Keep in mind that all the figures in this book were created with Excel 2016 happily running on Windows 10 so that you will see the occasional Windows 10 dialog box and desktop in figures depicting Excel files being opened and saved.
How This Book Is Organized
Excel 2016 All-in-One For Dummies is actually eight smaller books rolled into one. That way, you can go after the stuff in the particular book that really interests you at the time, putting all the rest of the material aside until you need to have a look at it. Each book in the volume consists of two or more chapters consisting of all the basic information you should need in dealing with that particular component or aspect of Excel.
In case you’re the least bit curious, here’s the lowdown on each of the eight books and what you can expect to find there.
This book is for those of you who’ve never had a formal introduction to the program’s basic workings. Chapter 1 covers all the orientation material including how to deal with the program’s Ribbon user interface. Of special interest may be the section selecting commands by touch if you’re using Excel 2016 on a Windows touchscreen device that isn’t equipped with either a physical keyboard or mouse.
Chapter 2 is not to be missed, even if you do not consider yourself a beginner by any stretch of the imagination. This chapter covers the many ways to customize Excel and make the program truly your own. It includes information on customizing the Quick Access toolbar as well as great information on how to use and procure add-in programs that can greatly extend Excel’s considerable features.
Book II focuses on the crucial issue of designing worksheets in Excel. Chapter 1 takes up the call on how to do basic design and covers all the many ways of doing data entry (a subject that’s been made all the more exciting with the addition of voice and handwriting input).
Chapter 2 covers how to make your spreadsheet look professional and read the way you want it through formatting. Excel offers you a wide choice of formatting techniques, from the very simple formatting as a table all the way to the now very sophisticated and super-easy conditional formatting.
Chapter 3 takes up the vital subject of how to edit an existing spreadsheet without disturbing its design or contents. Editing can be intimidating to the new spreadsheet user because most spreadsheets contain not only data entries that you don’t want to mess up but also formulas that can go haywire if you make the wrong move.
Chapter 4 looks at the topic of managing the worksheets that contain the spreadsheet applications that you build in Excel. It opens the possibility of going beyond the two-dimensional worksheet with its innumerable columns and rows by organizing data three-dimensionally through the use of multiple worksheets. (Each Excel file already contains three blank worksheets to which you can add more.) This chapter also shows you how to work with and organize multiple worksheets given the limited screen real estate afforded by your monitor and how to combine data from different files and sheets when needed.
Chapter 5 is all about printing your spreadsheets, a topic that ranks only second in importance to knowing how to get the data into a worksheet in the first place. As you expect, you find out not only how to get the raw data to spit out of your printer but also how to gussy it up and make it into a professional report of which anyone would be proud.
This book is all about calculations and building the formulas that do them. Chapter 1 covers formula basics from doing the simplest addition to building array formulas and using Excel’s built-in functions courtesy of the Function Wizard. It also covers how to use different types of cell references when making formula copies and how to link formulas that span different worksheets.
Chapter 2 takes up the subject of preventing formula errors from occurring and, barring that, how to track them down and eliminate them from the spreadsheet. This chapter also includes information on circular references in formulas and how you can sometimes use them to your advantage.
Chapters 3 through 6 concentrate on how to use different types of built-in functions. Chapter 3 covers the use of date and time functions, not only so you know what day and time it is, but actually put this knowledge to good use in formulas that calculate elapsed time. Chapter 4 takes up the financial functions in Excel and shows you how you can use them to both reveal and determine the monetary health of your business. Chapter 5 is concerned with math and statistical functions (of which there are plenty). Chapter 6 introduces you to the powerful group of lookup, information, and text functions. Here, you find out how to build formulas that automate data entry by returning values from a lookup table, get the lowdown on any cell in the worksheet, and combine your favorite pieces of text.
Book IV looks at the ways you can share your spreadsheet data with others. Chapter 1 covers the important issue of security in your spreadsheets. Here, you find out how you can protect your data so that only those to whom you give permission can open or make changes to their contents.
Chapter 2 takes up the subject of building and using hyperlinks in your Excel spreadsheets (the same kind of links that you know and love on web pages on the World Wide Web). This chapter covers how to create hyperlinks for moving from worksheet to worksheet within the same Excel file as well as for opening other documents on your hard drive, or connecting to the Internet and browsing to a favorite web page.
Chapter 3 introduces Excel’s sophisticated features for sending out spreadsheets and having a team of people review and make comments on them. It also covers techniques for reviewing and reconciling the suggested changes.
Chapter 4 is concerned with sharing spreadsheet data with other programs that you use. It looks specifically at how you can share data with other Office 2016 programs such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. This chapter also discusses the variety of ways to share your workbooks files, all the way from inviting people to review or even edit them from your OneDrive, attaching them to e-mail and Skype instant messages, and presenting them in Skype for Business online meetings.
Book V focuses on the graphical aspects of Excel. Chapter 1 covers charting your spreadsheet data in some depth. Here, you find out not only how to create great-looking charts but also how to select the right type of chart for the data that you’re representing graphically.