Excel 2003: The Missing Manual

by Matthew MacDonald

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.

791 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Matthew MacDonald is a science and technology writer with well over a dozen books to his name. He's particularly known for his books about building websites, which include a do-it-from-scratch tutorial (Creating a Website: The Missing Manual), a look at cutting-edge HTML5 (HTML5: The Missing Manual), and a WordPress primer (WordPress: The Missing Manual). He's also written a series of books about programming on and off the Web with .NET, teaches programming at Ryerson University, and is a three-time Microsoft MVP.

Reviews

[Katie Devlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know when you go in for a job interview and get asked about your Excel skills, and you swear up and down you are an excel wizard. Well, when you get out of that interview go and buy this book, and pray to god you get through all 700 plus pages before someone figures out you are full of shit.
Very informative.