Microsoft Office

Thanks for purchasing the Excel 2007 Bible. For the first time in many years, Excel users finally
have some significant new features to get excited about. And if you’re just starting with Excel,
you’ll be glad to know that Excel 2007 is the easiest version ever.
My goal in writing this book is to share with you some of what I know about Excel, and in the process,
make you more efficient on the job. The book contains everything that you need to know to learn the
basics of Excel and then move on to more advanced topics at your own pace. You’ll find many useful
examples and lots of tips and tricks that I’ve accumulated over the years.
As a Microsoft MVP, I was fortunate to get access to early versions of Excel 2007, long before the beta
versions were made public. So I’d been working with Excel 2007 for well over a year before it was finally
released. It took me a while to get used to the new user interface, but once I passed that hurdle, I was
convinced that this version of Excel is the best ever.
Is This Book for You?
The Bible series from Wiley Publishing, Inc. is designed for beginning, intermediate, and advanced
users. This book covers all the essential components of Excel and provides clear and practical examples
that you can adapt to your own needs.
In this book, I’ve tried to maintain a good balance between the basics that every Excel user needs to
know and the more complex topics that will appeal to power users. I’ve used Excel for nearly 20 years,
and I realize that almost everyone still has something to learn (including myself). My goal is to make
that learning an enjoyable process.
Software Versions
This book was written for Excel 2007 for Windows. No exceptions. If you’re using an older version of
Excel, I suggest that you put down this book immediately and find a book that’s appropriate for your
version of Excel. The changes in Excel 2007 are so extensive that you’ll probably be hopelessly confused
if you use an earlier version.
Conventions This Book Uses
Take a minute to scan this section to learn some of the typographical and organizational conventions
that this book uses.
xxxix