Seek, and you will find it

"There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after."

R.R.Tolkien, Hobbit

Last week we finished our experiments on data validation step. We have used for that purpose column of a supporting table. In this and next posts I would like to explain some methods, you can use to search tables and merge data between.

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Another dimension

Last week I wrote about basics of table creation. We have learned about useful CTRL+L shortcut, which creates table from range of cells. We have seed how calculated columns help to keep consistency in formulas, and how table references make them easy to understand.
It's time to harness tables to do something more useful. Let's give them additional dimension, using data validation.

In the beginning there was a table...

It all started with tables. Some of my readers probably still recall all those huge sheets of paper, precisely carved with lines, used to store all operations of whole companies. In Poland, where I come from, we usually called such written records "gallows". Name came for the usual T shaped lines, dividing columns into Credit & Debit sides, with amounts hanging below.
You can still see little faded resemblance of those records in lot of financial reports, produced by modern accounting software. Especially clear when you export such reports to Excel. By the way, that same application has prominent place among most frequently used by financial world. Yet so many of us are not aware of revolution, which lies in very heart of worksheets. Today I would like to catch your attention to very special kind of tables, which can make your life much easier in different ways.
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