What we’re about
We are a group of Power BI and Modern Excel enthusiasts. This group is dedicated to running monthly meetings to share techniques and inspire incredible data analytics and dashboards using Power BI and the Modern Excel tools (Power Pivot and Power Query).
View recordings of past meet-ups on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIRJFbuwYskLKHIWt9OBV
Interested in Presenting?
Do you have a topic you’d like to share with the group? We are always looking for people to speak at upcoming meet-ups, and love to hear about the projects you are working on! If you are interested, fill out our online form: https://xlguru.ca/speakatvanpug
Upcoming events (3)
See all- The Secrets Behind the Graph: Mastering Any Chart in Excel | Laura SzepesiLink visible for attendees
SESSION TRACK:
ExcelSESSION OUTLINE:
Have you ever stumbled across a chart (in Power BI, online or even in your daily life) and thought, "I wish I could do that in Excel," but it seems way beyond the basics? In this workshop with Laura Szepesi, we'll discover a few clever techniques that you can easily combine to create stunning visualizations - all without leaving Excel. You won’t just learn how to create these charts, you’ll also understand the behind-the-scenes tricks and logic that make them work.Whether you're starting with simple tricks like outlining minimum/maximum values or you're already building dynamic, interactive charts for dashboards, this session will teach you new, practical tricks. You’ll walk away with the flexibility and confidence to tackle any data visualization challenge and bring your Excel charts to the next level.
SPEAKER PROFILE:
Laura Szepesi is the founder of MindfulExcel, a consultancy and teaching company focused on Excel automation and visualization. She began her career as a data analyst, where she quickly fell in love with Excel after discovering how to automate hours of repetitive work. Now, she brings a curious mind and a love for modern techniques into everything she builds.At MindfulExcel, Laura teaches how to fully understand Excel, focusing on best practices for efficient and impactful work. She designs interactive, tailored courses that make learning Excel not only effective but actually fun - think games, themed challenges, and real-world data that keeps things practical and engaging.
As a consultant, she helps businesses save hours of manual work every week by building tools that are not only efficient but also user-friendly and dynamic. Her dashboards are designed to be clear, fast, and stunning - the kind that make you forget you're even in Excel.
Connect with and follow Lauran online at:
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/laura-szepesi
- Website: mindfulexcel.com
TENTATIVE AGENDA (subject to change, all times listed are in Pacific Time):
- 9:45am Teams Meeting opens to attendees to begin joining
- 10:00am-10:05am Welcome and Meeting Overview
- 10:05am-11:05am Feature Presentation
- 11:05am-11:10am Meeting Wrap-up
REGISTRATION:
This meet-up will be hosted on Microsoft Teams, and will be recorded to share with others who were not able to attend live. You must RSVP for the event in order to access the Teams Meeting link.JOINING THE EVENT:
Attendees can join the Teams Meeting starting at 9:45am on the day of the event. The link will be visible only if you RSVP beforehand.Once the event gets underway at 10:00am, we ask that attendees make sure they are on MUTE, so background noise and distractions are minimized.
During the presentation, attendees can type questions and comments into the chat area, which will be monitored by the event hosts. There will be time for Q&A at the end, where attendees can un-mute their mic and even share their video to ask questions.
**NOTE: As mentioned above, this event will be recorded and shared online, so attendee information may be visible in the recording.
- Exploring Color Theory | Helen WallLink visible for attendees
SESSION TRACK:
Power BISESSION OUTLINE:
We often make color choices more arbitrarily than we realize. Microsoft MVP Helen Wall did this herself for a long time, too. However, once she learned about color theory, she started making color choices that reflected color theory and principles. This included calculating components of color theory like luminance and contrast ratios to justify color choices within a model. In this session, Helen will share what she has learned about color theory and how to apply it to our Power BI models.SPEAKER PROFILE:
Helen Wall is a Microsoft MVP, instructor, lecturer, and consultant focusing on data modeling, AI, and visuals. She is an aficionado of Power BI, AWS, Tableau, and Excel (including Power Query), and is currently diving deep into the world of Python, R, and AI (including machine learning). Helen is a designer and developer of business intelligence dashboards and visualizations supporting many business functions and industries.Connect with Helen online at:
- Website: https://helendatadesign.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenrmwall
TENTATIVE AGENDA (subject to change, all times listed are in Pacific Time):
- 8:45am Teams Meeting opens to attendees to begin joining
- 9:00am-9:05am Welcome and meeting overview
- 9:05am-9:20am What's New in Power BI (tentative)
- 9:20am-10:20am Feature Presentation
- 10:20am-10:25am Meeting Wrap-up
REGESTRATION
This meet-up will be hosted on Microsoft Teams, and will be recorded to share with others who were not able to attend live. You must RSVP for the event in order to access the Teams Meeting link.JOINING THE EVENT:
Attendees can join the Teams Meeting starting at 8:45am on the day of the event. The link will be visible only if you RSVP beforehand.Once the event gets underway at 9:00am, we ask that attendees make sure they are on MUTE, so background noise and distractions are minimized.
During the presentation, attendees can type questions and comments into the chat area, which will be monitored by the event hosts. There will be time for Q&A at the end, where attendees can un-mute their mic and even share their video to ask questions.
**NOTE: As mentioned above, this event will be recorded and shared online, so attendee information may be visible in the recording.
A link to the recording will be posted here on the event page and on the Excelguru social media channels once it is available (usually a day or 2 after the event).
- Excel Quick Tips - Not a Formula in Sight! | Lee BeckerLink visible for attendees
SESSION TRACK:
ExcelSESSION OUTLINE:
Grow you essential Excel skills with Lee Becker! This session is intended to help the average Excel business user by focusing on practical tricks and tips that that Lee has collected over the years and personally found useful. (She has chosen to leave out formulas in this session to make it accessible to the widest range of users.) These tips are simple ways to increase productivity, even for people who have been using Excel for a long time.SPEAKER PROFILE:
Lee Becker loves working with data, using Excel and solving a puzzle. She hates waste and loves efficiency. A lot of what she has learned has stemmed from helping friends and colleagues with their problems, and coming up with practical, user friendly solutions.Connect with and follow Lee online at:
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lee-becker-lovedata
TENTATIVE AGENDA (subject to change, all times listed are in Pacific Time):
- 12:45pm Teams Meeting opens to attendees to begin joining
- 1:00pm-1:05pm Welcome and Meeting Overview
- 1:05pm-1:45pm Feature Presentation
- 1:45pm-1:55pm Questions, Discussion, and Meeting Wrap-up
REGISTRATION:
This meet-up will be hosted on Microsoft Teams, and will be recorded to share with others who were not able to attend live. You must RSVP for the event in order to access the Teams Meeting link.JOINING THE EVENT:
Attendees can join the Teams Meeting starting at 12:45pm on the day of the event. The link will be visible only if you RSVP beforehand.Once the event gets underway at 1:00pm, we ask that attendees make sure they are on MUTE, so background noise and distractions are minimized.
During the presentation, attendees can type questions and comments into the chat area, which will be monitored by the event hosts. There will be time for Q&A at the end, where attendees can un-mute their mic and even share their video to ask questions.
**NOTE: As mentioned above, this event will be recorded and shared online, so attendee information may be visible in the recording.
