Excel Dashboards and Reports

Learn to use Excel dashboards and reports to better conceptualize data

Updated for all the latest features and capabilities of Excel 2013, this go-to resource provides you with in-depth coverage of the individual functions and tools that can be used to create compelling Excel reports. Veteran author Michael Alexander walks you through the most effective ways to present and report data. Featuring a comprehensive review of a wide array of technical and analytical concepts, this essential guide helps you go from reporting data with simple tables full of dull numbers to presenting key information through the use of high-impact, meaningful reports and dashboards that will wow management both visually and substantively.

• Details how to analyze large amounts of data and report the results in a way that is both visually attractive and effective
• Describes how to use different perspectives to achieve better visibility into data, as well as how to slice data into various views on the fly
• Shows how to automate redundant reporting and analysis processes
• Walks you through creating impressive dashboards, eye-catching visualizations, and real-world What-If analyses

Excel Dashboards and Reports, Second Edition is part technical manual, part analytical guidebook, and exactly what you need to become your organization's dashboard dynamo!

Michael Alexander is a Microsoft MVP who has written several books on advanced business analysis with Access and Excel, including 101 Ready-To-Use Excel Macros and the Access 2013 Bible. A consultant and developer, he offers workshops and webinars through www.datapigtechnologies.com.

John Walkenbach, aka Mr. Spreadsheet, has written hundreds of articles and over 50 books, including multiple editions of the bestselling Excel Bible. He also created the award-winning Power Utility Pak.

Introduction 1

PART I: Getting Started with Excel Dashboards

Chapter 1: Introducing Dashboards  11

Chapter 2: Table Design Best Practices 29

Chapter 3: Using Excel Sparklines 47

Chapter 4: Chartless Visualization Techniques 61

PART II: Introducing Charts into Your Dashboards

Chapter 5: Excel Charting for the Uninitiated 89

Chapter 6: Working with Chart Series 107

Chapter 7: Formatting and Customizing Charts 131

Chapter 8: Components That Show Trending 171

Chapter 9: Components That Group Data 193

Chapter 10: Components That Show Performance Against a Target 209

PART III: Advanced Dashboarding Concepts

Chapter 11: Developing Your Data Model 225

Chapter 12: Adding Interactive Controls to Your Dashboard 247

Chapter 13: Macro-Charged Reporting 265

PART IV: Pivot Table Driven Dashboards

Chapter 14: Using Pivot Tables 281

Chapter 15: Using Pivot Charts 311

Chapter 16: Adding Interactivity with Slicers 329

Chapter 17: Using the Internal Data Model and Power View 343

PART V: Working with the Outside World

Chapter 18: Integrating External Data into Excel Reporting 365

Chapter 19: Sharing Your Work with the Outside World 381

Index 399

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.