JD Sartain / PC World. A basic flat-file spreadsheet database. This foundational Master database (in this example) contains all the information that’s on your driver’s license.

Excel spreadsheets do so much, from making lists to crunching numbers to acting as sophisticated flat-file databases. We’re creating this guide to make sure you master all the essentials and more.

Plenty of people populate Excel's seemingly infinite grids with data, using it as a flat-file database. It can make a relatively effective contact manager or full-blown customer relationship manager.

For example, SSIS is perfectly suited for importing a "flat file," such as a CSV, into a relational database. Using SSIS's graphical designer, the task is straightforward, if not entirely intuitive.

Many people populate Excel's seemingly infinite grids with data, using it as a flat-file database. It can make a relatively effective contact manager or full-blown customer relationship manager.

Plenty of people populate Excel's seemingly infinite grids with data, using it as a flat-file database. It can make a relatively effective contact manager or full-blown customer relationship manager.