Microsoft Excel^®:
A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction

Introduction to Microsoft Excel

The spreadsheet model

• Worksheets and their contents
• Differentiating workbooks and worksheets

Navigating the interface

• General navigation
• Office Button
• The Ribbon
• Customizing the interface
• Managing large spreadsheets by zooming
• Identifying worksheet tabs by colour
• Changing worksheet views

Basic data editing

• Modifying cell contents and formats
• Inserting data with AutoFill
• Knowing when to use Paste Special
• Finding and replacing data

Acquiring and Conforming Data

Importing data from outside sources

• Integrating data from other Excel sheets
• Utilizing data from servers
• Managing external links
• Finding and removing duplicates

Excel tables and lists

• How Excel tables work
• Converting text to columns
• Sorting and grouping table data
• Adding data in a table or list

Worksheet Formatting and Presentation

Initial formatting

• Configuring cell numeric formats
• Aligning data within cells
• Efficient presentation using the Format Painter
• Fitting cells to data size
• Naming cells and cell ranges

Worksheet presentation

• Freezing worksheet areas
• Hiding content in worksheets
• Editing, modifying and saving templates

Innovative formatting

• Styling cells and sheets with prebuilt styles
• Conditionally formatting cells and data
• Rotating and wrapping text

Leveraging Formulas and Functions

Formula basics

• Determining the order of operations
• Specifying relative and absolute cell references
• Automatic sums with AutoSum
• Conditionally summarizing data
• Introducing conditional logic in formulas
• Nesting expressions in formulas

Extending formulas and functions

• Putting strings together with concatenation
• Finding data with a formula: VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP
• Copying and pasting formulas and/or values
• Handling formulas with dates

Auditing worksheet formulas

• Deciphering tagged cells with errors
• Identifying formula error indicators
• Tracing spreadsheet formula errors

Creating a Visual Presentation of Data

Charting your data

• Determining when charts are required
• Creating and modifying charts with wizards
• Adjusting chart layouts, title and labels
• Switching chart type or data source

Printing workbooks

• Setting options on the Page Layout tab
• Viewing and adjusting page breaks
• Developing appropriate headers and footers

Introducing Advanced Excel Features

PivotTable basics

• Creating a PivotTable with wizards
• Pivoting existing PivotTable data

Final workbook touches

• Reviewing and adding comments on worksheets
• Protecting and sharing worksheets
• Tracking shared worksheet changes

Creating and managing macros

• Macro basics
• When to use a macro
• Recording effective macros
• Launching macros from buttons