LOL, I've been told people have had to slow my videos down as well.

Here's a free, handy #Excel resource!

Power BI for Everyone: Practical Accessibility in Action | Juliana Smith, Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 9:00 AM | Meetup **SESSION TRACK:** Power BI **SESSION OUTLINE:** In today’s data-driven world, ensuring Power BI reports are accessible to all users is not just an ethical responsibility

Join us this morning at 9am PT to learn about making your #PowerBI reports more accessible with Juliana Smith! ♿️ She'll provide practical strategies for embedding accessibility to ensure #DataInsights are available to everyone, fostering inclusivity and compliance.

Monkey Tools Build better data models, faster Developed by Excelguru (Image of a cyborg monkey with its fist up for a fist bump) Destination Sleuth (Screenshot of the DestinationSleuth dialog, listing the various queries and where they load to, as well as colour-coded highlighting to indicate the query type.) This sleuth opens to a listing of all queries in your workbook, and clearly lays out the load destinations. It also tells you not only the worksheet the table lives on, it also lists the exact table name. monkeytools.ca

In #PowerQuery, you can choose load destinations for your queries. When you mouse over the preview pane, you’re either told that the query loads to Connection Only, or as “x Rows Loaded”. But it doesn’t tell you WHERE they’ve been loaded.
But Destination Sleuth knows! 🤜 See mkyt.ca/destsleuth

News from the Data Monkey Brought to you by Excelguru & Skillwave Training (Image of a cyborg monkey in a superhero style crouch) April 14, 2026 In This Issue: - New Video on Building a Weekly Forecast - History Using Power Query - From the AKA Sessions - What's New in Excel - Latest Meet-up Recording and Next Event Information - Upcoming Courses and Conferences - Available Training Options Spring is in full bloom here on the West Coast of Canada, and the team here has been excited to get out into the sunshine! We've been busy working on some special projects for private clients, welcoming new students to the Self Service BI and Excel Fundamentals Academy, and hosting the 'Ask Ken Anything' calls and Vancouver Power BI and Modern Excel Meet-ups. It's just a little over a month until Ken goes to the UK for Global Excel Summit and his 3-day Self Service BI Boot Camp, and tickets are still available. As part of the event, the Global Excel Awards will be announced at a special ceremony on May 20. Ken is a finalist for Training Provider of the Year and Monkey Tools is a finalist for Best Excel Add-in, and we want to give a big "thank you" to those who have supported us by voting. There's still time, public voting is open until April 30.

A new edition of our newsletter is out! 📣
Subscribe today at xlguru.ca/newsletter and stay up-to-date on expert content, what's new in #Excel and #PowerBI, info on courses, events, specials, and more! We'll also give you our free 'DIY BI' eBook series! 📖

Excel & Power BI Rounding Techniques (Fix MROUND #NUM! with LET/VAR) In this video, we’re diving into a few rounding techniques that can make your reports cleaner, easier to read, and more professional. These techniques work both in Excel data model and Power…

Let's dive into a few rounding techniques that can make your reports cleaner, easier to read, and more professional. These work both in #Excel and #PowerBI. 🔃
We’ll start with ROUND(), explore some of its variations, and then take it a step further with MROUND():

Return a cell range using XLOOKUP YouTube video by Curt Frye

In Excel, the XLOOKUP function works like VLOOKUP but actually returns a cell address behind the scenes. In this week's Techsoc video, I'll show you how to use this functionality to return a range of cells from a data list. youtu.be/z1GPjWetAlY

In the Global Excel Awards, four outstanding finalists are vying for the prize of…

🏆 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗘𝗟 🚀

Get your votes in now! 🗳️
👇
🔗 globalexcelsummit.com/global-excel...

Self Service BI Academy Prepare to change your company's reporting game forever! In the Self Service BI Academy, Ken Puls will teach you how to use Excel, Power Query, and Power BI together to build robust Self Service BI…

🧭Takeaway: If you're creating data, use Excel. If you're consuming data, use Power BI. The loop where the tools feed each other is where the real power lies.

AKAs are where you get practical guidance, included w/ #SelfServiceBI (skw-t.com/ssbi) and Excel Fundamentals (skw-t.com/excelfun) Academies.

Use "Analyze in Excel" to pull historical actuals from the PBI #DataModel into Excel, build granular forecasts by department or product line, and store the resulting budget files in a SharePoint folder. PBI can then read directly from that folder on refresh, giving everyone the right data.

Forecasting is not a Power BI job. It is an #Excel job.
👁️‍🗨️ Power BI is a consumption tool - great for visuals, row-level security, and sharing.
⚒ Excel is a creation tool - ideal for the flexible, line-by-line modeling that real budgeting and forecasting requires.

Budgeting/Forecasting with Excel and PBI Data Source(s) -> PBI Model with RLS-> Reports Connect to model via Analyze in Excel and build forecast via formula -> Budget Working Copy Workbooks shared with key parties for update/edit/review -> Working Copies Folder -> Approved Version(s) Approved Versions copied to restricted SharePoint folder -> Budgets Folder (SharePoint) Budgets re-ingested into PBI model -> PBI Model with RLS

One of our AKA participants wanted to know how to build a more accurate sales forecast in #PowerBI - one grounded in historical data trends rather than arbitrary percentage increases decided by committee.
My answer reframed the question in a way that many data professionals will find liberating... 🧵

Enter Data into Multiple Cells at Once - Monkey Shorts Episode 021 You cannot be an Excel Ninja unless you know how to enter data into multiple cells at once. In this Monkey Shorts video, Ken shows you exactly how it is done.

You cannot be an #Excel Ninja unless you know how to enter data into multiple cells at once. In this Monkey Shorts video, I'll you exactly how it's done. 😎
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1KC...

#ExcelTricksAndTips #DataEntry #SpreadhsheetTips

**DATE CORRECTION**
The meet-up is on May 7, not May 14!

Much Ado About Nothing: Handling Blank Values in Excel | Mark Proctor, Thu, May 7, 2026, 9:00 AM | Meetup **SESSION TRACK:** Excel **SESSION OUTLINE:** What is nothing? Does it exist? These are deep philosophical questions. Thankfully, in the context of Excel, there is an answ

What is nothing? Does it exist? In the context of #Excel, there is an answer, which we will explore with @exceloffthegrid.bsky.social on May 14. Once we understand how Excel handles blank values, we can not only work with nothingness, but bend it to our will! 💪

I can't wait - I LOVE leading these in-person boot camps, and the Global Excel Summit is a great event!

Monkey Tools Build better data models, faster Developed by Excelguru (Image of a cyborg monkey with its fist up for a fist bump) Timing Selected Queries Only One great benefit of being able to time queries with TimeSleuth is that you can make multiple versions of the query and see if on performs better than another. Just select the desired queries from the list and click the Details Refresh button to kick off the query timing process. (Screenshot of the TimeSleuth dialog showing the list of available queries, two of which are highlighted, and below the refresh stat's of both.) monkeytools.ca

Monkey Tools' TimeSleuth allows you to time all the queries in your #BusinessIntelligence solution, or just specified ones. ⏱ You get a detailed list of the refresh times as it goes, shedding some light on which queries are impacting the overall load time. Learn more: mkyt.ca/timesleuth

Self Service BI Academy Prepare to change your company's reporting game forever! In the Self Service BI Academy, Ken Puls will teach you how to use Excel, Power Query, and Power BI together to build robust Self Service BI…

If you build #DataModels and want to sharpen your DAX skills, this is where those "how do I actually make this work?" moments get answered. Access comes with my #SelfServiceBI (skw-t.com/ssbi) or Excel Fundamentals (skw-t.com/excelfun) Academies, or join the AKAs on their own at skw-t.com/aka.

🧭Takeaway: The best charts do not just show data - they tell the story of where you stand.

The AKA sessions are exactly the kind of space where you can bring a real-world #DataAnalytics challenge like this and get a step-by-step walkthrough.

It highlighted high and low values in different colors.
The challenge was writing the DAX measures to make the chart work dynamically in Power Pivot, especially w/ filters applied. 🔑The key? Use iterator functions like MINX and MAXX paired w/ ALL or ALLSELECTED to control what context is evaluated.

When Power Pivot Gets the Highlighter Treatment To keep your PivotChart dynamic and always highlight the true min and max of what is visible, use iterator functions like MINX and MAXX paired with ALL or ALLSELECTED to carefully control what context is being evaluated. (Image of a column chart with 4 columns. The min column is highlighted red, the max column is highlighted green, and the other columns are left as grey.) (Skillwave Training logo)

A student asked me a fantastic question: how do you replicate a dynamic chart highlight in #Excel - one that visually flags the minimum, maximum, and neutral data points - when working inside #PowerPivot with #DAX measures? 📊
They had built a clever Excel chart using 3 overlapping series at 100%...🧵

Vibe Coding an Office-js Add-in | Jan Karel Pieterse In this episode of the Vancouver Power BI & Modern Excel User Group Meetup, we explore how AI is transforming Excel development with a deep dive into vibe coding and Office JS add-ins. The session…

📽️ The recording from last week's Vancouver #PowerBI and Modern #Excel meet-up is now available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMFt...
Our featured speaker, Jan Karel Pieterse, demonstrated how modern #ArtificialIntelligenceTools like #Copilot can be used to build Excel add-ins using Office-JS.

Dynamic Expand Collapse Messages in Excel - Monkey Shorts Episode 020 In this episode of Monkey Shorts, Ken shows a quick reporting trick he likes to use in complex workbooks. It allows you to collapse a range, but provide a message which only shows up while the range…

Here's a quick reporting trick I like to use in complex #Excel workbooks. It allows you to collapse a range, but provide a message which only shows up while the range is collapsed, inviting the reader to open it and see the data. 🤓https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m413vFZ2pEg

#ExcelTipsAndTricks

Vote Now! Card #1: 3rd Edition Global Excel Awards Finalist - Training Provider of the Year Ken Puls (Skillwave Training) Vote for Me Card #2: 3rd Edition Global Excel Awards Finalist - Best Microsoft Excel Add-in Monkey Tools Vote for Me Voting closes April 30, 2026

As you may have heard, both myself and Monkey Tools are finalists in the 2026 Global #Excel Awards! 🥳
If you're a fan of my training and/or our add-in, cast a vote to help us out in the Training Provider of the Year and Best Add-in categories. 🗳Voting is open until April 30 - go to mkyt.ca/vote2026

Vibe Coding an Office-js Add-in | Jan Karel Pieterse, Thu, Apr 2, 2026, 10:00 AM | Meetup **SESSION TRACK:** Excel **SESSION OUTLINE:** There’s a lot of talk about so-called vibe coding. As Microsoft MVP Jan Karel Pieterse understands it, this is letting an AI

An hour to go until today's Vancouver #PowerBI and Modern #Excel meet-up begins! As Jan Karel Pieterse understands it, #VibeCoding is letting an AI do the programming based off descriptions you give it. See how he “programmed” his new Rule Manager for Excel add-in. 👉RSVP here:

Using Monkey Tools Learn about all of the amazing features of Monkey Tools with our FREE course! "I loved the direct, clear examples, well separated into what each video will show so I can come back and see it again if I forgot how to do something." Valerie Strafe (5 stars) (Image of a cyborg monkey jumping to up cheer with its eye closed, mouth open, and fist up in the air) Register today at https://mkyt.ca/course

Monkey Tools adds a broad set of features specifically for working with #PowerQuery and the #DataModel. They're divided into 2 general collections:
🐒Monkeys - make things happen
🔎Sleuths - figure out what has happened
In the FREE Using Monkey Tools course, I demo how they work. Go to mkyt.ca/course

Nice trick!

What's New in Excel (March 2026) | Microsoft Community Hub Welcome to the March 2026 edition of What's New in Excel!

Here's what's new in #Excel, including the new "Work IQ" to provide Copilot with more context and a UI redesign of Office Scripts: techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/excelbl...

I super proud that Monkey Tools has been included with this amazing group of finalists. Get out there and vote!

Final takeaway: You can take the output of Power Query, feed it back into itself, and build a self-growing forecast history system—just make sure to remove duplicates before appending.

If you work with forecasts, budgets, or projections that change over time, this is a simple but powerful pattern.