Features and Conventions of This Book

This book has been designed to lead you step by step through all the tasks you are most likely to want to perform when creating macros in Microsoft Office Excel 2007. If you start at the beginning and work your way through all the exercises, you will gain enough proficiency to be able to perform many types of tasks by using macros. Each topic is self contained, but later chapters do assume that you know the information presented in earlier chapters. If you have worked with a previous version of Excel, or if you completed all the exercises and later need help remembering how to perform a procedure, the following features of this book will help you look up specific tasks related to Excel 2007 macros:

• Detailed table of contents. Look up the topic you want in the list of the topics and sidebars within each chapter.

• Chapter thumb tabs. Easily locate the beginning of the chapter you want.

• Topic-specific running heads. Within a chapter, quickly locate the topic you want by looking at the running head of odd-numbered pages.

• Detailed index. Look up specific tasks and features and general concepts in the index, which has been carefully crafted with the reader in mind.

• Companion CD. Find the practice files needed for the step-by-step exercises, as well as a fully searchable electronic version of this book and other useful resources.

If you are new to Excel 2007, you might not have had much time to explore the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface, which was introduced with the 2007 Microsoft Office system. The step-by-step instructions in this book often tell you to click buttons on the Office Fluent Ribbon, identifying the tab to click and the group in which the button is located. You should have no difficulty following these instructions.

You can save time when you use this book by understanding how the Step by Step series shows special instructions, keys to press, buttons to click, and so on. The table on the next page tells you what you need to know.

Open table as spreadsheet

Convention	Meaning
On The CD	This icon indicates a reference to the book’s companion CD.
USE	This paragraph before the first exercise in a chapter indicates the practice files that you will use when working through the exercises.
BE SURE TO	This paragraph before the first exercise in a chapter indicates any prerequisite requirements that you should attend to before beginning the exercise, or actions you should take to restore your system after completing the exercise.
OPEN	This paragraph before the first exercise in a chapter indicates files that you should open before beginning the exercise.
CLOSE	This paragraph at the end of a chapter provides instructions for closing open files or programs before moving on to another topic.
1 2	Black numbered steps guide you through procedures in expository text.
→	An arrow indicates an exercise that has only one step.
See Also	These paragraphs direct you to more information about a given topic in this book or elsewhere.
Troubleshooting	These paragraphs provide a helpful hint or information about other available options.
Tip	These paragraphs provide a helpful hint or shortcut that makes working through a task easier, or information about other available options.
Important	These paragraphs point out information that you need to know to complete a procedure.
Ctrl+Home	A plus sign (+) between two key names means that you must hold down the first key while you press the second key. For example, “press Ctrl+Home” means “hold down the Ctrl key while you press the Home key.”
Program interface elements	In steps, the names of program elements, such as buttons, commands, and dialog boxes, are shown in black bold characters.
Italic	Italic font is used for emphasis and to introduce new terms.