Microsoft Excel 2013. In depth

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Tables, graphs, filling, analysis and cloud, the new Excel 2013 comes with a rather interesting facelift, and a message out loud saying Modern UI is here. Whether it&39;s for work or personal use, you shouldn&39;t miss out on the new features brought by this application that is widely used everywhere."

A design that attracts

Just like it happened to me with Windows Phone, the Metro design or now called Modern UI, managed to capture my attention again. In Excel 2013 we have a simple design, but eye-appealingThe interface feels very fluid, the movement between the options is done from the same screen without the need to open drop-down buttons, and when we go to File a new menu opens from the left with the same fluidity as the handling of the tables, in In this menu we have the options to save, export, share, open, new, etc.

One new thing that Microsoft has implemented in this version of Office 2013, is that files open in separate windows from one another , that is, in the case of Excel, if we open another file it will not be attached to the templates on the bottom left, but rather it will open a completely new window.

This is good because it allows you to work with greater order, as well, those people who have a large monitor or have two monitors , you can distribute the documents from one side to the other and have a better overview of them.

Another thing that feels great is the fast launch of the application, feels very optimized and light for the operating system, likewise, when opening new files it does so at a more than acceptable speed.

Templates, taking the heavy lifting out of you

With Excel 2013 (just like the other applications) the possibility to download table templates has been integrated in order to avoid heavy workto design and introduce the functions, and focus on putting the data. There are a variety of templates to use.

Microsoft already had the possibility of downloading templates from the official page, however, it has given it an important thread and integrated directly into the new Office 2013, which I think is excellent since not everyone knows that these templates exist, also it is much easier to download it from the same application

Browsing a bit through the categories (and with personal interest, since I'm needing something like that) I find that there are a lot of templates to choose from , and all of excellent quality. We can find everything from invoices and estimates to calendars and lists.

For personal use, I find it more than excellent, because it allows those who do not have much experience in Excel, to access tools They help with everyday things. For small businesses I also find it very good, since there are templates that can be used without any problem (or with little modification), I have even found a school attendance form.

Now, if we take this to the professional or business field, we may be a bit short, because the data we have to handle in those cases they are much larger and of different types, so editing the template would take much more work than doing it by hand.

Quick analysis, saving you (or not) some time

One of the most interesting tools is the Quick Analysis tool, when we select a data box, at the bottom right there is a small quick analysis icon, once we click, a window appears. small window where we can format cells, create graphs, perform mathematical operations, create dynamic tables and sparklines.

• Cell Format: With these options we can color the cells based on criteria that Excel itself identifies on its own . Among the options we have:Data Bar: Enter a blue bar in the cells that have values, the higher the value, the more painted the cell will be.Color Scale: Applies color tones from red to green to the values ​​according to the criteria identified by Excel. Icon Set: Adds a down, right, or up arrow depending on the value you are parsing.Greater Than: When clicked, allows you to paint cells based on whether the value is greater than a number entered in a window.Top 10% Values: A statistical tool that is applied to selected values.Clear Format: Removes formatting from selected values.
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• Charts: Here you can create line, pie, bubble, and other types of charts from the selected data. Something interesting is that Excel itself understands what type of data we are selecting and offers us 5 graphs that would best present the results of the analysis. Of course, you can go to the button More Graphics>."
• Mathematical Operations: Once we have the data selected, we can choose between Sum, Average, Count, Percentage of Total and Cumulative Total .We have two types of presentation, downwards or to the right, if we choose downwards it will take all the data vertically, if we choose to the right, it will take all the data from left to right row by row.
• Tables: Allows you to create a table from the selected data, it can be a common table with a superior index in each column, or a dynamic table, where we can choose several ways to present it.
• Minigraphs: Allows embedding monographs to the right, we can choose between Lines, Column or Gain or Loss.

This can save a lot of time, but you have to be organized, otherwise we may end up spending more time modifying the data and options than getting results.

When we create a chart, of course, we don't just keep the ones that don't show, because we can change the chosen data, the chart design or even change the format of a particular bar.So we have good flexibility when using this tool, which will depend on us and our ability to get the most out of it.

It should also be clarified that any change we want to make on the graph has a real-time update when we pass the mouse over an option, which gives you a few extra points and allows you to work faster.

Quick fill, just a TAB away

Quick fill is another interesting feature that Excel 2013 brings, it has an algorithm that detects patterns in other cells while we are typing , and if it matches, it automatically fills the cells that follow with the detected values.

For example, if we have some code divided by hyphens in another cell, and within those hyphens there is some particular data that we are rewriting in another column, Excel detects that it belongs to that and marks the filling quickly that after activating the Tab key, fills the other cells with that data

Once the auto fill is applied, we can select the ones that were created and use the Quick Analysis again if necessary, we can also undo the action if it was created by mistake.

Another thing to note when working with values ​​is that new functions such as trigonometry, engineering and logic have been integrated into Excel 2013 . You can see them in more detail in Excel 2013 help.

100% Cloud

Excel 2013 and Office 2013 in general have full integration with the cloud, giving this office suite flexibility to the time to take the files from one place to another. We will be able to log in with our Office profile and get files from our Skydrive or SharePoint account as well as save documents on those platforms.Unfortunately we do not have compatibility with services such as Dropbox or Box.

On the other hand, we can also share files with other people, you only need to enter their email address and a message will be sent message with the link to Skydrive, where you can see the document or modify it as we have put.

Social networks are not left out of Office integration, because in addition to sending to the cloud and sharing with acquaintances, we can send files to Twitter's social networks , LinkedIn, Facebook and Flickr.

Conclusions

In summary, Excel 2013 brings with it an important change at the visual level that suits you very well, but not everything is visual, Microsoft also made sure to offer new internal features for users who use this daily Program.

What we are discussing here are just some of the biggest changes that this office tool has received, internally there are many small changes but together they make a difference. Personally, I feel like Excel is fresh, renewed, and with features that DO work and are useful