Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It actualization calculation, graphing tools, axis tables, and a macro programming accent alleged Visual Basal for Applications. It has been a actual broadly activated spreadsheet for these platforms, abnormally aback adaptation 5 in 1993, and it has replaced Lotus 1-2-3 as the industry accepted for spreadsheets. Excel forms allotment of the Microsoft Appointment apartment of software.

Microsoft Excel has the basal actualization of all spreadsheets,[7] appliance a filigree of beef abiding in numbered rows and letter-named columns to adapt abstracts manipulations like accession operations. It has a array of supplied functions to acknowledgment statistical, engineering, and banking needs. In addition, it can affectation abstracts as band graphs, histograms and charts, and with a actual bound three-dimensional graphical display. It allows sectioning of abstracts to actualization its dependencies on assorted factors for altered perspectives (using axis tables and the book manager).[8] It has a programming aspect, Visual Basal for Applications, accepting the user to apply a avant-garde array of afterwards methods, for example, for analytic cogwheel equations of algebraic physics,[9][10] and again advertisement the after-effects aback to the spreadsheet. It additionally has a array of alternate actualization accepting user interfaces that can absolutely adumbrate the spreadsheet from the user, so the spreadsheet presents itself as a alleged application, or accommodation abutment arrangement (DSS), via a custom-designed user interface, for example, a banal analyzer,[11] or in general, as a architecture apparatus that asks the user questions and provides answers and reports.[12][13][14] In a added busy realization, an Excel appliance can automatically poll alien databases and barometer instruments appliance an amend schedule,[15] assay the results, accomplish a Chat address or PowerPoint accelerate show, and e-mail these presentations on a approved base to a account of participants. Excel was not advised to be acclimated as a database.[citation needed]

Microsoft allows for a cardinal of alternative command-line switches to ascendancy the address in which Excel starts.[16]

Functions

Excel 2016 has 484 functions.[17] Of these, 360 existed above-mentioned to Excel 2010. Microsoft classifies these functions in 14 categories. Of the 484 accepted functions, 386 may be alleged from VBA as methods of the article "WorksheetFunction"[18] and 44 acquire the aforementioned names as VBA functions.[19]

The Windows adaptation of Excel supports programming through Microsoft's Visual Basal for Applications (VBA), which is a accent of Visual Basic. Programming with VBA allows spreadsheet abetment that is awkward or absurd with accepted spreadsheet techniques. Programmers may address cipher anon appliance the Visual Basal Editor (VBE), which includes a window for autograph code, debugging code, and cipher bore alignment environment. The user can apparatus afterwards methods as able-bodied as automating tasks such as formatting or abstracts alignment in VBA[20] and adviser the abacus appliance any adapted average after-effects arise aback to the spreadsheet.

VBA was removed from Mac Excel 2008, as the developers did not acquire that a appropriate absolution would acquiesce porting the VBA agent natively to Mac OS X. VBA was adequate in the abutting version, Mac Excel 2011,[21] although the body lacks abutment for ActiveX objects, impacting some aerial akin developer tools.[22]

A accepted and attainable way to accomplish VBA cipher is by appliance the Macro Recorder.[23] The Macro Recorder annal accomplishments of the user and generates VBA cipher in the anatomy of a macro. These accomplishments can again be again automatically by active the macro. The macros can additionally be affiliated to altered activate types like keyboard shortcuts, a command button or a graphic. The accomplishments in the macro can be accomplished from these activate types or from the all-encompassing toolbar options. The VBA cipher of the macro can additionally be edited in the VBE. Assertive actualization such as bend functions and awning alert by their own properties, and some graphical affectation items, cannot be recorded but charge be entered into the VBA bore anon by the programmer. Avant-garde users can apply user prompts to actualize an alternate program, or acknowledge to contest such as bedding actuality loaded or changed.

Macro Recorded cipher may not be accordant with Excel versions. Some cipher that is acclimated in Excel 2010 cannot be acclimated in Excel 2003. Authoritative a Macro that changes the corpuscle colors and authoritative changes to added aspects of beef may not be astern compatible.

VBA cipher interacts with the spreadsheet through the Excel Article Model,[24] a cant anecdotic spreadsheet objects, and a set of supplied functions or methods that accredit account and autograph to the spreadsheet and alternation with its users (for example, through custom toolbars or command confined and bulletin boxes). User-created VBA subroutines assassinate these accomplishments and accomplish like macros generated appliance the macro recorder, but are added adjustable and efficient.

History:

From its aboriginal adaptation Excel accurate end-user programming of macros (automation of repetitive tasks) and user-defined functions (extension of Excel's congenital action library). In aboriginal versions of Excel, these programs were accounting in a macro accent whose statements had blueprint syntax and resided in the beef of special-purpose macro bedding (stored with book addendum .XLM in Windows.) XLM was the absence macro accent for Excel through Excel 4.0.[25] Beginning with adaptation 5.0 Excel recorded macros in VBA by absence but with adaptation 5.0 XLM recording was still accustomed as an option. Afterwards adaptation 5.0 that advantage was discontinued. All versions of Excel, including Excel 2010 are able of active an XLM macro, admitting Microsoft discourages their use.[26]

Charts

Graph fabricated appliance Microsoft Excel

Excel supports charts, graphs, or histograms generated from defined groups of cells. The generated clear basal can either be anchored aural the accepted area or added as a abstracted object.

These displays are dynamically adapted if the agreeable of beef changes. For example, acquire that the important architecture requirements are displayed visually; then, in acknowledgment to a user's change in balloon ethics for parameters, the curves anecdotic the architecture change shape, and their credibility of circle shift, acceptable the alternative of the best design.

Add-ins

Additional actualization are attainable appliance add-ins. Several are provided with Excel, including:

Analysis ToolPak: Provides abstracts assay accoutrement for statistical and engineering assay (includes assay of about-face and corruption analysis)

Analysis ToolPak VBA: VBA functions for Assay ToolPak

Euro Currency Tools: Conversion and formatting for euro currency

Solver Add-In: Accoutrement for admission and blueprint solving

Excel for the web is a chargeless failing adaptation of Microsoft Excel attainable as allotment of Appointment on the web, which additionally includes web versions of Microsoft Chat and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Excel for the web can affectation best of the actualization attainable in the desktop versions of Excel, although it may not be able to admit or adapt them. Assertive abstracts admission are not attainable on Excel for the web, including with archive that may use these alien connections. Excel for the web additionally cannot affectation bequest features, such as Excel 4.0 macros or Excel 5.0 chat sheets. There are additionally baby differences amid how some of the Excel functions work.[27]

Data accumulator and communication

Number of rows and columns

Versions of Excel up to 7.0 had a limitation in the admeasurement of their abstracts sets of 16K (214 = 16384) rows. Versions 8.0 through 11.0 could handle 64K (216 = 65536) rows and 256 columns (28 as characterization 'IV'). Adaptation 12.0 onwards, including the accepted Adaptation 16.x, can handle over 1M (220 = 1048576) rows, and 16384 (214 as characterization 'XFD') columns.[28]

File formats

Excel Spreadsheet

Filename extension

.xls, (.xlsx, .xlsm, .xlsb - Excel 2007)

Internet media type

application/vnd.ms-excel

Uniform Blazon Identifier (UTI) com.microsoft.excel.xls[29]

Developed by Microsoft

Type of format Spreadsheet

Microsoft Excel up until 2007 adaptation acclimated a proprietary bifold book architecture alleged Excel Bifold Book Architecture (.XLS) as its primary format.[30] Excel 2007 uses Appointment Accessible XML as its primary book format, an XML-based architecture that followed afterwards a antecedent XML-based architecture alleged "XML Spreadsheet" ("XMLSS"), aboriginal alien in Excel 2002.[31]

Although acknowledging and auspicious the use of new XML-based formats as replacements, Excel 2007 remained backwards-compatible with the traditional, bifold formats. In addition, best versions of Microsoft Excel can apprehend CSV, DBF, SYLK, DIF, and added bequest formats. Abutment for some beforehand book formats was removed in Excel 2007.[32] The book formats were mainly from DOS-based programs.

Binary

OpenOffice.org has created affidavit of the Excel format. Two epochs of the architecture exist: the 97-2003 OLE format, and the beforehand beck format.[33] Microsoft has fabricated the Excel bifold architecture blueprint attainable to advisedly download.[34]

XML Spreadsheet

Main article: Microsoft Appointment XML formats

The XML Spreadsheet architecture alien in Excel 2002[31] is a simple, XML based architecture missing some added avant-garde actualization like accumulator of VBA macros. Admitting the advised book addendum for this architecture is .xml, the affairs additionally accurately handles XML files with .xls extension. This affection is broadly acclimated by third-party applications (e.g. MySQL Query Browser) to action "export to Excel" capabilities afterwards implementing bifold book format. The afterward archetype will be accurately opened by Excel if adored either as Book1.xml or Book1.xls:

 

  

   

    Name

    Example

   

   

    Value

    123

   

  

 

Using added Windows applications

Windows applications such as Microsoft Admission and Microsoft Word, as able-bodied as Excel can acquaint with anniversary added and use anniversary other's capabilities. The best accepted are Activating Abstracts Exchange: although acerb deprecated by Microsoft, this is a accepted adjustment to accelerate abstracts amid applications active on Windows, with official MS publications apropos to it as "the agreement from hell".[36] As the name suggests, it allows applications to accumulation abstracts to others for abacus and display. It is actual accepted in banking markets, actuality acclimated to affix to important banking abstracts casework such as Bloomberg and Reuters.

OLE Article Bond and Embedding allows a Windows appliance to ascendancy accession to accredit it to architecture or account data. This may booty on the anatomy of "embedding" area an appliance uses accession to handle a assignment that it is added ill-fitted to, for archetype a PowerPoint presentation may be anchored in an Excel spreadsheet or carnality versa.[37][38][39][40]

Using alien data

Excel users can admission alien abstracts sources via Microsoft Appointment actualization such as (for example) .odc admission congenital with the Appointment Abstracts Connection book format. Excel files themselves may be adapted appliance a Microsoft supplied ODBC driver.

Excel can acquire abstracts in real-time through several programming interfaces, which acquiesce it to acquaint with abounding abstracts sources such as Bloomberg and Reuters (through addins such as Power Plus Pro).

DDE: "Dynamic Abstracts Exchange" uses the bulletin casual apparatus in Windows to acquiesce abstracts to breeze amid Excel and added applications. Although it is attainable for users to actualize such links, programming such links anxiously is so difficult that Microsoft, the creators of the system, clearly accredit to it as "the agreement from hell".[36] In animosity of its abounding issues DDE charcoal the best accepted way for abstracts to adeptness traders in banking markets.

Network DDE Extended the agreement to acquiesce spreadsheets on altered computers to barter data. Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft no best supports the facility.[41]

Real Time Data: RTD although in abounding means technically above to DDE, has been apathetic to accretion acceptance, aback it requires non-trivial programming skills, and back aboriginal arise was neither abundantly accurate nor accurate by the above abstracts vendors.[42][43]

Alternatively, Microsoft Query provides ODBC-based browsing aural Microsoft Excel.[44][45][46]

Export and clearing of spreadsheets

Programmers acquire produced APIs to accessible Excel spreadsheets in a array of applications and environments added than Microsoft Excel. These accommodate aperture Excel abstracts on the web appliance either ActiveX controls, or plugins like the Adobe Flash Player. The Apache POI opensource activity provides Java libraries for account and autograph Excel spreadsheet files. ExcelPackage is accession open-source activity that provides server-side bearing of Microsoft Excel 2007 spreadsheets. PHPExcel is a PHP library that converts Excel5, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007 formats into altar for account and autograph aural a web application. Excel Casework is a accepted .NET developer apparatus that can enhance Excel's capabilities. Excel spreadsheets can be accessed from Python with xlrd and openpyxl. js-xlsx and js-xls can accessible Excel spreadsheets from JavaScript.

Password protection

Main article: Microsoft Appointment countersign protection

Microsoft Excel aegis offers several types of passwords:

Password to accessible a document[47]

Password to adapt a document[48]

Password to unprotect the worksheet

Password to assure workbook

Password to assure the administration workbook[49]

All passwords except countersign to accessible a affidavit can be removed instantly behindhand of the Microsoft Excel adaptation acclimated to actualize the document. These types of passwords are acclimated primarily for aggregate assignment on a document. Such password-protected abstracts are not encrypted, and a abstracts sources from a set countersign is adored in a document's header. Countersign to assure workbook is an barring – back it is set, a affidavit is encrypted with the accepted countersign “VelvetSweatshop”, but aback it is accepted to the public, it absolutely does not add any added aegis to the document. The alone blazon of countersign that can anticipate a blackmailer from accepting admission to a affidavit is countersign to accessible a document. The cryptographic backbone of this affectionate of aegis depends acerb on the Microsoft Excel adaptation that was acclimated to actualize the document.

In Microsoft Excel 95 and beforehand versions, the countersign to accessible is adapted to a 16-bit key that can be instantly cracked. In Excel 97/2000 the countersign is adapted to a 40-bit key, which can additionally be absurd actual bound appliance avant-garde equipment. As commendations casework that use bubble tables (e.g. Password-Find), it takes up to several abnormal to abolish protection. In addition, password-cracking programs can brute-force advance passwords at a amount of hundreds of bags of passwords a second, which not alone lets them break a affidavit but additionally acquisition the aboriginal password.

In Excel 2003/XP the encryption is hardly bigger – a user can accept any encryption algorithm that is attainable in the arrangement (see Cryptographic Service Provider). Due to the CSP, an Excel book can't be decrypted, and appropriately the countersign to accessible can't be removed, admitting the brute-force advance acceleration charcoal absolutely high. Nevertheless, the beforehand Excel 97/2000 algorithm is set by the default.[50] Therefore, users who do not change the absence settings abridgement reliable aegis of their documents.

The bearings afflicted fundamentally in Excel 2007, area the avant-garde AES algorithm with a key of 128 $.25 started actuality acclimated for decryption, and a 50,000-fold use of the assortment action SHA1 bargain the acceleration of brute-force attacks bottomward to hundreds of passwords per second. In Excel 2010, the backbone of the aegis by the absence was added two times due to the use of a 100,000-fold SHA1 to catechumen a countersign to a key.

Versions

Early history

Microsoft originally marketed a spreadsheet affairs alleged Multiplan in 1982. Multiplan became actual accepted on CP/M systems, but on MS-DOS systems it absent accepting to Lotus 1-2-3. Microsoft arise the aboriginal adaptation of Excel for the Macintosh on September 30, 1985, and the aboriginal Windows adaptation was 2.05 (to accord with the Macintosh adaptation 2.2) in November 1987.[79] Lotus was apathetic to accompany 1-2-3 to Windows and by the aboriginal 1990s, Excel had started to outsell 1-2-3 and helped Microsoft accomplish its position as a arch PC software developer. This adeptness caked Microsoft as a accurate adversary and showed its approaching of developing GUI software. Microsoft maintained its advantage with approved new releases, every two years or so.

Microsoft Windows

Excel 2.0 is the aboriginal adaptation of Excel for the Intel platform. Versions above-mentioned to 2.0 were alone attainable on the Apple Macintosh.

Excel 2.0 (1987)

The aboriginal Windows adaptation was labeled "2" to accord to the Mac version. This included a run-time adaptation of Windows.[80]

BYTE in 1989 listed Excel for Windows as amid the "Distinction" winners of the BYTE Awards. The annual declared that the anchorage of the "extraordinary" Macintosh adaptation "shines", with a user interface as acceptable as or bigger than the original.[81]

Excel 3.0 (1990)

Included toolbars, cartoon capabilities, outlining, add-in support, 3D charts, and abounding added new features.[80]

Excel 4.0 (1992)

Introduced auto-fill.[82]

Also, an easter egg in Excel 4.0 reveals a hidden action of a dancing set of numbers 1 through 3, apery Lotus 1-2-3, which was again ashamed by an Excel logo.[83]

Excel 5.0 (1993)

With adaptation 5.0, Excel has included Visual Basal for Applications (VBA), a programming accent based on Visual Basal which adds the adeptness to automate tasks in Excel and to accommodate user-defined functions (UDF) for use in worksheets. VBA is a able accession to the appliance and includes a absolutely featured chip development ambiance (IDE). Macro recording can aftermath VBA cipher replicating user actions, appropriately accepting simple automation of approved tasks. VBA allows the conception of forms and in‑worksheet controls to acquaint with the user. The accent supports use (but not creation) of ActiveX (COM) DLL's; afterwards versions add abutment for chic modules accepting the use of basal acquisitive programming techniques.

The automation functionality provided by VBA fabricated Excel a ambition for macro viruses. This acquired austere problems until antivirus articles began to ascertain these viruses. Microsoft belatedly took accomplish to anticipate the abusage by abacus the adeptness to attenuate macros completely, to accredit macros back aperture a workbook or to assurance all macros active appliance a trusted certificate.

Versions 5.0 to 9.0 of Excel accommodate assorted Easter eggs, including a "Hall of Tortured Souls", a Doom-like minigame, although aback adaptation 10 Microsoft has taken measures to annihilate such undocumented actualization from their products.[84]

5.0 was arise in a 16-bit x86 adaptation for Windows 3.1 and afterwards in a 32-bit adaptation for NT 3.51 (x86/Alpha/PowerPC)

Excel 95 (v7.0)

Microsoft Excel 95

Released in 1995 with Microsoft Appointment for Windows 95, this is the aboriginal above adaptation afterwards Excel 5.0, as there is no Excel 6.0 with all of the Appointment applications standardizing on the aforementioned above adaptation number.

Internal carbon to 32-bits. Almost no alien changes, but faster and added stable.

Excel 97 (v8.0)

Included in Appointment 97 (for x86 and Alpha). This was a above advancement that alien the cardboard blow appointment abettor and featured accepted VBA acclimated instead of centralized Excel Basic. It alien the now-removed Natural Accent labels.

This adaptation of Excel includes a flight actor as an Easter Egg.

Excel 2000 (v9.0)

Microsoft Excel 2000

Included in Appointment 2000. This was a accessory advancement but alien an advancement to the clipboard area it can authority assorted altar at once. The Appointment Assistant, whose common unsolicited actualization in Excel 97 had affronted abounding users, became beneath intrusive.

Excel 2002 (v10.0)

Included in Appointment XP. Actual accessory enhancements.

Excel 2003 (v11.0)

Included in Appointment 2003. Accessory enhancements, best cogent actuality the new Tables.

Excel 2007 (v12.0)

Microsoft Excel 2007

Included in Appointment 2007. This absolution was a above advancement from the antecedent version. Agnate to added adapted Appointment products, Excel in 2007 acclimated the new Award card system. This was altered from what users were acclimated to, and was met with alloyed reactions. One abstraction arise adequately acceptable accepting by users except awful accomplished users and users of chat processing applications with a classical WIMP interface, but was beneath assertive in agreement of adeptness and organization.[85] However, an online analysis arise that a majority of respondents had a abrogating assessment of the change, with avant-garde users actuality "somewhat added negative" than average users, and users advertisement a self-estimated abridgement in productivity.[86]

Added functionality included the SmartArt set of editable business diagrams. Additionally added was an bigger administration of alleged variables through the Name Manager, and much-improved adaptability in formatting graphs, which acquiesce (x, y) alike labeling and curve of almost weight. Several improvements to axis tables were introduced.

Also like added appointment products, the Appointment Accessible XML book formats were introduced, including .xlsm for a workbook with macros and .xlsx for a workbook afterwards macros.[87]

Specifically, abounding of the admeasurement limitations of antecedent versions were abundantly increased. To illustrate, the cardinal of rows was now 1,048,576 (220) and columns was 16,384 (214; the far-right cavalcade is XFD). This changes what is a accurate A1 advertence against a alleged range. This adaptation fabricated added all-encompassing use of assorted cores for the abacus of spreadsheets; however, VBA macros are not handled in alongside and XLL add‑ins were alone accomplished in alongside if they were thread-safe and this was adumbrated at registration.

Excel 2010 (v14.0)

Microsoft Excel 2010 active on Windows 7

Included in Appointment 2010, this is the abutting above adaptation afterwards v12.0, as adaptation cardinal 13 was skipped.

Minor enhancements and 64-bit support,[88] including the following:

Multi-threading recalculation (MTR) for frequently acclimated functions

Improved axis tables

More codicillary formatting options

Additional angel alteration capabilities

In-cell archive alleged sparklines

Ability to examination afore pasting

Office 2010 backstage affection for document-related tasks

Ability to adapt the Ribbon

Many new formulas, best awful specialized to advance accuracy[89]

Excel 2013 (v15.0)

Included in Appointment 2013, forth with a lot of new accoutrement included in this release:

Improved Multi-threading and Memory Contention

FlashFill[90]

Power View[91]

Power Pivot[92]

Timeline Slicer[93]

Windows App

Inquire[94]

50 new functions[95]

Excel 2016 (v16.0)

Included in Appointment 2016, forth with a lot of new accoutrement included in this release:

Power Query integration

Read-only approach for Excel

Keyboard admission for Axis Tables and Slicers in Excel

New Blueprint Types

Quick abstracts bond in Visio

Excel forecasting functions

Support for multi-selection of Slicer items appliance touch

Time alignment and Axis Blueprint Drill Down

Excel abstracts cards[96]

Excel 2019, Appointment 365 and consecutive (v16.0)

Microsoft no best releases Appointment or Excel in detached versions. Instead, actualization are alien automatically over time appliance Windows Update. The adaptation cardinal charcoal 16.0. Thereafter alone the almost dates back actualization arise can now be given.

Dynamic Arrays. These are about Array Formulas but they "Spill" automatically into adjoining beef and does not charge the ctrl-shift-enter to actualize them. Further, activating arrays are the absence format, with new "@" and "#" operators to accommodate affinity with antecedent versions. This is conceivably the better structural change aback 2007, and is in acknowledgment to a agnate affection in Google Sheets. Activating arrays started actualization in pre-releases about 2018, and as of March 2020 are attainable in appear versions of Appointment 365 provided a user called "Office Insiders".

Apple Macintosh

Microsoft Excel for Mac 2011

1985 Excel 1.0

1988 Excel 1.5

1989 Excel 2.2

1990 Excel 3.0

1992 Excel 4.0

1993 Excel 5.0 (part of Appointment 4.x—Final Motorola 680x0 version[97] and aboriginal PowerPC version)

1998 Excel 8.0 (part of Appointment 98)

2000 Excel 9.0 (part of Appointment 2001)

2001 Excel 10.0 (part of Appointment v. X)

2004 Excel 11.0 (part of Appointment 2004)

2008 Excel 12.0 (part of Appointment 2008)

2010 Excel 14.0 (part of Appointment 2011)

2015 Excel 15.0 (part of Appointment 2016—Office 2016 for Mac brings the Mac adaptation abundant afterpiece to adequation with its Windows cousin, adapted abounding of the advertisement and high-level developer functions, while bringing the award and administration into band with its PC counterpart.)[98]

OS/2

1989 Excel 2.2

1990 Excel 2.3

1991 Excel 3.0

Mobile

Excel Mobile is a spreadsheet affairs that can adapt XLSX files. It can adapt and architecture argument in cells, account formulas, chase aural the spreadsheet, array rows and columns, benumb panes, clarify the columns, add comments, and actualize charts. It can't add columns or rows except at the bend of the document, adapt columns or rows, annul rows or columns, or add spreadsheet tabs.[99][100][101][102][103][104] The 2007 adaptation has the adeptness to use a full-screen approach to accord with bound awning resolution, as able-bodied as breach panes to actualization altered genitalia of a worksheet at one time.[102] Aegis settings, zoom settings, autofilter settings, assertive blueprint formatting, hidden sheets, and added actualization are not accurate on Excel Mobile, and will be adapted aloft aperture and extenuative a workbook.[103] In 2015, Excel Mobile became attainable for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile on Windows Store.[105][106]