Excel used to be the poor schmuck's database,A with spreadsheets that just sort of sat there. You could create something more sophisticated with LOOKUP functions, but they were a huge hassle to set up.
Not anymore: Excel 2013's table tools include features that make it easy to link charts and cells,A perform searches, and create dynamically updated reports,A just like--yes--a relational database. Excel can handle a lot of day-to-day office data this way,A and we'll show you how to set it up.
How Excel makes a relational database
Relational databases--databases structured to recognize relations among the information stored in them--are essential for working with large amounts of business data. They let you quickly search and retrieve specific information, view the same data set in multiple ways, and reduce data errors and redundancy. Try doing that with a spreadsheet.
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