For all of you out there still wondering where the “File” menu is in Excel 2007 and other Office 2007 products, another twist is in store for you. Microsoft announced earlier this week that they are planning on releasing Office 2010, which includes updates to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Access, SharePoint Workspace (formerly Groove 2007), and InfoPath.
In addition to the new programs, Microsoft is also introducing Office Web Applications, which compliments Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote to allow you to access your files from anywhere with an internet connection. It also allows you to share documents with others and even gives you the ability to work simultaneously on the same document. Further adding to their product offerings is Office Mobile, which allows you to view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files on a mobile version of the software. Email will also be easier to manage with Outlook Mobile.
OK, so enough with the Office features, what’s new in Excel 2010?
Spreadsheets can now be run in your web browser, and be published to the web via the desktop version. The browser version does not have as many features as the desktop version, however it is an improvement over Google Spreadsheets. Additionally, a new analytic feature is called Sparklines, which produce a visual trend of a data set over time similar to a chart, except the Sparkline is contained within a single cell. For example, if you’re tracking monthly sales of a product, you can set a Sparkline that will show the peaks and valleys that the data produces.
One thing users of Excel 2007 (and other Office 2007 programs) who are just getting used to the new Ribbon will not have to worry about is learning another new user interface. The ribbon should remain essentially the same as in the 2007 version, except for a few new features.
This post will get updated as I discover new features, so please bookmark it and check back often.