I know, I know.......everyones a friggin' computer genius around here.....please forgive this [%|]moronic[%|] question. I would apprecite your input though.

I find myself in a situation where I really need to learn Excel for a project. I've never had the need or desire to learn it so far in my job, but now is sort of crunch time. How difficult is it, and how long would it take to become somewhat proficient with it?

I know it's not rocket science, but that's about all I know. Any of you have any tips as to the fast track to learning this program? I've just never needed to involve myself with database programs until now.

Thanks for the help.

I learned how to use excell in about two hours with the help menus if you have any questions ask me I will try and help I will be in and out of here about every other hour untill 2am central

Forgot to mention I don't have Excel on my personal PC. It's a work thing, and learning it at work isn't an option. What does it cost? Any online tutorials or good books I might consider?

There are TONS of books on how to use Excel. Microsoft.com will have info on tutorials.

You can teach yourself the basics of using it in a few hours. What do you need to do at work that requires Excel? Knowing how much you need to know will help us give you a better idea of how much time it will take to learn.
Excel is EXTREMELY powerful and there are things you can do with it that take years to master.

Shorty

I use excel pretty often to condition and analyze data.  As far as how easy it is to learn, it all depends on what you want to do with it.  If you want to make graphs, its pretty straight forward.  I learned to use it on my own.  It did take some time though to learn the fine points and how to use it efficiently.  Once you do learn how it works, it is really powerful software.  There is a lot of stuff you can do with it, that back in the day would have required you to learn a programming language and write code.  Definately much easier to use and learn than a programming language.  Also it is much easier to learn than database software like Accel or Oracle.

You can pretty much do everything using the menus, but with time you will learn shortcuts that can make it much faster to use.  The help menu is actually well done and will get you on track pretty quickly.  The software used to come with a manual, but I am not sure they provide one anymore, instead figuring one would use the help menu and that annoying clippy guy.

Anyway, to finally answer your question, get a copy of it for your home computer, either buy it(shouldn't be too expensive), get a copy from a friend or find a warez copy.  Then spend some time just familiarizing yourself with the software.  It shouldn't take long, less than a week, to figure out how it works, it really is a pretty simple, user friendly piece of software. I think you will find that once you understand how it works, you will find many uses for it around the home as well.

M4:  I believe Excel is generally referred to as a spreadsheet program, not a database program (though granted it can be used as one and perhaps this is the case).  I hope you’re not confusing Excel with Access.  Access has quite a bit of a learning curve to it right up front.

As others have mentioned, Excel basics are easy – thought admittedly it can really get complicated, too.

If you decide to get a book, let me recommend the “… for Dummies” series of computer books.  They are easy to read and reasonably priced.  They are invariably bright yellow.

Whatever book you get, try to get one that matches the version of Excel you will be using.  With Excel, this will probably be a year (mine is Excel 2000); however, I think the latest version is Excel XP.  (The version is presented when entering the program.  Alternatively, from the Excel screen, click on the Help command at top and then click on the About command that appears.  Actually, just holding down the Alt key and hitting “H” and then “A” – still holding down the Alt key – will probably do it, too).

My recollection is that a full copy of Excel will probably cost you about $250.  In theory, you should try to get the same version for home that you use at work, but stores don’t usually have older copies of software (and do you really want to buy old software anyway?).

If you’ve got Microsoft Works on your home computer, it has a very simplified version of Excel in it.  Unfortunately, I doubt it will get you very far.

Once you learn it, you’ll find it’s really handy.  I use Excel to balance my checkbook, do my taxes, figure my car mileage, and see how much my next Brownell’s order is going to set me back.

Incidentally, never let anyone convince you that kids are smarter at using computers than adults; it is absolutely untrue.  The difference is that kids are willing to learn - after all, that’s what being a kid is about.  They’re also willing to fail and keep trying.  And they have time to burn.  IMHO adults don’t lack the “smarts’, but they often lack the mindset.