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Microsoft has just released value tokens in Excel for Windows for Microsoft 365 Insiders running Version 2502 (Build 18623.20020). Value tokens are small badges that appear in cells next to data, they give you a visual representation of the type of data stored in cells so you can quickly figure out what’s what. Over time, the Redmond giant has developed Excel to handle more data types than just plain text, numbers, and errors. It also supports stocks, geography, currencies, and formatted number values, and more, but they haven't been clearly differentiated in the formula bar. Microsoft hopes to solve this with value tokens. To get started using the feature, follow these instructions. To use this new feature, you must be running Excel for Windows running Version 2502 (Build 18623.20020). Microsoft plans to bring the feature to Excel users on macOS, iOS, Android, and the web soon, so that Excel spreadsheets look the same no matter which platform they’re opened on. If you do try out this new feature and find anything that’s broken or could be better, Microsoft wants to hear from you via Help > Feedback in Excel. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of February): 874 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Here is some great news for those who work late hours in Excel. Microsoft's spreadsheet processor has finally adopted a proper dark mode that spans across the entire window, turning to the dark side not only the ribbon but all the cells in your sheet. According to the company, this change has been a highly-requested feature on the feedback portal, and it is finally bringing it to users. In the announcement post, Microsoft said there are several benefits to the new dark mode in Excel. In addition to reduced eye strain in low-light conditions, you can enjoy better energy efficiency on devices with OLED displays, thanks to a pitch-black cell background. Customers can also enjoy improved accessibility and a visually appealing, consistent look of documents. If you still prefer having white sheets, Microsoft allows you to keep them that way. You can always toggle between modes on the View tab by pressing the "Switch Modes" button on the ribbon: As of right now, the updated dark mode is rolling out to Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Beta Channel with version 2502 and build number 18508.2000 or later. Excel is not the only app with a dark mode that affects every part of the user interface. Some time ago, Word received the same treatment, allowing you to work with documents with dark backgrounds when in dark mode. It automatically switches back to light mode when the theme changes or when you print your document. You can read more about the latest Excel updates in the announcement post on the Tech Community website. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Last year, OneNote received a neat feature (it later came to Word) that allowed PC users with touch-enabled computers that support styluses to draw perfect lines and shapes with the Draw and Hold gesture. In a nutshell, it lets you draw a freeform shape and then hold the pen for OneNote to recognize the shape and straighten it in. Now, the gesture is coming to more Office apps, such as Excel and PowerPoint. While Excel may not be the first app to come to mind when you hear about drawing with a stylus, it still has extensive tools for working with shapes and lines. Therefore, Microsoft will soon let you use the Draw and Hold gesture for tidier spreadsheets. Also, it is a welcome addition to PowerPoint, where drawings and shapes are more common. Here is how Microsoft describes the feature: Draw and Hold supports the following shapes: circle, ellipse, triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid, pentagon, and hexagon. After straightening a shape, Excel and PowerPoint can also let you move it, resize, rotate, or leave it as is. Microsoft says the new gesture is now rolling out to Beta Channel users with Office Version 2410 (Build 18108.20000) or later. As usual, new stuff is rolling out gradually to ensure stability and avoid bugs, so getting the Draw and Hold gesture might take a few days. In other Office news, Microsoft recently confirmed a hilarious bug in Word. It deletes files instead of saving them locally, so beware. More information about it and possible workarounds are available here. Source RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of September): 4,292 news posts

Microsoft is adding some improvements to the Excel web app. Specifically, the web edition of Microsoft's popular spreadsheet program should be easier to use for people who need to access its cut and past features. All of these features are live on the Excel website now. In a post on the Microsoft 365 Inside blog this week, the company showed off the new drag and drop improvements for Excel on the web. Users can now click on any row or column in a spreadsheet and then drag that selected row or column when the cursor turns into the hand icon. They can then drop in another row or column. There's also been some changes to the auto-fill function for the Excel web editions. You can now add data into one of your spreadsheet's cells and then select that same cell. You can then drag that cell with the use of the plus icon that shows up in the bottom right corner of your selected cell. Finally, clicking on the Paste options in the Excel web menu ribbon will now add some new and specific paste selections when you click on the Paste Special options. They include: You can also use these new options when you right-click the location in the spreadsheet where you want to paste in the data. Microsoft recently added a feature to the Excel web edition that allows it to export its spreadsheets in the popular CSV file format. It also announced that Excel, along with other Microsoft productivity apps, will get some new functions via Copilot for Microsoft 365. Later in April, they will allow users to type in prompts and get answers to questions based on their own work content. Source

Microsoft continues to add new features to its web apps that were previously available only on their desktop versions. Today, it announced that the Excel web app can now export its spreadsheets in the popular CSV file format. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the CSV format, it stands for Comma-separated values. As the name suggests, this is a text file format that separates the information in that file with commas. It's used and supported quite a bit in a number of spreadsheet programs. In a post on the Microsoft 365 Insider blog, the company says that Excel web users can launch a new spreadsheet, or open an existing one, and then click on the File menu. They can then click on the Export option, and then they can click on Download this sheet as CSV (.csv) to complete the export process. This new feature is now live for all Excel web users: Microsoft also offers some possible uses for Excel files that are exported into CSV files: The company recently announced that it had added support for syncing up data from Microsoft Forms quizzes and polls over to Excel on the web. It also added improvements to the Catch Up feature in the recent past for the Excel web app, along with its Word and PowerPoint web versions. In October 2023, Microsoft announced a number of new additions to the Excel web app. They included a new Insert Function Dialog, along with Parentheses Coupling, Value Preview, and support for monospaced font for editing formulas. Source

Microsoft has once again been adding new features to the various versions of its Excel spreadsheet during the month of November. We have already reported that Microsoft 365 Insiders can export tables made in Microsoft Loop to Excel spreadsheets. We have also reported that the Updates app in Microsoft Teams can now send update submissions to be made into an Excel spreadsheet. In a blog post this week, Microsoft revealed a few more Excel-related features that have recently been added. One is that the Workbook Links pane has been added to the Windows version: Microsoft 365 Insiders can now check out the new GROUPBY and PIVOTBY functions in Excel for Windows and Mac: In this separate blog post from earlier this month, Microsoft goes into more detail on how the GROUPBY and PIVOTBY functions can help Excel users: Finally, the web version of Excel has added more trendline equation formatting controls, including number and font/fill/outline formatting in the chart format task pane. We are still waiting for word on when Excel will add Copilot generative AI support for Python in the app. The public preview of this new feature is still supposed to launch by the end of 2023. Source

Earlier this week, we looked at the launch of the first version of Microsoft Word in 1983. We mentioned that there were a number of conflicting dates for the actual launch of the program. Thankfully, that's not the case for the release of another major Microsoft software product, Excel. All of the online resources we have seen including Microsoft's own history page, show that the first release of Microsoft Excel happened on September 30, 1985, or 38 years ago today. Much like the release of Word, the launch of the Excel spreadsheet program was made by Microsoft when there was a lot of competition in this specific software space. VisiCalc was the first such program, which launched in 1979. In 1983, Lotus 1–2–3 was released and quickly outsold VisiCalc. Microsoft previously tried to enter the spreadsheet industry, even before the release of Lotus 1-2-3, with its launch of Microsoft Multiplan in 1982. The 8-bit program was released for a number of different operating systems including MS-DOS, CP/M, Xenix, and others. It was also released for a number of different PCs like the Commodore 64, the Apple II, the RTS-80, and more. In 1984, a version of Multiplan was released for the Apple Macintosh, which used a GUI instead of a text-based interface. However, the sales of Multiplan were not high enough to defeat the popularity of Lotus 1-2-3. Microsoft decided to create an all-new spreadsheet program. GeekWire has an interesting article at the creation of Microsoft's second, and ultimately successful, attempt at such a program, with chats from some of the people who developed it. One of the things the article points out is that Microsoft's developers came up with some features that Lotus 1-2-3 did not have. That included what was called "intelligent recall": Rather than recalculating all the cells when one cell was changed, it selectively recalculated cells affected by the change — making the program more efficient and improving its performance on the limited hardware of early personal computers. When it was in development, GeekWire said that it was under the code name "Odyssey". However, some other suggested names were thrown out, like “Master Plan” and our personal favorite, “Mr. Spreadsheet". The final Excel name came from a suggestion from an unnamed branch manager at Microsoft in 1984, according to the book "A History Of The Personal Computer" by Roy A. Allen. The first Excel version that launched 38 years ago today was released for the popular Apple Macintosh. Oddly enough, there was never a version of Excel released that was made for MS-DOS. Microsoft decided that the graphical user interface that was made for the Mac was the best way to access the spreadsheet. Microsoft also released the first version of Windows in 1985, a few months after the launch of Excel. Two years later, the first Windows version of Excel was launched and soon after that, sales of the program exceeded that of Lotus 1-2-3. Along with its other productivity software products like Word and PowerPoint, Microsoft managed to dominate that market and make those programs required for nearly all businesses in the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Today, while there are certainly other spreadsheet programs, in particular Google Sheets, that are available, Microsoft Excel remains the major force in that market. Microsoft continues to update the program with new features, such as the recent edition of adding support for the Python coding language. It even added an improvement for manual calculation mode just a few weeks ago that had not been appreciably changed since VisiCalc first launched in 1979. Now that's progress. Source

Microsoft is once again adding a feature in its Excel spreadsheet program that it probably should have added a long time ago. Earlier this month it added a way to see stale cells crossed out in manual calculation mode. Today, it's adding an improvement to the app's formula bar. In a blog post, Microsoft admits that it has been sometimes hard to read and edit characters in the formula bar because some of the formulas could get very complex. Now, a new update for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel has added support for monospaced font in the formula bar, What is monospaced font? Microsoft says that this is a type of font where every character has the same width, no matter its shape or style. Microsoft says that the use of a monospaced font in the Excel formula bar "means that your formulas will be aligned and spaced evenly, making them easier to read and debug." The blog post offers an example of the formula bar using a traditional font, and one which is using a monospaced font. The latter version definitely looks easier to read, and we would imagine it's much easier to work with for Excel formula creators. In addition to just making formulas easier to read in the Excel formula bar, Microsoft points out a number of other advantages of using a monospaced font. Monospaced fonts offer consistent alignment, making it easier to quickly spot errors, typos, and discrepancies in code. This uniform spacing enhances visual parsing of complex structures, aiding in identifying patterns, nested levels, and relationships within the logic. Monospaced fonts offer streamlined copy-pasting of code from different sources while maintaining formatting. They also ensure a uniform appearance across various platforms and editors, guaranteeing consistent readability and structure. The new features is, as we said, available for Windows Insiders in the Canary channel right now. It will be rolled out to the Windows Excel app first, and other platforms will get the monospaced font support for the formula bar at some point in the future. Source

The first spreadsheet program for PCs was VisiCalc, for the Apple II in 1979. Microsoft launched the first version of its Excel spreadsheet program in 1985 (ironically, it was made for Mac PCs; the Windows version launched two years later). VisiCalc had a feature called manual calculation mode that was later put into Excel when it launched. Since then, this feature has changed very little, but today Microsoft announced a new update to Excel that puts in a fairly significant improvement. So what is manual calculation mode? In a blog post, Microsoft stated: Manual calculation mode suspends calculations, which means that the values in cells can become out of date. We refer to these as being stale. When you edit a cell in a spreadsheet, not all cells become stale, just the ones that depend on your change. The blog adds that while Excel does keep track of these "stale" cells, there's been no way for users to visually see which ones are stale and which ones are not. Now, Microsoft has added a new feature to Excel called stale formatting. It now shows stale cells by striking them out with a horizontal line. This finally gives users a way to see those cells and know they should not be relied upon until they are calculated. Microsoft goes through how stale formatting works: When a cell containing a stale value is selected we show a warning icon. If you click on the icon, you get a handy menu with contextual actions such as triggering calculation or switching to automatic calculation mode. The new feature is turned on in Excel by default. It can be switched off by going to the Calculation Options menu on the Formulas tab, and unchecking the Format Stale Values checkbox. Windows Insiders in the Beta channel can check out the new stale formatting feature now. When it becomes publicly available, it will launch in the Excel Windows app first, followed by other Excel platforms in the near future. Source

You may ask, "How to use Python in Excel?" after Microsoft has introduced a game-changer for Excel enthusiasts: the =PY function. Here is the answer. This revolutionary tool seamlessly integrates Python's analytical prowess into Excel's familiar grid, offering a dynamic and secure way to enhance your data manipulation game. This guide delves into the exciting world of the =PY function, understanding its capabilities, exploring its secure framework, mastering its application, and how to use Python in Excel well. Whether you're a seasoned Pythonista or just starting your coding journey, the =PY function welcomes you with open arms. Python in Excel: Introducing PY Function At its core, the =PY function is a bridge between Excel's familiar environment and Python's robust analytical capabilities. Microsoft's brainchild, this function empowers users to effortlessly incorporate Python code into Excel, amplifying data analysis, manipulation, and visualization. (Image credit) Security and privacy are paramount in today's digital landscape, and Microsoft is acutely aware of this. The =PY function operates within the secure confines of the Microsoft Cloud, aligning itself with the rigorous compliance standards of Microsoft 365. Your data's sanctity remains intact; Python code cannot access your user identity. A unique security layer shields workbooks from the internet, isolating them in distinct containers. Microsoft has stitched a fortress around your data, ensuring a worry-free analytical experience. After the preview, some functionalities might require a paid license, underlining the continuous value this function offers. To join the Microsoft 365 Insider Program, all you have to do is: Go to the Microsoft Insider Program website Sign in to your Microsoft account Browse through the available Insider Programs Opt for the "Beta Channel" as it provides access to Python in Excel Conclusion The =PY function isn't just a function; it's a doorway to a dynamic synergy between Excel and Python. It's about crafting elegant solutions to intricate problems and unraveling your data's potential with finesse. So, whether you're a data aficionado or a coding enthusiast, embrace the =PY function and elevate your Excel experience to new heights. Secure, versatile, and transformative - the =PY function is your backstage pass to the future of data-driven excellence. Featured image credit: Microsoft Source

Microsoft continues to add new features to its Excel spreadsheet program. This week, the web version of Excel is getting a feature improvement, as it replaces its old "Automate a Task" button with the new "Automate Work" button. However, this is not just a change in button labels. The official Excel blog post says that the new "Automate Work" button allows users of the app to access the company's Power Automate features. In short, it can give users a way to take advantage of pre-built templates that should allow for the completion of certain tasks to be much faster. Microsoft offered an example of how the new Automate Work button could be used in Excel on the web: For instance, you can automatically capture customer feedback from emails and store it in an Excel for the web worksheet using the "Monitor incoming emails to an alias in an Excel worksheet" template. With this template, businesses can keep track of customer feedback in one centralized location, making it easy to respond to customer needs and improve customer satisfaction. More info on how Power Automate features work with Excel can be found at this Microsoft support site. At the moment, the new Automate Work button is just for the web version of Excel, and just for the use of commercial and education customers of Microsoft 365. However, the blog states that the feature will be added to the Windows and Mac versions of Excel sometime in the future. Microsoft celebrated the 38th anniversary of the first version of Excel just a few days ago. In August, support for the popular Python coding language was added to Excel, followed by an experimental Python editor. A few days ago, Microsoft added support for AutoComplete for dropdown lists for the Excel apps on iOS, Android, and Mac for Microsoft 365 Insider members. Source

Towards the end of each month, Microsoft releases a changelog of all the features it added to Teams and Excel during the previous four weeks. It has already published its roundup for Teams, and it has now done the same for Excel for the month of February 2023. Starting with Excel for the web, there is a single feature in the form of an improvement to PivotTables. Users can now manually sort rows and columns for PivotTables and PivotCharts through by dragging and dropping individual items. Meanwhile, Excel for Windows customers can leverage two new capabilities. However, both of these are available for Insiders only. The first is an optimization which will see recalculations limited to the active workbook and its interdependent workbooks only. The other feature is the blocking of untrusted XLL add-ins for better security. Lastly, Excel for Mac customers can take advantage of four new features. For starters, queries for local files, SharePoint, OData feeds, and more can be directly authored from the Power Query Editor. An even bigger improvement is that users on this platform can now import data from more sources, including XML and JSON files, OData, SharePoint Online List, Blank Query, and Blank Table. Microsoft has gone a step further with Insiders and allows them to connect to SQL Server databases, a highly requested feature. Finally, the recalculation optimization for Windows Insiders mentioned previously applies to Insiders on Mac too. Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in February 2023

Near the end of each month, Microsoft publishes a list of features that it added to Excel during the previous four weeks. In February, we saw that the main improvements included optimizations to recalculations and a bunch of connector-related upgrades for Mac customers. Today, Microsoft has released a list of all the new capabilities it added during March 2023. Starting off with Excel for the web, customers can take advantage of the Check Performance utility. This automatically gives suggestions to remove unwanted formatting from cells that may be slowing down your workbook's performance when you open it, but you can launch it manually by navigating to the Review tab too. Additionally, Excel for the web users can leverage Formula Argument Assistance cards which show up as you are writing a formula. They display more information about a calculation and its arguments so that you don't need to navigate to external resources for help. Finally, based on user feedback, Microsoft has implement drag-and-drop behavior in the Queries pane so that you can sort your queries and drag them between folders too. Coming over to Excel for Windows, untrusted Excel XLL add-ins can be blocked for improved security. This feature was available only for Insiders last month. Furthermore, in order to make collaboration easier, both Windows and Mac customers can utilize @mentions to assign tasks to members. Once this assignment is done, the assignee receives an email informing them that a task has their name on it. What is your favorite Excel feature this month? What capabilities do you think Microsoft should add to the software in the future? Let us know in the comments section below! Microsoft added performance boost recommendations and more to Excel in March 2023

Microsoft consistently adds new features to Excel, which makes sense considering that it's one of the most used spreadsheet software, especially for organizations that already leverage Microsoft's tech stack. Each month, the company publishes a roundup of all the new capabilities it added to Excel, and now, it has done the same for the month of April 2023. Starting with Excel for web, the Chart Task Pane now supports various data modifications such as changing axis, the range of the chart, and removing a series. These options can be accessed from the Data or Format tabs. Microsoft says that this is a highly requested feature. Additionally, Excel for web customers can also add hyperlinks in comments and take advantage of faster and more optimized filtering when cells contain unique or duplicate conditional formatting rules. There is also a new feature that reduces unwanted fragmentation of conditional formatting rules, Microsoft describes it as follows: When a workbook is opened this feature will merge those fragmented conditional formatting rules that are identical, within a contiguous range of cells, and with unchanged priority ordering. It excludes rules whose evaluation relies on a selection range like Above or Below average, Unique or Duplicate, Gradients, etc., and rules in PivotTables. Meanwhile, Excel for Windows customers can enjoy the same reduction in unwanted fragmentation described above, along with an Insider capability to show the Quick Access Toolbar by default. Microsoft says that the latter was a highly requested feedback item and that users can even customize the Quick Access Toolbar to host their most used items. Lastly, Excel for Mac only has one new feature this month, and it's the reduction in unwanted fragmentation of conditional formatting rules, which has already been mentioned above a couple of times. If you have feedback for Microsoft regarding existing capabilities or want the addition of new ones, let the company know via the dedicated feedback portal here. Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in April 2023

Microsoft is bringing the new Image Function of Excel into all platforms today. After its release in December, the function is now arriving to iOS and Android users as well. The Image Function of Excel is one of the biggest additions to Microsoft’s spreadsheet program recently. It was first shared in August last year and later released in December. Initially, it was only offered to web, Windows, and Mac users, but the Redmond company announced it is now available on all platforms starting today. “Using the new IMAGE function, pictures can now live in the cell and be the cell value instead of floating on top of it,” said Itai Goldstein, a product manager at Microsoft. “You can use sort and filter, calculate, and write formulas with pictures, move or resize the cells, and work with Pictures within an Excel table.” Microsoft Excel’s Image Function now available to all platforms

A few weeks ago, Microsoft announced the Copilot feature for Microsoft 365. It will allow users to access generative AI to help automate tasks in, for example, Excel spreadsheets. Right now, Microsoft 365 Copilot is only being used in a few businesses for testing. However, almost anyone can now use generative AI features inside Excel via a new Microsoft Office add-in. The official Excel blog has announced the launch of this new add-in, Excel Labs. It's being released as an experimental program from the Microsoft Garage division. It's actually an improved version of an earlier add-in called Advanced Formula Environment, which Microsoft says lets Excel users "more easily author, edit, and reuse complex formulas and LAMBDA functions." The new Excel Labs add-in combines the features found in the earlier Advanced Formula Environment program with the new LABS.GENERATIVEAI custom function. Microsoft states that it is using large language models from its partner OpenAI to let users type in prompts directly into an Excel grid to obtain results. Microsoft states: For example, you can prompt it to parse out keywords in a survey response or you can ask it to analyze the sentiment of a table of tweets. In general, we encourage you to experiment with different prompts to see how being more general or more specific impacts the responses you get. Instead of “Write a poem about Excel”, try something like “Write a poem about Excel that mentions PivotTables”. Users will have to register for an OpenAI account and then request an API key from the company to use Excel Labs. You can then download the add-in from the Office Store. Excel Labs is a new Microsoft Garage add-in that adds OpenAI-based generative AI to Excel

Every month, Microsoft publishes a roundup of all the features that it added to Excel throughout the course of the past four weeks. And while July isn't over yet, it seems like Microsoft had added all the capabilities planned for this month, as it has penned a blog post explaining everything it did in July 2022. Starting off with Excel for the web, there is a new search box for fields in PivotTables. You'll find this particularly useful if you have a long list of fields to scroll through. Coming over to Excel for Windows, there's a nifty configuration that enables you to control when and how data is automatically converted when you bring it into Excel. This is currently only available for Beta Insiders, you can check out a screenshot above. Meanwhile, Current Channel and Monthly Enterprise Channel customers can give natural language queries a go. It has been improved to be able to cater to questions about specific patterns. Simply stated, you can use the "Analyze Data in Excel" option to ask questions about your data in natural language and get better insights in response. Finally, Excel for Mac has the same natural language improvements described above. But, Beta Insiders can also resize the dialog box for the Manage Rules conditional formatting options. Previously, this showed only five rows at a time and formulas would get cut off too. Now, you can resize it to take advantage of more real estate on your display. You can share your feedback about existing features in Microsoft Excel and request for new ones through the dedicated portal here. Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in July 2022

Microsoft Excel is an extremely powerful spreadsheet tool that has a variety of use-cases when it comes to data crunching. The software is available across multiple platforms and Microsoft updates it regularly with new features. Now, the company has published a summary of all the capabilities it added to Excel this month. Starting off with Excel for the web, users can now configure sheet protection. This allows you to lock and unlock cell ranges in order to prevent unwanted changes. Furthermore, you can now customize which slicer affects which PivotTable on the web. Finally, you can also leverage semi-select to create workbook links based on cross-workbook formula selection. Coming over to Excel for Windows, we have a couple of interesting features. The first allows you to insert data from images instead of manually typing it out, which could potentially save you a lot of time and unlock new use-cases too. However, it is only available on the Office Insiders Beta Channel. The second capability, generally available, enables Excel to automatically generate alternate text for charts if you're using a screen reader and come across a visual which doesn't have it. This is a major advancement in accessibility. Finally, we also have two new features for Excel for Mac. The first is the same automatic alternate text generation described above. The second allows Mac users to import local files using Power Query and get a data preview ahead of performing transformations too. If you have feedback on existing Excel capabilities or would like to see new features being added, file them to Microsoft on the dedicated Feedback portal here. Here are all the features that came to Microsoft Excel in June 2022

Microsoft has announced a new function for Excel, thus addressing a popular request to let users insert images directly into cells. The IMAGE function is now available in preview versions of Excel on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Inserting images into cells instead of floating on top unlocks many new scenarios, such as tracking inventories, creating employee dashboards, or building games and brackets. In addition to mere image insertion, the IMAGE function supports additional properties for better customization and accessibility. You can add alt text and specify size, width, and height. To insert image into a cell, type =IMAGE(source). Here is an example: =IMAGE(“https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/2d9e717a-0077-438f-8e5e-f85a1305d4ad.jpg”, “Sphere”). Note that the IMAGE function has several limitations and known issues: If the URL to the image file you are using is pointing to a site that requires authentication, the image will not render. Zooming in and out with images in cells may distort the images. Moving between platforms (for example, Windows and Mac) may result in irregular image rendering. To try the new function, update Excel on your device to version 2209 (build 15608.10000) on Windows, 16.65 (build 22080701) on macOS, 2.65 (build 22080701) on iOS, or 16.0.15608.10000 on Android. Keep in mind that Microsoft rolls out new features over time to ensure everything works as it should and to prevent the spread of potential bugs. You can learn how to join the Office Insider program on its official website. Excel gets new function for inserting images into cells

Microsoft has confirmed that it is rolling out “@mentions” for its spreadsheet software. Users of Microsoft Excel workbooks will soon have the ability to tag colleagues or team members. In the entry on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the company notes that @mentions can be used to "create, assign and track tasks within your workbook." The entry indicates the feature has a General Availability (GA) date of October 2022. However, the feature has already been added to the "rolling out" cycle. This means some users who have updated their Microsoft Office suite may already be able to use the feature to tag people. It is important to note that only the desktop iteration of Microsoft Excel will get the feature for now. However, the feature will be rolled out to users across the world. Microsoft decided to develop the ability to tag people in the spreadsheet software way back in January 2021. It is not clear why it took the company a year and a half to build and deploy the feature. Microsoft Office’s rival Google Workspace has long had the @mentions feature which allowed users to tag their colleagues or co-workers, both within an organization and outside. The update is just of several that Microsoft is developing to help improve online collaboration between teams. The company seems to be offering a simpler and more productive software suite to support hybrid working. Via: TechRadar Microsoft Excel to get @mentions to tag team members and assign tasks

Microsoft continually adds new features to Excel and also publishes a round-up at the end of each month listing all the capabilities it introduced to the software. Although we are still a couple of days away from the end of September, it seems that the Excel team has added all the functionalities that it planned to in this month, because it has published its monthly round-up already. Starting off with Excel for the web, we have a very useful capability called "Check Performance". As the name suggests, it automatically identifies problematic formatting inside your workbook that may be causing it to slow down. It can then optimize your workbook based on the recommendations that you apply. You can also start it manually from Review > Check Performance. Excel for the web users can also share a section of the workbook by highlighting the required cells rather than sharing it in its entirety. Moreover, charts can now respond to dynamic arrays instead of being bound to fixed data points. Meanwhile, Excel for Windows customers have updated Modern Comments to look forward to. These are now built on the React Native framework for improved consistency and cross-platform compatibility. Furthermore, Insiders on the Beta Channel can also take advantage of the same dynamic arrays charts described above too. Finally, Excel for macOS Insiders can finally leverage the Power Query Editor directly inside Excel. There's also a new option to manage storage accounts, just like Office for Mobile. It is essentially a revamp of the "Add a Place" menu and allows users to add first- and third-party storage locations like a SharePoint site, a OneDrive or OneDrive for Business account, and Box, among others. As usual, you can send feedback or feature requests to Microsoft through the dedicated portal here. Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in September 2022

Microsoft introduces new features to Excel across various platforms on a regular basis and the company helpfully publishes a list of all the new capabilities it added at the end of the month too. Today, it has recapped recent changes made to Excel in November 2022. The changelog isn't very lengthy but there are still features that will likely appeal to some consumers. Excel for the web has a single new capability called Chart Data Foils. Simply stated, it provides a visual indicator of the source range of cells used to create a chart. This range can easily be modified by clicking on a cell range and dragging across it. Meanwhile, Excel for Windows and Mac have the exact same changelog this time around. The first of two new feature in tow is Show Changes. As the name suggests, it enables you to see the edits made to a workbook and revert to older states. The other capability is Office Scripts to automate repetitive tasks, it is now generally available for all. Finally, a general update for the Office app on Excel has a more modern look for the contextual command bar and ribbon palette thanks to Fluent Design principles. The menus on the contextual command bar are now faster and resizable too. These improvements are only available to Office Insiders for now. As usual, if you don't like the implementation of a particular feature or want something new, do remember to file feedback to Microsoft on the dedicated portal here. Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in November 2022

Microsoft appears to be in a mood to make Office Scripts support for Excel more accessible. A few months ago, it added the ability for the team members of a SharePoint site to easily collaborate, view, and run team-owned scripts on their Excel workbooks. However, Office Scripts, an automation feature-set, is currently limited to Excel for the web. This will change next month, as Microsoft promises to bring it to more platforms, namely Mac and Windows. According to Microsoft 365 Roadmap page, Excel users on Mac and Windows will be able to automate their repetitive spreadsheet tasks come October. Users will be able to create, edit, and run Office Scripts in Excel for Windows and Mac using the Code Editor and All Scripts taskpane, exactly like Excel for the web. The ability to create, edit, and run Office Scripts in Excel will be very useful, especially in workplaces. You can easily automate your day-to-day tasks, which means you do not have to worry about forgetting steps. However, you have to wait patiently until October to use it on Excel for Mac or Windows. You can learn how Office Scripts work on Excel for the web here. According to the roadmap page, the automation feature-set will be available as a preview first in October. Microsoft also promises general availability in the same month. Although not confirmed, a preview of the automation feature-set will likely be available for Office Insiders early next month. And it may have a broader rollout in the middle or late October. Worse, Microsoft could also postpone it as well. Meanwhile, Microsoft introduced several new features in Excel for Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS last month. You can learn about these new capabilities here. Source: Microsoft Excel users on Mac and Windows will soon be able to automate repetitive tasks

Each month, Microsoft adds lots of new features to Excel across various platforms, then pens a recap of all the new functionalities in a handy list. And while the month of October isn't quite over yet, it seems like Microsoft has met its target for this month as it has published a roundup already. Starting off with Excel for the web, we have a single but handy utility. Users on this platform can now quickly search for commands using the shortcut menu instead of navigating different menus or memorizing complex shortcuts. Meanwhile, Excel for Windows customers also have the shortcut menu along with a streamlined navigation pane that is friendlier for new users or people who are working with large workbooks. You can check it out in action below: There are three additional capabilities available on the Insider Beta ring too. These include automation of repetitive tasks using Office Scripts, support for 92 new DAX functions, and the ability to paste values using Ctrl + Shift + V. Finally, Excel for Mac has the Office Scripts automation functionality available to the Insiders Beta ring for now too. All in all, it's not a lengthy changelog, but any improvements will likely be appreciated by Excel's users. Microsoft has also stated that the updated navigation pane will soon become generally available for Mac and web customers as well. Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in October 2022

Near the end of each month, Microsoft publishes a changelog of all the new features it added to Excel and Teams in the four weeks prior. The firm already released a list of capabilities it added to Teams in January 2023 yesterday, and today, it has done the same for Excel. Starting with Excel for the web, we have a single feature but one that's been highly requested by customers. It is the ability to view the source data for a value cell in a PivotTable. This is especially useful if you spot a seemingly anomalous value in a PivotTable and want to investigate the underlying data further. Now you can do so by double-clicking the cell or right-clicking it and pressing "Show Details". This will open a new sheet with more details about the cell so you can validate the numbers and the calculations. Coming over to Excel for Windows and Excel for the Mac, we have an identical changelog for both. Office Scripts can now be automated through Power Automate by leveraging a dedicated "Automate" tab. This is something we already covered in detail a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, for Insiders, there are two new functionalities on Windows and Mac. The first makes automation even easier. Rather than writing Office Scripts through JavaScript or TypeScript, you can simply use the "Record Actions" functionality, which does exactly what it says on the tin. You can navigate and perform actions in the UI yourself and the script to mimic your activities will automatically be generated on the backend. The other Insider feature is relatively minor and offers a tooltip to validate your parameters in an Excel formula. While the changelog certainly isn't as extensive this time around, there are certainly some productivity enhancements that will likely be appreciated by those looking to automate monotonous workbook activities. Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in January 2023