Getting the Most from Microsoft® Excel®

Do you ever find yourself searching through an Excel manual ... wishing you had an Excel expert to ask ... or even giving up in frustration by "working around" features that you know Excel is capable of because you don’t know how to use them? This workshop will show you how to end your Excel frustrations for good by providing the "how-to’s" for breezing through spreadsheets, forecasts, graphs and financial reporting, plus little-known shortcuts and time-saving techniques. Work smarter, not harder, by enrolling in this workshop today!

What You Will Learn

• Excel essentials—10 techniques every power user should know
• Data, reports, graphs and formulas—making the most of Excel’s many talents
• How to solve print problems and get your information to look like you want
• Spreadsheets, charts and more—easy ways to make spreadsheets and figures into colorful, clear and precise presentations
• And much more

WORKSHOP AGENDA

Program time: 3 hours

Session 1: Excel essentials—10 techniques every power user should know

• Installation tips and tricks—determine which installation options will enhance productivity and which ones are simply a waste of hard drive space
• What you need to know about the Excel workspace to help you be most productive on your projects—fast
• How to organize related data in workbooks and worksheets
• How to add flexibility and speed with special keyboard and mouse techniques
• The quickest methods for selecting cells or ranges of cells in your worksheet
• Changing the order of the information without retyping each number in your spreadsheet
• Making sense of Excel’s unfamiliar terms, tools and commands so you don’t always have to refer to the Help screen
• Time-saving shortcuts you can substitute for those cumbersome pull-down menus
• How to get more out of the Help system ... and stop spending valuable time searching through mounds of useless information
• Do your worksheets look the way you want them to? Here’s how to use Excel’s built-in pre-formatted cell styles

Session 2: Data, functions and formulas—making the most of Excel’s many talents

• Understanding the different data types in Excel and how each is handled within a cell
• Using the Lookup functions in Excel to more efficiently find and calculate the data you need
• How to put things in the correct order by using the Sort function
• How to dramatically speed up data input with the powerful AutoFill feature
• How to quickly find the data you’re looking for on a crowded worksheet
• Using the powerful filter features of Excel to view only the data you have need of
• Unlocking the power of the mysterious Insert Function dialog box so you can easily create the right formula for the job
• Format or Style? Which to use to get the look you want
• How to make specific cells "stand out from the crowd" with the amazing Conditional Formatting feature
• How to name a data range and use it in your formulas to save time and effort
• Boosting your productivity with fast and convenient toolbar formula buttons
• Mastering the mysteries of relative and absolute cell references—"must-know" information for working with formulas

Session 3: Excel tips and tricks—get more done in less time and with better results!

• The secrets to using editing commands that will drastically reduce time-consuming data re-entry
• Paste or Paste Special?—which to use to get the result you really want
• How to customize AutoCorrect to handle the needs of your organization or shut it off altogether
• Secrets of the Merge and Center button and how to use it to create professional-looking headings
• Working faster and smarter with Excel’s multilevel Undo and Redo functions
• How to avoid needless duplication of effort by using OLE to link your spreadsheet with other Microsoft® Office documents
• Creating a list of files in your spreadsheet to provide quick access to the information you need
• Want faster editing than you get with cutting and pasting? Try inserting rows and columns!
• How to format large blocks of cells quickly and efficiently with the power of Format Painter
• How to maximize your efficiency by turning on only the toolbars you need
• Automating your everyday tasks by designing your own custom Excel macros
• Working on a lot of projects? We’ll show you how to access your recently used files more efficiently
• Multiplying the power of the already amazing AutoFill feature by using Custom Lists

Session 4: Solving print problems and getting the look you want

• How to make sure your worksheet looks the way you want it to—using cell styles and even creating your own custom style
• Methods of using the View tab to see your spreadsheet in different ways
• Too much data? Learn how to print just the section of the worksheet you need
• Working with Page Layout to print your worksheets so they’re most useful to you
• Can’t get all of your information to print on one page? Learn this secret and you can!
• Controlling your data layout with Excel’s handy Page Break Preview function
• Gridlines or no gridlines? We’ll show you how to print either way
• How to get your pages numbered correctly—no matter what number you start with
• How to choose the right fonts, borders and text alignments to create eye-catching documents
• How to save time by creating a Custom view to select a print area you need to print on a regular basis

Session 5: Making spreadsheets and figures into colorful, clear and precise presentations

• Bar chart, pie chart, line chart—how to choose and use the right graphic to get your point across
• Using the special features of Chart Tools to create customized graphs and charts for high-powered presentations
• How to format data markers on a line chart for maximum clarity and visibility
• Formatting options for creating charts and graphs that demand your audience’s attention
• It’s simple—here’s how to use Excel’s preset fill options to add color and excitement to any chart or graph
• Using the Series Order feature to rearrange your data for maximum clarity and impact
• How to use the Trendline option to make complex data more understandable
• Doughnuts, Bubbles, Radar and more—how using advanced chart types can capture your audience’s attention
• Graphics secrets to focusing attention where you want it by removing unnecessary screen elements
• Fine-tuning your charts and graphs for maximum readability with the indispensable Chart Options ribbon

Session 6: Ensuring your shared work is protected and correct

• Ensuring correct data input through data validation
• Protecting your spreadsheet from changes to formulas and constant values by hiding or locking cells
• How to share data while protecting your workbook against changes made without your knowledge
• Need a few people to change a range of cells? How about using passwords to give you peace of mind?
• Using the Comment feature to note suggested changes when working with others on a project
• Keeping track of the changes made to a spreadsheet by others so you can decide which to keep and which to discard
• How to merge the changes made on different copies of a spreadsheet back into the original