What You Should Have

I wrote this book for Excel 2007. If you're using an older version of Excel, I suggest that you put down this book immediately and pick up a previous edition. The changes in Excel 2007 are so extensive that you might be hopelessly confused if you try to follow along using an earlier version of Excel.

To use the examples on the companion CD-ROM, you'll need a CD-ROM drive. The examples on the CD-ROM are discussed further in the "About the Companion CD-ROM" section, later in this preface.

Note 

I use Excel for Windows exclusively, and I do not own a Macintosh. Therefore, I can't guarantee that all of the examples will work with Excel for Macintosh. Excel's cross- platform compatibility is pretty good, but it's definitely not perfect.

As far as hardware goes, the faster the better. And, of course, the more memory in your system, the happier you'll be. And, I strongly recommend using a high-resolution video mode: at least 1024 x 768, preferably higher.