Not anymore: Excel 2013’s table tools include features that make it easy to link charts and cells, perform searches, and create dynamically updated reports, just like—yes—a relational database.

The pivot table is a collection of tools that Excel uses to create reports from complex, multi-file spreadsheet data. Here's how to generate reports for single tables ...

How to create data bars in Excel 1. Select the cells you want to apply the data bars to. You can select a single cell, a range of cells, a table, or the entire sheet. 2.