All of the Microsoft application programs are extremely complex, powerful and feature rich. People who are "experts" in any or all of these programs would be the first to tell a beginner that it took them years, often up to and exceeding 20, to learn as much as they have, and that they *still* do not know everything there is about the applications.
Especially Excel, because Excel can be used as not only a simple list/calucate application, but also can be utilized as a small database and Visual Basic for Applications is available for creating Macros which automate many tasks, from small to large.
The poster who mentioned Excel for Dummies was not being mean, but just honest. There are actually Dummy books on the Microsoft Office programs. Heck, there are Dummy books on most any topic these days! lol
However, there are many methods of learning Excel, the simplist and least expenisve way to get started is to go to Office Online, click on Help and How-to, at the upper right of the webpage, and then click on the Excel version you are using. These tutorials are a great way to get going, and then you can move on to other sources.
What other sources? Well, the Step by Step series of books but out by Microsoft Press are great. They walk the user through the basic steps of basic functions. In addition, you can use the larger book series, called Inside Out, also by Microsoft Press, which expands upon each section in the Step by Step books. I use them together. I read the section in Step by Step, follow the tutorials, (actual practice files are included on a CD for the Step by Step series, you install them onto your hard disk and open to do the courses), and read the material in the Inside Out books to expand on each topic in the Step by Step book.
These books all include CDs with materal for the user. As mentioned above, the Step by Step books have actual practice files.
*tip* In order to get the most of the practice files, don't Save them after you perform the instruction steps. This way you can keep them in their original form, and go back and redo anyone you wish whenever you wish. You can also move the files from their default location, by copying them to the Documents folder, and then you leave the original files untouched.
The Inside Out books contain a lot more information than the Step by Step books, and I have been using these books for a while now. Unless you actually use the program on a daily basis, you can quickly forget how a certain task is done.
After you master the Step by Step course you can take the official Microsoft Office Specialist test. These tests are offered in various cities and locations across America, and offer a certificate of completion that a employer would allow as proof of ability and help land or advance in jobs.
Other resources are local community college courses. Community college courses are a low cost method of learning these applications.
If you do not need to learn this for a career reason, and just need it for personal reasons, you should consider getting the free Office Suite Open Office. Open Office offers four or five Office applications which are just as powerful and feature rich as Microsoft Office, and are compatible with Microsoft Office.
http:www.openoffice.org
Check out the suite and see if it will suite your needs. I know for sure it has a Word program, and Spreadsheet application, Presentation application, and a Publishing application, and one more I think. You can create a document in Open Office and then import into Microsoft Office or alter the file extensions.
I am sorry to tell you how much of a challenge it will be to learn Office, whether it is Microsoft Office or Open Office. However, the best thing to do is open up the program and begin clicking on menu buttons, open up dialog boxes, and get a feel for where things are located. You won't hurt anything by doing this. You can even create *documents*, or any other materials by playing around and toss them out when you are finished. I do this a lot, just to see what things are and how to perform the tasks. If I run into difficulty I ask a question and get Online help from Office Online.
Open Office has Help options too, and there are forums for both types of suites for asking questions when you get stuck.
Good luck and much success with whatever version you choose to learn and utilize. Open Office is great because it is free.