At the May edition of the Woodard Monthly Member Webinar a new feature was introduced to webinar participants. I'm talking about the relatively short segment taught by my friend, Norman Axelman who is a true 'master of Excel'. In less than 5 minutes Norman demonstrated not one, not twice but three times, three examples of using the Excel 'Go to Special' features (shown below) which he refers to as 'your special place.' (I assume he means 'your special place in Excel.')
Excel_Go_to_Special_features
Anyway, I am proud to say that, "I didn't learn a thing", I was so excited that I already knew the 'special' value of the 'Special' features of Excel, like 'select Blanks' which was one of Norman's demonstrations. I honestly can't remember who taught me that, Oh, maybe I learned that in a previous class with Norman?
Needless to say, a many of those participating in the Webinar, including Joe Woodard himself, were surprised to learn about this functionality. Joe described how this one feature alone would save him hours in the future.
And 'no' I am not going to give away any of Norman's other 'tricks of the trade'. I will let him do that at Scaling New Heights 2018 this June where you will have plenty of opportunity to learn because Norman is teaching a total of nine (9) Excel classes. Yes, that is what I said folks, Norman is teaching 9 classes........"he must be out of his mind to teach so many classes."
Here are brief description of the 9 classes, with links for more details:
Excel 101 - The Spreadsheet Concept: Understanding the underlying principles of spreadsheets is the key to success in using Excel. This session is designed for the beginner user who wants to fully understand the fundamental concepts in creating and using spreadsheets ‘from the bottom up.’ Using real-life examples, you will learn to fully comprehend the spreadsheet concept, while learning many of the great features that make using Excel easier.
Excel 102 - Basic Formulas & Features: Continuing with the ‘basics’, in this session you will learn about the Sort and Filter features, how to split up data into separate columns, and how to work with Sheet Tabs. Formulas are the ‘heart’ of the Excel program. Learn how to use the basic formulas such as SUM, AVERAGE, MAX AND MIN, and why you may not want to use the ‘Auto Sum’ feature. Have you ever had a formula not work for you? Learn the fundamental principle of Excel that makes everything work; gain a clear understanding of Relative Cell References. Find out how to fly through your work using formulas and shortcuts, and a special trick for when the ‘copy shortcut’ won’t work.
Excel 103 - Special Features & Functions: Excel has many special features and functions that allow you to accomplish tasks quickly. For example, let’s say you have a very large spreadsheet with hundreds of blank rows throughout that you need to delete, and you cannot sort the data to separate them. What’s the quickest way to accomplish the task?
Excel 104 - Additional Features & Formulas: Some of the more versatile and powerful formulas and features in Excel allow you to accomplish hours of work in just a matter of seconds as well as maintain data integrity.
Excel 105 - More Fabulous Formulas & Features: In this session, we continue our survey of Excel’s fabulous formulas and features.
Are you starting to wonder just how many formulas and features there really are in Excel. Well, just remember we are only down to Norman's fifth class, so there must me more to go.
Excel 106 - Special Date Formulas and Data Validation
I must admit, when I first read this course description I thought it said 'special date formulas and 'date' validation. Let me think, he must be talking about "dinner, wine, roses, and a very special 'date' evening, right?" Nope, not Norman, this is Excel he is 'in love with.'
Now we are down to some real meat when it comes to Excel, 'macros' and Visual Basic.
Excel 107 - Macros: Get Ready to Automate: When you have a lot of work to do that is repetitive, Macros are your best friend!
Excel 108 - Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Part 1: Learn how to use the Macro Editor; create ‘Message Box’ and ‘Input’ boxes, and how to program your own code to automate repetitive tasks. Also covered is how to use ‘IF’ statements in VBA. See how to manipulate a 'vertical list' of addresses and set it up so it can be used for a mail merge.
Excel 109 - Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Part 2: Norman will use two different case studies in this course. Case Study 1: You have a file with thousands of entries including ID numbers, dates and amounts, and you need to indicate which records are duplicates based on three criteria: ID number, Date, and if the amounts are exact reciprocals. In Case Study 2: You need to import into QuickBooks an Excel file, but the data in the file is not complete. Norman will teach you how to use VBA to automatically fill in all required cells.
Just listing these wears me out...I taught seven (7) classes last year at Scaling New Heights, and I said, 'never again', seven is just too many. I am almost feeling sorry for Norman, having to teach nine (9) classes in just 4 days. But if anyone can do it, I am sure he can!
Norman Axelman
By the way, Norman (Axelman) is the founder and President of Advantage Computer Solutions, Inc. based in Miami, FL. Advantage Computer Solutions has been offering computer training and consulting to individuals and businesses for the past 15 years, saving clients thousands of hours of time. With over 25 years of professional experience, Norman provides an outstanding level of computer training with a focus on useful and practical day-to-day features and functions.
Norman is currently an adjunct professor for the Miami Dade College School of Continuing Education, and is accredited by the State of Florida to teach Continuing Education computer classes for licensed Community Association Managers. Over the years, he has created and delivered numerous presentations and classes for various organizations, companies, and schools including the University of Miami, Florida International University and City College of Miami.
So, you have nine (9) opportunities to learn from this 'Master of Excel' during the conference. I'm not sure anyway (including Norman) will live through all 9 classes in one conference, but have no fear, I heard from 'a little bird' that Norman will be back next year (if he survives teaching 9 classes) to help you master Excel for your own self.
If you are not already registered for the conference, and you really need to 'Tame the Machine' (computer) you are running Excel on then get yourself down to Atlanta June 17-20 for Scaling New Heights and register for any of Norman's nine (9) classes.
And by the way, be sure to look me up while you are there.