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How to clear the sample data
Every template comes with sample data for a pretend business, family or couple, so you can see the dashboards and statuses working before you add your own numbers. Clearing it takes a few minutes.
First, the colors
All AnalystBuilt templates use the same rule: cream cells are for your input; gray cells are formulas that calculate by themselves. Table headers are dark blue.
| Date | Category | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3 | Fuel | 48.20 | OK |
| Mar 9 | Service | 89.99 | Due soon |
Open the Start Here tab
Find the Sample data section (in some templates: About the sample data). It lists exactly which cream cells or columns to clear on each tab.
Select the cream cells it lists
On each tab, click the first cell, then Shift-click the last one to select the whole block.
Press Delete
That clears the values and keeps the formatting and drop-downs. In Excel on Windows, use Delete rather than Backspace, which clears only one cell.
Check the sample settings
Some templates use a fixed sample date on Start Here (for example a status date) or a month picker on the Dashboard. Clear the date, or pick "Current month", so the file follows today's date. Start Here says when this applies.
Keep your settings and lists
Settings, categories and other lists can stay: rename them rather than deleting rows.
Type your own data
Start entering your own numbers in the cream cells. Everything gray updates by itself.
Made a mistake?
Undo with Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac). Google Sheets also keeps every earlier version under File → Version history. And you can always start over: make a fresh copy from START-HERE.pdf, or unzip the Excel file again.
Tip: want to keep the example as a reference? Make a second copy before you clear the first one.