Excel 2013 learning gap frustration

[xl2000]

Hi gang,

Non-tech here who wants to get back to XP / Office 2000 if I only could.......... need some charting help, my main activity is in Excel but nothing too deep. I don't go near Word with a 10-foot pole, and OneNote used to be useful to me, but I don't know what it is now.

Anyway, been using the above combo at employer and home for as long as they have been around. New laptop in April 2014, Windows 8.1 / Office 2013. Zero productivity since. Even employer was smart and kept their old stuff.......rant over now, sorry.

Comfort level with Excel 2000 and XP was extremely high, but now running ClassicShell on Windows 8.1 just to get along. Excel 2013 is the problem; I'm completely lost, like I got dropped into an alternate universe. Sort of familiar, but nothing works.
- Chart templates that are never the same twice
- Popups that won't go away when trying to change chart configs.
- Colours I cant seem to change to old-style or visually differentiate between, therefore charts are unreadable.
- Combination charts are a complete pig.

What to do? Walk away now and learn OpenOffice? I know that changing a culture is a lot harder than starting fresh, but from the same manufacturer's material? I am ready to give up Microsoft altogether due to complete and total user unfriendliness. I'm more at home now on an iPhone, Ipad, and an old Toshiba netbook that is running Lubuntu with said OpenOffice. Also, I just dusted off my old laptop and cleaning out files on the old howler - aaaaah.......XP.

Any and all suggestions appreciated, as even Microsoft language does'nt come across as English, and even since Windows 3.1, Microsoft help has never helped an iota. Not yer average dummy, just frustrated with no productivity and doing endless fiddling instead. I have no time for endless upgrade courses that would only be useless on the next so-called upgrade; I just want something that works. If there's no backdate, update, patches or improvements, please let me know and I'll wallow in my buyer's remorse. Thanks all, for at least listening/reading.

[Ron Coderre]

My recommendation, as an Excel 2003 expert (and reluctant ribbon convert), is: Embrace Excel 2013.
Yes, there IS a learning curve and initial frustration. However, there are many upsides to using XL2013 and some great features.
You'll find that if you use XL2003 keyboard shortcuts, you'll end up where you want to be in XL2013. After a bit of maneuvering to discover the new locations of commands they'll soon become second nature. When you get bogged down, just come to the ExcelForum and we'll coach you.

I hope that helps.

[xl2000]

Thanks for the encouragement. I am a mere surface-scratcher on Excel and don't come close to many of the pivot / data functions. Just data entry and charting with formula messing and graphs is pretty much all I do, as in stock market trading etc. I repeatedly run into trouble just trying stuff that used to be so simple. I'm not interested in flowery nuances in the presentations and graphs, and that's what the charting function seems to have turned into - a mess of endless (mindless?) choices in chart colours and options to over-impress the boss at the next pointless meeting. I have barely used W8.1/XL2013 since my first post, and have been using my old laptop with XP/XL2000. Actual progress and satisfaction achieved, but now have a new laptop and OS that's basically useless to me. May try Lubuntu / OpenOffice on it. Seriously considering walking away from Microsoft as I have zero time for endless messing with it (previously stated, yes). When I bought the old laptop new, I had it "downgraded" to XP from Vista as I had heard so many negative things about that OS. If this is progress for Microsoft, then it's beyond my simple mind. Thanks for your patience with me, but I think I'm done with Mr. Gates.