Excel Fundamentals Training Course

1. Introduction to Microsoft Excel

1.1 Excel Interface and Navigation

• Excel workspace components including (ribbon, quick access toolbar, formula bar, worksheet tabs)

• Workbook and worksheet concepts including (multiple sheets, sheet navigation, sheet management)

• Cell addressing and navigation including (cell references, name box, keyboard shortcuts)

• View options and display settings including (zoom controls, freeze panes, split windows)

• Excel file formats and compatibility including (XLSX, CSV, PDF export, version considerations)

1.2 Basic Workbook Operations

• Creating and saving workbooks including (new file creation, save locations, auto-recovery settings)

• Opening and closing files including (recent files, file browser, cloud storage integration)

• Worksheet management including (inserting sheets, deleting sheets, renaming sheets, moving sheets, copying sheets)

• Print setup and page layout including (orientation, margins, headers and footers, print area)

• Basic data entry techniques including (text entry, number entry, date formats, auto-fill)

2. Data Entry and Formatting

2.1 Efficient Data Entry Techniques

• Manual data entry including (text input, numeric input, date and time entry)

• Auto-fill and flash fill including (series generation, pattern recognition, data completion)

• Data validation including (dropdown lists, input restrictions, error messages, data integrity)

• Copy and paste operations including (paste special, paste values, paste formats, transpose)

• Find and replace including (text search, formatting search, wildcard usage, replace all)

2.2 Cell and Range Formatting

• Number formatting including (currency, percentage, decimal places, custom formats, accounting format)

• Text formatting including (font selection, size adjustment, bold, italic, underline, color)

• Cell alignment and orientation including (horizontal alignment, vertical alignment, text wrapping, merge cells)

• Borders and shading including (border styles, cell background colors, pattern fills)

• Conditional formatting basics including (highlight rules, data bars, color scales, icon sets)

3. Formulas and Basic Functions

3.1 Formula Fundamentals

• Formula structure and syntax including (equal sign, operators, operands, order of operations)

• Arithmetic operators including (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation)

• Cell references in formulas including (relative references, creating basic calculations, range selection)

• Formula copying and auto-fill including (drag-down functionality, pattern replication, series extension)

• Error identification including (common error types, error indicators, troubleshooting techniques)

3.2 Essential Excel Functions

• Basic mathematical functions including (SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT, COUNTA)

• Statistical functions including (MEDIAN, MODE, STDEV, COUNTIF, SUMIF, AVERAGEIF)

• Text functions including (CONCATENATE or AMPERSAND, LEFT, RIGHT, MID, UPPER, LOWER, TRIM)

• Date and time functions including (TODAY, NOW, DATE, YEAR, MONTH, DAY, DATEDIF)

• Logical functions including (IF, AND, OR, NOT, nested IF statements)

4. Cell Referencing and Formula Logic

4.1 Reference Types

• Relative references including (default behavior, formula copying, row and column adjustment)

• Absolute references including (dollar sign usage, fixed references, mixed references)

• Mixed references including (fixed row with relative column, fixed column with relative row)

• Named ranges including (defining names, using names in formulas, range management)

• Structured references including (table references, column headers, dynamic ranges)

4.2 Advanced Formula Techniques

• Nested functions including (combining multiple functions, function within function, complex logic)

• Lookup functions including (VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, lookup syntax, approximate and exact match)

• Formula auditing including (trace precedents, trace dependents, evaluate formula, error checking)

• Array formulas basics including (multi-cell calculations, array constants, formula behavior)

• Formula best practices including (documentation, simplicity, error prevention, maintainability)

5. Data Organization and Management

5.1 Sorting and Filtering

• Single-column sorting including (ascending order, descending order, custom sort)

• Multi-level sorting including (primary sort, secondary sort, sort by color)

• AutoFilter functionality including (filter activation, filter criteria, multiple filters)

• Custom filtering including (text filters, number filters, date filters, top 10 filters)

• Removing duplicates including (duplicate identification, unique value extraction, data cleaning)

5.2 Excel Tables

• Creating tables including (table conversion, table design, structured data)

• Table features including (automatic formatting, filter buttons, total row, calculated columns)

• Table manipulation including (adding rows, adding columns, resizing tables, converting to range)

• Table calculations including (structured references, aggregate functions, dynamic formulas)

• Table sorting and filtering including (enhanced filter options, slicer integration, quick analysis)

6. Charts and Data Visualization

6.1 Creating Charts

• Chart types overview including (column charts, bar charts, line charts, pie charts, scatter plots)

• Chart creation process including (data selection, chart insertion, chart placement, quick layouts)

• Chart elements including (title, axis labels, legend, data labels, gridlines)

• Chart formatting including (colors, styles, chart area, plot area, data series)

• Chart modification including (changing chart type, adding data, removing data, switching rows and columns)

6.2 Chart Customization

• Axis formatting including (scale adjustment, number formats, axis options, logarithmic scales)

• Data series formatting including (colors, markers, line styles, bar width, overlap)

• Legend positioning including (location options, formatting, custom entries, legend removal)

• Chart titles and labels including (dynamic titles, data label positioning, custom text, formatting)

• Sparklines including (line sparklines, column sparklines, win-loss sparklines, sparkline customization)

7. Page Layout and Printing

7.1 Page Setup

• Page orientation including (portrait, landscape, worksheet-specific settings)

• Margins and centering including (margin adjustment, horizontal centering, vertical centering)

• Headers and footers including (preset options, custom text, page numbers, date and time, file information)

• Print area definition including (selecting print range, clearing print area, multiple print areas)

• Scaling options including (fit to page, percentage scaling, page breaks, print preview)

7.2 Professional Report Preparation

• Print titles including (repeating rows, repeating columns, consistent headers)

• Page breaks including (manual page breaks, automatic page breaks, page break preview)

• Gridlines and headings including (printing options, visibility settings, worksheet presentation)

• Background removal including (professional appearance, clean printouts, color considerations)

• PDF export including (save as PDF, PDF options, quality settings, distribution preparation)

8. Case Studies & Group Discussions

• Practical business scenarios including (budget tracking, sales reports, inventory management, expense tracking)

• The importance of proper training in developing effective spreadsheet management skills