What’s New in Excel for the web

Delivering rich, delightful experiences to our customers continues to be a top priority for our Excel team. A few weeks ago, we shared how to easily format your data with color and style, and more. Today, we bring you a set of new features and improvements to help you better analyze your data, specifically:

• Text to columns
• PivotTable improvements
• Sort improvements
• Interactive charts
• Additional keyboard shortcuts

Text to columns

You can now split text into columns using delimiters.  For example, with a few clicks, you can convert “Hello World” in one cell to “Hello” and “World” across two adjacent cells. 

You can also select multiple delimiters including tab, semicolon, comma, space, and custom [delimiter] at the same time.  For example, “Hello, how are you?” in one cell would split into “Hello”, “”, “how”, “are”, and “you?” across 5 cells if you selected both comma and space as delimiters.

Text to columns

PivotTable improvements

Analyze your data with the new and improved PivotTable experience in Excel for the web including:

• Create a PivotTable quickly with Recommended PivotTables 
• Change the settings and look-and-feel of your PivotTable the way you want it via the new PivotTable ribbon including PivotTable Styles and new PivotTable Settings task pane
• Copy, refresh, and show or hide PivotTable task panes with one click using the new PivotTable right click menu

Sort improvements

Sorting is fundamental in data analysis.  Sorting can be more than numerical or alphabetical ordering though.  In Excel for the web, you can now sort by Cell Color, Font Color, and Conditional Formatting Icon, in addition to Cell Values.  Furthermore, you can sort by more than one column.

Sort improvements

Interactive charts

You can now directly select and interact with chart elements when formatting a chart. Double-clicking a chart element launches the format task pane while single-clicking a chart element navigates you to its corresponding formatting options. In addition, non-data chart elements can now be removed from the chart using the delete/backspace keys. You will also be able to see a preview of your selection as you hover your mouse cursor over different chart elements.

Interactive charts

Additional keyboard shortcuts

Many users have asked for additional well-known and commonly used keyboard shortcuts in Excel for the web, and we’re thrilled to bring you:

• End-arrows – move to the last cell in the row or column
• Ctrl-End – move to the last cell that contains data or formatting.
• Ctrl-Shit-End – extend the selection to the last used cell

Also coming soon are

• PgUp/PgDn – move screen up/down
• Alt-PgUp – move screen left
• Alt-PgDn – move screen right
• Alt-Shift-PgUp – extend selection left one screen
• Alt+Shift+PgDn – extend selection right one screen

Find the full list of keyboard shortcuts via Help > Keyboard Shortcuts.

Keyboard shortcuts

These are just some of the latest improvements, many more are coming soon!

Your feedback helps shape the future of Excel for the web. Please let us know how you like a particular feature and what we can improve upon—send us a smile or frown.

Want to know more about Excel for the web?  See What’s new in Excel for the web and subscribe to our Excel Blog to get the latest updates. Stay connected with us and other Excel fans around the world – join our Excel Community and follow us on Twitter.

Thank you!