Learn | Encyclopedia-Excel

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Learn

No matter what your skill level is, there's always something new to learn.

We'll start with the absolute basics of Excel, going over the application as a whole, basic terminology that is used, structure, best/standard practices, and slowly go through use cases, examples, formulas, functions, and features that you should know as your skills evolve.

Suggested Reading Order

Whether you're completely new to Excel or an advanced user, the sections listed below should give you some direction on where to go next.

Introduction to Excel

For someone brand new to Excel or is looking to freshen up on some basics:

1. What is Excel? - Why should you learn it? What is its purpose and where did it come from?

2. What Is the Best Way to Learn Excel? - What's the best way to go about learning Excel at all skill levels?

3. Understanding the Basic Layout of Excel - Learn the basics of how Excel is structured.

Beginner

First steps working within Excel:

1. Viewing and Worksheet Options

1.1. How to Change the Zoom level - Different methods of setting the zoom level in an Excel worksheet

1.2. Hiding and Unhiding Worksheets - How to hide and unhide multiple worksheets at one time

1.3. How to Freeze Columns and Rows - Freeze areas of your worksheet and improve your sheets usability

1.4. Copying Worksheets - How to create copies of worksheets and also copy them to other workbooks

2. Formatting Your Worksheet

2.1. Changing Font Color - How to change text and font color by hand and using conditional formatting

2.2. Changing Cell Color - How to change the background color of any cell

2.3. Using the Format Painter - How to use the Format Painter to speed up formatting

3. Using Formulas

3.1. Formula Basics - Everything you need to know to create your own formulas across your workbook

4. Working with Text

4.1. Extract Everything to the Left of a Character - How to return everything left of a specific character

4.2. Extract Everything to the Right of a Character - How to return everything right of a specific character

4.3. Text Wrapping - How and when to wrap text within a cell

4.4. Remove Spaces - How to remove leading, trailing, or all spaces from text

Intermediate

Have the basics down but are still looking for ways to build a more complete skillset:

1. Paste Special - Learn how to supercharge your basic copy and paste with Paste Special

2. How to Remove Duplicates - How to remove duplicate values from rows, columns, and tables

3. How to Link Two Workbooks - Learn to work across multiple workbooks

4. Find and Replace Feature - How to locate and change values across your workbook

Advanced

Know most of Excel's basic functions but are looking to dive into more specialized tools and features.

1. 3-D References - Perform calculations across multiple worksheets all at once within one formula

Focused Learning

More specific topics that may not be useful for everyone, offering more focused tips:

VBA & Macros

Use VBA to create macros, automate repetitive tasks, and extend Excel's functionality

1. Getting Started

1.1. What Are Macros? - What are macros? Should you learn them? Are they hard to learn?

1.2. How to Create a Macro From Scratch - Get set up with the macro editor and create your first macro

2. Beginner Concepts

2.1. Good Code Presentation - How to use comments, indentation, and line breaks to format your code

2.2. How to Structure Your Code - How to logically lay out your code to increase efficiency and readability

2.3. Declaring Variables & Data Types - How and why to declare your variables with the correct data type

2.4. Creating Good Variable Names - A few of the most common naming conventions and rules used

3. Programming Techniques

3.1. For Loops - How to loop through sections of code x amount of times

3.2. Do While Loops - How to loop through code until a specific condition is met

3.3. With Statements - Use With statements to reduce typing and write more readable code

3.4. Arrays - Store and manipulate a large number of values in a single variable

3.5. Dynamic Arrays - Create arrays that can grow and shrink in size

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