Turn your dull Excel data into stunning interactive  Dashboards!
 

As the fastest growing dash boarding solution on the market, Crystal Xcelsius is an intuitive stand-alone Windows application that enables Excel users to transform the contents of an ordinary Excel spreadsheet into an engaging, interactive Flash-based dashboard.  My book offers step-by-step instruction on the wide array of functionality that Crystal Xcelsius has to offer.  I show you how to: *  Prepare Excel spreadsheets for use with Crystal Xcelsius dashboards *  Use the basic components of Crystal Xcelsius (charts, buttons, labels) *  Add advanced functionality to dashboards (gauges, sliders, maps) *  Create interactive business calculators *  Integrating Crystal Xcelsius dashboards into PowerPoint slides, Web pages, and e-mail

Install the Sample Files for the Book

Table of Contents:

Part I:  Say Hello to Xcelsius

     Chapter 1:  Introducing Crystal Xcelsius

                           Overcoming static cling
                       Seeing beyond fancy graphics
                       Checking out Crystal Xcelsius under the hood

     Chapter 2:  Taking Crystal Xcelsius for a Spin

                               Creating your first dashboard
                       Getting Data into Crystal Xcelsius

                       Building a Visual Model

                            The mechanics of Crystal Xcelsius components

                       Keeping up with updates and changes
 

Part II:  Getting Started with the Basics

    Chapter 3:  Interacting with Single-Value Components

                           Understanding Single Value components
                      Working with sliders and dials
                      Using Gauge components
                      Building a loan payment calculator

    Chapter 4:  Calling Attention to Alerts

                           Understanding alerts and the alert tab

                      Configuring alter levels with sliders and dials
                      Applying a percent alert
                      Applying a value alert

    Chapter 5:  Getting Graphic with Charts

                           The basics of charts in Crystal Xcelsius

                      Creating your first chart

                      Common chart formatting

                      Understanding combination charts

    Chapter 6:  May I Please See the Menu

                           Building your first menu selector
                      Understanding the Insert Option property

                      Working with the Filter component

                      Building your first filtered dashboard
 

Part III:  Getting Fancy with Advanced Components

    Chapter 7:  Getting Geo-Graphic with Maps

                           Understanding Regions
                      Creating a map-based dashboard

                      Applying alerts to Map components

                      Feeding data to a map

    Chapter 8:  Focusing in on Dynamic Visibility

                           Discovering the fundamentals of dynamic visibility

                      Using menu based visibility

                      Setting the visibility of multiple components
 

    Chapter 9:  Working with Crystal Xcelsius Professional
                           Creating drill-down charts

                      Using accordion menus

                      Working with picture menus
                      Using interactive calendar components
 

Part IV:  Wrapping Things Up

  Chapter 10:  Adding Style and Personality to Your Dashboards
                            Using the formatting functions
                      Using the Art & Backgrounds components

                      Working with the Object Browser

                      Employing Templates
                      Applying Styles and Skins
 

  Chapter 11:  Taking your Dashboards to Market

                           Exporting a visual model

                      Sending data back to Excel

                      Incorporating inputs from others

Part V:  Parts of Ten

  Chapter 12:  Designing Effective Excel Models:  Ten Best Practices
                            Ten Tips on how to design a more effective Excel model

  Chapter 13:  Ten Cool Xcelsius Tricks

  Chapter 14:  Frequently Asked Questions (Two sets of Ten)
                      Commonly asked questions about Crystal Xcelsius and Excel
                      Common error messages and what they mean
                      Commonly asked component questions