{"id":233329,"date":"2019-08-28T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T16:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/?p=233329"},"modified":"2023-03-20T13:07:49","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T20:07:49","slug":"new-to-microsoft-365-august-excel-powerpoint-yammer-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/microsoft-365\/blog\/2019\/08\/28\/new-to-microsoft-365-august-excel-powerpoint-yammer-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"New to Microsoft 365 in August\u2014updates to Excel, PowerPoint, Yammer, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

This month, we\u2019re rolling out improvements to help you build a more productive, collaborative, and secure work environment for you and your organization. The new XLOOKUP formula for Excel helps you find data and improve calculation time. OneNote and Yammer mobile updates help you work on the go and find the answers you need more quickly. And the new FastTrack guidance will help ensure seamless Windows 10<\/a> migrations.<\/p>\n

As always, every Microsoft 365<\/a> update reflects our commitment to improving the experience for you\u2014so if you have feedback or ideas on ways we can improve, please let us know<\/a>. Let\u2019s look at what\u2019s new in August.<\/p>\n

Make work faster and easier<\/h3>\n

New features simplify data searches and calculation times and help you quickly visualize information.<\/p>\n

Find and retrieve data quickly in Excel<\/strong>\u2014We heard your feedback about the VLOOKUP<\/a> formula for working with data in Excel\u2014that it requires sorted data, fails to discover results on left-hand columns, and takes wildcards by default. So this month, we introduced XLOOKUP<\/a>, our successor to the VLOOKUP, and HLOOKUP<\/a> formulas. XLOOKUP addresses our most common user feedback and takes advantage of recent backend changes to improve calculation time. It\u2018s available today to Office Insiders<\/a>, with general availability coming later this year.<\/p>\n

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Create work-in-progress diagrams and slides<\/strong>\u2014Because we know it can be hard to express work-in-progress diagrams and models without stamping \u201cDRAFT\u201d on top of them, we built Sketched Shapes. With this new Office style, you can transform standard shapes in PowerPoint, Word, and Excel into rough outlines that look handdrawn and convey a sense of in-progress work. Sketched Shapes is perfect for building wireframes, drafting designs, or adding an artistic touch. You can also easily move between sketched and standard shapes. Sketched Shapes is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders<\/a> and Office Insiders for Mac<\/a>. To get started, insert a shape into your document and select your favorite sketched outline. You can also download the PowerPoint Wireframe toolkit<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

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New for PowerPoint on the web: Subscript, Superscript, and Change Case<\/strong>\u2014Up to this point, users needed the PowerPoint Desktop App to add subscript, superscript, or change text casing in their slides. That made it tricky for professionals, educators, and students to communicate their equations and information in PowerPoint for the web. Now, you can simply select your text and click the new Subscript<\/strong>, Superscript<\/strong>, or Change Case<\/strong> buttons on the Home tab of the ribbon. This feature is rolling out to PowerPoint for the web.<\/p>\n

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Work on the go<\/h3>\n

We introduced updates to OneNote, Yammer, and Office to help you find answers more quickly and stay in your workflow.<\/p>\n

Add shapes, graphs, and Outlook meeting details to Microsoft OneNote for iPad<\/strong>\u2014You can now insert shapes in OneNote for iPad<\/a>, including straight lines, basic shapes, and graphs. Whether you want a straight line to keep things aligned, an arrow to point to information, or a graph to show a trend, you\u2019ll find it under the Draw tab in OneNote. You can also add Outlook meeting details to OneNote for iPad and OneNote for Mac<\/a>\u2014including attendees, time, subject, and more.<\/p>\n

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Annotate your notes with ink in OneNote for iPhone<\/strong>\u2014We also added Ink in OneNote for iPhone<\/a>, so you can easily use your finger or a stylus to annotate with the natural feel of ink\u2014even when you\u2019re on the go. To get started, just tap on the squiggle symbol in the upper right-hand corner of your OneNote page and use the red pen and yellow highlighter to mark up, annotate, and highlight key information in your notebooks.<\/p>\n

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Stay connected and get answers with an enhanced Yammer mobile experience<\/strong>\u2014Today\u2019s employees need to be empowered while on the go. With this in mind, we recently announced<\/a> a new Yammer mobile experience that brings live events, group search, updated feed and conversations views, enhanced encryption, and more to iOS and Android devices. Highlights include a modernized feed experience that reduces visual clutter and delivers improved readability, live events, and townhalls that you can view on the go; Seen Counts to let you know how many people have viewed your messages; and group search to cut down on search time and find the information you need. These features have rolled out to customers running the current Yammer for iOS and Android apps.<\/p>\n

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Use Dark Mode in more of your favorite Microsoft apps<\/strong>\u2014Today\u2019s fast and fluid world constantly blurs the lines between work and life, and we understand you need experiences that adapt to your needs. We\u2019re happy to announce this month that we\u2019re starting to roll out Dark Mode<\/a> to Outlook mobile and Office.com. Dark Mode is not only easier on the eyes and may extend battery life, it also enables you to comfortably continue using your device in places where the default bright mode isn\u2019t appropriate, like darkened airplanes and movie theaters. Dark Mode is rolling out over the next couple of weeks to Outlook mobile and Office.com.<\/p>\n

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Streamline IT management<\/h3>\n

New tools and capabilities streamline Windows 10 migrations and meet data residency needs.<\/p>\n

Migrate to Windows 10 with new FastTrack guidance<\/strong>\u2014We know upgrading and updating complex technology environments is no small task. To support you through every step of your Windows 10 deployment, we introduced new FastTrack deployment guidance<\/a>. This guidance helps customers upgrade from Windows 7 and Office 2010 to Windows 10 Enterprise and Office 365 ProPlus. FastTrack guidance is available to all eligible commercial customers<\/a>. To learn more, watch our mechanics video<\/a> or jump right in by signing in to microsoft.com\/FastTrack<\/a> and requesting assistance.<\/p>\n

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Meet data residency needs with new Microsoft datacenter capabilities<\/strong>\u2014Now, new Microsoft Teams customers<\/a> in South Korea will have their data stored in an in-country datacenter, helping organizations with data residency requirements meet their obligations. Additionally, Multi-Geo Capabilities is now available to customers in South Africa and United Arab Emirates with a minimum of 500 Office 365 services subscriptions. Multi-Geo Capabilities enables you to easily move users and data between Microsoft cloud geos to address data residency needs. Contact your Microsoft representative for details.<\/p>\n

Also new this month<\/h3>\n

We also announced the following updates in August:<\/p>\n