New Ribbon Menu

If you are an Excel 2007 then Ribbon menu in Excel 2010 will look familiar. Apart from a few new tools which we will discuss shortly, the main difference is the absence of the ‘Office Button’ and a return of the old ‘File’ menu item. This is apparently Microsoft’s response to a poll they initiated which indicated that a large percentage of new Office 2007 users were unclear how to open and save documents. It would seem that many didn’t think to press the Office button, assuming that it was in fact just the Microsoft logo!

Sparklines

One completely new and innovative feature of Excel 2010 is Sparklines. These are essentially mini graphs which occupy just a single cell. They are particularly useful in identifying trends in a row or column of data without resorting to full blown graph. I would predict that this feature will get a good deal of usage and become a popular tool with regular Excel users.

Slicers

Another brand new feature in Excel 2010 is Slicers. These are visual controls which float above the spreadsheet like shapes which allow for a much greater degree of control over the filtering of data. They are particularly useful when attempting to filter multiple data fields in PivotTables & PivotCharts. Again, Slicers are likely to become firm favourites, especially with regular PivotTable users.

Chart Macros

The Macro record facility has of course been around for a long time in Excel, but a short coming was the inability for the Macro to record actions applied to Charts and Shapes. This has been rectified in the new Chart Macro facility so that users can now record formatting changes to charts and shapes and save them for re-use.

New Improved Solver

The new version of Solver has an improved interface which makes it easier to find solutions in What-If analysis. The solving method (Simplex, GRG Nonlinear, Evolutionary) can now be chosen based on the type of model being solved. A checkbox has also been added for making unconstrained variables non-negative. If you’re a Solver user you will probably find these new features handy.

Function Improvements

The accuracy of 50 of Excel’s functions have been improved in 2010. It has to be said that the average user will probably not realise the difference as many of the functions issues addressed were within the more complex mathematical functions. However, popular functions such as PMT, PPMT & VARS are included in the list.

In conclusion, Excel 2010 brings new levels of functionality and accuracy which are likely to be well received, particularly by seasoned Microsoft Excel users.

The author is the MD of Paul Brown Associates Ltd, a UK based training Company. For information about Microsoft Excel 2010 training courses visit the website at www.pbatraining.co.uk