Excel 2010 Bible

At 1,006 pages, 90 of which are Appendices and Index, the Excel Bible is the most comprehensive Excel 2010 resource you will find. Though the author claims in the Introduction that the book is for beginning, intermediate and advanced users, there are other, more visually oriented full-color guides that would ease the adoption of Excel by beginners. I have been using Excel for more than 15 years and consider myself a competent intermediate level user (though many in the office think I'm an "advanced user"); however I felt that my knowledge of Excel had become stagnant and I knew that I wasn't really taking advantage of many of the newer analytical functions of Excel. I searched through other books offered on Amazon, and found that they were just too basic to allow me to move to the next level. The book is well organized into the following Parts, each with many chapters included: Part I: Getting Started with Excel Part II: Working with Formulas and Functions Part III: Creating Charts and Graphics Part IV: Using Advanced Excel Features Part V: Analyzing Data with Excel Part VI: Programming Excel with VBA For now, I am concentrating my efforts in Part IV and Part V - not sure I'll work long enough (or have need for) Part VI ! I use the book in 2 ways: 1) browse through a section to discover features and functions that I didn't know existed, and 2) go to the index to find sections on a specific topic I always find what I'm looking for in this "Bible". For instance, I just learned that Excel has a very useful "track changes" feature (which has been available in Word forever...) The book works well for my style of learning, since I am almost entirely self-taught in Microsoft applications. For me, it's easier to learn about applications in smaller bites that I can digest and work into my workflow than to dedicate the time to take a course that might last several days - 50% of which would be forgotten before I got back to the office. The page layout is very readable, with crisp text, bold subheadings, plenty of included graphics and figures, and helpful notes and tips throughout. Many casual users of Excel will never need a tome of this depth, but it has become indispensable to me, and just having it on my desk makes me look smart !

This book is so thick that if what you are trying to do isn't listed, then you need to revisit the premise of your idea. This book contains concepts that I would never have dreamed of but, apparently, have always been what Excel was designed for. I purchased this book with the hope of relearning Excel, in order to gain the Microsoft Office Suite Certification and make myself more attractive to employers. Having received this book, I can now say that learning it will take some time but will be so complete that if I cannot obtain certification, then the the problem will be with myself. Everything from Pivot Tables to the foundation behind extremely difficult formulaic equations is listed within this book and the accompanying CD allows for a structured application process. Were it not for the CD, then this book would become very overwhelming, requiring one to read ahead then make an outline and then attempt to stick to it as they progressed through the chapter. In order to get the most out of this book, I recommend that you Google every concept that you do not know how/when to apply. That's what I have done and then I just made notes in the Table of Contents section ahead of reaching that point, so I'll know the potential of each section as I get there. What I have learned to do, so far, is to create a spreadsheet that itemizes my paychecks to the point where I have a pivot table that maps out the money coming in, the bills to pay, the percentage intended for savings, and the amount left over for discretionary spending. I also have a list of my gas receipts and can calculate how many miles I have driven per fillup and have been able to project a distance/dollar amount for trips. I don't remember learning Excel like this the first time around but I am glad for this book's instruction style. Everything is right to the point without having to filter through a bunch of filler. If you want to relearn Excel, then this is the book to get.

i'm amending my review, since the author pointed out something that cause a bit of misunderstanding on my part -- something as simple of entering a start value where part of that value was needed to calculate a date. As indicated in my original review (and since it's been a while since I browsed the book), the difference in how I used the formula ended in a different result (I hold on to practice workbooks over time to refresh my memory of some of this self-learning). The author mentioned placing a year value in cell A1. Since I didn't work with calendars generally during that time (as I do now, since I use formulas that include full dates in yyyymmdd format to calculate dates for project management schedules), my practice started out as using the full date, rather than year only. Hence, the difference in the results that I encountered. So, with the use of full dates, I adjusted the date so that the formula can properly refer to the year in the value. So, when I followed the examples, I missed the part for entering a simply year. That was the difference that resulted in the #NUM! errors that I had encountered using each formula as shown for each holiday (see the examples that were featured in my my original comment, and the formulas after I adjusted them). Instead of simply entering the value "2011" (the year when I bought the book), I had tested the formulas first by entering the base date as "1/1/2011," and then as "=DATE(2011,1,1). This was the difference in the miscommunication and that was my experience. I had not bothered to open and review the CD, since I had already returned the book. Perhaps this issue should be clarified in future editions in case others also miss this matter when dealing with dates -- especially when one enters a base date as I did. Other than that, the book does serve as primer for beginners and intermediate Excel 2010 users who want to do more using the program for adding and subtracting values (I tend to bend a little of an intermediate user to advanced user who is trying to learn how to create dashboards). *** ORIGINAL REVIEW: For the most part, the book includes helpful information for beginners and intermediate users of Excel. However, the print version included errors in the formulas for calculating dates of the U.S. holidays -- especially for those holidays that do not fall on the same day each year. These errors appear on pages 269 through 272 of the print version of the book, and using these formulas as printed in the book generate errors. For example, the date formula for Independence Day (a holiday that falls on the same date each year) was shown in the book as =DATE(A1,7,4) instead of =DATE(YEAR(A1),7,4). The same error was also repeated for holidays that fall on different days each year. For example, the formula for Presidents Day (third Monday in January of each year): * INCORRECT (as printed in the book) =DATE(A1,2,1)+IF(2<WEEKDAY(DATE(A1,2,1)),7-WEEKDAY(DATE(A1,2,1))+2,2-WEEKDAY(DATE(A1,2,1)))+((3-1)*7) * CORRECT FORMULA (adding the correct reference to the year in the start date) =DATE(YEAR(A1),2,1)+IF(2<WEEKDAY(DATE(YEAR(A1),2,1)),7-WEEKDAY(DATE(YEAR(A1),2,1))+2,2-WEEKDAY(DATE(YEAR(A1),2,1)))+((3-1)*7) I haven't checked the publisher's website myself, but I recommend checking publisher's site to find out whether an errata sheet has been posted for this book.

This book has made it easy to brush up on things I knew I could do in Excel, but just couldn't remember how. It's also been a lifesaver in getting up to speed on the changes from Excel 2007 to Excel 2010. I consider myself an intermediate to advanced user (vlookups, pivots, etc.) and this book is helping me up my nerd credibility by giving me access to the new enhancements available in Excel 2010. The table of contents and index are both laid out well, so it's easy to get to specific items quickly. It also has a lot of tutorials and well-written explanations of why certain things work they way they do in Excel. I highly recommend this book as a desk reference - it also comes with a free ebook, which is great if you travel and don't want to lug the paper copy around.

Excellent Reference and Teacher - I was solely in charge of setting up the company financials on Excel and I searched for a good reference manual when I stumbled on this book! Excellent. Great book. I read it addictively and made many notes and put tabs on the sections I knew I could use later. The companion CD is great for examples and templates to use later. It includes everything from basic Excel instructions to Pivot Tables and charts, and way more than I most likely will need. I highly recommend this manual.

I finally got this book and I am indubitably impressed. This book has so far refreshed everything that I have already learned and then taken me to new levels of Excel mastery. The book builds on key functions and charts, graphs, from previous versions along with Microsoft 2010. I love it and I will certainly buy another from this author and this particular series. I'm very happy and I am looking forward to delving deeper into the book. The table of contents alone is pretty impressive to me, highly recommended for any user of Excel looking to advance, from beginner to advanced, you will be surprised by what you didn't know and will learn with this comprehensive book.

Just hit your F1 key if you're a 'figure-it-out' kinda guy like me. I bought this thinking I'd have a very critical tool in my belt at work. The explanations are easy to go through if you like to scan an index, then search by page number. It refers to the CD-ROM a lot, as if I actually use my CD drive and refer to these as "CD-ROMs". It (the book) is an antiquated model of basic information. Hit F1 in Excel 2010, and you have a basic reference (like this book) plus handfuls of articles showing more efficient or alternative methods. Windows still has ONE thing going for it, Excel. And they're doing it well. I'm keeping the book in case I lose internet in my office or run out of screen space for a help screen. -1 star for old publishing method, -1 for CD-ROM references. 3 stars for very relevant and basic information on such a practical program.

As I said for the ACCESS Bible, I buy one of these for each new release of EXCEL and also for ACCESS. I use EXCEL but I am frequently flumoxed by something I want to do. Even to how to start the new spreadsheet! This reference settles me down, helps to organize my thoughts, and gives me good directions. I am also thankful for the included CD.

I had a fair but pretty basic understanding of Excel and knew there was much more it could do if only I knew how. I looked at training courses but they seemed to cover lots of things I wasn't really interested in so I opted for a reference book. What I received came as a nice surprise. It's actually quite entertainingly written (so far as you can be entertaining when describing spreadsheets !) and I find the style very easy to follow. It is a huge book and I can't say I've read it cover to cover but I have found what I was after easily and mastered the techniques. There are helpful examples and data you can pracice on in the CD. I particularly like the way there are no big jumps where you can't see how he went from simple to complex. Each topic starts very simple and builds up gradually to very complex. Some might find this a bit slow but I found it really helpful. I've also got a better understanding of all sorts of things you can do with Excel that I had no idea about and I don't need yet ... but when I do I'll know exactly where to learn about them ! Highly recommended.

Good book. But the examples are given in a CD attached with Bound volume of book. Those who are buying the kindle version, the examples given in CD are not available.

Really useful when you have to work often with Excel. There is only a problem: when the Excel has a new version.

Un libro tanto para tenerlo como referencia así como para aprender desde cero. En mi caso ya tenía conocimiento básico pero me permitió profundizar y sacarle buen provecho.

目次や索引が充実しており、関連項目にたどり着きやすく、使いやすい。 Excel入門者にとっては、まだまだ使いこなすには、難しい面もあるとは思うが、 活用の中で出てくるぎもにゃ、より効率的な活用を考えるとき、手元のおいておきたい一冊。現地人のマネージャークラスに、参考書として紹介。 但し、Bibleの署名は、宗教上の理由で、好ましくない人も多いのではないか？と危惧する。