Here Are All The New Features Microsoft Added To Excel In April 2024

Microsoft introduced a plethora of new features to Excel last month, and you need to know each one of them to up your Excel workbook game.

Key Takeaways

Excel for the web gets Copilot features for generating multiple formula columns quickly to organize data efficiently.
Copying and pasting improvements and new ways to share links make collaboration easier in Excel for the web.
Excel for Windows introduces a microphone feature for Copilot and Ink to Text pen support for better accessibility.

Microsoft recently released its monthly roundup of all the new features it added to Excel last month, just like it did in March 2024. The April 2024 update for Excel has introduced some solid new AI capabilities for both desktop and web users, improved ink support for web users, copy-paste improvements, and many more. And you’re better off knowing how they can improve your productivity in a big way, especially if you’ve not been able to figure them out yourself.

What’s new in Excel for web

New Copilot features are here to help you better organize your data

One of the major features that Microsoft rolled out the Excel web client last month is support for the ability to generate multiple formula columns from a single prompt in Copilot. As we described in one of the weekly roadmap articles, the purpose of putting Copilot to task to generate multiple formula columns is to quickly create multiple columns comprising organized data. For example, you can simply ask Copilot in Excel to generate formulas to split first and last names as well as extract email addresses, thus helping you create three distinct columns. Another handy Copilot feature added to Excel for the web was support for creating complex formula columns by utilizing functions like XLOOKUP and SUMIF, which will manipulate different sets of data.

If you’re using Excel on the web, you can now drag data to fill series, copy cells, and split data. Not only that, but Excel also comes with some pasting enhancements. You can now choose the right paste option either from the paste option in the ribbon or by right-clicking the location you want the data and then selecting the paste option.

Moreover, Microsoft Excel for the web gives you the option to let you share a specific portion of your workbook for a more effective collaboration. This way, the person you’re collaborating with can better focus on the part of the workbook that you want them to review and provide you feedback.

5 Copilot features to up your Microsoft 365 game

Copilot’s advantage over other AI chatbots is integration with Microsoft 365 apps, and these five tips and tricks are must-know tools.

What’s new in Excel for Windows

Screenshot showing Excel sheet in Windows

All the new Copilot features that Microsoft added to the Excel web client is also available in Excel for Windows. In addition to those, there are other noteworthy changes that are exclusively available for Excel Windows client.

Microphone feature for Copilot for Excel, pen support

Copilot for Excel web client is a lot more powerful than it ever was, but in terms of accessibility, Copilot in Excel for Windows has an edge. If you don’t feel like typing, you can simply use the microphone on your PC to promote Copilot verbally, just like how you can use your voice to prompt in ChatGPT and other AI tools.

However, the microphone support can’t help you much if you have run out of prompt ideas. Luckily, though, in the April 2024 update, you won’t find yourself in a situation like that. Excel for Windows will give you prompt ideas for specific data you want help with in the chat pane when you select the View Prompts icon. You can simply select the prompt with a mouse click and leave the rest to Copilot.

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Screenshot showing complex formula column in Excel

What’s more, Excel for Windows now has support for Ink to Text, a pen tool that’s already available in Word, OneNote, and PowerPoint. If you have a PC with a digital pen, you can use that to quickly enter content into cells and Excel will automatically convert your handwriting into text. It also allows you to manipulate content by using the Scratch-out gesture in cells. Ink to Text Pen comes as a replacement for the previously available Action Pen in Excel. However, Ink to Text Pen is currently available for Microsoft 365 Insider only.

You’re now familiar with everything that Microsoft added to Excel last if you’ve not been able to discover all of them on your own. But if you don’t like surprises, don’t forget to check out our weekly roadmap columns for everything that Microsoft plans to introduce to Microsoft 365 apps in the coming months.