Designed with Excel gurus in mind, this handbook outlines how to create formulas that can be used to solve everyday problems with a series of data values that standard Excel formulas cannot or would be too arduous to attempt. Beginning with an introduction to array formulas, this manual examines topics such as how they differ from ordinary formulas, the benefits and drawbacks of their use, functions that can and cannot handle array calculations, and array constants and functions. Among the practical applications surveyed include how to extract data from tables and unique lists, how to get results that match any criteria, and how to utilize various methods for unique counts. This book contains 529 screen shots.
I'm a huge fan of ExcelIsFun. I learned a lot from him through his YouTube channel. If you haven't been there yet - GO!
So when Mike Girvin published news about the array formulas book I was looking forward to it. I was about to buy a paper copy but since the e-book version became available first - I went with it.
I have been using Excel for a several years so I have a lot of experience with this application. Before I read the book I could create some array formulas but because there was no good documentation out there - my knowledge on that was inconsistent and with gaps.
This is the first book about array formulas from the beginning to the end out there on the market! It's a very good reference to this topic.
Is this book for you? - If you are dealing with regular formulas well and want more - then yes, definitely!
If you haven't written any array formula yet - do not worry - you will, but you are supposed to be more than a beginner in Excel otherwise the book will be too hard for you.
You will not find stories in this book! Just knowledge. Pure knowledge on writing array formulas and efficiency.
Array formulas aren't the gold solution for everything. Mike compares them to pivot tables, regular formulas with helper columns, database functions, advanced filter and others to find the most optimal solution to the problem (or the situation you have got). He is also timing the formulas calculation to show which solution is fastest and most efficient. In almost every example Mike describes advantages and disadvantages of varions solutions in a tabular, easy to read form.
I have read first half of the book in 2 days :) Even though I knew most of the stuff, I found a lot of small, usefull information I didn't know before. That information filled the gaps I mentioned earlier. The second half of the book gets more hardcore so I spent more time on that :)
The rule for the book is simple - the bigger page number is, the more advanced formulas and solutions you can find :).
The important thing - you can download the files accompanying the book. And what is more important - the files are well prepared and consistent with the book.
I am very impressed with this Excel book. In all of the books that I have read about Microsoft Excel, I have never seen such a clear, detailed guide about the use of arrays in Excel.
In the beginning of the book, Mike Girvin lists and summarizes the prior knowledge that is required to understand this book. The author, who has many videos tutorials about Excel online, describes array formulas in such a way that anybody who has this prior knowledge can understand (and begin to master) them.
This book has a few strong points. One strong point is that each chapter has a large number of examples that the reader can follow. The examples include a large number of images, and readers can download the examples' spreadsheets from the author's website. The second strong point is that, especially in the earlier chapters, when an example contains a long (and somewhat confusing) formula, the author will review that formula, step by step, at the end of the example. A third strong point is that, in the end of many chapters, the author compares formulas, showing which formulas perform fastest on large sets of data. Finally, the author includes formulas from different versions of Excel, so that readers who do not have the latest versions of Excel can still benefit from reading this book.
In the introduction to the book, the author writes that he believes that he has done a "less than stellar job" writing the book. I think that the book is very clear, but the book could have used more proofreading. There were many typos, which I occasionally found to be very distracting. However, the clarity of this book more than makes up for the typos, and I recommend this book for anybody who needs to deal with large sets of data in Microsoft Excel.
Microsoft Excel в наши дни не знает только ленивый. Да и используют электронные таблицы так или иначе почти все, кто работает с компьютером. Правда, думаю, что обо всей мощи этого инструмента большинство не знает.
Себя я никогда не мог причислить к гуру электронных таблиц, хотя и знал основные формулы, делал много расчётов сам, а в работе так и вовсе часто использовал очень сложные таблицы для отслеживания бюджетов и прочего. И всё равно скорее считал всегда себя средним пользователем по уровню владения.
Однако порой приходилось делать задачи, где нужно было обработать большие массивы информации, да ещё и не очень простым способом.
My Best investment ever for an excel book! It contains many guiding principles for writing excel formulas, many of the examples were very well chosen. Problems clarified , methodologies elucidated using real practical examples further add value to this scholarly work. Well done and please keep up the good work Mike, my heartfelt Thanks!
Mike Girvin has a good way of explaining things in an easy to use manner. With tons of helpful examples this is one if the best books on arrays I've ever read. Definitely worth it.