Excel-ent Content Part 2 – New Excel Functions

Our March 2021 topic of the month is a little program called Microsoft Excel. You know the program that you use almost every day and the program that sometimes makes you want to throw your computer out the window. We receive more questions relating to Microsoft Excel than any other topic out there. Last week we shared several great Microsoft Excel resources with you and this week we want to show you some exciting new functions within Microsoft Excel. We will review these and more on our Microsoft Excel Webinar on March 29.

LAMBDA

Simply put, LAMBDA allows you to define your own custom functions using Excel’s formula language. Excel already allows you to define custom functions, but only by writing them in an entirely different language such as JavaScript.  In contrast, LAMBDA allows you to define a custom function in Excel’s own formula language.   Moreover, one function can call another, so there is no limit to the power you can deploy with a single function call.

Reusable Custom Functions - With LAMBDA, you can take any formula you’ve built in Excel and wrap it up in a LAMBDA function and give it a name (like “MYFUNCTION”). Then anywhere in your sheet, you can refer to MYFUNCTION, re-using that custom function throughout your sheet.

UNIQUE

The Excel UNIQUE function extracts a list of unique values from a range or array. The result is a dynamic array of unique values. If this array is the result (i.e., not handed off to another function), array values will "spill" onto the worksheet into a range that automatically updates when new unique values are added or removed from the source range.

LET

The LET function assigns names to calculation results. This allows storing intermediate calculations, values, or defining names inside a formula. These names only apply within the scope of the LET function. Like variables in programming, LET is accomplished through Excel’s native formula syntax.

To use the LET function in Excel, you define pairs of names and associated values, and a calculation that uses them all. You must define at least one name/value pair (a variable) and LET supports up to 126.

XLOOKUP

The Excel XLOOKUP function is a modern and flexible replacement for older functions like VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and LOOKUP.  XLOOKUP supports approximate and exact matching, wildcards (* ?) for partial matches, and lookups in vertical or horizontal ranges.

IFS

The IFS function checks whether one or more conditions are met, and returns a value that corresponds to the first TRUE condition. IFS can take the place of multiple nested IF statements, and is much easier to read with multiple conditions.

MAP-CHART

Excel has built-in support for adding chart and map combinations – also as known as map charts. This powerful but somewhat under-the-radar feature was introduced back in 2015. A map chart is an easy-to-use tool that is great for when you want to visualize geographic data on a map

Excel Webinar – Monday, March 29, 1:00PM CST

• Live Q&A - You have questions about Microsoft Excel and Jennifer has the answers. Bring your questions about how to use Microsoft Excel and we'll help you implement this into your routine.

• Tips and Tricks - Jennifer will share her favorite tips and tricks for Microsoft Excel so you can utilize it like a pro.

• What’s new in Microsoft Excel? - Jennifer will detail new and exciting features in Microsoft Excel, like, XLOOKUP, MAP chart and more.

March 29, 1:00 PM CST - Register Today