New Features for Excel Online

With the new features Excel online is close to provide the same user experience as the desktop version.

Microsoft has been constant improving the online experience for Excel. From a basic spreadsheet viewer tool, it became a proper spreadsheet editor which you can use from any computer with an internet connection and share with your colleagues.

Collaboration and Data Analyses are the main features that we cover in this article. Check out below for more details about it.

Collaboration

The most powerful thing about Excel online is the collaboration. Instead of emailing dozens of different recipients every time that a change is made, you can have an entire group of people working on one document at the same time. It isn’t just handy, it is also safe and allow the users to not worry about making sure if they are working on the updated version or not.

In the latest Excel online version, you can open and edit protected files, which was impossible before. You can also edit the file containing cropped images, groups shapes and images. If you have OneDrive for Business you can work online with Excel files of up to 30MB, which is also an improvement.

Excel Online has been upgraded with more power, so page load times will be lower, and you’ll see improved interactivity from the app itself. The silent reopen feature is also helping the load time. Your Excel Online session can end while you still have your file open. In previous versions of Excel Online, you’d have to wait until your browser reconnected to the service to start working on the spreadsheet. Now, however, you can start working on the file while your browser re-establishes the connection. Something that seems a small change, but it can make a difference to the ones that work remote and rely more in the online Excel application.

Real-time Co-authoring

Once you share your spreadsheet with the person or group of people that you want to collaborate, you can also tick an option that forces the invited to log in to their Office account before they can view or edit the spreadsheet. By doing that, you’ll see who’s editing, which cell they have selected, and the exact changes that they make.

Using the built-in Skype messenger, you can also leave comments to each other and chat while you’re editing in Excel Online. The chat window opens in the same window as your spreadsheet on the right. The feature can be useful for groups working on a project together.

Excel Surveys

The surveys might be interesting for those who work in marketing or product development, etc. Excel Online now includes the ability to create online forms that you can use to collect and analyse survey information. Go to the Home Tab, click Survey, and select New Survey.

Insert your questions.

The results will be immediately imported into Excel Online, so you can analyse and share them.

Data Analysis

Data is everything and it’s everywhere. In the data era, Excel features are more powerful than ever and to have the option of accessing them online and in a collaborative environment is even better.

The filter option is available in the online version just like in the desktop option. The in-spreadsheet dropdown doesn’t contain an individual-value filtering, but if you click Filter, you’ll see the familiar options for viewing only certain values.

Pivot tables can be inserted in the Excel online version as well, which means that you can have powerful summaries of your data.

Pivot tables can’t currently be used over data model connections, but if you’re just using a standard spreadsheet in Excel Online, you can use them to gain powerful insights into your data.

This is just an example of the recent features added in the Excel online version. It seems that we are walking for a complete similar experience between the two options soon.

*You can access here the full list of Excel online features published originally by the Microsoft Tech community.

How to Master your Excel skills

With more data present in everybody's work reality is difficult to find one profession that didn’t rely on spreadsheets for the daily work. Doesn’t matter if they work with HR, Marketing, Accounting or Sales, at same point during their work journey they will need Excel. As a consequence, the best way to master Excel skills is through training and practise.

At New Horizons Ireland we provide a wide range of Excel courses, from basic to advanced levels. They run regularly in our monthly schedule, either online or instructor led in Dublin. You can also customise a private class to meet the needs of your company and team. Check out our options and schedule and contact one of our Account Managers to build the best training solution for you.