Every so often, Microsoft updates Microsoft Office 365 – its cloud-based productivity platform. The software giant makes changes to both the apps in the suite and the system as a whole, and this month is no different. We’ve seen updates across the board in Outlook, Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote and Yammer. The Excel Experts talk you through some of the changes in the latest update.
Microsoft Updates XLOOKUP
Up until now, you had to use VLOOKUP if you wanted to find and retrieve information on an Excel spreadsheet. The system was good, but it had limitations, notably, an inability to search anything on left columns and the fact that it took wildcards by default.
In the latest Microsoft Office 365 update, Microsoft addresses these issues. First, its new search tool XLOOKUP corrects the limitations of VLOOKUP. Second, it also makes changes to the base programming to make search faster and more responsive for Excel developers and users.
Currently, the latest tools are only available to Office Insiders, but Microsoft says that it will be rolling it out more widely soon.
PowerPoint Users Get More Superscript And Subscript Functionality
Desktop users of PowerPoint can import superscripts, subscripts, and cases directly from their web browsers. The feature makes it easy for users to import the correct formatting after pasting from the internet. There is no need to go into the format menu and manually edit the text.
With the latest Microsoft Office 365 update, Microsoft says that it’s rolling out the same features to the 365 community too. Pasting into Office 365 PowerPoint will be case, superscript, and subscript sensitive.
Word, Excel And PowerPoint Users Get Sketched Shapes Integration
Many Office 365 users want to be able to transform computer-generated images into objects that look hand-drawn. The new update from Microsoft adds Sketched Shapes functionality to Office 365 Word, Excel and PowerPoint users, allowing them to create images that look like smooth, hand-drawn sketches (with all of the aberrations you’d expect from using an actual human hand). It’s purely for artistic effect, but it is a powerful tool that promises to enhance the friendliness and impact of documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
Mac and iPad Users Get Outlook Meeting Features
Apple and Microsoft might be competitors, but that hasn’t prevented the latter from trying to make its notebook product, OneNote, more appealing to Mac and iPad users. The latest Microsoft Office 365 update allows users to add Outlook meeting details such as the time, date and who will be in attendance, to OneNote. iPhone users can also use a stylus to enter details by hand automatically.
Dark Mode For Outlook Users To Extend Battery Life
Microsoft Office 365 is a mobile-first product. But there’s a problem: the battery life on most mobile devices. The company’s solution is “dark mode” for Office 365. Microsoft claims that the new dark mode will extend battery life without compromising on usability or features. The update works by swapping white backgrounds that require a lot of backlight energy, for black. Page features, like text, appear white, not black. Dark mode is also helpful to protect users against blue light when working late.
