Working with Large Datasets

Welcome to the final chapter of this section and this course. It has been a pleasure for me to introduce you to the wonderful (and sometimes complex) world of Excel. We covered the basics and most important topics but keep in mind, that reality is often more complex 😀

For example, you will rarely work with small spreadsheets as you did in our exercises. In reality, your sources will contain thousands of rows(if not millions)!

For that reason, optimization will play a crucial role in your calculations. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are dealing with bad performance, here are some steps you can take to optimize your workbook:

• Use Efficient Formulas: avoid using volatile functions (e.g., NOW(), TODAY()) as they recalculate every time you make any change in the workbook;
• Reduce Unused Rows and Columns: delete rows and columns that contain no data or are unnecessary for your analysis. Unused rows and columns can increase file size and slow down Excel;
• Data Compression: use data compression techniques for large data files. For example, if you have a large number of repeated values, consider creating lookup tables.

Please answer the question of this chapter:

Thank you for joining us on this journey. We wish you a happy learning path with us and good luck with your Excel future! 🙂