Microsoft Office Q&A: Ask anything (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

Hey everyone, how do you actually calculate probability in Excel? Specifically, I'm trying to figure out the odds of returns being positive (
I tried messing around with that NORM.INV function, but it’s just not working for me...

vividcobra97 said:So basically, if I type "Monday" into cell 1, I want the rest of the days to just fill themselves in—like 2. Tuesday, 3. Wednesday, 4. Thursday, and so on...
Or if I start with Tuesday, I want it to show Wednesday, Thursday, etc...

Just type in the actual date instead of the day name.
Like, in Sheet 1, just type "1-5" (no quotes needed) and hit enter. It'll register as May 1st and automatically show "Tuesday"
Then go into cell formatting custom = => dddd
or Custom => dddd

On Sheet 2, use this formula: ='1'!A1+1 (format the cell too)
On Sheet 3, use: ='2'!A1+1 (format that one as well)

That way, the dates will just roll forward automatically through all your Google Sheets

Grab this file and check it out for yourself

Brenda Lee2 said:Got a headache with Microsoft Word. ............ Anyone got a better way to fix this?

Yeah, just upload a snippet of the doc here for download

Paul Hernandez10 said:they're all filled with codes like 123-456-789-123.....
, Alright, so... I need all 15,000 of those codes in a PDF, but here's the catch: I need one code per page. How do I set it up so when I save to PDF, it saves as 1 cell = 1 page?

If you're stuck using Excel 2007, just grab a PDF export add-in.
Also, check out some VBA macros for saving to PDF or hit this link.
If all those codes are sitting on Sheet1, you can split them up onto other sheets using the MID function.
Basically, set a formula on Sheet2 to pull the first three characters, then move to Sheet3 for the next three, and so on.

for example:
Sheet2 => =MID(Sheet1!A1,1,3) => gets the first three chars since you start at char 1
Sheet3 => =MID(Sheet1!A1,5,3) => gets the next three because you're starting at the fifth char

nimbleangler21 said:Does anyone know how to calculate probability in Excel? Specifically, I need the probability that returns will be positive (
I tried using the NORM.INV function, but it just isn't working...

Try using the Z-test function as an example.

I've been messing around with Z-tests, NORM.DIST, PROB, and a whole bunch of other formulas, but I can't seem to get a single accurate result out of any of them... It’s driving me crazy because the formula keeps asking me to input a probability, but I don't actually have the probability yet—that's the whole point of the calculation 🤷 I've already crunched the numbers for returns, standard deviations, and Value at Risk, so now I'm supposed to use those to figure out the likelihood that the return will be a) positive, or b) greater than 1

I need some help troubleshooting this formula. Right now, I'm using =IF(D26=15;"JUB";" "). It works perfectly fine when I'm just checking for a single specific value—like the number 15 in this instance—but that’s not what I actually need. How do I write a formula that handles a whole series of inputs? Specifically, if I have to enter numbers like 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35, how does that work? Basically, if I type anything from 1 to 4, it should stay blank. If I type 6 through 9, it stays blank, and so on. How do I structure this logic?

Brenda Lee2 said:How do I write a function to calculate stuff if I have to type numbers like 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 into a cell? Basically, if I enter 1-4, it stays blank, 6-9 stays blank, and so on.

Just pair up an IF function with the OR function.

Like this: =IF(OR(A1=5,A1=10,A1=15,A1=20,A1=25,A1=30),"JUB"," ")—you can just keep going until you hit 30 arguments.

Brenda Lee2 said:I need a hand with this formula. I'm using =IF(D26=15;"JUB";" "). It works perfectly fine when I just want to check for one specific number like 15, but that's not quite what I'm after here. What I actually need is a way to make the function work if I enter any of these numbers: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35. Basically, if I type in something like 1 through 4, it should stay blank, and if I type 6 through 9, it stays blank too.

Are you trying to pull out all the numbers divisible by 5? You could try using =IF(MOD(D26;5);" ";"JUB "). This will spit out "JUB" whenever the remainder of the division is zero.

Someone please help me before I lose my mind 😢. So, I’ve been using Microsoft Word for years to churn out papers and seminars, but now everything is breaking. Basically, I write these messy draft documents filled with notes and footnotes, and when I try to reorganize things by copying and pasting, all my footnotes just vanish into thin air. This has never happened to me before, so I'm thinking I might have accidentally toggled some weird setting somewhere... help, I'm working on my PhD here and this is driving me absolutely insane 🙂

So, whenever I type 4.94 into Microsoft Excel, the thing just flips it over to .94 automatically 🤦.
I already went into the Microsoft Excel options and messed with the "proofing" settings—tried turning off all that automatic spell check stuff—but the problem is still hanging around 😕.

Can anyone please, please help me out?!?!?! 👋

I'm using Microsoft Word 2007.

Every time I type 4.94 into Microsoft Excel, the software decides to be clever and converts it into some weird date format like 4/94.

I'm not entirely certain, but it sounds like you've got those cells (or maybe just one of them) set to a Date format by mistake. You should probably just reformat them to be Numbered.

Kyle Johnson2 said:Pair your IF function with an OR function to make things easier.

For example: =IF(OR(A1=5,A1=10,A1=15,A1=20,A1=25,A1=30),"YES"," ")—you can just keep going until you hit 30 arguments if you really want to.

Thanks.

Jesse Sullivan2 said:Every time I type 4.94 into Microsoft Excel, it keeps switching it to 4,94.

I mean, why on earth are you typing 4.94 anyway? Just use a comma—4,94. And look, if you absolutely insist on using a period for some reason, then just format the cell properly like people have already told you to do.

Okay, so it finally hit 4.94 😕
I know, I know... nobody's gonna believe me, but I actually tried using a period instead of a comma first 🤔

Thanks so much, everyone!!! 😍

Hey,
I'm stuck with Microsoft Word 2007. I've been handed a finished document that I can't mess with—I have to keep it exactly as it is—and I don't even have the permission to set up a template or anything.
It's got headers and footers, and let's say the file is 25 pages long. I've only used 20, so I need to kill those last 5 pages. Here's the catch: I can delete pages 22 through 25 without any drama, but the second I try to wipe out page 21, the headers and footers on the rest of the doc just vanish. If I hit delete after the last bit of text on page 20, the page disappears, but then the whole layout at the top goes to hell. Basically, I need to trim the end of this thing without ruining the formatting or losing my headers and footers.
I'm out of ideas. Googled it and found nothing useful. Send a link or some help if you've got it. Thanks.

Look, you might be dealing with a document split into different sections—you’ll know this is happening if you open up the header and footer and start scrolling through the whole thing. It sounds like page 21 is actually tethered to the previous section, essentially acting like it belongs to those earlier pages. If that's the case, try going to page 21 and toggling off the "Link to Previous" setting. Alternatively, you could just grab pages 21 through 25 and force them into their own distinct section. I found this link, which might clear things up for you if you're stuck:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/tr...aspx?section=5

So, I’m stuck in Microsoft Word trying to build this specific table, and I figured I'd just throw it out there—here is an SS showing what I'm actually aiming for http://postimage.org/image/iozs17scx/
Look, I really don't have the patience or the luxury of sitting through some endless, twenty-minute YouTube tutorial right now because things are moving pretty fast on my end. If anyone actually knows their way around those specific dimensions shown in the SS, I'd be incredibly grateful if you could just help me get it sorted quickly
Thanks

Sam Perez22 said:I need some help in Microsoft Word to make a table,

Honestly, it’s not even that hard if you just mess around with it a bit. Just set your grid size to something tiny like 0.01 cm. Once you build the table and format those cells based on your margins, you're golden.

Here’s a starting point so just tweak it to fit what you need.

Is it actually possible to do something like this in Microsoft Excel? Let's say I have the number "352" sitting in a cell, and I want to be able to hit a plus button to bump that number up, or a minus button to dial it back down. If that specific setup isn't doable, can we at least get something close to it?