Microsoft Office Excel for Engineers Excel Primer

This document outlines many of the commands reviewed in the SolidWorks screencast Microsoft Office Excel Tips for Engineers

Created By: Darren Henry, Director of Product Marketing Dassault Systmes SolidWorks Corporation
2009 Dassault Systmes, All Rights Reserved

Data Population
Quickly populate adjacent cells with series of values

Saturday January

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Cell Addressing
In formulas, Excel uses relative addressing by default. As you copy formulas through your spreadsheet it will adjust the cell locations. To lock down the cell location insert a dollar sign "$" in the cell address.

Equation =A5 =$A$5 =$A5 =A$5

How Excel interprets the address relative addressing equation will always reference cell A5 no matter where it is copied equation will always reference column A, but will adjust the row number as it is copied equation will always reference row 5, but will adjust the column letter as it is copied

Darren's Tips: Use the F4 key to quickly cycle through the various address combinations

Data Validation (List)

Location: Data Data Validation Use Data Validation to make user friendly pick lists Possible Uses: Prompting for options and accessories Selecting languages, units, or styles Darren's Tips: The list used for validation must reside on the same worksheet as the cell being validated. The "Source" field of a Data Validation list can utilize "IF" functions to add another level of customization. Example: Color Blue Color Black Red Orange Green Blue Purple Turquoise White Red 0 255 255 0 0 255 0 255 hexadecimal 16711680 Green 0 0 128 255 0 128 255 255 Blue 0 0 0 0 255 255 255 255 Hexadecimal 0 255 33023 65280 16711680 16744703 16776960 16777215

IF
Syntax: IF(logical_test,value_if_true,value_if_false) Use IF to conduct conditional tests on values and formulas. Returns one value if a condition you specify evaluates to TRUE and another value if it evaluates to FALSE. Possible Uses: Millions of uses, from conditional formulas based on dimensions, to part number prefixes based on options. When driving CAD models with Excel, use IF functions to control whether a component is suppressed or resolved. Darren's Tips: You can nest up to six IF functions, but if there is more than three, consider storing data in a table and use Vlookup.

Example:

Yes

$STATE@Caster<1> R

Caster?

CONCATENATE
Syntax: CONCATENATE (text1,text2,...) Text1, text2, ... are 1 to 30 text items to be joined into a single text item. The text items can be text strings, numbers, or single-cell references. Possible Uses: Piecing together part numbers Darren's Tips: You can explicitly type in any symbols that separate prefixes and suffixes, but I find if you list them in individual cells, it aids in edit-ability Material SS Length 12 Hole spacing 1.5

Example:

Special Character -

Part Number

SS-12-1.5

&
Syntax: "Text1"&" Text 2" Easy way to concatenate text strings Possible Uses: Piecing together part numbers Darren's Tips: Remember to add " " Space between variables when desired
material SS Part Number Length 12 SS - 12 - 15 hole spacing 15

Example:

VLOOKUP
Syntax: VLOOKUP(lookup_value,table_array,col_index_num,range_lookup) Searches for a value in the leftmost column of a table, and then returns a value in the same row from a column you specify in the table. Possible Uses: Use instead of writing nested IF statements, finding part number prefixes and suffixes, finding correct hexadecimal color code, etc Darren's Tips: Watch out for unwanted spaces in the first column, excel will not find a match if there is and extra space in the text string. You can Vlookup from different worksheets, so organize your tables by storing data on other worksheets
Example: Color Black hexadecimal 0

Color Black Red Orange Green Blue Purple Turquoise White

Red 0 255 255 0 0 255 0 255

Green 0 0 128 255 0 128 255 255

Blue 0 0 0 0 255 255 255 255

Hexadecimal 0 255 33023 65280 16711680 16744703 16776960 16777215

Trace Precedents
Found under Formulas-> Trace Precedents Draws arrows to show cell dependencies. Great tool to help understand where a cell's value originates. Possible Uses: Making your formulas easy to troubleshoot Darren's Tips: Use Trace Precedence , Show Formulas , and simple double clicking to help understand which cells have equations and where they come from. The arrows will be removed when saving or you can use the Remove Arrows command when you are done.
Example: material SS Length 12 hole spacing 15

Special Character -

Part Number SS-12-15

INT
Syntax: INT(number) Rounds a number down to the nearest integer. Possible Uses: Use when calculating number of instances in patterns Darren's Tips: INT does not round up, so accurate hole calculations may require multiple formulas
Example 1: Number 2.8 Integer 2

Example 2:

overall length hole spacing number of holes

18 3.5 5

Custom Views
Found under Views --> Custom Views Quickly toggle betweens showing your control panel, and the entire design table

CONVERT
Syntax: CONVERT(number,from_unit,to_unit) Use Convert to convert a number from one unit of measurement to another. Possible Uses: Great for any type of Engineering calculation. Allow the user of the spreadsheet to specify the type of units they are familiar with, and convert all data to suite. Darren's Tips: Specify the from_unit and to_unit in cells, so they can be changed quickly.

Heat Converter 2400 J equals

2.275 BTU

Paste Special
Location: Available from Right Mouse Button, once a cell has been selected for copy Enables the user to copy more than a cells value. Includes the ability to copy data validation restrictions as well as perform bulk mathematical tasks. Possible Uses: Update price sheets or quantities in BOMs

Price $100.00 $150.00 $200.00 $250.00 $300.00 $350.00

New Price Multiplier 0.9

Copying from PDF files

Many product spec sheets and property tables are available as PDF files. Often you may copy the data for use with 3D CAD models. In Adobe Acrobat, when selecting large amounts of tabular data, use the right mouse button option: "Copy as Table" to aid in copying the data