Excel 2013 Mastering the Basics

Excel 2013, a key component of Microsoft Office 2013, is the latest version of the world’s most widely used spreadsheet program. Excel 2013 Mastering the Basics uses a practical approach to learning this powerful software tool: analysis of key features, combined with step-by-step tutorials which will reinforce your understanding of what Microsoft Excel is all about. Aimed at beginner to intermediate Excel users, who may already be familiar with earlier Excel versions, this book will provide the practical insights, tips and shortcuts you need to start becoming an Excel power user. Topics include: Using Excel’s powerful new features such as Recommended PivotTables, Recommended Charts, Quick Analysis Lens, Timelines, and Flash Fill. Understanding the Excel Interface: the Welcome Screen; the Ribbon, Tabs and Ribbon controls; the Quick Access Toolbar and working in Backstage view. How to build efficient Excel formulas using functions; nested functions; relative, mixed and absolute references; named ranges and 3-D formulas. Customizing the way worksheets appear on screen and at print time: freezing and splitting panes, working with multiple documents windows, using Page Layout mode, setting up headers and footers and creating PDF files. Creating and customizing charts and graphics: practical exercises on creating the different types of Excel charts, creating sparklines, importing and creating graphics and embedding formulas into graphic elements. Working with tabular data: sorting data numerically, chronologically, by colour and by custom order, filtering data and creating multi-level subtotals. Creating and customizing pivot tables, pivot charts and dashboards, featuring slicers and timelines which provide interactive data filtering and exploration. The book also contains an overview of macros and VBA: you will learn how to create macros, using both the Macro Recorder and the Visual Basic Editor.