excel

This section is for users with no knowledge of Excel.

Microsoft Excel is one of the most used software applications of all time. Hundreds of millions of people around the world use Microsoft Excel. You can use Excel to enter all sorts of data and perform financial, mathematical or statistical calculations.

1 Range: A range in Excel is a collection of two or more cells. This chapter gives an overview of some very important range operations.

2 Formulas and Functions: A formula is an expression which calculates the value of a cell. Functions are predefined formulas and are already available in Excel.

This section explains the basics of Excel. It is good to know the basic terminology explained in this section before you start using Excel.

1 Ribbon: Excel selects the ribbon's Home tab when you open it. Learn how to minimize and customize the ribbon. Also, find out how to add a command to the Quick Access Toolbar.

2 Workbook: A workbook is another word for your Excel file. Excel automatically creates a blank workbook when you open it. Share workbooks and import / export files.

3 Worksheets: A worksheet is a collection of cells where you keep and manipulate the data. By default, each Excel workbook contains three worksheets.

4 Format Numbers: When we format numbers in Excel, we change the appearance of the number without changing the number itself.

5 Find and Replace: You can use Excel's find feature to quickly find specific text. You can use Excel's replace feature to quickly find specific text and replace it with other text.

6 Templates: Instead of creating an Excel workbook from scratch, you can create a workbook from a template. There are many free templates available, waiting to be used.

7 Data Validation: You can use data validation in Excel to make sure that users enter certain values into a cell. Drop-down lists in Excel are helpful if you want to be sure that users select an item from a list, instead of typing their own values.

8 Keyboard Shortcuts: Keyboard shortcuts allow you to do things with your keyboard instead of your mouse to increase your speed.

9 Printing: This chapter teaches you how to print a worksheet or selection and how to change some important print settings in Excel.

Discover how functions in Excel help you save time. If you are new to functions in Excel, we recommend you to read our introduction to Formulas and Functions first.

1 Count and Sum: The most used functions in Excel are the functions that count and sum. You can count and sum based on one criteria or multiple criteria.

2 Logical: Learn how to use Excel's logical functions such as the IF, AND and OR function. The IF function can be nested, when you have multiple conditions to meet.

3 Cell References: Cell references in Excel are very important. Understand the difference between relative, absolute and mixed reference, and you are on your way to success.

4 Date & Time: To enter a date in Excel, use the "/" or "-" characters. To enter a time, use the ":" (colon). Once you understand how they work, date & time functions are easy.

5 Text: Excel has many functions to offer when it comes to manipulating text strings.

6 Lookup & Reference: Learn all about Excel's lookup & reference functions such as the VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, MATCH, INDEX and CHOOSE function.

7 Financial: This chapter illustrates Excel's most popular financial functions. Learn more about loans, investments, annuities, compound interest and loan amortization schedules.

8 Statistical: An overview of some very useful statistical functions. Also, find out how to round numbers and create random numbers in Excel.

9 Formula Errors: This chapter teaches you how to deal with some common formula errors in Excel. Take the next step and audit your formulas to reduce errors.

This section illustrates the powerful features Excel has to offer to analyze data.

1 Sort: You can sort your Excel data on one column or multiple columns. You can sort in ascending or descending order.

2 Filter: Filter your Excel data if you only want to display records that meet certain criteria.

3 Conditonal Formatting: Conditional formatting in Excel enables you to highlight cells with a certain color, depending on the cell's value.

4 Charts: A simple Excel chart can say more than a sheet full of numbers. As you'll see, creating charts is very easy.

5 Pivot Tables: Pivot tables are the most powerful feature in Excel. A pivot table will allow you to extract the significance from a large, detailed data set.

6 Tables: Tables (or lists in Excel 2003) allow you to analyze your data quickly and easily.

7 What-If Analysis: What-If Analysis in Excel allows you to try out different values (scenarios) for formulas. The following example helps you master what-if analysis quickly and easily.

8 Solver: Excel includes a tool called solver that uses techniques from the operations research to find optimal solutions for all kind of decision problems.

9 Analysis ToolPak: The Analysis ToolPak is an Excel add-in program that provides data analysis tools for financial, statistical and engineering data analysis.

Are you looking for easy to follow Excel examples? Are you looking for clear explanations that help you master many more Excel features quickly and easily? Check out our 120 Examples. You can find related examples and features on the right side of each page.

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