Anybody Good With Spreadsheets

Off Topic
21

I’m pretty good with Excel, and you can be too. A little effort is all that is needed to realize your boss’ vision, get that huge promotion and retire in your 40’s.

Type “excel tutorial” into the Google and you will find many, many resources suitable for all skill levels. I will second the general recommendation of youtube tutorials. People have put a lot of effort into making this content and putting it out there for free.

Microsoft has also done a good job with the in-software help, which is always just a press of the F1 key away.

I think Excel is excellent software if you understand its strengths and limitations. I support complex business software for a living, and even though companies spend millions and millions on these sophisticated programs and they have remarkable capabilities, an argument can be made that contemporary businesses are equally dependent on Excel.

Spending some time learning it will be time well spent. Good luck!

22

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I think Excel is excellent software if you understand its strengths and limitations. I support complex business software for a living, and even though companies spend millions and millions on these sophisticated programs and they have remarkable capabilities, an argument can be made that contemporary businesses are equally dependent on Excel.

Spending some time learning it will be time well spent. Good luck![/quote]

This is very much the case where I work. We use SAP, Hyperion, Ultipro, etc… and at the end of the day most of the actual work gets done in Excel. Data for analysis is manipulated in Excel and the basis for board of director presentations (that use PowerPoint…). I literally spend a full day each month pulling data from SAP and into Excel to analyze and present using pivot tables. Even our journal entries are created using Excel.

We use Excel a lot. Hell even SAP has a built in export function to excel (that works okay).

23

Excel sucks because it is terrible for handling and manipulating large quantities of data. Excel is meant for doing simple calculations and visualizing simple data. Sure, it is useful if you’ve got, say, a bar graph with 5 categories…but what if you have 10,000 data points and you need to find a correlation within them? Good fucking luck in excel. Personally, I like using C++, and MATLAB is not matched for data visualization.

24

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Excel sucks because it is terrible for handling and manipulating large quantities of data. Excel is meant for doing simple calculations and visualizing simple data. Sure, it is useful if you’ve got, say, a bar graph with 5 categories…but what if you have 10,000 data points and you need to find a correlation within them? Good fucking luck in excel. Personally, I like using C++, and MATLAB is not matched for data visualization. [/quote]

I tend to disagree, I probably manipulate 70,000 data points in one particular spreadsheet I can think of, but it is what it is. It sounds like OP is not going to be manipulating that much data.

Excel was never mean’t to be a database and I think a lot of the hate is just that, hate. I do it too, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said iphones suck. I’ve barely even touched one. Never gave it a chance.

25

Ive worked with excel and done some VBA programming for calculations. It is miserable for anything complicated. I remember having to calculate some loads and moments and nearly punching the computer for the crappyness of the language. There is also a memory limit on excel that will cause it to crash if you load too much data.

26

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Ive worked with excel and done some VBA programming for calculations. It is miserable for anything complicated. I remember having to calculate some loads and moments and nearly punching the computer for the crappyness of the language. There is also a memory limit on excel that will cause it to crash if you load too much data.[/quote]

Any program will crash if you load too much data, that’s why it’s called “too much”. Excel isn’t marketed to big data users; most people or organizations that use it aren’t dealing with big data. If they are, then they probably have access to programs that are built for that.

I’ve had a lot of successes using Excel for some complicated analyses; on the other side I’ve had my share of wanting to throw my machine out a fucking window as well. It sounds to me that you need better software or a better/faster CPU for your function if you think Excel is “crappy”. Excel is great for what it’s built for and learning how to use it effectively is a skill that’s in demand across economic sectors.

27

I think Excel is probably fine for what you’re trying to do. Consider using Google Sheets as an option, especially if multiple people will be working with the same file.

But stay away from Access. If you don’t know how to use Excel, you’ll make a mess of things in Access. If you do know how to use Excel, you’ll probably still make a mess of things in Access.

Excel is a good product, up to a certain scale. Beyond that, specialty tools are better, but significantly harder to learn (and, well, more specialized).

28

Take your data to the Jr College and ask the professor to assign the project to a student wanting real world experience

29

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Excel sucks because it is terrible for handling and manipulating large quantities of data. Excel is meant for doing simple calculations and visualizing simple data. Sure, it is useful if you’ve got, say, a bar graph with 5 categories…but what if you have 10,000 data points and you need to find a correlation within them? Good fucking luck in excel. Personally, I like using C++, and MATLAB is not matched for data visualization. [/quote]

Do squats suck because they are terrible at developing the biceps?

I happen to think squats are fantastic. I try not to get down on them just because my guns aren’t very impressive.

Do you believe C++ would be a more appropriate tool for Yogi to first learn and then apply to solve the problem his boss has presented him with?

My opinion is that Excel is a fine tool for what Yogi is trying to do. He could take all of that extra time he might have spent learning C++ and use it to get some more squats in.

Excel is a pillar of modern business across the globe. That’s a fact, regardless of your personal opinion of the software. It works extraordinarily well. My experience is that it starts to break when some IT guys bite off more than they can chew with their decision to use it for applications that are beyond its scope of usefulness.

30

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Excel sucks because it is terrible for handling and manipulating large quantities of data. Excel is meant for doing simple calculations and visualizing simple data. Sure, it is useful if you’ve got, say, a bar graph with 5 categories…but what if you have 10,000 data points and you need to find a correlation within them? Good fucking luck in excel. Personally, I like using C++, and MATLAB is not matched for data visualization. [/quote]

Do squats suck because they are terrible at developing the biceps?

I happen to think squats are fantastic. I try not to get down on them just because my guns aren’t very impressive.

Do you believe C++ would be a more appropriate tool for Yogi to first learn and then apply to solve the problem his boss has presented him with?

My opinion is that Excel is a fine tool for what Yogi is trying to do. He could take all of that extra time he might have spent learning C++ and use it to get some more squats in.

Excel is a pillar of modern business across the globe. That’s a fact, regardless of your personal opinion of the software. It works extraordinarily well. My experience is that it starts to break when some IT guys bite off more than they can chew with their decision to use it for applications that are beyond its scope of usefulness.
[/quote]

1, I didn’t tell him what he should or shouldn’t do, I stated what software I like.

2, how much real programming have you done? As somebody who knows 4 languages (python, C++, MATLAB, VBA) and has worked on many projects, including developing a post processing code for XFLR5 (an aerodynamic analysis program), I can tell you directly excel has it’s strengths in user friendliness, and data visualization. It is not strong for data processing, analysis, or general programming, but it is useful for doing quick calculations.

31

Further… even thought it may be painful, learning C++ is a highly sought after skill and might land the OP a higher paying job should he opt to learn the language. This might be an opportunity if he doesn’t have a looming deadline.

EDIT
if the OP wants to learn a new skill that isn’t as complicated as C++ but still valuable, he might want to take a look at SciLab. It is an open source version of MATLAB that has many similarities.

32

I really appreciate all the input here, guys. Best forum in the world, this place.

So I’m going to stick with Xcel. I understand that there are probably better programs which are harder to use, but I’m sure Xcel will be enough. The reason is that this is never going to require a huge amount of data analysis, just keeping track of sales, stock, incomings, outgoings, etc. Won’t really have to analyse the data as such, just need to be aware of it.

I’m going to check out a few tutorials to make my life easier but I’ve been muddling through it a little over the last day or so and although I’m finding it a bit fiddly, it seems easy enough. Not anywhere near as difficult as I expected, and shit I struggled with I just google.

Thanks again, guys. You’ve been a big help.

33

Use c++ instead of Excel for a simple spreadsheet report.

I LOL’d.

34

Excel is great. Actually very good software. It just has weaknesses, the import being one of them as mentioned.

Nothing is perfect.

EDIT: sometimes the copy/paste is irrational and plan moronic too.

35

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
Excel is great. Actually very good software. It just has weaknesses, the import being one of them as mentioned.

Nothing is perfect.

EDIT: sometimes the copy/paste is irrational and plan moronic too. [/quote]

you sure it isn’t just the user??

36

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Use c++ instead of Excel for a simple spreadsheet report.

I LOL’d.[/quote]

See it is actually a lot easier if you know what you are doing. The problem today is people are too lazy to learn anything difficult or beyond what is needed to scrape by.

37

[quote]Aero51 wrote:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Use c++ instead of Excel for a simple spreadsheet report.

I LOL’d.[/quote]

See it is actually a lot easier if you know what you are doing. The problem today is people are too lazy to learn anything difficult or beyond what is needed to scrape by.[/quote]

That’s a ridiculous generalize. Excel is taught in high school. Colleges, at least around here, require you to pass an Excel based exam to graduate. Several jobs I’ve interviewed for required another Excel based exam. Never has a single programming language come up.

I’ve been using Excel for 10+ years and have been exposed to Basic once (high school elective) and SQL (graduate IT course). It isn’t laziness, it’s the cost/benefit of learning the language and exposure to it. Why would I spend hours, days, or whatever it takes to lean C++ when 99.99% of the business world (in my field anyway) uses Excel? Makes no sense…

Everything has it’s place and for basic and even intermediate analytic’s Excel is an extremely powerful tool, is universally used (at least in the States), and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

38

[quote]polo77j wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
Excel is great. Actually very good software. It just has weaknesses, the import being one of them as mentioned.

Nothing is perfect.

EDIT: sometimes the copy/paste is irrational and plan moronic too. [/quote]

you sure it isn’t just the user??[/quote]

Use ctrl + c (copy) or ctrl + x (cut) and ctrl + V (paste) Bean’s. Once you get use to it it’s a god send.

39

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]Aero51 wrote:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Use c++ instead of Excel for a simple spreadsheet report.

I LOL’d.[/quote]

See it is actually a lot easier if you know what you are doing. The problem today is people are too lazy to learn anything difficult or beyond what is needed to scrape by.[/quote]

That’s a ridiculous generalize. Excel is taught in high school. Colleges, at least around here, require you to pass an Excel based exam to graduate. Several jobs I’ve interviewed for required another Excel based exam. Never has a single programming language come up.

I’ve been using Excel for 10+ years and have been exposed to Basic once (high school elective) and SQL (graduate IT course). It isn’t laziness, it’s the cost/benefit of learning the language and exposure to it. Why would I spend hours, days, or whatever it takes to lean C++ when 99.99% of the business world (in my field anyway) uses Excel? Makes no sense…

Everything has it’s place and for basic and even intermediate analytic’s Excel is an extremely powerful tool, is universally used (at least in the States), and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.
[/quote]

I literally typed a similar response to our myopic friend here, decided I’d read the rest of the thread and I’m glad I did. Your response is much more succinct. This kid doesn’t seem to see the whole picture, yet.

40

No, I get what you guys are saying, but I also can tell nobody here has real programming experience. I think before you write me off you should take the time to challenge yourself and expand your mind/skills then talk to me about which is better.