[From a product perspective Excel 00]-Why pay attention to the nature of Excel

Objective

Hello everyone, I'm the tail, starting today, here's a series of articles on Excel from a product perspective. This article does not accept unauthorized reprint, if you need to reprint, please contact me first, thank you very much.

Unlike most Excel tutorials on the world, we don't focus too much on the details of the various features of Excel, such as how tables are built, what functions Excel has, and so on. These points of knowledge are everywhere in the tutorials, and you can easily find them if you have the heart.

Instead, this series of articles will focus more on the Excel product, focusing on the nature of Excel .

We'll try to dissect the intrinsic functionality of Excel from a product design, or from a programmer's point of view. We will be more concerned with how the data is stored in Excel, what is the difference between a chart and ordinary cell data, the design of each function, as far as possible, according to the Object-Attribute-design purpose-based on the design constraints-easy to encounter the exception point of the framework to tell, In order to let you in touch with Excel, can stand in a relatively global product perspective to Excel, the Excel as a whole to learn, to ensure that each knowledge point function block between the system and logic.

It is important to note that in this series, we are mainly talking about "rationale", so we are not too obsessed with some of Excel's very detailed or complex applications. I will do it in many places, but I will provide as many references as possible behind each section for you to fill in the details.

Because of this, I would like to see this series of people, at least in the past have been exposed to some of the knowledge of Excel. You can be in your daily work with a few Excel reports, or read some of the Excel tutorials. In general, you have a vague idea of Excel, what it is and what it does.

If you have not touched Excel before, I sincerely recommend that you continue to read the next Excel to play. In addition, I personally recommend the introductory book for Lin Shuming Teacher's "Let Excel Fly", the focus is the first eight chapters content. In this way, you don't have to jump over the details when we have a face.

01, why pay attention to the essence of Excel

Before you begin a series of discussions on Excel, let me ask you a few questions:

What is Excel? (what)
How do I make a table in Excel? (how)
Why use Excel? (why)
When do I need to use Excel? (when)

The reason to mention them, is that everyone in the choice of Excel, have to know clearly what their needs, and for this need, whether you can choose Excel, if so, how to use.

Most of the Excel tutorials that are currently on the market are basically focused on solving the two issues of what Excel is and How to use Excel to do the table .

For example, in the market do better Excelhome forum, in the design of its tutorial structure, that is, Excel operation Basic Skills, function formulas, charts, PivotTables, VBA as the entire Excel architecture system

And in their books, such as "EXCEL2010 application Daquan", but also in accordance with a certain application scenario, sorting filtering, formatting, pivot table and other content into the "Data analysis" module, from the function to understand what Excel has function.

The greatest benefit of such a system is the clear classification and the ability to cover every detail. They all better answer the question of which function blocks Excel consists of, and how to use Excel to solve some specific problems . Basically, here are some of the big knowledge points you have mastered, you have more than most people have to understand and familiar with Excel, become a master in a sense.

But in the process, you may continue to encounter new problems, some very minor problems that make you very annoying.

There are some questions you might search for, and you'll get answers, such as:

Why do I copy a long list of numbers into Excel and end up with 000000
Why do I insert a PivotTable report that always prompts me to make an error
How does the report not refresh
How to do this picture, how to change the title

But some of the problems are how to search, can not find a best answer, such as

Millions of rows of data, Excel opens very slowly what to do
Report is too large, data refresh for a long time what to do
I want to merge a lot of tables together, but I can't program.

Basically, the majority of people's understanding of Excel, is in one after another to check the wrong row, dug pit pits between, slowly plump up. With everyone's familiarity with Excel and the changes in business requirements, we'll get a vague idea of what Excel can do, what Excel can't do, when to use Excel, and when to use Excel may be inconvenient .

And can understand in what scene with Excel, how to use , in fact, is to distinguish this person is an Excel beginner, or skilled workers or experts an important threshold. We can also call this threshold to understand Excel competency boundaries .

But there are several drawbacks to this approach. The first is from the entry to the pit to understand the boundary, the time is very long, some people may give up halfway. The second is that bits and pieces of knowledge are often not easily remembered. Sometimes know how to solve this mistake, but do not know why to solve it. Because there is not too much summing up and induction, often later, similar errors can not be comprehend by analogy.

So, why don't we think about it in turn?

If the initial stage of Excel learning, we consciously guide you to understand the overall structure of Excel, as well as the limitations and boundaries of Excel, and then the fragmented knowledge behind the design of the principle to carry out. Tell everyone thatExcel is a kind of software, it in the initial design, in order to solve what kind of problem, distinguish how many modules, and because the design of the original intention, so you in daily use, to follow Microsoft's most original design ideas to go, to effectively avoid the various use of mined areas. from the principle of Excel design, tell the knowledge of Excel, this will be more convenient for you to understand and remember, and master the ability to check the wrong, you can "play" Excel instead of Excel "play" it?

In the next few chapters, we will explore the design principles of excel in this logic:

1, Excel is how a software, if a software development model to set it, what module it has, how the data is stored, how are the modules connected together?

2. Is the cell the smallest unit in Excel? What are the characteristics of its data storage? What kind of convenience and limitations will it bring to us?

3. What does Excel use to manage the data in these cells? If cells are composed of rows and columns, what are the relationships and properties between rows and columns, what are the features that are related to rows and columns, and what are their characteristics, and what are the limitations?

4, cell movement is often limited, then why the chart and text box can be dragged in the cell arbitrary? What are the characteristics of their data storage? What is the chart design philosophy of Excel?

5. How does a pivot table work? What is the difference between the data stored in it and the data stored in the general cell? Why can't it be partially moved?

6. How does Excel connect with advanced data tools? What is the use of VBA, which is object-oriented programming? What is the usage limit for Excel?

Of course, we can always add new content as we delve into it. I hope I can finish the above content:)

But my writing speed is rather slow. If you are eager to know the following content, welcome to contact me privately, I also undertake the Shanghai Area EXCEL/R language paid private teaching business ⁄ (⁄⁄ ⁄ω⁄ ⁄⁄) ⁄.

Excel's knowledge point is not mysterious and fragmented, let us return to its inception in the original design, to learn this great and practical office software.

Attached to the regular extension of reading, most of which are placed in the link of knowledge, you can see different people's discussion:

Lin Shuming Teacher's "Let Excel Fly": is I commissioned to train new people, or be asked what good Excel primer when the first one. It not only outlines some of the most common errors in Excel, but also explores the use limits and workarounds for Excel (Access databases). can understand Excel boundary problem well

What people who talk about data analytics do with Excel: How to Do data analysis with Excel

How Excel's knowledge system is proficient in Excel

Describe some of Excel's kinky inventions: How powerful Excel is (individuals are not highly recommended, just be an eye-opener)

Talk about the limitations of Excel: Knowing-there is excel to do what the database

Why some people abandon excel to the programming, Excel limitation embodies: R and Excel data analysis function comparison

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[From a product perspective Excel 00]-Why pay attention to the nature of Excel