In analyzing data at work, I was looking for a way to graphically present analysis to accurately communicate. I'd been through some self-study material and was familiar with the basics of Xcelsius.

Having read another book by Michael Alexander on data analysis with Microsoft Access, I confidently purchased Crystal Xcelsius for Dummies. While I'm no where near a power user after going through this book, I do feel empowered to use the application.

This is a very good resource for beginners, however its not an ideal Reference book while working on Xcelsius. Buy this book, if you are new to xcelsius. The chapters are very well organized and will help you get started easily.

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While Xcelsius is a great tool, the model is the substance behind the image. This software makes presentation simple and powerful (and has a bit of the 'wow' factor, especially when sending interactive .pdfs) but the real issue is building the underlying model.

In chapter 15, the 'real world examples,' none of the Excel models are shown. A big omission. It would have been so easy to add the 15 excel files to the 'Bonus material.'

I liked this book a lot. I enjoyed the writing and even tough it was a Dummies book, it contained all the information that I needed to be able to get started mastering Crystal Xcelsius.

After being assigned to produce Dashboards for our company, I tried to read and understand the manual. I saw the Crystal Xcelsius for Dummies and thought I would give it a try. This book had me up and running in 2 days and I actually understood "why" things were happening. This is a great book for beginners and has a hands on approach to the learning, which I find extremely helpful. This book is for anyone who wants to learn Crystal Xcelsius in a hurry.

Is the best option to begin you in this excellent software like Xcelsius...

It is importat that you consider this book your initiation to after be a PRO using more complex dashboards (with the practice I mean!)