More interesting and useful new features being introduced into Excel

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More interesting and useful new features being introduced into Excel Part one of a five-part series of blogs
Last month we blogged in detail about the new GROUPBY and PIVOTBY functions in Excel. This month we have 4 lighter new features: focus cells, colour pickers, Draw and Hold and some new templates. More interesting and useful new features being introduced into Excel (this blog) A new (and very clear) way to show which cell has the focus Draw and hold - getting Excel to improve your artwork The new colour picker to ensure good contrast New templates for generating sample data, QR codes and Python help

More interesting and useful new features being introduced into Excel

Part one of a five-part series of blogs

Last month we blogged in detail about the new GROUPBY and PIVOTBY functions in Excel. This month we have 4 lighter new features: focus cells, colour pickers, Draw and Hold and some new templates.

More interesting and useful new features being introduced into Excel (this blog)
A new (and very clear) way to show which cell has the focus
Draw and hold - getting Excel to improve your artwork
The new colour picker to ensure good contrast
New templates for generating sample data, QR codes and Python help

Posted by Andy Brown on 06 December 2024

This blog explains the new features added into Excel 365 on and after October 2024 (although not everyone will see them yet - see below for more on this).

You should also read our blogs on the syntax of using the new PIVOTBY and GROUPBY functions introduced in October 2024 into Excel, and a case study of how you can use the PIVOTBY function to create a pivot table for a practical example.

When will you see the new changes?

A quick way to see whether you have the new changes explained in this blog is to look at your Excel View ribbon:

If you can see this Focus Cell dropdown on your View tab all should be hunky-dory.

Another way to see what version of Excel you're on is to go to your Account properties:

Choose the Account option from the File menu in Excel 365.

You can now see which version of Excel you're using:

Here I'm using Excel version 2501, and am on the Microsoft Insider Channel (which is why I can see these updates). According to Microsoft you need to be on Excel version 2410 or later (build 18118.20000) on the Beta Channel to see the new features described in this blog.

If you're experiencing FOMO, you can see information on how to change to the Insider Channel at this earlier blog.

Parts of this blog
More interesting and useful new features being introduced into Excel (this blog) A new (and very clear) way to show which cell has the focus Draw and hold - getting Excel to improve your artwork The new colour picker to ensure good contrast New templates for generating sample data, QR codes and Python help