:
=VLOOKUP(102, A2:C4, 3, FALSE)
Looks fine… until:
you insert a column > formula breaks
you need to look left >can’t
you forget what "3" even means
What finally fixed it for me:
=INDEX(C2:C4, MATCH(102, A2:A4, 0))
Same result, but:
no random column numbers
doesn’t break when you touch the table
actually scales when your file gets messy
The moment it clicked was realizing: MATCH finds the row, INDEX returns the value. That’s it.
Also, if you’re on newer Excel, just use:
=XLOOKUP(102, A2:A4, C2:C4)
Way cleaner.
Not saying VLOOKUP is useless, but if you’re still defaulting to it for everything, you’re probably making your spreadsheets more fragile than they need to be.
I ignored Flash Fill for ages. Turns out it's one of the best time-savers in Excel.
Attached two screenshots – before and after pressing Ctrl+E.
What I did:
Excel figured out the pattern and filled the rest instantly: A. Johnson, M. Garcia, D. Lee.
No formulas, no dragging, no text-to-columns.
Works great for:
• Extracting initials + last names
• Reformatting dates, phone numbers, addresses
• Splitting or combining text any way you want
If you've never used it: type one example, hit enter, press Ctrl+E.
Once you get used to it, you won't go back.
Cheers!
VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, DATA VALIDATION, DUPLICACY TESTING ETC.
> Ctrl+ [ (left bracket) - Jump to “precedents”
Selects all precedent cells (cells directly referenced by the active formula).
Great for tracing logic and dependencies in complex models without using the Trace Precedents button.
Bonus: Ctrl + ] jumps to dependents.
> Ctrl+A+V - Open Data Validation in one shot
Instead of going Data > Data Validation via mouse, this opens the Data Validation dialog directly.
Very fast if you often set up input‑range lists or validation rules.
> Alt + A + Q - Open Advanced Filter directly
Bypasses the menu and opens the Advanced Filter dialog immediately.
Handy when you want to filter to another range or use a criteria table without formulas.
> Alt + W + G - Start Goal Seek without digging the ribbon
Opens Goal Seek (Data > What‑If Analysis > Goal Seek) in one keystroke.
Useful if you do trial‑and‑error reverse‑formula calculations a lot.
> Ctrl + / - Select the entire current array (dynamic spilled range)
When you’re inside a dynamic‑array result (e.g., FILTER, UNIQUE, SORT), this selects the whole spill range.
Helps you quickly copy, format, or delete the entire output block, not just the top‑left cell.
> Ctrl + Shift + 8 (or Ctrl + Shift + *) - Select the current region.
Selects the entire connected block of data around the active cell (like a table region, skipping blanks).
Often faster than dragging with the mouse when you have dense tables.
> Alt + H + F + D + S - Open “Go To Special: Styles”
Opens a rarely‑used but powerful Go To Special > Styles dialog, where you can jump to all cells with a specific style (e.g., “Bad”, “Good”, “Note”).
Very nice if you use custom cell styles for status‑coding sheets.
> F4 (repeat last action) - The secret macro‑like key
After you do something like formatting, resizing rows, or dragging a formula, hitting F4 repeats that exact action in the next cell/row.
It’s like a tiny built‑in macro recorder for one‑off actions.
> Alt + ; - Select only visible cells
When you have filtered or hidden rows, this selects only the visible cells, skipping the hidden ones.
Very useful for copying/pasting or deleting only the filtered data, or for referencing only visible values.
> Ctrl + `` (grave accent) - Show all formulas
Toggles between values and formulas for the entire sheet.
Great for auditing complex models or quickly seeing which cells contain formulas.
> Ctrl + Shift + L - Toggle AutoFilter
Instantly turns AutoFilter on or off for the selected range.
Handy when you work with dynamic tables and want to enable/disable filters with one keystroke.
Note; tested and working by me
Hi,
Go to view-> windows -> new windows , now you have two sheet on the same workbook.
If you’ve ever looked at a dataset and thought “why do these numbers make no sense,” there’s a good chance the issue isn’t the formulas... it’s the blanks you didn’t realise were there. That’s where COUNTA steps in. It’s one of Excel’s simplest but most revealing functions, quietly telling you how much real data you actually have.
Below is a full walkthrough of what COUNTA does, when to use it, and how it behaves in real‑world spreadsheets.
COUNTA counts non‑empty cells in a range.
Not just numbers — anything that isn’t blank:
=""You need it when you want to:
If you’re counting responses, names, IDs, or mixed data types, COUNTA is the function you want.
Imagine a list of responses in A1:A20.
Some cells have names, some have numbers, some have errors, and some look empty but contain formulas.
=COUNTA(A1:A20)
This instantly tells you how many cells contain something, even if that “something” isn’t visible.
=COUNTA(value1, [value2], …)
You can feed it individual cells, ranges, or a mix of both.
To see COUNTA in action with a guided walkthrough, take a look at the video I made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1YWf4C5Vp0
Stop manually searching for matches between two Excel lists! 🛑 Use this dynamic formula: `=FILTER(TeamA, COUNTIF(TeamB, TeamA))`. It identifies names in both teams in seconds. The list updates automatically whenever you add or remove names, ensuring your data stays accurate without extra work.
To learn easily watch here⏬️