#7a - Alan - Working Out Long Formulae And Finding Alternatives

Thanks to community member Alan for sending in this question.  Alan’s file contains multiple long Excel formula that are difficult to manage – can we help him?  The purpose of this mini-series is first to explore the pros and cons of long formulae, then to examine alternatives.  Yes, one of the alternatives is a VBA (or at least involves VBA) – but that doesn’t mean VBA fixes everything in Excel.  It certainly doesn’t, as I explain in the first video.  It’s a case of understanding the options, appreciating the pros and cons of each, and selecting the one that suits you best.

In the first video, I attempt to understand the long formula, with no prior preparation!  The idea is to show you how I work through long Excel formulae, a process which always seems to be stressful.  Having a clear approach in mind that’s steady and systematic is key …

With the formulae (largely) understood, I offer a different approach that fulfils most of the old formula’s function, but using simpler syntax.  Can you guess what formula I select?  It’s a good option for football traders working with Excel, but it’s not actually my preferred option, we’ll get to that in the next video.

TOPICS AND TECHNIQUES

  • Discussion: Is VBA the answer to all Excel problems?
  • What’s wrong with long formulae in Excel?
  • How to understand a long formula in Excel
  • SUMPRODUCT
  • OFFSET
  • COLUMN
  • ROW
  • SUBTOTAL
  • Discussion: Pros and cons of SUBTOTAL
  • Switching off calculation in Excel
  • SUMIFS
  • Managing datasets that change in size
  • Excel’s table notation (vs. dynamic ranges)
  • How to test Excel formulae