Most people know how to draw objects using the drawing tool and resize them individually. As well, many people either approximate the size of objects or use the ruler in PowerPoint or Word to get the size. However, it is only a close approximation.

Let’s suppose you had some objects on a PowerPoint slide that were not drawn perfectly, but you wanted them to be a particular height and width for the final result. The following tip shows how to accurately size all objects simultaneously.

Scenario & Objective:

In this example, we want all three objects to measure 3” x 3”. Once the size has been established, lock down the height to width proportions so that any further size changes will maintain the correct ratio.  We can accomplish this task for all objects simultaneously without manually resizing.

The dotted lines lead to the PowerPoint rulers to show the dimensions. The text in the objects show the approximate width and height values.

• Blue dotted lines = Rectangle
• Red dotted lines = Cross
• Green dotted lines = Triangle

STEP 1: Select objects using the SHIFT key.

• Click on the blue rectangle to select the object.
• Use the SHIFT key to select the cross and triangle objects. NOTE: When multiple objects are selected, the sizing handles are on all the objects.

STEP 2: Launch the size and position window.

• After all objects have been selected, right click on any object.
• From the menu, select “size and position”. NOTE: The “format shape” window opens with size and position options.

STEP 3: Adjust the height and width to desired values and lock the aspect ratio.

• Adjust the height and width to 3″.
• Click the Lock Aspect Ratio check box to maintain proportions.

Conclusions & Comments:

All objects are now 3” x 3” and look better because they are evenly proportioned. Note the rectangle object is now a square, and the cross & triangle are also height to width proportioned. All objects were resized simultaneously using the Format Shape, Size and Position window.

** The Lock Aspect Ratio maintains the height and width proportions for any future resizing. Even If you were to manually resize using a corner handle, the height and width will change while maintaining the aspect shape of the object.

Continued education can enrich your life and career.  Whether you’re picking up a hobby or starting a new career, you’ll need to acquire fresh knowledge and skills. And you should be eager to embrace the challenge, because lifelong learning has a lot of benefits. Here are just a few:

• Career success as you acquire the skills employers are looking for.
• Learning keeps brain cells working at optimum levels.
• Stay connected with new people and modern ideas.
• Self-fulfillment through taking the time to learn new things, open our minds and gain wisdom.

See the image above for an example of the mental habits that support lifelong learning. For more about how Learning & Organization Development can support your learning journey, click HERE.

Scenario: Let’s say you have data where on various dates employees are reporting some expense/dollar amounts. You want a formula that identifies which EmployeeID in column C has the highest dollar amount value in column D.

This is a complex formula that requires at least three functions to find the answer. Most people resort to doing this manually as they may not know how to combine (“Nest”) multiple functions. You can use the MAX function to find the highest value, but what function do you use to find the EmployeeID in column C?

VLOOKUP performs a left-to-right directional lookup, which is in the opposite direction in this scenario. XLOOKUP may be used but it is only available in Excel 2021 and Excel 365, a subscription-based version (users of Excel 2019 and earlier are out of luck).

A manual method: You can SORT column D (Amount) in descending order, and then visually look at column C to find the EmployeeID.

Problem: What happens if you are frequently adding data to the table, and you always need to know who is reporting the highest amount? Manually performing the step is tedious and inefficient, requiring you to undo the SORT, or SORT BY date, to get back to the original order/sequence.

The ideal solution is to find the complex formula that does it all for you. ChatGPT is an excellent tool in this situation. Simply go to the ChatGPT website, type the question, and let ChatGPT give you the answer/formula that you can Copy & Paste into Excel (verbatim). The screenshots below to demonstrate the power of ChatGPT tool to find solutions.

The words highlighted in yellow are the literal words that were written into the ChatGPT search box. The blue highlighted text is the actual formula that was produced by ChatGPT, and along with an explanation of the functions. Simply copy and paste the formula into Excel. The result is the EmployeeID with the highest amount that you were searching for.

Additional Tip

Use the conditional formatting feature in Excel to highlight the answer found by the ChatGPT formula (as shown by the circled items).

Nesting complex functions and conditional formatting are topics covered in Excel Level 2 and Excel Level 3.