Video overview: what Aldo James demonstrated
Aldo James published a concise tutorial in 2025 that walks viewers through practical ways to highlight and remove duplicate data in Microsoft Excel. The video focuses on basic built-in tools while also showing a few more advanced tricks for tricky datasets. As a result, the piece is useful for both casual users who want quick fixes and power users who need more precise control. Overall, the presentation aims to keep the steps simple and easy to follow.
The video begins with the most accessible method and then progresses to show how to handle duplicates across tables and lists. James uses clear screen demonstrations to show clicks and menu paths, which helps viewers reproduce the steps in their own workbooks. Consequently, the tutorial is practical for readers who prefer visual learning. It also highlights common pitfalls so users can avoid damaging data unintentionally.
How to visually spot duplicates with Conditional Formatting
First, the video explains how to use Conditional Formatting to flag repeated values quickly. James guides users to the Home tab and the Highlight Cells Rules, showing how to pick Duplicate Values and select a color so duplicates stand out at a glance. This approach requires no formulas and works well when you want a quick visual check before taking further action.
However, the video also notes limits of visual highlighting, such as false matches from extra spaces or mismatched capitalization. Therefore, it recommends a quick cleanup step using functions like TRIM and PROPER to normalize text before highlighting. By following that advice, users reduce false positives and make the highlight step more reliable for imperfect data. The demo makes it clear that preparation improves accuracy.
Removing duplicates: built-in remove tool and practical options
Next, James turns to the Remove Duplicates tool under the Data tab and demonstrates how it retains the first instance by default. He shows how to select specific columns to check for duplicates, which is important when only part of a record matters. This one-click method is fast and works well for straightforward deduplication tasks where exact matches should be removed.
Yet, the video also covers scenarios where keeping the first instance is not enough and where all instances of a duplicated value should be removed. For those cases, James suggests a combined workflow: highlight duplicates, sort by cell color, and then delete highlighted rows if the goal is to leave only unique values. This process requires more manual steps but it gives users more control over what stays and what goes.
In addition, James warns about the importance of backups and checking results before committing deletions. He reminds viewers that automated removal can harm data integrity if applied to the wrong columns or ranges. Consequently, he recommends saving a copy of the workbook and validating a subset of the data after the operation. These precautions reduce the risk of accidental loss.
Advanced scenarios: multiple columns, sheets and formulas
For complex datasets, the video introduces formula-based highlighting so users can find duplicates across columns or even across sheets. James demonstrates formulas such as SUMPRODUCT and SEARCH to compare ranges and flag matches that standard tools miss. This method is more flexible and allows partial matches or pattern-based checks that built-in tools cannot perform directly.
Furthermore, James shows how to handle unusual formats, like JSON stored inside cells or mixed data types, by adapting formulas and cleaning steps. He also mentions using Power Query as an alternative that scales better for large tables and provides repeatable, documented transformations. These advanced options require more learning but they can save time on recurring tasks and reduce manual errors in the long run.
Tradeoffs, challenges and best practices
The video balances speed against precision and explains the tradeoffs between easy tools and more customized approaches. While Conditional Formatting and Remove Duplicates are fast, they depend on clean, consistent data and can produce mistakes if inputs are messy. Conversely, formula-driven methods and Power Query give accuracy and flexibility but demand more time and technical skill to set up correctly.
James also discusses performance and usability concerns when working with very large workbooks, noting that formula-heavy approaches can slow Excel and that Power Query often handles big sets better. He stresses testing on a copy and documenting steps so colleagues can reproduce the process. Ultimately, the best practice combines light preprocessing, visual checks, and a conservative removal strategy to keep data both accurate and auditable.
In conclusion, the video by Aldo James provides a clear, practical roadmap for identifying and removing duplicates in Excel 2025. It presents safe workflows for routine cleaning while pointing out advanced paths for tougher cases, and it encourages caution and backups. For users who handle lists, tables, or cross-sheet comparisons, the tutorial offers useful techniques and sensible warnings to help maintain data quality.
