The wait is (almost) over. The new and vastly improved checkboxes in Excel are rolling out to everyone.

Hopefully by the time you get back from your summer vacation, you'll be able to organize your tasks better.

Let me remind you how they work and what you can do with them.

Also in focus today:

• new course in the works
• new translation functions in Excel
• customizing Loop boards

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✅ How to Insert a Checkbox in Excel - the new way

The old checkboxes in Excel are quite fiddly and clunky.

They sit on top of the cells, so you have to align them and link them individually to cell values. A lot of hassle.

That's why the arrival of the new checkboxes to Excel Insiders back in November was very welcome news.

Now, they're finally rolling out to production. They should be available to all users on the Microsoft 365 Current Channel by the end of July. Monthly and semi-annual channels might have to wait a little longer.

(If you recall, a few weeks ago we explained how new features are rolled out by Microsoft).

The new checkboxes are much more user-friendly.

You insert them directly in the cell from Excel's Insert menu. You can change their color or size using font formatting options.

The checked/unchecked status corresponds to TRUE/FALSE values.

This means we can easily combine checkboxes with functions and with conditional formatting to create dynamic reports.

Like the example I show in the video. With checkboxes, you can:

1. Mark your progress by ticking off tasks as you complete them.
2. Track progress: see how many tasks are completed and how many are still open.
3. Get a quick list of pending tasks, so you can plan your focus areas.
4. Automatically cross out completed items, so you can instantly see your achievements.
5. And the most liked tip of all: Get an automatic timestamp every time you mark an item as complete.

So, if you're on the Current Channel, you can now 👉 grab our demo file 👈 and try them out.

Note: for now, they don't work in Excel for the Web, so save a copy of the file to your desktop for the full experience.

Since the initial release, there've been some updates based on insider feedback.

In particular, the behavior of 'DELETE' has changed. Now, when you delete a checked checkbox, you have to press 'DELETE' twice. The first 'DELETE' unchecks it, the second removes it.

And it's removed completely. Previously, a faint checkbox "ghost" remained in the cell - the formatting left behind. That's no longer the case. No need to "Clear All" anymore because Delete does the job.

If, however, you wanted to remove the checkbox, but keep the underlying TRUE/FALSE value, you can go to Home > Clear > Clear Format.

As you can see, the new checkboxes are really easy to use. They're a great way to improve the design and interactivity of your Excel reports.

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📢 New Course on the Agenda

If pivot tables are also on your learning list and you want to put a checkmark next to it, I have some exciting news...

This week, I started recording the first lectures of a new course. This time, I'm taking on pivot tables.

A lot of people know they should use them, but they don't know how.

Those who know, usually stop at the basics. Which is a pity because pivot tables can do SO much!

With this course, I intend to get rid of any hangups you might have around pivot tables.

Expect tips, tricks, plenty of practice, and clear explanations.

If you're interested, 👉 click here 👈 to be the first to hear about it (and benefit from our early bird launch discount).

I'm curious:

🤔 Is there a specific pivot table problem you're struggling with?

↪️ Reply to this email and let us know.

As always, we're aiming to keep the learning as close to the real world as possible.

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📝 Spellcheck in Excel

Last week, when recommending the AutoCorrect feature, we mentioned that there's no Spellcheck in Excel.

We meant there's no "live" spellcheck. The kind that we've come to rely on in Word, Outlook, or the modern web browsers. Excel is not going to underline the errors as you type.

But it can still check your spelling.

You'll find the Spelling feature in the Review tab. Or you can use the shortcut: F7.

When you select a single cell, it runs a spellcheck on the entire worksheet. When you select a range, it'll check the spelling in just this range.

So, if you're a bad speller (like me) just press F7 before you send off that important report to the boss.

Thanks to Tom, an avid "Between the Sheets" reader, for the reminder. 🫡

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🤓 Geeky News

📊 New Excel functions for multi-language collaboration

In the screenshot above you might have noticed the Translate button in the Review tab.

Now, Excel is getting a TRANSLATE function - something that Google Sheets has had for a while.

Just like the Translate feature in the ribbon, the TRANSLATE() function translates text from one language to another using Microsoft Translation Services. The difference is - it does it directly in the grid rather than in a pane on the side. This makes it much more flexible.

The formula looks like this: TRANSLATE(text, [source_language], [target_language]).

If you omit the source language, it will be detected automatically. If you omit the target language, it will be translated into your system's language.

When you're specifying the language, you have to use ISO language codes, but they're helpfully listed in the formula's tooltip.

If you want to check the language, use the DETECTLANGUAGE() function. It does what it says on the tin - takes the text you provide and returns the language code.

Currently, it supports over 100 languages.

The functions are rolling out to Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Beta Channel.

🕸️ Grid improvements in Excel for the Web

Excel for the web just got a visual - and functional - overhaul.

They've refreshed the look of the ribbon, but the key enhancements are in the grid.

It's now much easier to resize, insert, move, and unhide rows and columns.

You get handy floating buttons that appear when you hover over the row or column headers. When you see the right visual cue, click on it, and voila.

No more looking in the right-click menu for the right action. You can now do it with a single mouse-click.

You can also freeze panes by dragging the handles in the top left corner of the headers. Notice them turn blue on hover, then click and drag where you want them.

To change the position of the frozen panes, click on the line and drag again.

➰ Loop boards even more flexible

Microsoft Loop is proving an effective collaboration tool. We're gradually shifting our internal XelPlus processes over there.

Loop tables/boards are a particularly useful feature. With the latest update, Loop boards offer more customization.

Boards give you a visual overview of a project, with tasks or other items divided into buckets. These could be project stages or categories. Think of a Kanban board, for example. The task details are kept on a card. You can move the cards between buckets.

To get an overview of all the information in each task, switch from board view to table view. Board view has gotten some features that were already available for tables. For example, you can now sort the cards by any field.

One very welcome update is the ability to switch the board's grouping.

Your project can have multiple label groupings. For example - Category and Status. It's helpful to switch between those views to get a better picture.

In table view, those label groupings are columns. When you switch to board view, you pivot the table on the label column.

Now, if you have more than one label column, you can switch between them by clicking on the Group by button.

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👏 Power Stories

Full agreement with Grzegorz: there's no better Excel tool than Power Query when it comes to handling bad data.

Congratulations on completing the Master Excel Power Query course! I'm glad it's helping you automate your reports and save time. 🙌

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

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