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Excel 2013 contains radical changes to charts, pivot tables and the user interface. This review explains all the new features of Excel 2013
Posted by Andy Brown on 30 January 2013
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Excel 2013 - the Wise Owl Review!
It's here! An independent, knowledgeable review of the latest version of Excel, from a company which has more than 20 years' experience of training in Excel.
In general we love the new Excel, but it does have some strange features, and sadly we haven't got our wish list fulfilled.
What this review includes
There are a lot of new features in Excel 2013, particularly for charts and pivot tables. I've divided everything up into the following areas:
| Area | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Initial impressions | First impressions of the new Excel interface. |
| Working with files | Saving, sharing and exporting files, including the new SkyDrive cloud-based storage medium. |
| Pivot tables and data analysis | The many changes in Excel 2013 to do with linking to and analysing data. |
| Charts | Probably the biggest area for changes in Excel 2013: essentially Microsoft have rewritten the way charts work. |
| General changes | Changes to inserting pictures, flash fill, inserting Office apps and other miscellaneous new features in Excel 2013. |
| Summary and Wise Owl recommendations | An independent view on which of the new features will change your life and which will annoy you, and whether it's worth upgrading. |
If you want to try Excel 2013 yourself, you can download a free trial copy.
Time to get started - let's have a look at the look-and-feel of Excel 2013, and how this has changed.