Microsoft Excel 97 with 3.5 Disk, 1st edition
Authors: Trudi Reisner, McKinney-Hammond
Venue:  (1998)

From the Book: Introduction Introduction Welcome to Microsoft Excel 97 Exam Cram. This book aims to help you get ready to takeand passthe Microsoft Excel Proficiency and the Microsoft Excel Expert exams. In this introduction, I introduce the Microsoft Office User Specialist program in general and talk about how the Exam Cram series can help you prepare for the Microsoft Office User Specialist exams. Exam Cram books help you understand and appreciate the subjects and skills you need to pass Microsoft Office User Specialist exams. The books are aimed strictly at test preparation and review. They do not teach you everything you need to know about an application. Instead, I (the author) present and dissect the questions and problems that youre likely to encounter on a test. Ive worked from Microsofts proficiency guidelines, the exams, and third-party test preparation tools. My aim is to bring together as much information as possible about the Microsoft Office User Specialist exams. Nevertheless, to completely prepare yourself for any Microsoft test, I recommend that you begin your studies with some classroom training or that you pick up and read one of the many study guides available. We recommend Exam Preps from Certification Insider Pressa complete learning and test preparation system when used in conjunction with the Exam Cram you have in hand. Exam Preps feature a practice environment that simulates the application you are learning on the companion CD. If you choose another study guide, I strongly recommend that you install, configure, and fool around with the software or environment that youll be tested on, because nothing beats hands-on experience and familiarity when it comes to understanding the questions youre likely to encounter on a certification test. Book learning is essential, but hands-on experience is the best teacher of all. The tests are designed to validate your skill level for a specific Microsoft Office application. They accomplish this by testing you on real-world problems within the application on which you are being tested. The Microsoft Office User Specialist certification sets you apart from candidates with whom you are competing for job openings in all areas of business and industry. It proves to a potential employer that you have the skills that are in demand. The Microsoft Office User Specialist program currently offers certification for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. Exams are available for Word and Excel in 95 versions, Word 97, Excel 97, and PowerPoint 97; Access 97 is due shortly. FrontPage, Outlook, and Office Integration Expert will follow over the next several months. There are two certification skill levels for Word and Excel: Proficient and Expert. Only the Expert level is offered for all other applications at this time. Proficient Specialists are able to perform a wide range of daily tasks. Expert Specialists are able to handle more complex tasks in addition to the daily tasks. The most prestigious certification is that of the Microsoft Office Expert. In order to obtain the Microsoft Office Expert certification, users must obtain Expert Specialist status on all five core Office 97 applications and then pass the Office 97 Integration exam. Passing this exam guarantees that you are not only skilled in each application, but also that you possess integration skills between the Office 97 applications. Taking A Certification Exam All Microsoft Office User Specialist exams are offered by Authorized Client Testing (ACT) Centers. Although exams are currently available only in English, exams in Japanese and other languages will be offered as soon as courseware exists. Each computer-based exam costs between $50.00 and $100.00, and if you do not pass, you may retest for an additional $50.00 or more each time. Although most centers require that you pre-register, you may be able to walk in and test. Dont be afraid to ask. You may register by calling 800-933-4493, or contact a local ACT Center directly. If you dial the 800 number, you will be asked for your ZIP code. You will then be given the contact information for one or more centers located near you. Each ACT Center has policies that cover cancelling an appointment, missing a scheduled appointment, and arriving late (e.g., you may not be able to get a refund for a missed appointment). Be sure to find out about your responsibilities and your options. Visit one of these Web sites for more information about the program, the exams, and what people are saying about their test experience before you schedule your exam: www.officecert.com or www.microsoft.com/office/train_cert. All exams are timed; you will have one hour or less for each one. The tests measure productivity and efficiency; that means that both speed and accuracy are important in order to pass! You will be asked to perform approximately 40 tasks within about 60 minutes. Be sure to arrive early enough to complete the registration that you began on the phone. Many centers require you to appear within a specific time interval before the test begins. For example, you might have to arrive 30 minutes prior to your test appointment time. When you call to schedule your exam, ask when you need to be there. You must provide two valid forms of identification at the test center. The tests are monitored and you may not use any test aids (books, notes, etc.). A blank sheet of paper and pencil or a wipe-off board and marker will be provided on which you can take notes. If there is a task with which you are unfamiliar or one that will take more time than you feel you have to complete it, answer it anyway. You have to answer the questions in the order in which they appear. You must complete all parts of a question if you are to receive credit for any of it. Office Help screens are available to you, but you wont have time to use them and complete the exam within the time allowed. You must surrender the paper or wipe-off board on which your notes are written when you leave the test room. Test results are shown on the computer screen when the exam ends, so you will know immediately if you passed or failed. On most exams, you will pass if you perform all but two tasks correctly, so theres not much room for error. If you do not pass, the screen will display a wide range of skill areas that you need to practice before you attempt to take the test again. Tracking MOUS Status If you pass your exam, a certificate will be sent to you by mail within one to two weeks. Exam results are reported only to you and to Microsoft. If you pass the Excel 97 Proficiency level exam, your certificate will affirm that you are a "Microsoft Excel 97 Proficient Specialist." If you pass the Excel Expert level exam, your certificate will affirm that you are a "Microsoft Excel 97 Expert Specialist." You will have the proof you need to substantiate the level of expertise you include on your resume. How To Prepare For An Exam At a minimum, preparing for an Excel 97 test requires that you obtain and study additional materials. We highly recommend the Microsoft Office User Specialist Microsoft Excel 97 Exam Prep, also from Certification Insider Press. This comprehensive, Microsoft-approved study guide provides step-by-step coverage of all of the topics included on the exam. Theres a lot of practice, tooend-of-chapter review questions and projects in the book, plus the award winning Excel 97 tutorial simulator on the companion CD-ROM. This interactive tutorial guides you every step of the way through all of the Excel 97 basics and then tests your skill mastery. The CD-ROM also includes the practice documents youll need in order to perform all of the exercises in the book, saving you hours of valuable study time. If you cant find the Microsoft Excel 97 Exam Prep on the shelf at your favorite bookstore, please visit our Web site at www.certificationinsider.com or ask your local bookstore to order a copy for you. If you know that you need more practice or if you like to study by using a variety of resources, then please refer to the "Need to Know More" sections at the end of each chapter. These Web sites also offer suggestions for further study: www.officecert.com or www.microsoft.com/office/train_cert. About This Book Each topical Exam Cram chapter follows a similar structure, along with graphical cues about especially important or useful material. Heres the structure of a typical chapter:  Opening hotlists Each chapter begins with lists of the terms, tools, and skills that you must learn and understand before you can be fully conversant with the chapters subject matter.  Tasks After the opening hotlists, each chapter gives you a series of tasks to complete related to the topics.  Study Alerts I will highlight information helpful for the test using a special Study Alert layout, like this: This is what a Study Alert looks like. Normally, a Study Alert stresses concepts, terms, or activities that will most likely appear in one or more certification test questions. For that reason, I think any information found offset in Study Alert format is worthy of unusual attentiveness on your part. Indeed, most of the facts appearing in The Cram Sheet (inside the front cover of this book) appear as Study Alerts within the text. I have also provided tips that will help build a better foundation of knowledge about the Office application on which youll test. Although the information may not be on the exam, it is highly relevant and will help you become a better test taker. This is how tips are formatted. Keep your eyes open for these, and youll become a test guru in no time. You will also find items called "Hold That Skill." Consider these as necessary skills you should practice over and over again until you can do them without thinking. They are essential for you to pass the exam. Look to Hold That Skill as something for you to practice so you can ace the test.  Practice Exercise This section presents a series of mock test exercises and solutions.  Details and resources Every chapter ends with a section titled "Need To Know More?" That section provides direct pointers to Microsoft and third-party resources that offer further details on the chapters subject. In addition, this section tries to rate the quality and thoroughness of the topics coverage by each resource. If you find a resource you like in this collection, use it, but dont feel compelled to use all the resources. On the other hand, I recommend only resources I use on a regular basis, so none of my recommendations will be a waste of your time or money. The bulk of the book follows this chapter structure slavishly, but there are a few other elements that Id like to point out: the sample tests and the answer keys to the sample tests that appear in Chapters 12, 13, 24, and 25, and a reasonably exhaustive glossary of terms. Finally, look for The Cram Sheet, which appears inside the front cover of this Exam Cram book. It is a valuable tool that represents a condensed and compiled collection of facts, figures, and tips that I think you should memorize before taking the test. Because you can dump this information out of your head and onto a piece of paper before answering any exam questions, you can master this information by brute forceyou need to remember it only long enough to write it down when you walk into the test room. You might even want to look at it in the car or in the lobby of the testing center just before you walk in to take the test. How To Use This Book This book is designed to be read in sequence and the tasks and skills practice questions allow you to build on what youve learned. I encourage you to do yourself a favor and go for a complete review. However, if you already know Excel 97 and are just brushing up before the exam or if you have taken the exam and failed, you can take the practice exam at the end of the book to reveal any skill weaknesses you need to work on. You can then focus on practicing the skills that you need to work on (the one challenge in this approach is that the practice documents that are provided on the companion disk may build on earlier practice questions). Wed like to hear from you! If you have comments about our Microsoft Office User Specialist Exam Crams, please email us at craminfo@coriolis.com or email them directly to me at trudir@aol.com. Thanks, and enjoy the book!