Excel 2013 learning gap frustration

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xl2000

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Hi gang,

Non-tech here who wants to get back to XP / Office 2000 if I only could.......... need some charting help, my main activity in Excel. I don't go near Word with a 10-foot pole, and OneNote used to be useful to me, but I don't know what it is now.

Anyway, been using the above combo at employer and home for as long as they have been around. New laptop in April 2014, Windows 8.1 / Office 2013. Zero productivity since. Even employer was smart and kept their old stuff.......rant over now, sorry.

Comfort level with Excel 2000 and XP was extremely high, but now running ClassicShell on Windows 8.1 just to get along. Excel 2013 is the problem; I'm completely lost, like I got dropped into an alternate universe.
-Chart templates that are never the same twice
- Popups that won't go away when trying to change chart configs.
- Colours I cant seem to change or even differentiate between, therefore charts are unreadable.
- Combination charts are a complete pig.

What to do? Walk away now and learn OpenOffice?

Any and all suggestions appreciated, as even Microsoft language does'nt come across as English, and even since Windows 3.1, Microsoft help has never helped an iota. Not yer average dummy, just frustrated with no productivity and doing endless fiddling instead.
 
Sounds like you need to explore the program more. Excel 2013 has been the product of many updates, most from users input. There are several new tools out there for Excel, such as Power View and Power Pivot. These programs let you create dashboards and databases like never before. I have trained many people in Excel, and many from an older version. Believe me when I say, when I show them what 2013 is capable of, they are beyond belief and shed tears of joy. When you can put in a calculation to actually calc against a dataset, or put in one slicer or timeline to control numerous pivot tables, even just the ease of now seeing what the data may look like with Quick Explore, I would say this is an incredible advancement and not a setback. Like I said, explore it more, see what it has to offer now. You may be surprised and excited about the changes.
 
Thanks for the encouragement. I am a mere surface-scratcher on Excel and don't come close to many of the pivot / data functions. Just data entry and charting with formula messing and graphs is pretty much all I do, as in stock market trading etc. I repeatedly run into trouble just trying stuff that used to be so simple. I'm not interested in flowery nuances in the presentations and graphs, and that's what the charting function seems to have turned into - a mess of endless (mindless?) choices in chart colours and options to over-impress the boss at the next pointless meeting. I have barely used W8.1/XL2013 since my first post, and have been using my old laptop with XP/XL2000. Actual progress and satisfaction achieved, but now have a new laptop and OS that's basically useless to me. May try Lubuntu / LibreOffice on it. Seriously considering walking away from Microsoft as I have zero time for endless messing with it (previously stated, yes). When I bought the old laptop new, I had it "downgraded" to XP from Vista as I had heard so many negative things about that OS. If this is progress for Microsoft in the last 7 or 8 years (the old laptop's age), then it's beyond my simple mind. The next "improvement" will probably be incomprehensible. Thanks for your patience with me, but I think I'm done with Mr. Gates.
 
LOL, he does seem to do the old knitting routine. Keep one, drop one. I'm staying clear of Windoze 8 for that very reason whilst waiting for 9 or whatever they call it. Home =XP, Office =Win7 plus the occasional dabble with Linux at home.
 
you can learn more about Excel 2013 with an Microsoft Certification. online Microsoft

online Microsoft Excel Training is interactive and designed to help you learn key skills quickly. It has 30 videos, 26 practice and guided exercises and 12 self- assessment exercises.Learn all this at your own pace ,a program developed by Trainege.co.in.


xl2000 said:
Hi gang,

Non-tech here who wants to get back to XP / Office 2000 if I only could.......... need some charting help, my main activity in Excel. I don't go near Word with a 10-foot pole, and OneNote used to be useful to me, but I don't know what it is now.

Anyway, been using the above combo at employer and home for as long as they have been around. New laptop in April 2014, Windows 8.1 / Office 2013. Zero productivity since. Even employer was smart and kept their old stuff.......rant over now, sorry.

Comfort level with Excel 2000 and XP was extremely high, but now running ClassicShell on Windows 8.1 just to get along. Excel 2013 is the problem; I'm completely lost, like I got dropped into an alternate universe.
-Chart templates that are never the same twice
- Popups that won't go away when trying to change chart configs.
- Colours I cant seem to change or even differentiate between, therefore charts are unreadable.
- Combination charts are a complete pig.

What to do? Walk away now and learn OpenOffice?

Any and all suggestions appreciated, as even Microsoft language does'nt come across as English, and even since Windows 3.1, Microsoft help has never helped an iota. Not yer average dummy, just frustrated with no productivity and doing endless fiddling instead.
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