What’s new in Microsoft Excel?
January 10, 2022
Find out how the new Microsoft Excel features will improve your data loading
Microsoft Excel is a mainstay for data entry teams. To improve the speed and quality of your data entry, you must know exactly what features are available.
Microsoft has added a swathe of new features to Excel 2021, helping data admin professionals get more out of their spreadsheets. From the ability to see changes to pivot table improvements, these new features will undoubtedly save you time when it comes to data loading.
Keep reading to discover some of the latest Microsoft Excel updates and learn why they matter to data processing teams.
Pivot Tables
For data processing teams, pivot tables are one of the most vital features of Excel. They allow you to analyze a large amount of data efficiently, with custom-built features so you can choose the information you want to review.
In Microsoft 365 and Excel 2021, there are even more ways to personalize how you see your data. For example, you can set the pivot table to automatically appear in tabular form – no more manually setting this view for every pivot table you create.
Additionally, if you format any cells in the pivot table – for example, highlighting them – that cell and the corresponding information will remain formatted even if you make subsequent changes to the table.
For data admin professionals who want to keep an eye on a crucial piece of data while adding new information to the table, these new features make all the difference.
Dynamic Array Formulas
Data loading teams will experience less stress with formulas in Excel, as one formula can now spill to multiple cells. When data is added to the original table referenced in the formula, the data will be amended anywhere you’ve used the formula.
A new error type SPILL will alert users if there is anything in the spreadsheet that will obstruct the new table when the formula SPILLs.
Microsoft has also added new formulas to Excel 2021, solving problems that data admin professionals have had for years.
The sort formula can place data in ascending or descending order without using A-Z or Z-A. Any changes to the original data will also amend the new table, so you never have to worry again about making comprehensive changes to your spreadsheet.
XLOOKUP
Finally, one of the most anticipated changes to Excel 2021 is the XLOOKUP function. Users could already use the VLOOKUP function to find items in a table or range by row; now the XLOOKUP adds more versatility.
With XLOOKUP, the third argument has been replaced by a reference – simply point to the column in the table you want to use in the function. Consequently, any additional columns to the original table will not result in an error in your formula.
Data admin teams will also welcome the ability to return multiple information cells with one formula. For example, you can extract 12 months of data by using XLOOKUP in just one cell.
- The above examples scratch the surface of the changes to Excel 2021. Other new additions include:
- The ability to see any changes made to a spreadsheet in the last 60 days
- Using CTRL+click to unselect cells
- The UNIQUE formula can now return data that only appears once
- Generate a sequence of numbers with SEQUENCE
- Learn more about the capabilities of these new Excel features when you download and watch our webinar, “What’s new in Excel”?
During the webinar, Bill “MrExcel” Jelen demonstrated all the new features and gave examples of how you can best implement them in your loading work.
Additional Resources
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