These 8 Excel features got overlooked


Someone just joined your team.

They got a quick walkthrough from IT. Maybe from you.

Now they're staring at a spreadsheet trying not to look lost.

You see, there are a few very simple features that would make the life of an Excel newbie a whole lot easier.

I cover 8 of them in this video:

video previewโ€‹

#1 was shocking when I discovered it. And #7 saved me days when we had to update all our group reporting files after a rebrand.

If you already know your way around Excel, be honest: did you know all 8?

Either way, maybe forward this to that colleague who could use it.

(Comes with demo file and practice exercises they can work through.)

๐Ÿ›๏ธ Quick heads up: Black Friday's around the corner.

We're putting together some great offers to help you invest in your skills without breaking the bank. More on that soon.

Speaking of learning opportunities...

I'm heading back to the Global Excel Summit in London next May.

I look forward to opening the conference again.

Want to join me & fellow Excel experts? Save the dates:

๐Ÿ—“๏ธ 19-20 May 2026 (conference)

๐Ÿ—“๏ธ 18, 20, 21 May 2026 (masterclasses)

The sessions are always excellent. But the best part are the chats during the breaks. Ideas you wouldn't have thought of at your desk.

There are still some early bird tickets left (in-person and online).

Use code LEILA at checkout for 20% off on top of the Early Bird discount.

(The discount code box shows up at the last step. Click "Continue to Checkout" twice, then enter LEILA in the Order Summary.)

๐Ÿค“ Geeky News

๐Ÿงช Formula by Example finally in Desktop

Flash Fill is a cool feature. But it has a downside - it's static. It doesn't adapt when the data changes.

โ€‹Formula by Example works kind of like Flash Fill - you provide the pattern and it autocompletes - but underneath it generates a dynamic formula. This means the result will update with the data.

It's already been available in Excel for the Web, but I only take a real interest once it comes to Desktop. And it just has.

Available now in the Current Channel. It's AI-powered, so it requires a Copilot subscription.

It only works inside tables and generally needs more examples than Flash Fill.

Unlike Flash Fill, it handles numerical calculations.

But it won't work in some scenarios that are no problem for Flash Fill.

In others, the formula it generates is unnecessarily complex or doesn't make sense. Which I've come to expect from AI.

Still, the convenience of Flash Fill with the dynamic recalculation of a formula is a direction I can get behind. It will probably - hopefully - get better.

๐ŸชŸ New Windows Start Menu

Windows 11 is getting a new start menu. It's supposed to address the most common complaints about the current version and offer greater customization.

They're bringing back the scrollable list of all apps (without the extra click on "All").

You also get to decide how they're displayed.

Default is grouping by Category but you can change it to List view (a standard alphabetic list) or Grid view (alphabetic, but the apps are arranged horizontally).

Start menu now dynamically adjusts to the screen size and resolution.

It's an optional update included in the 25H2 build, which should roll out in November.

By the way, we're creating a mini Windows Productivity course as a bonus give-away for our special Black Friday bundles. Keep an eye out for that.

๐Ÿค” Did You Know?

Did you like the trick from the video to quickly send your Excel file as an attachment?

You can do the same in PowerPoint.

Check it out here:

๐Ÿ“ฝ๏ธ Email Your Presentation as PDF with 1 Clickโ€‹

๐Ÿ™Œ Why go back to basics when you're already good?

Congrats to Sina on starting the Black Belt Bundle with Excel Essentials.

Turns out the things you think you know? There's usually more there.

Going back to the foundations shows you what you've been missing.

The tricks you've overlooked. The shortcuts that were always there.

See you next week,

Leila

Want more?

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Leila Gharani - XelPlus

XelPlus is a leading online education company, providing training courses for Excel, Power BI, Finance, and Google Sheets. XelPlusโ€™ bestselling courses are popular among financial analysts, CFOโ€™s, and business owners. Technology is changing fast. We help our members turn confusion into confidence with every skill learnt.

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