Maximize Excel: Basic Dashboard Techniques

CPE Credit: 2 hours

Building effective Excel dashboards requires more than attractive charts—it demands clean data, reliable refreshes, and smart interactivity. In this practical session, David Ringstrom, CPA and author of Excel for Dummies, demonstrates how to assemble dynamic dashboards using Excel’s built-in tools, without relying on fragile manual processes. You’ll see how to import and combine data from multiple Excel sources with Power Query, manage refresh and trust settings for external connections, and load curated data into worksheets for analysis. From there, David shows how to create PivotTables and PivotCharts, add and adjust fields efficiently, and enhance dashboards with slicers and timelines for intuitive filtering. Designed for Excel users who want dashboards that are both informative and resilient, this webinar provides a clear, repeatable approach you can apply immediately.
 
David has more than 30 years of experience as a spreadsheet and accounting software consultant and speaker. He has presented over 2,500 live webinars and is the author or co-author of ten books, including “Microsoft 365 Excel All-in-One for Dummies”, “Microsoft 365 Excel for Dummies”, “Exploring Microsoft Excel’s Hidden Treasures”, and “QuickBooks Online for Dummies”.
 
In his webinars, David demonstrates every technique twice: first on a PowerPoint slide with numbered steps, and then live in Excel for Microsoft 365 for Windows. He highlights any differences in Excel 2024, 2021, or 2019 during the presentation and in his detailed handouts. Attendees also receive an Excel workbook containing most of the examples he uses, making it easy to follow along and apply the techniques later. David additionally supports Excel for Mac users by answering their follow-up questions via email.
 
Who should attend:
Designed for Excel users who build dashboards, combine data from multiple workbooks, or want more reliable, refreshable reports.
 
Topics typically covered:
 
• Removing unwanted columns and loading the merged Power Query result into a new Excel worksheet
 
• Building a PivotChart from an existing PivotTable to visually summarize dashboard data
 
• Using Get Data to load multiple Excel workbooks into Power Query
 
• Using Sparklines to create compact, in-cell visual trends alongside PivotTable summaries.
 
• Creating a dedicated dashboard worksheet and preparing to reference PivotTables and charts using linked pictures.
 
• Applying Top or Bottom value filters to focus a PivotTable on the most significant items.
 
• Placing linked PivotTables, charts, slicers, and timelines onto a single dashboard worksheet.
 
• Configuring PivotTable refresh and layout settings to ensure the dashboard updates reliably.
 
Learning objectives:
 
• Define what the Merge Queries command does in Power Query.
 
• State the set of commands used to display the Query Properties dialog box.
 
• State the purpose of the Data Connection security prompt.