ABSTRACT
This chapter presents techniques for interfacing Excel with external data sources and using such data in various operations. Excel can hold tables of data for calculations, analysis, and charting purposes. Excel can also hold data for reference and processing purposes. The simplest way to organize data in Excel is in worksheet rows and columns. Excel also has the ability to create a table reference by name, rather than relying on worksheet name and row/column information. Filtering of data is an extremely useful feature, particularly when working with large numbers of rows of data. The simplest way to engage filtering is to use the Auto-Filter facility of Excel. Sorting can be accomplished using the filtering drop-down menus on each column. Subtotals can be used in Excel to perform several operations on subgroups of data. The data must be sorted by a value on which the data are grouped, and then subtotals can be employed on various other data elements.
