What's new in the of Microsoft Office 2021?

In today's modern workplaces, whether it's a sleek office in a bustling business center, a compact space in a warehouse, or simply a desk at home, one common thread connects them all – the presence of computers equipped with office software. Microsoft Office has emerged as the preferred choice for over a billion users worldwide, serving as their go-to toolkit for handling text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, emails, and calendars. Throughout its more than 30-year evolution, Office has not only undergone visual transformations but also significant functional enhancements. What enhancements can employees expect with the latest iteration, Office 2021? This article delves into some notable innovations across familiar applications like Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

Table of contents

New Features in Excel

Excel stands as an indispensable tool for employees across various roles and hierarchies. The introduction of new features within this application holds the potential to revolutionize workflows, simplifying complex calculations and analytical tasks. Noteworthy additions include XLOOKUP and Dynamic Arrays.

• Dynamic Arrays: A groundbreaking innovation in Excel, Dynamic Arrays enable users to perform calculations across multiple cells, known as arrays, with the same ease as working on a single cell. This results in shorter formulas and faster calculations. Accompanying Dynamic Arrays are new functions like SORT, FILTER, UNIQUE, and others, enhancing versatility and efficiency.
• XLOOKUP (ViewX): Serving as a modern successor to the widely-used VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP functions, XLOOKUP introduces enhanced flexibility. This function, designed for table element searches, now operates bidirectionally (left or right) across both columns and rows, expanding its utility.

Office 2021 distinguishes itself from its predecessors through a revised support policy. This policy shift enables applications to not only receive fixes and security updates but also introduces new features. Excel 2021, for instance, will continue to evolve post-release, introducing features like the LAMBDA function. The LAMBDA function empowers users to create custom functions, including recursive ones, without relying on macros. This innovation significantly broadens the scope of Excel's capabilities.

Translation, Animation, and Updated PowerPoint

Beyond Excel, Office 2021 brings notable enhancements to Outlook, such as an integrated email translation feature and updated search capabilities. These enhancements include hints that aid in locating emails based on specific subjects or senders, thereby enhancing user productivity and efficiency.

Visual Enhancements

Office 2021 introduces streamlined document creation with visually appealing elements. Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook now offer access to an online library of stock images, allowing users to incorporate high-quality photos taken by professional photographers into their documents without additional royalties. Furthermore, users can augment their documents with vector icons, stickers, and other visual elements. Colorful looping videos from the same online library can now be seamlessly inserted into PowerPoint slides.

Enhanced PowerPoint Functionality

PowerPoint slides are enhanced with handwritten annotations such as arrows, formulas, and drawings, which can be animated to effectively convey ideas or processes. The new version of PowerPoint also enables the export of animated slides to GIF files, suitable for sharing on social networks.

Collaborative Document Editing

Office 2021 introduces improvements to collaborative document editing, particularly crucial in a landscape where remote or hybrid work is prevalent. Real-time collaborative editing, previously available in Word, is now extended to Excel and PowerPoint. Additional features like Sheet View in Excel allow multiple users to edit the same table simultaneously, applying sorting and filters individually without disrupting others' work.

Interface and Accessibility

The visual interface of Office applications has been revamped to exude a sleek and modern aesthetic. A full black theme option for both the menu and document interface enhances visual appeal. Furthermore, updated features like Immersive Reader and an enhanced accessibility checker contribute to making the Office 2021 experience more inclusive.

Why Upgrade to New Versions of Office?

Timely migration to new Office versions not only unlocks dozens of useful features and enhances productivity but also bolsters security. Unsupported Office versions pose significant security risks, making systems vulnerable to cyber threats. Reports from cybersecurity firms confirm active exploitation of security vulnerabilities in older Office versions, emphasizing the importance of staying updated. By upgrading to supported Office versions, users ensure access to essential security updates, safeguarding their work environment against potential threats.

FAQ

What are some new features in Excel in Office 2021?

Some new features in Excel include Dynamic Arrays, XLOOKUP, and the LAMBDA function.

What enhancements are there in Outlook in Office 2021?

Enhancements in Outlook include integrated email translation and updated search capabilities.

What visual enhancements are there in Office 2021?

Visual enhancements include access to an online library of stock images, vector icons, stickers, and colorful looping videos for PowerPoint slides.

Why is it important to upgrade to new versions of Office?

Upgrading to new versions of Office unlocks useful features, enhances productivity, and improves security by ensuring access to essential security updates.