Microsoft Office

Writing Excel 2007 Bible was one of my most challenging projects. Never before has an Excel
upgrade incorporated so many new features and changes. Thanks to the brilliant people at
Microsoft for the hard work it took to get this product out the door at Redmond, and onto
my hard drive. I can’t say that I agree with all of their user interface decisions, but I have no doubt that
this is the best version of Excel ever. It’s always a pleasure to deal with Greg Croy, acquisitions editor.
I’ve worked with Greg for many years, and I appreciate all he does to get my books to market in a timely
manner. And a special thank-you to Kelly Ewing, project editor for this book. She and the other talented
people behind the scenes did an incredible job of converting my sloppy and often incomprehensible
Word files into real book pages that actually make sense.
A few other people also deserve thanks. First of all, I’d like to acknowledge Mark Tedeschi, who was
the first to request. I must also thank ~Q~ for opening my eyes to new possibilities for the oft-neglected
tilde. And I thank Michael D. Bono for his life-long guidance and sound hypocritical stance on key
issues.
It is with deepest humility that I thank Anagram, a longtime contributor to banjo, biplane, biker, and
binary appreciation societies around the world. When I grow up, I want to be just like her. And, to keep
it in the family, a special thanks to Bisbonian, who introduced me to the art of flailing the banjo and
took me on an awesome biplane ride over Bisbee, Arizona.
A few random pages of this book (towards the back) are dedicated to young MacDonald — the one
without the farm. Thanks to Satyrsong and MK, for sushi and steaming up my glasses. Just as Joe Blow
taught me the true meaning of Swiss cheese, Keveena taught me the meaning of bhroondaglog (and I’m
truly grateful for that). And my gratitude even extends to Michael R. Bernstein, who taught me everything
I know about Hannukwanzaamas.
Very special thanks go out to my long-time friend Wendy Lauver, a dedicated fan, an occasional pivot
table princess, and a self-described charting hag. She’s one of the few people in this modern world who
deserves an exclamation point after her name. Here’s to you, Wendy!
A special acknowledgment goes out to Margie Corbett, for encouraging her husband to pursue his
Excel obsession, and for allowing him to buy this book with his own money. I’d also like to thank
Gerard Gibbons, who simply wants to confuse his wife by having his name appear in an Excel book. I’d
be remiss if I didn’t thank Curtis Curtington for being meshugeh ahf toit. Oh, and for the underpants.
A special thanks to Stephen, from Kennesaw State University, for his commitment to raising the quality
of education in our great country. I’d also like to thank the always deft Biff, for answering thousands of
Excel questions in the Microsoft newsgroups so I could spend my time writing this book. And thanks to
Brent Nichols, who took the time to explain to me the difference between Excel and axles. Now, looking
under my car isn’t so perplexing. Thanks, Mr. Ed, for siring the love of my life.
I’m down on my knees when I thank Spirit Mountain for providing the inspiration to complete this
book. And I’m grateful to RickHap, for donating Faith Mountain to my charity fundraiser for Whole
Wheat Radio. And, of course, special thanks to Cindy in Wasilla for helping me with the decorating
xxxiii