Excel Essential Training (Microsoft 365)

Course details

Join expert Excel instructor and Microsoft MVP Leila Gharani for a comprehensive, hands-on journey through the essential features of Microsoft Excel—transforming from a beginner into a confident user. Leila covers the fundamentals of a wide range of topics such as data entry and organization best practices, time-saving calculations and formulas, AI-powered features with Microsoft Copilot, data visualization with charts and PivotTables, advanced data handling with sorting and filtering, and optimization for printing. This course is ideal for Excel beginners and intermediate users in any field who want to boost their productivity, including business professionals, data analysts, administrators, and anyone who works with spreadsheets regularly.

Learning objectives
Navigate Excel efficiently.
Create compelling data visualizations using charts.
Implement effective data organization through sorting.
Leverage Copilot to save time and push your Excel skills forward.

Concepts

Introduction

Your first step into Excel for Microsoft 365
Discover what's possible with Excel

Establish Your Excel Foundation

Navigate Excel's essentials - Workbooks, sheets, and cells
Find any feature - Ribbon, menus, and search
Never lose your work - AutoSave, undo, and recovery
Expert tip - Hidden in plain sight

Enter Data with Confidence

A guide to data entry basics
Quick formatting for clean data
Navigate and restructure your data
Enter dates and times efficiently
AutoFill to repeat patterns
Flash Fill to let Excel guess the pattern
Drop-down lists and checkboxes to control input
Challenge - Prepare the employee list
Solution - Prepare the employee list
Expert tip - The forgetting curve

Build Your First Formula

Create your first formula
Save time with quick calculations and AutoSum
Formula toolkit - SUM, AVERAGE, and COUNT
Calculate percentages
Lock cells to copy formulas correctly
Challenge - Calculate total and running total percentages
Solution - Calculate total and running total percentages
Expert tip - A rule that saves hours

Explore Smarter Formulas with Functions

Apply the IF function for logical tests
Common formula errors explained
IFERROR - Catch and fix errors
XLOOKUP - Find data instantly
Formulas that spill - One formula, many results
Challenge - Find values and calculate percentage change
Solution - Find values and calculate percentage change
Expert tip - Excel keeps evolving

Work across Sheets and Files

Work with multiple sheets
Group sheets for bulk edits
Paste Special - Values, formulas, and more
Expert tip - Give the mess a structure

Sort, Filter, and Manage Data

Sort data your way
Filter to get exactly what you need
Remove duplicates in seconds
Find and replace data quickly
Freeze panes - Lock rows and columns
Why Excel tables make your work easier
Challenge - Turn a messy dataset into a clean table
Solution - Turn a messy dataset into a clean table
Expert tip - Structure before style

Summarize Data with PivotTables

Build your first PivotTable
Add calculations to your PivotTable
Customize and format PivotTables
Expert tip - Simple beats complicated

Visualize Insights with Your Data

Conditional formatting - Highlight key data
Create your first chart
Build charts that compare
Challenge - Build an interactive chart
Solution - Build an interactive chart
Expert tip - What your audience won't tell you

Share and Protect Your Work

Protect sheets and workbooks
Share files and add comments
Leverage Sheet View for team collaboration
Expert tip - Make it easy to consume

Boost Your Work with Excel Copilot

Excel Copilot - A smart work assistant
Formulas made easy with Copilot
Get formula suggestions from Copilot
Expert tip - Don't fall for fake productivity

Conclusion

You're ready - Take the next step with Excel