Editing Microsoft Excel (section)

=== Microsoft Windows ===
Excel 2.0 is the first version of Excel for the [[Intel]] platform. Versions prior to 2.0 were only available on the Apple Macintosh.

==== Excel 2.0 (1987) ====
The first Windows version was labeled "2" to correspond to the Mac version. It was announced on October 6, 1987, and released on November 19.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The History of Microsoft – 1987|work=learn.microsoft.com|date=April 30, 2009|access-date=October 7, 2022|url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/shows/history/history-of-microsoft-1987|archive-date=October 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007180805/https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/shows/history/history-of-microsoft-1987|url-status=live}}</ref> This included a run-time version of Windows.<ref name="spreadsheetpage.com">{{cite web|url=https://spreadsheetpage.com/excel-version-history/|title=Excel Version History|first=John|last=Walkenbach|date=December 4, 2013|access-date=July 12, 2020|work=The Spreadsheet Page|publisher=John Walkenbach|archive-date=July 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715100722/https://spreadsheetpage.com/excel-version-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[BYTE]]'' in 1989 listed Excel for Windows as among the "Distinction" winners of the BYTE Awards. The magazine stated that the port of the "extraordinary" Macintosh version "shines", with a user interface as good as or better than the original.

==== Excel 3.0 (1990) ====
Included toolbars, drawing capabilities, outlining, add-in support, 3D charts, and many more new features.<ref name="spreadsheetpage.com"/>

==== Excel 4.0 (1992) ====
Included with [[Microsoft Office 3.0]], this version introduced [[#Impact|auto-fill]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Lewallen|first=Dale|title=PC/Computing guide to Excel 4.0 for Windows|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=imoPAQAAMAAJ&q=excel+4.0+autofill|access-date=July 27, 2013|year=1992|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|isbn=9781562760489|page=13}}</ref>

Also, an [[Easter egg (media)|easter egg]] in Excel 4.0 reveals a hidden animation of a dancing set of numbers 1 through 3, representing Lotus 1–2–3, which is then crushed by an Excel logo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://crashreboot.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-eggs-we-have-loved-excel-4.html|title=Easter Eggs we have loved: Excel 4|last1=Lake|first1=Matt|date=April 6, 2009|website=crashreboot.blogspot.com|access-date=November 5, 2013|archive-date=November 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106214522/http://crashreboot.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-eggs-we-have-loved-excel-4.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Excel 5.0 (1993) ====
With version 5.0, included in [[Microsoft Office 4.x|Microsoft Office 4.2 and 4.3]], Excel included Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), a programming language based on [[Visual Basic]] which adds the ability to automate tasks in Excel and to provide [[user-defined function]]s (UDF) for use in worksheets. VBA includes a fully featured [[integrated development environment]] (IDE). [[Macro (computer science)|Macro]] recording can produce VBA code replicating user actions, thus allowing simple automation of regular tasks. VBA allows the creation of forms and in‑worksheet controls to communicate with the user. The language supports use (but not creation) of [[Component object model|ActiveX]] ([[Component object model|COM]]) [[Dynamic-Link Library|DLL]]'s; later versions add support for class modules allowing the use of basic [[object-oriented programming]] techniques.

The automation functionality provided by VBA made Excel a target for [[macro virus]]es. This caused serious problems until antivirus products began to detect these viruses. Microsoft belatedly took steps to prevent the misuse by adding the ability to disable macros completely, to enable macros when opening a workbook or to trust all macros signed using a trusted certificate.

Versions 5.0 to 9.0 of Excel contain various [[Easter egg (virtual)|Easter eggs]], including a "Hall of Tortured Souls", a [[Doom (1993 video game)|''Doom'']]-like minigame, although since version&nbsp;10 Microsoft has taken measures to eliminate such undocumented features from their products.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.msdn.com/larryosterman/archive/2005/10/21/483608.aspx|title=Why no Easter Eggs?|first=Larry|last=Osterman|date=October 21, 2005|access-date=July 29, 2006|work=Larry Osterman's WebLog|publisher=MSDN Blogs|archive-date=March 30, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330065403/http://blogs.msdn.com/larryosterman/archive/2005/10/21/483608.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

5.0 was released in a 16-bit x86 version for Windows 3.1 and later in a 32-bit version for NT 3.51 (x86/Alpha/PowerPC)

==== Excel 95 (v7.0) ====
[[File:Screenshot of Microsoft Office Excel 95, an application part of Microsoft Office system.png|thumb|Microsoft Excel 95]]
Released in 1995 with [[Microsoft Office for Windows 95]], this is the first major version after Excel 5.0, as there is no Excel 6.0 with all of the Office applications standardizing on the same major version number.

Internal rewrite to 32-bits. Almost no external changes, but faster and more stable.

Excel 95 contained a hidden ''Doom''-like mini-game called "The Hall of Tortured Souls", a series of rooms featuring the names and faces of the developers as an Easter egg.<ref>{{cite web|title=Excel 95 Hall of Tortured Souls|url=http://eeggs.com/items/719.html|access-date=July 7, 2006|archive-date=July 6, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060706082428/http://www.eeggs.com/items/719.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Excel 97 (v8.0) ====
Included in [[Office 97]] (for x86 and Alpha). This was a major upgrade that introduced the paper clip office assistant and featured standard VBA used instead of internal Excel Basic. It introduced the now-removed Natural Language labels.

This version of Excel includes a flight simulator as an Easter egg.

==== Excel 2000 (v9.0) ====
[[File:FileScreenshot of Microsoft Office Excel 2000.png|thumb|Microsoft Excel 2000]]
Included in [[Office 2000]]. This was a minor upgrade but introduced an upgrade to the clipboard where it can hold multiple objects at once. The Office Assistant, whose frequent unsolicited appearance in Excel 97 had annoyed many users, became less intrusive.

A small 3-D game called "Dev Hunter" (inspired by [[Spy Hunter]]) was included as an Easter egg.<ref>{{cite web|title=Excel Oddities: Easter Eggs|url=http://j-walk.com/ss/excel/eastereg.htm|access-date=August 10, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060821233917/http://j-walk.com/ss/excel/eastereg.htm|archive-date=August 21, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.totalchoicehosting.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22511|title=Car Game in Ms Excel|publisher=Totalchoicehosting.com|date=September 6, 2005|access-date=January 28, 2014|archive-date=April 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426010659/http://www.totalchoicehosting.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22511|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Excel 2002 (v10.0) ====
Included in [[Office XP]]. Very minor enhancements.

==== Excel 2003 (v11.0) ====
Included in [[Office 2003]]. Minor enhancements.

==== Excel 2007 (v12.0) ====
[[File:Microsoft Office Excel 2007.png|thumb|Microsoft Excel 2007]]
Included in [[Office 2007]]. This release was a major upgrade from the previous version. Similar to other updated Office products, Excel in 2007 used the new Ribbon menu system. This was different from what users were used to, and was met with mixed reactions. One study reported fairly good acceptance by users except for highly experienced users and users of word processing applications with a classical [[WIMP interface]], but was less convinced in terms of efficiency and organization.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.wseas.us/e-library/conferences/2010/Faro/DNCOCO/DNCOCO-25.pdf|title=User Acceptance of the Microsoft Ribbon User Interface|publisher=[[Palacký University of Olomouc]]|first=M|last=Dostál|isbn=978-960-474-245-5|issn=1792-6157|date=December 9, 2010|access-date=May 28, 2013|archive-date=February 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226223646/http://www.wseas.us/e-library/conferences/2010/Faro/DNCOCO/DNCOCO-25.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> However, an online survey reported that a majority of respondents had a negative opinion of the change, with advanced users being "somewhat more negative" than intermediate users, and users reporting a [[self-estimated]] reduction in productivity.

Added functionality included Tables,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Using Excel Tables to Manipulate Billing Data|url=https://mooresolutionsinc.com/downloads/Billing_MJ12.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322064704/https://mooresolutionsinc.com/downloads/Billing_MJ12.pdf|archive-date=March 22, 2023|access-date=February 22, 2024}}</ref> and the [[Microsoft Office 2007#SmartArt|SmartArt]] set of editable business diagrams. Also added was an improved management of named variables through the ''Name Manager'', and much-improved flexibility in formatting graphs, which allow (''x, y'') coordinate labeling and lines of arbitrary weight. Several improvements to pivot tables were introduced.

Also like other office products, the Office Open XML file formats were introduced, including ''.xlsm'' for a workbook with macros and ''.xlsx'' for a workbook without macros.<ref name="Dodge">{{cite book|title=Microsoft Office Excel 2007 inside out|first1=Mark|last1=Dodge|first2=Craig|last2=Stinson|year=2007|publisher=Microsoft Press|isbn=978-0-7356-2321-7|chapter=Chapter 1: What's new in Microsoft Office Excel 2007|page=1 ''ff''}}</ref>

Specifically, many of the size limitations of previous versions were greatly increased. To illustrate, the number of rows was now 1,048,576 (2<sup>20</sup>) and the columns was 16,384 (2<sup>14</sup>; the far-right column is XFD). This changes what is a valid ''A1''&nbsp;reference versus a named range. This version made more extensive use of multiple cores for the calculation of spreadsheets; however, VBA macros are not handled in parallel and XLL add‑ins were only executed in parallel if they were [[Thread safety|thread-safe]] and this was indicated at registration.

==== Excel 2010 (v14.0) ====
[[File:Excel 2010.png|thumb|Microsoft Excel 2010 running on Windows 7]]
Included in [[Office 2010]], this is the next major version after v12.0, as version [[Triskaidekaphobia|number 13 was skipped]].

Minor enhancements and 64-bit support,<ref name="whatsnew">{{cite web|url=http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/what-s-new-in-excel-2010-HA010369709.aspx?CTT=1|title=What's New in Excel 2010|access-date=September 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235535/http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/what-s-new-in-excel-2010-HA010369709.aspx?CTT=1|archive-date=December 2, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> including the following:
* Multi-threading recalculation (MTR) for commonly used functions
* Improved pivot tables
* More conditional formatting options
* Additional image editing capabilities
* In-cell charts called ''sparklines''
* Ability to preview before pasting
* Office 2010 ''backstage'' feature for document-related tasks
* Ability to customize the Ribbon
* Many new formulas, most highly specialized to improve accuracy<ref>{{cite book|last=Walkenbach|first=John|title=Excel 2010 Power Programming with VBA|chapter=Some Essential Background|year=2010|publisher=Wiley Publishing, Inc|location=Indianapolis, Indiana|isbn=9780470475355|page=20|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dtSdrjjVXrwC&pg=PA20}}</ref>

==== Excel 2013 (v15.0) ====
Included in [[Office 2013]], along with a lot of new tools included in this release:
* Improved Multi-threading and Memory Contention
* FlashFill<ref>{{cite web|last=Harris|first=Steven|title=Excel 2013 – Flash Fill|url=http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/A_12314-Excel-2013-Flash-Fill.html|work=Experts-Exchange.com|publisher=Experts Exchange|access-date=November 23, 2013|date=October 1, 2013|archive-date=December 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230129/http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/A_12314-Excel-2013-Flash-Fill.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Power View<ref>{{cite web|title=What's new in Excel 2013|url=http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/what-s-new-in-excel-2013-HA102809308.aspx|work=[[Microsoft Office website|Office.com]]|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=January 25, 2014|archive-date=January 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122195719/http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/what-s-new-in-excel-2013-HA102809308.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Power Pivot]]<ref>{{cite web|last=K.|first=Gasper|title=Does a PowerPivot Pivot Table beat a regular Pivot Table|url=http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/A_12334-Does-a-PowerPivot-Pivot-Table-beat-a-regular-Pivot-Table.html|work=Experts-Exchange.com|publisher=Experts Exchange|access-date=November 23, 2013|date=October 10, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003126/http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/A_12334-Does-a-PowerPivot-Pivot-Table-beat-a-regular-Pivot-Table.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Timeline Slicer
* Windows App
* Inquire<ref>{{cite web|last=K.|first=Gasper|title=Inquire Add-In for Excel 2013|url=http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/A_11629-Inquire-Add-In-for-Excel-2013.html|work=Experts-Exchange.com|publisher=Experts Exchange|access-date=November 23, 2013|date=May 20, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203013711/http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/A_11629-Inquire-Add-In-for-Excel-2013.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 
* 50 new functions<ref>{{cite web|title=New functions in Excel 2013|url=http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/new-functions-in-excel-2013-HA103980604.aspx|work=[[Microsoft Office website|Office.com]]|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=November 23, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203021138/http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/new-functions-in-excel-2013-HA103980604.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Excel 2016 (v16.0) ====
Included in [[Office 2016]], along with a lot of new tools included in this release:
* [[Power Query]] integration 
* Read-only mode for Excel
* Keyboard access for Pivot Tables and Slicers in Excel
* New Chart Types
* Quick data linking in Visio
*Excel forecasting functions
*Support for multiselection of Slicer items using touch
*Time grouping and Pivot Chart Drill Down
*Excel data cards<ref>{{cite web|title=What's new in Office 2016|url=https://support.office.com/en-us/article/What-s-new-in-Office-2016-Preview-4841f061-d019-45cc-af74-3e89c8cff1c4|work=[[Microsoft Office website|Office.com]]|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=August 16, 2015|archive-date=September 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905061212/https://support.office.com/en-us/article/What-s-new-in-Office-2016-Preview-4841f061-d019-45cc-af74-3e89c8cff1c4|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Excel 2019, Excel 2021, Office 365 and subsequent (v16.0) ====

Microsoft no longer releases Office or Excel in discrete versions. Instead, features are introduced automatically over time using Windows Update. The version number remains 16.0. Thereafter only the approximate dates when features appear can now be given.

* Dynamic Arrays. These are essentially Array Formulas but they "Spill" automatically into neighboring cells and do not need the ctrl-shift-enter to create them. Further, dynamic arrays are the default format, with new "@" and "#" operators to provide compatibility with previous versions. This is perhaps the biggest structural change since 2007, and is in response to a similar feature in [[Google Sheets]]. Dynamic arrays started appearing in pre-releases about 2018, and as of March 2020 are available in published versions of Office 365 provided a user selected "Office Insiders".