Help! Can anyone recommend a complete Excel course from beginners?

[soisealta]

I've started trying to teach myself Excel. I've been trying some free resources, but I think what I need is a comprehensive course from beginner upwards.

Preferably in book form, but I could also do it online. I'm on a low income so not too expensive if possible.

I'd really appreciate some personal recommendations because the selection is dazzling!

Thanks

Check with your local library to see if they do Excel courses. Some do, for instance there's this one in March but won't be any use for you if you're not local.

This advice probably doesn't answer your question but in my experience books were never helpful. I tried a few ("...For Dummies", that kind of thing) but they always seemed to assume a certain amount of knowledge. It's much easier in a face-to-face course where you can ask questions.

The best thing you can do to begin with is just "play" with it. Experiment with things, see what works and what doesn't. Investigate one topic or area at a time - trying to run before you can walk will set you up to fail, you will probably get frustrated if you try to many things at once.

Think about what you want to use Excel for. It has many uses but 90% of users probably only need 10% of what it can do. If you want to use it for home budgeting for example you'll want to focus on different areas to if you were intending to write macros in Visual Basic. You'd also need different skills to begin with, for example if you are using it to calculate a budget you'd need maths skills because otherwise if you're setting up a spreadsheet you won't know whether it's giving the correct values. Likewise you need to understand how to do something manually before you can create a macro to automate it.

Hopefully someone else will recommend a course that they've used, I've been Excel-ing for so long I've kind of forgotten how I got started.

Oh, and there's nothing wrong with being one of the 90% who only ever use 10% of the package available. That first ten percent gets you a long way.

Google, there are loads of free entry level courses on line.

Thanks @MorningStarling

It's actually for a college course I am already on! We are starting to do Excel just now and I have realised that it has been soo long since I was at school that I don't even think I did excel at school. We have started this week and it's like gobbldegook to me . It's supposed to be A Level Administration equivalent and technically i have the GCSEs for it but they are assuming some kind of basic Excel knowledge when I have none. Most of the class are younger than me and seem to get it. The tutor is nice but she can't spend hours getting me up to starting level.

I have the next couple of weeks to getting myself up to speed or I am going to fail the unit sadly.

@itwasntaparty I did see all the courses, I just have no idea which ones to do.

I completely agree with @MorningStarling. Once you have the basics (and by that I mean understand what a spreadsheet is and how to navigate (up and down and between sheets)) you should work on what you need to do and use the excel help and google to work out how to do it. -

Try the goodwill community foundation on YouTube. Loads of free videos on computer skills including excel. I’ve found them really good.

I think its your confidence more than anything (from what you say). I guess your course is teaching you to use Excel for something specific - if you let us know what this is then perhaps we may be able to give you some more advice.
If it is confidence it may be that doing a course just confuses you more

Coursera has an everyday excel course with 3 levels. It's £49 but you can access all of the videos for free by choosing to 'Audit' the course. The first one especially is great.

I'm gradually "relearning" myself I found some good video tutorials I think by a Canadian chap. I'm not at home at the moment but placemarking so I can check and post you the links later.

But yes good to do a "dummy" one and play around with it - you won't break anything. The software itself tends to give a heads up if you do something weird too.

I've just figured out how to do equations across multiple worksheets

I used to use ms office a lot in my work but disabled and unemployed now and the shortcuts have changed a fair bit I've found.

Maybe we can muddle along and learn together? Perhaps with help from other mners?

I have my own and dds budget on mine but I'd like to learn more with a view to hopefully returning to work or self employed admin work later this year

You could ask the college tutor for recommended books and online courses etc I'm sure she'll have come across this issue before

Tbqh I bet if you raised it in class chances are you're not the only one and maybe she's pitching the class too high? Come across that before!

I have Excel for Dummies at work. I don't use it that often, and this book is great reference for a quick and easy explanation.

Thanks @MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry. I will look at those tonight.

@drwitch Yes it is a bit of a confidence thing I think since I've been out of education for nearly 20 years since my GCSEs. I'm wanting to learn Excel because I ultimately want to get into Admin work so I'm doing a course which is the equivalent to A Level Administration and Business. If I can work it around my current jobs financially (and with my health) I hope to do HNC as well.

@RoomOfRequirement Thank you I will look at this.

@Graphista Thanks the links would be good. I'm disabled too now although I do manage some freelance type work at the moment. It's great that you are relearning it as they do seem to change. I have very vague recollections of doing spreadsheets in the early 2000s but I don't even know if that was even Excel. It would be good to learn together, as you say, it does just seem to be about muddling along as we go. I got myself a bit stressed earlier because I am understanding the other 4 classes I have just not this one at all. Don't think it's the class pitched too high I think it's that technically I have GCSE Admin so I got into the course, so they assume that level of knowledge but I don't remember a thing about it and everyone else in the class seems to have some either recent-ish school or work experience with it at the GSCE level. We've been doing it all of December before the Christmas break and I don't understand. Today we were doing IF function (whatever that is!) and I still cannot work out how to do the additions AND copy the formula for more than one cell, and I am not getting the language and terms either.

@Mercurial123 Thanks I saw that one.

I use excel a lot, and I am pretty confident with it.
However, I still only use a tiny part of excel capability on a day to day basis, and when I have to do something I'm rusty on/new to I use the help function!

So even once you have got used to the basics, don't be afraid to use the help function or google to check how to do certain things.
I find that learning as I go by doing is better than reading a book or similar.
Sorry I'm not more helpful with course suggestions. But whatever course you do, make sure it has practical exercises. Experience over theory. And see it as something you will never really finish learning, iyswim.

Generally, if you put into Google 'how do I....in Excel" you will be able to copy and paste the formula.

There is a standard form in Excel and once you learn that, it makes it easier to understand why the formula works.

Every formula starts with '='. Every cell in the spreadsheet has a cell reference, which is the column letter and the row number. So B2 is second column, second row.

When you use a formula to add two cells together, you can type '=A1 + B2', for example. If you copy and paste that formula, though, it will change A1 and B2 as it goes down, so the next line would read "=A2 + B3". If you don't want that, you put a $ before the bit you want to keep the same. So "=$A$3 + B1" means that the cell referenced A3 would always be used, and the cell that is added to it would change.

• is multiply / is divide

IF compares a cell against a statement and you give two outcomes. So a classic one is when you want to make your spreadsheet neat. You can type =IF(ISBLANK(D2),"","Sum(D2 + C1")

That's saying:
"Check if the cell in the 4th column and 2nd row is empty. If it's empty, leave this cell empty. If it isn't empty, add the number in the 4th column and 2nd row to the number in the 3rd column and 1st row, then show that number here."

That should read
=IF(ISBLANK(D2),"","Sum(D2 + C1)"

But if you make mistakes, a box flashes up, either to suggest a change that would fix the formula, or saying that you need to fix it.

I think as a beginner, the most important thing is to save your spreadsheet before you make significant changes. Give the spreadsheets a title that makes sense and a version number. Save regularly, and save a new version before you make the next significant change. You can always delete old versions later. It will save you many tears when you've spent 20 hours on a sheet and then one formula completely mucks it up but you can't work out which one.

Microsoft have a suite of free trainin* for all 5heir products. Here's the link to the excel series

support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/excel-video-training-9bc05390-e94c-46af-a5b3-d7c22f6990bb

Thanks @SquishySquirmy, @Lougle, @HalfShrunkMoreToGo

I hope I don't have to memorise it, because it seems a bit too much like maths for my abilities!

Hey OP, lots of good recommendations on here! My whole job is pretty much using excel and I'm no expert. My husband also uses excel a lot and we are always amazed by what the other one doesn't know! I recommend YouTube videos and looking up "how to (blank) in excel" over using a book because you can see things happening in real time. I will say pivot tables can be very useful because they can crunch a lot of formulas for you, so maybe try to find a tutorial on those. My favorite function is Index/Match. If anyone tries to tell you to use VLookup instead they're wrong!

@BookFiend4Life Thanks that is useful.

Udemy have Excel courses on offer for about £10 at times. Very slow, but great for Excel novices like me. It's an online course you do at your own pace.

Thanks @thegcatsmother Love your name btw!

Its also tricky making sure that the formula box is linking to the correct cell. If you are not careful with the return or enter key it can link to a different one. (This may be the trouble you were having).

Adding up cells can be really easy by using =sum(first cell:last cell).

You can either type in the cell references, or click and drag to highlight all the cells you want added up. The : indicates that you're selecting a range of cells.

I also recommend udemy. The course is really good and detailed and reasonably priced as well.

@Lougle The =sum(C3*C4) works to multiply that particular cell, but when I drag it down the table and press enter - nothing happens?

@TildaRae Thanks I am having a look.