◆ Data & Lookups · drill · Spreadsheet Formulas & Data track
Clean the export
a SUBTOTAL row is not data — leave it in the range and the column counts itself twice.
The deal blotter came out of the system raw: the header printed a second time part-way down, a page-break line landed in the middle of the deals, a SUBTOTAL that was true for page one sits inside the list, and the feed sent one deal twice. The Total line printed with nothing in it. Take the four rows out, sort what is left largest-first, and total it — an export is not a table until the rows that were never data are gone.
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+).
Shift+Space⇧Space on macSelect the entire row
Select the whole row — pair it with Ctrl+Shift+= to insert, Ctrl+- to delete.
Ctrl+-⌘- on macDelete rows / columns — select the whole row/column first
Alt a s d⌥ a s d on macSort descending (Data tab)
Sort the tape before reading it — biggest positions first is how a book gets reviewed.
Alt+=⌥ = on macAutoSum the adjacent range
AutoSum reads the block above or beside the cursor and proposes the SUM — foot rows and columns without typing a formula.
Ctrl+B⌘B on macBold
Bold marks structure: titles, total rows, anything the reviewer’s eye should land on first.
Alt h b p⌥ h b p on macTop border
Top border above a total row — the accounting ruling that says “this line sums the ones above.”
The optimal line
the par-setting sequence, straight through:
each junk row → shift+space ctrl+minus (or alt h d r) · select the deals → alt a s d · the repeat deal → shift+space ctrl+minus · size column through the empty Total cell → alt+= · Total line → ctrl+b · alt h b p · ctrl+s
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