Google Sheets: Not as scary as you think!

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

Not gonna lie, when people come to see me about Google Sheets, or Excel, I have a quick tinge of panic as I try to remember some of the basic coding language needed to run Sheets. But I remember how simple it can all be with cheat sheets and practice! While spreadsheets can be intimidating, they are a powerful tool in working with aggregate data.

 Need to make sense of a large amount of data in sheets? Or organize your SLO data? These next few tips and tricks will part the veil of the mysterious and intimidating spreadsheet!

Freezing a Header Row

I hate having to constantly scroll back up to see which column's data I am looking at. Freeze your headers! If your first row has important qualifiers, lock it in place as you scroll by going to: 

• View - Freeze - 1 Row (same for columns)

Sorting by Ranges

So lets say you have the data of 50 students and you want to sort by last name. But the problem is, if you sort by their last names, the rest of the data doesn't match up! Create ranges that fix your data for each student:

• Highlight your data, then Data - Sort Range - "Data has header row" - "Sort by Last Name"

Creating Filters

Filters are a very powerful, yet simple way to make sense of your aggregate data. Use your data criteria to filter and sort through information:

• Highlight your data, then - Data - Create a filter 
• Filter symbols will appear above each column. Click to sort.

• Don't worry your filtered data still exists in the sheets! 

Simple Formulas

Formulas may be the most intimidating part of spreadsheets, but by learning the basics, you can eventually make your way to the pros. So lets say you have a set of assessment data you'd like to average:

• Highlight your numbers first
• Functions(summation button that looks like a backwards 3) - AVERAGE

• You can fill in the rest of your data by highlighting, and pressing Control/Command + D

Keyboard Shortcuts

My favorite time saving tools - while a shortcut may only save you half a second, using them day after week after month after year can really make your work more efficient. 

• Help - Keyboard Shortcuts (Control + /)

Here are some of my favorites (PC - blue, Mac - red, Both - purple):

• Shift + Space - highlights your row
• Control + Space - highlights your column
• Alt + A / Command + A - highlights all of your data
• Control + D / Command + D - Fills all boxes down
• Control + Shift + E / Command + Shift + E - Center align
• Control + Shift + R / Command + Shift + R - Right Align
• Control + Shift + L / Command + Shift + L - Left Align
• Control + K / Command + K - Insert Link
• Control + ; / Command + ; - Insert Date
• Control + Shift + ; / Command + Shift + ; - Insert Time

Do you have some spreadsheet tips to share? Comment below!