Microsoft Excel isn’t just for work. In fact, by leveraging just three single, powerful formulas, I use the popular spreadsheet software at home to track warranties, manage my budget, and ensure I never forget a birthday. Thanks to Excel, I’ve ditched my chaotic life for one that’s highly organized. There’s nothing more frustrating than realizing a key household item is failing, only to later find out you missed the warranty expiration by a few days. To avoid this, I use the FILTER function to track when product warranties expire, so I can check the condition of my products well in advance. In my spreadsheet below, when I enter a month and year into cells G2 and G3, respectively, the formula checks the Warranty column of the T_Receipts table for matching dates and automatically populates the lookup table with a spilled dynamic array. Achieving this requires only one formula, which I entered into cell F6: =FILTER(T_Receipts,(MONTH(T_Receipts[Warranty])=MONTH(DATEVALUE(G2&”1″)))*(YEAR(T_Receipts[Warranty])=G3),”No items”) Here’s how the formula works. Part 1: Initiating the FILTER function The FILTER function filters an array based on certain criteria. In this case, the array is a table named T_Receipts: FILTER(T_Receipts Part 2: Specifying the filtering criteria The second part of the formula is the inclusion criteria, and since I need it to consider the month and the year, it consists of two segments. The first segment looks for dates in the Warranty column whose month matches the month in cell G2. However, because the full month name is used in cell G2, it needs to be converted into a month number. First, the month in cell G2 is concatenated with 1 to create a date string (such as January 1). Then, the DATEVALUE function converts the string to a numeric value, which the MONTH function extracts from the date. Then, it compares that target month number to the month number of every warranty date in the Warranty column of the T_Receipts table: (MONTH(T_Receipts[Warranty])=MONTH(DATEVALUE(G2&”1″))) The second segment extracts the year from every date in the Warranty column of the T_Receipts table and checks if it’s equal to the year in cell G3: (YEAR(T_Receipts[Warranty])=G3) Use data validation drop-down lists to ensure the dates match the format the FILTER function expects. Also, because Excel treats dates as serial numbers, be sure to select the date column in the lookup table and change the number formatting to “Date.” Multiplying these two segments together forces Excel to treat them as a single logical test. Only when both segments return TRUE (represented as 1 in Excel’s logic) will the multiplication equal 1. Then, any rows where 1 is the result are extracted into the filtered list. Categorize and track a budget Managing my personal finances used to mean manually comparing my spending against my budget for various categories, but this was unreliable and time-consuming. Now, I use a single Excel formula to automate this comparison and give me instant feedback on my financial health. As you can see in the screenshot below, this formula is invaluable because it tells me if I’m within, near, or over my budget for each category in a given month. Here’s the formula I entered into cell G2, which I then expanded to cell G8 using autofill: =LET(Spend, SUMIF(T_Budget[Category], E2, T_Budget[Cost]), IFS(Spend>F2,”Over budget”, Spend=F2,”Budget hit”, Spend>(F2*0. 9),”Near budget”, TRUE,”Within budget”)) Let’s break the formula down to understand what’s going on. Part 1: Defining the Spend variable The LET function is one of Excel’s most versatile functions, as it lets me name a result and refer to it multiple times. This makes the final formula easier to parse and faster to execute. In this case, I’m calling the result Spend: =LET(Spend Now, I need to define what the Spend variable represents. To do this, I’ll use the SUMIF function to calculate the total cost for the specific budget category in question: =LET(Spend, SUMIF(T_Budget[Category], E2, T_Budget[Cost]) T_Budget[Category]: This is the range to check. E2: This is the criterion. It checks if the category in the table matches the category name in cell E2. T_Budget[Cost]: This is the range to sum. If the categories match, the corresponding value in the Cost column is added. Because I used the LET function, the Spend variable holds the total amount I’ve spent for the category listed in cell E2. Part 2: Determining the budget status The final part of the LET function uses the calculated Spend variable inside the IFS function to determine the status. The IFS function evaluates multiple conditions from left to right until one returns TRUE. Then, it returns the corresponding value: IFS(Spend>F2,”Over budget”, Spend=F2,”Budget hit”, Spend>(F2*0. 9),”Near budget”, TRUE,”Within budget”) Spend>F2,”Over budget”: This is the first test. If the total spend is greater than the budget limit in cell F2, the formula stops and returns “Over budget.” Spend=F2,”Budget hit”: If the first test isn’t met, Excel moves onto the second test. In this case, it checks whether the spending exactly matches the limit in cell F2 and, if so, returns “Budget hit.” Spend>(F2*0. 9),”Near budget”: If neither of the first two tests is met, I want Excel to check whether the spending for a category exceeds 90% of the budget in cell F2. If this is the case, it returns “Near budget.” TRUE,”Within budget”: The final test is the catch-all-if my spending hasn’t triggered any of the other three tests, the formula returns “Within budget.” Work out the next time it’s someone’s birthday If, like me, you’re terrible at tracking birthdays, Excel can help you out. This table tells me how many days are left until each person’s birthday: This is the formula I constructed in cell C2. Because I entered it into an Excel table, it duplicated down the Days column automatically when I pressed Enter: =IF(DATE(YEAR(TODAY), MONTH([@Birthday]), DAY([@Birthday]))https://www.howtogeek.com/microsoft-excel-formulas-organize-my-daily-life/
Tag Archives: time-consuming
7 simple tweaks to reduce CPU usage on Windows
If you’ve noticed high CPU usage on your Windows desktop or laptop, you’ve come to the right place. Unless you’re running a demanding application, high CPU usage usually means something is using more processing power than it should, causing your computer to feel slow or unresponsive. The good news is that there are several straightforward tweaks you can try yourself to reduce CPU usage, which can improve performance and, in the case of laptops, extend battery life. Reboot your PC Before trying any time-consuming fixes to reduce CPU usage, start with the simplest one of all-restarting your computer. If you came here because you noticed high CPU usage, this should be your first step before diving into more detailed tweaks. A reboot also helps establish a baseline for your CPU usage on a fresh start, making it easier to track how much subsequent tweaks improve performance. A reboot works in several ways: it kills runaway processes (tasks that hang or get stuck in a loop), stops unnecessary background apps and updates, resolves temporary software glitches, and even helps with memory leaks. In short, it gives your system a clean slate and often fixes high CPU usage instantly. Close programs that are not in use If you open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), go to the “Processes” tab, and click on “CPU” to sort the list by the percentage of CPU power each program uses, you might be surprised at just how much some programs and services can draw. Admittedly, this isn’t the most precise way to monitor CPU usage, since programs and services constantly fluctuate in their demands, but it is a good starting point for identifying candidates to shut down. Of course, if an app is using a huge percentage of your CPU, that’s likely the culprit, and you should close it. Personally, I was shocked by how much processing power my RGB software consumed, to the point that I did some tests and now turn it off before playing intensive games. But don’t ignore the smaller background programs-just a few apps like Discord, Slack, and Asana can add up and hog a lot of your CPU’s capacity. By shutting down these programs when they’re not in use, you’ll reduce CPU load, leaving more processing power available for your foreground tasks. Disable startup apps If you’ve identified apps that are using a lot of CPU, or if you simply want to prevent programs from launching automatically, there’s an easy solution: disable startup apps. This will reduce your CPU usage right from boot and can make your system feel a lot faster, especially during startup. To do this, open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and head over to the “Startup Apps” tab. Right-click the app you wish to disable during startup, then click “Disable.” Alternatively, left-click the app and click “Disable” in the top-right corner. Do this for all apps that you don’t actively use or require during each startup, and you’ll notice the difference immediately. If you wish to disable all startup apps and services at once, press Win+R, type “msconfig,” and press Enter. Go to the “Services” tab, click “Hide All Microsoft Services,” then select “Disable All” and press “OK.” Note that this will also disable potentially useful apps like your graphics card’s drivers, but it’ll keep Microsoft’s services intact. Generally speaking, I don’t recommend disabling them, as you might disable critical services like the ones responsible for audio and LAN. Optimize Windows services Disabling Windows services without understanding their function can cause certain features or functions on your system to stop working correctly. Only disable services that you know and understand. Windows has numerous services running in the background. They’re critical to supporting your system’s functionality, but depending on your use case, you might not actually need all of them. Disabling a few of the non-essential ones can slightly lower CPU usage, especially on lower-end CPUs. You can find Windows services by pressing Win+R, typing “services. msc,” then hitting Enter. To prevent a service from starting with your system, double-click it and change the Startup Type to Disabled (alternatively, set it to Manual so it only starts when needed by Windows or an application). Some services you might want to consider disabling are: Print Spooler: Manages print tasks sent to your printer. Windows Search: Indexes files and folders so you can search them more quickly in File Explorer. Remote Registry: Allows you to modify the Windows registry remotely. All Xbox Services: Used for the Xbox Live features in Windows, such as the Game Bar. Windows Error Reporting Service: Collects error reports when an app or Windows crashes. Parental Controls: Allows you to use parental controls on their system. Geolocation Service: Provides the geographic location of your system to Windows and apps. Windows Biometric Service: Used for fingerprint or facial recognition. Disable if you’re on a desktop or don’t use it. Sysmain: Preloads frequently used apps into RAM. It can improve performance (especially with HDDs), but also causes high CPU usage. Scan your system for malware Sometimes, malware can cause high CPU usage spikes without your knowledge because malware is often well-hidden and won’t appear in Task Manager. Performing a scan with Windows Defender is one of your first lines of defense. Open the Start menu, type “Windows Security,” and open it. Go to “Virus & Threat Protection” > “Scan Options” > “Full Scan.” In case Windows Defender doesn’t find anything, or if the issue persists, and you suspect that malware could still be at play, try running a full scan using a different antivirus tool like Bitdefender or Malwarebytes. Tweak the Windows power plan If your goal is to set a hard limit on CPU usage to reduce overheating, noise, or improve battery life, you can do so by editing your power plan. As you can probably guess, lowering your CPU’s maximum processor state will also negatively impact performance, especially with demanding tasks like gaming, but you should still be able to handle basic tasks like web browsing and document editing without any issues. To edit the power plan, go to Start, type “Edit power plan,” and open it. Click “Change advanced power settings,” then scroll down to “Processor power management” and expand it. Expand “Maximum processor state” and set it to the percentage you want, for example 85%, then click “OK.” Keeping your applications, drivers, BIOS, and Windows itself up-to-date is essential to ensuring that everything operates correctly. For example, a random glitch in a chipset driver update might have been hotfixed recently, but until you update, you’ll encounter high CPU usage. Apps can also draw more CPU power than necessary, but these issues are often fixed with an update, so make sure to update all programs that you commonly use or run in the background. Similarly, an outdated BIOS can indirectly result in higher CPU usage than necessary because it’s handling the CPU’s clock speeds and voltage suboptimally. In the case of Windows updates, things can be a bit tricky. After an update, Windows often uses extra processing power, so you might see CPU usage spike for a few hours. However, if high CPU usage persists constantly, it could indicate a bug. In that case, you may need to roll back the update or, if available, install a newer version to resolve the issue. Hopefully, you’ve managed to reduce your CPU usage by combining a few of these tweaks. Whether your goal is to maximize how much processing power you have for your games and demanding apps or to reduce power usage and heat on a laptop, these tips will help you control how much of your CPU is being used.
https://www.howtogeek.com/simple-tweaks-to-reduce-cpu-usage-on-windows/
Dispatch’s episodic format respects your time and that’s a relief
The Shacknews staff was aware of AdHoc Studio, a team comprised of former developers from Telltale Games, Ubisoft, Night School Studio, and others. Still, *Dispatch* is a game that caught most of us by surprise.
With a release calendar filled with heavy AAA hitters and indie darlings, AdHoc’s debut almost slipped under our radar. It took Donovan Erskine jumping into Slack one day and asking if anybody else on staff had played it for the rest of us to start to take notice. Well, it took him a few tries. By the third time he asked, I finally said, “You know what? Enough people are talking about it, why not? Let’s give it a shot.”
There were many reasons why I’m glad I did, chief among them being that catching up with *Dispatch* hardly took any time at all. That’s a big difference from many of its companions and, honestly, should be the model for these types of stories going forward.
I went into *Dispatch* fairly cold, having only seen some promotional images. I was almost instantly dazzled by its polished animation style, one that looks like it would be at home on YouTube or the average streaming service. It looked like standard Telltale fare, but set in a world of superheroes.
After a lengthy cold open sequence, the story’s focus turned to Robert Robertson living his post-superhero life and eventually being recruited to act as a dispatcher to reformed supervillains. The introduction, the press conference scene, the subsequent bar scene, the meeting with Blonde Blazer, and its aftermath are all sequences I expected would take a lot of time to get through. Instead, when the credits started rolling on the first episode, I looked at my phone and saw that only an hour had passed.
I felt like I had gotten a full story experience, some satisfying gameplay sequences, and enough of a tease for what’s next — all in a matter of minutes.
Part of that efficiency can be attributed to AdHoc cutting one of the most time-consuming aspects of these games: the exploration. There’s no time spent walking around exploring Robert’s apartment, the dispatch headquarters, the bar, crime scenes, or anything else.
In the past, I was one of those people who would explore these areas thoroughly—checking every corner, talking to every NPC, interacting with every object. That could easily take 10 or 20 minutes. Even when Telltale was at the top of its game with classics like *The Walking Dead*, *The Wolf Among Us*, and *Tales from the Borderlands*, these exploration sections often ground the story to a halt. It was where these games dragged, sometimes for tens of minutes before the story would continue.
*Dispatch* doesn’t do that. There are no exploration sections at all, so the story keeps flowing seamlessly.
Instead, *Dispatch*’s gameplay revolves around the titular dispatch system—sending out individual heroes or teams from the available roster to citizens in need. It’s a system that flows elegantly and incorporates both story elements and additional gameplay ideas, such as hacking mini-games. These sections last just long enough to set the table for the next part of the story and no longer.
There are fair questions about how much the dispatch success rate really matters, but that’s a conversation for the full review.
Cutting out tedious exploration and refining the gameplay elements of a Telltale-style game is a major positive for *Dispatch*. It allows AdHoc to tell its story in a more streamlined way, trimming the overall runtime without compromising any narrative satisfaction.
There are still big choices to be made, there are still gameplay sections, and there are still those watercooler moments that made the best Telltale games such classics. Now, they’re executed in such a way that two episodes can be played in a single night.
It’s a big change from later Telltale games or modern Telltale-style games. I’m someone who loves and swears by the *Life is Strange* series, but there’s something about it shifting to full $50 self-contained stories that makes their newer efforts feel a little bloated.
All apologies to Max Caulfield, but that runtime doesn’t have me rushing back to catch up—not when there are so many other games to play. Add *Dispatch*’s weekly release schedule to the mix, and it’s fair to say that AdHoc is acutely aware of the current gaming climate.
There are so many games out there—many excellent ones like *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, *Hades 2*, *Hollow Knight: Silksong*—that demand dozens upon dozens of hours. There are only so many hours in the day, so it feels like a major plus that a game like *Dispatch* can tell its story in a satisfying way and get everyone on their way in just a few hours.
It knows what it wants to be, gets in, gets out, and ideally makes everyone happy. So far, everything is great.
The final episodes are set to release next week, and I’ve carved out the exact time to play them. Even if they don’t necessarily live up to my expectations, I can appreciate that *Dispatch* respects my busy life—and I hope other games like it will follow suit in the future.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146700/dispatch-episodic-format-time-short-sessions
How to check EVs and IVs in Pokemon Legends Z-A
EVs and IVs in Pokémon Legends Z-A: How to Check Them In-Game
EVs and IVs in Pokémon Legends Z-A stand for Effort Values and Individual Values. These are important stats that dynamically affect your Pokémon’s overall performance. While EVs are relatively easier to check and increase, IVs present more of a challenge because they are innate values assigned to your Pokémon upon capture or hatching.
What Are EVs and IVs?
Effort Values (EVs) are points gained through activities such as battling other Pokémon and using certain items. They help boost specific stats as your Pokémon levels up. EVs are flexible and can be increased as you progress through the game.
Individual Values (IVs) are hidden stats unique to each Pokémon. They influence the potential maximum stats at level cap and cannot be changed by normal gameplay means. Because IVs are assigned at the time of catching or hatching the Pokémon, improving them requires special methods.
How to Check EVs in Pokémon Legends Z-A
Checking EVs in the game is straightforward:
- Open the in-game Menu.
- Select the Pokémon whose EVs you want to inspect.
- Go to the Pokémon’s tab and choose Check Summary.
- Press the L button on your Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 to reveal detailed stats, including EVs.
Since EVs accumulate as your Pokémon battles opponents or uses specific items like vitamins, monitoring them this way helps you plan how to improve your Pokémon effectively.
How to Check IVs in Pokémon Legends Z-A
Unlike EVs, IVs are more difficult to access and improve. To check IVs, you need to unlock the Judge function, which only becomes available after completing the main story campaign of Pokémon Legends Z-A.
Once unlocked, the Judge function allows you to view your Pokémon’s IVs and assess their strengths. Additionally, you can use the Hypertrain feature to boost IVs where needed, but this process is time-consuming and cannot be skipped.
Because checking and increasing IVs requires finishing the main storyline, it’s recommended to focus on progressing through the game to unlock these features.
Tips for Increasing EVs and IVs
Both EVs and IVs remain key components in shaping your Pokémon’s battle capabilities. To efficiently improve these stats:
- Battle frequently to earn EV points.
- Use EV-boosting items such as vitamins to speed up EV gains.
- Complete the main story to unlock the Judge function for IV evaluation.
- Utilize Hypertrain to enhance IVs after unlocking the feature.
By combining these strategies, you can maximize your Pokémon’s potential as you advance in Pokémon Legends Z-A.
Explore More Pokémon Legends Z-A Guides
For additional tips and insights, check out more articles from Sportskeeda:
- Legends Z-A file size explored
- How to sneak in Legends Z-A
- Can you trade Pokémon holding Mega Stones in Legends Z-A?
https://www.sportskeeda.com/pokemon/how-check-evs-ivs-pokemon-legends-z-a