Grid improvements in Excel for the web

(Originally posted July 9, 2024 By ~ Sanjay Bhatt and Kartik Kasoju)

Hello, Microsoft 365 Insiders! We’re Sanjay Bhat, a Program Manager on the Excel team, and Karthik Kasoju, a Design Lead. We’re excited to announce updates to the grid feature in Excel for the web, designed to make working with spreadsheets simpler, faster, and more enjoyable.

Modernized grid features streamline your work in Excel for the web.

You want to work in Excel as intuitively and smoothly as possible. The latest updates bring you easier resizing, faster insertions, improved navigation, and easier cell highlighting. Learn how these modernized grid features can help you streamline your workflow and get more done in less time.

Before and after improvements to grid functionality in Excel for the web

What’s new

Easily resize rows and columns

Now you can quickly resize rows and columns for better data visibility and presentation. Simply hover over the border of a row or column header, select the handle, and drag to resize.

Improved column sizing in Excel for the web

Simple insertion of rows and columns

The new grid feature interface makes it incredibly easy to add rows or columns to your spreadsheet. Simply hover over the relevant row or column header and select the small circles that appear on the side where you want to place the row or column (these circles are + (when you hover your mouse over it).

Improved column and row insertion capabilities in Excel for the web

Simplified unhide functionality

You can show hidden rows or columns with one click and instantly see the full view of your data. To do this, hover your mouse over the row or column header and select the small arrow that appears.

Hiding columns and rows has been improved in Excel for the web.

Pin windows to make navigation easier.

With the latest update, you can easily pin important headers or columns, so that important information remains visible no matter where you scroll in your spreadsheet. To try it out, simply select the handle in the upper left corner of the header and drag it to the desired location. To change which pane is pinned, simply drag the pinned panes bar.

Improved fixed pane grid functionality in Excel for the web

Drag and drop to rearrange elements

Drag and drop lets you easily rearrange elements in your worksheet to help you organize your data. To use drag and drop, select a row or column, then drag it when the hand icon appears on your cursor, and then drop it next to another row or column.

Improved drag-and-drop grid functionality in Excel for the web

Highlight cells for clarity

Improved grid features include enhanced highlighting of important cells to highlight important information and improve readability. To use this feature, simply select a row, column, range of cells, or individual cells.

Improved cell highlighting in Excel for the web

effectiveness

This feature is now rolling out to all Excel for the web users.

Not yet? It’s probably us, not you.

Features are released over time to ensure everything works smoothly. They are released slowly to a larger number of Insiders, highlighting features you may not have. Sometimes we remove elements based on your feedback to make them even better. This is rare, but we also have the option to completely remove a feature from the product, even if you, as an Insider, had the opportunity to try it out.

feedback

We want to hear from you! Click here help > feedback To submit feedback on these feature updates, use Excel for the web.

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