Getting The Most From Microsoft Excel 2007 Training

When you upgrade to Excel 2007, you and your staff may be in for quite a shock. The initial reaction of most people is: "where is everything?" Bearing this in mind, you may well find that a training course on Excel 2007 is a good investment. The training should first of all get you past the initial state of confusion caused by the fact that 2007 looks so different from previous versions. Then it should give you some guidance on the new features in Excel 2007 such as the enhancements to charting and graphics, functions and conditional formatting.

One of the key benefits you should look to derive from any training on Excel 2007 will be to regain the confidence level you achieved when using the previous version. You need to be shown the logic of the new interface, where your favourite features have been moved to, and how you can start working as quickly in Excel 2007 as you did in Excel 2003.

However, after being trained on 2007, you will want to do more than just get back to where you were with 2003. You will want the training to show you what new features have been added to Excel 2007 and how these new features can benefit you.

The number of cells in an Excel 2007 worksheet is now about 1000 times bigger than in previous versions. If you book training on Excel 2007, you should learn ways of taking advantage of this new space and also pick some tips on efficient navigation and management of this huge area.

Your training should also include demonstrations and explanations of pivot tables, a feature which has been revamped and improved in Excel 2007. If you or your colleagues have not used pivot tables to any great extent before, the training should begin by reviewing basic pivot table concepts before moving on to look at what Excel 2007 has to offer.

Charts have been given a big overhaul in version 2007. So be sure your training includes coverage of the special effects available in Excel 2007 charting and graphics. Your training course should cover such features as the format, design and layout ribbons and how to use SmartArt graphics and shapes. If charting is particularly important in your organisation, then make sure your training covers things like trendlines, scatter charts and pivot charts.

Conditional formatting has been around in Excel for some time. However, this feature has now been considerably improved. If you are getting trained on Excel 2007, you should definitely make sure that you will learn about these improvements and how to use the Color Scale and Data Bars features.

The ability to enter formulas and functions into the cells of an Excel spreadsheet is the key feature that has made the program so essential to so many organisations. Excel 2007 has added several new features relating to functions and several new functions. You should insist that any training course you book on Excel 2007 demonstrates these new features and functions such as IfError, SumIfs and AverageIf.

By: Matthew Fletcher

The writer of this article is a developer and trainer with OnSiteTrainingCourses.Com, a UK IT training company offering Microsoft Excel training courses in London and throughout the UK.

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