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Wyn Hopkins

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  1. Excel hex color codes for formatting

    24 votes
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    4 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Formatting  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Good idea

    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 

  2. Stop Copy & Paste overwriting Data Validation

    48 votes
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    11 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Editing  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 

  3. More information for Err: "A PivotTable Report cannot overlap another PivotTable Report"

    14 votes
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    3 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » PivotTables and Power Pivot  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 

  4. Default the Power Query formula bar as on

    40 votes
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    4 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Data Import  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins shared this idea  · 

  5. Retain text formatting after changing formula references inside shapes/textboxes

    20 votes
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    5 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Formatting  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 
    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Totally agree, these things may seem minor but when you use them a lot it really detracts from the efficiency of development

  6. Tables should default to "My table has headers" being ticked

    81 votes
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    7 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Tables, Sorting and Filtering  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Great tip Jon, it appears to work if the top cell is formatted differently in any way (background, font etc).

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Yes to the table name box and everything else Jan Karel said

    Wyn Hopkins shared this idea  · 

  7. Create DAX calculated measures in Excel for SSAS Tabular

    142 votes
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    6 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » PivotTables and Power Pivot  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    I've now come across a client where this would be really useful

    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 

  8. short cut key for Paste just value

    28 votes
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    7 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Editing  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Many keyboards have a right click key next to the space bar. Press that followed by v to paste as values.

    Alternatively you can press Ctrl with V then Ctrl then V

  9. Make a simple safer version of VLOOKUP and INDEX MATCH

    716 votes
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    115 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Formulas and Functions  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Accepting Votes  ·  AdminExcel Team [MSFT] (Product Owner, Office.com) responded

    Thanks for the suggestion Wyn! Thanks also to all the contributors to this thread for the thoughtful discussion and debate.

    Of the many lookup function requests, this is currently one of the highest ranking on UserVoice. Please keep the votes rolling in if you’d like to see this, it helps us prioritize new feature work.

    JoeMcD [MS XL]

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Wow, I’ve not been getting alerts on updates to this so apologies for my lack of response. I’ll double down on my efforts of promoting this now. P.S. thanks Mark and Greg

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Tom, I agree with you that INDEX MATCH MATCH is really powerful and I am by no means suggesting we get rid of it nor VLOOKUP. Having worked with and trained hundreds and hundreds of Excel users I just want something simple that beginners will understand. Most users just need an exact version of INDEXMATCH without having the complexity of a formula embedded inside another formula.

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Here's how GETMATCH would work (exactly the same as INDEX MATCH except the order is changed and there are not 2 formula invoived).

    =GETMATCH(A1, B1:B10, C1:C10, "No Match")

    or horizontally

    =GETMATCH( A1, B1:H1, B2:H2, "Match Not Found")

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Anil, it’s a simpler version of INDEX MATCH. A single formula that’s easier to understand and write and therefore accessible to more users. Ideally it would have the iferror wrapper built in also to make things even easier.

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Re VLOOKUP and table parameters, that's pretty much how INDEX MATCH works already. That's another benefit highlighted of why INDEXMATCH is more useful than VLOOKUP.

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    After testing this idea out with around 200 Excel course attendees over the last year 2 things have become clearer. 1. People really like this idea. 2 the name GETMATCH might be better named LOOKUPMATCH in that it then captures elements of familiarity to the VLOOKUP AND INDEX MATCH users.

    The sole reason (in my view) that the majority of users use VLOOKUP is that INDEX MATCH is the "wrong way round". Fix that with this suggestion and we'll make Excel even better

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    No VBA required, existing functionality already exists, just the order of parameters need changing from this

    =IFERROR ( INDEX ( GetColumn ), MATCH (ReferenceToMatch, MatchColumn,0)), "TEXT IF ERROR")

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Hi Anthony, I see what your saying but that's not in keeping with my hope of making a simpler version of INDEX MATCH. My suggestion is targetted at the 95% of users who need single column (occasionally row) lookups.

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Great to be up to number 5 in the rankings, please encourage others to vote.
    I've also pulled together a video showing how INDEX MATCH currently works so well with tables but I end up using an autocorrect trick in the absence of this requested new formula

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT6K8Gz97PE&feature=youtu.be

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Mike, I agree about the fact that this will also provide a simpler alternative to HLOOKUP. Unfortunately I am blocked from making any changes to my suggestion now that people are voting for it (Thanks everyone by the way!). I can't even change my spelling mistake :)

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Hi Excel Team, any feedback for us on this? Thanks

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Great to make it to page 1 of the ideas. Please encourage others to vote to move this into the top 10

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Good suggestion Corey, a MATCHIFS could be a good option. I would prefer the ability to select the lookup value first as creating the formula flows better and avoids that Sheet1! annoyance when you jump back to a sheet while creating a formula. However, I can see the logic in consistency with SUMIFS and COUNTIFS

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    I would really like a simple and safe formula that does not require a match type. I.e exact match only. Speed is not an issue for 90% of users, simplicity is. I agree another formula similar to GetMatch with a match type would be useful but that's not what I'm proposing or voting for here

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    While variants of formulas can serve experienced users brilliantly we still need basic safe and simple formulas for the general Excel user population.
    That's who my suggestion is aimed at. Keep it simple with one formula with one purpose.
    Simple to use, simple to review / audit

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Hi Harlan, I like the idea of a multiple criteria lookup function and I think there are a few suggestions for this elsewhere on the UserVoice.

    I think both our approaches are the same just the syntax is re-arranged?

    The simpler the better, the more options that are provided to users the more daunting most users find it and the more likely they end up with an incorrect formula.

    My suggestion of having an optional value if no match again does away with the need for an IFERROR wrapper.

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Harlan, if you use index match then any column can be the key field. That's why I prefer that approach to VLOOKUP. This suggested formula would make that even simpler.

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Daniel, one extra thought is you could rename the columns as part of the query to make them more meaningful (either within MSQuery or using PowerQuery)

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Daniel, sounds like you're using a sensible approach for your situation

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Hi Daniel, that does make the formula easier to understand after the fact. I'd also fully recommend converting your source data to Tables wherever possible as INDEX MATCH and Tables are brilliant together giving you that meaningful formula and none of the overhead of having to set up named ranges or expand the ranges as more data is added.

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Scott, I agree that once people see it they prefer to use it, but as an Excel developer and trainer I regularly see first hand how most excel users struggle with it

    I developed this trick to help them, but we shouldn't need a trick. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stop-using-vlookup-wyn-hopkins

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    You're right Kenneth, I tried to delete the old one but wasn't able to. Having read various other suggrstions on VLOOKUP andI NDEX MATCH (a lot of which are very good suggestions for the more advanced Excel users) I think we need to step back and take a look at how a regular Excel user sees formulas and try and make as user friendly a one as possible, hence my slight revision to to my earlier terminology

    Wyn Hopkins shared this idea  · 
    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    I was hoping for something simple that the vast majority of Excel Users could understand instantly.

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    =Extract(LookupValue,LookupColumn/Row,OutputColumn/Row,optional Iferror Value)

  10. Pre-highlight custom column name in power query

    2 votes
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    0 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Data Import  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins shared this idea  · 

  11. Increase the 218 character filename length limit to open files in excel

    420 votes
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    134 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Opening and Saving Files  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 

  12. Power Query don't load sample file when combining files from folder

    1 vote
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    0 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Data Import  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins shared this idea  · 

  13. Power Query data from "This Excel Workbook" - Do not break Query if this file name or path changes!

    38 votes
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    11 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Data Import  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 
    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Good idea, as you say there are a couple of work-arounds but nothing super simple. I'm out of votes sorry but you could also post this here
    https://ideas.powerbi.com/forums/265200-power-bi-ideas/category/161721-data-preparation

  14. visually indicate which power query steps have comments

    4 votes
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    2 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Data Import  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins shared this idea  · 

  15. Visually indicate in Power Query window when steps support Query Folding

    3 votes
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    1 comment  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Data Import  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 

  16. VBA abilty to refresh a Power Query Group (a.k.a. folder of queries) using a single script line

    33 votes
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    0 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Formulas and Functions  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 

  17. Link the min and max values of a chart axis to cell value

    908 votes
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    89 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Charting, Mapping and Visualizations  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 

  18. Waterfall Chart Improvement - Color to be independent to theme color

    9 votes
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    0 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Charting, Mapping and Visualizations  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 

  19. Add Center Across Selection to the Merge & Center Drop-down

    465 votes
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    75 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Formatting  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins supported this idea  · 
    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Make centre across selection the default I say and then make merge one of the drop downs

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Make this the default button on the ribbon and demote merge to the drop list

  20. Add a Reporting Ribbon to Excel to consolidate and highlight the amazing capabilities of Power Query and Power Pivot

    154 votes
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    16 comments  ·  Excel for Windows (Desktop Application) » Other  ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →
    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Hi Bill, the name is tricky, and I'm sure there's probably a better name.

    I'm looking at it from who it's aimed at / why have a separate ribbon. The reason is awareness for those users who simply miss out because these new features are hidden away.

    How do we capture their attention, what resonates at a general level? I'm not particularly set on "Reporting" as a name but it does sort of capture why someone should look at this ribbon.

    If your job involves reporting and you're not using Tables, Power Query, Pivot Tables and Power Pivot then you're missing out.

    To me reporting is something dynamic and interactive that requires regular refreshing / updating.

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Sergei, definite room for improvement on my hacked together version. The Power BI publisher features I'd like to see on there too. Plus I'm sure the Excel team will have some usage stats on most popular Get From button - personally I'm always using from Excel or From Folder, but others will be different.

    Calling it out as an awesome set of features is the key to me (plus grouping together the whole data analysis / reporting story into a cohesive place).

    Wyn Hopkins commented  · 

    Plus the Power BI Publisher buttons would be great. Although I'd rename them as Power BI Connector :)

    Wyn Hopkins shared this idea  · 
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