The STUFF() function deletes a part of a string and then inserts another part into the string, starting at a specified position.
Tip: Also look at the REPLACE() function.
Syntax
STUFF(string, start, length, new_string)
Parameter Values
ParameterDescriptionstringRequired. The string to be modifiedstartRequired. The position in string to start to delete some characterslengthRequired. The number of characters to delete from stringnew_stringRequired. The new string to insert into string at the start positionTechnical Details
Works in:SQL Server (starting with 2008), Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Parallel Data WarehouseMore Examples
Example
Delete 1 character from a string, starting in position 13, and then insert " is fun!" in position 13:
Excel is a widely used spreadsheet program. While it’s most popularly known for its ability to make use of heaps of data, Excel has an infinite number of capabilities, from making lists and charts to organizing and tracking information.
Learn moreCourses
- Microsoft Excel 365 - Basic & Advanced
- Microsoft Excel 365 - Basic
- Microsoft Excel 365 - Advanced
- Microsoft Excel 2019 - Basic & Advanced
- Microsoft Excel 2019 - Basic
- Microsoft Excel 2019 - Advanced
- Microsoft Excel - Pivot Tables
- Microsoft Excel - Macros and VBA
- Microsoft Excel - Dashboards
- Microsoft Excel - Power Query
- Microsoft Excel - Power Pivot
- + 6 more courses
Resources
Whether you want to do XLOOKUP, COUNTIF, CONCATENATE or simply merge cells, we’ve got you covered with step-by-step guides to the most important tools, formulas, and functions in Excel.
See resourcesCertification
90% of offices use Excel. Getting Excel-certified can be highly beneficial for job seekers. Get certificates in multiple Excel courses to prove your proficiency in Excel.
See certificationMicrosoft Office
Learning Microsoft Office has significant benefits for your daily workflow, productivity, and career possibilities. Microsoft Office skills are indispensable across a plethora of industries and professions.
Learn moreCourses
- Microsoft Excel 365 - Basic & Advanced
- Microsoft Excel 2019 - Basic & Advanced
- Microsoft Word - Basic & Advanced
- Microsoft PowerPoint 365
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Teams Training
- Microsoft OneNote Training
- Windows 11 for Beginners
- SharePoint Online
- Microsoft Visio Training
- Microsoft Planner and Project for the Web
- + 18 more courses
Resources
Looking for help with Microsoft Office? Check out our free guides with tips on how to maximize the potential of apps like Word, PowerPoint, Teams, Excel and more!
See resourcesLean Six Sigma
Lean Six Sigma provides a structured problem-solving methodology that can be used to address any type of problem. Being able to find and fix problems will improve your ability to perform in any position and industry.
Learn moreCourses
- Intro to Lean Six Sigma
- Lean Six Sigma - Yellow Belt
- Lean Six Sigma Principles - Green Belt
- Lean Six Sigma Advanced Principles - Black Belt
- Statistical Process Control
- Measurement Systems Analysis
- Hypothesis Testing
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
- Design of Experiments
Resources
Deepen your understanding of popular LSS tools and techniques, and simplify complex LSS concepts with our thorough how-to guides and resources.
See resourcesCertification
Lean Six Sigma certification can fast track your career and boost your pay packet. Certified Lean Six Sigma professionals are among the highest paid globally. Get trained in LSS!
See certificationFinance
Whether you are in HR, Sales, IT, Admin or Support, you need to speak the language of finance. Whether discussing plans, strategy or how well your department is performing, you’ll be conversing in financial terms and numbers.
Learn moreCourses
- Finance for Non-Financial Professionals
- Finance for Operations Managers
- Finance for Project Managers
- Finance for Operations Directors
- Financial Modeling Basics
- Financial Modeling Techniques
- QuickBooks Online
Resources
From accounting software tips, to taxes and financial modelling techniques, our resource center has free guides to help you gain the finance knowledge you are looking for.
See resourcesProject Management
Project management jobs are in high demand with not enough skilled applicants to fill them. For qualified candidates, project management roles are available in almost every industry.
Learn moreCourses
- Project Management Basics
- Project Management Bootcamp
- Project Management Framework
- Project Teams and Stakeholders
- Project Planning
- Project Performance and Delivery
- Project Management for Engineers
- Project Meetings
- Microsoft Planner and Project for the Web
- Microsoft Project Fundamentals
- CAPM Certification Training
- + 6 more courses
Resources
Explore our resource center to find templates to help you get the job done, job interview tips, insights to tackle your biggest project management challenges, and so much more.
See resourcesCertification
It pays to be certified in project management. You need to complete 35 hours of PM training from an ATP to get your certification. We can help you meet that requirement.
See certificationOffice Productivity
How successful could you be if you were more productive? Master widely-used productivity tools like Trello, Todoist, and Google Drive to optimize your workflow and spend time doing the work that truly matters. Start getting things done!
Learn moreCourses
- Keynote for Mac
- 1000minds Decision-Making
- Trello
- Google Drive & Apps
- Todoist
- Essential Productivity Training
Resources
Having difficulties adjusting to remote work? Need help with work-life balance? Need tips on how to use tools like Zoom or Slack effectively? Try these resources!
See resourcesLeadership & Management
Good leaders employ a comprehensive set of hard and soft skills to act as the oil of a well-functioning machine. While some of these traits are expressions of their inherent personality, most are learned and refined over time.
Learn moreCourses
- Leadership Training
- Team Leadership
- Deliver Effective Criticism
- Listening Skills
- Speaking Skills for Leaders
- How to Conduct a Job Interview
Resources
Finding yourself in need of simple tools and guidance to navigate through challenging situations as a leader? Take a look at our resources for management tips and strategies that you can implement right away.
See resourcesSoft Skills
Soft skills matter a lot in the workplace. Here’s why. As the workforce grows more dependent on knowledge workers, companies are beginning to see the value in soft skills.
Learn moreCourses
- Business Writing Skills
- Public Speaking
- Body Language
- Press Releases
- Customer Service Training
- Introduction to Sales
- Introduction to Marketing
- Communication Skills Basics
- Remote Work Communication Skills
- How to Prepare for a Job Interview
Resources
We want to help you succeed! Check out our resource center for help with your resume, job interviews, and your career. Let us help you put yourself ahead of the rest.
See resourcesDevelopment
Learning to code could be your ticket to a lucrative and fulfilling career. High salaries, the flexibility to work from anywhere, and a healthy job outlook are just three benefits you can look forward to in this dynamic industry.
Learn moreCourses
- Introduction to HTML
- Introduction to CSS
- Introduction to JavaScript
- Introduction to PHP
- Introduction to SQL
- Introduction to Python
- Introduction to Data Analysis with Python
- Django for Beginners
- Ruby on Rails for Web Development
- Intro to Ruby Programming
- Python with Excel
- + 1 more courses
Resources
Check out our resource center to find answers to common coding questions, interview tips, and step-by-step guides that will help you in your development career.
See resourcesDesign
If you want a job where you’ll be working on something different every day, thriving in a fast-paced environment and loving a creative challenge, a career in graphic design may be just for you.
Learn moreCourses
- Photoshop for Beginners
- Photoshop - Advanced
- Illustrator - Basic
- Illustrator - Advanced
Resources
Check out our resource guides to learn more about the graphic design tools that will help you to achieve your design dreams.
See resourcesData Analysis
Become a data analysis pro with our range of expert-led courses. Whether you are a data analytics novice or a numbers whiz, our on-demand courses will help advance your skills at a pace that suits you.
Learn moreCourses
- Introduction to SQL
- Power BI
- Introduction to Python
- Microsoft Excel - Power Query
- Microsoft Excel - Power Pivot
- Introduction to Data Analysis with Python
- Python with Excel
- Introduction to Tableau
Resources
From Python to Excel, or Power BI, Tableau and beyond, check out these free resources to help take your data analysis skills to the next level.
See resourcesSearch
- Search
- Log in
- Start free trial
- Go to dashboard
Microsoft Excel
11 minute read
11 Excel Hacks You Need to Know NowKat Boogaard
Join the Excel conversation on Slack
Ask a question or join the conversation for all things Excel on our Slack channel.
Join Slack channel
There’s nothing like mastering a good hack—particularly learning a Microsoft Excel hack.
Learning to manipulate and analyze tons of rows of data is enough to make anyone go cross-eyed. So, who wouldn't want a trick that promises to save you time, stress, and elbow grease?
Well, today’s your lucky day! We’ve rounded up 11 different Excel hacks you’re sure to use and love. It won’t be long before you’ll wonder how you ever survived without them.
Free Excel crash course
Learn Excel essentials fast with this FREE course. Get your certificate today!
Start free course1. Familiarize yourself with keyboard shortcuts
Alright, perhaps this first one doesn’t count as just one hack. However, if you’re looking for a surefire way to save yourself some time and frustration in Excel, it pays to familiarize yourself with some different keyboard shortcuts.
There are hundreds (yes, literally hundreds) that you can use. So, the best thing to do is to take note of some of the common tasks or actions you’re taking in Excel, and then seeing if there are existing keyboard shortcuts for those.
Want a handy resource? We already pulled together a list of 200 Excel shortcuts for PC and Mac that you can reference!
Download your free shortcuts PDF cheat sheet below.
Learn the best Excel shortcuts!
Download our printable shortcut cheatsheet for PC and Mac.
Enter your email address
Here are a few of our favorites:
Autosum all selected cells
Speed up your number crunching by quickly summing numbers in a contiguous range.
PC: Alt =
Mac: Command Shift T
Select direct precedents
Select a cell with an active formula and see which cells are directly referenced by that formula.
PC: Ctrl [
Mac: Control {
Add a cell border
Save yourself some clicks when formatting by instantly adding a cell border. This works with one or multiple cells selected.
PC: Ctrl Shift &
Mac: Command Option 0
2. Select all cells with one click
Have hundreds (or even thousands) of rows of data—and need to select them all?
You can give yourself a finger cramp from tons of endless clicking and scrolling. Or, you can use this simple trick to select all cells with one single click.
All it takes is clicking on that light gray triangle that appears in the top left corner of your spreadsheet. Click it once, and every single cell in the spreadsheet will be selected. It’s as easy as that!
3. Instantly resize columns and rows
There’s nothing worse than having your text run outside of the width of the column. And, needing to click and drag to resize the column to the perfect width over and over again can be a pain.
Fortunately, you can do this instantly. Place your mouse on the line between two column markers (C and D, for example) until you see a symbol that looks like two opposite-facing arrows.
With that symbol, double click on that line that separates the columns, and the column will automatically be resized to fit the widest piece of text within that column.
Note: The same hack can be used to adjust the height of rows!
4. Easily format numbers
Let’s say that you have an entire column that contains digits that represent the same thing—like dollar amounts, for example.
Right now, there isn’t a dollar sign displayed in front of each number, and you’d like to insert one there. There’s no need to do this one at a time.
Simply select the column that contains the digits you want to re-format, and then use the below keyboard shortcut to automatically format that entire column to dollars:
Ctrl - Shift - $
With that simple trick, your entire column will be displayed with the dollar sign, any necessary commas, and two points after the decimal point.
Note: The same trick works for percentages! Just hit Ctrl - Shift - % to include the percent sign with each digit.
5. Move up without scrolling
When you have a particularly large data set, you know that it takes a while (and quite a bit of scrolling) to get all the way to the bottom of your worksheet. And, when you’ve finally made it? The last thing you want to do is scroll all the way back up to the top.
Pushing Command (Ctrl on a PC) and the up arrow twice will bring you back to the top of your spreadsheet.
Why do you have to hit the up arrow twice? Hitting it once will bring you to the last row of data that appears before an empty row (which, in this case, is the last line of our data). Hitting the up arrow twice brings us all the way back to the top.
So, to summarize:
Command (or Ctrl on a PC) + Up Arrow Once: Brings you to the last line of data that appears before a blank row
Command (or Ctrl on a PC) + Up Arrow Twice: Brings you to the top of your worksheet
Note that this shortcut works on Excel for Mac and PC 2016. Shortcuts on Mac may vary depending on your OS, or on older versions of Excel.
6. Apply the same formatting
Let’s say that I need to create another column in my spreadsheet—and I want to apply the same formatting that’s in an existing column. For example, I want the “Total” column I’ve created to also have bold font and the dollar signs like the “Price Per Gallon” column that already exists on my spreadsheet.
It’s simple to apply existing formatting to a new column.
Select a cell that has the formatting you want and copy that cell. Then, select the section of your spreadsheet that you need to apply that formatting to, right click, select “Paste Special,” and then click the box for formats.
Now, when I enter a value in that “Total” column, it’ll automatically appear with bold font and a dollar sign—without me having to do any further manual work.
7. Insert more than one row or column
Needing to insert one row or column at a time can be monotonous. Luckily, there’s a quick trick that allows you to insert multiple rows or columns into your spreadsheet with a single click.
This hack is painfully simple: Highlight the number of rows or columns that you want to insert, and then right click and select insert.
So, if I want three new, blank columns to appear ahead of my existing “Gallons Sold” column, I would highlight three columns starting with “Gallons Sold” and then click insert.
Just like that, I have three brand new columns in my spreadsheet—without the hassle of inserting one at a time.
Note: This trick works the very same way with rows. You’d obviously just highlight rows instead of columns.
8. Make a copy of your worksheet
If there’s a worksheet that you find yourself creating regularly—like a monthly report, for example—needing to re-create it from scratch every single time isn’t necessary.
Instead, it’s better to make a copy of your entire worksheet, so that all of your formatting and other elements are already there—you just need to swap out any necessary information.
To do this, right click on the tab for your worksheet at the bottom and select “Move or Copy.” At that point, you’ll be met with a popup that asks where you’d like your sheet to be moved and where you’d like it to appear.
In this example, I want my copied sheet to live in my same workbook, and before my existing “Beer Sales Data” worksheet. So, I select those options, check the box for “Make a Copy,” and end up with an exact replica of my existing sheet to use and revise:
9. Embed an Excel spreadsheet
If you’re putting together a proposal, report, or other important document in Word, it can be helpful to embed the contents of your Excel spreadsheet.
This is fairly easy to accomplish. To do so, select and then copy the portion of your spreadsheet that you want to embed.
Head to Word, and then select “Paste” and “Paste Special.” Within that popup, find and select the option for “Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object,” ensure you select the option for “Paste Link,” and then click “OK.”
You will see your spreadsheet embedded in your document (you’ll likely need to do some brief resizing!). Additionally, since you selected the “Paste Link” option, whenever you make changes to your spreadsheet, they’ll automatically be updated in the embedded chart in your Word document. Pretty slick, right?
Note: You can also embed an excel spreadsheet in an email. But, the exact directions for that will vary depending on your email provider.
10. Find and replace values
Maybe you noticed an error in your spreadsheet. Or, perhaps you want to update some terminology.
There’s no need to scroll through your entire data set to find each individual occurrence of that term or value. Using the “Find and Replace” feature can help you update everything at once.
Highlight the cells you want to search and hit Ctrl + F. You’ll be met with a popup where you can enter which term you want to find in the spreadsheet, as well as what you’d like to replace it with.
For example, if I wanted to replace the appearance of “Stout” with “Vanilla Stout,” I could use “Find and Replace” to do that in a few short steps.
11. Use two windows
Do you have worksheets within the same workbook, but would like to view them side by side—rather than needing to click back and forth between the two?
Of course, there’s a way you can easily do this.
If you’re on a Mac, click “Window” within the main Excel menu and then select “New Window.” If you’re on PC, go to “View” in the Excel ribbon and then select “New Window.”
Doing so will open your existing workbook in an entirely new window—so you can position them side by side and avoid a bunch of clicking.
The best part? Any changes you make will be applied to both windows—so you don’t need to make changes twice.
Want even more hacks?
These simple tips will undoubtedly help you save some time in Excel. But, we haven’t even touched on some of Excel’s more advanced features—like pivot tables and macros—that can help you take a lot more elbow grease out of using spreadsheets.
Has learning Excel improved your efficiency at work? We'd love to hear from you! Send us an email or reply in the comments below.
Eager to know even more? Sign up for our Excel course, roll up your sleeves, and prepare to impress everybody with your Excel mastery.
Free Excel crash course
Learn Excel essentials fast with this FREE course. Get your certificate today!
Start free course
Loved this? Subscribe, and join 405,327 others.
Get our latest content before everyone else. Unsubscribe whenever.
Your email address
Join the Excel conversation on Slack
Ask a question or join the conversation for all things Excel on our Slack channel.
Join Slack channel
Kat Boogaard
Kat is a writer specializing in career, self-development, and productivity topics. When she escapes her computer, she enjoys reading, hiking, golfing, and dishing out tips for prospective freelancers on her website.
Recommended
How to Use the Excel ISERROR Function
Figure out whether an input will result in an error in advance with the Excel ISERROR Function.
Recommended
Your Guide to VLOOKUP Table Array
Some best practices for VLOOKUP table array
Recommended
Excel Challenge 24
Can you leverage the power of combining Excel dynamic array formulas? Take this Excel challenge to return unique values and non-contiguous columns!
GoSkills courses
- GoSkills Unlimited
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office
- Lean Six Sigma
- Finance
- Project Management
- Office Productivity
Company
- About us
- Careers
- Courses for teams
- Learning management system
- Accreditations & awards
- FAQ
- Terms & Privacy
Discover
- Resources
- Scholarship
- Gifts
- Reviews
- Redeem a code
- Verify a certificate
- Site map
Contact
USA/Canada: USA/CA: +1 650 822 7732
Email: info@goskills.com Media: media@goskills.com
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram
- Send us a message
About
GoSkills - Skills for career advancement
Advance your career with GoSkills! We help you learn essential business skills to reach your full potential. Learn effectively via bite-sized video tutorials taught by award-winning instructors.
Thank you for choosing to learn with us.
Newsletter
Your email address
Don’t miss out on our best deals! Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest news and specials delivered direct to your inbox.