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◆ Data & Lookups · drill · Spreadsheet Formulas & Data track

Hardcode it

the delete is the proof — a flattened number outlives the model it came from, a live link does not.
The snapshot goes out tonight and every figure on it is still a live link into the model. Break the links in the Final column, mark what you just hardcoded, put the same figures in the As-sent archive, and then delete the model feed to prove the page can travel without it. The Draft working column and the check line under the block stay wired — aim only at what ships.
train this drill → par 22s · optimal 21 keys · keyboard only · free
The shortcuts in this drill
Alt walks: tap Alt, release, then the letters in sequence — each key steps one ribbon menu. On a Mac, tap and use the same letters (KeyTips, Excel 2024+).
Ctrl+Shift+↓⌘⇧↓ on macExtend selection to the edge of data
Select from here to the edge of the data — the standard grab before formatting or filling a column.
Ctrl+C⌘C on macCopy
Copy starts almost every hand-off — grab a finished block once, then place it in the summary, the deck, or next quarter’s column.
Shift+→⇧→ on macExtend selection one cell
Nudge a selection one cell at a time when the block you need doesn’t end at a data edge.
Alt e s v⌥ e s v on macPaste values (legacy chain)
The values-only paste is how numbers leave a model safely: no formulas, no links, nothing to break downstream.
Alt h f c⌥ h f c on macFont color
Font color: blue inputs, black formulas — the oldest convention in banking models, still enforced.
Ctrl+S⌘S on macSave
The optimal line
the par-setting sequence, straight through:
C5 ctrl+⇧+↓ · ctrl+c · ⇧+→ takes the As-sent column too · alt e s v ↵ · alt h f c → ×4 · G5:G11 del · ctrl+s
More Data & Lookups drills
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A pipeline log ranked by size, a seventh deal signed late — rank it, land the newcomer, ra
Clean the export
A system export with a duplicate header, a page-break row, and a stale SUBTOTAL — delete a
Work the filtered view
Two screens off one pipeline — narrow the list, read what is left
Unhide the rows
An inherited regional tape with two regions’ detail hidden outright — no ⊞, no trace, and
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