Concept art has been around for quite a while but we have started to hear and, in this case, see more about it only recently. Movies, video games, books, all utilize concept art during their creation and the internet allows us to glimpse into the journey a masterpiece takes before coming to life.
Simply put, concept art is the first piece of visual art designed for a media piece. The process usually goes as follows, the theme and script of the piece are prepared, and based on those, the concept artist prepares rough drafts based on those. Those are then reviewed and if they reflect what the creators have in mind, are forwarded to the art team which builds on the concept art.
Concept art is usually in the form of sketches and rough drawings but can be detailed depending on the deadline of the project or the creators. Some forms of concept art can be a little more detailed especially pieces created for FRP games such as dungeons and dragons.
Concept art is vital for video games and movies as those two usually rely on 3D Modeling and quickly sketching out a concept is not easy to do so on those platforms. Instead, having illustrations that reflect the environment, characters, and even objects look like helps speed up the process significantly.
What Does a Concept Artist Do?
Concept artists are tasked with creating the first visual representations of a project. So, they have to come up with concepts that reflect the vision of the creators. This requires them to have a couple of skills such as working with tight deadlines, creativity, and good communication skills.
Our Favorite Fantast Concept Art Picks
As a bonus, we’ve included quite a few of our favorite concept art examples. We’ve mainly included fantasy concept art pieces of video games, D&D, and TV shows. You can find examples of concept art from God of War, Diablo, the Witcher, Game of Thrones, and Studio Ghibli. Have a look at the pieces we’ve collected for you and let us know if you think that there’s cool concept art that we should include in the article.
As someone who loves creating CSS animations, one of the more powerful tools I use is perspective. While the perspective property is not capable of 3D effects all by itself (since basic shapes can’t have depth), you can use the transform property to move and rotate objects in a 3D space (with the X, Y, and Z axes), then use perspective to control depth.
In this article, I’ll try to explain the concept of perspective, starting with the very basics, as we work up to a fully animated 3D cube.
The basics of perspective
We’ll start with a simple green square and and we’ll move it on all three axes.
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While moving the object on the X and Y axes is pretty straightforward, if we’ll move it on the Z axis, it will look like the square stays exactly the same, and that’s because when the object is moving on the Z axis, the animation moves it closer to us and then further from us, but the size (and location) of the square remains the same. That’s where the CSS perspective property comes into play.
While perspective has no influence on the object when it’s moving on the X or Y axes, when the object is moving on the Z axis, perspective makes the square look bigger when it moves closer to us, and smaller when it moves further away. Yes, just like in “real” life.
The same effect occurs when we’re rotating the object:
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Rotating the square on the Z axis looks like the regular rotation we all know and love, but when we rotate the square on the X or Y axes (without using perspective), it only looks like the square is getting smaller (or narrower) rather than rotating. But when we add perspective, we can see that when the square is rotating, the closer side of the square seems bigger, and the further side looks smaller, and the rotation looks as expected.
Note that when the rotation of the object on the X or Y axes is at 90° (or 270°, 450°, 630°, and so on) it will “disappear” from view. Again, this is happening because we can’t add depth to an object, and at this position the square’s width (or height) will actually be 0.
The perspective value
We need to set the perspective property with a value. This value sets the distance from the object’s plane, or in other words, the perspective’s strength. The bigger the value, the further you are from the object; the smaller the value, the more noticeable the perspective will be.
The perspective origin
The perspective-origin property determines the position from which you are “looking” at an object. If the origin is centered (which is the default) and the object is moved to the right, it will seem like you are looking at it from the left (and vice versa).
Alternatively, you can leave the object centered and move the perspective-origin. When the origin is set to the side, it’s like you are “looking” at the object from that side. The bigger the value, the further aside it will look.
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The transformation
While perspective and perspective-origin are both set on an element’s parent container and determine the position of the vanishing point (i.e. the distance from the object’s plane from the position from which you are “looking” at the object), the object’s position and rotation is set using the transform property, which is declared on the object itself.
If you take a look at the code of the previous example, where I moved the square from one side to the other, you’ll see that I used the translateX() function — which makes sense since I wanted it to move along the X axis. But notice that it’s assigned to the transform property. The function is a type of transformation that is applied directly to the element we want to transform, but that behaves according to the perspective rules assigned to the parent element.
We can “chain” multiple functions to the transform property. But when using multiple transforms, there three very important things to consider:
When rotating an object, its coordinate system is transformed along with the object.
When translating an object, it moves relative to its own coordinate system (rather than its parent’s coordinates).
The order in which these values are written can (and will) change the end result.
In order to get the effect I was looking for in the previous demo, I first needed to translate the square on the X axis. Only then I could rotate it. If this had been done the other way around (rotate first, then translate), then the result would have been completely different.
To underscore how important the order of values is to the transform property, let’s take a look at a couple of quick examples. First, a simple two-dimensional (2D) transformation of two squares that both have the same transform values, but declared in a different order:
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It’s the same deal even if we’re rotating the squares on the Y axis:
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It should be noted that while the order of values is important, we could simply change the values themselves to get the desired result instead of changing the order of the values. For example…
That’s because in the first line we moved the object on the X axis before rotating it, but in the second line we rotated the object, changed its coordinates, then moved it on the Z axis. Same result, different values.
Let’s look at something more interesting
Sure, squares are a good way to explain the general concept of perspective, but we really start to see how perspective works when we break into three-dimensional (3D) shapes.
Let’s use everything we’ve covered so far to build a 3D cube.
The HTML
We’ll create a .container element that wraps around a .cube element that, in turn, consists of six elements that represent the sides of the cube.
First, we’ll add some perspective to the parent .container element. Then we’ll sure the .cube element has 200px sides and respects 3D transformations. I’m adding a few presentational styles here, but the key properties are highlighted.
/* The parent container, with perspective */
.container {
width: 400px;
height: 400px;
border: 2px solid white;
border-radius: 4px;
display: flex;
justify-content: center;
align-items: center;
perspective: 800px;
perspective-origin: top right;
}
/* The child element, with 3D tranforms preserved */
.cube {
position: relative;
width: 200px;
height: 200px;
transform-style: preserve-3d;
}
/* The sides of the cube, absolutely positioned */
.side {
position: absolute;
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
opacity: 0.9;
border: 2px solid white;
}
/* Background colors for the cube's sides to help visualize the work */
.front { background-color: #d50000; }
.back { background-color: #aa00ff; }
.left { background-color: #304ffe; }
.right { background-color: #0091ea; }
.top { background-color: #00bfa5; }
.bottom { background-color: #64dd17; }
Transforming the sides
The front side is the easiest. We’ll move it forward by 100px:
We can move the back side of the cube backwards by adding translateZ(-100px). Another way to do it is by rotating the side 180deg then move it forward:
The top and bottom are a little different. Instead of rotating them on the Y axis, we need to rotate them on the X axis. Again, it can be done in a couple of different ways:
Feel free to play around with the different options for perspective and perspective-origin to see how they affect the cube.
Let’s talk about transform-style
We’re going to add some fancy animation to our cube, but let’s first talk about the transform-style property. I added it earlier in the general CSS, but didn’t really explain what it is or what it does.
The transform-style property has two values:
flat (default)
preserve-3d
When we set the property to preserve-3d, it does two important things:
It tells the sides of the cube (the child elements) to be positioned in the same 3D space as the cube. If it is not set to preserve-3d, the default value is set to flat , and the sides are flattened in the cube’s plane. preserve-3d “copies” the cube perspective to its children (the sides) and allows us to rotate just the cube, so we don’t need to animate each side separately.
It displays the child elements according to their position in the 3D space, regardless of their place in the DOM.
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There are three squares in this example — green, red, and blue. The green square has a translateZ value of 100px, meaning it’s in front of the other squares. The blue square has a translateZ of -100px, meaning is behind the other squares.
But in the DOM, the order of the squares is: green, red, blue. Therefore, when transform-style is set to flat (or not set at all), the blue square will appear on top, and the green square will be in the back, because that is the order of the DOM. But if we set the transform-style to preserve-3d, it will render according to its position in the 3D space. As a result, the green square will be in front, and the blue square will be in the back.
Animation
Now, let’s animate the cube! And to make things more interesting, we’ll add the animation to all three axes. First, we’ll add the animation property to the .cube. It won’t do anything yet since we haven’t defined the animation keyframes, but it’s in place for when we do.
animation: cubeRotate 10s linear infinite;
Now the keyframes. We’re basically going to rotate the cube along each axis so that it appears to be rolling in space.
@keyframes cubeRotate {
from { transform: rotateY(0deg) rotateX(720deg) rotateZ(0deg); }
to { transform: rotateY(360deg) rotateX(0deg) rotateZ(360deg); }
}
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The perspective property is really what gives the animation that depth, like we’re seeing the cube roll left and right, as well as forward and backward.
But before now, the value of the perspective property had been constant, and so was the perspective-origin. Let’s see how changing these values affects the appearance of the cube.
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I’ve added three sliders to this example to help see how different values affect the cube’s perspective:
The left slider sets the value of the perspective property. Remember, this value sets the distance from the object’s plane, so the smaller the value is, the more noticeable the perspective effect will be.
The other two sliders refer to the perspective-origin property. The right slider sets the origin on the vertical axis, from top to bottom, and the bottom slider sets the origin on the horizontal axis, from right to left.
Note that while the animation is running, these changes may be less noticeable as the cube itself rotates, but you can easily turn off the animation by clicking the “Run animation” button.
Play around with these values and find out how they affect the appearance of the cube. There is no one “right” value, and these values vary from project to project, since they’re dependent on the animation, the size of the object, and the effect you want to achieve.
So what’s next?
Now that you’ve mastered the basics of the perspective property in CSS, you can use your imagination and creativity to create 3D objects in your own projects, adding depth and interest to your buttons, menus, inputs, and anything else you want to “bring to life.”
In the meanwhile, you can practice and enhance your skills by trying to create some complex structures and perspective-based animations like this, this, this, or even this.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article and learned something new in the process! Feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think or drop me a line on Twitter if you have any questions about perspective or any other topic in this article.
When analysts for professional sports teams noticed that marketing promotions that included the team’s logo vastly outperformed similar creative assets that featured player imagery — something which, to the casual observer, this may simply sound like good analyst work — it showed something significant: creatives rarely receive an analytical assessment of their work.
More than half of creatives say they rarely…get qualitative performance data about the creative content
Those analysts didn’t just stumble upon that insight. The feedback loop — where someone is dedicated to evaluating the creative used in marketing campaigns and feeding the data back to designers — was the result of a concentrated effort to improve the creative process, workflow and by extension, organizational culture.
More than half (55%) of creatives say they “rarely” or “never” get qualitative performance data about the creative content they’ve produced. Less than one-in-five creatives (17%) receive such feedback “always” or “often.” That’s according to our research, as published in the 2020 In-House Creative Management Report, which was conducted in partnership with InSource, a professional association for in-house creatives.
Two Approaches to Measuring Creative Value
The 2020 In-House Creative Management Report revealed that 89% of respondents think creative work is important to meeting business objectives. Similarly, 87% said their organization is giving them the same or more credit for the business results their work delivers for the organization.
How can a creative team improve what it does for a business if they never see how their work influences market behavior?
Those statistics are encouraging since creative teams have been asked to do more and more — with the same or fewer resources — for years. However, to sustain this positive relationship with marketing and business leaders, creative teams will need to find quantitative ways to demonstrate their value. The feedback loop strengthens the strategic relationship creatives have with their business leaders.
So how can creative value be measured? Efficiency and effectiveness are the two primary approaches.
Efficiency
Measures of efficiency center on output. Efficiency aims to quantify requests, project by volume, type, requestor, and per designer, completion times, cycle times, cause of delays, and rounds of revision.
Such measures are essential for making a case for the resources the creative team needs to get the work done. In our research, most in-house creative teams are at least thinking about output metrics. This is a good start but it’s just the beginning.
Effectiveness
Measures of creative effectiveness are the next level in organizational sophistication. The creative process doesn’t end when a project has been approved. Instead, there’s a feedback loop that still needs to be completed – performance metrics must be shared with the creative team. How can a creative team improve what it does for a business if they never see how their work influences market behavior?
Importantly, the benefits of sharing performance data goes beyond process improvement. It spreads to the overall culture which strengthens the partnership between creatives and marketing.
As Brent Chiu-Watson, a product leader at Adobe, wrote, measures of efficacy lead to a “mutual interest in understanding creative effectiveness.” In turn, cross-functional collaboration improves and the whole team begins “to provide better insight through dialogue.”
3 Ideas for Looping Measures of Effectiveness Back to Creative
When marketing organizations are interested in measuring creative, there is often more emphasis on measures of output than there is effectiveness. Sometimes, what gets measured is what’s easy to measure. There are several reasons for this:
Creatives haven’t traditionally focused on metrics;
The trend of bringing creative in-house has been driven by efficiency;
Creatives don’t typically have access to performance metrics.
“There is an old adage that you can choose quality, speed or cost, but not all three. Sometimes two, but never all three,” says Adam Morgan, an executive creative director for Adobe, who contributed to the 2020 In-House Creative Management Report. “So, we say the most important thing is quality creative, but then we measure on speed and efficiency.”
Fortunately, Adam and several other big thinkers in the creative space offered some ideas for approaching this business problem.
1) Establish metrics and access in the beginning
“Two thoughts come to mind when you see creative teams not getting feedback on their work. First, does that data even exist? The marketing team might not be collecting it because they haven’t defined success metrics,” wrote Ilise Benun, a speaker, author and business coach for creative professionals at Marketing Mentor.
“Second, the marketing team has data, but they aren’t providing it. In that case, the creative team has to make it easy for the marketing team to pass that data over. Define what those metrics are at the beginning of the project, and then set up the project so that you can collect that information or have direct access to it at the end of the project.”
2) Pair creatives with analytics teams
“In general, teams that are earning their seat at the strategic table are probably also more connected to data. But I don’t think that the creative department should get swamped down in endless metrics,” says Adam.
“Use this as an opportunity to build a strategic partnership with even more departments within the organization who are already focused on measuring performance.”
3) Sharpen analytical skills of creatives
“It’s important to remember that operational metrics are key to showing the impact creative work has on the business,” says our very own Molly Clark, who heads our marketing team. “Creatives will strengthen their relationship with the business by becoming analytical creatives – the best combination of data-driven and creative.”
A Culture of Creative Feedback
The design team for the professional sports organization, at the beginning of this piece, were surprised by their analysts’ findings: most usually agreed that player imagery is visually more compelling. However, the organization built a feedback loop into the creative process that put combined analytics and creative to drive better business results.
When you are a company owner or a manager of a business of any size and think of creating a website, all you have to do is to hire a web developer. They should be the person who will improve your company by contributing their talents to front-end and back-end development. This team member should be chosen carefully so that the website will accomplish the following tasks:
Improve the credibility of your company and do it in the most user-friendly way;
Help to get quality leads or customers with an easy track of conversions and the ability of API integration;
Establish the presence of your company in a global market.
If you never hired a full-stack developer before, you should know how to do it effectively and in a time-saving manner. These days, when most of the companies are partly or even fully working remotely, you might want to consider hiring a remote developer, which has some benefits over an in-house employee, and also some specifics in the hiring process.
The decision of hiring a remote developer should always be based on the benefit of the company. For example, if you are in the US, EU, Canada, or Australia, where the cost of software development is the highest in the world, hiring remote engineers from other regions will allow cutting on development costs. Also, as long as you are not limited to one region, you have a higher chance to find talent which fits your project the best.
Additionally, when you need to hire a team in the shortest time possible to deal with minor tasks, it’s easier to outsource the job than going through the whole hiring process of in-house developers. In that case, it is much easier to hire a freelance developer. Or if you need a more trusted source, you can use the YouTeam platform (backed by Y combinator), where your first candidates will be sourced within 48 hours.
That is just some basics about hiring remote developers, but you can read more to learn the pros and cons of insourcing and outsourcing a team of devs.
In any case, the final decision about hiring a new remote developer that should fit your team is on you. So here is the guide on how to find a qualified one by simply asking the right questions.
Question #1: Experience & Cases
Firstly, you need to ask the candidates about their relative experience and case studies. It is very important to understand that the candidates fully understand what they will be doing. For each type of business or a product, there is a different type of website.
There are websites for e-commerce and landing pages, for example. The first type must include a basket, a catalog, payment methods, and many more features to make the users comfortable and satisfied. The second one is usually used for services in different business niches: events, marketing campaigns, webinars, etc.
Question #2: Test project
Discuss if they are open to doing a small project first before you decide if you want to hire them for the long term. This question is very sensitive. Completing a test project requires the same skills and effort as completing a long term project. The only difference should be the time candidates spend on it: test projects should take much less time, meanwhile, it should not influence the quality of the end-results.
For instance, if the website which you plan to develop is a complex one, so shall the test project be. Here are the aspects of a good test project for a website developer.
Question #3: Programming questions
The following questions will help you find a highly qualified remote website developer and find out who is the most capable of creating a comprehensive website:
Which sorting algorithm one should use if the size of an array is larger than the total amount of ram?
Explain the importance of Open-Closed and Liskov substitution principles in OOP?
What are the main methods of protection against XSS? Why it shouldn’t be limited by WAF?
How to parse ajax sites?
If your candidates can respond correctly to the up-mentioned questions, no doubt they are the best in the field. After the interview, you may give a short task to write code. And for checking the code from the technical task you may need some instruments.
Question #4: Independent code vetting
There are plenty of automated online vetting instruments, which generate tests according to the tech task of your project. Such tools are widely used in many companies and help the recruiters and business owners to find a perfect candidate.
The tools are very suitable for the vetting of remote candidates:
Codility can check the quality of the code and the language the developer uses for writing it.
HackerRank is a tool that checks the quality of the code in a real-time. Effectivity is proven by partners such as LinkedIn and PayPal.
CodeSignal also a collaboration tool for online interviews and code reviews, which is frequently used by Uber and other huge companies.
CodinGame is a very user-friendly instrument for checking the coding skills of your candidates. They compete in real-time so that you can sort out for yourself who is the most appropriate developer.
So, when it’s your case and you want to vet a code on your own, read the full review on code vetting instruments here.
Question #5: Deadlines & Payment
This is where another stage of the selection begins. When technical tasks are completed successfully and the candidates are ready to discuss bureaucratic matters, mention the budget and deadlines in the first place.
Do not hesitate to make several conference calls as you need to understand the personalities of devs and their style of work. Make it clear about the KPIs, payments, and their frequency (maybe, the dependency on the progress of the project), the time frame of the project, and the budget for your website.
Be sure you speak the same language with a person you’re going to hire, so the building of trust between you both will not take long.
Question #6: Project management
One more important thing that might influence website development as well as project management. Luckily, there are plenty of tools to effectively manage remote developer teams.
Ask your candidates what tools they usually use while working on the project to communicate, mark the progress, and make reports. The majority of remote website developers use Jira, Slack, or Asana for communicating with their supervisors and marking the project progress. Also, you both may use Google Drive and Dropbox for sharing files.
When the tools are chosen it’s time to discuss the actual management of the project:
The number of video calls during a week to discuss the progress of the project and inform the developer of the company’ news;
Will the bonus be paid after the final edits or every month/week of the development?
What is going to happen if the developer goes over the budget? Write down instructions for all possible cases to cover your company from unexpected losses;
Post-project support or the absence of it. It is a very important issue to discuss because a website needs constant optimizations: SEO, API integration support, catalog update, and many more.
When the management stage is completed, you, as the owner, have to document all the agreements and details of pre-development arrangements, KPIs, and the development itself plus the to-do list after website development.
Question #7: Communication
The last question of our list of essentials queries to make when hiring a remote developer is about communication. Remote communication has its aspects, and the first one is the tools you will use for communication. Now the most frequently used tools for this purpose are Zoom and Skype. The choice of a communication tool often depends on the location of your dev: in the USA they prefer Zoom, in the EU and Eastern Europe it is Skype.
Don’t forget to check the candidates on their soft skills: you need to work it out together. Make sure that the style of communication suits you all: from avoiding rude language to the manner of the interaction. You both should be comfortable with each other to complete the project.
How to hire a remote website developer safely
While hiring a remote web developer the questions of safety and trust are very important. It doesn’t matter if you are hiring someone for a long term or a short term project, as a client, you should be completely protected from any issue that may appear.
So, where to hire a remote website developer?
If you’re looking for an individual engineer that will help you with a small task or a short-term project, UpWork is one of the best options. It’s a platform for freelancers from all over the world. Here you can find the contractors who speak the same language as you and pay in a comfortable currency. But the popularity of the platform also attracts different kinds of people (from beginners to the top-rated contractors), so finding the right candidate can take some time and energy. Also, keep in mind that hiring an experienced engineer can be costly.
When you need to hire engineers for long term projects, there’s another trusted platform — YouTeam — a marketplace for hiring offshore teams of developers and other creators. The advantages of hiring from there is big:
They double-check vendor companies;
Verify the devs’ profiles;
Check the soft skills of all pre-selected developers;
Great for B2B collaboration;
Help with legal, finances, and communication details.
It is up to you which platform to choose when they both are very good towards clients and engineers they work with.
The bottom line
Hiring a remote website developer might be a challenge for those who never did it before. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, using a remote website developer is a necessity now for a majority of businesses.
First of all, you have to decide if you want to hire website developers yourself or need a contractor to do that for you. The hiring platform can help to source the best candidates. But the final decision about hiring is yours. Use our guide to make sure that you’ve discussed all aspects of the future work with your potential employee and they will be the best fit for your team as well as your project.
Everybody is talking about AVIF today because of Jake’s blog post. As the say, I was today years old when I learned AVIF was a thing. But thanks to web technology being ahead of the game for once, we can already take advantage of it.
This will be easier if you’ve abstracted your responsive images syntax. Wherever you’re using you can slip it in such that supporting browsers get it and non-supporting do not:
<picture>
<!-- use if possible -->
<source type="image/avif" srcset="snow.avif">
<!-- fallback -->
<img alt="Hut in the snow" src="snow.jpg">
</picture>
Wanna play with it right now? Jake updated Squoosh to support it. CodePen also supports it. Here’s a Pen (I forked off Shaw’s original):
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Check out the Pug HTML there to flop out other sources. If the URL to the image you put it is hosted on CodePen’s Asset Hosting, it will do all the conversions and such automatically. The images go through a Cloudflare Worker which is what does the conversions, and supports AVIF. For new images, you might feel the response time lag on that first request for AVIF before it is cached, seems like generating them takes a lot more work.
Like any format, it really depends on the type of image it is. While screwing around, I put an already-compressed JPG as the source, and AVIF more than doubled the size of it’s version. So you’ll have to be careful that you aren’t making things slower by using it.
We’ve had it good with new image formats so far. WebP is nearly always the best format so much of the logic has gone down the if (webp_supported) { use_webp } road. But now, not only is AVIF only sometimes smaller, the way it does compression leads to different visual results, so even when it is smaller, you might not be happy with the look.
My ideal scenario is always some kind of image CDN with ?format=auto&quality=auto where it picks the best possible format and quality automatically, never making it worse than the original. But then also having overrides possible so if you aren’t happy with an automatic decision, you can fix it. I was going to test Cloudinary’s auto-formatting choices, but they aren’t supporting it yet. I’d bet they will soon, but I also bet it’s darn complicated to get right.
Many development environments require running things in a terminal window. npm run start, or whatever. I know my biggest project requires me to be running a big fancy Docker-based thing in one terminal, Ruby on Rails in another, and webpack in another. I’ve worked on other projects that require multiple terminal windows as well, and I don’t feel like I’m that unusual. I’ve heard from several others in this situation. It’s not a bad situation, it’s just a little cumbersome and annoying. I’ve got to remember all the commands and set up my command line app in a way that feels comfortable. For me, splitting panels is nicer than tabs, although tabs for separate projects seems OK.
tmux was the most popular answer. I’m very sure I don’t understand all it can do, but I think I understand that it makes “fake” panes within one terminal session that emulates multiple panes. So, those multiple panes can be configured to open and run different commands simultaneously. I found this interesting because it came literally days later my CodePen co-founder let us all know the new dev environment he’s been working on will use tmux.
I was pointed to kitty by a fella who told me it feels like a grown-up tmux to him. It can be configured into layouts with commands that run at startup.
There are native apps for all the platforms that can run multiple panels.
macOS: I’ve long used iTerm which does split panels nicely. It can also remember window arrangements, which I’ve used, but I don’t see any built-in option for triggering commands in that arrangement. The native terminal can do tabs and splitting, too, but it feels very limited.
There are npm things for running multiple scripts, like concurrently and npm-run-all, but (I think?) they are limited to running only npm scripts, rather than any terminal command. Maybe you can make npm scripts for those other commands? But even then, I don’t think you’d see the output in different panels, so it’s probably best for scripts that are run-and-done instead of run-forever.
Being a Mac guy, I was most interested in solutions that would work with iTerm since I’ve used that anyway. In lieu of a built-in iTerm solution, I did learn it was “scriptable.” Apparently, they are sunsetting AppleScript support in favor of Python but, hey, for now it seems to work fine.
It’s basically this:
The Code
tell application "iTerm"
tell current window
create window with default profile
tell current session of current tab
set name to "run.sh"
write text "cd '/Users/chriscoyier/GitHub/CPOR'"
write text "./run.sh"
end tell
create tab with default profile
tell current session of current tab
set name to "Rails"
write text "cd '/Users/chriscoyier/GitHub/CPOR'"
write text "nvm use"
write text "yarn"
write text "bundle install"
write text "yarn run rails"
end tell
create tab with default profile
tell current session of current tab
set name to "webpack"
write text "cd '/Users/chriscoyier/GitHub/CPOR'"
write text "nvm use"
write text "yarn"
write text "yarn run dev"
end tell
# split vertically
# tell application "System Events" to keystroke "d" using command down
# delay 1
# split horizontally
# tell application "System Events" to keystroke "d" using {shift down, command down}
# delay 1
# moving... (requires permission)
# tell application "System Events" to keystroke "]" using command down
end tell
end tell
I just open that script, hit run, and it does the job. I left the comments in there because I’d like to figure out how to get it to do split screen the way I like, rather than tabs, but I got this working and then got lazy again. It felt weird to have to use keystrokes to have to do it, so I figured if I was going to dig in, I’d figure out if their newer Python stuff supports it more directly or what. It’s also funny I can’t like compile it into a little mini app or something. Can’t Automator do that? Shrug.
The other popular answer I got for Mac folks is that they have Alfred do the work. I never got into Alfred, but there clearly is fancy stuff you can do with it.
Jetpack 8.9 shipped on September 1 and it shows why the plugin continues to be the premier way to take a WordPress site from good to holy smokes! Several new features are packed into the release, but a few really stand out.
Take donations with a new block
The first is donations, and a quick demo of how easy it is to drop a donation form into a page is going to excite anyone who has ever had to cobble together multiple third party scripts and tools to get something like this on a site.
That’s right — it’s as easy as any other block and it connects directly to your Stripe account when you upgrade to a Jetpack paid plan. Non-profits are sure to love this, but even if you’re a plugin developer looking for a way to collect “tips” in exchange for your work, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of something like this.
I’d drop a donations block right here to show you, but if you’re so inclined (?) we have a MVP supporter thing set up that handles that, which is powered by WooCommerce Memberships.
Collect newsletter signups and automate email marketing
Another feature that stands out is a newsletter signup form. Instead of relying on another plugin for form functionality and another to connect the form to an email newsletter service, Jetpack handles it all with a new block that not only collects subscribers, but integrates directly with Creative Mail by Constant Contact.
That means you not only take signups directly from your site, but you get a way to pull WordPress content and WooCommerce products into emails that support all kinds of automatons, like scheduled sends, action-based triggers, and multi-step marketing journeys. It’s a lot of power in a single package!
It’s worth noting that the newsletter form is in addition to a growing number of forms that are built right into Jetpack, including RSVP, contact, registration, feedback, and appointments.
AMP-ify your content
There isn’t a whole lot of details on this feature, but it certainly warrants attention. Automattic and Google have been working closely together the past several months to ship the 2.0 version of the official AMP plugin for WordPress.
The plan is for the Jetpack team to write up a detailed post sometime soon that thoroughly outlines the integration. Just a guess? Perhaps Jetpack blocks will natively support valid AMP markup in way that maintains the functionality while meeting AMP’s performance standards. We’ll see!
Jetpack 8.9 is the latest release in what’s proving to be a rapidly evolving one-stop shop for the most common and useful WordPress features that normally would require plugin overload. The past year alone has seen a slideshow block, on-site instant search, built-in customer relationship management and security monitoring — and those are just the highlights! You really can’t go wrong with Jetpack if you’re looking for the most powerful set of features in one place. Plug it in, purchase a plan, and you get access to literally dozens of features and enhancements for WordPress without having to hunt them down, one-by-one. Hey, that’s why we use Jetpack around here at CSS-Tricks… and love it!
There are many different approaches to menus on websites. Some menus are persistent, always in view and display all the options. Other menus are hidden by design and need to be opened to view the options. And there are even additional approaches on how hidden menus reveal their menu items. Some fly out and overlap the content, some push the content away, and others will do some sort of full-screen deal.
Whatever the approach, they all have their pros and cons and the right one depends on the situation where it’s being used. Frankly, I tend to like fly-out menus in general. Not for all cases, of course. But when I’m looking for a menu that is stingy on real estate and easy to access, they’re hard to beat.
What I don’t like about them is how often they conflict with the content of the page. A fly-out menu, at best, obscures the content and, at worst, removes it completely from the UI.
I tried taking another approach. It has the persistence and availability of a fixed position as well as the space-saving attributes of a hidden menu that flies out, only without removing the user from the current content of the page.
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Here’s how I made it.
The toggle
We’re building a menu that has two states — open and closed — and it toggles between the two. This is where the Checkbox Hack comes into play. It’s perfect because a checkbox has two common interactive states — checked and unchecked (there’s also the indeterminate) — that can be used to trigger those states.
The checkbox is hidden and placed under the menu icon with CSS, so the user never sees it even though they interact with it. Checking the box (or, ahem, the menu icon) reveals the menu. Unchecking it hides it. Simple as that. We don’t even need JavaScript to do the lifting!
Of course, the Checkbox Hack isn’t the only way to do this, and if you want to toggle a class to open and close the menu with JavaScript, that’s absolutely fine.
It’s important the checkbox precedes the main content in the source code, because the :checked selector we’re going to ultimately write to make this work needs to use a sibling selector. If that’ll cause layout concerns for you, use Grid or Flexbox for your layouts as they are source order independent, like how I used its advantage for counting in CSS.
The checkbox’s default style (added by the browser) is stripped out, using the appearance CSS property, before adding its pseudo element with the menu icon so that the user doesn’t see the square of the checkbox.
…and the baseline CSS for the Checkbox Hack and menu icon:
/* Hide checkbox and reset styles */
input[type="checkbox"] {
appearance: initial; /* removes the square box */
border: 0; margin: 0; outline: none; /* removes default margin, border and outline */
width: 30px; height: 30px; /* sets the menu icon dimensions */
z-index: 1; /* makes sure it stacks on top */
}
/* Menu icon */
input::after {
content: "2255";
display: block;
font: 25pt/30px "georgia";
text-indent: 10px;
width: 100%; height: 100%;
}
/* Page content container */
#page {
background: url("earbuds.jpg") #ebebeb center/cover;
width: 100%; height: 100%;
}
I threw in the styles for the #page content as well, which is going to be a full size background image.
The transition
Two things happen when the menu control is clicked. First, the menu icon changes to an × mark, symbolizing that it can be clicked to close the menu. So, we select the ::after pseudo element of checkbox input when the input is in a :checked state:
input:checked::after {
content: "0d7"; /* changes to × mark */
color: #ebebeb;
}
Second, the main content (our “earbuds” image) transforms, revealing the menu underneath. It moves to the right, rotates and scales down, and its left side corners get angular. This is to give the appearance of the content getting pushed back, like a door that swings open.
I used clip-path to change the corners of the image.
Since we’re applying a transition on the transformations, we need an initial clip-path value on the #page so there’s something to transition from. We’ll also drop a transition on #page while we’re at it because that will allow it to close as smoothly as it opens.
We’re basically done with the core design and code. When the checkbox is unchecked (by clicking the × mark) the transformation on the earbud image will automatically be undone and it’ll be brought back to the front and centre.
A sprinkle of JavaScript
Even though we have what we’re looking for, there’s still one more thing that would give this a nice boost in the UX department: close the menu when clicking (or tapping) the #page element. That way, the user doesn’t need to look for or even use the × mark to get back to the content.
Since this is merely an additional way to hide the menu, we can use JavaScript. And if JavaScript is disabled for some reason? No big deal. It’s just an enhancement that doesn’t prevent the menu from working without it.
What this three-liner does is add a click event handler over the #page element that un-checks the checkbox if the checkbox is in a :checked state, which closes the menu.
We’ve been looking at a demo made for a vertical/portrait design, but works just as well at larger landscape screen sizes, depending on the content we’re working with.
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This is just one approach or take on the typical fly-out menu. Animation opens up lots of possibilities and there are probably dozens of other ideas you might have in mind. In fact, I’d love to hear (or better yet, see) them, so please share!
Illustrations are great pieces of art. There are so many great works out there, and we’ll be taking on some of the most influential and famous illustrators, and their works.
Charles M. Schultz is the creator of Peanuts, and basically the godfather of daily comic strips.
Peanuts is one of the most famous, most translated, most awarded, and most influential comic series ever. Since it’s been created, it’s been published in 2,600 daily newspapers in 75 countries and 21 languages. Since the creation of Peanuts, Schultz drew and published 17,897 strips for Peanut. Can you imagine that?
Since the strip started, Schultz only took one holiday break, and that was for 5 weeks, in 1997 to celebrate his 75th birthday, but kept running the reruns of Peanuts during that time. That only happened once during Schultz’s lifetime.
Schultz had received the most prestigious awards from fellow cartoonists, won Emmy awards for his animated works, had NASA spacecraft named after his characters.
If you are into sci-fi, there is no chance you haven’t seen any of Giger’s workaround. His style is incredibly unique, melding the biological and the mechanical aspects together. His talents were discovered by Ridley Scott and Giger’s talents were put on a display with a sci-fi movie, called Star Beast. Later, this movie was entitled to Alien as we all know and love today.
Giger created amazing work throughout his life, and he actually created the concept art for the movie adaptation of Dune by Jodorowsky. The film actually never got made, but check out Giger’s Dune concept art to see what could have been!
Richard Corben may not be as widely known as some of the illustrators in the list, but when you see his work, you instantly identify it even if you don’t know his name. He is best known for his comic work that is featured in Heavy Metal Magazine. He has also received many awards, and H.R Giger actually once wrote: “People like Richard Corben are, in my view, maestros.”
William Blake was a 19th century English poet and a painter. Even though his art didn’t gain much popularity during his lifetime, his art had a huge influence on the world. His depictions of various subject matters and biblical ones still take a huge place in popular culture today. Blake has influenced and inspired many artists with his poetry and painting.
Maurice Sendak was an American illustrator and children’s book writer. He gained popularity with his famous book, Wild Things Are, that was published in 1963. The book influenced many children around the world, especially in the USA.
The book sold 20 million copies since it’s publication date and changed the whole perception of artwork for children’s books. Sendak never created a sequel for the book, one the basis of finding the idea “boring”.
After his death in 2012, the New York Times actually put together all his lifetime achievements and deemed Sendak as the “the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century”.
These are the 5 most famous illustrators that influenced many artists around the world, and their works keep living on. And those artists are now creating some of their own amazing artworks, if you are interested in learning more about them, make sure to check the best cg artwork around the world.
“Proficient in Excel” is a common skill reported on resumes. And while many feel confident in their ability to navigate Excel, there’s a lot beyond the rows, columns, and simple mathematics that beginners are accustomed to using.
Most businesses use Excel for a range of projects, and most require a knowledge level that exceeds the basics.
Excel: An indispensable tool
A strong knowledge of Excel can give you an advantage in any industry, as it’s a powerful tool for a wide scope of both simple and complex tasks — analyzing stocks, budgeting, managing projects, and organizing client information.
Finance
Financial analysts used to spend weeks solving complicated formulas, either by hand or with slow computer programs. Today, these analysts can do the same work in minutes — thanks to Excel.
Marketing
Spreadsheets are a powerful tool when it comes to tracking sales targets and analytics. Carefully organizing your data with Excel can help you plan future marketing strategies and allow you to reflect on your past successes and on areas that need improvement. With more advanced tools, such as pivot tables — which we’ll explain in depth later — you can easily summarize customer and sales data by category.
You can also use Excel to organize social media posts or store data for mailing lists and other market research.
Human resources
Excel can help you manage payroll and employee information, giving you the ability to visualize trends, track expenses, and see an organized collection of all employees and their compensation levels.
HR professionals can use Excel to see where costs are going and to plan for — and control — future expenses.
Overview of Excel’s uses
While there are obvious uses for Excel in particular industries, as mentioned above, this software provides limitless tools for a wide variety of businesses:
Events. Track guest lists, costs, and RSVPs as well as organize vendors.
Website content planning. Create an editorial calendar for a website. The spreadsheet framework makes managing dates and topics easy.
Complex calculations. Solve thorny math problems with Excel’s various formulas.
Customer reference. Track customer information to inform your promotional calls or emails.
Budgeting. Create budgets for small projects and track how closely you stick to those budgets.
Modeling. Create revenue growth models.
Solid knowledge of this software means you’ll be well aware of all the formulas and shortcuts that can save you from long, tedious hours of data entry and manual mathematics. If you’re looking to tackle this sometimes intimidating program, the rest of this Microsoft Excel tutorial will provide you with key tips and tricks that will help you conquer the software.
Excel basics
Laying the groundwork
When you open a spreadsheet, the empty rows and columns stare back at you, waiting to be put to use. The options are endless, as Excel can tackle an exhaustive list of tasks. The key, however, is knowing how to use the program to its fullest potential.
Before dedicating hours of tireless work maneuvering complicated spreadsheets and manually copying and pasting data, it’s important to master the basics. In return, you’ll be better prepared for any Excel project that’s thrown your way.
The building blocks of Excel
When you get started with a new spreadsheet, you’ll probably need to make some tweaks and adjustments to the standard layout of a new Excel sheet.
Inserting rows/columns
As you input data, you’ll probably need to add more rows and columns. While you could do this one by one, this is a perfect example of how understanding Excel and its shortcuts can save you significant time and frustration.
To add multiple rows or columns in a spreadsheet, highlight the number of preexisting rows or columns that you want to add. If you want to add four rows, highlight four rows on the spreadsheet, right-click, and then select insert. Now you’ve efficiently added an additional four blank rows into your spreadsheet.
How to move rows and columns
You’ll probably also need to move rows and columns in your spreadsheet. Your first instinct may be to copy the row and paste it where you want it, then delete the original. While that will certainly get you the results you want, there’s a quicker way to move rows and columns in Excel, explains Microsoft Office Support:
Select the row(s) or column(s) you want to move.
Move your cursor to the upper left edge of the selection. A “move” icon (a four directional arrow) will appear. If you want to move more than one row, column, or cell at the same time, and they are adjacent to each other, hold the Shift key down while you make your selection. If they aren’t adjacent, hold down the Control key.
Click on the edge of the selection and hold it to move it to the new location.
How to hide and unhide rows and columns
If you’re dealing with a data-heavy spreadsheet, it may be helpful to hide or unhide rows and columns so that you can see the information you need to understand and analyze your statistics. Just follow these steps:
Select the columns or rows you want to hide. You can select multiple columns or rows that are side by side if you hold down the Shift key. To select multiple cells that aren’t contiguous, hold down the Control key.
Once you’ve made your selection, go to the Home tab.
Under the Cells group, click Format > Hide and Unhide > Hide Rows (or Hide Columns).
The column or row will be removed, and you’ll see a thin double line that indicates where the hidden column or row was.
Pro Tip
You can also identify the row or column you wish to hide by typing the identifier in the Excel name box to the left of the formula field. To hide the third row, type B3.
To unhide columns or rows
For a single row or column, right-click the thin double line that indicates a hidden row or column and click Unhide
To unhide all rows and columns, click the thin double line, and select all using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + A. In the Home tab, under the Cells group, choose Format > Hide and Unhide > Unhide Rows (or Unhide Columns).
In some cases, you may need to hide an individual cell in Excel, which is a little less straightforward than hiding rows or columns. Deleting a cell will clear it from your spreadsheet, so it will no longer be used in formulas, and you’ll lose the content. To remove the individual cell from view, but keep it in action
Select the cell you want to hide and right-click on it
Choose the Format Cells option from the dropdown menu
Under the Format Cells categories, select the bottom option, Custom
Enter ;;; (three semicolons) as the format, then press OK
The cell is now hidden, but the data is intact
How to combine and merge cells
There may come a time when you need to merge two or more cells into one large cell. This can help to display your data or better fit the amount of content you’re trying to share. If you’re trying to merge cells that contain data, the Excel “merge cells” feature will eliminate the data in all cells except for the cell in the upper left position of the selection.
The Merge & Center option in Excel is the fastest way to do this:
Select all of the cells you want to merge into one.
On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click the Merge & Center option.
Once you click Merge & Center, the selected cells will be combined into one cell, and the text will be centered.
This can be useful if you have a long list of items and want to use the cells to the right to create a larger space to fit your text. If you click the Merge & Center option, a dropdown menu will appear. This menu gives you the options to Merge Across, Merge Cells, and Unmerge Cells. Make sure that all of your important data is in the top-left cell, or it will be erased.
To unmerge cells in Excel, select the cell and the arrow next to Merge & Center so you can select Unmerge Cells from the dropdown menu.
How to split cells
Sometimes you may want to separate a list of items in one cell. Instead of re-entering all of your information, there’s a shortcut that can make your life easier.
If a set of data is separated by a comma or other characters in a single cell, you can use Text to Columns to spread the data into their own individual cells:
Click on the Data tab, and then select Text to Columns.
A Wizard will pop up, displaying two file types: Delimited, where characters, such as commas or tabs, separate each field, and Fixed Width, where fields are aligned in columns that contain a fixed number of characters.
If your data is separated by comma or another character, select Delimited (for example, item one,item two,item three).
If your data is separated into columns, select Fixed Width (see below).
item one
item two
item three
If your delimiter (character) is a comma, select it on the next screen. Excel gives a variety of options, including semicolon and tab, to choose from. You can also enter Other in case you’ve used a different character.
The last step is to format each column’s data. For simple tasks, the General option will usually provide the desired outcome.
Excel will split the selected cell into multiple columns based on how many delimiters it found.
How to lock/protect cells
This is a good preventive measure to take if you anticipate sharing your spreadsheet with others. Locking cells will prevent accidental changes to your data. You can lock all the cells in a worksheet, or you can simply select specific cells to lock if you want to allow other people to alter parts of your spreadsheet.
When you protect a sheet or workbook, by default all the cells will be locked. This prevents them from being reformatted, deleted, or edited. Here’s how to lock a sheet:
In the Review tab, select Protect Sheet.
In this window, enter a password to unprotect the sheet (while this isn’t necessary, it may be useful to ensure that your sheet remains untouched). You can also get specific and determine which parts of your spreadsheet, if any, can be altered by other users.
Click OK to protect your spreadsheet.
If you’re looking to protect only certain cells in an Excel worksheet and want to leave the remainder open to editing, you can take a different route. For example, if you have a collaborative worksheet that has names and information that will always stay the same but quantities that change every month, you may only want to lock the unchanging cells.
You can choose which cell should be locked by using the formatting properties for the cell:
Select all the cells you don’t want to lock. (These cells can be edited after the sheet is protected.)
Right-click your selection, select Format Cells, and then click the Protection tab.
Uncheck Locked — which is selected by default — and then click OK.
Go to Review > Protect Sheet > OK. Any cells that weren’t unlocked under the Format Cells option will now be locked, and the unlocked cells will remain editable.
Pro Tip
You can use a keyboard shortcut if you want to change the protection on cells that aren’t adjacent to one another. Simply select a cell or group of cells and use the Format Cells feature to lock or unlock it. To do the same thing with other cells, the keyboard shortcut is F4. When you press that, it will replicate what you did in the previous cell.
Formatting text
To apply either a strikethrough, subscript, or superscript to text within Excel, start with the Font Settings button, which appears in the lower right corner of the Font section. You can also use a keyboard shortcut: CTRL + 1.
This will open a dialog box, which provides more extensive font options. Here, you can adjust the font type, color, size, style, and effects. Under the effects is where you’ll find options for strikethrough, superscript, or subscript. Just check the box for the one you’d like to apply. Click OK, and the text in your selected cell will be modified.
Pro Tip
CTRL + 5 will apply a strikethrough to the text in selected cells.
Using simple math in Excel
Excel has useful formulas that can complete calculations. Here are four simple tips to remember when applying Excel formulas to perform basic math:
All Excel formulas start with an equal sign (=). This is how Excel knows that it’s dealing with a formula.
Cells are referenced in a formula according to their column-row identifier (A1, B2, etc.).
The symbols for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are +,-,*,/, respectively.
Excel will automatically capitalize letters in your formula.
Operation
Formula
Explanation
Addition
=A1+A2
The contents of cells A1 and A2 will be added together. (You can add more cells if you need to add more numbers.)
Subtraction
=A2-A1
The contents of cell A1 will be subtracted from the contents of cell A2.
Multiplication
=A1*A2
The selected cells will be multiplied.
Division
=A2/A1
Cell A2 will be divided by cell A1.
If you’re looking to use multiple operations in one formula, remember the order of operations (PEMDAS). Apply parentheses around the math equations that should be calculated first.
Using Goal Seek
Goal Seek is a tool that helps you see how one value in a formula is going to affect another value. Essentially, it figures out what you need to do in order to get the result you want in the cell that contains your formula.
This is really helpful because it does a lot of the thinking for you. All you need to do is specify these three things:
Formula cell
Target/desired value
The cell you need to change to achieve the target
Goal Seek is useful for financial modeling. Business owners often use it to determine the amount in sales they need to make to reach a target benchmark.
To use Goal Seek
Set up your data so you have a cell that will change based on the formula.
Locate the What-If Analysis tool under the Data tab. Select the Forecast option and then select Goal Seek.
A dialog box will appear that allows you to input the appropriate items. Once you type in the cells and/or values, click OK. The Set cell field is for the formula cell. The result you want to set up is in the To value field. The By changing cell field is for the cell that you want to make adjustments to.
After you click OK, a new dialog box will open. It will change the value if it finds a solution to the problem. If you want your information to be changed to the new value, just click OK. If you want to stick with the original information, click Cancel.
Discovering formulas
Understanding formulas
Large amounts of data and complex calculations can be overwhelming for anyone. However, Excel has many tools, like some key formulas we’ll cover here, to make spreadsheets less daunting. Using these formulas can increase productivity, decrease stress, and maximize accuracy — no more calculation mistakes!
There’s an exhaustive list of complicated formulas available to every Excel user, and while they’re all waiting at your fingertips, it’s important to know which formula to use and when to use it. Here are some formulas that can help you master Excel and streamline your tasks.
How to calculate standard deviation
Standard deviation is a statistic that measures how much variation is in a data set. It’s a useful tool when scientists are conducting a study and need to track the degree of variation in the data. A low standard of deviation illustrates that the variations are very close to the mean, and a high standard of deviation reveals that data points are spread further out from the mean.
Often, finding the standard deviation for an entire population can be unrealistic, hence the popularity of using a sample of the population when dealing with a large data set.
Excel allows you to calculate the standard deviation (which is functionally the same as calculating standard error) of your data without having to do any math yourself. You just need to understand which formulas to use, as there are six standard deviation formulas in Excel.
For sample standard deviation — the most common choice — the applicable formulas are STDEV.S, STDEVA, and STDEV.
Here are the three key formulas broken down:
STDEV.S: This is used when data is numeric, which means that it will not use any text or logical values.
STDEVA: Unlike STDEV.S, this formula is appropriate when you want to include text and logical values in the calculation along with the numeric values. Text and “FALSE” are considered 0, and the text “TRUE” equates to 1.
STDEV: This formula is compatible with older versions of Excel (2007 and prior). It completes the same function as STDEV.S.
If you decide it’s reasonable to calculate the entire population, these formulas function the same way.
Using the STDEV.S formula in practice
The syntax of the function used in Excel looks like this: STDEV.S (number 1,[number 2], etc.).
Number 1 is the mandatory argument in the formula. Number 2 is the optional argument in the formula. The optional argument can be something as simple as a single data point, a range of data, a reference to an array, or any of the additional 200+ arguments
If you’re using the numbers in column A, the formula may look like this when applied: =STDEV.S(A2:A10). Excel will then provide the standard deviation of the formula.
How to calculate an average
You may need to find the average of your data, for example, determining the average price of your products or the average amount of time it takes to complete a task. You don’t need to waste time calculating this yourself when Excel has a formula that can do it much quicker.
The AVERAGE function looks for what is called the central tendency, says Microsoft Office Support. Basically, this means that it looks for the center point in the distribution of your data.
The average is an arithmetic mean, which is calculated by adding a group of numbers and then dividing by the total count of those numbers.
To calculate the average of numbers in a contiguous row or column
Click a cell below or to the right of the range of numbers you want to determine the average of
Go to the Home tab and click the arrow to the right of the auto sum symbol (?) in the Editing section. This will bring up a dropdown menu. Click Average and press Enter.
Using the AVERAGE function
If the range B2:B20 contains numbers, the formula AVERAGE=(B2:B20) will return the average of those numbers. Number 1 is required as the first number, cell reference, or range for which you want the average. Number 2 is optional and can involve additional numbers to include, as well as cell references or ranges you want the average of.
How to calculate linear regression
If you have a lot of data and need to use it to make predictions about the future of your business, there are endless factors that can impact these numbers. Regression analysis can tell you what factors matter the most and how they relate to each other. Linear regression models the relationship between two variables, one of which is independent and the other, which is dependent, using a linear function.
In Excel, you perform a linear regression using the least-squares method. The formula is y = bx + a.
The goal is to find a and b.
The LINEST function in Excel uses the least-squares method to calculate a straight line that best explains the relationship between your variables and returns an array that describes the line. The syntax will look something like the following:
=LINEST(known y,known x)
The “known ys” are required and reference the dependent y values in the regression equation. Typically, this is a single row or column. The “known xs” are optional and involve a range of the independent x values.
This must be entered as an array formula. Select two adjacent cells in the same row, type the formula, and press Ctrl, Shift, and Enter (simultaneously) to complete it. In return, the formula provides the b coefficient and the a constant.
Analysis ToolPak
You can run regressions in Excel by using a special tool included with an add-in. This will eliminate the need to use the LINEST function. To run the Analysis ToolPak
Click File > Options
Select Add-Ins on the left sidebar, then select Excel Add-Ins and click Go
Select the Analysis ToolPak and press OK
Select Regression within the Data Analysis tab after enabling the ToolPak
Configure your settings and fill out your variables to observe the regression analysis
How to show formulas
Once you get comfortable with formulas, you may find that you’re using one of more of them frequently in one spreadsheet. This can start to make your data confusing. You might wonder how these formulas relate to each other and what your original data was. Opting to show your formulas within Excel instead of the results can help you keep track of what was used in each calculation as well as make it clear whether you made any errors in your formulas.
When you enter a formula in a cell and press Enter, Excel will immediately display the results. However, there are a couple other options for displaying all the formulas within the cells instead.
Using the Excel ribbon
While on your Excel worksheet, go to the Formulas tab and select the Formula Auditing group. Next, click the Show Formulas button.
You’ll instantly see the formulas displayed within the cells. If you want to perform a quick check of everything for accuracy, you can just as easily revert to the original display. In that case, just select the Show Formulas button again.
Show Formulas shortcut
To quickly see every formula displayed, this is the fastest route. If you plan on toggling back and forth often, remembering this shortcut will save you a lot of time.
The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl + ` (hold the control key and the grave accent key simultaneously). The grave accent key is the furthest to the left at the top of your keyboard — just to the left next to the number 1 key.
How to use absolute reference
In an Excel spreadsheet, a cell reference is used to set up a formula that will calculate information you want from a cell or a range of cells. It can refer to data from contiguous cells, in different areas of the worksheet, or on other worksheets in the same workbook.
Relative cells copied to more than one row or column will change depending on their position. This is useful when you want to use the same calculation in each row or column. But if you need your cell reference to stay the same when it’s moved, copied, or filled, you’ll find absolute reference useful. It will allow the reference to point back to the same cell, regardless of the appearance of the workbook.
Here are the steps to creating an absolute reference:
Click the cell where you want to enter a formula.
Type = (an equal sign) to start the formula.
Select a cell and then type the appropriate arithmetic symbol (=, -, /,*).
Select another cell and then press the F4 key to make the cell reference absolute. If you continue to press F4, Excel will cycle through the different reference types. When you do this, note the placement of the dollar sign.
Click the Enter button on the formula bar or press Enter on your keyboard.
Mastering functions
Why functions matter in Excel
Mastering Excel is all about knowing how to do things in the most effective, time-efficient way. Since Excel is the go-to software for making sense of data, the more you know about it, the better.
According to the Harvard Business Review, if we work in an office setting, we spend a surprising amount of time — over 10 percent of our lives — working with spreadsheets, and for people who work in data-driven fields (like research), that percentage triples.
That’s a lot of time, which is why improving your Excel skills and decreasing the amount of time you spend with it each day would make you more productive and get some hours of your life back. Here we’ll cover some Excel functions that can make your data-driven tasks a bit easier.
Using the IF function
According to Microsoft Office Support, a lot of Excel users find the IF function one of the most useful. It helps you run a kind of logical test on your data. Basically, it enables you to ask Excel to test a condition, and it will tell you whether the condition is TRUE (has been met) or FALSE (has not been met).
For reference, here’s how the syntax for the IF formula looks:
IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value if false])
There are three arguments in what we see above, but only the first one (logical_test) is required. This is where you establish the rules of your test using a value or other data point. The remaining arguments are optional:
Value_if_true essentially tells the program to return a value if the condition in the test has been met.
Value_if_false is the opposite. It’s the value if the condition fails the test.
Example of IF functions
If you’re testing to determine whether a score is pass or fail, it could look like this:
=IF(A1>=75, “Pass”, “Fail”)
So if the value in A1 is equal to or greater than 75, Excel will return with a “Pass.” Otherwise, it’ll return with a “Fail.”
Using VLOOKUP
VLOOKUP can be a huge help when you’re looking for something specific within Excel, as it eliminates the need to scroll through all of your data. It helps you find things in a table or a range based on rows, depending on your preference. Generally speaking, the VLOOKUP function tells Excel
What you want to look up
Where you want to look for it
The column number in the range that contains the value to return
To return an approximate or exact match, indicated as 1 (true) or 0 (false)
Pro Tip
It’s most useful to organize your data so that the value you look up is to the left of the return value you want to find.
Steps to using VLOOKUP
Microsoft Office Support suggests the following to build your VLOOKUP syntax:
Tell Excel the lookup value, the information you’re trying to find.
Tell Excel the area where the information will be located. Place the first column in your range as the first element. If the value you’re looking for is in D2, then your range should start with D. If the value is in B2, then your range should start with B.
Include the column number in the range where the return value is located (for instance, if the range starts with B, B is the first column; C, the second; and so on).
If you want a little more flexibility in the information that Excel returns, you can tell the program to give you matches that are close (by specifying TRUE) or matches that are exact (by specifying FALSE).
The function will look like the following:
=VLOOKUP(lookup value, range containing the lookup value, the column number in the range containing the return value, approximate match (TRUE) or exact match (FALSE))
Using the MATCH function
The MATCH function is another lookup and reference tool within Excel. It searches for a specified value in a range of cells and returns the relative position of that value.
Here’s the syntax for the MATCH function:
MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])
The first two elements are required. The look_up value sets up the value you’re looking for. The lookup_array specifies the range of cells to search. The match type is optional. It can be one of these values: 1, 0, -1.
1 or omitted: This finds the largest value in the lookup array that is less than or equal to the lookup value.
0: Finds the first value in the array that’s exactly equal to the lookup value.
-1: Finds the smallest value in the array that’s greater than or equal to the lookup value.
Using the INDIRECT function
Excel’s INDIRECT function is unique because it doesn’t perform calculations or evaluate conditions or logical tests. The INDIRECT function is a reference tool that allows you to make adjustments to a cell reference in a formula rather than having to make changes to the actual formula. It gives you a lot of flexibility because adding or deleting rows or columns won’t impact the indirect references.
The syntax for using the INDIRECT looks like this:
INDIRECT(ref_text, [a1])
Ref_text is a cell reference or a named range. A1 is a logical value that specifies what type of reference is contained in the ref_text argument. If true, ref_text is seen as an A1-style cell reference. If false, ref_text is treated as a R1C1 reference.
If you’re looking to build dynamic cell references or lock cell references to prevent automatic changes, INDIRECT will be an incredibly useful tool.
Data filtering, sorting, and formatting
Getting organized
Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the basics of Excel and some useful formulas and functions, we’ll cover some ways to format, sort, and filter your data so that you can more easily manage it.
Making a pivot table
A pivot table can be an incredibly helpful tool for summarizing and making sense of your large and potentially overwhelming data sets. Pivot tables provide a summary of the data within a chart, making worksheets with long rows and columns much more visually appealing and understandable. You can use them to compare sales of different products, combine duplicate data, or count rows that have data in common.
Here are the key steps to creating a pivot table:
First, it’s helpful to sort your data so that you can more easily manage it in the pivot table. Select Sort under the Data tab and indicate how you want your data organized.
Select any cell in your data set by clicking on it. Enter your data into a range of rows and columns.
Go to the Insert menu and select PivotTable. This will open a dialog box where you can insert the cells that you want included in your pivot table. Click OK when you’re finished.
Next you’ll see the PivotTable Fields window. You can drag and drop a field into the Rows area.
Drag and drop a field into the Values area.
Drag and drop a field into the Filters area.
The pivot table will calculate your values, but it’s always good to check the calculations to make sure that everything is functioning correctly.
Creating a dropdown list
Dropdown lists can be useful tools for showcasing predefined lists or creating an interactive form on an Excel spreadsheet.
Using data from cells
If you already have a list in the cells of your Excel worksheet, follow these steps:
Select a cell where you want to create a dropdown list.
Go to Data > Data Tools > Data Validation.
Within the Settings tab, select List as the Validation criteria.
In the source field, enter your cells (=$A$1:$A$4, for example) or manually select them and click OK.
How to group worksheets
A Microsoft Word file is referred to as a document. An Excel file is referred to as a workbook. A number of individual worksheets can often represent related information within one Excel workbook. You may occasionally find it useful to combine the worksheets in a workbook to access the data represented in each sheet at the same time.
Here’s how to consolidate your worksheets:
Start with a new worksheet. This will serve as your master worksheet. The data you combine will appear here.
Select a cell. When your data is merged, all the information will fill the columns below and to the right of this selected cell.
From the Data Tools group, in the Data tab, click on Consolidate.
In the dialog box, select the Sum button from the menu. As you probably know, you use the Sum function to add values in a worksheet, but you can also use the function to combine the data in different worksheets.
Next, choose the data you want to combine in the master worksheet. Click in the Reference field and highlight the desired cells from the worksheets you wish to consolidate. Click Add in the dialog box on your master worksheet.
You’ll need to repeat the previous step for your second worksheet. When you’re ready, click OK in the dialog box. This will consolidate the information into your master worksheet.
How to find and remove duplicates
Duplicate values can sometimes create problems in your Excel worksheets, largely because they can skew your data. If duplicates are complicating your data sets and making them harder to understand, Excel has some ways to manage this. For example, you can use conditional formatting to find and highlight any extra data you may want to clear.
Here are the steps to apply conditional formatting:
Select any cells that need to be checked for duplicates.
On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click on Conditional Formatting, select Highlight Cells Rules and then Duplicate Values.
A dialog box will pop up that contains two dropdown menus. In the dropdown on the right, choose the type of formatting you want to use for duplicate values and click OK.
Now all of your duplicate data will appear with the formatting you selected, such as Green Fill with Dark Green Text.
Removing duplicates from a single column
To begin, click on the column that you want to work on:
In the Data tab, go to the Data Tools group and click on Remove Duplicates.
A dialog box will open. If your column includes a header, check the box next to My list has headers.
A popup window will alert you to how many duplicates were removed, and what remains.
Excel only removes exact duplicates. If you have a typo or misspelling, Excel will not note it as a duplicate, so be sure to double-check.
Removing duplicates from multiple columns
First, specify which range of cells you want to remove duplicates from.
In the Data tab, go to the Data Tools group and click on Remove Duplicates.
Under Columns, select the columns you want to remove duplicates from. You’ll be able to deselect specific columns if they contain any data that you don’t want to remove.
Click OK, and you’re done.
How to alphabetize
You can easily organize your data from A–Z with the filter function in Excel. Follow the steps below:
Select one or several column headers.
On the Home tab in the Editing group, click Sort and Filter and then Filter.
Click Sort A to Z. You can also choose to sort in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A).
How to transpose
Sometimes you’ll need to switch data that’s in different cells. Of course, you can take the more manual route of copying the information you want to move and pasting it where you want it, but this sometimes creates the problem of duplicate data.
Excel has a handy formula that will actually do the work for you and help you avoid that problem. Here’s how to use the TRANSPOSE function to rearrange your cells:
Select an area of blank cells that corresponds to the number of cells you want to switch. So if you have six cells you want to flip, select six empty cells that are opposite of the original cells’ layout. (If you have two columns of three rows side by side, the area of empty cells should have three columns of two rows.)
In the formula bar, type
=TRANSPOSE(area you want to transpose)
If you want to transpose the information from A10 to B14, the formula will be =TRANSPOSE(A10:B14).
Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to complete.
How to autofit
The quickest way to autofit in Excel is by double-clicking the column or row border.
For one column: Place the mouse pointer over the right border of the column heading until a double-headed arrow appears, then double-click the border.
For one row: Double-click the border over the lower boundary of the row heading.
For multiple columns/multiple rows: Select them and double-click a boundary between any headings in the section.
For the whole sheet: Press Ctrl + A and double-click the border of any column or row heading (or both).
Data visualization
The power of visuals
Excel is really impressive when you’re dealing with complex calculations or extensive data entry, but it isn’t always the easiest thing for our eyes to make sense of. Long, exhaustive rows and columns can be hard to process.
So when you’ve made sense of your data and need to present the story the data reveals, sometimes a visual aid can really help. Here are some tips and tricks for data visualization that will take you beyond the spreadsheet.
Using tables in Excel
When your data is organized in rows and columns, it may look like a table. But an Excel worksheet tends to lack the stylized, colorful presentation of a true table. Using the Excel tableoption allows you to create the look of a table and isolate certain portions of a worksheet that will function independently of other information in the worksheet.
Besides the obvious aesthetics, here are some other bonuses of using a table:
When you want to add or remove rows, tables adjust automatically.
There are different table styles, which makes formatting easier.
Sort and filter options are part of the layout.
You can create a “total” row that automatically totals as you add rows.
If you’re scrolling through data, the column headings will always be visible.
Pro Tip
It’s important to make sure that your data is clean before you get started, so remove any blank rows and choose appropriate headings for your columns.
How to create a table
Here’s how to create a table that uses a default style:
First, click on a cell within the set of data.
In the Insert tab, go to the Tables group and click on the Table button.
A dialog box titled Create Table will open. Excel will select your data automatically, but you can make changes. You can make your first row a header row by selecting the My table has headers box.
Click OK to finish.
If you’d prefer to select your own style for the table, follow these steps:
As with the previous instructions, first click in a cell within your data set.
On the Home tab, go to the Styles group and click on Format as Table.
Excel will display a gallery of styles to choose from. Just click on the one that suits your needs.
You may need to make adjustments to the range. Don’t forget to set the header row if you need one.
Click OK.
How to name your table
The name of your table will automatically default to Table1 or Table2. This is fine if it suits your needs, but it’s often easier to locate a specific table if it has a distinct title.
You can rename a table in a few easy steps:
Click on any cell in the table you want to rename.
Go to Properties, and enter a new name in the Table Name box.
If you press Ctrl + F3, you will call up the Name Manager, which displays all of the table names in your workbook.
Using charts in Excel
Charts are undoubtedly one of the best tools to translate your data from a chaotic group of numbers and unwieldy text to something that’s understandable and effective. Here, we’ll cover how to make a range of graphs and charts — from a pie chart to a histogram:
Enter your data into Excel. Save yourself time and stress by making sure that all of the data you enter is clear and accurate. Otherwise, you may discover that things look a little strange once you look at the final chart or graph.
Choose your chart or graph. Excel has plenty of choices, but it’s important to consider what your data is and what will be the most effective way of presenting it to someone who doesn’t have the same knowledge. The choices are pretty extensive — from bar graphs to scatter plots and more.
Creating a pie chart
In your spreadsheet, select the data you want to use for your pie chart.
Click Insert > Insert Pieor Doughnut Chart and then make a selection from the available pie charts.
Select the chart and sort through the icons to make the finishing touches. Chart Elements will help you format axis titles and data labels. Chart Styles will allow you to manage colors, and Chart Filters will help you hide selected data.
Creating a line chart
Select the data you want to plot on the line chart.
From the Insert tab, select Insert Line or Area Chart.
Select Line with Markers.
You can change design elements in the Design tab.
On the chart, click the legend — or you can add it from a list of chart elements (Add Chart Element > Legend).
To plot one of the data series along a secondary vertical axis, select it from the Format tab, which you can find under Chart Elements. Click Format Selection.
In the Format Data Series dialog box, go to the Series Options tab. Under Plot Series On, select Secondary Axis and then click Close.
In the Chart Layouts group, under Add Chart Element, you can add and edit titles.
In the Chart Styles group, select a theme to use for colors and personalization.
Creating a bar or column chart
Enter your data in a spreadsheet.
Select the data you want to present in a bar or column chart.
From the Insert menu, select Insert Column or Bar Chart and pick which chart you’d like to use.
If you want to customize your chart, you can do that by going to Design > Chart Styles and Format > Shape Styles. This is where you can select various formatting options.
For further formatting options, like adjusting the axes, click Format and pick a component in the Chart Elements dropdown menu. Next, click Format Selection and make the necessary changes. You’ll need to repeat this step for every element you want to customize.
Creating a Gantt chart
Excel doesn’t offer a built-in Gantt chart option, but with a little clever formatting and the bar graph functionality, you can build one yourself.
Enter your data into the spreadsheet.
From the Insert menu, click on Insert Column or Bar Chart and select Stacked Bar.
Right-click anywhere within the chart and click Select Data. In the Select Data Source dialog box, click the Edit button under Legend Entries (Series). The Edit Series dialog will open. Name the field, then click the range selection icon (next to the Series name field option). Now select the data from your spreadsheet by clicking on the first appropriate cell and dragging down to the last. Click OK in the Edit Series dialog, then click OK in the Select Data Source dialog.
Next, add task descriptions to your Gantt chart by replacing the left side of your bar chart with your chosen descriptions.
You’ll still have a stacked bar chart, but with the modifications to the fill and border colors, it will resemble a Gantt chart.
Now, we just need to fix our tasks, because they’re listed in reverse order. Click on your list of tasks, which will display a Format Axis dialog box. Select the Categories in reverse order option under Axis Options.
Creating a histogram
A histogram is a graphical representation of the distribution of numerical data. Like Gantt charts, it isn’t available through Excel’s built-in options, but you can use a formula to get the presentation you want.
The FREQUENCY function will return the number of values that fall within specific ranges, ignoring text values and blank cells.
The syntax is as follows:
=FREQUENCY(data_array, bins_array)
Data_array is the set of values you want to examine for frequencies.
Bins_array is an array of bins for grouping the values.
Enter the FREQUENCY function as a multi-cell array formula. Select a range of adjacent cells to output the frequencies, type the formula in the formula bar, and complete it by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
Applying Excel to your life and business
Being confident in your Excel capabilities will help you succeed in the office and beyond. Once you’re acquainted with the software and know the wide range of its capabilities, you may find yourself using Excel to complete a much wider range of tasks, both at work and at home.
To make things easier, we’ve included tips for converting your Excel documents into different formats, as well as several real-life use cases for Excel.
When you open Excel, you can browse to the web page file.
Excel applied
Excel for project management
As we’ve seen throughout this guide, Excel can tackle a lot of data-related projects — from working through basic math to creating more complex formulas and completing a wide range of data visualization tasks. That makes Excel a powerful tool for project management.
Gantt charts, as an example, can be an incredibly powerful way to track the phases of a project. The series of horizontal bars each represent a specific task for your project and can make your team’s work schedule more understandable through clear visuals.
Excel can also be great for making and updating budgets. Excel’s seamless compatibility with other Microsoft Office software, like Word and PowerPoint, means that it’s also easier to present your budgets in a variety of ways.
How to make a budget
While creating a budget for Excel at work is going to be more extensive and complex than making your own, this is a great way to showcase how the software is a vital tool at the office and at home. Here’s a quick guide for making an at-home budget or for tracking work expenses using Excel:
Create your row headings (this is where you label the various categories of your expenses).
Create column headings for weeks/months.
Enter the figures for your week/month.
Using the =SUM formula in Excel, highlight the column with your figures and add them together.
Enter your income and use the subtraction formula we covered earlier in the guide.
Format your sheet to suit your preferences.
How to generate random numbers
In some cases, you might want to randomize your data. To generate random whole numbers in Excel, use the RANDBETWEEN function. This will generate a number between two numbers that you specify.
Choose the cell where you want the random numbers to appear.
Use the following formula in the cell: =RANDBETWEEN(1,100). The numbers in the parentheses are just an example. If you want a range that’s smaller or larger, just select smaller or larger numbers.
When you press the Ctrl key and Enter at the same time, you’ll get 10 random numbers in the cells.
How to create a database
Microsoft Excel has built-in tools that make it easier to find specific information and keep track of data. To create your own database in an Excel worksheet, follow these steps:
Enter your data, and make sure to double-check that it’s all correct. Data errors will lead to future problems.
Your rows will function as records, and columns will function as fields.
Convert your entered data into a table.
You can use the dropdown arrows located beside each field to filter your data.
You can sort data A–Z and filter your data through text specifications.
There are functions you can apply specifically for databases. These include DAVERAGE, DCOUNT, DGET, DMAX, DMIN, DSTDEV, and more.
Microsoft Office Excel alternatives
We’ve dedicated a lot of time to covering what you can do with Excel and how to do it, but there are other options out there for completing your Excel-oriented tasks.
Google Sheets vs Excel
Google Sheets is probably the number-one alternative to Excel; its cloud-based technology makes it optimal for sharing your data with coworkers and clients, and it can do the majority of what an average Excel user needs. Its auto-save feature prevents you from losing your worksheets during unexpected computer issues.
Although Excel has a significant head start, Google is catching up in terms of both functions and formulas.
Other Excel alternatives
Apache OpenOffice Calc is another alternative to Excel. It resembles Microsoft Office software from around 2003. Though it can complete most of the same functions as Excel, it often does so in different ways.
On the downside, LibreOffice Calc struggles with advanced charts, and it can’t handle outside data sources, says TechRepublic.
JotForm and Excel
JotForm is well integrated with Excel, which can save you the headache of converting data and help make sharing more efficient. You can export your forms from JotForm to an Excel spreadsheet with ease, and you can indicate which fields to include in the report. You can also apply password protection to your report.
While Excel can seem daunting at first glance, once you’ve become comfortable with the ins and outs, you’ll find it to be an incredibly useful tool. Taking it step by step and familiarizing yourself with the basics before moving on to more complicated territory will make it feel a lot less daunting.
When it comes to sorting, organizing, and understanding your data, Excel could quickly become your favorite tool. JotForm’s capabilities for importing and exporting Excel reports are especially helpful for all users, whether they’re a certified pro or just starting out.
