AutoSum shortcut in Excel - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - AutoSum shortcut

Goal

Find the total sales quickly using the AutoSum shortcut in Excel.

Sample Data

Product	Sales
Apples	120
Bananas	150
Cherries	100
Dates	130
Elderberries	110

Dashboard Components

• Total Sales (KPI Card): Cell B7 with formula =SUM(B2:B6) shows the total sales of all products.
• AutoSum Shortcut: Demonstrates using the keyboard shortcut Alt + = in cell B7 to automatically insert the sum formula for the sales above.
• Sales Data Table: Shows the list of products and their sales values in cells A2:B6.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+------------------+
|      Sales Data      |  Total Sales KPI  |
|  (Table A2:B6)       |   (Cell B7)       |
+----------------------+------------------+

Interactivity

When you add or change sales numbers in the table (cells B2 to B6), the total sales in cell B7 updates automatically because the sum formula covers that range.

Using the AutoSum shortcut (Alt + =) in cell B7 quickly inserts the sum formula without typing it manually.

Self Check

Try changing the sales value for Bananas from 150 to 200. What happens to the total sales in cell B7?

Answer: The total sales number updates automatically to reflect the new sum.

Key Result

A simple dashboard showing product sales and total sales calculated using the AutoSum shortcut.