Excel 365: Enhance Analysis with Data Types

Course description

This course explores how to use Excel 365’s data types feature to enhance spreadsheet analysis through dynamic connections to both organizational and external datasets. Learners are introduced to the Data Types functionality, available from the Data tab, and shown how to extend tables with additional fields such as unit price, quantity in stock, or geographic data without manual entry. The course begins by demonstrating how to create and publish organizational data types using Power BI Desktop. Tables like Product Info, Customer Info, and Company Info are set as featured tables, enabling their use in Excel once published to the cloud. Next, users are guided through applying organizational data types in Excel, inserting related fields, and extracting associated values directly into a worksheet. Built-in data types, such as Stocks, Currencies, and Geography, are also covered. These enable real-time access to financial and economic indicators powered by Bing, including stock prices, exchange rates, and country-specific statistics. The course addresses formatting and error-handling strategies to ensure clarity and accuracy when data is missing or inconsistently displayed. Practical applications for data-driven business use cases are emphasized, particularly how external and internal datasets can be integrated seamlessly into familiar Excel workflows. By the end of the course, learners will understand how to extend their Excel models with enriched data sources, improving analysis and reporting capabilities.

Course outline