# Recommend a good online Microsoft Excel course. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969 "2014-05-08T13:04:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19adc/32.png) [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Why_Bother)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969/1 "2014-05-08T13:04:36Z")
I want to improve my excel skills. While I’m okay with the basics, I want to be able to master the following: 1). Complex formulas. 2). Macros. 3). Drop-down menus 4). As much other complicated Excel stuff as I can. Do you guys know of any good online Excel courses that cover that stuff? I don’t mind paying for such a course if the price is reasonable. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969/2 "2014-05-08T14:07:25Z")
I don’t have any online training sites, per se, but I do have a couple of sites I visit when I have a particular Excel problem I need to solve. [Databison](http://www.databison.com/) is a great place to start. It has tons of tips, tutorials and templates to help you learn tasks in Excel - from simple to very complex [Peltier Technical Services](http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/ChartIndex.html)has good tutorials and examples for creating various types of charts in Excel. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969/3 "2014-05-08T15:55:09Z")
The How-to Geek recently did a series of articles on Excel, from basics like layout of the interface all the way through charts, statistics, and pivot tables. The first [installment](http://www.howtogeek.com/school/microsoft-excel-formulas-and-functions/lesson1/) includes the contents of the series:[ol][_]Why Do You Need Formulas and Functions?[_]Defining and Creating a Formula[_]Relative and Absolute Cell Reference, and Formatting[_]Useful Functions You Should Get to Know[\*]Lookups, Charts, Statistics, and Pivot Tables[/ol]It might not be as in-depth as you’d like, but it’s a good primer. Also, the help screens in Excel itself are not bad, and worth a look if you happen to be struggling with a particular function. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969/4 "2014-05-09T02:07:05Z")
I like Mr. Excel [http://www.mrexcel.com/](http://www.mrexcel.com/) His explanation of Control-Shift-Enter formulas is amazing! ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969/5 "2014-05-09T11:07:55Z")
I’ve used [Lynda.com’s Excel tutorials](http://www.lynda.com/Excel-training-tutorials/192-0.html)and found them very helpful. They are not free (cost information is available [here](http://www.lynda.com/plans?bnr=topbeamember_newsite)) but I had access through my workplace. You may have access: [Lynda.com](http://Lynda.com) has made a big push into workplaces, universities and public libraries, so check any of those that you’re affiliated with before paying for it yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19adc/32.png) [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Why_Bother)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969/6 "2014-05-09T13:31:22Z")
That’s excellent guys. Thanks very much 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KeyCuts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba9def/32.png) [@KeyCuts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeyCuts)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969/7 "2014-05-11T13:22:12Z")
We partnered with Skillshare to produce a 3-part series on learning Excel basics and analysis. With more and more people learning through MOOCs, we thought creating these online trainings instead of in-person classes would help people who don’t have access to in-person trainings. Here are quick descriptions of each class within the series: [ul] [li]**[Introduction to Excel I: The Interface](http://skl.sh/1ngIO6J)**:Be familiar with the Excel interface and how to do some basic operations in Excel.[/li][li]**[Introduction to Excel II: Keyboard Shortcuts](http://skl.sh/1fPAby5)**:Keyboard shortcuts make you faster and more productive when analyzing data in Excel, this class focuses solely on these time-saving shortcuts.[/li][li]**[Introduction to Excel III: Analyzing Real Data](http://skl.sh/1huryUn)**:This class takes the skills you will learn in Excel I and Excel II and shows you how to analyze and present real data from a Google Adwords campaign.[/li][/ul] We also post challenging Excel problems on our blog to test your knowledge of Excel functions as well as other tips and tricks in Excel: [KeyCuts blog](http://www.thekeycuts.com/excel-blog/) ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969/8 "2014-05-11T14:22:16Z")
Youtube has a number of free videos dealing with complex Excel functions. Just type in “Excel” and thousands of videos will come up. If you sort by the length and ratings, the cream usually rises to the top. Also, I would recommend buying the Excel a Bible as it is an excellent printed resource for all your spreadsheet needs. Seriously, after two weeks of watching videos and reading the Excel Bible people consider me to be some kind of “guru.” I’m not,of course. But most people rarely use more than 10% of the functionality of any software package, meaning that if you learn somewhat more, you’ll be considered to be an expert,even if you are not. ---
**Author:** ![Win\_Place\_Show](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/win_place_show/32/13469_2.png) [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-online-microsoft-excel-course/687969/9 "2014-05-11T17:49:33Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > I like Mr. Excel [http://www.mrexcel.com/](http://www.mrexcel.com/) His explanation of Control-Shift-Enter formulas is amazing! Came here to mention this, so I guess I’ll second it.