Book excerpt: Creating tables in Excel allows for easier formatting and reporting, but the new syntax that it implies can be intimidating to the uninitiated. In this guide, one of the developers of the official Microsoft Excel 2013 templates—all of which employ tables—helps introduce readers to the multiple benefits of tables. The book begins by explaining what tables are, how to create them, and how they can be used in reporting before moving on to slightly more advanced topics, including slicers and filtering, working with VBA macros, and using tables in the Excel web app. Novice Excel users and experts alike will find relevant, useful, and authoritative information in this one-of-a-kind resource.