What Excel is, why it matters, how to open it, and a complete tour of the desktop — cells, Ribbon tabs, Name Box, Formula Bar, sheet tabs, and Status Bar.

Configure Excel settings before you start — default font, AutoSave, AutoRecover, calculation mode, trusted locations, and the Developer tab.

Set margins, paper orientation and size, print area, scale to fit, gridlines, page breaks — and master Backstage View (File menu).

Enter text, numbers, dates, and formulas; edit cell content; use AutoFill and Flash Fill; understand data types and number formatting basics.

Insert and delete rows and columns, resize them, hide/unhide, and manage multiple worksheets — insert, rename, colour, copy, move, and delete.

Apply font, size, bold, italic, underline, colour, and alignment formatting — using the Ribbon, the Mini Toolbar, and keyboard shortcuts.

Format entire sheets and individual cells — borders, fill colours, cell styles, themes, number formats (currency, percentage, date, text).

Insert pictures, shapes, SmartArt diagrams, WordArt text, and set a sheet background image.

Create and manage Excel Tables — sorting, filtering, total rows, table styles, structured references, and converting ranges to tables.

Insert headers and footers with page numbers, date, filename — and insert equations and special symbols into cells.

Cut, copy, paste; Paste Special (values only, formats only, transpose); drag-and-drop; copy between sheets and workbooks.

The four major calculation methods — manual entry formula, AutoSum, function wizard, and the Formulas tab — with all arithmetic operators.

AutoSum, AVERAGE, COUNT, COUNTA, MAX, and MIN functions — syntax, examples, and when to use each.

Multi-cell range calculations, mixed-range formulas, named ranges — define, manage, and use names in formulas.

Format cells as currency (Rand, USD, EUR), calculate with dates (DATEDIF, NETWORKDAYS, EDATE), and time arithmetic.

Calculate percentages, percentage increase/decrease, back-calculate from totals — and extract data from SA ID numbers.

Understand relative and absolute cell references ($A$1, A$1, $A1) — when each is needed and how they affect copied formulas.

The IF function — single condition, nested IF, IF with AND/OR, IFERROR — with real-world business examples.

CONCATENATE/TEXTJOIN, LEFT/MID/RIGHT, LEN, TRIM, UPPER/LOWER, TEXT, ROUND, TODAY, NOW, SUBSTITUTE, and more.

ROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN — and VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, XLOOKUP (Excel 365) — syntax, exact/approximate match, and common errors.

Hide and unhide rows, columns, and sheets; sort data (single and multi-level); apply AutoFilter and Advanced Filter.

Create column, bar, line, pie, and combo charts — format axes, data labels, legend, chart title, chart styles, and change chart type.

Insert Sparklines (line, column, win/loss) in cells; add Slicers to tables and pivot tables; apply Conditional Formatting Data Bars, Colour Scales, and Icon Sets.

Find and remove duplicate values with Remove Duplicates and Conditional Formatting — highlight duplicates, count them, and keep unique records.

Create, configure, and refresh Pivot Tables — add fields, change summary function, sort, filter, group by date/category, format, and build Pivot Charts.

Build interactive dashboards using Pivot Charts, Slicers, and Timelines — connect slicers to multiple charts and tables.

Protect individual cells, unlock specific ranges, password-protect a sheet, protect the workbook structure, and handle forgotten passwords.

Link cells between sheets and workbooks using external references — and insert hyperlinks to URLs, files, and cell locations.

Find & Replace with formatting; freeze rows/columns (Freeze Panes); split windows; Normal, Page Break Preview, and Page Layout views; show/hide gridlines and headings.

Set print area, print titles (repeat rows/columns), page orientation, scale to fit, print to PDF, Print Preview, and all print dialog settings.

Share a workbook via OneDrive or SharePoint, co-author in real time, manage permissions, use comments and notes, and restore from version history.

Create drop-down list validation using Data Validation — allow lists, whole numbers, dates, custom formulas, and meaningful error messages.

Link Excel data to Word documents — paste as linked objects, embed as Excel objects, and update links — and use Word mail merge with Excel as the data source.

Use Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT, and built-in Excel AI tools to generate formulas, analyse data, clean datasets, build charts, explain errors, and automate repetitive tasks — with practical prompts and real-world examples.