For an Acrobat format PDF of the course outline, click here.

Recorded Macros

1. Understanding Excel Macros
2. Setting Macro Security
3. Saving A Document As Macro Enabled
4. Recording A Simple Macro
5. Running A Recorded Macro
6. Relative Cell References
7. Running A Macro With Relative References
8. Viewing A Macro
9. Editing A Macro
10. Assigning A Macro To The Toolbar
11. Running A Macro From The Toolbar
12. Assigning A Macro To The Ribbon
13. Assigning A Keyboard Shortcut To A Macro
14. Deleting A Macro
15. Copying A Macro

Recorder Workshop

1. Preparing Data For An Application
2. Recording A Summation Macro
3. Recording Consolidations
4. Recording Divisional Macros
5. Testing Macros
6. Creating Objects To Run Macros
7. Assigning A Macro To An Object

Understanding Excel VBA

1. Programming In Microsoft Excel
2. VBA Terminology
3. Understanding Objects
4. Viewing The Excel 2010 Object Model
5. Using The Immediate Window
6. Working With Object Collections
7. Setting Property Values
8. Working With Worksheets
9. Using The Object Browser
10. Programming With The Object Browser
11. The Best VBA Help Available

The VBA Editor

1. The VBA Editor Screen
2. Opening And Closing The Editor
3. Using The Project Explorer
4. Working With The Properties Window
5. Using The Work Area
6. Viewing Other Panes
7. Working With Toolbars
8. Working With A Code Module
9. Running Code From The Editor
10. Setting Breakpoints In Code
11. Stepping Through Code

Procedures

1. Understanding Procedures
2. Where Procedures Live
3. Creating A New Sub Routine
4. Making Sense Of IntelliSense
5. Using The Edit Toolbar
6. Commenting Statements
7. Indenting Code
8. Bookmarking In Procedures

Using Variables

1. Understanding Variables
2. Creating And Using Variables
3. Explicit Declarations
4. The Scope Of Variables
5. Procedure Level Scoping
6. Module Level Scoping
7. Passing Variables
8. Passing Variables By Reference
9. Passing Variables By Value
10. Data Types For Variables
11. Declaring Data Types
12. Using Arrays

Functions In VBA

1. Understanding Functions
2. Creating VBA Functions
3. Using A VBA Function In A Worksheet
4. Setting Function Data Types
5. Using Multiple Arguments
6. Modifying A VBA Function
7. Creating A Function Library
8. Referencing A Function Library
9. Importing A VBA Module
10. Using A Function In VBA Code

Using Excel Objects

1. The Application Object
2. The Workbook Objects
3. Program Testing With The Editor
4. Using Workbook Objects
5. The Worksheets Object
6. Using The Worksheets Object
7. The Range Object
8. Using Range Objects
9. Using Objects In A Procedure

Programming Techniques

1. The MsgBox Function
2. Using MsgBox
3. InputBox Techniques
4. Using The InputBox Function
5. Using The InputBox Method
6. The IF Statement
7. Using IF For Single Conditions
8. Using IF For Multiple Conditions
9. The Select Case Statement
10. Using The Select Case Statement
11. For Loops
12. Looping With Specified Iterations
13. The Do…Loop Statement
14. Looping With Unknown Iterations

Creating Custom Forms

1. Understanding VBA Forms
2. Creating A Custom Form
3. Adding Text Boxes To A Form
4. Changing Text Box Control Properties
5. Adding Label Controls To A Form
6. Adding A Combo Box Control
7. Adding Option Buttons
8. Adding Command Buttons
9. Running A Custom Form

Programming UserForms

1. Handling Form Events
2. Initialising A Form
3. Closing A Form
4. Transferring Data From A Form
5. Running Form Procedures
6. Creating Error Checking Procedures
7. Running A Form From A Procedure
8. Running A Form From The Toolbar

Automatic Startup

1. Programming Automatic Procedures
2. Running Automatic Procedures
3. Automatically Starting A Workbook

Error Handling

1. Understanding Error Types
2. The On Error Statement
3. Simple Error Trapping
4. Using The Resume Statement
5. Using Decision Structures In Error Handlers
6. Working With Err Object
7. Error Handling In Forms
8. Coding Error Handling In Forms
9. Defining Custom Errors

For an Acrobat format PDF of the course outline, click here.

Lookup Functions

One of the most popular productivity tools within Excel, the Lookup series (including Choose, Vlookup and Index) will help you reach into a table or database, extract information and report on the extracted data to other cells in your spreadsheet. Along with Logical functions, these are the tools most used in higher level worksheets, yet are easy to build and modify.

1. Understanding Data Lookup Functions
2. Using CHOOSE
3. Using VLOOKUP
4. Using VLOOKUP For Exact Matches
5. Using HLOOKUP
6. Using INDEX
7. Using MATCH
8. Understanding Reference Functions
9. Using ROW And ROWS
10. Using COLUMN And COLUMNS
11. Using ADDRESS
12. Using INDIRECT
13. Using OFFSET

Setting Excel Options

Excel’s numerous options allow you to set the default appearance of your spreadsheets, adjust the default auto-save time, and determine your default file-saving location. We’ll look at how to change these, and the many items they control.

1. Understanding Excel Options
2. Personalising Excel
3. Setting The Default Font
4. Setting Formula Options
5. Understanding Save Options
6. Setting Save Options
7. Setting The Default File Location
8. Setting Advanced Options

Chart Object Formatting

In an earlier chapter you saw that charts were easy to create. Now you’ll see how all the elements in a chart (such as the bar and line type) are all objects, and can be changed individually. This will give you the ability to produce truly illustrative charts, conveying the message you need to send.

1. Understanding Chart Object Formatting
2. Selecting Chart Elements
3. Using Shape Styles To Format Objects
4. Changing Column Colour
5. Changing Pie Slice Colour
6. Changing Bar Colours
7. Changing Chart Line Colours
8. Using Shape Effects
9. Filling The Chart Area And The Plot Area
10. Filling The Background
11. The Format Dialog Box
12. Using The Format Dialog Box
13. Using Themes

Labels And Names

Labeling and Naming cells are powerful ways of making cells absolute in value (for example, as a substitute for $A$1) and for providing a quick and easy method for you to “jump” to particular cells. In addition, by using Labels, you can include descriptive English words as part of your formulas. Having easy to navigate and easy to read spreadsheets will greatly increase your ability to move around large spreadsheets.

1. Understanding Labels And Names
2. Creating Names Using Text Labels
3. Using Names In New Formulas
4. Applying Names To Existing Formulas
5. Creating Names Using The Name Box
6. Using Names To Select Ranges
7. Pasting Names Into Formulas
8. Creating Names For Constants
9. Creating Names From A Selection
10. Scoping Names To The Worksheet
11. Using The Name Manager
12. Documenting Range Names

Protecting Data

Many excel users experience the frustration of accidental deletion of parts of their spreadsheets. This may be caused by other people who have access to your spreadsheets, or you may have inadvertently done it yourself. You’ll see how to protect your worksheets, so that formulas or data can’t be accidentally over written, and how we can also password protect these areas.

1. Understanding Data Protection
2. Providing Total Access To Cells
3. Protecting A Worksheet
4. Working With A Protected Worksheet
5. Disabling Worksheet Protection
6. Providing Restricted Access To Cells
7. Password Protecting A Workbook
8. Opening A Password Protected Workbook
9. Removing A Password From A Workbook

Summarising And Subtotalling

Many Excel users unnecessarily create subtotals of data the long, slow way – manually. You’ll see a tool for creating subtotals automatically, without you having to build the formulas. You’ll also see how they can be just as easily removed.

1. Creating Subtotals
2. Using A Subtotalled Worksheet
3. Creating Nested Subtotals
4. Copying Subtotals
5. Using Subtotals With AutoFilter
6. Creating Relative Names For Subtotals
7. Using Relative Names For Subtotals

Data Linking

Most Excel users confine their calculations to a single spreadsheet. You can add power to your spreadsheets by linking cells across worksheets, and even to cells in different workbooks. In Data Linking, we look at the benefits of this, and how to do it.

1. Understanding Data Linking
2. Linking Between Worksheets
3. Linking Between Workbooks
4. Updating Links Between Workbooks

Data Consolidation

Having learned how to link single cells from one Excel file to another, consolidation takes you one step further by allowing you to link and automatically sum the cells from multiple files into a single cell within a target file. It’s a tool that updates your target file as soon as you open it, allowing you to avoid wasting time performing multiple copy and paste operations.

1. Understanding Data Consolidation
2. Consolidating With Identical Layouts
3. Creating An Outlined Consolidation
4. Consolidating With Different Layouts

PivotTables

One of the most powerful business tools, Pivot Tables lets you automatically sum, rearrange and filter your Excel database, giving you almost unlimited scope to display your data any way you wish. Its “drag-and-drop” tools are easy to use, and this single tool can reduce hours of data manipulation to seconds.

1. Understanding Pivot Tables
2. Creating A PivotTable Shell
3. Dropping Fields Into A PivotTable
4. Filtering A PivotTable Report
5. Clearing A Report Filter
6. Switching PivotTable Labels
7. Formatting A PivotTable Report
8. Understanding Slicers
9. Creating Slicers

PivotTable Techniques

Having covered the basics of Pivot Tables in the earlier section, you’ll now see how you can apply this tool to perform even more powerful data manipulation. Grouping, subtotals and grand totals are all covered, as well as how to “drill down” into your data to extract the data you need.

1. Using Compound Fields
2. Counting In A PivotTable Report
3. Formatting PivotTable Report Values
4. Working With PivotTable Grand Totals
5. Working With PivotTable Subtotals
6. Finding The Percentage Of Total
7. Finding The Difference From
8. Grouping In PivotTable Reports
9. Creating Running Totals
10. Creating Calculated Fields
11. Providing Custom Names
12. Creating Calculated Items
13. PivotTable Options
14. Sorting In A PivotTable

PivotCharts

Excel’s Pivot Table will enable you to create automatic Pivot Charts, which are summarised and grouped instantly according to your data specifications. While they’re similar to standard charts in appearance, you’re able to “drag and drop” data series and instantly rearrange your chart.

1. Creating A PivotChart Shell
2. Dragging Fields For The PivotChart
3. Changing The PivotChart Type
4. Using The PivotChart Filter Field Buttons
5. Moving PivotCharts To Chart Sheets

Goal Seeking

One annoying problem you may encounter while using Excel is where you know the answer you want within a single formula cell, but you don’t know the input value the formula needs to determine the result. Goal Seek solves this problem. You tell it what answer you want and Goal Seek will tell you how to get that result.

1. Understanding Goal Seek Components
2. Using Goal Seek

Grouping And Outlining

One of the most underused tools within Excel, Grouping and Outlining will allow you to instantly combine multiple columns or rows into single columns and rows. It has 2 advantages: it creates automatic subtotals, and it hides unnecessary data.

1. Understanding Grouping And Outlining
2. Creating An Automatic Outline
3. Working With An Outline
4. Creating A Manual Group
5. Grouping By Columns

Solver

The Solver is a high-level “what-if” analysis tool. With a standard formula, you put in the variables to a formula, and Excel will calculate the answer. With the Solver, you tell Excel what you want the answer to be, and it will modify the contributing variables, according to your constraint instructions. This is an extremely powerful tool.

1. Understanding How Solver Works
2. Installing The Solver Add-In
3. Setting Solver Parameters
4. Adding Solver Constraints
5. Performing The Solver Operation
6. Running Solver Reports

Recorded Macros

Performing repetitive tasks is both time consuming and prone to error. Macros will solve this problem for you by allowing you to “record” a series of steps, and then play them back at the click of a button, or the press of a key. allowing you to perform lengthy tasks instantly. In this section we also look into Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), a powerful programming language into which our macros are converted.

1. Understanding Excel Macros
2. Setting Macro Security
3. Saving A Document As Macro Enabled
4. Recording A Simple Macro
5. Running A Recorded Macro
6. Relative Cell References
7. Running A Macro With Relative References
8. Viewing A Macro
9. Editing A Macro
10. Assigning A Macro To The Toolbar
11. Running A Macro From The Toolbar
12. Assigning A Macro To The Ribbon
13. Assigning A Keyboard Shortcut To A Macro
14. Deleting A Macro
15. Copying A Macro

Recorder Workshop

In this section you’ll build further macro examples, including creating buttons on your spreadsheet that, when pressed, will run your macros.

1. Preparing Data For An Application
2. Recording A Summation Macro
3. Recording Consolidations
4. Recording Divisional Macros
5. Testing Macros
6. Creating Objects To Run Macros
7. Assigning A Macro To An Object

For an Acrobat format PDF of the course outline, click here.

Filling Data

Excel contains many shortcuts to save you time, removing the need for you to enter large amounts of tedious (and unnecessary) data. This section demonstrates how you can use the “Fill” handle on any cell to create a series automatically. You can save time by entering a date and, using Auto Fill, Excel will continue the series, giving you ongoing days, months, numeric series, and many more.

1. Understanding Filling
2. Filling A Series
3. Filling A Growth Series
4. Filling A Series Backwards
5. Filling Using Options
6. Creating A Custom Fill List
7. Modifying A Custom Fill List
8. Deleting A Custom Fill List

Moving Data

Re-entering data wastes a lot of time. Excel allows you to move data to any location within your spreadsheet, and will also let you send this data to another workbook file.

1. Understanding Moving In Excel
2. Moving Cells And Ranges
3. Moving Data To Other Worksheets
4. Moving Data To Other Workbooks

Formula Techniques

Not only can you put formulas into cells, but we can also embed formulas within formulas, which we refer to as nesting. This has 2 advantages – it gives your calculations extra power, and it allows you to do in 1 cell what you might otherwise need 4 or 5 cells to achieve.

1. Scoping A Formula
2. Developing A Nested Function
3. Creating Nested Functions
4. Editing Nested Functions
5. Copying Nested Functions
6. Using Concatenation
7. Switching To Manual Recalculation
8. Forcing A Recalculation
9. Pasting Values From Formulas

Logical Functions

Logical Functions such as (If, And, Or and Not) are the entrance to higher-level Excel use and will enable you to unlock the enormous potential of your spreadsheets.. These functions introduce decision-making to your formulas, where Excel can calculate answers based on “true” and “false” comparisons.

1. Understanding Logical Functions
2. Using IF To Display Text
3. Using IF To Calculate Values
4. Nesting IF Functions
5. Using IFERROR
6. Using TRUE And FALSE
7. Using AND
8. Using OR
9. Using NOT

Number Formatting Techniques

Having looked at how you can format your numbers, dates and currencies, you’ll find that occasionally you’d like your numbers and dates to appear in a format that can’t be found on Excels list of standard formats. Fortunately, with custom formats you can create your own.

1. Using Alternate Currencies
2. Formatting Dates
3. Formatting Time
4. Creating Custom Formats

Conditional Formatting

When dealing with long lists of data, if can often be difficult to locate particular records of interest. An example of this might be looking for all clients that have accounts overdue by more than 60 days. With Conditional Formatting you can instantly change these cells to a different colour, making them stand out.

1. Understanding Conditional Formatting
2. Formatting Cells Containing Values
3. Clearing Conditional Formatting
4. More Cell Formatting Options
5. Top Ten Items
6. More Top And Bottom Formatting Options
7. Working With Data Bars
8. Working With Colour Scales
9. Working With Icon Sets
10. Understanding Sparklines
11. Creating Sparklines
12. Editing Sparklines

Applying Borders

Another great formatting tool, you have the ability to create multicolour borders around groups of cells. It makes them attractive, easy to read, and helps them stand out among a worksheet crowded with data.

1. Understanding Borders
2. Applying A Border To A Cell
3. Applying A Border To A Range
4. Applying A Bottom Border
5. Applying Top And Bottom Borders
6. Removing Borders
7. The More Borders Options
8. Using The More Borders Option

Working With A Worksheet

In this group of tools you’ll see how to show and hide the gridlines that surround each cell, as well as how to quickly delete cells, rows and columns and examine the impact on formulas when you do this.

1. Understanding Worksheets
2. Changing Worksheet Views
3. Worksheet Zooming
4. Viewing The Formula Bar
5. Viewing The Gridlines
6. Viewing The Ruler
7. Inserting Cells
8. Deleting Cells
9. Inserting Columns
10. Inserting Rows
11. Deleting Rows And Columns
12. Switching Between Worksheets

Worksheet Techniques

In earlier chapters you saw how to save time by moving data and formulas around a worksheet using copy and paste. You’ll see now how to do the same with whole worksheets. You can copy worksheets (and all their contents) within a workbook, or to another completely separate workbook file.

1. Inserting And Deleting Worksheets
2. Copying A Worksheet
3. Renaming A Worksheet
4. Moving A Worksheet
5. Hiding A Worksheet
6. Unhiding A Worksheet
7. Copying A Worksheet To Another Workbook
8. Moving A Worksheet To Another Workbook
9. Changing Worksheet Tab Colours
10. Grouping Worksheets
11. Hiding Rows And Columns
12. Unhiding Rows And Columns
13. Freezing Rows And Columns
14. Splitting Windows

Finding And Replacing

Looking through a large spreadsheet in order to locate and change specific words or formulas can be time consuming and frustrating. Using Find and Replace you’ll radically cut down the time spent doing this. It’s an excellent tool to use, especially when you copy worksheets, then find you need to make changes to the new worksheets.

1. Understanding Find And Replace Operations
2. Finding Text
3. Finding Cell References In Formulas
4. Replacing Values
5. Using Replace To Change Formulas
6. Replacing Within A Range
7. Finding Formats
8. Finding Constants Using Go To Special
9. Finding Formulas Using Go To Special
10. Finding The Current Region
11. Finding The Last Cell

Page Setup

A commonly voiced frustration of Excel users is, having built a spreadsheet, how do we get it to appear correctly when printed? You’ll see the huge range of options available to you, such as repeating headers on every page, scaling to fit, manipulating margins, and many more.

1. Understanding Page Layout
2. Using Built-In Margins
3. Setting Custom Margins
4. Changing Margins By Dragging
5. Centring On A Page
6. Changing Orientation
7. Specifying The Paper Size
8. Setting The Print Area
9. Clearing The Print Area
10. Inserting Page Breaks
11. Using Page Break Preview
12. Removing Page Breaks
13. Setting A Background
14. Clearing The Background
15. Settings Rows As Repeating Print Titles
16. Clearing Print Titles
17. Printing Gridlines
18. Printing Headings
19. Scaling To A Percentage
20. Fit To A Specific Number Of Pages
21. Strategies For Printing Larger Worksheets

Sorting Data

Sorting data within a database is easy with Excel’s Sorting feature. You can sort by up to three columns, giving you easy access to your data in exactly the right order.

1. Understanding Lists
2. Performing An Alphabetical Sort
3. Performing A Numerical Sort
4. Sorting On More Than One Column
5. Sorting Numbered Lists
6. Sorting By Rows

Filtering Data

An Excel 2010 database can contain over 1 million records, and sorting this amount of data can be time consuming. Excel’s AutoFilter will help you manipulate massive amounts of data records so you can quickly extract the information you need. This includes both keyword and data-range functionality.

1. Understanding Filtering
2. Applying And Using A Filter
3. Clearing A Filter
4. Creating Compound Filters
5. Multiple Value Filters
6. Creating Custom Filters
7. Using Wildcards

Charting Techniques

In this chapter you’ll learn how to change the many elements in a chart such as the legend, the plot area, gridlines and the insertion of trendlines, so that projections of data can be made.

1. Understanding Chart Layout Elements
2. Adding A Chart Title
3. Adding Axes Titles
4. Positioning The Legend
5. Showing Data Labels
6. Showing A Data Table
7. Modifying The Axes
8. Showing Gridlines
9. Formatting The Plot Area
10. Adding A Trendline
11. Adding Error Bars
12. Adding A Text Box To A Chart
13. Drawing Shapes In A Chart

Chart Text Formatting

This chapter focuses on the text aspect of charts. You can format any text-based object of your chart to enhance its appearance, an especially valuable feature if you wish to include your charts in reports.

1. Understanding Chart Text
2. Formatting
3. Using Font Formatting And Alignment
4. Using WordArt Styles
5. Changing Text Fill
6. Changing Text Outline
7. Changing Text Effects

The topics covered in this course provide the learner with the skills and knowledge necessary to create workbooks in Microsoft Excel. It covers creating a new workbook, adding data, editing data, working with formulas, printing and charting.
For an Acrobat format PDF of the course outline, click here

Getting To Know Excel

The Excel 2010 environment is packed with features to enhance ease of use. We will look at the Excel screen, Ribbon, Start button and other features to familiarise ourselves with its look and feel.

1. Starting Microsoft Excel
2. The Excel 2010 Screen
3. How Microsoft Excel 2010 Works
4. Using The Ribbon
5. Using Ribbon Key Tips
6. Minimising The Ribbon
7. Understanding The Backstage View
8. Accessing The Backstage View
9. Using Short Cut Menus
10. Understanding Dialog Boxes
11. Launching Dialog Boxes
12. Understanding The Quick Access Toolbar
13. Adding Commands To The QAT
14. Understanding The Status Bar
15. Exiting Safely From Excel

Creating A New Workbook

Creating spreadsheets from scratch is the focus of this chapter, and having done so you’ll see how to save your file. Accidentally misplacing your file within your computer’s large hard drive can be a problem, so you’ll see how you can save your file where you want it to go, and even how to find it should you misplace it.

1. Understanding Workbooks
2. Creating A New Workbook
3. Typing Text
4. Typing Numbers
5. Typing Dates
6. Typing Formulas
7. Saving A New Workbook
8. Easy Formulas
9. Checking The Spelling
10. Making Basic Changes
11. Printing A Worksheet
12. Safely Closing A Workbook

Working With Workbooks

A single spreadsheet is huge, with millions of cells into which you can place formulas and data. Navigating your way around this spreadsheet can be easy. We’ll look at all the keyboard shortcuts you need to jump to the important areas of your spreadsheet quickly. These are tools you’ll use continually as your knowledge and use of spreadsheets increases.

1. Opening An Existing Workbook
2. Navigating A Workbook
3. Navigating Using The Keyboard
4. Using Go To
5. Understanding Data Editing
6. Overwriting Cell Contents
7. Editing Longer Cells
8. Clearing Cells

Formulas And Functions

This is the heart of Excel, and you will learn how it differs from other software packages like Microsoft Word and Access. We look at how to build formulas that add, subtract, multiply and divide. We also look at “referential” formulas, meaning that a formula you create can be copied and pasted to another area of your spreadsheet and used again, saving you time.

1. Understanding Formulas
2. Creating Formulas That Add
3. Creating Formulas That Subtract
4. Formulas That Multiply And Divide
5. Understanding Functions
6. Using The SUM Function To Add
7. Summing Non-Contiguous Ranges
8. Calculating An Average
9. Finding A Maximum Value
10. Finding A Minimum Value
11. More Complex Formulas
12. What If Formulas

Formula Referencing

Absolute Referencing (for example $A$1) avoids duplication of commonly-used numbers referred to within your calculations, by “fixing” cell references within formulas so that they point to a specific cell, no matter where a formula is copied. This powerful tool can greatly decrease the complexity of your spreadsheets.

1. Absolute Versus RelativeReferencing
2. Relative Formulas
3. Problems With Relative Formulas
4. Creating Absolute References
5. Creating Mixed References

Selecting Ranges

A key to using Excel is to be able to select ranges of cells quickly and accurately. You’ll need to do this when formatting, creating tables, building formulas correctly and defining chart areas. You will gain confidence in your ability to accurately select data areas.

1. Understanding Cells And Ranges
2. Selecting Contiguous Ranges
3. Selecting Non-Contiguous Ranges
4. Using Special Selection Techniques
5. Selecting Larger Ranges
6. Selecting Rows
7. Selecting Columns

Copying Excel Data

Excel will allow you to copy both text and formulas from one area of your spreadsheet to another. Doing this with text is easy, and having learned how to create calculations in the Formulas chapter, we look at how to do with formulas also by looking for formula patterns, and duplicating these formulas to save time.

1. Understanding Copying In Excel
2. Using Fill For Quick Copying
3. Copying From One Cell To Another
4. Copying From One Cell To A Range
5. Copying From One Range To Another
6. Copying Relative Formulas
7. Copying To A Non-Contiguous Range

Font Formatting

While correct calculations are important, clear formatting will make your spreadsheet easy to read and remove any ambiguity in the data you’re trying to convey. Font formatting lets you control the size and font of your text, as well add extra formatting features such as cell and text colour.

1. Understanding Font Formatting
2. Working With Live Preview
3. Changing Fonts
4. Changing Font Size
5. Growing And Shrinking Fonts
6. Making Cells Bold
7. Italicising Text
8. Underlining Text
9. Changing Font Colours
10. Changing Background Colours
11. Using The Format Painter

Cell Alignment

Like Microsoft Word, you have the ability within Excel to align text left, right and centre. As the height of your cells can change, you can also align text vertically, and wrap text, so it doesn’t appear to flow out of the active cell.

1. Understanding Cell Alignment
2. Aligning Right
3. Aligning To The Centre
4. Aligning Left
5. Rotating Text
6. Indenting Cells

Row And Column Formatting

Controlling the formatting of rows and columns will mean that text and numbers within your cells will always be fully legible. You’ll also see how to get it done quickly.

1. Approximating Column Widths
2. Setting Precise Columns Widths
3. Setting The Default Column Width
4. Approximating Row Height
5. Setting Precise Row Heights
6. Hiding Rows And Columns
7. Unhiding Rows And Columns

Number Formatting

Sometimes, people who read your spreadsheets will require a different numeric format. You will learn how to utilise the huge range of formatting alternatives for numbers, dates and calculation results available in Excel.

1. Understanding Number Formatting
2. Applying General Formatting
3. Formatting As Currency
4. Formatting Percentages
5. Formatting As Fractions
6. Formatting As Dates
7. Using The Thousands Separator

Printing

Unlike Word documents which usually fit on A4-sized sheets of paper, Excel spreadsheets can be created in any size, which never seem to fit conveniently on the printed page. In this chapter we look at how to control our printing, such as scaling to fit, repeating header rows on every page and accurately setting print ranges for specific areas of your spreadsheet.

1. Understanding Printing
2. Previewing Before You Print
3. Selecting A Printer
4. Printing A Range
5. Printing An Entire Workbook
6. Specifying The Number Of Copies
7. The Print Options

Creating Charts

Charting is one of Excels most powerful tools, giving you the ability to take your numeric data and rearrange it to produce brilliant graphs. We look at how to construct and modify them, and look at the things you need to know in order produce quick, descriptive and visually powerful charts.

1. Understanding The Charting Process
2. Choosing The Chart Type
3. Creating A New Chart
4. Working With An Embedded Chart
5. Resizing A Chart
6. Dragging A Chart
7. Printing An Embedded Chart
8. Creating A Chart Sheet
9. Changing The Chart Type
10. Changing The Chart Layout
11. Changing The Chart Style
12. Printing A Chart Sheet
13. Embedding A Chart Into A Worksheet

Recorded Macros

1. Understanding Excel Macros
2. Setting Macro Security
3. Saving A Document As Macro Enabled
4. Recording A Simple Macro
5. Running A Recorded Macro
6. Relative Cell References
7. Running A Macro With Relative References
8. Viewing A Macro
9. Editing A Macro
10. Assigning A Macro To The Toolbar
11. Running A Macro From The Toolbar
12. Assigning A Keyboard Shortcut To A Macro
13. Deleting A Macro
14. Copying A Macro
15. Tips For Developing Macros

Recorder Workshop

1. Preparing Data For An Application
2. Recording A Summation Macro
3. Recording Consolidations
4. Recording Divisional Macros
5. Testing Macros
6. Creating Objects To Run Macros
7. Assigning A Macro To An Object

Understanding VBA

1. VBA Terminology
2. About Objects
3. Accessing The Excel Object Model
4. Using The Immediate Window
5. Working With Object Collections
6. Setting Property Values
7. Working With Worksheets
8. Using The Object Browser
9. Programming With The Object Browser

Using The VBA Editor

1. The VBA Editor
2. Opening And Closing The Editor
3. Working With The Project Explorer
4. Working With The Properties Window
5. Working With The Work Area
6. Working With A Code Module
7. Setting Breakpoints In The Editor
8. Stepping Through A Procedure

Procedures

1. About Procedures
2. Creating A Command Procedure
3. Making Sense of IntelliSense
4. Using The Edit Toolbar
5. Commenting Statements
6. Indenting Code
7. Bookmarking In Procedures

Using Variables

1. Understanding Variables
2. Creating And Using Variables
3. Implicit And Explicit Declarations
4. The Scope Of Variables
5. Procedure Level Scoping
6. Module Level Scoping
7. Passing Variables By Reference
8. Passing Variables By Value
9. Data Types
10. Declaring Data Types
11. Using Arrays

User Defined Functions

1. About Functions
2. Creating Simple User-Defined Functions
3. Using User-Defined Functions
4. Using Multiple Arguments
5. Modifying A Function
6. Creating A Function Library

Using Excel Objects

1. Application Methods And Properties
2. Workbook Methods And Properties
3. Viewing Excel And The Editor Together
4. Using Workbook Objects
5. Worksheets Methods And Properties
6. Using Worksheet Objects
7. Range Methods And Properties
8. Using Range Objects
9. Using Objects In A Procedure

Programming Techniques

1. The MsgBox Function
2. Sending Messages To The User
3. InputBox Techniques
4. Using The InputBox Function
5. Using The InputBox Method
6. The If Statement
7. Using If For Single Conditions
8. Using If For Multiple Conditions
9. The Select Case Statement
10. Using The Select Case Statement
11. For Loops
12. Looping With Known Or Specified Iterations
13. The Do…Loop Statement
14. Looping With Unknown Iterations

Creating Custom Forms

1. About Custom Forms
2. Creating A Custom Form
3. Adding Text Boxes To A Form
4. Changing Text Box Control Properties
5. Adding Label Controls To A Form
6. Adding A Combo Box Control
7. Adding Option Buttons
8. Adding Command Buttons
9. Running A Custom Form

Programming UserForms

1. Handling Form Events
2. Initialising A Form
3. Closing A Form
4. Project Transferring Data From A Form
5. Running Form Procedures
6. Creating Error Checking Procedures
7. Running A Form From A Procedure
8. Creating Quick Access Toolbar Buttons

Automatic Startup

1. Programming Automatic Procedures
2. Running Automatic Procedures
3. Automatically Starting A Workbook

Error Handling

1. Error Types
2. The On Error Statement
3. Creating A Simple Error Handler
4. Using The Resume Statement
5. Using Decision Structures In Error Handlers
6. Using The Err Object
7. Error Handling In Event Procedures
8. Defining Custom Errors

Lookup Functions

One of the most popular productivity tools within Excel, the Lookup series (including Choose, Vlookup and Index) will help you reach into a table or database, extract information and report on the extracted data to other cells in your spreadsheet. Along with Logical functions, these are the tools most used in higher level worksheets, yet are easy to build and modify.

1. Understanding Data Lookup Functions
2. Using CHOOSE
3. Using VLOOKUP
4. Using VLOOKUP For Exact Matches
5. Using HLOOKUP
6. Using INDEX
7. Using MATCH
8. Understanding Reference Functions
9. Using ROW And ROWS
10. Using COLUMN And COLUMNS
11. Using ADDRESS
12. Using INDIRECT
13. Using OFFSET

Setting Excel Options

Excel’s numerous options allow you to set the default appearance of your spreadsheets, adjust the default auto-save time, and determine your default file-saving location. We’ll look at how to change these, and the many items they control.

1. Understanding Excel Options
2. Personalising Excel
3. Setting The Default Font
4. Setting Formula Options
5. Understanding Save Options
6. Setting Save Options
7. Setting The Default File Location
8. Setting Advanced Options

Chart Object Formatting

In an earlier chapter you saw that charts were easy to create. Now you’ll see how all the elements in a chart (such as the bar and line type) are all objects, and can be changed individually. This will give you the ability to produce truly illustrative charts, conveying the message you need to send.

1. Understanding Chart Object Formatting
2. Selecting Chart Elements
3. Using Shape Styles To Format Objects
4. Changing Column Colour
5. Changing Pie Slice Colour
6. Changing Bar Colours
7. Changing Chart Line Colours
8. Using Shape Effects
9. Filling The Chart Area And The Plot Area
10. Filling The Background
11. The Format Dialog Box
12. Using The Format Dialog Box
13. Using Themes

Labels And Names

Labeling and Naming cells are powerful ways of making cells absolute in value (for example, as a substitute for $A$1) and for providing a quick and easy method for you to “jump” to particular cells. In addition, by using Labels, you can include descriptive English words as part of your formulas. Having easy to navigate and easy to read spreadsheets will greatly increase your ability to move around large spreadsheets.

1. Understanding Labels And Names
2. Creating Names Using Text Labels
3. Using Names In New Formulas
4. Applying Names To Existing Formulas
5. Creating Names Using The Names Box
6. Using Names To Select Ranges
7. Pasting Names Into Formulas
8. Creating Names For Constants
9. Creating Names From A Selection
10. Scoping Names To The Worksheet
11. Using The Name Manager
12. Documenting Range Names

Protecting Data

Many excel users experience the frustration of accidental deletion of parts of their spreadsheets. This may be caused by other people who have access to your spreadsheets, or you may have inadvertently done it yourself. You’ll see how to protect your worksheets, so that formulas or data can’t be accidentally over written, and how we can also password protect these areas.

1. Understanding Data Protection
2. Providing Total Access To Cells
3. Protecting A Worksheet
4. Working With A Protected Worksheet
5. Disabling Worksheet Protection
6. Providing Restricted Access To Cells
7. Password Protecting A Workbook
8. Opening A Password Protected Workbook
9. Removing A Password From A Workbook

Summarising And Subtotalling

Many Excel users unnecessarily create subtotals of data the long, slow way – manually. You’ll see a tool for creating subtotals automatically, without you having to build the formulas. You’ll also see how they can be just as easily removed.

1. Creating Subtotals
2. Using A Subtotalled Worksheet
3. Creating Nested Subtotals
4. Copying Subtotals
5. Using Subtotals With AutoFilter
6. Installing The Conditional Sum Wizard
7. Using The Conditional Sum Wizard
8. Creating Relative Names For Subtotals
9. Using Relative Names For Subtotals

Data Linking

Most Excel users confine their calculations to a single spreadsheet. You can add power to your spreadsheets by linking cells across worksheets, and even to cells in different workbooks. In Data Linking, we look at the benefits of this, and how to do it.

1. Understanding Data Linking
2. Linking Between Worksheets
3. Linking Between Workbooks
4. Updating Links Between Workbooks

Data Consolidation

Having learned how to link single cells from one Excel file to another, consolidation takes you one step further by allowing you to link and automatically sum the cells from multiple files into a single cell within a target file. It’s a tool that updates your target file as soon as you open it, allowing you to avoid wasting time performing multiple copy and paste operations.

1. Understanding Data Consolidation
2. Consolidating With Identical Layouts
3. Creating An Outlined Consolidation
4. Consolidating With Different Layouts

PivotTables

One of the most powerful business tools, Pivot Tables lets you automatically sum, rearrange and filter your Excel database, giving you almost unlimited scope to display your data any way you wish. Its “drag-and-drop” tools are easy to use, and this single tool can reduce hours of data manipulation to seconds.

1. Understanding Pivot Tables
2. Creating A PivotTable Shell
3. Dropping Fields Into A PivotTable
4. Filtering A PivotTable
5. Clearing A Report Filter
6. Switching PivotTable Labels
7. Formatting A PivotTable

PivotTable Techniques

Having covered the basics of Pivot Tables in the earlier section, you’ll now see how you can apply this tool to perform even more powerful data manipulation. Grouping, subtotals and grand totals are all covered, as well as how to “drill down” into your data to extract the data you need.

1. Using Compound Fields
2. Counting In A PivotTable
3. Formatting PivotTable Values
4. Working With PivotTable Grand Totals
5. Working With PivotTable SubTotals
6. Finding The Percentage Of Total
7. Finding The Difference From
8. Grouping In PivotTables
9. Creating Running Totals
10. Creating Calculated Fields
11. Providing Custom Names
12. Creating Calculated Items
13. PivotTable Options
14. Sorting In A PivotTable

PivotCharts

Excel’s Pivot Table will enable you to create automatic Pivot Charts, which are summarised and grouped instantly according to your data specifications. While they’re similar to standard charts in appearance, you’re able to “drag and drop” data series and instantly rearrange your chart.

1. Creating A PivotChart Shell
2. Dragging Fields For The PivotChart
3. Changing The PivotChart Type
4. Using The PivotChart Filter Pane
5. Moving PivotCharts To Chart Sheets

Goal Seeking

One annoying problem you may encounter while using Excel is where you know the answer you want within a single formula cell, but you don’t know the input value the formula needs to determine the result. Goal Seek solves this problem. You tell it what answer you want and Goal Seek will tell you how to get that result.

1. Goal Seek Components
2. Using Goal Seek

Grouping And Outlining

One of the most underused tools within Excel, Grouping and Outlining will allow you to instantly combine multiple columns or rows into single columns and rows. It has 2 advantages: it creates automatic subtotals, and it hides unnecessary data.

1. Understanding Grouping And Outlining
2. Creating An Automatic Outline
3. Working With An Outline
4. Creating A Manual Group
5. Grouping By Columns

Solver

The Solver is a high-level “what-if” analysis tool. With a standard formula, you put in the variables to a formula, and Excel will calculate the answer. With the Solver, you tell Excel what you want the answer to be, and it will modify the contributing variables, according to your constraint instructions. This is an extremely powerful tool.

1. Understanding How Solver Works
2. Setting Solver Parameters
3. Adding Solver Constraints
4. Performing The Solver Operation
5. Running Solver Reports
6. Refining Solver Answers

Recorded Macros

Performing repetitive tasks is both time consuming and prone to error. Macros will solve this problem for you by allowing you to “record” a series of steps, and then play them back at the click of a button, or the press of a key. allowing you to perform lengthy tasks instantly. In this section we also look into Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), a powerful programming language into which our macros are converted.

1. Understanding Excel Macros
2. Setting Macro Security
3. Saving A Document As Macro Enabled
4. Recording A Simple Macro
5. Running A Recorded Macro
6. Relative Cell References
7. Running A Macro With Relative References
8. Viewing A Macro
9. Editing A Macro
10. Assigning A Macro To The Toolbar
11. Running A Macro From The Toolbar
12. Assigning A Keyboard Shortcut To A Macro
13. Deleting A Macro
14. Copying A Macro
15. Tips For Developing Macros

Recorder Workshop

In this section you’ll build further macro examples, including creating buttons on your spreadsheet that, when pressed, will run your macros.

1. Preparing Data For An Application
2. Recording A Summation Macro
3. Recording Consolidations
4. Recording Divisional Macros
5. Testing Macros
6. Creating Objects To Run Macros
7. Assigning A Macro To An Object

Filling Data

Excel contains many shortcuts to save you time, removing the need for you to enter large amounts of tedious (and unnecessary) data. This section demonstrates how you can use the “Fill” handle on any cell to create a series automatically. You can save time by entering a date and, using Auto Fill, Excel will continue the series, giving you ongoing days, months, numeric series, and many more.

1. Filling A Series
2. Filling A Growth Series
3. Filling A Series Backwards
4. Filling Using Options
5. Creating A Custom Fill List
6. Modifying A Custom Fill List
7. Deleting A Custom Fill List

Moving Data

Re-entering data wastes a lot of time. Excel allows you to move data to any location within your spreadsheet, and will also let you send this data to another workbook file.

1. Understanding Moving In Excel
2. Moving Cells And Ranges
3. Moving Data To Other Worksheets
4. Moving Data To Other Workbooks

Formula Techniques

Not only can you put formulas into cells, but we can also embed formulas within formulas, which we refer to as nesting. This has 2 advantages – it gives your calculations extra power, and it allows you to do in 1 cell what you might otherwise need 4 or 5 cells to achieve.

1. Scoping A Formula
2. Developing A Nested Function
3. Creating Nested Functions
4. Editing Nested Functions
5. Copying Nested Functions
6. Using Concatenation
7. Switching To Manual Recalculation
8. Forcing A Recalculation
9. Pasting Values From Formulas
10. Pasting Formulas As Pictures

Logical Functions

Logical Functions such as (If, And, Or and Not) are the entrance to higher-level Excel use and will enable you to unlock the enormous potential of your spreadsheets.. These functions introduce decision-making to your formulas, where Excel can calculate answers based on “true” and “false” comparisons.

1. Using IF To Display Text
2. Using IF To Calculate Values
3. Nesting IF Functions
4. Using IFERROR
5. Using TRUE And FALSE
6. Using AND
7. Using OR
8. Using NOT

Number Formatting Techniques

Having looked at how you can format your numbers, dates and currencies, you’ll find that occasionally you’d like your numbers and dates to appear in a format that can’t be found on Excels list of standard formats. Fortunately, with custom formats you can create your own.

1. Using Alternate Currencies
2. Formatting Dates
3. Formatting Time
4. Creating Custom Formats

Conditional Formatting

When dealing with long lists of data, if can often be difficult to locate particular records of interest. An example of this might be looking for all clients that have accounts overdue by more than 60 days. With Conditional Formatting you can instantly change these cells to a different colour, making them stand out.

1. Formatting Cells Containing Values
2. Clearing Conditional Formatting
3. More Cell Formatting Options
4. Top Ten Items
5. More Top And Bottom Formatting Options
6. Working With Data Bars
7. Working With Colour Scales
8. Working With Icon Sets

Applying Borders

Another great formatting tool, you have the ability to create multicolour borders around groups of cells. It makes them attractive, easy to read, and helps them stand out among a worksheet crowded with data.

1. Applying A Border To A Cell
2. Applying A Border To A Range
3. Applying A Bottom Border
4. Applying Top And Bottom Borders
5. Removing Borders
6. The More Borders Option
7. Using The More Borders Option

Working With A Worksheet

In this group of tools you’ll see how to show and hide the gridlines that surround each cell, as well as how to quickly delete cells, rows and columns and examine the impact on formulas when you do this.

1. Changing Worksheet Views
2. Worksheet Zooming
3. Viewing The Formula Bar
4. Viewing The Gridlines
5. Viewing The Ruler
6. Inserting Cells
7. Deleting Cells
8. Inserting Columns
9. Inserting Rows
10. Deleting Rows And Columns
11. Switching Between Worksheets

Worksheet Techniques

In earlier chapters you saw how to save time by moving data and formulas around a worksheet using copy and paste. You’ll see now how to do the same with whole worksheets. You can copy worksheets (and all their contents) within a workbook, or to another completely separate workbook file.

1. Inserting And Deleting Worksheets
2. Copying A Worksheet
3. Renaming A Worksheet
4. Moving A Worksheet
5. Hiding A Worksheet
6. Unhiding A Worksheet
7. Copying A Worksheet To Another Workbook
8. Moving A Worksheet To Another Workbook
9. Changing Worksheet Tab Colours
10. Grouping Worksheets
11. Hiding Rows And Columns
12. Unhiding Rows And Columns
13. Freezing Rows And Columns
14. Splitting Windows

Finding And Replacing

Looking through a large spreadsheet in order to locate and change specific words or formulas can be time consuming and frustrating. Using Find and Replace you’ll radically cut down the time spent doing this. It’s an excellent tool to use, especially when you copy worksheets, then find you need to make changes to the new worksheets.

1. Finding Text
2. Finding Cell References In Formulas
3. Replacing Values
4. Using Replace To Change Formulas
5. Replacing Within A Range
6. Finding Formats
7. Finding Constants Using Go To
8. Special
9. Finding Formulas Using Go To Special
10. Finding The Current Region
11. Finding The Last Cell

Page Setup

A commonly voiced frustration of Excel users is, having built a spreadsheet, how do we get it to appear correctly when printed? You’ll see the huge range of options available to you, such as repeating headers on every page, scaling to fit, manipulating margins, and many more.

1. Using Built In Margins
2. Setting Custom Margins
3. Changing Margins By Dragging
4. Centring On A Page
5. Changing Orientation
6. Specifying The Paper Size
7. Setting The Print Area
8. Clearing The Print Area
9. Inserting Page Breaks
10. Using Page Break Preview
11. Removing Page Breaks
12. Setting A Background
13. Clearing The Background
14. Settings Rows As Repeating Print Titles
15. Clearing Print Titles
16. Printing Gridlines
17. Printing Headings
18. Scaling To A Percentage
19. Fit To A Specific Number Of Pages
20. Strategies For Printing Larger Worksheets

Sorting Data

Sorting data within a database is easy with Excel’s Sorting feature. You can sort by up to three columns, giving you easy access to your data in exactly the right order.

1. Performing An Alphabetical Sort
2. Sorting On More Than One Column
3. Sorting By Rows
4. Sorting Numbered Lists

Filtering Data

An Excel 2007 database can contain over 1 million records, and sorting this amount of data can be time consuming. Excel’s AutoFilter will help you manipulate massive amounts of data records so you can quickly extract the information you need. This includes both keyword and data-range functionality.

1. Applying And Using A Filter
2. Clearing A Filter
3. Creating Compound Filters
4. Multiple Value Filters
5. Creating Custom Filters
6. Using Wildcards

Charting Techniques

In this chapter you’ll learn how to change the many elements in a chart such as the legend, the plot area, gridlines and the insertion of trendlines, so that projections of data can be made.

1. Adding A Chart Title
2. Adding Axes Titles
3. Positioning The Legend
4. Showing Data Labels
5. Showing A Data Table
6. Modifying The Axes
7. Showing Gridlines
8. Formatting The Plot Area
9. Showing The Plot Area
10. Adding A Trendline
11. Adding Error Bars
12. Adding A Text Box To A Chart
13. Drawing Shapes In A Chart

Chart Text Formatting

This chapter focuses on the text aspect of charts. You can format any text-based object of your chart to enhance its appearance, an especially valuable feature if you wish to include your charts in reports.

1. Using Font Formatting And Alignment
2. Using WordArt Styles
3. Changing Text Fill
4. Changing Text Outline
5. Changing Text Effects

Getting To Know Excel

The Excel 2007 environment has been packed with new features. We will look at the Excel screen, Ribbon, Start button and other features to familiarise ourselves with it’s look and feel.

1. Starting Excel
2. The Excel Screen
3. Using The Ribbon
4. Using KeyTip Badges
5. Minimising The Ribbon
6. Using Shortcut Menus
7. Launching Dialog Boxes
8. Customising The Quick Access Toolbar
9. The Office Button
10. Using The Office Button
11. The Status Bar
12. Customising The Status Bar
13. Exiting Safely From Excel

Creating A New Workbook

Creating spreadsheets from scratch is the focus of this chapter, and having done so you’ll see how to save your file. Accidentally misplacing your file within your computer’s large hard drive can be a problem, so you’ll see how you can save your file where you want it to go, and even how to find it should you misplace it.

1. Formatting features such as how to easily adjust column widths will also be covered.
2. Understanding Workbooks
3. Using The Blank Workbook Template
4. Typing Text Into A Worksheet
5. The Save As Dialog Box
6. Saving A New Workbook
7. Typing Numbers Into A Worksheet
8. Typing Simple Formulas In A Worksheet
9. Easy Formulas
10. Typing Dates In A Worksheet
11. Easy Formatting
12. Checking Spelling In A Worksheet
13. Making And Saving Changes
14. Printing A Worksheet
15. Safely Closing A Workbook

Working With Workbooks

A single spreadsheet is huge, with millions of cells into which you can place formulas and data. Navigating your way around this spreadsheet can be easy. We’ll look at all the keyboard shortcuts you need to jump to the important areas of your spreadsheet quickly. These are tools you’ll use continually as your knowledge and use of spreadsheets increases.

1. Opening An Existing Workbook
2. Moving About A Worksheet
3. Moving About A Workbook
4. Going To A Specific Location
5. The Open Dialog Box

Editing In A Workbook

A lot of your time will be spent entering and changing the data you place into cells. You’ll see the quickest way to alter text, formulas and functions, insert and delete rows and columns and clear cell contents.

1. Understanding Data Editing
2. Overwriting Cells Contents
3. Editing Longer Cell Entries
4. Editing Formulas
5. Editing Functions
6. Clearing A Cell
7. Deleting In A Worksheet
8. Undoing And Redoing Operations

Formulas And Functions

This is the heart of Excel, and you will learn how it differs from other software packages like Microsoft Word and Access. We look at how to build formulas that add, subtract, multiply and divide. We also look at “referential” formulas, meaning that a formula you create can be copied and pasted to another area of your spreadsheet and used again, saving you time.

1. Understanding Formulas
2. Creating Formulas That Add
3. Creating Formulas That Subtract
4. Formulas That Multiply And Divide
5. Understanding Functions
6. Using The SUM Function To Add
7. Summing Non-Contiguous Ranges
8. Calculating An Average
9. Finding A Maximum Value
10. Finding A Minimum Value
11. More Complex Formulas
12. What If Formulas

Formula Referencing

Absolute Referencing (for example $A$1) avoids duplication of commonly-used numbers referred to within your calculations, by “fixing” cell references within formulas so that they point to a specific cell, no matter where a formula is copied. This powerful tool can greatly decrease the complexity of your spreadsheets.

1. Absolute Versus Relative Referencing
2. Relative Formulas
3. Problems With Relative Formulas
4. Creating Absolute References
5. Creating Mixed References

Selecting Ranges

A key to using Excel is to be able to select ranges of cells quickly and accurately. You’ll need to do this when formatting, creating tables, building formulas correctly and defining chart areas. You will gain confidence in your ability to accurately select data areas.

1. Understanding Ranges
2. Selecting Ranges
3. Selecting Non-Contiguous Ranges
4. Using Special Selection Techniques
5. Selecting Larger Ranges
6. Selecting Rows
7. Selecting Columns
8. Viewing Range Calculations
9. Creating An Input Range

Copying Excel Data

Excel will allow you to copy both text and formulas from one area of your spreadsheet to another. Doing this with text is easy, and having learned how to create calculations in the Formulas chapter, we look at how to do with formulas also by looking for formula patterns, and duplicating these formulas to save time.

1. Understanding Copying In Excel
2. Using Fill For Quick Copying
3. Copying From Cell To Another
4. Copying From One Cell To A Range
5. Copying From One Range To Another
6. Copying Relative Formulas
7. Copying To A Non-Contiguous Range
8. Copying To Another Worksheet
9. Copying To Another Workbook

Font Formatting

While correct calculations are important, clear formatting will make your spreadsheet easy to read and remove any ambiguity in the data you’re trying to convey. Font formatting lets you control the size and font of your text, as well add extra formatting features such as cell and text colour.

1. Understanding Font Formatting
2. Working With Live Preview
3. Changing Fonts
4. Changing Font Size
5. Growing And Shrinking Fonts
6. Making Cells Bold
7. Italicising Text
8. Underlining Text
9. Changing Font Colours
10. Changing Background Colours
11. Using The Format Painter
12. Applying Strikethrough
13. Subscripting Text
14. Superscripting Text

Cell Alignment

Like Microsoft Word, you have the ability within Excel to align text left, right and centre. As the height of your cells can change, you can also align text vertically, and wrap text, so it doesn’t appear to flow out of the active cell.

1. Understanding Cell Alignment
2. Aligning Right
3. Aligning To The Centre
4. Aligning Left
5. Aligning Top
6. Aligning Bottom
7. Aligning To The Middle
8. Rotating Text
9. Indenting Cells
10. Wrapping And Merging Text
11. Merging And Centring
12. Merging Cells
13. Unmerging Cells

Row And Column Formatting

Controlling the formatting of rows and columns will mean that text and numbers within your cells will always be fully legible. You’ll also see how to get it done quickly.

1. Approximating Column Widths
2. Setting Precise Column Widths
3. Setting The Default Column Width
4. Approximating Row Height
5. Setting Precise Row Heights
6. Hiding Rows And Columns
7. Unhiding Rows And Columns

Number Formatting

Sometimes, people who read your spreadsheets will require a different numeric format. You will learn how to utilise the huge range of formatting alternatives for numbers, dates and calculation results available in Excel.

1. Understanding Number Formatting
2. Applying General Formatting
3. Formatting As Currency
4. Formatting Percentages
5. Formatting As Fractions
6. Formatting As Dates
7. Using The Thousands Separator
8. Increasing And Decreasing Decimals

Printing

Unlike Word documents which usually fit on A4-sized sheets of paper, Excel spreadsheets can be created in any size, which never seem to fit conveniently on the printed page. In this chapter we look at how to control our printing, such as scaling to fit, repeating header rows on every page and accurately setting print ranges for specific areas of your spreadsheet.

1. Understanding Printing
2. Previewing Before You Print
3. Performing A Quick Print
4. Selecting A Printer
5. Printing A Range
6. Printing An Entire Workbook
7. Specifying The Number Of Copies
8. The Print Dialog Box

Creating Charts

Charting is one of Excels most powerful tools, giving you the ability to take your numeric data and rearrange it to produce brilliant graphs. We look at how to construct and modify them, and look at the things you need to know in order produce quick, descriptive and visually powerful charts.

1. Understanding The Charting Process
2. Choosing The Chart Type
3. Creating A New Chart
4. Working With An Embedded Chart
5. Resizing A Chart
6. Dragging A Chart
7. Printing An Embedded Chart
8. Creating A Chart Sheet
9. Changing The Chart Type
10. Changing The Chart Layout
11. Changing The Chart Style
12. Printing A Chart Sheet
13. Embedding A Chart Into A Worksheet
14. Deleting A Chart

Recorded Macros

1. Setting Macro Security Levels
2. Recording A Simple Macro
3. Running A Recorded Macro
4. Relative Cell References
5. Running A Macro With Relative References
6. Viewing A Macro Module
7. Modifying A Recorded Macro
8. Assigning A Macro To A Toolbar Button
9. Running A Macro From A Custom Button
10. Removing A Custom Button From The Toolbar

Recorder Workshop

1. Preparing Data For An Application
2. Recording A Summation Macro
3. Recording Consolidations
4. Recording Divisional Macros
5. Testing Macros
6. Creating Objects To Run Macros
7. Assigning A Macro To An Object

Understanding VBA

1. VBA Terminology
2. Accessing The Excel Object Model
3. Using The Immediate Window
4. Working With Object Collections
5. Setting Property Values
6. Working With Worksheets
7. Using The Object Browser
8. Programming With The Object Browser

Using The VBA Editor

1. Opening And Closing The Editor
2. Working With The Project Explorer
3. Working With The Properties Window
4. Working With The Work Area
5. Working With A Code Module
6. Running Procedures From The Editor
7. Setting Breakpoints In The Editor
8. Stepping Through A Procedure

Procedures

1. Creating A Command Procedure
2. Making Sense of IntelliSense
3. Using The Edit Toolbar
4. Commenting Statements
5. Indenting Code
6. Bookmarking In Procedures

Using Variables

1. Creating & Using Variables
2. Implicit And Explicit Declarations
3. The Scope Of Variables
4. Procedure Level Scoping
5. Module Level Scoping
6. Passing Variables By Reference
7. Passing Variables By Value
8. Data Types
9. Declaring Data Types
10. Using Arrays

User-Defined Functions

1. User-Defined Functions Theory
2. Creating Simple User-Defined Functions
3. Using User-Defined Functions
4. Using Multiple Arguments
5. Modifying A Function
6. Creating A Function Library

Using Excel Objects

1. Application Methods & Properties
2. Workbook Methods & Properties
3. Viewing Excel & The Editor Together
4. Using Workbook Objects
5. Worksheets Methods & Properties
6. Using Worksheet Objects
7. Range Methods & Properties
8. Using Range Objects
9. Using Objects In A Procedure

Programming Techniques

1. The MsgBox Function
2. Sending Messages To The User
3. InputBox Techniques
4. Using The InputBox Function
5. Using The InputBox Method
6. The IF Statement
7. Using IF For Single Conditions
8. Using IF For Multiple Conditions
9. The FOR…NEXT Statement
10. Looping With Known Or Specified Iterations
11. The DO…LOOP Statement
12. Looping With Unknown Iterations

Creating Custom Forms

1. Creating A Custom Form
2. Adding Text Boxes To A Form
3. Changing Text Box Control Properties
4. Adding Label Controls To A Form
5. Adding A Combo Box Control
6. Adding Option Buttons
7. Adding Command Buttons
8. Running A Custom Form

Programming Custom Forms

1. Initialising A Form
2. Closing A Form
3. Transferring Data From A Form
4. Running Form Procedures
5. Creating Error Checking Procedures
6. Running A Form From A Procedure

Custom Menus

1. Creating A New Menu
2. Creating A Cascade Menu
3. Adding Menu Commands
4. Assigning Macros To Menu Commands
5. Removing A Menu

Automatic Startup

1. Programming Automatic Procedures
2. Running Automatic Procedures
3. Automatically Starting A Workbook

Nesting Functions Workshop

Having learned how to create “If” and “Lookup” functions, you have now added a powerful dimension to your worksheets but having them scattered throughout many cells can be a problem. The Nesting Functions Workshop shows you how to imbed functions within other functions to increase the power of your spreadsheets, so many of these functions can exist within a single cell.

1. Scoping A Formula
2. Developing A Nested Function
3. Creating A Nested Function
4. Editing A Formula With Nested Functions
5. Copying A Formula With Nested Functions
6. Concatenation

Advanced Filters

After using Excel’s Auto Filter tools, many users believe they must graduate to Microsoft’s Access database software package when they wish to perform database filtering involving more complex “and” and “or” structures. Most, though, aren’t aware this can be done with Excels built-in Advanced Filters, saving enormous time and resources in the process.

1. Advanced Filter Concepts
2. Using An Advanced Filter
3. Extracting Records With Advanced Filter
4. Using Formulas In Criteria
5. Using Database Functions

Validations

If you want to control the values that can be entered into a cell, Validation tools will help. They enable you to provide instructions about what can and can’t be entered into the cell and restrict the possibility of entering the wrong thing. Error messages will be displayed should a wrong value be entered or a restricted drop down list of alternatives can be created.

1. Validation Techniques
2. Data Validation By Number Range
3. Testing Data Validation
4. Input Messages
5. Creating Error Alerts
6. Creating Drop-Down Lists
7. Using Formulas As Validation Criteria
8. Creating Custom Validation Criteria
9. Number Formats With Built-in Logic
10. Conditional Formatting
11. Copying Data Validation Settings

Goal Seeking

One annoying problem you may encounter while using Excel is where you know the answer you want within a single formula cell, but you don’t know the input value the formula needs to determine the result. Goal Seek solves this problem. You tell it what answer you want and Goal Seek will tell you how to get that result.

1. Goal Seek Components
2. Using Goal Seeking

Data Tables

If you need to view the results of many input variables on a single formula, making many copies of a formula will help, but there’s a drawback – it can be long-winded, will take up a lot of screen space and can cause mistakes. Data Tables will save you a lot of time, by letting you calculate multiple versions of your formula in one operation, and view and compare the results of all of the different variations together on your worksheet, all by using a single formula.

1. Using A Simple What-If Model
2. Creating A One-Variable Table
3. Using One-Variable Data Tables
4. Creating A Two-Variable Data Table

Scenarios

One of the powerful what-if analysis tools, Scenarios allow you to create sets of values that Microsoft Excel saves, and can substitute automatically in your worksheet. You can use scenarios to forecast the outcome of a worksheet model and, having saved alternate scenarios, you can then switch to any of these new scenarios to view different results.

1. Creating A Default Scenario
2. Creating Scenarios
3. Using Names in Scenarios
4. Displaying Scenarios
5. Creating A Scenario Summary Report
6. Merging Scenarios

PivotTables

One of the most powerful business tools, Pivot Tables let you automatically sum, rearrange and filter your Excel database, giving you almost unlimited scope to display your data any way you wish. Its “drag-and-drop” tools are easy to use, and Pivot charts take this one step further, allowing you to chart your data. This single tool can reduce hours of data manipulation to seconds.

1. PivotTable Theory
2. Creating A Simple PivotTable
3. Adding A Row Field To A PivotTable
4. Using The Page Field In A PivotTable
5. Filtering Row And Column Values
6. Formatting A PivotTable
7. Counting With PivotTables
8. PivotTable Summary And Display Options
9. Show Data As Percentages In PivotTables
10. Calculated Fields In PivotTables
11. Calculated Items In PivotTables
12. Creating A PivotChart
13. Modifying A PivotChart Via The PivotTable

Linking Workbooks

Most Excel users confine their calculations to a single Spreadsheet. What can add power to your spreadsheets is the ability to link to cells within other worksheets, and even to cells within different workbook files. In Data Linking, we look at it’s benefits, and how to do it.

1. Linking Data In Excel
2. Linking Within A Workbook
3. Linking Between Workbooks
4. Updating Links Between Workbooks

Consolidation

Having learned how to link single cells from one Excel file to another, Consolidation takes you one step further by allowing you to link and automatically sum the cells from multiple files into a single cell within a target file. It’s a tool that updates your target file as soon as you open it, allowing you to avoid time wastage from performing multiple copy and paste operations.

1. Consolidating Data With Identical Layouts
2. Consolidating Data With Different Layouts
3. Consolidating Data Using A PivotTable

Excel On The Web

With the explosion of web and intranet sites, there’s often a need to include table-format data within existing web-pages. Using Excel’s simple web tools, you are able to create and publish instant spreadsheets, which can be used to both display your data and allow web users to interact with the data.

1. Previewing Workbooks As Web Pages
2. Publishing A Static Worksheet
3. Adding To An Existing Web Page
4. Publishing An Interactive Web Page

Summarising Data

Subtotaling data can be a lengthy process. The group of tools in this section will rapidly increase the time it takes for you to calculate single and multiple groups of data.

1. Creating Subtotals
2. Using A Subtotaled Worksheet
3. Creating Nested Subtotals
4. Copying Subtotals
5. Using Subtotals With AutoFilter
6. Installing The Conditional Sum Wizard
7. Using The Conditional Sum Wizard
8. Creating Relative Names For Subtotals
9. Using Relative Names For Subtotals

Recorded Macros

Performing repetitive tasks leads to tiredness and frequent mistakes. Macros will solve this problem for you by allowing you to “record” a series of steps, then play them back at the click of a button, or the press of a key. It can perform lengthy tasks instantly. Within this section we also look into Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), an enormously powerful programming language into which our macros are converted.

1. Setting Macro Security Levels
2. Recording A Simple Macro
3. Running A Recorded Macro
4. Relative Cell References
5. Running A Macro With Relative References
6. Viewing A Macro Module
7. Modifying A Recorded Macro

Recorder Workshop

In this section you’ll build further macro examples, including creating buttons on your spreadsheet that, when pressed, will run your macros.

1. Preparing Data
2. Recording Summation Macros
3. Recording Consolidations
4. Recording Divisional Macros
5. Testing Macros
6. Creating Objects To Run Macros
7. Assigning A Macro To An Object

Macro Virus Control

Before we create macros, you must understand their security aspects, and in this section we look at Excel’s options for enabling and disabling macro capability by adjusting it’s security levels.

1. Opening Workbooks With Macros
2. Setting Macro Security Levels
3. Trusting Publishers
4. Creating A Digital Signature
5. Removing A Trusted Publisher