Excel the Missing Manual [Paperback]

Matthew MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0596006640 | ISBN-13: 978-0596006648 | Edition: 1st

Whether you are an Excel neophyte, a sophisticate who knows the program inside out, or an intermediate-level plodder eager to hone your skills, Excel: The Missing Manual is sure to become your go-to resource for all things Excel. Covering all the features of Excel 2002 and 2003, the most recent versions for Windows, Excel: The Missing Manual is an easy-to-read, thorough and downright enjoyable guide to one of the world's most popular, (and annoyingly complicated!) computer programs.

Never a candidate for "the most user-friendly of Microsoft programs," Excel demands study, practice and dedication to gain even a working knowledge of the basics. Excel 2003 is probably even tougher to use than any previous version of Excel. However, despite its fairly steep learning curve, this marvelously rich program enables users of every stripe to turn data into information using tools to analyze, communicate, and share knowledge. Excel can help you to collaborate effectively, and protect and control access to your work. Power users can take advantage of industry-standard Extensible Markup Language (XML) data to connect to business processes.

To unleash the power of the program and mine the full potential of their database talents, users need an authorative and friendly resource. None is more authoritative or friendlier than Excel: The Missing Manual. Not only does the book provide exhaustive coverage of the basics, it provides numerous tips and tricks, as well as advanced data analysis, programming and Web interface knowledge that pros can adopt for their latest project. Neophytes will find everything they need to create professional spreadsheets and become confident users.

Excel: The Missing Manual covers: worksheet basics, formulas and functions, organizing worksheets, charts and graphics, advanced data analysis, sharing data with the rest of the world, and programming.

If you buy just one book about using Excel, this has GOT to be it. This book has all you need to help you excel at Excel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Excel 2003 enables you to turn data into information with powerful tools to analyze, communicate, and share results. Excel 2003 can help you work better in teams, and help protect and control access to your work. In addition, you can work with industry-standard Extensible Markup Language (XML) data to make it easier to connect to business processes."

About the Author

is President of ProseTech, a software documentation consultancy, and a project manager at VoiceIQ (http://www.voiceiq.com/), a provider of software for interactive voice-enabled applications and services. Matthew is a coauthor of the ASP.NET in a Nutshell (O'Reilly), and a contributor to the C# in a Nutshell (O'Reilly) API reference.

Product Details

• Paperback: 792 pages
• Publisher: Pogue Press; 1st edition (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596006640
• ISBN-13: 978-0596006648
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matthew MacDonald is an author, educator, and MCSD developer who has a passion for emerging technologies. He is a regular writer for developer journals such as Inside Visual Basic, ASPToday, and Hardcore Visual Studio .NET, and he's the author of several books about programming with .NET. In a dimly remembered past life, he studied English literature and theoretical physics. Send e-mail to him with praise, condemnation, and everything in between, to [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From a basic start to as far as you want to go, March 10, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Excel the Missing Manual (Paperback)

When I start to look at a book on Excel I first turn to the index and look up Pivot Tables. Pivot tables are an amazingly powerful tool that allows you to turn the data around (pivot even) and look at it from another point of view. It's also amazing that a high percentage of books on Excel simply ignore pivot tables altogether, or perhaps give them half a page. This book has an entire chapter on pivot tables. Furthermore, if you read the Microsoft help screens on pivot tables you get 113 topics to read. In this book the description of pivot tables explains what they are, shows you some examples to illustrate what can be done, and then leads you through using them. This is truly what the manual should have shown, if of course there was a manual that came with Excel.

The next thing I look for is XML. This is really the big thing that makes Excel 2003 a new edition of Excel. Sure enough, a chapter on XML as well. (Except for this section and a few very minor points, you can use the manual for earlier versions of Excel.)

But suppose you are not up to guru level and wanting to know about pivot tables and XML. Well, the book starts off with Creating a Basic Worksheet and goes on from there.

In summary, here is everything you need to know about Excel from the very basic steps to just as far as you want to go.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal Excel walkthrough, January 14, 2005

By 

Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Excel the Missing Manual (Paperback)

This is the ideal Excel walkthrough. It's a balanced blend of basic and advanced information that has a gentle learning curve that will take you all the way from creating your first spreadsheet through the basics of macro development. The book is organized into eight parts, though the first four make up the majority of the book. Part one covers the basics of editing, files, printing, saving. Part two is all about formula creation. Part three is about templates and lists. Part four is about charting and graphics. After that it's into networking, macros, and more advanced topics.

The writing is excellent and the use of screenshots is effective and not overwhelming as with other books. A superb walkthrough of the fundamentals of Excel.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ski/Snowboard Like a Pro... Use Excel Like a Pro, March 20, 2006

By 

Doug Stroud "Yellow Lab Project" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Excel the Missing Manual (Paperback)

Becoming good using Excel is like learning how to ski/snowboard. Riding up the lift looking down on the experienced skiers/snowboarders ride down the mountain having fun and making it look so easy and graceful, and you think to yourself, if only I could do that, I would be happy. Will I ever be able to ride like that, maybe, but how long? That is what it is like learning/using Excel out of the box. After flipping through many a Excel book, I finally through the dart and picked The Missing Manual. The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald is a wonderful instructional piece. Written in a manner that does not put a person to sleep nor so techy that tears just fill your eyes trying to hold back the pain whilst reading it, because you tell yourself this is good for you. I find myself going to the Missing Manual all the time, for things that I never knew how to do, and to remind me of things I did once a long time ago and cannot recall. This book is a great resource for the newbie to intermediate.... which if you are looking for a book on this subject, I bet you most likely fit into that category.