michael holford - Mouse Training London Ltd

Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals

Audience Profile

Candidates for this Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals exam should have foundational knowledge of core data concepts and how they are implemented using Microsoft Azure data services.
This exam is intended for candidates beginning to work with data in the cloud.
Candidates should be familiar with the concepts of relational and non-relational data, and different types of data workloads such as transactional or analytical.
Azure Data Fundamentals can be used to prepare for other Azure role-based certifications like Azure Database Administrator Associate or Azure Data Engineer Associate, but it is not a prerequisite for any of them.

Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals

Audience Profile

Candidates for this exam should have foundational knowledge of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) concepts and related Microsoft Azure services.

This exam is an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of common ML and AI workloads and how to implement them on Azure.

This exam is intended for candidates with both technical and non-technical backgrounds. Data science and software engineering experience are not required; however, some general programming knowledge or experience would be beneficial.

Azure AI Fundamentals can be used to prepare for other Azure role-based certifications like Azure Data Scientist Associate or Azure AI Engineer Associate, but it is not a prerequisite for any of them.

Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

EXAM DESIGN Audience Profile

Candidates for this Microsoft Azure Fundamentals exam are technology professionals who want to demonstrate foundational knowledge of cloud concepts and Microsoft Azure.

Candidates can describe Microsoft Azure Fundamentals architectural components and Azure services such as compute, networking, and storage. Candidates can also describe features and tools to secure, govern, and administer Azure.

Candidates for this Microsoft Azure Fundamentals exam have skills and experience working with an information technology area, such as infrastructure management, database management, or software development.

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

Microsoft 365 Apps Certification Update

Excel UNIQUE Function

You can use the Excel UNIQUE function to extract a list of unique or distinct items from a range of Excel cell values. It’s really easy. See how to sort the results automatically when the data changes…

Excel UNIQUE Function

List Unique Entries

You can use the Excel UNIQUE function to extract a list of unique or distinct items from a range of Excel cell values. It’s really easy.

Just type “=u” into a cell and you’ll see a list of Excel functions pop up. Double-click UNIQUE in the list to start your formula. Enter the cell range that contains your values. Your formula should look something like this:

=UNIQUE(B4:B16)

Press ENTER to see the results.

Make sure that you leave enough empty space under the formula to show the results. Otherwise you might get an error.

As the extraction is done with a formula that means it’s dynamic. You only have to do it once. If you ever change the entries in the original list then the extraction of your unique values automatically updates to reflect the changes.

Sorting the Results

Oh, you wanted the results in alphabetical order did you?

The UNIQUE function can’t do that, but the SORT function can. All you have to do is wrap one function inside the other.

Double-click your formula so that you can do the required edit. Type SORT and an open bracket at the start then a closed bracket at the end.

Your formula should now look something like this:

=SORT(UNIQUE(B4:B16))

Press ENTER and your formula now returns the entries in alphabetical order. A-Z order is the default for the SORT function.

Unique or Distinct?

Some people get very angry when you say things like “almost unique” or “very unique” because unique, properly, means “one of a kind”. It’s an absolute idea. The Excel UNIQUE function returns a list of everything in the list but excluding any repetitions. It should really be called DISTINCT, but they’ve gone for a more popular definition of unique.

You can change this if you want to.

The function has a few optional arguments. You need the third one:

TRUE- Return items that appear exactly once

FALSE- Return every distinct item

Change your formula so that it reads as follows:

=UNIQUE(B4:B16,,TRUE)

Two commas means you’re giving the third argument. TRUE to return items that appear exactly once.

And here’s the result. There’s only one item. Corunna only appears once in the list. It’s one of a kind.

In fact, it’s unique!

The UNIQUE function is just one of the new type of Excel functions, Dynamic Array Functions that were released with Excel 365. To learn more about these revolutionary functions, come along on our dedicated Excel Dynamic Array Functions Course.

Call 020 7920 9500 now for details.

The SUMPRODUCT function is one of those hero functions that, once discovered, you wonder how you ever managed without. It does not just do “what it says on the tin”, there’s a lot more to it than that. In particular, it’s one of the most powerful and flexible filter functions in Excel. And so much better than SUMIF or SUMIFS.

It’s easy to calculate someone’s age from their date of birth if you know about Excel’s DATEDIF function, unfortunately it’s easy to miss this function as it is not documented. Excel will not help you fill in the DATEDIF function interval values, you need to see the list here.

Our Excel double click tricks are some of those little things that make your life so much easier. You probably know most of them already. Or do you? I think that anyone who uses Excel regularly should know them.

Complicated text formulas using either ampersands and the CONCATENATE function are the bane of our life. Not any more! Excel new text functions will really help us nail those text formulas. We’ll be looking at the CONCAT function and the TEXTJOIN function.

Usually the formulas you need for percentages and differences are quite straightforward: divisions for percentages and a minus sign to take one value from another. But there are pitfalls for the unwary which we shall explore.

I think the Excel FILTER function does the filter job better than AutoFilter. It’s a live formula and an extraction, you don’t have to filter your data in place. There’s no need for that clunky Advanced Filter…

Excel Roman Numerals

You can use Excel’s ROMAN function in a formula whenever you need to express normal, Arabic numbers as Roman numerals. And you can use the ARABIC function to convert them back the other way…

Excel Roman Numerals

You can use Excel’s ROMAN function in a formula whenever you need to express normal, Arabic numbers as Roman numerals.

Just type “=r” into a cell and you will see a list of Excel functions pop up, then double-click ROMAN in the list to start your formula. If you like using the keyboard then type-in “=ro” and press the TAB key.

Enter the reference of the cell containing the number you want converted, in this case it’s B3. Then press ENTER and you’re done. Excel’s ROMAN function converts positive numbers up to a maximum of 3999. The optional Form argument gives you a choice of up to four degrees of simplification of the classic Roman form. For example, the value of 2500 can not be simplified and is expressed as roman MMD. However, 2499 is MMCDXCIX in the classic form but MMID in the simplified form.

Enter your formula as =ROMAN(B3,FALSE) for the simplified form or use a number from 1 to 3 for the less simplified forms, i.e. =ROMAN(B3,2) gives you MMXDIX. Just enter the formula as =ROMAN(B3) if it can’t be simplified.

I’m glad we don’t have to use roman numerals in our Excel worksheets, it’s no wonder that Maximus was always in such a bad mood.

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

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Excel’s ARABIC function

If you’ve already got Roman numerals and you want to convert them to normal, Arabic numbers, then use the ARABIC function.

Click here for further information on Roman numerals.

To learn more about the world of Excel functions, come along on our dedicated Excel Functions Course.

Call 020 7920 9500 now for details.

Lorem Ipsum for Word and PowerPoint

Generating Random Text for Word and PowerPoint

Generating random text or Lorem Ipsum for Word and PowerPoint. Do you ever need filler or placeholder text for Word documents or PowerPoint text boxes? It’s quite handy when you want to plan the design and layout of your document and check out different fonts and formatting options etc. Being an expert typist, I always used to type in double-encrypted blah, blah nonsense like this, “jkhj kefhkfh kjhjkhf hfshf jhkjhs” until I discovered random text functions. However, my typing speed has suffered, I was quite impressive typing “jkhj kefhkfh kjhjkhf” but now I’m back in the land of hunt and peck.

Random Text

To generate some random text, click on your document or on a PowerPoint text box, type in =RAND( ) and then press the ENTER key. Don’t forget the equals sign at the start and both the brackets at the end. You’ll get some paragraphs of random text. To control the number of paragraphs, enter a number inside the brackets. So, =RAND(5) gives you five paragraphs.

Lorem Ipsum

If you have a classical bent then you may prefer some Latin, in which case type in =LOREM( ) and you get paragraphs of lorem ipsum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Lovely!

What does the filler text “lorem ipsum” mean?

The History of Lorem Ipsum

To see how to create great presentations, come along on our PowerPoint Introduction Course.

Call 020 7920 9500 for full details.

Cluttered PowerPoint Slides

Do you ever have to deal with those cluttered PowerPoint slides? You know; the ones crowded with layers of overlapping shapes and text boxes—and you need to change the one in the middle of the pile! You can’t see what you’re doing on these busy slides. Some people move all the other objects out of the way so that they can see the one they want. Then they make a few changes and then move them all back again in to, hopefully, their original positions.

There has to be a better way. You can use the keyboard shortcuts Tab and Shift+Tab to cycle forwards and backwards through the stack of objects until you can see that the selection handles are around the one you want. Or, you can press ALT+F10 and turn on the…

Selection Pane

There’s a control to turn this on and off on the Home tab but it’s easily missed. The Selection Pane lists all the objects on your slide and you use it to identify and work on any object. Just click the Hide All button and then start clicking the eyes to the right to show selected objects, you’ll soon find the one you want. Make your changes, click the Show All button and you’re done. It’s so easy when you can see what you’re doing.

PowerPoint uses its own fiendish naming scheme for all your objects. Name like Rectangle 5, TextBox 4 etc make perfect sense until you have to animate them and then you have real problems trying to identify specific objects. All you have to do is rename them according to their appearance or purpose and you’ll have a much easier time creating animations.

An object named something like “Black Heart” or “Red Star” is a lot easier to deal with than “Heart 4”. To rename an object, click the current name in the pane and replace the text.

There’s nothing wrong with having cluttered PowerPoint slides—you just need to know how to work with them easily.

To see how to create great presentations, come along on our PowerPoint Introduction Course.

Call 020 7920 9500 for full details.

Resizing Keynote Text Boxes

I must say that I quite like Keynote, and prefer it to PowerPoint. But if there’s one thing that gets my goat, it’s those pesky text boxes! You can’t seem to resize them properly. What you need is an 8-handled text box…

Resizing Keynote Text Boxes

Keynote Text Boxes

Mouse Tips are all about the little things in life that make all the difference. Today we’re looking at resizing Keynote text boxes. I must say that I quite like Keynote, and prefer it to PowerPoint. But if there’s one thing that gets my goat, it’s those pesky text boxes!

Every time you insert a text box or copy and paste some text onto a Keynote slide you get a 2-handled text box which adjusts itself automatically to fit the text that it contains. Fine! But you can’t resize it. Only by filling it with placeholder text. And I can’t really be bothered to do that.

This is frustrating because you often need to change the dimensions of a text box. So that you can visualise how it relates to the other slide elements. What you need is an 8-handled text box.

Changing a 2-handled Text Box to an 8-handled Text Box

Here’s my 2-handled text box and it’s driving me mad! Some of the slide layouts have sizeable 8-handled text boxes. Why can’t I have one too? Now, you can copy and paste the actual text box off one of these slides. But then you’ll have to copy your text into it…

Don’t despair. It’s not obvious but it’s not difficult. You need to change your 2-handled text box into an 8-handled one. Keep the text box selected and go into the main application menu bar. You need Format, Shapes and Lines, then Reset Text and Object Handles. Now you have an 8-handled text box.

Easy-peasy isn’t it? I have to confess that I hardly ever use the Keynote main menu. Like most people, I just use the shortcuts and get most things done by right-clicking.

The Keynote 8-handled text box is a magnificent thing. You can size it anyhow you like. And there’s far more formatting options compared to the other one. You can have drop-caps, text in columns, all sorts! Happiness is an 8-handled text box.

If you want to get the best out of Keynote and stop doing everything the long way round, come along on our Keynote training course.

Call 020 7920 9500 for full details.

Non-Breaking Spaces

Text in browsers and documents usually wraps onto the next line at the first available space or hyphen. Which is fine most of the time, but not always. What if I have text where I need to keep the words together…

Non-Breaking Spaces

Non-Breaking Space

This is the first in our occasional series of Mouse Tips. These are the little things in life that make all the difference. Today the topic is non-breaking spaces. Hold your breath!

Text in browsers, documents and emails usually wraps onto the next line at the first available space or hyphen. Which is fine by me. Most of the time, but not always. What do I do if I have text where I need to keep the words together? Like addresses or proper names. Here’s my address: 27 High St, EC1.

I want all of those words to stay together. I don’t want the text to break onto a new line after the “27”. And then have the “High St, EC1” on the next line. Text will always wrap at the first space. Personal names are another bugbear. The name, “Mrs Edna Bloggs” should all read as consecutive words, otherwise it looks silly. You can’t have “Mrs” at the end of one line, and then “Edna Bloggs” at the start of the next line. Numbers and units are another example where the text needs to stay together. 24 mpg should always read as “24 mpg” otherwise it has no meaning.

You often end up re-typing the text so that it reads properly. No, this is where you need a non breaking space.

A normal space is the spacebar. The non breaking space is CTRL+SHIFT+Spacebar. Hold down CTRL and SHIFT together and then press the spacebar. It’s a bit of a pain BUT that text stays together. You’ll have to do this for every space in an address.

If you’re on a Mac, try OPTION+Spacebar.

If you want to see other typographical tricks, come along on our Word Introduction Course.

Author: michael holford

Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals

Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

Microsoft 365 Apps Certification Update

Excel UNIQUE Function

Excel UNIQUE Function

List Unique Entries

Sorting the Results

Unique or Distinct?

Related Posts

Excel Roman Numerals

Excel Roman Numerals

Excel Roman Numerals

Excel’s ARABIC function

Related Posts

Lorem Ipsum for Word and PowerPoint

Lorem Ipsum for Word and PowerPoint

Generating Random Text for Word and PowerPoint

Random Text

Lorem Ipsum

Related Posts

Cluttered PowerPoint Slides

Cluttered PowerPoint Slides

Cluttered PowerPoint Slides

Selection Pane

Related Posts

Resizing Keynote Text Boxes

Resizing Keynote Text Boxes

Keynote Text Boxes

Changing a 2-handled Text Box to an 8-handled Text Box

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Non-Breaking Spaces

Non-Breaking Spaces

Non-Breaking Space

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