Description:
Microsoft Excel, bless its waffle-esque visage, is where lots of office work--a surprisingly large percentage of it having nothing to do with calculation--takes place. If you're not up to speed with cellular technology--in the sense of spreadsheet cells--have a look at Excel 2001 for Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide. By applying the extraordinarily helpful format of this series to the problem of teaching remedial Excel, Maria Langer provides an educational experience that isn't too simplistic, boring, or information-heavy. The key feature of this book is its close integration of visuals--pictures of the Excel interface, mainly--with text. There are also lots of labels that point out what's going in small areas of the interface. For example, arrows explain how the formula in one cell refers to values stored in other cells. It seems like an obvious way to explain this information, but most publishers--perhaps because it requires more layout and design work--stay away from it. Combined with the excellent text explanations of concepts and the well-thought-out procedures that fill about half of each page, the creative layout works very well. --David Wall Topics covered: Microsoft Excel 2000 for Mac OS, explained for beginners. All mechanics of Excel use are covered, including calculations (with and without functions), formatting, charts, embedded graphics, and interface customization.
| 
