Excel, the widely popular spreadsheet software from Microsoft, has been a powerful tool for handling data, performing calculations, creating graphs, and generating reports for many years. But now, it’s stepping up its game, allowing for a richer, more visually appealing experience. I’m excited to announce the release of a new Excel feature that enables the integration of images and data types like Stocks and Geography into your PivotTables.
PivotTables Evolve
PivotTables are among Excel’s most potent features. They offer an easy way to create summaries, dashboards, and reports while efficiently aggregating data. Traditionally, PivotTables could only display text-based descriptions of modern content types like data types and in-cell images.
The latest update, however, expands the functionality of PivotTables, enabling them to present images and data types as they appear in the source data. This means the PivotTables can display image cards, data type icons, and data type cards intact, thereby enhancing the visual appeal and the informative value of the PivotTables.
Making the Most of the New Feature
To benefit from this feature, all you need to do is create a PivotTable that includes data types or images in the source data. These can then be added to the PivotTable rows or columns, providing a rich and informative display of data. For instance, you can quickly populate your PivotTable with images using the IMAGE function, as shown below:
- Sphere:
=IMAGE("https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/2d9e717a-0077-438f-8e5e-f85a1305d4ad.jpg","Sphere") - Cylinder:
=IMAGE("https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/35aecc53-b3c1-4895-8a7d-554716941806.jpg","Cylinder") - Pyramid:
=IMAGE("https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/926439a2-bc79-4b8b-9205-60892650e5d3.jpg","Pyramid")
Imagine the possibilities. This update can add a new dimension to your reports and analyses. For instance, sales summaries can be enhanced with images of products, sports team analysis can include player images, and artwork or hobby collections can be catalogued with an image of each item.
Availability
This feature is available to Microsoft 365 Insiders running on Windows: Version 2307 (Build 16609.20000) or later and Mac: Version 16.74 (Build 23060401) or later. If you are an Insider and you don’t have it yet, it’s probably still rolling out. Microsoft often releases features gradually to ensure smooth functioning.
As Excel continues to evolve, this new feature opens up new possibilities for data presentation and analysis. By adding images and enhanced data types to PivotTables, Excel is taking a significant leap towards providing a richer, more dynamic, and visually appealing data experience.
