Excel for Dummies Book Review

What Is Excel for Dummies?

Excel For Dummies follows in the tradition of the immensely popular "Dummy" guides. The familiar format is clearly written and easy to understand, with step-by-step instructions and detailed diagrams to help guide you through the basics (and not-so-basics) of the software. Excel For Dummies introduces the new user to the base functions of the program.

It then eases them into the more advanced functions with easy-to-understand instructions, call out boxes with helpful tips and tricks, sample formulas, and format ideas to show you what this program can do to help you at home or in your business.

Greg Harvey communicates his vast knowledge in this book and makes it seem easy for the beginning user to master the entire suite of capabilities. Excel For Dummies is your ideal single source for everything you need to know to make professional grade spreadsheets, data tables, charts, and reports.

Despite the expert level knowledge on the page, the guide does not appear dry or academic like some other guides. Each section in the book is written with clear explanations and examples of how to use all the major functions in the software.

Product Specs

Excel For Dumm​​ies is broken down into sections that cover the major components of the software, with each one breaking the larger elements into smaller and easier to digest functions. This structure makes understanding the more advanced techniques a breeze, even for someone coming into the program with no previous experience.

The paperback edition comes in at 366 pages filled with detailed instructions on every major tool. The guide begins with the basics of the toolbar and window organization and then guides you through building the perfect spreadsheet or data table.

The book gives a detailed look at how to create professional looking charts and reports that build directly off user data. There are sections in the book dedicated to showing you how to use the new Tip Wizard and Function Wizard to develop spreadsheets and charts.

You will also learn how to use filters and sorting functions to make your tables easy to read and evaluate. From cover to cover, Excel For Dummies guides the new user across the suite of features and gives the tools and knowledge needed to design clean, functional, and professional looking spreadsheets and reports.

Pricing

The paperback edition of Excel For Dummies is available for around the ten to twenty dollar range from most sellers online, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble Online. The digital copy can be found at about five to ten dollars at most digital booksellers, including Amazon, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo.

How It Compares

With so many guides on the market, it can be hard to choose the right one. We reviewed some of the most popular options for comparison against Excel For Dummies.

Excel for Beginners (Excel Essentials)
Excel Basics In 30 Minutes
Microsoft Excel 2016 Introduction Quick Reference Guide

Excel For Dummies

Excel For Dummies follows in the tradition of previous Dummy books and has the familiar and casual feel that people are comfortable with. The writing is plain and clear with the understanding you may not know everything coming into the program. The different sections are laid out so the most basic user can learn at their own pace.

The guide covers all the basic building blocks in Excel, showing the beginning user what they need to know to produce functional and visually-appealing reports and spreadsheets. The base knowledge is explained thoroughly and with an emphasis on practical applications. The latter half of the guide assumes you've mastered the basics and instructs the user on more advanced functions such as macros and pivot tables.

Each section of the guide is broken down into subsections that take the user through the processes with detailed pictures and applicable diagrams. The overall design is aimed at the beginning user with use of everyday examples that show how Excel work at home or office. Excel for Dummies takes the best parts of this instructional series and lays it out for everyone to understand

 Though the guide goes into some detail about more advanced functions, it stops just short of offering more professional or advanced tips and tricks. Macros and Pivot functions are explained in detail, but the full suite of options are left to be explained by more clinical books and guides. There is no detailed breakdown of macro editing or functionality with other programs in the Microsoft Office Suite.

Excel for Beginners (Excel Essentials)

The Essentials series of books for Excel are a series of guides broken down into different levels, this one being the introductory guide to the software. At only 80 pages this book walks through the most basic principles you need to know to work in Excel. As part of a series aimed towards incremental growth, this is a good first step in getting started with spreadsheets.

As the introductory guide in the Essentials series, it's written in plain language with step-by-step instructions on the basics in Excel. Written for someone with no starting knowledge, this guide works well for someone looking to ease into the software. Though easy to read and follow, the text can appear stilted and dry.

This first issue in the series only covers the simple parts of the software and leaves the more advanced functions for intermediate users to find in the next edition. The coverage of features is limited to the basics and don't offer as many examples as some other guides.

The overall guide reads more like a textbook and sometimes feels more academic than would be needed by the beginning user. Written for understanding the basics, it does little else to expand on the various features and benefits of the program.

Since this is the first in a series of guides, it only covers the beginners' tools in Excel, leaving later advancements for the intermediate level. This guide has little to no description of the outside functions that connect the software to the greater Microsoft Suite.

Excel Basics In 30 Minutes

Considered a tutorial guide, this book uses guided practices to take you through the basics of not only Excel but the free applications available through Google and Microsoft Excel Online. This book uses step-by-step tasks to show the basic tools and functions in the software. Several exercises are made to familiarize yourself with everything from setting up your initial fields to the final export of a report.

This guide makes learning the basics not only easy but quick as each guided exercise takes you through the steps needed to produce working spreadsheets to fit your needs. Marketed as a timed course, this guide tries to make the learning process easier by breaking it down into smaller, easier to digest steps.

Features & Coverage   Excel Basics is put together like an exercise book rather than a software bible. The exercises are not finely detailed and offer few examples or breakouts of various features in the program. The book acts as a tutorial but lacks a lot of varied examples that are seen in many other guides.

The guided exercises in this book offer a great start to learning what this software can really do. The steps are clear and easy to understand, making it easy for someone just starting out in Excel. Each guided exercise is clear and simple but does not go into detail on how the functions interact or how they can be customized for the needs of the spreadsheet or report.

Advanced & Expert Functions   

Unfortunately, there are no exercises that go beyond the most basic functions of the software. This is a plain guide for the absolute beginner and is meant to be a crash course on the foundational tools in Excel.

Microsoft Excel 2016 Introduction Quick Reference Guide

Unlike the other guides above, this is a laminated one sheet packed with tips, tricks, formulas, and notes on everything Excel. Designed as a single source for all of your basic questions, this sheet serves as a great cheat sheet for the software. The Quick Reference fits perfectly in a folder or along with a more detailed program bible or manual.

Great as a quick reference guide and handy as one sheet, this is more of a tool than a guidebook to Excel. The text and diagrams are packed tight onto the page, so there is a lot of information to review.

There is a great deal of information on just a single sheet of laminated paper, but only in a fundamental tone and with no examples on how to apply the various formulas or use the tools in the program. The sheet doesn't have everything you might need right from the beginning, but it would serve as an ideal companion piece to another guide or software bible.

This Quick Reference Guide is densely packed with information and is easy to pull out and reference for answers. The text is fairly small, making following certain entries on the page a little tricky.

There is little mention of advanced formulas or other functions as this is just meant to be a simple, quick reference. There are a few explanations of formulas and pivots that can get the beginner started, but lack the detail or examples that some other guides include.

Conclusion

Out of all the comparisons we looked at, none of them came to the level of Excel For Dummies. There are hundreds of guides and bibles available for this particular software, but most of them lack personality or patience for the beginning user. Excel For Dummies takes the best parts of the For Dummies series and makes learning this advanced software a lot less intimidating.

If you are looking for the best way to get started with building your spreadsheets and generating professional looking reports, then this guide is perfect for you. Author Greg Harvey explains the functions in a very personable and precise manner, adding much-needed personality to an often dry subject. Because of this and more, we rate Excel For Dummies 5 Stars overall and recommend it highly to anyone starting with Microsoft Excel.