Excel Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools

This is one of those rare books which provides value for all skill levels. I have been using Excel for over 10 years and am generally happy if I learn 3 or 4 new methods for using Excel from a particular book. There are numerous examples here of implementing Excel solutions that I have not seen or thought of previously. Further, these examples can be implemented by virtually any user of the product. The content is well-written and provides very good examples of the "hacks." BUY it even if you think you know everything there is to know about Excel.

If you spend any time working with Excel as part of your job, you'll really like this book... Excel Hacks by David & Raina Hawley (O'Reilly). This book contains 100 tips and tricks related to the Excel spreadsheet package from Microsoft. The tips are divided into the following chapters:Reducing Workbook And Worksheet Frustration; Hacking Excel's Built-in Features; Naming Hacks; Hacking PivotTables; Charting Hacks; Hacking Formulas And Functions; Macro Hacks; Connecting Excel To The WorldThis particular Hacks book has an advantage that many other Hacks titles don't have. The subject matter relates to a single program, so nearly all the hacks are applicable to an Excel user. Contrast that to a Hacks title like Network Security Hacks, where your choice of operating system limits the number of tips that you can use. While there are some Windows-only Excel hacks included, most all the tricks work on both the Windows and Mac version of Excel. Nobody should feel left out here.I especially liked the chapter on the charting hacks. They outline a technique for building a speedometer chart that is really impressive.If you are an Excel power user (or know someone who is), this is the book for you.

I have bent Excel over backwards to do stuff it was not meant to do like track training metrics and use it as process bug-tracker (think programming bug tracking system except it's for processes). PivotTables are useful, but when I need them, I have forgotten how to use them to their fullest. My mind goes blank when I face the PivotTable wizard. A whole chapter is devoted to its magic and scanning the hack titles helps you quickly decide what you need and go to work.The hacks go from easy as pie to tough as nails. Did you know the comments boxes don't have to be square? It's a simple hack and the first cool thing I learn from the book. The hacks covering XML and macros are for the advanced users, but intermediate users should be able to do them and hard working beginners can get there.Excel isn't just for accountants anymore and the book shows how to use it for other things. The book is worth the investment for anyone who uses Excel. Make it break a sweat with these hacks and have fun doing it.

If you are one of the million users of MS Office, and had any use for numbers, you would hve used, with no doubt, MS Excel. Which of course has not made you any more productive, as much as MS would like us all to believe.Now that you have Excel installed, you might as well use its power. With the help of two awesome Australians who share willingly their years of experience with Excel and VBA, you can too become a pro, at least as far as spreadsheets are concerned.Here is a selection of some of the more interesting and handy topics and hacks covered:- Lock and protect cells containing formulas- Tie custom toolbars to a particular workbook- Remove phantom workbook links- Extract data from a corrupt workbook- Use Replace... to remove unwanted characters- Create custom functions using names- Automate PivotTable creation- Explode a single slice from a Pie Chart- Create charts that adjust to data- Hack chart data so that blank cells are not plotted... plus 20 formula and function hacks and 14 macro hacks.Last but not least, several very useful hacks on connection Excel to other applications using XML and SOAP Web Services.Overall, as the Hacks series has proved so far, O'Reilly continues with its tradition of publishing useful books and pricing them so reasonably that anyone who has paid the price of the product would do well to buy the book as well.

This is a very useful guide to overcoming and avoiding irritations. Using Excel can be infuriating, but it's often the most convenient software to use. This book certainly increases my confidence and reduces my dread. For example, there are lots of tips on how to streamline your work and avoid repetetive tasks. It goes far beyond that, though, and advises you how to personalize your workspace and use what I would call "magic" to make my work go more smoothly. Although it isn't the most exciting writing style, the information works and improves my Excel experience. I'm so much less frustrated when working with my data sets!