Welcome to this week's edition of Between the Sheets!

If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free weekly email here.

Today we're covering:

• Edge productivity features,
• date picker in Excel (finally!),
• cool & useful Excel templates.

🦾 Edge features for productivity

The Edge browser got a whole batch of new features last year, most notably the Bing AI/Copilot sidebar.

When the Bing logo was first added to the Edge menu, the most searched topic was "how to remove it". 😏

Read on to see how you can put it - as well as some features outside the sidebar - to good use. If you're not a convert by the end, I will share the method to get rid of it.

Split screen

Need to compare data across multiple tabs while working?

Usually, this means dragging a tab into a separate window for a side-by-side view. Well, that's a thing of the past!

Edge now offers a sleek in-window Split Screen feature!

Just a simple click on the split screen button next to the address bar, and you're set for a smoother multitasking experience.

Heads Up: When you're done using the split screen in Edge, remember this – closing it with the 'X' will also close the tab.

Want to keep both tabs open? Just click the split screen button again to toggle off split screen without losing your tabs.

Tab groups & Collections

Speaking of tabs - they easily get out of control.

There are 2 features I've covered before that help you stay on top of them.

You can keep your webpages neatly organized by grouping related tabs together.

And if your research project is ongoing, add tabs (or tab groups) to Collections, which offer much more than simple bookmarks.

It's a great way to collect recipes, plan a trip, or organize your learning resources by topic. Check out the video to learn more.

Workspaces

If you're working on a project and the research grows or requires collaboration, you can use Workspaces.

They allow you to separate your browsing tasks into dedicated windows. Each workspace has its own set of tabs and favorites.

You can invite collaborators to work with you on specific projects and use built-in chat to discuss your ideas and progress.

Everything is automatically saved; you can return to it at any point.

You'll find the Workspaces menu icon in the top-left corner of your browser window.

Sidebar

The sidebar contains various apps and utilities that help you to multitask without switching windows and breaking your focus.

Let's look what else is there aside from the AI Chat and Compose features I covered in my video.

Tools include a Calculator, Unit converter, Timer, and QR code generator, among others.

Yes, you can Google these, but here they are a click away, saving you from typing. 😉

Drop lets you easily share files and messages between your mobile and desktop devices.

The sidebar also offers a handy shortcut to access your recent Microsoft 365 files, as well as your Outlook Inbox or Teams Chat, without breaking your current flow.

Hiding the sidebar / the Copilot logo

You can easily toggle between "always show" and "auto-hide", using the icon on the bottom of the sidebar, or use the gear icon to quickly access Sidebar Settings.

There, you can get rid of the Copilot icon. Just select it in "App specific settings" and then toggle off "Show Copilot".

I did say I'd teach you how to hide it, but I'm really hoping you'll find it useful. Give it a try to speed up and organize your tasks.

Let's not forget the main purpose of Edge - as someone mentioned in the YouTube comments: "My favorite Edge feature is to browse the internet". 😉

​

🌟 Simplify Your Excel Tasks with Simple Sheets! 🌟

Setting up Excel spreadsheets from scratch can be a pain. We've been there too. That's why we're excited about Simple Sheets.

With over 100 straightforward Excel templates, Simple Sheets makes creating spreadsheets easy for everyone, no matter your skill level.

Here are some examples:

• 📅 Effortlessly create schedules for up to 100 people across 3 shifts.
• 📦 Manage your operations. Keep track of orders, inventory, and suppliers with a comprehensive system. You even get barcodes to scan items!
• 📊 Dive into cause-and-effect analysis with intuitive fishbone diagrams:

The Excel templates from Simple Sheets save you time and make work simple.

Try it for free! Start here 👉 Get your free sheets.

​

🤓 Geeky News

📆 Date picker in Excel for the Web

A built-in date picker is now officially part of Excel for the Web!

You might recall seeing it pop up a few months back before it vanished, but now it's back with official confirmation, and we're hoping it's here to stay. 🤞

Here's how it works:

• For an empty cell formatted as a date, just double-click it and voilà, the date picker appears, letting you choose a date from a calendar.
• If there's already a date in the cell and you need to change it, double-click to bring up the date picker and select the new date.

If you want to jump back several months, click on the month name in the calendar to view all the months in the given year.

If you want to travel even further back (or forward) in time, click on the year to jump across decades.

This welcome addition is set to greatly minimize date entry mistakes.

➰ Loop components in OneNote

Will Loop replace OneNote at some point?

Not likely, but it can definitely enhance it with the addition of Loop components to OneNote.

Loop is first and foremost a real-time collaboration tool.

Loop components include lists, tables, tasks - all shareable and editable, and syncing across different Microsoft apps. You can now insert them directly into your OneNote notebooks - create new ones or link existing ones.

Some suggested scenarios include combining personal and shared meeting notes in a single view, or tracking your progress by inserting a task list that also syncs with Planner and To Do.

You can try those scenarios in OneNote for the Web or OneNote on Windows if you're a member of Microsoft 365 Insiders. The feature is just rolling out for early adopters.

​

🤓 Geeky Fashion

After sending out our newsletter last week, our team member Anna came across a new way we can practice our keyboard shortcuts even while walking about in the freezing cold.

Luckily, I won't need a puffer jacket in London where I'm heading next week for the Global Excel Summit.

I hope to meet you there. If you can't make it, expect some summit highlights in next week's "Between the Sheets". 😁

​

👏 Power Stories

Thank you for this generous review, Symeon. It's great to hear you found Fast Track to Power BI as well as the Power Excel courses valuable to your professional development.

Congratulations on your certificate! 🎉

In addition to the standard certificate, you can now also claim a digital badge upon course completion and add it to your LinkedIn profile.

We are very happy that more and more XelPlus members are sharing our new Credly badges on LinkedIn, just like Reggie.

Got a success story about using your XelPlus skills? I’d love to hear it! Hit reply to share the details, and inspire other students. 😇

See you next week,

Leila

Want more?

▶️ Subscribe on YouTube​

🖇️ Follow us on LinkedIn​

🥇 Join 400,000+ students in our courses​

📣 Want to sponsor Between the Sheets? Get in touch here.

This newsletter contains affiliate links, which give us a small commission on any purchase made at no cost to you. This helps us run Between the Sheets and bring you updates like this. Thank you for your support!