Insert tab — Excel guide
Everything that isn't a cell value starts here: pivots, tables, charts, sparklines, slicers, links. Alt+N from the keyboard — N for New things.
Tables
PivotTable opens the create dialog — confirm the source, pick a destination, then drag fields into Rows, Columns, and Values. Recommended PivotTables proposes layouts if you're staring at a blank pivot. Table (Ctrl+T) upgrades a range to an Excel Table: filters, banded rows, auto-expanding formulas, structured references.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| PivotTable | Create dialog → empty pivot + field list |
| Table | Ctrl+T — the range-with-superpowers upgrade |
Illustrations
Pictures (from file, stock, or camera), Shapes, Icons, SmartArt diagrams, and Screenshot — which can grab any open window straight onto the sheet. Handy for pasting evidence into a workpaper.
Charts
Recommended Charts reads your selection and proposes sensible options — the fastest route when you don't have a strong opinion. The galleries hold the full set: column, line, pie, bar, scatter, maps, and combo. PivotChart makes a chart wired to a pivot's filters.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Recommended Charts | Excel proposes chart types for your data |
| Gallery dropdowns | Column, line, pie, scatter, combo… |
| PivotChart | Chart bound to a PivotTable's fields and filters |
Sparklines
Line, Column, or Win/Loss — a tiny chart living inside a single cell, one per row of data. Put a column of them next to monthly figures and the table gains an instant trend column, no chart objects to wrangle.
Filters
Slicer adds a floating panel of clickable filter buttons for a Table or pivot — filters your audience can actually see, the backbone of most Excel dashboards. Timeline is the date-specialized version for pivots: drag across months, quarters, or years.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Slicer | Clickable value buttons; filters connected Tables/pivots |
| Timeline | Draggable date-period filter, pivots only |
Links, Text & Symbols
Link (Ctrl+K) makes a cell clickable — web page, file, email, or another spot in this workbook; it navigates, it doesn't fetch data. Text Box floats free of the grid. Header & Footer jumps to Page Layout view to edit print-page furniture. Symbol inserts the characters your keyboard doesn't have — €, ±, ✓.
From the keyboard
Insert tab sequences, plus the chart shortcut that skips the tab entirely.
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt+N, V, T | Create PivotTable |
| Alt+N, T | Insert Table (or Ctrl+T) |
| Alt+F1 | Default chart from the selection, right on the sheet |