Excel Software for Business Guide

Microsoft Excel is industry-standard software for organizing data and running repeated mathematical calculations. Its capabilities expand into data visualization, analysis, and automation while plugins enable advanced features including programmatic Bloomberg data access. This guide is designed to help introduce you to typical Excel features. Use the tabs to navigate through the guide.

Excel is available at all public library computer stations and available to full-time Penn faculty, staff, and students at participating Schools and Centers as part of the Microsoft Office suite. 

The Lippincott Library offers live Excel workshops during the fall and spring semesters. Sessions cover keyboard shortcuts, pivot tables, lookups, and more with a focus on consulting and industry use cases. Explore workshop materials and recordings or sign up today.

Find more instruction through these and other sources:

• LinkedIn Learning (playlists and topical videos)
• O'Reilly for Higher Education (online training courses)

This guide is optimized for the installable Windows edition of Excel, which is standard in business and offers the most features and navigation options. Where Excel for Mac navigation differs, this guide attempts to note alternate controls. Mobile and web-based editions tend to share the overall layout of installable editions but dramatically limit keyboard navigation among other capabilities.