Excel 2004: venerable spreadsheet program evolves nicely.(Microsoft Office 2004)

Macworld, August, 2004 by Griffiths, Rob

For those whose data analysis needs are anything but simple, Microsoft Excel is a mainstay. Though AppleWorks and ComGrafix's RagTime both have spreadsheet modules, Excel has the rich feature set and Windows compatibility that number-crunchers have come to rely on.

If you're familiar with prior versions of Excel, you'll feel right at home in Excel 2004; Microsoft has kept the best of prior releases while adding productivity-enhancing new features, including a Page Layout view, Smart Buttons that help with common tasks such as formula debugging, and nice-looking chart-formatting options.

What's New?

Substantial improvements lie hidden beneath Excel's familiar surface. Like its siblings in Office 2004, Excel 2004 has a Toolbox icon that...