https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/Real spreadsheet problems and how to solve them.enMon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMThttps://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/why-excel-drops-leading-zeros-and-how-to-keep-them/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/why-excel-drops-leading-zeros-and-how-to-keep-them/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTExcel treats 00482 as the number 482. Format cells as Text before entering IDs, or restore zeros with TEXT, and avoid 1.22E+07 on long numbers.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/iferror-vs-ifna-which-errors-to-hide-in-excel/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/iferror-vs-ifna-which-errors-to-hide-in-excel/Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTIFERROR replaces any of 7 error types, IFNA only #N/A. Worked examples show how a broad IFERROR can hide typos and deleted columns.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-use-the-filter-function-in-excel-and-google-sheets/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-use-the-filter-function-in-excel-and-google-sheets/Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTFILTER returns only the rows that meet your conditions. Syntax, AND/OR logic, and what each app returns when nothing matches (#CALC! vs #N/A).https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-get-a-unique-list-with-the-unique-function/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-get-a-unique-list-with-the-unique-function/Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTUNIQUE returns distinct values from a range without deleting anything. How the by_col and exactly_once arguments work in Excel and Google Sheets.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/absolute-vs-relative-cell-references/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/absolute-vs-relative-cell-references/Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTWhat the dollar sign does in an Excel formula, how relative, absolute, and mixed references change when copied, and how to switch between them fast.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/count-vs-counta-vs-countblank/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/count-vs-counta-vs-countblank/Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTWhat COUNT, COUNTA, and COUNTBLANK each count in Excel and Google Sheets, why their totals disagree, and how to count cells that truly hold data.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-calculate-a-weighted-average-in-excel/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-calculate-a-weighted-average-in-excel/Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTWhy a plain AVERAGE gives the wrong answer for prices, grades, and rates, and how SUMPRODUCT divided by SUM gives the true weighted average.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-combine-text-from-two-cells-in-excel/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-combine-text-from-two-cells-in-excel/Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTJoin first and last names, build labels, and merge lists in Excel with &, CONCAT, and TEXTJOIN, and keep dates and money readable with TEXT.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-create-a-drop-down-list-in-excel-and-google-sheets/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-create-a-drop-down-list-in-excel-and-google-sheets/Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTStep-by-step instructions for adding a drop-down list in Excel and Google Sheets, keeping it up to date, and blocking entries that are not on the list.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-highlight-a-row-with-conditional-formatting/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-highlight-a-row-with-conditional-formatting/Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTHow to color a whole row based on one cell's value in Excel or Google Sheets, using a custom formula rule, with an overdue-task tracker example.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-round-numbers-in-excel/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-round-numbers-in-excel/Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTHow ROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN, and MROUND work in Excel, why formatting a cell is not the same as rounding it, and which one fits each job.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-split-text-into-columns-in-excel/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-split-text-into-columns-in-excel/Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTSplit names, codes, and addresses into separate columns with Text to Columns, TEXTSPLIT, TEXTBEFORE, and TEXTAFTER, plus the traps to watch for.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-use-if-with-and-and-or-in-excel/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-use-if-with-and-and-or-in-excel/Mon, 12 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTHow to combine IF with AND, OR, and NOT to test several conditions at once in Excel, with a sales bonus example and the parentheses rule explained.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-calculate-percent-change-in-excel/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/how-to-calculate-percent-change-in-excel/Sun, 11 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTThe percent change formula in Excel and Google Sheets, how to show it as a percentage, handle a zero starting value, and find a share of a total.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/sumif-vs-sumifs-how-to-sum-with-conditions/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/sumif-vs-sumifs-how-to-sum-with-conditions/Sun, 11 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTHow SUMIF and SUMIFS add only the rows you want, why their argument order differs, and how to sum by date range, person, and channel.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/date-formulas-for-deadlines-and-workdays/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/date-formulas-for-deadlines-and-workdays/Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTHow DATEDIF, NETWORKDAYS, and EDATE work in Excel, with each official example re-checked against a plain Python date calculation.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/your-first-pivot-table-explained/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/your-first-pivot-table-explained/Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTA beginner walkthrough of what a pivot table does and how to build one in Excel or Google Sheets, based on official Microsoft and Google documentation.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/cleaning-up-a-messy-sales-sheet/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/cleaning-up-a-messy-sales-sheet/Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTA step-by-step method for finding and removing duplicate rows and extra spaces in a sales spreadsheet, based on official Excel documentation.https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/vlookup-vs-xlookup-which-to-use/https://howlane.com/spreadsheet-diary/vlookup-vs-xlookup-which-to-use/Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTA side-by-side comparison of VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP in Excel, with a worked table example, based on official Microsoft function documentation.