Welcome to this year's final edition of Between the Sheets. From next week, we'll give you a break from the business and productivity updates so that you can take a proper rest and recharge (we plan to 😊). This week, though, we still have some cool tips and insights to share.

Today, we’re exploring:

• Easy web-scraping 🌐
• New debugger in Excel 🪲
• 'Tis the season of giving ❤️

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🎬 Scrape any webpage to Excel (import images too!)

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In my latest video, I show off the new AI-enhanced capabilities of Power Query when it comes to extracting content from the Web.

Previously, Power Query could only handle data that was specifically formatted in html as a table. This latest update opens a world of possibilities 🌐.

You can now pretty much scrape any web page as long as there is some kind of pattern on the page. The AI will give you "Suggested Tables" or you can take matters into your own hands using "Table from Examples".

This last option is like magic! I don't want to ruin the experience using fancy words. You'll have to watch the video to appreciate what's possible now.

On top of that, I had ambitious intentions: I wanted to extract clickable URL links with Power Query AND also import images from a web page.

Plus the whole setup should be dynamic of course, so if we get a new image or URL added to the page, it will be automatically imported to Excel the next time we refresh the query.

This seems like an impossible request - unless you know how to code.

But no. For once, proclaiming this upgrade a "game-changer" is not a ChatGPT hyperbole 😉.

The best part? The features I show in the video are already in the production version of Excel for Microsoft 365 (availability will depend on your update schedule).

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A heartfelt thank you to Shortform for sponsoring today’s newsletter. 😊

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🤓 Geeky News

📈 New Excel formula debugger in the Excel Labs add-in

If you often find yourself writing complex formulas, I hope you're using the Advanced Formula Environment from Excel Labs.

It's an add-in you need to install in your Excel. If you want to refresh your memory, here's the video I made about it a while back.

It has since gotten even better and now it comes with a built-in debugger!

Once you activate it with the button on the Grid page, the debugger will be visible in the editing pane, below the formula you're writing.

You'll notice the debugger updating live as you type out the formula. You can step into the formula and see the interim results. Everything is color-coded for easier identification.

You can also preview ranges from the grid to understand the context in which the formula is used.

It's still a work in progress, so not all functions are supported yet.

But it holds great promise and should make fixing formula errors that much easier.

It's not just the Advanced Formula Editor either. Excel Labs now also includes a Python editor and an AI function. Check it out.

🤖 Bing Chat Updates

Speaking of AI, Bing Chat (recently renamed to Copilot, not to be confused with Copilot for Microsoft 365) is getting a new feature. It's called "Notebook" and supports up to 18,000 characters (four times more than the character limit of Bing Chat or ChatGPT Plus).

The Notebook interface displays prompts on the left and results on the right, facilitating prompt editing without losing previous versions. It also remembers, so you can refer to previous prompt results in conversation.

It's rolling out gradually but should at some point be available to both individual and enterprise users.

Other updates include a Code Interpreter, and various experimental features like a read-aloud button and Microsoft Excel integration.

📝 Filter comments in Word for the web & more improvements to online collaboration in Office 365

In Microsoft 365 Insiders, you now have the option to filter the comments in Word for the Web. Simply open the Comments pane and start using the filter.

You can quickly filter down the list to just those comments that @mention you and focus on the tasks you've been assigned. You can also limit the view to active or resolved comments only. If you collaborate on documents a lot, this feature could come in handy.

I wish this (as well as the 'like' reactions to comments, still available only in Word and PowerPoint) comes to Excel soon. Apparently, it's coming to Excel for Mac, no word yet on Windows.

But there's another feature you'll be getting in all 3 apps - Catch Up. It will open automatically when you open a new document, workbook or presentation on the web if there are new tasks, mentions, or comment replies for you that you have not seen, as well as a summary of changes and edits in collaborative files.

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💚 My Favorite Things - Making a Difference

As the holiday season approaches, we at XelPlus are deeply moved by the impact our partnership with Plan International has made.

Thanks to our community's commitment to learning, each course purchase has directly contributed to sponsoring 30 girls in developing countries, offering them a brighter future.

We recently received heartfelt thank you letters from these sponsored girls, and we want to extend this gratitude to you, our valued members.

Your decision to invest in your education through XelPlus has been instrumental in transforming lives and fostering hope, not just during this festive season, but throughout the entire year.

🎁 Gift a Course

Searching for the perfect gift for someone special? If they have a passion for professional growth and frequently work with data, why not give them the gift of learning? Choose from our range of courses to present them with new skills and knowledge.

When you reach the checkout page, choose the "Gift this course" option. Then, just enter the recipient's name and email address. It's a kind gesture to offer someone the opportunity to improve their professional skills.

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👏 Power Stories

With your gift, they too can celebrate a new certification, like Giannis. It's great to hear from our members that the Automate with Power Query course does what it was designed for - simplify and speed up your daily work. Thank you for the kind review, Giannis 😊.

Here's to a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous New Year, filled with new learnings and successes. Thank you for being an integral part of our global XelPlus family.

See you in the New Year,

Leila️

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