Excel Video Tutorials

Microsoft Excel is the most widely used spreadsheet application in existence. An estimated one in eight people uses Excel for managing data. Watching video tutorials online is a popular method of learning Excel. Not only are they offered for free by some top educational providers, but videos are a great learning resource because they can be watched from any location, then re-watched as often as needed. This article will discuss the benefits of learning Excel from online videos and will offer some great resources with Excel-specific video content.

What is Excel?

Microsoft Excel is the industry-standard spreadsheet software program created in 1985 to help with data organization, analysis, and visualization. This application uses spreadsheets containing cells, rows, and columns to organize and store datasets. Various formulas and functions can be applied to the data to help Excel users extract trends, patterns, or other meaningful insights. Because of this application’s computational powers, it is used by millions around the globe in various professions, such as finance, healthcare, data analytics, business intelligence, and project management, among others.

What Can You Do with Excel?

Excel has hundreds of features and tools that help users organize, manage, analyze, and visualize data. The following are just a few of the tools and features that make Excel the go-to for professionals around the globe:

• In Excel, users can add or average numbers in cells, locate high, median, or low values, count cells containing numbers, and find a product by multiplying cells. It’s also possible to delete extra white space and truncate numbers by removing fractions.
• Excel can learn your patterns the more you use it so that it can organize your data and ultimately save time.
• Users can share workbooks with others in real-time to ensure that all collaborators have the most up-to-date version.
• It’s possible to work on Excel files from the web and mobile and desktop devices.
• Users can now add data right into Excel from a photo. The Excel app enables users to take a picture of printed data with their iPhone or Android, then convert this image into an editable Excel table. This helpful trick helps users avoid manually entering hard copy data and is made possible through Excel’s image recognition capabilities.
• Financial transactions can be imported into Excel so that users can organize and review their financial information and receive helpful insights toward making more informed financial decisions.
• Excel’s PivotTables help users perform analysis and summaries of datasets, regrouping spreadsheet data for more effective comparisons. By seeing data from different perspectives, it’s possible to get a more comprehensive picture of revenue sources and other vital information.

Why Are Video Tutorials Helpful When Learning Excel?

There’s no one “right” way to study Excel; instead, the way you learn this spreadsheet application depends on several factors. For example, are you motivated to learn independently, or do you do better with in-person guidance? If you are self-motivated, there are a variety of online resources like videos, YouTube channels, and online tutorials to help you learn the basics of this spreadsheet app and its more advanced functions and tools.

Here are just a few of the benefits of learning Excel from video tutorials:

• You can study at your own pace around other personal and professional commitments.
• Many online Excel videos and tutorials are free, so they are a cost-effective educational resource.
• It’s possible to receive general guidance on Excel basics, such as navigating the interface, or to learn more specific or advanced functions, such as performing VLOOKUP or customizing your Excel ribbon.
• You can tailor your learning process to your Excel needs, beginning with the most necessary Excel information for a work project, and then go from there.
• Most Excel videos are relatively short, which means you can learn important Excel concepts in just a few minutes. You also can revisit video content as needed.

Types of Excel Videos

If you are looking for online Excel instruction, the following are some great resources for Excel learners at all levels of proficiency:

Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop, a technology training school in New York City, has provided learners with educational instruction in Excel and other topics for over three decades. In addition to offering both in-person and live online course options, certificates, and bootcamps, Noble’s free Excel classes online are a great resource for Excel beginners. Those interested in exploring time-saving Excel techniques can watch this free webinar that includes content on:

• Creating charts
• Joining and splitting text
• Removing duplicates
• Inserting screenshots, comments, and links
• Navigating shortcuts

Microsoft Excel Video Training

Microsoft Support also offers an array of Excel-specific videos for Office 365 users. Many pertinent Excel topics are covered in these short videos, such as:

• Power Query
• Formulas & functions
• PivotTables
• Formatting
• Rows & columns

These videos provide a helpful overview of specific features and functions in Excel and are accompanied by written notes that clearly break down the content of each video. This site also includes useful Excel templates, as well as links for training in prior Excel versions.

Udemy

In addition to providing a variety of free Excel tutorials and classes, Udemy also has short video content on Excel available for free on its website. These short videos run from three to 11 minutes and provide guidance on topics like:

• Area charts
• Quick Access toolbar
• Data Analysis ToolPak
• Data validation

This site also has Excel courses for a fee in Excel and data analytics.

Excel Exposure’s Free Excel Tutorial

Excel Exposure is an online Excel training course that is designed to be completed at the student’s own pace. This site provides video and written content on many basic and advanced Excel topics. Video content in Excel is broken into three topic groups, with subtopics beneath each:

• Workbook & Reference
• Naming ranges and cells
• Cell referencing
• Auto-filter
• Function & Formula
• Logical functions
• Advanced INDEX and Match
• Math and statistical functions
• Macros/VBA
• VBA important tips
• Purchasing order generator
• Message encoder and decoder

In addition, non-video tutorials and instruction materials are also available from Excel Exposure on topics such as Power Pivot, What-if analysis, and how to recover unsaved files.

HubSpot Excel Resources

If you’re interested in learning more about how Excel can be used for data-driven marketing, then HubSpot Excel Resources is a great learning option. This site offers a range of educational content about Excel and marketing. Free ebooks, video tutorials, and templates are provided by HubSpot. Their Excel for Marketers Crash Course: Learn the Fundamentals of Microsoft Excel is just over an hour long. It includes three lessons, 11 videos, and three quizzes.

Master of Project Academy

Master of Project Academy currently has free Excel training available on its website. This site’s videos and tutorials provide basic instruction on Excel and tips and tricks to better utilize the application. In addition to sample video lectures, quizzes, and exercises, Master of Project Academy also posts instructions about creating formulas, performing functions, and advanced Excel training.

Chandoo.org

Chandoo.org contains a wealth of online Excel tutorials, videos, and classes, all devoted to Excel. Their website also has a section exclusively focused on video content. Users can learn more about topics such as:

• Power Pivot
• Power Query
• Charts
• Dashboards
• Conditional formatting
• Analyzing sales

This site also contains pertinent content on VBA, including over 40 examples. Additionally, more than 200 examples of Excel dashboards are available here, as well as dashboard-specific templates and tutorials. Every week or two, the site’s creator uploads a new video in either Excel, Microsoft Power BI, or data analytics. Videos are typically published on its free YouTube channel, as well as its blog. Those who are interested in learning more about various Microsoft apps can also sign up for Chandoo’s free email newsletter, which is sent out once a week. Currently, more than 100,000 people subscribe.

GFC Global’s Excel Tutorial

Another free Excel resource is GFC Global’s Excel tutorial and YouTube channel. This website and corresponding playlist cover a wealth of Excel topics, starting with beginner and progressing into intermediate and advanced content.

Here are a few of the Excel topics this robust tutorial covers:

• Saving and sharing workbooks
• Modifying cells, rows, and columns
• Performing spell check
• Creating complex formulas
• Understanding relative and absolute cell references
• Freezing panes

Their YouTube playlist provides instructions on Office 365, Excel 2016, and Excel 2019.

Why Learn Excel?

It is estimated that more than half a billion people around the globe currently use Excel. Why does this spreadsheet software remain so popular? Those who work with Excel cite many benefits, such as:

• The application is intuitive and easy to learn, even for non-technical people.
• Data is immediately visible in Excel without the need to code. Instead, users can cut and paste data and perform drag-and-drop functions. Mistakes can also be easily corrected or undone in Excel.
• Entering information directly into cells gives users a sense of control over the data.
• Its cost is relatively low compared to other spreadsheet apps.
• It is versatile and can help with a variety of tasks across industries.
• Because there are so many Excel users around the globe, a variety of helpful resources are available online to assist users with Excel questions.
• Excel makes it easy to sort, adjust, and filter data.
• Formatting changes in Excel can be performed easily, with one click of the mouse.
• Excel is a powerful tool for creating dashboards and charts.
• Excel users can execute simple regression models without specialized training.
• Excel is committed to continuously improving this spreadsheet application. It has introduced tools such as Power Query to load and transform data without users having to do so manually.

Read more about why you should learn Excel.

How Difficult is It to Learn Excel?

The time it takes to learn Excel depends on many factors. Although most consider Excel a reasonably straightforward, easy-to-learn application, the process can be a bit more challenging for beginners who don’t have prior experience working with spreadsheets or data. For those looking to perform basic Excel tasks and become familiar with the interface, it likely will take several hours to acclimate to this app. If you are interested in becoming proficient with more advanced Excel functions for work tasks, you will likely need to devote upwards of 20 hours to master this software fully. Enrolling in an online or in-person Excel class can help to reduce the time it will take to become Excel-proficient.

Before learning Excel, it is helpful to review rudimentary mathematical concepts, such as basic algebra. A solid foundation in math can help you quickly learn and retain Excel formulas and shortcuts, leading to more effective spreadsheet use. In addition, you may also wish to familiarize yourself with the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity applications before working with Excel. Since Excel integrates with other Microsoft apps like PowerPoint and Access, the more you know about the Microsoft family of apps, the better prepared you will be to work with Excel.

Excel is currently available from Microsoft for $160 a year, or $6.99/month if you purchase it as part of the Microsoft 365 suite of applications (which also includes access to Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneDrive). Excel can be downloaded directly from Microsoft via a digital download.

Read about how difficult it is to learn Excel.

Learn Excel with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Are you looking to learn how to use Microsoft Excel, the industry-standard spreadsheet application? If so, Noble Desktop currently offers a variety of Excel courses in NYC and live online. Classes are available for those new to Excel and for learners who regularly work with this spreadsheet application and wish to improve their skills. In addition, in-person and live online Excel courses are available through Noble Desktop or one of its affiliate schools. A variety of course options are offered, ranging in duration from three hours to two days and costing between $229 and $1,099.

Noble Desktop’s Excel Bootcamp provides an excellent option for those who want to master core Excel concepts, such as working with PivotTables and What-If Analysis. Students who enroll in this rigorous, 21-hour course can elect to study in person in Manhattan or learn in the live online environment. This small class comes with the option of a free retake and covers a variety of Excel concepts applicable to the business world.