Microsoft Excel Overview | Uses of Microsoft Excel

Tools developed in Excel can save your company time and money.

Microsoft Excel is one the most versatile environments for developing advanced tools. Maybe your first question asked when developing an advanced tool is, "Can we build it in Excel?"

The Microsoft Excel components that are used to build things.

In a nut shell, Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet tool that is capable of performing advanced calculations, analyzing data, presenting information in various visual interfaces and integrating information from different programs. That is just for starters. Microsoft Excel is comprised of organizational units called workbooks. A standard workbook contains worksheets and chart sheets that can be viewed by clicking on their tabs at the bottom of the workbook.

Worksheet: A worksheet can perform calculations; control what people type; color cells based on logic; store, query, organize and analyze data; display shapes, pictures, charts and controls like a web page; they are extremely versatile. A worksheet is comprised of millions of cells. The job of a cell is to store typed data. It can also store a formula that performs a calculation. A cell can also store data and refresh it from an external data source such as a database.

Chart Sheet: A chart sheet's job is to present a chart (graph) developed from data stored on a worksheet or from some other data source. They come in all different flavors like column, line, pie, sunburst, waterfall,... the list is pretty extensive. They can be formatted many different ways and they update when their sources change

Some key tasks that Microsoft Excel can perform.

Think of Microsoft Excel as a modular tool set that can be rapidly configured to accomplish a desired task. Some of Excel's key tools include:

• Worksheets that can store and organize massive amounts of data like a database
• Formulas that perform basic algebraic operations
• Formulas that perform basic logic operations using relational operators
•  Array Formulas that can analyze massive amounts of worksheet data and perform advanced logic
• Worksheet functions that perform automated tasks on massive amounts of data that simple formulas cannot do
• Data validation that is used to protect against invalid cell data entry, allows forms to be constructed
• Conditional formatting that colors worksheet cells based on logical conditions
• Chart creation that visualizes worksheet data
• Excel tables that organize and adapt to resizing worksheet data
• Power Query that can fuse, clean and edit data from multiple data sources
• PivotTables (Power Pivot) that can be used to rapidly organize, analyze and display worksheet data
• Grouping outlines that can group, hide and display data
• Built-in drawing shapes, imported pictures and ActiveX controls that can be used to create advanced visual interfaces like dashboards
• Built-in programming language called Visual Basic for Applications (VBA, Macros) that can be used to automate Excel's features and develop time saving tools

By using Microsoft Excel, company funds and time are not invested in developing software tools from the "ground up" in computer languages that take large staffs to maintain.