# Microsoft Excel, Question



## Dix (Apr 28, 2012)

Seems I'm a bit of a prehistoric reptile as far as computer programs go  . Never had to learn it or use it. And a lot of jobs require/ask for it. Makes a huge difference in pay, I've discovered.

I'm signing up for a night class at the library that is teaching Excel 2007. after I get my library card tomorrow.

My question is, is there a difference in Excel 2007 & newer versions of Excel, or will I be able to adapt if I get tested on it on a job interview?

Inquiring minds wanna know.

*pokes Jags*


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## BrotherBart (Apr 28, 2012)

You will be fine if you can drive a mouse in Excel 2007. Most added features anymore are stuff nobody uses anyway. In fact most added spreadsheet features since 1991 are stuff nobody uses.

Edit: After you get through at the library, shame on you for not having a card already, download the 60 day trial version of Office 2010 and get familiar with it.

http://www2.buyoffice.microsoft.com...US_GenTry_Control&culture=en-us&re_dr=TRYONLY


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## Mrs. Krabappel (Apr 28, 2012)

Definitely run through the newer version once you are adept at 2007.   It's a somewhat different interface.


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## begreen (Apr 29, 2012)

The newest versions have a significantly different interface that takes some getting used to. I am finally getting the hang of it. They have also automated some functions and made others one click. If you want a simpler version that will get the job done you could download OpenOffice by Oracle. It's free and covers most Office functions very well.


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## Frozen Canuck (Apr 29, 2012)

+1 on the open office. Does everything I need for free. Unless the microsoft program is a job requirement of course.


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## peakbagger (Apr 29, 2012)

I find the newer Excell version to be a PITA when it comes to looking for specific commands. A lot of the speciality menus only appear when on certain tabs. The comands are there but they just are harder to find. Frequently, Excel will assume that you are done with a command and turn off the special pull down menu and then you have to go look for it again. Once you use it frequently its gets less bad but still it slow me down comparted to 97.


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## Dix (Apr 29, 2012)

Mission accomplished, I'm signed up for the class.

BB, thanks for the link, I will do that after I'm done, which is May 23.

I have Office.org (thanks to BB, again), I'll check it out. Are they similar? (Haven't even looked at it yet, just got home, mowed the grass, took out the Murph, working on dinner).

A lot of the job listings say "Microsoft Excel". So I'm pretty sure that's where I have to be. But, if Office will give me some practice, too, that's cool.

Worked breakfast at the diner, did OK in tips.

This really blows, but I'm peddling as fast as I can.


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## GAMMA RAY (Apr 29, 2012)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> Worked breakfast at the diner, did OK in tips.
> 
> This really blows, but I'm peddling as fast as I can.


 
You go girl....we are here for ya....


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## Dix (Apr 29, 2012)

Gotta love Rodney, Gamma .. glad you like him 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




The Devil knows I'm there...but I'm not down yet, or totally on fire.


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 29, 2012)

Go for it Eileen! You can do it.


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## Dix (Apr 29, 2012)

Thanks, Dennis & Judy. Thank you very, very much.


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## Jags (Apr 30, 2012)

Eileen - you can learn the "functionality" of the office from any of their versions, but as BG stated, the 2010 version is quite a different interface.  It still does the same junk (and then some) of the older versions, it is just not in the same place.  Take your class and then grab the trial version that BroB linked to and take it for a test drive.

The best way that I have found to help people navigate it is to actually give yourself a task.  Spread sheet your expenses.  Print your mailing labels for outgoing mail....etc.


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## Dix (Apr 30, 2012)

Thanks, Jags, I'll do that.

Is 2010 on a blue back ground, and you have to click on a multi colored box in the upper left hand corner to access the print functions? If so, I'm using it alittle bit for accepting dispatches, billing info, and warranty work from different manufacturers on their web sites. Hay, maybe I know more than I think I do


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## PapaDave (Apr 30, 2012)

"Hay, maybe I know more than I think I do"
This would not surprise me a bit.
Like Jags suggests, doing is the best medicine.


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## Dix (Apr 30, 2012)

I'll take what ever medicine I can to cure this mess, thanks Dave !


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## Jags (May 1, 2012)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> Thanks, Jags, I'll do that.
> 
> Is 2010 on a blue back ground, and you have to click on a multi colored box in the upper left hand corner to access the print functions? If so, I'm using it alittle bit for accepting dispatches, billing info, and warranty work from different manufacturers on their web sites. Hay, maybe I know more than I think I do


Yep, something that is as mundane as printing requires 3 clicks.


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## Gary_602z (May 1, 2012)

Hang in there Dixie you can do it!

Gary


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## Dix (May 1, 2012)

You guys are the best 

Played with Dixie last night & tonight, did some showmanship patterns, and just worked with her. Felt great, been a while. She, on the other hand, looked at me like "you're talking to me?" I said yes, I am. She changed her tune pretty quickly


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## Retired Guy (May 3, 2012)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> Gotta love Rodney, Gamma .. glad you like him
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
How did a LI girl learn to like Country Music - took me 40 years to get mine hooked?


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## Dix (May 3, 2012)

When cow girls become your best friends........


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## tfdchief (May 3, 2012)

Dixie, as others have said, you will be fine. Once you know Excel, the only thing that has changed significantly is where Microsoft put it.


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## Retired Guy (May 4, 2012)

The folks at this website are as nice and helpful as the ones here. Free signup and great knowledge.

http://windowssecrets.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/15-Spreadsheets


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## Dix (May 22, 2012)

Got my book bag packed, and my snack 

Class tomorrow @ 7 PM


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## BrotherBart (May 22, 2012)

Rock and roll Dix. Rock and roll.


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## fossil (May 22, 2012)

Get an "A"!


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## PapaDave (May 22, 2012)

Excellent Dixie.
We're all rootin' for ya'.


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## Dix (May 22, 2012)

I always got "A" 's. maybe a "b" or two 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





Theme song


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## SlyFerret (May 22, 2012)

I'm back in school working on a Business degree.  I'm taking an Excel class right now.  We use 2007 at work, but the class is focused on 2010.  You won't notice a whole lot of difference between the two.

I've used Excel quite a bit over the years, considering my field is IT.  I figured this class would be all old news, but from the very first day, I have been learning new things.  Enough that it is definitely worthwhile!  Mostly features that I never knew existed that make life easier.

Enjoy the class!  If you're like me, by the time you get done, you'll be saying "damn excel is cool!"

-SF


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## nate379 (May 23, 2012)

Library card? Really? I thought thos places went away with cassette tapes and members only jackets  I haven't been in a library in well over 20 years.


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## Jags (May 23, 2012)

Way to go, girl. <electronic high five>
I think you will knock it out of the park.


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## firefighterjake (May 23, 2012)

nate379 said:


> Library card? Really? I thought thos places went away with cassette tapes and members only jackets I haven't been in a library in well over 20 years.


 
I have a library card . . . but it's a plastic jobby, electronic and about half the size of the old style credit card. Once in awhile I'll wnader into the Bangor Library and go crazy . . . take out 4 or 5 books and plow through them in a few days . . . and then not take anything out for several months.


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## firefighterjake (May 23, 2012)

Good luck Dix.


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## Dix (May 23, 2012)

Auto Sum is your friend.

Never leave a blank cell, it throws off the formula. Formula's are key. A colon means thru and including.

To print a spread sheet with grid lines, to go "Page Preview", "Sheets", "Grid Lines".

They hid the print functions because they are a bunch of tree huggers, and didn't think that the stuff should be printed.


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## BrotherBart (May 23, 2012)

Don't eat yellow snow. Don't reload over 400 degrees stove top temp.


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## Backwoods Savage (May 23, 2012)

Eileen, you can still sum with a blank. Just look at what auto sum gives you. Now make that formula yourself. For example, you have a column with 20 figures but there is also a blank in there. So let's say you have a column with a range of 1 thru 21.  Put in there like auto sum does:  =sum(1:21)  and bingo! It is there.


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## Dix (May 23, 2012)

Teach said, to start, don't leave blank cells. It also makes it easier to find the cells that "need to be filled at a later date".

Formulas check at the top. Makes it easier to check a spread sheet that some one else made, so you can see what's going on.

BB, only you could bring Zappa into this


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## Dix (May 23, 2012)

This is how I feel after taking this class


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## Jags (May 24, 2012)

Baahaha...

The surface you are scratching....


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## Dix (May 24, 2012)

Jags, I gotta tell ya. They handed out a leaflet with "sorta instructions" before the class, and I started reading, and one page said "now we're going to apply the calculus we learned in school",and I said to my self "I'm dead"..I never took calculus !!

But it wasn't bad. I opened it at work today during lunch, and was able to duplicate most of what we did last night, so that's a good thing !!

I also learned where "help" was, which was a huge asset 

I will say that I was helping the woman next to me find buttons, click, etc. She was who I thought I would be, and I wasn't


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## Jags (May 29, 2012)

And then all of a sudden one day in the future it will "click" and come full circle and you will say "Ahhh, now I get it".


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## begreen (May 29, 2012)

Don't leave any blank cells? Silly me, 20+ years with Excel I've been doing it wrong all these years.


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## Jags (May 29, 2012)

begreen said:


> Don't leave any blank cells?


 
Yeah, I don't get that one either.  It may be a training technique.


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## Adios Pantalones (May 29, 2012)

I don't have mad Excel kung fu, but I use it every day (and Lotu 123 before that- 20-25 yrs ago).

I'm not an organized person, so I force myself to do certain things in excel to keep it in order.

Start new sheets with useful names. Use blocks of color on a sheet to set apart sections. Learn to freeze panes for scrolling. There's more of that.

You will likely come out of this more efficient than I, because I am self taught and probably missed many basics and features in the newer versions.


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## Crane Stoves (May 29, 2012)

Jags said:


> Eileen - you can learn the "functionality" of the office from any of their versions, but as BG stated, the 2010 version is quite a different interface. It still does the same junk (and then some) of the older versions, it is just not in the same place. Take your class and then grab the trial version that BroB linked to and take it for a test drive.
> 
> The best way that I have found to help people navigate it is to actually give yourself a task. Spread sheet your expenses. Print your mailing labels for outgoing mail....etc.


 
trial version??? i think anyone who wishes to use MS office 2007 can obtain it free on web at this point (not sayin' its right or wrong) but nobody i know pays for it anymore.


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## Jags (May 29, 2012)

doug crane said:


> trial version??? i think anyone who wishes to use MS office 2007 can obtain it free on web at this point (not sayin' its right or wrong) but nobody i know pays for it anymore.


 
You do if your in business.  The fine for an illegal copy outweighs the initial cost.  I have 130 licenses right now (bulk licenses).  I know a company that got pinged for 4 bad copies.  Cost them over $20,000.  Just say'in.


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## SlyFerret (May 30, 2012)

Jags said:


> You do if your in business.  The fine for an illegal copy outweighs the initial cost.  I have 130 licenses right now (bulk licenses).  I know a company that got pinged for 4 bad copies.  Cost them over $20,000.  Just say'in.



Wow, they got of REALLY easy if 4 bad copies only cost them $20k in fines.  Many business, 4 bad copies could have been enough to put them out of business!

-SF


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## Jags (May 30, 2012)

SlyFerret said:


> Wow, they got of REALLY easy if 4 bad copies only cost them $20k in fines. Many business, 4 bad copies could have been enough to put them out of business!
> 
> -SF


 
First offense reported by a disgruntled employee.  I make our employees KNOW that only licensed versions of ANYTHING is gonna reside on my computers.  No questions asked and I carry a big stick.


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## Dix (May 30, 2012)

I learned how to make my columns wider, and shorter, how to auto fill, how to make a column add top to bottom & side to side.

Figuring out mail merge (which I used to do In word, many moons ago).

I dunno about the blank cell thing, but it's working, so right now, I'm not going to change it.

Baby steps 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I do have a friend who HAS Office, and told me I could load her copy 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




That's right, we bad


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## Jags (May 31, 2012)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> I do have a friend who HAS Office, and told me I could load her copy
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Don't worry about it.  There can't be over 30,000 people that just read this.


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## Adabiviak (Jun 1, 2012)

If you're just now cutting your chops on Excel, I'd recommend getting familiar with keyboard shortcuts, and perhaps that's why the instructor is advising against blanks in your data lists? Perhaps not if he's advising that the formulas be placed at the top of the data instead of the bottom. Anyway, if you put your cursor below a stack of data, hold the ALT key and press =, it will put the sum formula in for you, but will only include data until it reaches a blank cell. This will also not work if you put the formula at the top of the column.

Seriously, if you think you'll be using Excel on any kind of a regular basis, I can't stress enough how fast you can navigate a spreadsheet with the keyboard only - it will become an extension of your hands with practice. I use Excel every single day at work and am usually writing formulas from scratch several times a week, and it's agony watching someone else fumble through with a mouse... like watching a ball game where everyone is using crutches. There are a few things in Excel that are faster at with the mouse due to lousy design (the sort dialog box, for example), or due to the complex nature of some things (I'm not sure if there's an elegant way to edit charts with the keyboard that isn't better suited to the mouse, for example), but the bulk of the work in organizing, sorting, and creating formulas can be done easily without the mouse. It'll just take practice. 

These keyboard shortcuts are available everywhere (the local help files, the Internet at large, and presumably your teacher), but if you're interested, just make a reply here with whatever you want to know and I'll see what I can do. As I type this, I'm working from home on a new spreadsheet to analyze some machine rentals.


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## Dix (Sep 5, 2012)

As a follow up, and to continue my learning curve, I've found a local school distrct that is offering Adult Ed on Excel 2003 (my SD has no adult ed due to budget cuts). 2 hours on Tuesday night for 6 weeks. I plan on signing up tomorrow after a meeting I have in the AM.

I think it's worth the education experience.


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## Jags (Sep 5, 2012)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> I think it's worth the education experience.


Yep, excel is a pretty basic requirement in almost any office.


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## Jack Straw (Sep 5, 2012)

I enjoy working with Excel, don't worry about it, there is always the undo option!


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## Dix (Sep 27, 2012)

Class moved to Thursdays... early dismissal due to the comp's not up & runnin'.

Now we finish November 15th.

Back, to the future !


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## Flatbedford (Sep 28, 2012)

Ironically, I decided to try Excel for the first time today and came across this thread tonight. I've had the 2010 version on my laptop for about 6 months now, but never even opened it. I fumbled thru the help section and created a worksheet to track various incomes of mine. I know that I only scratched the surface, but it does seem like an incredibly powerful tool when in the right hands.
Good luck with you education Dix. I don't know if I could ever start a new career at this point in my life. Mrs. Flatbedford, on the other hand, has been in some sort of college or professional training program since 2003 and she's getting pretty smart! She has all kinds of irons in the fire now. All she has to do is start making the big bucks with all her new smarts so I can spend more time processing firewood and playing with old trucks and tractors. Bottom line, it is never too late for more education. Knowledge is the only thing that nobody can take away from you.


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## Dix (Sep 28, 2012)

Gotta do what ya gotta do, Steve.

I've pulled myself out of the mess before............. I know how to do it, just didn't figure I'd have to do it again.

Ha........ ain't nobody ever getting into seeing the Wizard ever, not nobody, no ever, no how.


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