OPTIMIZE

5 Smart Ways to Use

Excel for Engineering
Starting Today
foreword

Excel is the most common tool used by engineers of all Solve challenging engineering problems
disciplines around the world every day, yet there is almost no Communicate clearly through spreadsheets
training available in Excel for engineering applications. Get more done, faster
Add value to your engineering team
Be a leader in your workplace
Those who master Excel can stand out
Good luck!
from the crowd and gain the respect of
their peers in the engineering community. Best Regards,
Charlie Young, P.E.
EngineerExcel.com
This short e-book provides actionable tips to help you:
P.S. If you found these tips useful, let me know! You can
contact me via the information on the last page.

1
table of contents

01 keep track of units with custom

number formats 04 change units with the convert
function

02 name cells to improve formula

readability 05 use evaluate formula to track
down errors

03 modify scatterplots from the

formula bar
keep track of units

custom number formats

When you use data in the wrong units the results are
disastrous. Just ask these guys.

Most engineers keep track of units in their spreadsheets by

entering them in a separate cell next to the data.

But theres an easy way to store the units

right in the same cell as the data.

By using customer number formats, numbers and text are

displayed together and the cell can still be used in
calculations.

3
keep track of units

example: adding units to a number with

a custom number format

Select cell you want to modify Select Custom from the list Under Type, insert the units
and open the Format Cells on the left in quotation marks.
dialog

4
name cells

preserve your sanity

Whether you are looking at someone elses spreadsheet or

one you created previously, understanding the logic of an
existing spreadsheet can be painful.

The hardest part is decoding (or remembering) what value

was contained in a particular cell, row, or column. Equations
written in terms of variables are much easier to understand
than those written with Excels cell notation.

The good news is that it is easy to write

equations in terms of variables in Excel.

5
name cells

example: creating an easy-to-

understand formula with named cells

Select the variable cells and enter the variable Enter the formula in the appropriate cell, using
names the variable names instead of cell references.

6
modify scatter plots via the formula bar

use the formula bar to quickly make

changes to charts

Youve probably created countless charts in Excel using the

GUI. Chances are, like many engineers, you always use the
GUI for editing your charts too. But did you know that you can
use the formula bar to make changes to your charts?

The formula bar offers an easy way to

make changes to scatter plots quickly.

This feature can be used in many different ways:

Quickly update the x- and y-data selection
Change the name of the series
Change the order in which data series appear in the chart

7
modify scatter plots via the formula bar

use the formula bar to quickly make

changes to charts

The formula format for a chart series is fairly The formula looks something like this:
easy to decode. It contains four parts:
Series Name =SERIES(Name, X-Data, Y-Data, Position)
X-Data
Y-Data Lets look at an example.
Series Position

8
modify scatter plots via the formula bar

example: expanding a data selection

Selecting the data series in the chart below reveals that not By changing $A$8 to $A$11 and $B$8 to $B$11 in the
all of the data in the x- and y-columns has been selected. The formula bar, all of the rows of data are included in the chart.
formula shows that the x-data is contained in cells A2:A8 and Of course, this example is trivial, but you can quickly see how
the y-data is contained in cells B2:B8. this capability opens up enormous possibilities.

9
convert function

let excel find the conversion factors

Excel has a little known built-in function

that can convert units from one
measurement system to another.

Chances are, that throughout your engineering education and

career you have committed a few* unit conversion factors to
memory.

Unfortunately, no one can remember them all.

You could look them up in a book or even online. But an even

easier solution is to let Excels CONVERT() formula do the
work for you.

*ok, its actually a lot 10

convert function

example: using the convert function

=convert(number, from_unit, to_unit)

Enter the formula using the format shown above. Excel converts the number from an existing unit
A complete list of recognized units is available system to the one you have specified.
here.

11
evaluate formula

find and fix an error

#VALUE!
The likelihood of an error in a cell increases with the
complexity of a formula. Unfortunately, its that very complexity
that makes the error that much harder to track down.

Fortunately, Excel is equipped with a built-

in tool to help you find the root cause of
spreadsheet errors.

#DIV/0!
The formula evaluation tool allows you to go through each
operation in a complex equation to find the particular step or
steps causing the issue.

12
evaluate formula

example: finding the source of a

#DIV/0 error

Select the cell with an error. When you click Evaluate, Continue clicking Evaluate
Then, from the Formula tab, Excel evaluates the underlined until you find the error. Here,
select Evaluate Formula. expression. the source of the division by
zero error is readily apparent.

13
about the author

Charlie Young is a licensed professional engineer with a

degree in Mechanical Engineering whose engineering
simulations have been featured at multiple international
technical conferences. In his decade plus experience as a
practicing engineer he has learned to harness the
capabilities of Excel to gain insights into engineering
challenges and increase productivity.

14
thank you contact information
For more info, please
contact:

Charlie Young, P.E.

charlie@engineerexcel.com

www.engineerexcel.com